One Hot Desert Night Page 2

Sunny inclined her head and studied him straight on, showing him she wasn’t about to cower under his assessment. “Ah, a man of few words who apparently doesn’t have a last name.”

  “You made it!”

  She tore her attention from the stranger and brought it to her dark-haired, blue-eyed bubbly sister practically bounding down the stairs to the right. Before Piper reached the bottom landing, Sunny risked a glance to find that the mystifying Rayad was nowhere to be found.

  As soon as Piper’s feet hit the floor below the final step, she drew Sunny into a voracious hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “So am I,” she said after they ended the embrace. “And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you letting me hang out here for a while.”

  “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Piper said as she surveyed Sunny’s face. “You look terrible.”

  That could explain why Mystery Man had been staring at her nonstop. “Gee, thanks, sis. I didn’t know the invitation came with insults.”

  Piper rolled her eyes to the gold-bedecked ceiling. “I meant you look exhausted. You couldn’t look terrible if you tried.”

  Oh, but she did. She was well aware how badly her blond hair needed a trim and how pale she’d become since she’d left the field. “I’m in dire need of some sun and sleep, that’s for sure. Spa treatments couldn’t hurt.”

  Piper grinned. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. Or maybe I should say the right palace.”

  Sunny felt as if she’d been transported back to a better place and time, when she and her twin hadn’t had a care in the world, in spite of the fact they hadn’t had a caring mother. “Very funny, Pookie Bear.”

  Her sister scowled. “Please don’t let my husband hear you call me that, Sunshine. He’ll grab on to the nickname like a fish on a worm and won’t let go.”

  “Tell you what,” she said. “You can the Sunshine and I’ll forget the Pookie.”

  “But your name is Sunshine.”

  “And you know how much I hate that.”

  “All right, it’s a deal.” Piper hooked her arm through Sunny’s. “Now I shall escort you to your accommodations. For this visit, I’ve selected the first-floor guest quarters reserved for very special guests. Lots of privacy.”

  Unlike the last stay at the palace, this time Sunny needed privacy and a place to hide away, at least when she wasn’t expected to socialize with the in-laws. “I only require a bed and a bath.”

  “Oh, you’ll have both,” Piper said as she led her down a lengthy corridor off the foyer. “And your own private garden.”

  “As long as I don’t have to tend it, that sounds great.”

  After they navigated a narrow hallway flanked by more polished rock walls, Piper paused in front of a pair of gleaming wooden doors and opened them wide. “Enter this chamber fit for a princess. Or the princess’s sister.”

  Sunny stepped over the threshold and visually searched the massive room, awed by the absolute grandeur, including an intricately carved headboard, red satin spread and a scattering of matching red and gold chairs. She turned to Piper and smiled. “Where’s my tiara?”

  “I’ll have one sent up,” she said. “Bathroom’s to the right, complete with massive soaking tub and a carwash-size shower, in case you want to have a party with a companion or ten.”

  She didn’t even have one companion, let alone ten. When the image of the patently sexy, albeit elusive Rayad jumped into her brain, she mentally shoved it away. But she couldn’t dispel the suffocating imagines of confinement at the hands of a criminal. She couldn’t rid herself of the concern that she might never function as the normal sensual woman she’d once been. “Do you have a few minutes for a brief visit, or do you have to tend to royal duties or baby stuff?”

  Piper plopped down onto a gold brocade divan. “Sure. Sam won’t be up from his nap for another half hour or so.”

  Sunny joined her on the less-than-comfortable sofa. “So how is my nephew these days?”

  Her sister revealed a mother’s smile. “He’s fat and sassy and a very active eight-month-old. He started crawling fairly early, and now he’s pulling up on furniture poised to take off on his chubby little legs at any time. But I really expect him to climb before he walks.”

  She expected Piper to burst at the seams with pride at any moment. “I assume the supermodel hasn’t given you and Adan any trouble since the adoption.”

  “Not one bit. As far as everyone in the kingdom knows, Sam is my son.”

  Sunny took her sister’s hand. “He is your son in every way that counts.”

  “You’re right,” Piper said. “And not only am I a mother, I have been commissioned as the official palace portrait artist. It’s been a juggling act over the past few months, but I’ve had a lot of help with Sam from the staff and my gorgeous husband. I just finished Adan’s painting two days ago and I hope it’s up to speed.”

  Sunny smiled. “I saw the paintings, and Piper, they’re beautiful. I’m so glad you tore yourself away from our grandfather’s business so you could finally do what you’ve wanted to do for years.”

  Piper shrugged. “Believe me, if I hadn’t met Adan, I’d probably still be acting as the company’s goodwill ambassador. However, that position directly led to my husband.”

  Sunny grinned around an unexpected nip of envy. “You must have shown him some mighty fine goodwill, among other things.”

  After they shared in a laugh, Piper’s expression turned suddenly serious. “Enough about me. How are you doing?”

  She’d been dreading this part of the visit—recounting the details of what led to her breakup with Cameron. Horrific details that she’d relived every day and night since the traumatic experience. “I’m doing much better than the last time we spoke. I’ve moved past the anger and on to acceptance.” Though she would never quite accept her former lover’s abandonment when she’d needed him most.

  “It’s not your fault,” Piper said, as if she could read her thoughts. “He wasn’t good enough for you if he couldn’t face what happened.”

  “He tried, Piper. I was a mess.”

  “He didn’t try hard enough, and that makes him a jerk.”

  “He was dealing with his own guilt for not following me that day so he could ride in and save me.”

  “Stop making excuses for him, Sunny. You were brutally attacked and abducted and that’s not something anyone can get over in a matter of days. If I’d been through the same thing, I know Adan would have stuck by me.”

  Something suddenly occurred to her. “You haven’t mentioned the attack to Adan, have you?”

  Piper shook her head. “No. He thinks you’re here because of the breakup. I don’t like keeping things from him, but I did promise you I wouldn’t say anything.”

  She’d known she could count on her sister for discretion. “Thank you. The network decided to keep it under wraps.”

  Piper frowned. “Why? Are they afraid you’re going to sue them?”

  “No. They’re respecting my privacy. They know if word gets out, I’ll be headline news instead of covering it.” She sighed. “I keep trying to tell myself we knew what we were walking into. What we’d been walking into for the past three years. Greed breeds criminals, but you never really know who they are until you meet up with one on a dark street. And in one moment of carelessness, your whole perspective on life changes when facing possible death.”

  Piper leaned over and hugged her. “I hope you’re going to consider staying in the States when you resume your career.”

  She had considered it, then nixed that idea altogether, a fact she chose to withhold from her twin for the time being. “That’s going to be up to the network, provided they even want me after I’ve been on leave for two months.”

  “The network adores you, Sunny. I’m su
re they’ll welcome you back with open arms. Do you still have your apartment in Atlanta?”

  Sunny shook her head. “Nana convinced me to give it up when my lease ran out while I was staying with her and Poppa. My things are in storage in Charleston.”

  “Well, you can always live in the guesthouse permanently since I’ve vacated the premises.”

  She’d rather eat collard greens. “A little bit of the grandparents goes a long way. If I decided to work solely in the U.S., I’d move back to Atlanta.”

  Piper gave her another quick hug. “I hope you do. I wouldn’t have to worry about you fending off poisonous snakes in some rain forest.”

  At least she hadn’t brought up unseen attackers. “You could have gone all year without mentioning those foul creatures,” she said, followed by a yawn.

  Piper came to her feet and smiled. “You apparently have a lot of catch-up to do on your sleep. So feel free to take a long nap.”

  If only it were that simple. Sleep hadn’t come easily, at least nightmare-free sleep. “That sounds good, but it’s not that long until bedtime.”

  “True, but don’t hesitate to try the giant bathtub before dinner,” Piper added.

  Sunny stood and stretched her arms above her head. “Speaking of dinner, who’ll be joining us for the evening meal?”

  “Everyone,” Piper said. “My husband, of course. Zain and Madison and their toddlers since they’ve recently returned from Los Angeles. King Rafiq and an extremely pregnant Queen Maysa. Oh, and a cousin, Rayad Rostam, who showed up two days ago.”

  Finally, Mystery Man was no longer quite the mystery. “Since his last name isn’t Mehdi, how is he related?”

  “His father and the former queen were siblings, I think, but I don’t know much more. I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with my husband for three whole days, thanks to some top-secret training mission where he flies planes at warp speed. But I’ll be sure to introduce you to Rayad tonight, and you can interview him.”

  “I met him,” Sunny blurted without thought. “While I was waiting for you in the foyer. But he didn’t say much more than a few words.”

  Piper’s smile arrived full-force. “He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?”

  Unfortunately. “I didn’t notice, and you’re not supposed to notice since you’re now a married woman.”

  “But I’m not blind, and neither are you.”

  Her twin knew her all too well. “Fine, he’s gorgeous. Satisfied?”

  Piper’s expression said she wasn’t. “Maybe you should get to know him while you’re here. It’s my understanding he is presently unattached.”

  Sunny held up both hands, palms forward. “Stop right there. I’m not in the market for a man, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m thinking you could use a diversion after the idiot left you high and dry.”

  “It’s too soon, Piper. Cameron and I haven’t been apart that long.” And her internal wounds resulting from the attack had yet to heal. Wounds she had yet to reveal to her twin.

  “And by your own admission, Sunny, you loved Cameron, but you weren’t in love with him.”

  She’d argued those points with herself, but that hadn’t eased the hurt. “Color me gun-shy.”

  Piper’s features softened into a sympathetic look. “Maybe it’s time you make a sincere effort to rejoin the land of the living, Sunny. I’m not suggesting you sleep with Rayad. I’m suggesting you use your skills to find out what he’s all about and leave all options open. A challenge of sorts to get your mind off your troubles. And lucky for you, he’s staying in the room right next door.”

  She found that somewhat odd, and a little disconcerting. “Doesn’t he have a house of his own?”

  “Since he’s undoubtedly rich as sin like the rest of the family, I assume he does. But Maysa told me that Rafiq insisted he stay here while he’s recovering from an injury he sustained during some kind of incident.”

  He’d looked perfectly healthy to Sunny. Very healthy. “What did he injure?”

  Her sister grinned. “I’m not sure. Why don’t you ask him? Better still, why don’t you request he show you?”

  “Not interested,” she said, worried that she might never be able to experience true intimacy again. “Besides, I’ve never really been drawn to the strong, macho, silent type.”

  Piper barked out a laugh on her way to the door. “Yeah, right, Sunshine. Aside from Cameron, that’s the only type that’s ever held your interest.”

  Bristling from the truth, Sunny trailed behind her sister and prepared for a debate. “Don’t you dare do anything stupid like try to fix me up, Pookie.”

  Piper spun around and scowled. “You promised you wouldn’t call me that.”

  “You promised, too.”

  “Okay, you’re right. No more Pookie or Sunshine.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  “And I also promise not to play cupid,” Piper continued, “although Madison tells me Rayad’s a really nice guy if you can get past all that machismo. Just something to consider between now and the evening meal.”

  After Piper closed the door behind her, Sunny perched on the edge of the mattress and toed out of her flats. She’d already surmised Rayad Rostam was a testosterone-ridden military man, and that should be all she needed to know. Yet her innate inquisitiveness urged her to learn more about him. She craved peeling back those personality layers to reveal the man behind the steely persona. She truly needed to investigate him further, from a solely journalistic standpoint, of course. Even if she proved to be drawn to him on a physical level, a virile man like Rayad wouldn’t want the closed-off, fearful woman she’d become. Not even a nice guy could handle that—case in point, her former lover, Cameron.

  Rayad Rostam a nice guy? She frankly had her doubts about that.

  Two

  Macho Man had a squirming toddler in his lap, and he didn’t seem to mind.

  Seated across from Rayad Rostam at the lengthy dining table, for the past ten minutes Sunny had witnessed his remarkable patience with brown-haired, chatty, two-year-old Cala, daughter of the former playboy prince, Zain Mehdi, and his wife, Madison, the resident palace fixer of all things scandalous. The patient sheikh didn’t seem concerned that the little girl had dotted his T-shirt with cheese cracker remnants. He didn’t appear to care when she poked at his mouth, as if it held some sort of magic. Sunny suspected it probably did. The tolerant sheikh simply kept his lips sealed against the intrusion and gently extracted her hand from his face, followed by a kiss on her palm.

  She certainly couldn’t fault a guy who apparently had an affinity for children. She also hadn’t been able to ignore the furtive glances he’d tossed her way during dinner, even though the to-die-for skewered chicken, tasty cheese and hummus side dish should have earned all her attention. Fortunately, no one else seemed to notice, thanks to the ongoing adult conversation and occasional screech from an overstimulated infant, namely her nephew, Sam.

  When Cala wriggled from Rayad’s lap, Sunny noticed discomfort pass over his face as his hand went to his upper right side. The wound Piper mentioned apparently involved his rib cage. Another mystery solved, several more to go, including the hint of sadness in his eyes as Cala turned and waved to him before claiming a spot in her father’s lap.

  But at the moment, the effects of jet lag had Sunny considering putting off her sheikh fact-finding mission until a later date. And when the queen and king rose from their chairs and excused themselves, followed by Zain and Madison and their twins, she saw that as an excuse to make her escape.

  Sunny tossed her napkin aside, came to her feet and regarded Piper, who was seated next to the silent Rayad. “Dinner was great,” she began, “but I really need to retire before I nod off in the dessert plate.”

  Piper stood and removed Sam from his
highchair then turned him around to face Sunny. “Tell your auntie good-night, sweetie.” The baby responded by flailing his arms around and making motoring noises.

  “A chip off the old pilot block,” Adan said, displaying a dimpled grin as he stood with Rayad following suit. “I do hope you find your quarters satisfactory, Sunny.”

  “They’re more than satisfactory,” she replied as she rounded the table to kiss her nephew good-night, very aware that Rayad visually followed her movements. “I’m sure I’ll sleep well as soon as I take my nightly walk. Any suggestions where I should do that?”

  Adan nodded to the open dining room doors. “After you exit, take a right, and you’ll find the entry to the courtyard.”

  “But be careful,” Piper cautioned. “The grounds are like a maze. You might want to grab some bread crumbs and leave a trail, just in case.”

  “I have a fairly good sense of direction, so no worries.”

  After giving her twin a hug, and bidding everyone good-night, Sunny left the room and immediately located the doors leading to the expansive garden. She followed the labyrinth of stone walkways using the three-quarter moon as her guide, occasionally glancing behind her to keep the palace within her sights. When the path ended at a low retaining wall, she paused to study the twinkling lights dotting the valley below. A warm November breeze ruffled her hair, bringing with it the scent of exotic flowers. Back home the weather would be much cooler, and much of the fragrant foliage gone until spring. But not in this region. Most days brought pleasant weather, according to her hosts, yet rain had been forecasted in the next couple of days.

  Feeling surprisingly serene, she looked up at the night sky to study the host of diamond-like stars. She welcomed the sense of peace she experienced for the first time in quite some time...

  “Have you lost your way?”

  For the second time that day, Sunny’s heart vaulted into her throat. She spun around to face the familiar man standing in the shadows behind her. “I’m not lost, and do you have some bizarre need to scare me to death?”

  “No. I was simply concerned for your well-being.”