A Sheik's Spell Read online

  But Na’im had plans of his own. He would not marry anyone except a woman of his choosing. This much the West had taught him. Women were definitely different. Some could be as warm and satisfying as a campfire on a cold desert night, while others were as undesirable as the cold itself. From the treasures Felicia Sanders possessed, he would guess she would be the former. Yes, he would have to be careful around this one with her velvety eyes and upright manner.

  Na’im handed the lukewarm liquid to Felicia. “It is not much, but I think it is all you should have at this time, along with some bread.”

  He maneuvered his body and pulled the larger bundle closer within his reach. Digging inside, he untied a dark brown cloth, which housed some pita bread. He tore off a large portion of it then he pulled off a smaller piece of that and gave it to Felicia. As Na’im replaced the covered bread into the bundle, he retrieved a more colorful package. From its contents, he produced a comb and brush and placed them by her side.

  “Here. I think you can make use of these. The clothes

  that you were wearing when I found you should be dry, so once you finish eating I will bring them in to you.”

  Felicia didn’t quite understand why, but she was sure Na’im was being a bit more brusque with her than he had been earlier. Not once while speaking did he look at her directly. His tone no longer contained the comforting, reassuring lilt it had possessed during their earlier exchange.

  ‘ ‘These must be for someone special,’ ’ she commented and motioned toward the comb and brush that lay by her thigh.

  Na’im simply nodded his head affirmatively and went back outside of &e tent.

  Felicia admonished herself for looking for comfort from this man whom she knew little about. She was not his responsibility. She should be grateful for everything he had done for her and not expect any special treatment in the future.

  Felicia found the broth and bread to be satisfying and after she’d eaten it, she began to untangle her hair. It took quite a while to comb out the loose ends of her micro-braids that had dried into stubborn clumps of hair.

  Once done, she found even that task seemed to zap all of her strength, and before she knew it she had fallen asleep with the comb still in her hand.

  The tent was engulfed in darkness when Felicia awoke again, except for the sliver of pale light that shone through an opening in its flap. But this time she did not awake to the steady, rhythmic breathing of Na’im’s chest beneath her head. She could see his sleeping form lying several feet away.

  As Felicia fell back into the sleep of one whose body and mind have been taxed to their limit, she fought unwanted feelings of wishing she were in the comforting arms of the Egyptian.

  Chapter Four

  Harsh sunshine and a persistent scraping noise awoke Felicia the next morning. Her hands flew to her eyes to shield them from the intrusive light. It only took a few moments for Felicia to realize this was Na’im’s abrupt way of awakening her.

  “We will leave the camp this morning,” he said without glancing her way. “Your clothes are beside you. There is some fish, bread and tea for breakfast. I would eat all I could if I were you. We have a long ride ahead of us.” Before Felicia could open her mouth to reply, Na’im was on his way out again, dragging another bundle and closing the tent’s flap behind him.

  A long ride where? What is he talking about, she thought in a sleepy haze. Felicia had never been known to be the most congenial person right after waking up. Especially after such a rude awakening.

  She was glad her head only pounded slightly as she sat up to dress herself. Buttoning her blouse with near-steady hands, she thought of Phillip and the other research team members waiting for her at A1 Uqsur. I’ll just have to tell him to drop me off there. That’s all. We can’t be that far

  away. It would have taken a few hours by boat, so it can’t take much longer riding a camel

  Satisfied with her plan, she braided her unruly locks in a thick plait at the base of her neck and stepped outside the tent No sooner had she done so than Na’im whisked by her to retrieve the last bundle.

  “Good morning,” she said, following him back inside. “This is rather awkward. I was so messed up yesterday, I don’t remember what you said your name was.”

  Passing her on his way out without breaking his stride, he replied, “Na’im Raoul Rahman.”

  “Well, I guess I can call you Na’im, if it’s alright with you?” Felicia waited for a response that never came. A perturbed twist set upon her lips as she crossed the campsite and stood behind Na’im while he fastened the bundle to the camel’s back

  “Look, I don’t know what you’re thinking. I’m sure you’ve got things you need to do and I really do appreciate what you’ve done for me so far.”

  Na’im ducked beneath the camel’s neck to fasten down the other side of the bundle, completely blocking Felicia’s view of his face. Riled by his insolence, Felicia tried to calm herself. Remember, you need this guy who is beginning to act like a total jerk.

  Imitating Na’im’s body movement, Felicia thumped her head against the animal’s hairy neck as she straightened up precisely at the moment when the camel decided to move its head. ‘ ‘Dog-gone it! ” Holding her head that throbbed more from the previous injury than the one she had just received, she spoke through her irritation. “All I want you to do is drop me off at A1 Uqsur.”

  Na’im turned and pinned her with steady, golden eyes. ‘ ‘I am not going to A1 Uqsur. I will take you to A1 Kharijah.

  From there you should be able to get transportation to any place you want.”

  “But I don’t have time to go anyplace else. I’ve already lost a couple of days because of this accident. I’m working on a very important dehydration project and...”

  ‘ ‘Your work is not my concern.’ ’ Turning on his heels, Na’im headed for the campfire with Felicia behind him.

  Felicia held out her hands in frustration. “I don’t believe this,” she said as Na’im passed her a brass plate with a piece of fish and pita bread on it.

  They sat and ate in silence.

  How could one man be so contrary? He says he saved my life, but he’s so arrogant he won’t even listen to what I’ve got to say.

  Pushing a lump of bread into her cheek, Felicia offered Na’im an alternative. “Okay. So you don’t have time to take me there. Just give me one of your camels and a little bit of food. I know if I follow the river, going north, it will take me straight to it.”

  Na’im’s response was not what Felicia expected.

  "Rumor has it, a group of men are pillaging the smaller villages and kidnapping some of the women. You would not stand a chance riding alone.”

  “Men kidnapping women? Aah,come on.” This guy must think I lost my mind when I hurt my head. ‘ “Look, if you don’t trust me with your camels just say so; I can understand that. But I can promise you. I’ll take care of the animal, and you’ll be well paid once I can get to where I’m going. Just give me your address or something. I’ll take care of it,” Felicia said in her most business-like tone.

  Na’im stood drinking the remainder of his tea. ‘ ‘I do not need your money, Ms. Sanders. As I said before, we are going to A1 Kharijah.”

  Felicia fumed as she ate the rest of her breakfast and watched Na’im gather the last remnants of the campsite together. When she finished, she did as he instructed her to do, cleaning her plate with mounds of sand.

  Felicia’s patience had run out when it came to this high-falutin’ Egyptian. I’m just going to have to take matters into my own hands.

  She waited until Na’im was well engrossed in dismantling the tent before she made her move. Grabbing one of the water containers and the remainder of the pita bread, Felicia rushed toward the second camel. Running gave her the momentum she needed to clamber upon the surprised animal’s back. Even if she didn’t manage to get far, he’d see how determined she was, and hopefully be more open to seeing things her way.

  The camel let
go a noise similar to a small roar. Na’im, startled by the animal’s protest, applied too much pressure on the remaining side of the tent, causing it to come down in a cloud around him. Clawing to remove the billowing material from his head, he managed to do so just as the animal bolted forward with, an ill-prepared Felicia on its back.

  Chapter Five

  “Ei-ei-ei-i,” Felicia screeched as the animal took off, loping with gigantic strides. Within moments she found herself on the ground, landing with a thud, causing her head and her backside to ache. Throwing her head back in anguish, she could see Na’im removing the remainder of the fallen tent from about him. The arrogant son of a biscuit acted as if he didn’t know or even care about what she’d done.

  He methodically finished taking down the tent. Then he went after the camel that had stopped about a half mile away. The pain in Felicia's head and her rump, plus Na'im's attitude, had made up her mind. She'd simply get transportation from A1 Kharijah to A1 Uqsur.

  Felicia had no idea how long they’d been traveling in the merciless sun, but she knew her backside cried for something softer than the hard flesh of Na’im’s camel’s back. At first she’d tried not to lean against him, but as time

  passed and she began to feel weak from the heat, physical need overtook her pride.

  At the beginning of their journey, he’d acknowledged her presence by passing her a galabia top and head wrap saying it would protect her from the sun. Other than that, no other words had passed between them.

  Most of the landscape looked the same to Felicia once they had traveled several miles inland, away from the Nile. They traveled all day across coarse gravel and rock outcroppings, stopping only to eat a small midday meal.

  The sun had begun to sink behind a group of sandy hills in the distance when Na’im finally decided on a place to bed down for the night As Felicia dismounted the camel’s back, Na’im noticed she winced with pain as he held her arm to aid her descent.

  Felicia felt as if she’d been flogged with a cat-o-nine- tails. Her flesh burned from the sun’s pitiless rays, in spite of the layers of clothing she wore, and her bones ached from the relentless movement of the camel’s body.

  Na’im removed all of their gear from the beast of burden so he, too, could rest Looking ^out he decided to pitch the tent in an area that was almost entirely surrounded by gigantic stones. Felicia could tell that over the years many nomads had used this same spot with the same purpose in mind. While Na’im worked, Felicia sat motionless on a flat stone nearby, not caring that she did not offer to help.

  “If you go through the opening in the rocks, you will find a small water hole. It should help soothe some of the pain that you helped to bring upon yourself.”

  Felicia was in no mood or shape to play verbal volleyball with this man, so she followed his suggestion without protest

  The new moon was high in the sky by the time Felicia reached the water hole. She mechanically began to undress in the privacy of an alcove of stones and rocks. The need to shield her was done more by instinct than thought, and she stepped out from her self-made dressing room with little care of being seen by Na’im, or anything or anyone else.

  The water hole had many boulders surrounding it, with scarce vegetation growing where it could between the rocks near the water’s edge.

  Once Felicia entered the water, she found a place where she could sit and be completely covered, except for her head and neck. She took solace in the prickly pain created by the coarse gravel that blanketed the bottom of the pond. At least it took her mind off her sun burnt skin and the other aches and pains bombarding her. But there was one pain it couldn’t take away.

  Despite the strong exterior she’d shown to Na’im during their journey, the hurt of loneliness and alienation was heavy. It wasn’t the first time in her life she’d experienced this. As a matter of fact, to cope with the problems that had inundated her childhood she’d become an expert at dealing with denying her true feelings.

  That’s why it took her by surprise when she felt moisture upon her cheeks. Tears?! She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually cried. Was it when her mother lay balled up on the kitchen floor holding her arm that hung strangely from her shoulder? Or when her brother, Rodney, was accidentally shot by drug dealers wanting to even the score with one of their neighbors? These were the highlights of scarring incidents that had dotted her life.

  The pond’s water on her fingertips mixed with the tears on her face as they began to flow in earnest Maybe

  it was the near-death experience that fueled this outpour of emotion and allowed Felicia to give in to her pain. She cried because of the physical, mental and spiritual desolation she felt. As an adult, she cried the tears that as a child she could find no more of. Now, once again life had thrown her a curve. She had vowed at thirteen, when her father deserted them, never again to be at the mercy of anyone. She told herself she would not be at the mercy of Na’im Raoul Rahman. She knew it would be so easy to take comfort from a few kind words, from his touch. There was something about him that stirred all of her senses to their peak. The smell of his hair as she sat behind him, the feel of his broad back against her cheek, and the way her thighs had molded against his as they rode in the desert.

  “Fm not going to let him get the best of me,” she whispered aloud into the cool night air. ‘ ‘No way.”

  Chapter Six

  As Felicia approached the campsite, she was surprised to see Na’im quietly conversing with another man. Both men looked up as she entered the circle of light created by the glowing fire.

  Felicia made quite a captivating picture with her wet tendrils and Na’im’s galabia clinging to her body in places where her skin was still damp.

  The water had worked in soothing her body and lifting her spirits. As she had slipped the soft material of the galabia over her naked flesh, she thought of Na’im. He had seen her like this before. He had even dressed her. Just the thought of Na’im’s muscular body being so close to her under those circumstances sent exciting messages to the core of her femininity.

  Felicia knew she could have used more discretion in dressing, but that wasn’t what she wanted to do. Maybe now I’ll get his attention, since he wants to be so aloof and nonchalant. I’ll just have to see how much he can take, she thought.

  But Na’im’s handsome face remained as impassive as stone as he gazed upon her beyond the campfire. It was his

  companion who showed surprise and pleasure as he took in her womanly curves, clearly outlined by the fire's glare.

  Felicia’s feet felt as if they were rooted to the ground. She was paralyzed by the thought of what she must look like to this total stranger. It didn’t take long before the man made it known just what he thought of her.

  Felicia’s almond eyes widened in total disbelief and outrage as she watched him pull a pouch out of the folds of his garment She could hear the coins jingle as he threw it up enticingly in front of Na’im.

  Felicia didn’t know much Arabic, but there was little doubt in her mind as to what the man was saying to Na’im, sounding as if he were bargaining for wares at one of the village bazaars.

  It infuriated her to think that this person felt he had the right to try and buy her. If he or Na’im thought for just one moment she was going to go along with this, they had another thought coming.

  It was Na’im’s voice that brought her out of her state of disbelief. He calmly, but with authority, told her to go inside the tent. For a moment Felicia thought of resisting him; then she looked at the stranger and changed her mind.

  It wasn’t long before Na’im followed her. “Why did you just stand there, showing yourself in front of us?” he asked heatedly.

  Felicia felt her face become warm with embarrassment and anger. “Well, how was I to know there was someone else in the camp? You could have come and told me!”

  “Keep your voice down, you have already caused me enough shame.”

  "Shame? How have I shamed you? I am the on
e who should feel ashamed,’ ’ she threw back at him, but in a more hushed tone.

  “I told him that you are one of several wives, and a favorite at that...so now you will act accordingly.”

  “You told him what?!”

  “You heard what I said. What else was there to say with you standing there where we could see straight through your clothes? Even if you did not know he was here, you could have had more respect for yourself and dressed like a decent woman around a man you hardly know! And I am referring to me. Is that so much to expect from you?”

  “Well aren’t you something. Here’s a man who says he saved my life, but who acts as if I have some kind of plague. And now he’s trying to tell me how to act?” Felicia retorted on a shrill note.

  “Well, you won’t have to worry about that tonight. We’ll be sharing the same pallet Shabazz seems to have accepted my explanation, but I’m sure he will be looking for signs to prove that I was not telling the truth. Ravaging a woman who he feels blatantly asked for it would not bother a man like him a bit’ ’

  “I'm not sharing anything with you,” Felicia managed to get out with obvious indignation. ‘ ‘What have I done to you, anyway? Why do you dislike me? I would think we could be friends under the circumstances. Maybe you’re one of those men who finds solace in solitude or something like that. But I must honestly say I’m not that kind of person, and at this particular point in my life, with all that has happened to me, I could use a friend.”

  ‘ ‘You surely were looking for more than friendship to come back here dressed like that!” Na’im’s golden eyes blazed down on her. “You forget I’ve already seen all that you have to offer and I am not having any part of this cat and mouse game you Western women tend to play. With