A Sheik's Spell (2 page)

Felicia’s head ached so badly that at first she dared not open her eyes. She felt comforted by the warm arm that held her and the steady movement of the muscular chest upon which her face rested. She was also thankful for the cover that blocked out the bright sunshine coming through a slit in the material cocoon. She did not know where she was, but for some reason that didn’t seem to matter very much.

Na’im, too, had awakened, and looked down to see confused dark eyes staring back at him. “Well, how do you feel, aros al bher'

The sound of Na’im’s voice vibrated against Felicia’s ear and it sounded as if it were bubbling forth from an underground stream.

“I don’t know. I feel a little weak and disoriented.” She tried to sit up, but her arms were too weak to hold her.

‘ ‘Well, you should,’ ’ he replied, ‘ ‘you are blessed to be alive. You nearly drowned yesterday.”

Na’im lowered Felicia’s head down upon the pallet as he slid from beneath her. He then reached for a large bundle that was nearby and propped the stunned Felicia up against it. Nervously, she looked down at her hands and at the clothes she was wearing before asking, ‘ ‘Drowned...but where am I?”

‘ ‘You are in my tent,” Na’im said with a mischievous, boyish smile. “The tent of Na’im Raoul Rahman.” He could not help but pity this beautiful woman, who at the moment appeared so bewildered and helpless. “And who are you?”

“Felicia Sanders. I...I’m a research scientist.” Felicia placed a trembling hand up to her forehead. “My head is pounding so. Everything seems a little fuzzy right now.” She ran both hands over her face and back through her

hair
. Her fingers caught in some of the tangles, as she made efforts to smooth it and collect her thoughts.

Suddenly she turned accusing eyes toward Na’im. “Was I with you when I almost drowned?”

“Oh no,” he raised one defensive eyebrow. “I am the one who fished you out of the River Nile. That is why I call you aros al bher, ‘little mermaid’. As a matter of fact you owe me your life.”

Na’im was sitting cross-legged, no more than two feet away from Felicia. As a final gesture to his pronounce
ment, he crossed his muscular arms and waited for Felicia’s reaction.

Felicia’s mind had blocked out the events surrounding the accident. All she had to go on was this stranger’s word.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. When Felicia finally spoke, Na’im could barely hear her.

“I don’t know what to say. The pain in my head is unreal, and I feel so confused. I’ve got to believe you because my mind seems to have blocked out everything that happened.”

Tears began to well up in her eyes, even though Na’im could see that she fought to keep them from flowing.

“I don’t know how to thank you enough for helping me, but as soon as I can. I’ll pay you back.”

Na’im shifted his weight uncomfortably. ‘ ‘I know one reason you are feeling so bad,” he said with false gaiety, “you have not eaten since I rescued you, which was early yesterday afternoon. I probably would not feel so good either if I had not eaten since then.”

Felicia looked at Na’im with dark eyes surrounded by lashes glistening with tears and rewarded him with what he sought-a smile, albeit a weak one.

‘ ‘I will just reheat some of that broth I made for you last

night
I am sure you will feel much better after you have had some.”

She watched him rise to his feet and exit the tent Now that Na’im was gone; Felicia took a good look around her. The tent contained the bundle Na’im had placed behind her back, two larger ones, and the blanket he’d placed over them while they slept

Felicia felt so bad it didn’t really matter to her that she’d slept with Na’im. Plus, she instinctively felt sleeping was all they had done. He didn’t appear to be the kind of man that would take advantage of a half-drowned woman.

Felicia wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging herself in a natural gesture of comfort. In doing so, the large shirt she wore slithered upward against her skin. For the first time she realized she was completely naked beneath the airy material.

Her eyes focused on the outline of Na’im’s large frame outside the tent an involuntary tremor ran through her as she pictured him dressing her.

It didn’t take long before Na’im had built a new fire; dry twigs and sticks were plentiful.
As he sat stoking it and waiting for the contents of the pot to simmer, his thoughts naturally evolved around Felicia. Evidently she’d injured her head and was probably suffering from some kind of concussion. But that wasn’t what bothered him most of all. It was how he was so anxious to please her. It was contradictory to his very nature to be taken in by a pretty face. Beautiful women had never been a problem for him in Egypt America or anywhere else. As a matter of fact they had all proven to be quite dispensable.

Na’im knew his father had plans to put an end to what he called his son’s ‘unstable ways’. Sheik Rahman did not feel it was wrong for a man to take his pleasure wherever he could find it. He simply felt it was in bad taste not to have a wife, at least giving the impression of stability. Na’im also knew his father was plotting to marry him off to some Egyptian miss whom he felt would yield strong sons for the perpetuation of the Rahman clan. It would be a plus if her family had money and influence.

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 ex
change.

‘ ‘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.