“It would appear so,” he said and one side of his mouth turned up with the amusement he couldn’t hide any longer. “It’s a common mistake,” he lied, trying to make her feel better. She looked annoyed with herself but her pretty hazel eyes were looking back up at him so he tried to hide his laughter, but it was difficult.
Sidra glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, feeling ridiculous in front of this incredible stranger who probably never had trouble reading a map. “Go ahead, you can laugh. I’m a directional idiot but my only excuse is that I’m not used to reading a map. I generally just plug in the location of wherever I want to go and my car’s GPS tells me to turn right or left.” She grimaced and looked away, “Or make a U turn and try again when I miss a particular turn.”
Rashid laughed softly and folded her map. “Since the storm is approaching quickly and your vehicle doesn’t appear able to participate in the endeavor, perhaps you would allow me to help you reach your destination?”
Sidra looked around him, staring at the giant horse, then back up at the handsome man. “I think I’ll just phone my friend and tell her where I am. She can pick me up in a few minutes. Surely she can out-drive that storm,” she said as she glanced back over her shoulder at the approaching dark clouds.
Rashid chuckled at her obvious fear of his horse. She was cute in a sexy, kittenish kind of way as she looked warily at the large animal. “Nonsense,” he replied. “I promise no harm will come to you.” He turned on his heel and grabbed Zafir’s reigns. The slender woman was already backing away and shaking her head but he ignored her and threw himself into the saddle. Maneuvering Zafir alongside the woman, he simply reached down and pulled her onto his lap, then squeezed his knees to tell Zafir to move. “I’ll have you to your friend’s house in no time,” he said.
Sidra clenched the man’s arms as if they were a life jacket and she could barely breathe for several moments as the horse cantered in the direction she hoped was her friend’s apartment. She wasn’t sure if her breathlessness was because she was on top of the scary horse or because her whole back was pressed against this man’s muscular chest and abdomen, his thighs pressing against the backs of her legs.
“Relax,” he said a moment later, his mouth sensuously close to her ear and she shivered involuntarily.
“I can’t.”
“What’s your name?” Rashid asked, and pulled her higher up on his thigh to help her get more comfortable, his arm holding her around her stomach and waist. She was more slender than he’d thought, but round in all the right places. From his vantage point, he had an excellent view of her lovely breasts, the nude colored lace on the upper swell enticing him as no other lingerie had ever done before.
Sidra heard his voice but honestly wished he would stop talking. His deep, husky voice was creating ripples of pleasure to shoot throughout her body and she was having a great deal of trouble concentrating on staying on top of the horse.
“Sidra,” she finally whispered and tried to look off into the distance. She didn’t see the storm clouds, nor did she see the sunrise coming up over the horizon in the other direction. All she saw were his strong hands holding her even though her eyes were no longer looking downward. His arms were extremely strong and on the one hand, she felt very secure and comforted by that strength. But on the other hand, she was more aware of him as a man than she should be. It was embarrassing to feel so strongly about a man she’d just met only moments ago.
“That’s a very nice name,” he replied. “Latin meaning ‘of the stars’. Very appropriate.”
She turned slightly and looked up at him. “How do you know that?” she asked, then quickly pulled her eyes away. Those blue eyes were looking at her as if he could tell that she was quivering inside, as if he knew how much she wanted him to touch her!
“Latin is a very basic language.”
She was horrible with languages so couldn’t add anything to that comment. She supposed Latin was basic but since she could barely pass her required French courses in high school, she had to accept his word for it. “What’s your name?”
“Rashid.” He didn’t bother to tell her that very few people outside of his family were allowed to call him by his first name. He could have told her his title, which was what most people used, but he didn’t want that between them. There was something about this woman that was different. He had no basis for that assumption but there was something about her that pulled at him. Something deep and invisible, but powerful. He should probably walk away from her, ignore her allure and ride in the other direction. This feeling, or perhaps instinct, was probably dangerous since he’d just met her. She could be an assassin for all he knew. But he was going with his gut on this one, which told him that she was feeling exactly as he was right at the moment. He couldn’t define it, but it felt wonderful. And she felt perfect in his arms.
Sidra wanted to ask him so many questions, or perhaps just listen to his deep, sexy voice. But her mind was blank as his warm hands held her steady on the massive animal. She wasn’t even concerned about how uncomfortable she was in the saddle because she felt so wonderful wherever he was touching her. “Where are you from?”
“I own a house over there,” he explained, pointing towards the east. Sidra glanced in that direction, but all she saw was a line of trees. There was a fence along parts of the tree line but she had no idea if that delineated the perimeter of his property or if it was just a random fence for one of his neighbors.
“You’re not from Great Britain, are you?” she asked, her curiosity increasing the more she heard him speak.
“No.”
She smiled and turned slightly, looking up at him. “Are you going to tell me where you are from?”
Rashid considered the possible answers. He could tell her he was from Tasain and only here on business, or he could name one of several other countries where he owned property. But for some reason, he didn’t want to lie to this beautiful woman, or even prevaricate. Evan a half truth seemed like a betrayal. Odd, he thought silently, he’d never had any qualms about stating his heritage before but with Sidra, he wanted to be just a man who was in the same area as she was.
“I’m actually from Tasain.”
Sidra laughed and looked forward. “I heard it’s a pretty harsh country. What do you do there?”