Desert Knights Read online

  If he hadn’t said the words with the most ridiculously boyish expression on his face, she might have let him have it. The first grin had made him more than a bodyguard. The second one made him gorgeous. He was almost too charming for his own damn good. The commanding words and the endearing grin did not match up.

  She decided to go with the endearing side. Karim was starting to get under her skin. That story about his father being killed in an explosion had changed her original opinions, and now she wanted to know more about this man. Not to mention the fact that she actually did need his help to reach the successful completion of their mission.

  “All right. So, what’s next, then?”

  “We’ve made good time so far.” His cautious glance left her face and shot backward down at the valley from where they’d just come. “But I think we’d better start scouting for a place to camp. A hot meal and a few hours’ sleep will keep us going longer.”

  “It’ll probably be dark in an hour or so,” she remarked. “Do you really think we can push on during the middle of the night?”

  “We’ve had the training and we have the equipment. I think if we’re careful, the two of us can do the same things we’d planned on doing with a four-man team.”

  Morgan shrugged and threw up her hands. “Lead on, then.”

  It didn’t take Karim long to find a proper campsite. A spot hidden among oversized boulders. Located in a rock formation sheltered from the winds—and away from anyone’s overly ambitious curiosity—he liked the privacy and the level ground.

  But he didn’t care for the continuing feeling that someone was watching them. It gave him a bad case of nervous energy he’d rather do without. He needed to be the steady one, the rock, to smooth over any rough spots on the trip so Morgan could do her job.

  As she rolled out her sleeping bag and he pulled together the right-size rocks for their small campfire, he went over the possibilities in his head. If their observer or observers were part of a Taj Zabbar military patrol, he and Morgan would already have been fired upon or—worse—surrounded and captured. But, if not them, then who?

  He didn’t like the idea of unknown persons wandering around nearby, potentially interfering with their mission. It was bad enough learning that Taj patrols were combing this isolated section of their country for unknown reasons. Too many unanswered questions.

  Morgan would hate the idea of such dangling details. She might even scrap the mission. So they wouldn’t talk about anything to do with the mission for now. He would keep her mind on other things instead.

  Checking the wind currents to be sure any accidentally released smoke would not give away their position, Karim dug into his pack for his BlastMatch Fire Starter and camp stove.

  “Don’t forget to scout the area for any reptiles before setting up.” That ought to take her mind off the mission temporarily.

  She twisted her head and threw him a skeptical look. “Come now, don’t get too cute. I attended the class on desert wildlife, the same as you. There might be a poisonous lizard or asp near a water hole, but not many at this altitude. Nothing much lives here.”

  Well, that served him right. “I noticed during training that you seemed fairly competent with the camping instructions and not overly nervous about sleeping in the wild. Have you done a lot of outdoor work, then?”

  Plopping down on her sleeping bag, Morgan reached for the water and took a drink before answering. It gave him time to admire her again. Her thick, dark lashes surrounding clear, green eyes. The slight shoulders running down to a narrow waist. She might be dressed as a bedouin male, but her feminine form was abundantly clear to anyone who paid attention.

  And he’d been paying too much attention. Turning back to his stove, he proceeded with the setup.

  “Not a lot of time outdoors, no,” she answered. “Most of my kind of work is done in the cities and metropolises of the world. But I grew up on a ranch in Wyoming. Spent all of my childhood on the back of a horse with a rifle in my hand. I was a real tomboy.”

  “Tomboy?” He wasn’t sure he understood the term.

  “You didn’t grow up in America, did you?” She grinned at him, and he forgot what they’d been talking about.

  Pulling himself together, he managed, “No. I grew up on various islands in the Mediterranean. My father was the president of the Kadir family’s shipping business. But I attended university at MIT. That’s in Massachusetts.”

  “I know.” Her eyes sparkled in the last of the setting sun. “And I could’ve guessed you went someplace like MIT. Anyway, a tomboy is a little girl who prefers being outside and getting dirty to playing with dolls and wearing fancy dresses.”

  “And that was you? You liked getting dirty? In a way, I could’ve guessed that, too.”

  The smile faded from her face as she sat up on her knees. “I’d better see to my rifle before the sunlight is completely gone.”

  Sitting back, he let the stove’s fire mature as he watched her carefully open her specially made case and remove a stock and barrel. Then she dug into her case again for a soft polishing cloth and oil. In moments she’d dismantled the rest of the rifle’s components and began lovingly rubbing and inspecting the tool of her deadly trade.

  As her fingers trailed along the gleaming, mahogany stock, Karim’s errant mind dived right into sensual territory—though he knew better. He pictured what those fingers could do as they trailed over the various parts of his body that by now had grown hard at the mere idea of her attentions.

  Clearing his throat, he glanced away. He had a feeling rest periods might become the most difficult part of the entire trip.

  Karim turned out to be a decent cook, though that hadn’t been one of his original duties on their mission. He’d made them a tasty makeshift dinner on his tiny camp stove. After a few hours sleep, Morgan awoke feeling good, rested and ready to travel. Most of all, she was more intrigued with the man than ever.

  “I don’t think we’ll need the NVGs to navigate the trail tonight.” He doused their fire and then stopped to stare up at the heavens.

  Morgan glanced up, too, and was surprised to find enough light to see every detail of their surroundings. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the stars so bright. Not even in Wyoming on a clear night.”

  She set to work packing her bedroll and making sure her rifle was all set for desert travel. “It feels odd starting out before midnight. Odd and a little chilly.”

  “You’ll need your jacket.”

  Gritting her teeth, she held her tongue. He was taking this bodyguarding business to heart, and she didn’t want to spoil either the mission or their budding relationship by being a smart mouth. And though she was tempted to leave her jacket in her pack just to spite him, she dragged out the black Gore-Tex and shrugged into the sleeves like a good girl. Letting her muscles go cold could make them seize up. Not the best plan for maintaining flexibility.

  As they started down the path, the three-quarter moon appeared suddenly over a distant peak. “Geez, with all that moon glow, it’s nearly daylight at this altitude.”

  “Yeah,” he said on a breath. “I don’t like it. Our original plan called for the cover of darkness.

  “Uh… Hold up a second.” He stopped at a wide point on the trail, ducked out of his backpack and soon found whatever he was searching for in the pockets. “The NVGs won’t help spot snipers in the rocks, but this thermal vision scope could make a difference.”

  Another toy. She held in the chuckle.

  He raised the instrument to his eye and slowly scouted the area. “Nothing yet. But let me show you how to use this. Just in case you need it.”

  She got a ten-minute lesson on how the scope would pick up the heat from a person’s body temperature and read their presence even at a distance of several hundred yards.

  But before she finished checking their immediate area, Karim said, “I feel someone watching us again. But they’re too good to let themselves be spotted. You keep the thermal imager and ch
eck it periodically.”

  “What are you going to be doing?”

  The rustling noises of Karim digging in his pack ended with a familiar click. The sound of a gun stock being locked into place was something Morgan would recognize in her sleep. She dropped the hand holding the thermal imager and turned.

  “Holy Mother of…” Closing her gaping mouth, she stood, watching with fascination as he fit a thirty-round magazine into a state-of-the-art KAC 6x35mm PDW.

  Morgan didn’t know much about high-tech toys, but she knew about guns. All kinds of guns. And the Knight’s Armament 6x35mm Personal Defense Weapon was the king of killing machines. Ultralightweight and compact, the experimental design didn’t require much finesse. Just point and shoot and nothing within three hundred meters would live to tell the tale.

  As he adjusted the weapon’s strap over his shoulder, Karim looked up at her with dancing, flirty eyes. “You keep watch. I’ll be ready for anything.” His deep baritone voice rolled over her in waves of lustful power.

  Maybe it was the appreciation for such an excellent piece of hardware that he saw in her eyes. Or maybe it was the fire that had been ignited low in her belly by the mere sight of his handsome, bronzed face, grown even darker with a five o’clock shadow, that made all the difference.

  Whatever it was that had pushed him over the edge, Karim sprang to his feet and took her in his arms. Before she could react, he kissed her. An openmouthed kiss. His tongue sought her tongue with sudden, desperate need. Without any hesitation on her part, she threw her arms around his neck and held on for the ride.

  Strong hands. Firm mouth. She’d known all along his kiss would be a little rough. A lot like fireworks. She felt herself exploding in a shower of wanting.

  She hadn’t realized how much desire had built up between them until she responded to his low, sensual groan with a deep-throated moan of her own. Dear Lord, the man could kiss.

  And more. There was something else, silent but acute, going on between them. It made her hungry to find out what, and she was never hungry. Never ready in an instant to demand everything from a man.

  Deepening the kiss, his warm mouth welcomed her response. Tasting and exploring, he built the fire to nearly unbearable heights.

  His hands wandered down her body, rubbing her shoulders, then down her arms. Moving lower, his fingers gently brushed her rib cage at the very edge of her already tender breasts. Finally, his palms cupped her bottom. With fingers splayed possessively, he drew her tight against his erection.

  She gasped, jumped and pressed her belly even closer as her fingernails automatically dug into his shoulders, allowing her to hang on instead of spinning off the planet. Her whole body was on fire.

  Just like that? How could this be? She had to catch her breath. Clear her head. Find some sanity.

  All of a sudden, the horrible images that fouled her dreams on most nights and that she’d worked so hard to banish came back to strike a chilling blow to her ardor.

  Stiffening, she broke the kiss and stepped away. Karim didn’t fight her.

  He looked shell-shocked and breathless as his dark, endless eyes stared into hers. Exactly the way she felt.

  Then he sobered. “Um… Hell. That was pretty intense.”

  “Yeah,” was all she could manage. Her heart was pounding in her chest; so hard, she wondered if it would jump right out her throat.

  “I didn’t mean for that to happen. But…” He struggled for words. “That wasn’t a simple kiss.”

  “Nothing simple about that kiss at all.”

  “What do you want to do about it?”

  She knew how much the mission meant. To everyone involved. “The smart thing would be to forget it.”

  “Is that what you want to do?”

  Without answering him directly, she said, “Go on with the mission. As we travel, we can think it over. Separately.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “No. Not at all.” She almost reached out for him.

  What she wanted was another kiss, this time initiated by her. More heat. Another blaze, all-consuming and all-powerful.

  Karim took a step back. “Me neither. But it would be for the best. When the mission is over, we can get together, like a post-mission debriefing, and talk over our separate thoughts.”

  Not a chance.

  “Fine.” It was all she could do to force her trembling fingers to readjust the straps to her pack and rifle case in preparation to move out.

  This time, as they traveled down the wider path, Karim stayed a few steps out in front. He advised her to stick close to the limestone cliff walls while he walked point.

  Traversing down the pathways in this slightly separated manner gave her a chance to think. But her thoughts remained jumbled.

  She’d seen the shock of his own actions reflected in Karim’s eyes. He hadn’t expected to kiss her like that any more than she’d been ready for it. Well, that was one thing they had in common.

  She doubted if they shared very much else.

  No, the biggest problem for her seemed to be that he was a temptation. One that she had a feeling would probably overcome her regular reserve by the end of this mission. But he was also not what she wanted on a long-term basis. She’d had plenty of chances to be with adrenaline-pumping, muscle-loaded men who would jump at a chance at a kiss during her years of working for the CIA. But she hadn’t, and for a good reason.

  Men like Karim didn’t stick. Too soon they were off to the next mission or the next dangerous situation.

  That wasn’t who she was now. Actually, deep down, that was never who she’d been. Circumstances had conspired to keep her going from one mission to the next, never settling down.

  Never giving herself a moment to think about the past.

  But now that her parents had both died and left her with her grandparent’s ranch, she was ready to make a home. A nest. Without her parents there, she wouldn’t necessarily have to think about the past. Only about a new future.

  Lost as she was in contemplation, when the first shot rang out and echoed around the canyon walls, she dropped to a crouch in shock. But in less than a second she sat up, blinking and gasping.

  Karim had gone down, too. Only he didn’t spring back up.

  Crawling toward his prone body, she snatched the KAC PDW at his side and blindly began spraying fire in a huge arc. Another shot rang out.

  Gotcha, you fool. Now knowing the sniper’s position, she didn’t need to waste many more bullets before the weapon’s fire stopped altogether, and silence once again reigned on the trail.

  Too silent. Ohmygod. Was Karim badly injured? Or had the sniper’s bullet stopped him for good?

  Chapter 4

  Still as a rock and with his face ashen—blue in the moonlight—Karim looked dead when Morgan reached his side. Leaning over him, she bent close enough to feel his warm breath against her cheek.

  He was alive. Thank God.

  With her chest tight and her throat clogged with fear for his life, she took a moment trying to judge where he’d been hit. There wasn’t any blood. None that she could see. So where…?

  Then she spotted it. A huge, burned-black bullet hole right in the middle of his chest. But no blood.

  Ripping frantically at the straps of his pack and the tapes holding his high-tech water-containment system, she finally removed them and, with trembling fingers, set to work unbuttoning his shirt. One button was all it took for her to realize what had happened.

  Karim had been wearing a Kevlar vest.

  She sighed deep, full of gratitude for his precautions. He started to moan, gasping and jerking as if he wanted to sit up.

  “Stay still,” she whispered. “You probably need medical attention.”

  But if he did, she wasn’t sure how they could reach it.

  He gulped in more air and groaned. “Hell… Hurts like a bitch.”

  “Stay still,” she repeated. “You’ve been hit.”

  “No…” he stammered
“…vest. Be okay.”

  Damn, but she sure hoped so. Her heart and head were thundering as if it’d been her that had taken the hit.

  “Need… Need…” He blinked and tried to focus on her face.

  “Water.” Of course. She helped raise his head so he could drink.

  He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Help me to my feet.”

  “Not yet. Lie still. You may have internal injuries.”

  “The snip…” He coughed and groaned again. “What happened?”

  “I took the sniper out. A single gunman.”

  “Watching… Waiting for his chance.” Karim shifted and bit his lip. “We need to move… Cover.” But every time he tried to roll, the pain seemed to smack him back down.

  “Easy. Take it easy. Just lie there for a few minutes. Maybe the pain will back off. Give me a chance to look around.” She started to rise, checking in every direction.

  “My…job.” His voice had grown so faint she could barely hear him anymore.

  She stopped, leaned close again. “I know it’s your job. But let me handle things this one time. I won’t go far.”

  Her chest was on fire in sympathy. He probably wasn’t fatally injured. Just hurting badly. She felt his pain as if it were her injury. But there wasn’t a lot she could do for him. And a man like this would not be an easy patient. He needed to stay quiet for a few hours.

  Karim stirred again. Groaned. Cursed in a language she didn’t understand. But she knew the sentiment very well.

  Were they in danger here? Would that sniper’s buddies come looking for him soon? She concentrated for the moment on what that sniper must’ve been all about. He had obviously been tracking them for hours. Maybe since they’d first entered the mountains. Did he have a way of communicating with his compatriots?

  A cell wouldn’t work around these cliffs. And the probability seemed slim that a lone man, a man without an army platoon to back him up in this isolated country, would have access to a satellite phone.