Danger in the Desert. Merline Lovelace

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СКАЧАТЬ knew it, too. She’d contorted in the saddle and was pointing repeatedly toward the buses. The incipient panic on her face elicited a twitter of dismay from her older traveling companion.

      “Hanif!” The woman turned to an Egyptian in a cheap green suit ringed with sweat at the armpits. “Jaci wants to come back. Do something!”

      The man—a guard assigned to the group, judging by the weapon bulging the back flap of his suit coat—cast a glance at the duo.

      “Do not worry. They will return.”

      Ace hid a predatory smile. Perfect! He’d just been handed the ideal opportunity. His instructions were to get close to the target. What better way to win her trust than to rescue her from an unscrupulous camel driver?

      He took off at an easy lope. Luckily, the sand on the plateau had been packed hard by centuries of tourists and plodding camels. Ace barely broke a sweat before he got within shouting distance.

      “Stop, you son of a flea-bitten dog!”

      It was one of the more useful Arabic phrases he’d learned from Kahil. Very handy when dealing with pickpockets and Cairo’s suicidal taxi drivers.

      The driver jerked around and cursed. Ace bit out an oath of his own when the man lashed his beast with a whip. The lead camel stretched his neck and broke into a hump-rolling gallop. When the second beast did the same, its rider shrieked and toppled sideways.

      Christ! The woman was going to fall right out of the saddle!

      Ace sprinted the last three yards and caught her just as she tumbled to the ground. He broke her fall, but she took him down with her. Grunting, they hit the sand and sprawled there, hips and legs tangled, while the driver and his camels galloped off.

      “I … uh …”

      Scrambling for purchase, the target dug an elbow into Ace’s sternum. She levered up, then used her free hand to shove back the rankest turban he’d ever smelled.

      “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

      “I will be.” Manfully, he repressed a grimace. “As soon as you remove your elbow.”

      “Huh? Oh!”

      She squirmed, digging the bony joint in deeper.

      “Sorry.”

      Her face brick-red, she wiggled off him. She managed to mash her breasts into his chest in the process. The connoisseur in Ace didn’t fail to note they were as lush and ripe as her lips even as the undercover operative took full advantage of her obvious embarrassment.

      “No problem.” He rolled to his feet and held out a hand. “Here. Let me help you up.”

      “Thanks. I … ouch!”

      Her leg folding, she almost went down again. Ace kept a grip on her hand and slid his other arm around her waist.

      “Your ankle?”

      “My knee. I banged it coming down.” Biting her lip, she took a tentative step. “It’s not bad. Just a little …”

      When she broke off, wincing, Ace almost didn’t believe his luck. He couldn’t have scripted a better scenario.

      “Better let me carry you back to your bus.”

      “No, really. I’m okay.”

      Ignoring her protest, he scooped her into his arms. The foul-smelling turban fell off, thank God. They left it in the dirt and started up the slope.

      “I’m Jaci.” Self-consciously, she hooked an arm around his neck. “Jaci Thornton.”

      “Deke Griffin.”

      “You’re an American.”

      It was a statement, not a question, but he nodded anyway. “Yep.”

      “Are you on a tour, too?”

      “Business.” His civilian occupation provided the perfect cover. “I flew over to do some consulting. Just got in today and decided to stop by the pyramids on my way into town.”

      She gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m certainly glad you did.”

      Whoa! The woman’s passport photo hadn’t done her justice. Ace could see himself in her eyes. The irises were greener than they’d appeared in the photo, almost as deep and verdant as the palms lining the Nile. Her shy smile and the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose gave her a kind of girl-next-door appeal.

      Definitely not his style. Aside from the fact she was his target and therefore off-limits, Ace went for less wholesome types. But he had to admit she made for a nice armful. Firm thighs, slender hips, narrow waist. The behind pressing against him wasn’t bad, either. Not bad at all.

      “Jaci!”

      Led by the diminutive woman in the Gator visor, Thornton’s travel companions rushed to greet her.

      “We saw you fall! Are you hurt?”

      “I’m okay. Just, uh, banged my knee a little.”

      “More than a little if you can’t walk. You’d better have it x-rayed, dear. Hanif, where’s the nearest hospital?”

      The gun-toting guard frowned. “Not far. I will call someone to take her, yes? The rest of you can go on with the tour.”

      Jaci’s heart sank. The next portion of their itinerary included a visit to the base of the Great Pyramid, time to explore the Sphinx and dinner at an open-air restaurant before the spectacular laser light show telling the history of these ancient monuments. She couldn’t come all this way and miss the show.

      “I don’t need to go to a hospital. Really.”

      Hard to sound convincing while hefted in the arms of a total stranger. Embarrassed all over again, Jaci wiggled against his chest.

      “You can put me down, Mr. Griffin. I’m fine.”

      Except she wasn’t. When her tall, broad-shouldered rescuer eased her to her feet, she grimaced and had to lean heavily on his arm.

      “I’ll just …” She gulped, fighting tears of both pain and disappointment. “I’ll just take a taxi back to the hotel and wrap my knee in ice. If it’s still hurting tomorrow, I’ll find a doctor.”

      “Oh, Jaci.” Susan Grimes clucked her tongue in sympathy. “I know how much you were looking forward to the Sound and Light Show this evening.”

      “How about I offer a solution?”

      The whole group, Jaci included, looked to her rescuer.

      She’d had plenty of time to study his profile while he’d carted her up the slope. The strong, square chin. The gray eyes framed by lashes as black as his neatly trimmed hair. The faded, almost invisible scar above his left eyebrow.

      She’d СКАЧАТЬ