Flight to Romance

by Tracy Sinclair

  Her eyes met his and she smiled. "I'll be here."

  After Kalim left, Jennifer was too keyed up to begin work immediately. Her body still tingled from his touch and her mouth enjoyed the aftertaste of his kisses. Standing motionless, she wondered what complete possession would be like? A quiver in the pit of her stomach warned her that it was too compelling to dwell on.

  Deciding that she would be better off working than thinking, Jennifer approached the desk. Kalim had given her a very complicated statistical chart to type and now seemed the perfect time. She needed something that would demand her full concentration. While putting the scattered pages in order, she discovered that one was missing. Perhaps Kalim had taken it into the other room to make some notations.

  Jennifer started for his bedroom in a very businesslike manner and then stopped on the threshold. The maid hadn't been in to clean yet and return it to the sterile impersonality that is the goal of every hotel throughout the world, so the room was still imbued with his presence.

  His pajama bottoms were cast carelessly over a chair, although no top was in evidence. For a moment Jennifer had a vision of that bare bronzed chest, but she shook her head to dispel it. The bed was rumpled and the pillow still bore the imprint of his head. It drew her like a magnet.

  As she was reaching out to touch it, unable to stop herself, an imperious voice rang out. "What are you doing in here?" Ayesha demanded.

  Snatching her hand back, Jennifer said, "I… I was looking for a missing page of a report."

  "Did you expect to find it in the bed?" The question was contemptuous, as though the other girl recognized her need for any contact with him. Without waiting for a reply, she asked curtly, "Where is Kalim?"

  "He went to the conference."

  "Those stupid meetings," the dark-haired girl muttered under her breath. Then, with a mercurial change of subject: "When are you going home?"

  Jennifer clenched her hands but managed to answer calmly, "I don't know. Why don't you ask Mr. Kahira?"

  "I wouldn't bother him with anything so trivial."

  Jennifer shrugged and turned toward the door, too angry to trust herself to reply. But Ayesha stopped her. "Just how well do you know Kalim?"

  "Not very," Jennifer admitted, remembering all his complexities.

  "I thought so." A smug smile crossed the other girl's face. "It did not help you to run after him, did it?"

  "Just exactly what are you implying?"

  "Kalim is a very handsome man," Ayesha said. "I have always known that he is irresistible to women, but he cannot be blamed if silly girls take his attentions seriously."

  "Meaning me?" Jennifer's eyes glittered like emeralds under a neon light.

  "You would know that better than I." Ayesha's air of confidence was enamel hard. "I was only trying to do a good deed by warning you." If so, it was probably the first good deed she had ever done, Jennifer thought cynically, but Ayesha's added words were chilling. "Kalim belongs to me. Our families look favorably on our union and I am the one he will marry."

  "And it doesn't bother you that he makes love to… other women?"

  The barb hit home and Jennifer was delighted to see her rival's face turn scarlet. "Then it is true! You have been allowing him into your bed."

  "What a quaint expression," Jennifer said coolly, although inside she was bubbling with glee.

  "You are a fool if you think you can take him from me," Ayesha hissed.

  "Are you so sure of that?"

  They were both flushed and anger crackled between them like lightning. "He is merely playing with you as he has played with all the others. I am the one he will return to, you will see!" Ayesha shouted before sweeping out the door.

  Jennifer was trembling after the ugly scene and she took a deep breath to steady herself. What the other girl had said was probably true, she realized, to her sorrow. It had been childish to pretend that she and Kalim were having an affair, but Jennifer didn't regret it. Ayesha had everything—including Kalim—but even that didn't satisfy her. She was spoiled and rude and deserved to be put down. But it didn't change anything.

  Ayesha had subtly poisoned the atmosphere, and when Jennifer wandered over to the typewriter a little later, she couldn't seem to get started. Thoughts of Kalim kept crowding out everything else, but they were no longer joyous ones. She kept remembering the way he had touched her and kissed her, but the memories were tinged now with melancholy. Was she really just a light flirtation to him? Wasn't there anything more than sex involved?

  When Kalim returned in the late afternoon, Jennifer was hard at work, trying to make up for the wasted morning. Habeeb accompanied him as always, but after checking the room with a sweeping glance, he quietly disappeared.

  "You should not still be working, little one," Kalim chided her.

  "You said I was to wait for you."

  "Yes, but I did not expect you to slave the full time." His eyes teased her gently. "I thought you would be eating bonbons and reading French novels."

  "I don't read French that well and bonbons are fattening," she laughed back at him.

  His seducing hands were at her waist and his eyes were aglow as he said, "That is one thing you do not have to worry about."

  But Jennifer stepped back. Ayesha's spiteful words were too fresh in her memory, although every instinct pleaded for a repeat of this morning's rapture. "Hadn't we better go over the releases?"

  One eyebrow rose and he rubbed the knuckle of a forefinger along the line of her jaw. "Are you sure that is what you want to do?"

  Jennifer forced her voice to remain even. "If we don't get to it, we're going to be way behind. Besides, I really want to know what's going on."

  Reluctantly, he held out a chair for her and, seating himself at her side, took some papers out of his briefcase. "You are right, my sweet."

  The next hour was stimulating. Kalim explained what had gone on at the conference and Jennifer was fascinated by this glimpse into international relations. It was exciting to be in on matters of such urgency. Personal feelings were put aside for the moment as they worked together.

  "Are you telling me that it is insulting to say, 'We must exact a fair share against each country'?" His piercing eyes examined her face.

  "I didn't say insulting, Kalim, but exact isn't the best word you could use. In English it means to demand. And I don't think I would say 'against each country.' That makes for adversaries and you want allies. Wouldn't it be better to say, 'We are requesting that each nation contribute its fair share'? Some of them won't—we know that—but at least you aren't giving them any excuse to get huffy."

  Kalim looked at her with approval and planted a congratulatory kiss on her forehead. "Jennifer, you are a genius! I am going to raise your salary."

  "That won't be necessary," she said, pleased by his reaction. "It's about time I started earning it."

  When they finally finished work, Kalim leaned back in satisfaction. "This has been very enlightening. You have earned a good dinner. Will you have it with me, Jennifer?"

  She wanted it more than anything in the world, but not this way. "You don't have to reward me. I was only doing my job."

  He took her hand and kissed the palm, then clasped it between both of his. "If I ever want to reward you, it will be with more than dinner."

  In a low husky tone she said, "I just meant… you mustn't feel you have to…"

  As her voice trailed off, he lifted her to her feet, saying, "It is always a struggle to get you to accept anything. I know this from experience. Therefore I am ordering you to wear your prettiest dress and be ready to dine with me at nine o'clock."

  A wave of happiness suffused her and she looked at him with a smile. "Well, since you put it that way, I have no choice, do I?"

  "None whatever," he assured her.

  Jennifer was ready long before the appointed hour, nervousness turning her hands to ice. This would be the first time she had been alone with Kalim since he had taken her sight-seeing. Of course,
they were alone at times in his suite, but that was more like being in an office with people going in and out and the telephone providing a constant intrusion. This was different. Tonight would be like a real date.

  Kalim called for her promptly and waited politely at the door while she gathered her things. He wore a dark suit, unlike the casual clothes she was used to seeing on him in the suite. The rich fabric accentuated his broad shoulders and the narrow trousers were molded to his powerful thigh muscles, making his masculinity almost overpowering. Jennifer felt suddenly shy and, as if he were aware of it, Kalim kept up a steady flow of conversation to put her at ease.

  Leading her across the lobby, he chatted about inconsequential things and Jennifer's tension gradually lessened. They were almost to the door when René dashed up to them.

  "Kalim, don't tell me I have finally found you!"

  "What is wrong, René?"

  "Not a thing now," the Frenchman said cheerfully. "It is just that I have been looking for you all day and leaving messages with that sauvage, Habeeb. Doesn't he ever give them to you?"

  Kalim smothered a smile. "Sometimes, when he knows I am busy and he considers it unimportant, Habeeb hesitates to disturb me."

  "Well, I like that!" René exclaimed. "It would serve you right if we had gone without you this evening." When Kalim looked blank, his friend rolled his eyes toward heaven in a Gallic gesture of annoyance. "I suppose you have forgotten that we go to The Eye of Osiris tonight?"

  Kalim's embarrassed glance at Jennifer clearly indicated that he had indeed forgotten and her heart plummeted. He had made a previous date for tonight, but it wasn't really his fault. He had much on his mind these days and she must make it as easy as possible. "It's all right. I don't mind, Kalim, truly I don't."

  But his hand closed around her wrist as she would have turned away. "Where do you think you are going? It is true that I had forgotten these plans, but it changes nothing."

  "But if you already have a date for tonight," she protested.

  Kalim's eyes smiled into hers and his tone was one of finality. "You are my date."

  "Splendid!" René seized both of her hands with typical impetuosity. "The little golden doll will, how you say—dress up the act! And if Kalim is not good to you, I shall steal you away from him."

  The two men led her up to the waiting group and Jennifer's delight at being included died a swift death when she saw that Ayesha was part of it. The perfect evening started to crumble until she noticed that the other girl was standing next to a tall blond man who had his hand on her arm. He was introduced as Hans Von Slagen.

  Amidst general confusion, the party all separated into various cars and then reassembled after a short drive. The Eye of Osiris was a nightclub and Jennifer found out that the big attraction was a beautiful belly dancer who was currently the toast of Cairo.

  They were shown to a large table and as usual Ayesha maneuvered it so that she was sitting beside Kalim, but Jennifer refused to let it bother her. It promised to be an exciting evening and she was determined not to let the spiteful brunette spoil it for her.

  Conversation around the table was general and to her surprise Jennifer didn't feel ill at ease. Everyone seemed genuinely interested in her. René asked questions about San Francisco since it had been a long time since he had been there, and his companion, a petite redhead named Martine, added her own queries.

  "Do you still have those charming shops in Chinatown?" René asked. "So amazing," he told the others. "The amount of beautiful things is unbelievable."

  "Kalim can give you a report on that. I gave him the deluxe tour." Jennifer's eyes met Kalim's and they smiled at the shared memory.

  His hand covered hers where it was lying on the table, but before he could answer Ayesha plucked at his sleeve. "You haven't said yet if you are going to join us on the Riviera next month."

  Jennifer attempted to retrieve her hand, but his tightened over it as she was forced to answer Rena's questions herself. They talked about Chinatown and other places she had taken Kalim and Martine said, "Has he shown you Cairo? He owes it to you after all your kind hospitality."

  "He took me to see the Pyramids and to lunch at a wonderful restaurant, the…" Jennifer's soft brow furrowed and she looked to Kalim to supply the name.

  Once again Ayesha interrupted. "Kalim, my love, you simply must settle an argument for us."

  But he surveyed her with a glint in his eye that displayed his impatience. "Ayesha, may I remind you that Hans is your escort this evening? I suggest that you talk to him." When she turned an ugly red, his tone softened slightly, but the steel in it was still evident. "When you were a child I taught you many things. How did I overlook manners?"

  Ayesha was breathing hard, but she chose to take his words as a joke. Glancing at Jennifer, who was trying to hide her embarrassment, a sly look came into the snapping black eyes. "It is true, Kalim taught me everything I know." The gaze she gave him through her thick lashes was sensually provocative as she added, "And if I can please him, I can please any man."

  The laughter was general and Jennifer forced herself to join in, although she felt faintly sick. Was it true? Were she and Kalim lovers? Had he held her and touched her in the same way that he had caressed Jennifer? A lump rose in her throat and she looked down at the hands clasped in her lap.

  Kalim's arm was around her shoulders and his mouth close to her ear. "I am sorry," he said softly.

  Sorry that Ayesha had been rude to her? Sorry that he had made a small scene and knew Jennifer was embarrassed by it? Or sorry because she knew he and Ayesha were lovers? She raised troubled eyes to his but could find no answer.

  They had proceeded through many courses of exotic food and the waiter was removing the last of the dishes when a loud drumroll announced the start of the floor show. Expectant faces were turned to the dance floor and the pulsing music took on an excited beat.

  The curtains parted and a beautiful raven-haired girl made her sinuous way to the middle of the floor. A spotlight caught the bejeweled gold belt that sat low on her rounded hips. Long gauzy scarves were attached to the belt and they swirled around her bare legs as her body twisted sensuously. A low-cut bra matched the belt and her full breasts strained against their confinement as she undulated to the throbbing music.

  It was a seductive dance and the beautiful, lithe body, so liquidly supple, made its invitation unmistakable. The exotic girl twirled around the outer edge of the floor, pausing to trail her scarves tantalizingly over some of the men at the ringside tables, but when she reached Kalim, he was the recipient of her full efforts. Swaying invitingly, she performed as though for his eyes alone. He smiled indulgently and Jennifer admired his aplomb since he was the center of attention.

  When the show was over, they all agreed that the performer deserved her acclaim.

  "It might look easy, but it isn't," Martine declared. "I took lessons once and I was sore for a week."

  "What marvelous exercise though. All that twisting and turning should really flatten the tummy," Jennifer remarked.

  The men's comments were predictably different and everyone laughed. Jennifer enjoyed every moment of the evening and wondered how she could ever have felt strange with these people.

  When it was time to leave, she looked at Kalim with shining eyes. "Thank you for a marvelous evening."

  His mouth tilted upward in amusement. "You are supposed to say that when I take you home."

  "I couldn't wait," she said simply. "I know this is just another evening to you, but it's been a real treat for me. Everyone's been so nice to me."

  "You make it very easy." He took her hands and there was such warmth in his gaze that Jennifer felt her pulses quicken. "But you are wrong about one thing." She looked at him questioningly. "It was not just another evening for me."

  Happiness settled around her like a velvet cloak, but she was gripped with shyness. Sensing her sudden confusion, Kalim put his arm lightly around her shoulders and led her from the restaurant.r />
  The entire party went back to the hotel for a nightcap in the bar, but after a very short time Kalim made their excuses, pleading an early-morning appointment. The others stayed on and Ayesha watched their departure with calculating eyes.

  As they got off the elevator Jennifer felt her breath catch in her throat. For the first time all night she and Kalim were truly alone—but it was only for a moment, common sense reminded her. The evening was over. Was he planning on kissing her good night? Jennifer was appalled at the fierce hunger that swept her at the thought and knew it must be avoided at all costs. If he touched her, if that warm mouth covered her own, parting her lips in that experienced way he had of arousing desires that demanded fulfillment… She put the image determinedly out of her mind.

  They had reached Kalim's door and Jennifer stopped when he would have gone on. Turning to him, she extended her hand. "Good night, Kalim, and thank you again."

  Raising one eyebrow sardonically, he said, "I know that women's liberation is very big in your country, but in mine a gentleman walks a lady to her door, not vice versa."

  "But I'm just down the hall."

  "Nevertheless." Taking her arm firmly, he walked her to her room and held out his hand. "The key."

  She produced it reluctantly and as their fingers touched she pulled her hand away quickly and then was furious with herself. He looked at her in amused awareness and her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. Ducking her head, Jennifer tried to hide her embarrassment from him, but it was no use.

  Kalim broke the small silence and his voice was wry. "You are a small enchantress, Jennifer. One moment you are a beautiful, provocative woman, the next, a bashful little child. Which one is the real you?"

  "I don't know." Her voice was strangled.

  "I think you do, but you are afraid to admit the truth even to yourself." His voice was low and sensual. "You were made for love. Why are you so frightened of it?" She half turned in flight, but his firm hands on her shoulders prevented it. "No, no, do not run away from me."

  "It's late," she whispered.

  Ignoring her protest, his dark eyes swept her body and every nerve quickened as though he had actually touched her. "You have beautiful breasts," he remarked almost absently. "They were made to be caressed." Her breath caught as she remembered that he knew exactly what she looked like. His hands slid up her slender neck and, cupping her face in his palms, he inspected it thoughtfully. "You have the face of a golden-haired angel. What man could resist that lovely mouth?"