Page 51 of Kismet

“Allegra is a woman of principles. She refuses to rob a cradle.”

“Cradle!” the boy sputtered with fury. “You only want her for yourself.”

“Hakim.” There was a sharp warning in Sheikh Mahmoud’s voice as he sent his son a hard look. “See to the caravan. We’ll set up camp west of Shaheen’s position.”

Anger darkened the young man’s face as he scowled at his father and then Shaheen. It was clear he wanted to protest Khalid’s orders, but with an explosive noise of outrage, he whirled his horse around and raced back toward the approaching caravan.

“He is obsessed with this Synnford woman.” Khalid sighed.

“It’s an infatuation. It will pass.” He didn’t look at the Sheikh as he kept his gaze on the boy he’d been a surrogate uncle to for the past fifteen years.

“I believe so, too,” the Sheikh said as he gestured for them to continue forward. “Unfortunately, it has done little for his relationship with you.”

“It’s time he spread his wings.” He grimaced and lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. “You always talk about how much he looks up to me. Best he learns now I have feet of clay.”

“And the woman?”

Caught off guard, he stiffened in his saddle and shot his friend a quick glance. “Allegra? What about her?”

“Is Hakim correct in his belief that you’ve laid claim to her?”

He winced. While it was true in the beginning that he’d not had any plans to make her his, things had changed. Allegra had chosen him. Agreed to be his mistress. When Hakim learned that fact, there would be hell to pay. The question was—how to break the news to the boy without destroying their relationship completely. Beside him, Khalid cleared his throat.

“It would seem that Hakim’s assertions are not without substance.” The Sheikh’s voice was neutral, but the thread of amusement running beneath his words as they drew close to the camp’s outer perimeter was distinct. “You’ve claimed the woman as your own?”

Khalid’s question forced a laugh out of him. He shook his head as he smiled with a sense of irony. “No man ever lays claim to Allegra, and God help the man who forgets it.”

“You speak as though you have firsthand knowledge in these matters.” This time a smile curved Khalid’s mouth.

“I have,” he admitted in a grudgingly exasperated manner. “But I know that if Allegra had been any other courtesan, she’d have eaten Hakim and spit him out four or five times over.”

“And how many times has she done this to you?” Laughing, the Sheikh wagged his finger at Shaheen. “I’m eager to meet this woman who distracts you so easily.”

The moment they reached the edge of the camp, their conversation ended as people surged forward to greet their leader. Grateful he was no longer the target of his friend’s amusement, he found himself searching the crowd for Allegra. Not seeing her, tension tightened his body.

Seconds later, relief slammed into him as he caught sight of her auburn curls. From his position near Khalid, he could see her watching the caravan’s arrival with curiosity. He took pleasure in studying her oval features. The woman was a conundrum. One minute she was filled with a fiery confidence, the next she displayed a vulnerability that aroused a protective instinct in him. Something he’d only experienced with those closest to him.

Damnation, he was reading more into his reaction than necessary. It was natural to protect what was his. When he’d had his fill of her, the urge would disappear. He ignored the laughter in the back of his head as he dismounted and waited on Khalid. With a glance in his friend’s direction, he saw the Sheikh catch sight of Allegra. The Amazigh leader’s head jerked in his direction as he strode over to him.

“Is that her?” Khalid asked. “Hakim described a woman with long auburn hair.”

“One of Nassar’s women cut it off.” His gut twisted as he remembered when they’d brought her into Nassar’s tent.

“My brother has a great deal to pay for,” Khalid said with a dark scowl. “Come, introduce me to your guest.”

The Sheikh clasped his hand on Shaheen’s shoulder and they moved to where Allegra was standing. Despite her wariness, Khalid’s gift of charm worked its usual miracle. Almost too well, he thought as he watched her flash a brilliant smile at his friend. It sent a jolt of jealousy surging through Shaheen. Gritting his teeth, he dismissed the sensation. Khalid had never forgotten his wife nor would he betray him by attempting to win her from him. Aware of his friend’s amused gaze, he scowled. Khalid was going to be a nuisance when it came to his relationship with Allegra.

“Miss Allegra, oh my lord, is it really you?” Millie’s strong English accent made Allegra’s head jerk toward the sound. “I’ve been worried half out of my mind.”

The sight of the older woman made Allegra sway on her feet as her face paled. Shaheen’s hand steadied her, but she pulled free of the light grasp and ran to meet her friend. The two women hugged each other, with Millie chattering away. Allegra’s happiness illuminated her features, and he found himself wishing he, and not Khalid, had been the one to reunite her with her friend. With a dark frown at the sentiment, he turned his head to see his friend studying him with a look of assessment.

“I noticed the henna markings on her hand,” Khalid murmured. “Laila tells me the seer in Marrakech painted the markings of fire on Allegra’s hand.”

“Did she? I hadn’t noticed,” he muttered as he fought to bury his surprise beneath a mask of indifference. He’d been too preoccupied with other things to note the details of her tattoo.

“Apparently Fatima said Allegra was your destiny.” Khalid chuckled. “And . . . how shall I put this . . . Halah has been quite eager to meet thejahīm anasi.”

Jahīm anasi. The woman of fire. A deep groan rolled out of him. The seer would delight in reminding him that she’d foretold his meeting Allegra more than a year ago. At the time he’d laughed at the old woman, but now her words haunted him in a manner that was far from comfortable. A woman of fire will leave her mark until your past unites with your future.