A Summer Smile

7

The meadow of wild poppies seemed to stretch into forever and beyond. The silken scarlet of the petals was still trembling beneath the weight of the crystal dew and the breeze of dawn whipped across them like the murmur of a lover.

“It’s beautiful.” Zilah’s voice was as hushed as the world around them. The sun was just rising above the tamarisk trees in the distance, streaking the sky with hazy pink and gold. “I’ve never seen such heavenly colors.” She lifted her face and let the cool breeze touch her cheeks, inundating her with the sheer sensual pleasure of sight, touch, and scent. She breathed in the fragrance of the rich earth blended subtly with the tamarisk and the poppy. It was so intoxicating, it almost made her dizzy. “Why didn’t you bring me here before?”

“I didn’t want to venture outside the pasture,” Daniel said as he swung out of the saddle and flung the reins over the head of the big bay he had been riding. “I wasn’t sure you were strong enough. Even though this meadow is only a little beyond the tamarisks on the far side of the pasture, I’m not a good enough rider to get you out of trouble if you tired. Old Dobbin, here, and I still aren’t sure we trust each other.”

She shook her head. “You’ve done marvelously well for having ridden only a week.” She slipped off her gray mare into his arms, automatically steeling herself for the little sensual shock that always came when he touched her. Friends. Most of the time it was easier to remember the ground rules he had laid down. Today it wasn’t quite so easy in this paradise of sunrise and poppies.

He shook his head. “We both know I’ll never be anything but an adequate rider. The only reason I have as much control as I do over this trusty steed is that I have a pair of powerful legs I can wrap around him to show who’s boss.”

She smiled with an effort. “Actually, I think Pandora intimidated you into being overcareful. I’ve found she has the devotion of a she-wolf when her maternal instincts are aroused. She’s been practically smothering me with attention this past week.”

“I know, she won’t even let me in your room,” Daniel said sourly. “It’s practically thrown Philip into shock. He suspects you of using hypnosis on her.”

“Just kindness,” Zilah said quietly. “He should try it sometime.”

“I think he’s a little afraid to encourage her. Pandora can be overwhelming.” He met her eyes steadily. “Perhaps not encouraging her is his own way of being kind to her. He doesn’t want to hurt her.”

Was there a double meaning in that explanation? Had she been so transparent that he thought she needed a warning? She wasn’t very accomplished at hiding her feelings. “The hurt will come anyway.” She turned away. “And at least she’d have something to remember. A good memory to temper the bad ones.” She glanced over her shoulder to smile at him. “And I want to create a beautiful memory right now. Have you ever run through a field of wild poppies, Daniel?”

He shook his head. A wavering ray of light tangled in his hair, turning it into silken flame. He was dressed in a blue chambray shirt that stretched over his broad shoulders and clung to his trim waist. His worn jeans were tucked into suede boots. It was another memory to hold on to: Daniel with the sunrise in his hair. “I can’t say that I have.”

“Neither have I. Come on. Let’s do it!” She turned and raced into the meadow. The wind was cool and stinging on her cheeks and the colors and scents flowed around her in a blur that shimmered with exquisite radiance. She could hear Daniel’s footsteps behind her, the harsh sound of his breathing. Her own lungs were hurting but she didn’t want to stop. She never wanted to stop.

“Zilah, that’s enough.”

She could hear a note of grimness in Daniel’s voice that shocked her, and her pace faltered slightly.

“If you don’t stop, so help me I’m going to tackle you.”

She halted and turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”

He overtook her in two strides. His hands fell heavily on her shoulders. “What’s wrong is that you’re acting like a crazy woman. You’ve been ill, remember? Now you’re behaving as if you’re training for the Olympic one-hundred-yard dash.” He shook her slightly. “I thought you were trying to make it clear to the other side of the meadow.”

“Well, why didn’t you stop me before? I got a little carried away, but I’m not unreasonable.”

“Because I couldn’t catch you, dammit.” His lips curved ruefully. “I’m built more for endurance than for speed.”

She flung back her head and laughed joyously. “Daniel, there’s no one like you. You always speak the exact truth no matter how it may hurt your ego.” There was a strange look on his face that caused the laughter to fade from hers. “What’s wrong now?”

“I’ve never heard you laugh before,” he said simply. “I like it.”

She felt more breathless than when she had been running. “Then I’ll try to do it more often. I didn’t realize that I was being such a sad sack.” She fell to her knees in the poppies. “Maybe you’re right, my legs do feel a little weak.”

He knelt down beside her and leaned back on his heels. “Mine too.” His eyes were narrowed on her face. “You’re never gloomy. You’re always smiling and serene.” He reached out and touched her cheek with a gentle finger. “And beautiful. Always beautiful, old friend.”

Another memory. Old friend. This time it sounded like a lover’s endearment again.

“Pandora wouldn’t consider that a compliment,” she said shakily. “She thinks beautiful women are good only for one purpose.” Her lashes veiled her eyes as she reached out to pluck one of the poppies that surrounded them. She wished she hadn’t said that. It brought too vivid an image to mind. Daniel, strong and naked, making love to her in the big bed in her room with its cool satin sheets. She had never really seen him loving her. There had been only the darkness and the passion. Yet it had been more than enough at the time. She hurriedly tried to blank out the thought. She mustn’t ask too much. These past ten days had been beautiful too, and they had to be enough. Daniel had been as kind and gentle as an older brother to a beloved little sister. A very fragile little sister, however, she thought wistfully. It was almost as if he were afraid to touch her even in the most platonic way. Couldn’t he see that she was almost entirely well now? He might no longer desire her, but even casual friends exchanged a casual caress now and then.

They had grown close in so many ways. They had talked, played games, shared meals and experiences. She felt she knew him better than anyone in her entire life. He was part of her life now. How was she going to stand it when he considered her well enough to return to Zalandan and went about his own life? Would he visit her occasionally? Probably. He considered her a good friend, and Daniel was very loyal to his friends.

“You’re not smiling anymore. What are you thinking about?”

“Zalandan.” One finger smoothed the silky petals of the poppy on her lap. “I called my mother last night. David and Billie are home from New York. She said he was very upset that no one had told him about the hijacking. He wanted to know when I was coming home.”

“Then he can keep on wondering,” Daniel said harshly. “You’re not well enough to travel yet. Dr. Madchen told you that yesterday, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he told me that.” The decision had brought a surge of pure joy. “But it’s only a matter of time until he releases me. I feel so well now. David was surprised he hadn’t done it already. He said he was going to call him and discuss the case with him.”

“We’ve done fine without your precious David’s interference so far. You can tell him to mind his own damn business.” Then, when he saw the shock on her face, his lips twisted. “But you couldn’t tell him that, could you? You owe him too much. He’s your best friend.”

She shook her head. “He’s my good friend,” she corrected him softly. “Not my best one. Not anymore. You’re my best friend, Daniel.”

He went still. Something flared in his face and was quickly masked. “How is Bradford going to take that? You’ve been his special property for a long time.”

“David doesn’t believe that caring should be some kind of competition. He’s a very beautiful human being, Daniel. There are times when he reminds me of a high mountain lake, clean and deep and crystal-clear. I want you to know him.”

“I’m not sure I want to,” he said tersely. “Unlike Bradford, I’m intensely competitive, and I might find meeting such a paragon a little hard on my ego. You could never compare me to a blasted mountain lake.”

“It shouldn’t bother you.” She smiled gently. “You’re something of a paragon yourself. It’s true you’re no clear mountain lake. You’re more like the sea. Rough and powerful and yet capable of sustaining life, even giving life. I think you’d get along very well with David.”

His expression was stunned. “I’ll try,” he said gruffly. “I know he means a lot to you. That’s part of my problem. I’ve always been a jealous bastard.” He grimaced. “I suppose it goes back to when I was a kid and had to grab what I wanted and hold on tight to keep it from being taken away from me. I guess I’m still grabbing.”

“There’s no need to grab what I’m willing to give,” Zilah said. She reached out a hand to touch his arm. He tensed and she could feel the muscles bunch beneath her fingertips. She felt an aching pain at that unconscious physical rejection but she tried to keep it from her voice. “I don’t believe in half measures, Daniel. If you care for someone, you give everything they want or need.”

His harsh laugh held a note of pain. “That’s right. You told me you’d sleep with Bradford in a minute if he asked it of you. That it wasn’t important. I take it I’m now being sheltered under that same umbrella of generosity with the same carte blanche?”

She froze, her eyes widening. “If that’s what you want,” she managed to get out.

“Well, it’s not what I want.” His hands were unconsciously clenched into fists. His blue eyes were blazing in his pale face. “And it is important, dammit. Your body has value just as your mind and spirit do. You shouldn’t treat it as something to throw away on anyone who reaches out to take it.”

She felt as if he’d struck her. “It’s not like that,” she said shakily. “I’m not like that. Not with just anyone, Daniel.”

“Oh, God, I know that.” The words were wrenched out of him. His hands reached out to cup her shoulders. They were trembling. “It just drives me crazy when you say something like that. You’re so damn beautiful. Inside and out you’re beautiful. Don’t you know that? The world out there can be so dark and ugly, and you shine like a candle in that darkness. People like me need to know that there are little flickers of hope out there. So, dammit, shine proudly, Zilah.”

She was staring at him with her mouth slightly open. She felt as if she’d received the Nobel Peace Prize. She closed her lips and smiled at him with a radiant warmth that lit her face. “Candles and lakes and seas. We both seem to be full of metaphors this morning.” She glanced behind her at the field of poppies bending in the breeze. “It must be the surroundings. Poppies have to be one of the most beautiful flowers on earth.” She shook her head in wonder. “And I used to hate them.”

“Zilah…”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? But the fruit of the poppy is opium, you know.”

“I know.” Daniel’s hands tightened on her shoulders. His expression was guarded and intent.

“Heroin. I couldn’t stand the thought of that ugliness coming from such beauty. It took me a long time to come to terms with the idea. But I gradually began to be more objective about it.” She looked down at the poppy clutched in her hand. “There is never just one side to anything. Opium can bring evil and yet it can stop agony as well. A poppy can beget horror, yet it can lift the heart with its beauty. Now I just try to embrace the beauty and live with the knowledge of the darker side.” She moistened her lips nervously and looked up to meet his eyes. “I know I seem to be rambling on, but I’m trying to tell you something. I probably should have told you before, but it still hurts me to talk about it.”

“Then don’t tell me,” he said roughly. “I don’t need to know. I don’t have any right to know if it’s going to hurt you.”

“But David knows,” she said, her expression troubled. “I don’t want you to feel I’m keeping something from you that I’d share with him.”

“I’m not that competitive. I don’t need you to bare your soul to me to give me an advantage over Bradford.”

Relief surged through her, making her almost light-headed. “All right. Not now, then. I’ll tell you soon though.”

His hand reached out to brush his knuckles over her lips to the curve of her jaw in a gentle caress. “When you’re ready, I’ll still be here to listen.” His hand dropped away and he was suddenly on his feet. “But, if I’m going to make sure you’re still around, I’d better get you back to the house and see that you get some breakfast.” His hand reached down and he pulled her up. “You’re still on the sick list.”

She shook her head. Daniel was being very much the big brother again. Yet she wasn’t as discouraged as she might have been. The morning had been so full of beauty and revelation that it had planted a tiny seed of hope. Daniel did care about her. Perhaps even more than he realized. If she nurtured that seed, perhaps it would blossom as beautifully as this lovely poppy in her hand.

She reached up and tucked the green stem of the flower into the top buttonhole of Daniel’s blue shirt. “Yes, let’s get back,” she said lightly. “Or Pandora just may swipe Oedipus again and come looking for us!”

Pandora appeared surprisingly unconcerned when Zilah walked into the room. She was sitting cross-legged on the Oriental carpet by the bed scratching Androcles’s belly and she glanced up with a grin. “Will you look at that? I think he’s going to start to purr any minute.”

“Could be.” Zilah dropped down beside her on the floor and gingerly patted the cub’s head. “I think he’s grown in the last week.”

Pandora nodded. “I know he has,” she said sadly. “It won’t be long before I have to give him up.” She brightened. “But not yet.” She picked the cub up and put him over her shoulder like a baby about to be burped, her hand lazily scratching the tiger’s furry nape. “Have you had breakfast?”

“Daniel and I ate in the breakfast room when we came back from our ride.” Zilah raised a brow quizzically. “You seem to be very casual all of a sudden. What happened to all that mother-hen clucking?”

“You’re well now.” Pandora shrugged. “You don’t need it anymore. I could tell when my father examined you yesterday that it was only a matter of form. He didn’t think you were ill any longer.”

“Well, then why wouldn’t he release me?” Zilah asked, puzzled. “You have to be mistaken.”

“I’m not mistaken.” Pandora’s lips curved in a bittersweet smile. “I’ve learned to read my father very well over the years. I don’t know why he didn’t release you, but it wasn’t because you weren’t entirely well. Maybe Philip told him not to. My father likes the lifestyle Philip provides here in Sedikhan. He does what Philip tells him to do.”

“I hardly think your friend, the sheikh, is craving my company to that extent,” Zilah said dryly. “Though I admit he’s been very courteous when our paths happened to cross lately. I’m hardly on his list of favorite people.”

“But Daniel Seifert is on that list,” Pandora said calmly. “And Daniel wants you.”

Zilah felt a shock jolt through her. “Daniel is my friend,” she said huskily.

“He wants to go to bed with you,” Pandora said bluntly. “He watches you all the time. I bet he can scarcely keep his hands off you.” She lowered her lashes so their length veiled her eyes. “I know how a man looks at a woman when he wants to sleep with her. I’ve seen it often enough.”

Philip and his many khadims? Zilah felt a surge of aching sympathy for the child-woman who was Pandora.

“You’re wrong about Daniel,” she said gently. “He doesn’t want me in that way.”

Pandora shrugged. “You’ll find out. I don’t know what you’re so uptight about. You want him too.” She glanced up suddenly. Her magnificent raven-dark eyes were sharp as diamonds. “Don’t you?”

Zilah didn’t answer for a moment. “Yes, I want him,” she finally said softly. “But I also love him. The two don’t come in separate packages for me, Pandora.” It was strange to say the words aloud. She felt lighter, as if a burden had been lifted from her.

“Nor for me either,” Pandora whispered, rubbing her cheek against the cub’s soft fur. She closed her eyes. “Isn’t that funny? Philip never has a problem like that. Neither does my mother.”

“Your mother?” Zilah had somehow thought Pandora’s mother was dead. The girl had never spoken of her before.

“My mother’s on her sixth husband now,” Pandora said. “She’s one of the beautiful ones.” She opened her eyes. “She’s an actress. Not a very good one, but then, she doesn’t have to be.”

“Your parents are divorced?”

“Since I was three. My father hates her,” Pandora said dispassionately. “I don’t hate her. She isn’t cruel or heartless or anything like that. She’s just selfish and likes to have a good time. She insisted I come and visit her in Hollywood four years ago and she was quite nice to me.”

Quite nice to her own daughter? Somehow the phrase was more poignant than a brutal condemnation would have been. “You were probably very easy to be nice to.”

Pandora shook her head and suddenly the sadness was gone from her face. She grinned mischievously. “No, I was hell on wheels even then. She was glad to see me leave. Did you know that according to myth, Vulcan created Pandora out of clay?”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“Well, he did. But Philip says I definitely don’t have feet of clay. He says they have to be hooves.” Her eyes were twinkling. “I asked him if he meant a horse’s hooves or Satan’s cloven hooves, but he wouldn’t tell me. He said that either concept would fit admirably.”

“It sounds like him.” Zilah got to her feet. “I have to leave now. I promised to meet Daniel at the pool at eleven for a swim. Do you have enough books to keep you occupied or should I go to the library and pick up a few more?”

“I have enough.” Pandora’s expression was suddenly speculative. “I may give Androcles a bath. Tigers are supposed to be able to swim, aren’t they? I wonder if it’s instinctive or if they have to be taught.”

“Oh, dear, now you’re giving him swimming lessons?”

“If he’s going into a wildlife reserve, he has to have all the skills to survive,” Pandora said earnestly. “I’m sure it won’t take long. Androcles is very clever.”

“You don’t mind if I use the bathroom first to change into my swimming suit and braid my hair?” Zilah asked politely. “If it wouldn’t be too much bother?”

“Am I being pushy?” Pandora asked a little uncertainly. “You don’t really mind our being here, do you?”

Zilah tousled the top of Pandora’s silky head affectionately. “I like having you here,” she said as she turned toward the bathroom. “You’re good company.” She sighed. “I’m even growing fond of that blasted tiger cub.”

Zilah had reached the bathroom door when Pandora spoke behind her. “Daniel does want you. Maybe if he doesn’t love you now, it might come afterward.” Her voice was wistful. “You might have a chance, at least.”

“That’s assuming that you’re right.” Zilah kept her voice firmly under control. “And you’re not right, Pandora. Not this time.” The door closed softly behind her.

Daniel replaced the receiver of the telephone and turned away from the desk to accept the drink Philip was holding out to him. “Three down, one to go.”

“Donahue?”

Daniel nodded. “They captured three of the terrorists this afternoon trying to cross the border back into Said Ababa.” He took a sip of brandy. “Hassan wasn’t with them. They’d had a slight difference of opinion and split up.” Daniel smiled grimly. “These three decided they wanted to stay alive.”

“You think he’s still on your trail?”

“Probably,” Daniel said. “According to his dossier, Hassan is almost as fanatical as his brother. He won’t give up easily. Starting tomorrow I want a guard on Zilah’s door.” He made a face. “Not that she’ll need it with Pandora staying in her room. I haven’t even been permitted through that sacred portal since she arrived on the scene.”

“Really?” Philip’s arm halted midway in the act of lifting his own drink to his lips. “That’s curious. I knew she was displaying a most unusual devotion, but I can’t see Pandora as a chaperone. I would have thought you would have objected more vigorously. I take it you’re not sleeping with the lady?”

Daniel was silent.

“Even more curious,” Philip said. “It’s not like you to waste opportunities. You wouldn’t want to tell me why you’ve developed this superhuman restraint at this stage in your life?”

“No, I don’t think I would,” Daniel said quietly. “I don’t think it’s something that you would understand.”

Philip drained his glass. “You’re probably right.” He set the glass down on the desk. “But I do understand the little dragon I put in charge of your chaste princess, and it’s not in character for her to be overly protective of anyone.”

“Except you,” Daniel suggested softly.

Philip inclined his head mockingly. “Except me,” he conceded. He turned to go. “You’ll get your guard, but I think I’ll just go see why Pandora is suddenly behaving with such zealous propriety.” He paused at the door. “Would you care to come with me?”

Daniel shook his head. “Clancy is interrogating the prisoners now. He’s going to phone me back if they’re able to pry Hassan’s hiding place out of them. Tell Zilah I’ll come and let her know the details as soon as I get the call. She’d better have dinner without me.”

“I’m sure if anyone can extract the information, he can.” Philip drawled. “A very thorough man, your Clancy Donahue.”

“He’d better be damn thorough,” Daniel said wearily as he sat down in the oversized chair facing the desk. “I want this over and done with.”

“You’re on edge,” Philip said. “I understand celibacy has a way of doing that to a man.” He smiled faintly. “Personally, I haven’t been so foolish as to indulge in that idiocy since I was fourteen, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Philip.” Daniel leaned his head back against the high back of the chair and tried to relax the tense muscles of his shoulders. “Go to hell.”

Philip laughed. “That’s the second time in the last ten days I’ve been designated to the fire and brimstone. Do you suppose I’m not as charming as I’ve been led to believe?” He held up his hand. “Don’t answer that. It’s much more comfortable to be left with my illusions.”

Daniel’s hand tightened on the arm of his chair as the door closed behind the other man. Then he consciously forced himself to relax. He shouldn’t have been so short with Philip. If Philip hadn’t possessed a puckish sense of humor beneath that mocking arrogance, he might have taken offense. And despite his feelings regarding Zilah’s presence here, Philip had acted the true friend. He had offered hospitality as well as the protective cloak of power that surrounded every guest of Sheikh El Kabbar.

Daniel suddenly grinned as he remembered Philip’s last remark. It was probably Zilah who had been the first to consign Philip to the fiery depths. He wouldn’t put it past her. There was strength and spirit in her that ran like a powerful underground river beneath that beautiful serene surface. He only wished he could concentrate on those lovely spiritual qualities without being distracted by the tempting surface. Like Philip, he wasn’t accustomed to celibacy, and his willpower had been stretched to the limit in the last ten days. He felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach every time she brushed casually against him. He was sure he hadn’t slept more than a few hours a night during the entire time. His nerves were so frayed and raw that it was a wonder he had been able to exercise any control at all.

However, he had succeeded in maintaining that avuncular façade, judging from Zilah’s touching declaration this morning. He was her best friend. He had to hold on to that. He had gained her trust; he mustn’t blow everything because he was so hot for her he was ready to explode. It might take months, even years, before she was ready to give herself because it was what she wanted, not because of that unselfish generosity that seemed ingrained in her. He could wait. At least, he hoped he could. This afternoon when she had appeared at the pool in that French-cut swim suit, he hadn’t been sure. He’d been so aroused he’d had to spend the entire session in the pool to keep from scaring the hell out of her.

He finished his drink and leaned forward to set his glass on the desk. Of course he could wait. All he had to do was avoid swimming pools, and bathtubs, and the sight of Zilah on a horse or walking across the room. It would be a real piece of cake.

He settled back in the chair and stretched his legs out before him. It was just as well that he had to wait here for Clancy’s call. He was in no shape to play the platonic friend tonight. He had to gather his reserves and repair his defenses before he faced Zilah again for any extended period. Hell, at this rate he might even have to take up yoga and contemplate his navel or something, he thought. Maybe it would take his mind off other portions of his anatomy.