A Summer Smile (15 page)

She did have freckles. A golden dusting across the bridge of a small, perfect nose in a face with the most beautifully classic bone structure Zilah had ever seen. Huge midnight-dark eyes were surrounded by lashes of equal darkness. The
  
horrible hair was chopped rather than cut into a boyish style this looked like it had been caught in an eggbeater.
 
Still, the color and texture were magnificient.
 
It was a shade of blond that was close to silver and it caught and reflected all the light in the room. She did lack curves, but she was as fine-boned and athletically graceful as the tiger cub in the bathtub. Good heavens, if she was this beautiful at fifteen, she would be unbelievable at twenty. Yet her denial of that beauty held a puzzling element of desperation. Then the light dawned. Philip El Kabbar didn't like or trust beautiful women, according to Pandora. Therefore Pandora refused to be beautiful.

"My mistake," Zilah said solemnly.
"I
didn't notice the freckles."

"Well, the light is pretty bad in here," Pandora conceded. She pointed to the tiger cub. "I know I can't keep him indefinitely. He'll have to be sent to a wildlife reserve, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to keep him for a little while." Her expression took on a poignant wistfulness. "I've never had a pet before. We always moved around too much before we came here. I thought just for a little while ..."

Zilah felt a melting helplessness that boded no good for her common sense. "Well, perhaps for a day or so it wouldn't do any harm," she said reluctantly. "I probably wouldn't be using the tub anyway. I usually prefer to take a shower." She suddenly ran her hand distractedly through her hair. "Oh, Lord, what am I saying? I think I've just accepted a tiger as a roommate."

"I think so too." Pandora'a grin lit her face with breathless beauty. "You can't back out now. It will be fine. I'll make sure he doesn't get in your way and I'll do all the cleaning myself. I'll keep all the servants out of your room and get a couple of blankets and bunk in here with him during the night. Philip assigned me a guest room next door but it doesn't have a tub like this or I would have kept Androcles in there. He won't be any trouble at all."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Zilah made a face. "Now, let me look at your arm and see what your harmless little pussy cat has done to you."

Pandora silently held her right arm out. There was a hand towel tied around her forearm in a makeshift bandage. When Zilah removed it she inhaled sharply. There were several deep claw marks on the girl's thin arm, three of which were still bleeding. Zilah shook her head. "Just a little scratch," she murmured caustically as she slid back the mirror above the vanity to reveal a medicine chest. "You should have disinfected those claw marks right away. For a doctor's daughter you're very ignorant of primary first aid."

"My father and I don't get along very well. He never got around to teaching me much about anything," Pandora said with a shrug. "He's never liked me."

"Sometimes it's difficult to tell if someone likes you or not," Zilah said gently as she took a roll of gauze and a bottle of antiseptic from the shelf and closed the sliding mirrored doors. "People aren't always easy to read."

"I can tell," Pandora said fiercely. Her eyes lowered to watch Zilah carefully wash the scratches. "It doesn't matter. I don't care anyway."

Zilah opened the antiseptic. "This will sting."

Pandora inhaled sharply but made no other indication of pain as Zilah applied the antiseptic to the raw wound. Her dark eyes were narrowed intently on Zilah's face.
"You
like me. I can tell that too."

"Yes, I like you." Zilah looked up from winding the gauze about Pandora's thin, wiry arm. "Which

only goes to prove I have temporary attacks of insanity. I have an idea you're going to bring me nothing but trouble."

"I like you too," Pandora said awkwardly. "At first, I thought you were pretty flighty. But you're not afraid of tiger cubs, or blood, or even Philip. The only thing you're afraid of are those nightmares."

"I imagine you could dredge up a few more things that I'm nervous about." Zilah stepped back after taping the gauze bandage firmly in place. "If those wounds start to fester, we'll have to go to your father for antibiotics."

"We'll see," Pandora said noncommittally. "It will probably heal all right. I'm pretty tough."

With a streak of vulnerability a mile wide, Zilah thought. "I'll change the dressing every day until we see how it's doing," she said firmly as she opened the mirrored panel and replaced the first aid materials on the shelf. "I'm pretty tough too." Then, as if to belie the statement, she suddenly swayed and had to grab the counter of the vanity to keep from falling. "Oh, damn!"

Pandora's arm was swiftly around her waist, steadying her. "What's wrong?" Her brow was creased in a troubled frown. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zilah said, taking a deep breath. "I guess I've been on my feet too long. I forgot all about being a convalescent for a little while." She made a face. "Unfortunately, nature has a way of reminding you. I was stung by a scorpion yesterday morning and I can't seem to get my strength back."

"I didn't know you'd been ill." Pandora's face was stricken. "Come on, I'll help you get back to bed." Pandora's grip was surprisingly strong for so slight a girl and she was almost lifting instead of supporting Zilah as she whisked her across the room. "You should have told me. Don't worry, I'll take care of you. Is that why Philip wanted me to act as your maid?"

"I imagine you were right the first time. I doubt if he was really concerned about me."

"Probably not." Pandora pushed her gently down on the bed and leaned forward to switch on the bedside lamp. "You just rest here and I'll go get you something to eat."

"You don't need to bother. Daniel said he would bring me something after my nap. He should be here anytime now."

"Then I'll go find him and tell him not to bother. You can see him in the morning. You're too weak to have to deal with visitors tonight."

"I am?" Zilah asked blankly.

Pandora nodded with authority. "You need a good meal and an early night." She scowled. "I'll even brush your hair and help you put on your creams and junk. You wouldn't want him to see you with all that slippery stuff all over you."

"I use only a little moisturizer," Zilah said absently. "And he's seen me look a lot worse."

Pandora's eyes were speculative. "Is he the one you're sleeping with? You don't have to worry about my getting in the way. After you're well again you won't even know I'm around, but you shouldn't have to worry about that sex stuff when you're sick."

"Thank you," Zilah said meekly. "But Daniel and I are only friends. You won't have to use such discretion. He's probably the one who told Philip I needed a maid."

"You're not sleeping with either one of them?" Pandora shook her head. "How peculiar."

Evidently in Pandora's experience, good-looking women didn't sleep alone. It wasn't surprising with a man like Philip El Kabbar as a mentor. "Not really." Zilah smothered a smile. "I understand it can be quite restful. I thought I'd try it. Merely as an experiment, you understand."

"You're laughing at me," Pandora accused Zilah with an uncertain frown. "I don't know if I like that." Then she grinned mischievously. "Oh, what the hell, it's no worse than what I was going to do to you."

"Something worse than a tiger in my bathtub?" Zilah asked warily.

Pandora had turned and was striding swiftly toward the door. "Only if I found it was Philip you were sleeping with," she said soothingly over her shoulder. "Otherwise I was going to forget all about it."

"Forget about what?"

Pandora paused as she opened the door, and there was a touch of fierceness beneath the mischief in her eyes. "I was going to wait until you were in the middle of. . ." She paused delicately, and then came out with an obscene Anglo-Saxon term that caused Zilah's eyes to widen in shock. "And then I was going to sneak in and drop Androcles on top of both of you." She smiled with infinite satisfaction. "I'd say that would do the job of spoiling the mood."

"I think you could count on it," Zilah said faintly as she watched the door swing shut behind the girl. Throughout this entire weird encounter she had been feeling sympathy for Pandora in her passionate attachment for the sheikh. Now she began to wonder if she shouldn't feel a bit sorry for Philip El Kabbar.

Seven

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 rid-

ing. "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."