“You must have been in college by then.”
“I was. Fiona had insurance, which surprised us. She wasn’t usually that much into the details. It was enough to pay for the rest of my education and Cleo’s, if she’d wanted to go to school. But she wasn’t that interested. Instead she went out and got a job.”
Hers was a normal world he couldn’t relate to. Rafe supposed at one time he’d lived in a suburb with parents and maybe a dog, but he couldn’t remember anything like that. All he could recall was being alone.
“What made you decide to go into teaching?” he asked.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she admitted. “When I applied to graduate school, I got into a program where the grad students teach a freshman class. It was my first experience in front of a group. Initially I was nervous, but then I found I really liked it.”
He wondered how many of her students had a crush on her.
She raised her head and stared out into the darkness of the sea. “I live in farm country,” she said quietly. “Lots of rolling hills of wheat and canola. There isn’t all that much to do and the closest big city is nearly a hundred miles away. I can’t imagine a place more different than Bahania.”
“Or the palace,” he reminded her.
“I don’t want to think about it. This isn’t anything I’m prepared for. I have no social skills or diplomatic training. What if I offend some important person and create an international incident?”
“They’re harder to create than you might think. The greater danger is that some sheik is going to take a liking to you and kidnap you.”
She laughed. “Oh, yeah, that’s so likely. Besides as my temporary bodyguard, you’re supposed to prevent that sort of thing.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Which was the truth. Equally true was his desire to kidnap her himself. A couple of weeks in a private paradise would go a long way toward easing his throbbing need. Rafe studied Zara’s delicate profile and wondered why this particular woman got to him. What arrangement of scents, sights and sounds made him want to forget his permanent rule of never getting involved with anyone who wasn’t a player? Reminding himself that she claimed to be innocent—and why would a woman lie about that?—not to mention the daughter of a king, ought to be enough to keep him in line.
“Speaking of sheiks…” She turned and looked at him. “Why were you dressed in traditional desert clothes earlier today?”
He didn’t want to answer that question, so he distracted her with one of his own. “Why are you a virgin?”
Chapter 6
Zara’s feet hit the balcony floor with a thud. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that,” she said, horrified, humiliated and barely able to speak. Heat flared on her face. Once again she was grateful for the darkness. “It’s a very personal matter and not one I’m willing to discuss with you.” Or anyone.
Rafe didn’t look the least bit intimidated by her outburst or chagrined by her response. “You’re the one who brought it up,” he reminded her. “It’s not the sort of information a guy forgets.”
“Well, you should forget it. It’s none of your business.”
Unless he wanted to make it his business.
A zing of anticipation zipped through her midsection. What if Rafe found her…attractive? Zara dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared. Daydreams were fine when one was alone and the object of one’s musings was a famous movie star. But this was real life. She had no business fantasizing about someone who actually existed. Especially not someone like him.
“Come on, Zara. You can tell me. How did an attractive, sexy woman like you avoid the come-ons of all those professor types?”
Sexy? He thought she was sexy? Before the zing could turn into something bigger and better, she reminded herself that he was being nice to her because it was his job. If Rafe was interested in one of the Paxton sisters he would be far more likely to go seek out Cleo. Men had been sniffing around her since Cleo had turned fourteen. While her sister had been on every guy’s wish list, Zara had spent her weekends alone.