Philip stared after her as she streaked out the front door in pursuit of the snake charmer. "Of course," he muttered dazedly. "Beldar forgot his cobra."
He was silent for a long moment, and then he began to chuckle. By the time Pandora returned he was leaning helplessly against the wall as he tried to suppress his laughter. "Did you catch up with him?" he asked, wiping his eyes.
She nodded. "I don't see what was so funny," she said crossly. "He was actually very rude to me. You'd think he'd be glad that I took the trouble to bring the cobra back to him. What's a snake charmer without a cobra?"
"What, indeed? Perhaps I ought to give him another lecture. Do you think that would help?"
"I doubt it. Anyone who would be dumb enough to put a sna—Philip, stop laughing. I went through a great deal of trouble and—"
His hand covered her lips. "And you caused a good deal of trouble today as well." His blue-green eyes were twinkling. "You're lucky that I can still laugh about it."
She kissed his palm affectionately, then took his hand away from her mouth. "I guess it was a little amusing," she conceded with a reluctant smile. "In retrospect."
"Definitely in retrospect." His palm tingled where her lips had rested. "Most of the humor you inspire seems to work that way. First horror and then amusement."
"You didn't seem to be any too terrified a few minutes ago. You play Lord-of-All-You-Survey with great dash."
"I've gotten a good deal of practice in the last two weeks." His lips twisted. "How did you manage to survive the past six years? You appear to live in the eye of a hurricane."
"I'm usually much busier than this." She paused deliberately. "Painting my toenails and lolling by the pool makes me restless. Perhaps if you didn't leave me alone so much I wouldn't get Into so much trouble. You could sort of keep an eye on me."
"Another setup, Pandora?"
"Not this time. However, I do get bored." Her eyes were glowing softly. "And lonely. I've hardly seen you since the night of the dinner party."
"I warned you that was the way it was going to be," he said impassively. "You should have expected it."
She nibbled at her lower lip. "You also told me that you were going to treat me as a Khadim," she said clearly. "You haven't been doing that." Her laugh was a little strained. "What good is a Khadim if you don't make love to her?"
"Perhaps I don't find this particular Khadim desirable," he said, not looking at her. "Perhaps one night was all I required."
"That's a lie," she said, her eyes flashing. "I know you want me. I can feel it. Why the hell don't you admit it?"
His gaze met hers. "All right," he said flatly. "I want you. But there's no way in hell I'm going to take you. I'm not going to give you that advantage."
"Advantage? This isn't a tennis match or some kind of game. This is—" She broke off. She mustn't fall apart. It was just that time was passing so quickly and she was getting a little panicky. She might discover any day now that she was not, in fact, pregnant. Philip was no closer to accepting her now than when she'd arrived in Sedikhan. And, since the night of the dinner party, he seemed to have erected new and stronger barriers against her. "All right, you don't trust me. You obviously think I'm going to weave some sort of erotic spell over you once I've lured you into my bed." Her lips were trembling a little as she smiled at him. "I don't know why you think that, but I'll accept it. However, is there any reason why we can't spend just a little time together? We used to get along very well in the old days. I think you even enjoyed my company. If you don't want me to go with you to the irrigation project, there are still the evenings." She reached out an impulsive hand and laid it on his arm. "I promise I won't try to seduce you. No matter how much you deny it, I'm still a part of your life. I have a certain importance to you. If you won't accept me as a lover, perhaps we could be friends."
Her expression was so earnest when she told him she wouldn't try to seduce him, Philip thought ruefully. Didn't she realize that her hand on his arm was doing just that? Just a touch and his body was hardening, readying itself. "You said I didn't have women friends," he reminded her with a faint smile.
"I'd like to be the exception." Her hand tightened on his forearm. "Dammit, Philip, you know you're going to want me to stay in your life in some way or other. Why don't you admit it and behave sensibly? Maybe friendship is the way you can have me and your precious isolation too." Her voice softened. "And if not, then there's no harm done, and well still have had a pleasanter time than the last two weeks."
It was a mistake. Yet he knew he was going to make it. She was right. He was not going to be able to let her go entirely. She was too closely woven into the fabric of his life.
He reached out slowly and covered her hand with his own. "I've always known you were an exception to almost every rule," he said lightly. "Why not this one?"
The tension flowed out of her. "You mean it?" Her dark eyes were suddenly blazing with joy. "Oh, Philip, you won't be sorry. It will be beautiful, you'll see. Well have such good times and do so many things together. Well talk and ride and—"
He threw back his head and laughed. His eyes were warm and dancing as he looked down at her. She didn't think she'd ever seen them so warm. "So much for staying meekly out of my way until I have time for you in the evenings. I should have known it wouldn't last long."
She grinned back at him. Happiness was bubbling through every vein in a golden tide. "I'll be so good, you won't know me. I won't bother you at all and—"
His fingers covered her lips again. "I don't want a meek little Pandora prowling around, trying not to bother me." He grimaced. "Which is a good thing, considering that pose wouldn't last more than a day or two anyway." His expression was suddenly gentle. "Just be yourself."
"Okay. But in case you haven't noticed, I can be a little difficult on occasion."
"I can tolerate that. As I said, I've had a good deal of practice." His fingers dropped from her lips. "I believe I'm fairly easy to get along with." He frowned. "That was a most unladylike snort. It's quite true, you know. I have only one requirement for my friends."
"Really?" she asked warily. "And what's that?" His stance was majestic, but his eyes held an elusive twinkle. "That they absolutely do not bring cobras into my salon."
* * *
Pandora slipped from the back of the chestnut horse and flipped the reins over his head. "Let's stop here for just a minute," she said over her shoulder as she ran to the edge of the cliff. She stood there, her eyes eagerly wandering over the scene below. "If you don't mind, that is," she added politely.
"Would it make any difference?" Philip drawled as he swung off Oedipus and strolled over to join her at the edge of the precipice. "I've seen that look on your face before."
"Just for a little while." She dropped down on the ground and crossed her legs tailor fashion. "You've seen all this before, but it's the first time for me." Her gaze traveled eagerly over the carefully terraced slopes of green and brown that encircled the valley below. "It's beautiful, Isn't it?"