not done in jest. If they were supposed to be holy men,

  André was the only one who learned the lessons of

  their god. In the mornings when it was his turn to

  preach, I would sneak close enough to hear. I did not

  understand his words, but I heard his devotion in every

  one.

  “Do you have a woman at home waiting for you?”

  He walked with me and my two brothers as we

  tended our goats. Half of the men with him had left on

  their horses days before, and the ones who stayed

  behind lay about drinking wine and speaking in low

  voices.

  “I took a vow to God, so there is no one waiting for

  me. Love, a wife, and children are not possible for me.”

  He lifted his shoulders and glanced away from me. “I

  have no one who cares for me aside from God.”

  “Your father was a man of God, and yet here you

  are.” My logic made him smile, then laugh. It was a

  sound I cherished.

  “Our God says that sometimes the will is strong but

  the flesh is weak. I am proof of that, no?” His

  explanation made me laugh, and when he joined me I

  felt as if we’d crossed some barrier and become

  friends.

  Our talks went on for days, and he was the only one

  who never left their camp overnight. I was suspicious

  at first, but André never asked me anything that would

  betray my trust. Much later, as we sat under another

  full moon, he asked me, “Is there a man you have been

  promised to?”

  “Why do you ask?” I held up a date my mother had

  soaked in honey.

  “I see how some of the young men look at you, and

  it makes me think our time will end.”

  I turned my face away so he could not see my

  smile. Perhaps he had something in common with his

  father, and the needs of the flesh were stronger than his

  devotion. “I study to take my grandmother’s place. I

  have told you this.”

  “Yes, the way you make the letters makes me sad,

  for I do not understand them though they are beautiful

  on the scrolls.”

  “Because I chose this, I do not have to marry if I do

  not want. The men can look, but I must decide.”

  My answer brought his smile back, and I returned

  it. I had never spoken to one man so much before, and

  despite my wishes, my heart warmed at the thought of

  him. He was what I thought I would never find, and I

  loved him. It would damn us both to admit this, but he

  was right. No matter how hard I fight, the flesh grows

  weak with the want of him. “Our time is in no danger

  of ending.”

  “Good,” he said, accepting a date from my fingers.

  Our fingers touched, and neither of us pulled away.

  The truth of who we would become came much

  later. Storms in our lands are not common, but at times

  they come with the fury of a dangerous animal. On

  such a day the sky lit up as if it were on fire, and André

  saw my brothers trying to gather the herd. He ran with

  them to drive the goats toward the pen my father had

  built but seldom used. One of the larger goats pushed

  him in fright, and André’s head slammed against the

  gate.

  My breath left my body when he did not get up. It

  was then I knew what I could not admit until that

  moment. I loved him. I loved him and I could not lose

  him. “André,” I screamed into the rain. My brothers

  carried him to our tent and laid him carefully so my

  grandmother and I could tend to him. It was only the

  two of us, and my tears fell as I wiped the blood from

  his face.

  “Fight,” I whispered in his ear, hoping to see his

  eyes open. The piece of wood sticking from his chest

  worried me, and my grandmother ordered me to stay by

  his head. “Come back to me,” I said in his words. He

  had taught me, and I hoped he understood me. “Come

  back to me.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Yasmine wiped her eyes, and so did Zara and Jane. Farah’s

  story proved to her that despite what the head said was

  important, it was the heart that ultimately ruled. Love defeated

  fear when it seeped into every ounce of someone’s being.

  “There is one section left, from what I can tell,” Yasmine

  said, gently thumbing through the other pages.

  “Let’s take a break and think about the first part.” Levi

  wiped Yasmine’s cheeks for her and smiled. “Do you think

  there’s code in there, Granny?”

  “I hope you don’t mind, Yasmine, but I recorded you as

  you read. It makes the transcription easier.”

  “I don’t mind at all, but if there’s a code it will be in the

  language it was written in. I promise I’ll work as fast as I can.”

  “Can you point out the words jackal and beautiful as well

  as handsome?” Jane asked, handing over the copies they’d

  made of the books. “Those might be the key, but we still need

  you to figure it out.”

  Yasmine scanned the pages and circled all three words.

  “Let’s go for a walk while Granny puts that through the

  system,” Levi said. She stood and offered one hand to

  Yasmine and the other to Zara.

  “I’ll pass this time. Jane was supposed to receive some

  information about the stones, and I want to be here in case it

  comes through.” Zara waved to them and followed Percy and

  Jane into the kitchen.

  Levi held Yasmine’s hand but stopped in a small room by

  the back door to grab a bag. They followed a path down to the

  beach, and Yasmine left her sandals where it ended so she

  could go barefoot, like Levi. They walked in silence until Levi

  led her through a break in the protruding cliff to a secluded

  cove.

  “Unless you’re in a boat and look just right, this place is as

  private as the bathroom in your room.” Levi dropped the bag

  in the sand and took Yasmine’s other hand.

  “And you’re telling me this because? If you want to go

  swimming, I didn’t bring a suit.”

  “Neither did I,” Levi said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “Sometimes, though, if the place is private enough, you don’t

  need a suit.”

  She laughed at the mischievous smile on Levi’s face. Life

  with Levi would never be boring. She stepped back and lifted

  her blouse over her head. The skirt came next, and she pointed

  at Levi to get her going. This was a different experience in the

  light of day, and she couldn’t help but look at Levi’s body. A

  few scars had to be from her past adventures, and her face was

  a road map of bruises, but none of it took away from Levi’s

  looks. Last night’s nerves had made Yasmine miss so much,

  but now she saw how stunning Levi really was.

  “You’re so damn beautiful,” Levi said. She came closer,

  lowered the straps of Yasmine’s bra, and kissed both

  shoulders. “Want to swim?”

  “That’d be the only way I’d cool down.”

  “That’s the last thing I want.”

  Once they were both naked, Yasmine followed Levi into

  the water and wrapped her legs around her waist once they

  were deep enough.

  “Maybe this story Farah left is a warning to good Arab

  girls like me.” She moaned at the feel of Levi’s body against

  hers.

  “What warning do you think she’s trying to give you?”

  Levi sucked on Yasmine’s neck, and she was instantly wet.

  “That those handsome infidels who have more charm than

  Allah meant for anyone to possess are hard to resist.” She let

  her head fall back and hoped Levi didn’t stop what she was

  doing.

  “Why would you want to?” Levi lifted her head, and

  Yasmine was about to complain until Levi put her hand

  between Yasmine’s legs. “Jesus,” Levi said when she put her

  fingers over Yasmine’s clit.

  “Let’s leave religion out of this,” Yasmine quipped,

  making Levi laugh. “I can’t help it, you make me crazy.”

  “I plan on keeping you that way.” Levi’s fingers moved in

  a steady cadence.

  “Ah…please,” she said, wanting all the things Levi had

  given her the night before. It was like she couldn’t breathe

  until Levi filled her up, and she rocked her hips, chasing the

  high Levi was building slowly. “Please, darling, go inside.”

  Her face burned from the request, but it couldn’t be helped.

  She couldn’t wait any longer. Desire was making her crazy

  and robbing her control.

  The calm of the water was disrupted by their movements,

  and the last part of her brain that wasn’t focused on those long

  magical fingers noted that they were moving. She started to

  complain as Levi walked out of the water and laid her on the

  towel she’d taken from the bag. Levi shook her head when

  Yasmine reached for her, hoping Levi would lie on her and

  keep her grounded. She was afraid of floating away and

  needed Levi to hold her.

  Yasmine gazed at the sky and lifted her hips to try to get

  Levi to focus, but Levi calmly kissed her way down Yasmine’s

  body, making her hiss when she sucked in one, then the other

  nipple. How could something so simple make her want to beg?

  She was getting ready to when she felt Levi’s shoulders

  against her inner thighs. She lifted onto her elbows and

  watched Levi spread her sex and lower her mouth.

  The first touch of Levi’s tongue made Yasmine’s hips

  shoot up and her body drop back. She spread her legs as far as

  they would go. The sensation was so good she would’ve never

  been able to adequately describe it. She tentatively placed her

  hands on her nipples and moaned at how hard they were and

  how good it felt.

  “Go inside me,” she said, hoping Levi would give her what

  she wanted. “I need…oh my…you. I need you…ah,” she said

  as Levi slid her fingers in and her body instinctively tightened

  around them. It was an overload of her senses, and she shook

  her head as Levi sucked her in. The orgasm was right there,

  and all she could do was buck her hips and beg with

  nonsensical repetition. “Yes, yes, don’t…yes.”

  The orgasm almost hurt as her body tensed and she cried

  out, her back arching off the sand as her world shattered into a

  thousand glorious pieces. She fell on the towel, limp and

  replete. It had been so good and Levi had taken such care with

  her that she couldn’t help the tears that started. She had no

  idea why she was crying, but the overwhelming emotions

  filled her with as much uncertainty for the future as the

  perfection of the present made her weep with its beauty.

  “I’m sorry,” she said when Levi moved up and held her. “I

  never cry. Now I can’t seem to stop.”

  “You don’t have to hide your feelings from me.” Levi

  pulled her close and didn’t ask for anything. “This is all new,

  so give yourself time to get used to it.”

  Farah might have had a point. When you found someone

  so different from you, and they were noble and kind, it was

  hard to believe that it could be true they cared for you. Levi

  was smart, driven, handsome, but also incredibly sweet. Would

  she always be that way, or would she change once the thrill of

  conquest was over? The guilt of even letting that go through

  her head shamed Yasmine, but she had no experience to draw

  from.

  “You need to keep one thing in mind.” Levi reached for

  another towel and covered them.

  “What?” Yasmine used the edge of the towel to dry her

  face.

  “What I want from you is so much more than this.” Levi

  stopped and kissed Yasmine’s eyelids. “We haven’t ever talked

  about what comes next, but when you’re ready, I’ll be happy

  to tell you what I want.”

  “Will there be anything else?” Her chest hurt from the

  cowardice of the question, and it was hard to miss the way

  Levi flinched.

  “That’s up to you…to us. The important thing is I won’t

  push you. Like I said, this is new, for both of us really, and you

  need to take the time to make sure it’s right for you.” Levi

  rolled away from her and sat up. “It’s getting late. We should

  get back.”

  Something inside Yasmine was changing, and she was

  having trouble keeping up. Her instinct was to freeze and

  withdraw, but watching Levi walk away from her started a

  pain in her chest that brought more tears. She’d hurt her, and it

  was unforgivable. Levi had gone out of her way to be kind,

  and she didn’t deserve Yasmine’s usual aloofness.

  “Levi, wait.” She sat up, having come to the truth of who

  she was and what she wanted.

  “Look,” Levi said, turning around. She shut her eyes and

  pursed her lips as if trying to protect herself from what was

  right in front of her. “I’m sorry I upset you. I shouldn’t have

  said anything.”

  “Please, darling, you didn’t say anything wrong.” Yasmine

  held a hand up. It was time to bridge the gap her words had

  caused or live with pain the loss would inflict. “You make me

  want all those things that come next.”

  Levi let out a long breath of air and smiled as she came

  back and sat next to Yasmine. “You know, all my life I’ve

  dreamed of finding things that no one thought existed. I’ve

  been through jungles, deserts, and caves, and I love the chase.”

  The things Levi was saying didn’t give Yasmine a clue as

  to where she was going. Perhaps her hesitance had killed the

  feelings Levi had for her.

  “The one thing I never chased, because I thought it didn’t

  exist, was love. I’ve been with more women than is probably

  smart if I want a future with someone, but when I settle down,

  I want it to be forever.”

  “I can understand that.” She hugged Levi’s arm and

  pressed close to her.

  “I want her to fit with me, in every aspect of my life, and

  that’s never happened.” Levi rested her head on Yasmine’s.

  “On the flip side of that, I want to be the kind of partner who

  fits into her life.”

  “What would your life be if you found that woman?” Their

  worlds were oceans apart in more ways than one.

  “All the things that makes a life worthwhile. Love,

  romance, a home, a family, and commitment.” Levi didn’t

  move when Yasmine straddled her lap.

  “I’m sorry I’m so full of fear, but I’ve tried all my life to

  be a good daughter, a good soldier, and a good teacher. All that

  can only be possible if I give up parts of myself, and I did. I

  didn’t think giving up only little bits would make a difference,

  but they have.” It grounded her when Levi put her arms

  around her. “Then I met you and it was impossible to ignore

  what I want any longer. Please forgive me for being such a

  coward.”

  “When you love someone, honey, forgiveness is a given.

  And the last thing you are is a coward.” Levi lifted Yasmine’s

  head and wiped her tears. “I know what I want, and when

  you’re ready to hear it, I’ll say it as many times as it takes for

  you to believe it.”

  “Tell me,” Yasmine said, choking off a sob.

  “I love you.” Levi’s eyes were bright and her voice was

  strong. “I love you and I want to build a life with you.

  Everyone else might think this is too fast, and we might need

  more time, but I know what I want. I want you.”

  “I love you. I love you enough to know I can’t give you

  up.” The words lifted something in Yasmine’s heart, and it set

  her free. Her problems would begin when she got home and

  her family figured out what was responsible for the lightening

  of her soul. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

  “Are you happy you love me?” Levi always seemed to

  know what to ask. “I couldn’t stand it if you’re not happy.”

  “My love.” She grabbed two fistfuls of Levi’s hair and

  shook her head gently. “I’ve been happier in the last weeks

  than in all my adult life. I finally fit, and it’s with you.”

  “I love you.” Levi kissed Yasmine and held her as if she’d

  never let go. “That means I’m always going to stand next to

  you no matter what. When you go home, you won’t have to do

  it alone if you don’t want to.”

  “How do you always know what I’m thinking?” Being

  with Levi meant leaving Morocco and the only life she’d

  known. It wasn’t a sacrifice but a choice that would make their