Pyramids and Promises (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 2) (15 page)

Conner sat in the chair Jessica just vacated.

“You know, I had to ask her name. I didn’t believe her when she said Jessica. If you were anywhere else in the world, I wouldn’t believe it. But if Nour changed her name and stayed with you, there is no way you two would still be in Egypt.”

Conner frowned. “Do you really want to fight?”

“No. But Conner, I’m the only one who calls you out on your shit. Right now, I have nothing to lose by telling you the truth. What are you going to do on the first?”

Jamie was also the only one who knew about his arrangement with Nour. He’d found out by accident three years ago when he came to stay and Conner was gone. When Conner arrived home the next day with a bottle of Vodka so he could dull the pain of losing her again, he and Jamie drank the whole thing, and Conner told him everything.

He hadn’t been prepared for Jamie’s reaction though. Jamie was angry with him for screwing another man’s wife and told him he had to stop. That resulted in an ugly fight where Conner broke Jamie’s nose, and Jamie knocked out one of his teeth. Since then, they’d only seen each other at the Fourth of July get-togethers with the other guys, but they avoided each other.

It might have passed, except that hadn’t been the only altercation he and Jamie had been in. When he and Nour had been dating, it was Jamie who told him he would get his heart broken. He was also the one who told him he’d lose all his money a year before he actually did. He hated that Jamie was always right.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do on the first. Jessica was a bit of a surprise.”

“She’s loyal to you. The first thing she said when I sat down by her was that she had a boyfriend.”

Conner didn’t realize she’d been thinking about him in that way already. He clenched the handle of his chair.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to give up Nour yet.”

He didn’t know what possessed him to say it out loud. He supposed that was something else that pissed him off. He always told Jamie exactly how he felt, even when he didn’t mean to.

Jamie clapped him on the shoulder. “You already know how I feel about this. I don’t want another broken nose, so I won’t say any more. But if you go on the first, remember that not only are you risking Nour’s marriage, you are also being unfaithful to that girl.” He pointed to where Jessica was trying to catch a very happy Octo. She was laughing, and Conner’s heart clenched.

“I know.”

Jamie nodded. “Listen, I’ll go check out and find another hotel, so we don’t have any more run-ins. Have a nice weekend.”

J
essica was confused. She didn’t know what to pack. Conner said they were camping at the Sahara Desert. But he clearly said they would be taking things to the next level in the White Desert. Were they the same place? She’d googled the White Desert, and while the internet confirmed it was in the Sahara, she still didn’t know if it that’s where they would be. The desert itself was enormous. There could be a thousand places they were going.

She almost texted Conner and asked him, but he’d just say something smart like, “You’re a little eager.”

She finally decided to pack both her somewhat modest pajamas and her sexy ones. She’d figure it out when they got there.

A knocked sounded on the door, and she cursed. He was early.

She flung open the door. “Hey,” she said, a bit breathless.

“Hey,” he said and kissed her deeply. “You ready?”

“Almost.” She’d taken Thursday off work, so they had extra time. The car was picking them up at ten. It was quarter to nine.

“You’re early.”

He shrugged. “I wanted to see you. Is that a crime?”

She grinned. “It is when I’m packing. I’ll be back in a minute.”

She escaped back into the bedroom and continued searching through her drawers for the right shorts. She jumped when he wrapped his arms around her.

“You seem nervous.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He chuckled and sat on her bed next to her suitcase. Before she could flip the lid shut, he pulled out her lacy camisole.

“Isn’t this a little sexy for the desert?”

Jessica blushed and snatched it from him and threw it back in the suitcase. She wouldn’t look at him. “You said we were going to the desert, but you didn’t specifically say the White Desert, so I didn’t know if I should be prepared or not.”

He stood up and forced her to look at him. “You’re gorgeous, you know that, right?”

She nodded because she didn’t know the appropriate response.

“Good,” he said and kissed her. She forgot about what she was packing and leaned into him.

He pulled away and looked at his watch. “You should hurry. We don’t want to be late.”

He slipped out of the bedroom and left her to pack. It was only once he was gone that her mind cleared, and she realized he never answered her question. She still had no idea where they were going.

They arrived in the desert a few hours later. It was very clearly not the White Desert. In fact it was called the Black Desert. But they had fun anyway. Their driver let out a little air from his tires, and they raced up and down the dunes. She laughed a lot. They went sand boarding, and when night fell, they found themselves in the middle of a Bedouin camp eating a sheep that had been cooking for several hours on a bed of coal buried in sand.

But as they climbed into the tent that night, she felt let down. She thought for sure tonight would be the night. She supposed she could convince Conner, but this really wasn’t that romantic or private. There were people all around them.

Conner pulled her close to him.

“Did you have fun today?”

“I did. The desert is gorgeous.”

“Have you fallen in love with Egypt yet?”

“I’ve fallen in love with a lot of things. I wish I’d made changes in my life a long time ago.”

“I’m glad you waited. Otherwise you might not have landed in my arms at the right time.”

She sighed. “But I did. I guess that’s the only thing that really matters, right?”

“Are you okay? You seem a little, I don’t know. Disappointed?”

“I am.”

“Why?”

She was glad it was dark, and she couldn’t see his reaction. “Because we are in the Black Desert, not the white one.”

He chuckled. “Patience, love, soon.”

They talked for a while longer, and then Conner was shaking her awake.

“It’s still dark.”

“I know, but you’ll want to see this. Trust me.”

They climbed out of the tent and hiked up one of the dunes. “Sunrise time,” said Conner.

Jessica groaned. “Seriously man, haven’t you ever heard of sleeping in?”

He chuckled. “Only when I’m at home. On the road, I like to see the sunrise.”

He sat down, and she leaned into him, trying to keep her eyes open.

The sky lightened to purple and then pink. It was an amazing array of colors. When the sun finally broke the horizon, coating the orange sand in golden light, Conner leaned over and kissed her deeply. He wound his fingers into her hair and tugged her close.

“See, totally worth waking up a little early for, isn’t it?” he whispered against her lips.

She smiled and kissed him.

A few hours later they were zipping up and down dunes again. Eventually they found a road, and Jessica saw the landscape changing a bit. The dunes gave way to flat land and the Black Desert turned brown again. Conner pulled her up against his side. Jessica didn’t sleep very well the night before and found herself drifting off.

Conner woke her up later. “Look around.”

She blinked at the blinding scenery. There were enormous white rocks everywhere. It looked like they were in the middle of a Star Wars movie.

She turned to him and grinned. “Without sounding too eager, I have to ask. Is this the White Desert?”

“Indeed it is. We’ll be sleeping here tonight.”

Jessica tried to keep her smile subdued, but she couldn’t help herself. After about thirty minutes, the car stopped and let them out to explore the amazing rocks. They climbed on top of them, ate lunch in the shadow of another one, and climbed inside a few others. There was no one else out there. It felt as if they were the only two people on Earth. It was exhilarating.

That night, just after dark, they pulled up to their campsite. There was only one tent set up. From the outside, it looked a lot bigger than the one they stayed in the night before.

“You ready?” Conner asked.

Jessica snorted. “Did you really just ask me that?”

He grabbed her hand. “I promised I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to.”

He was nothing like Rick. Jessica still worried about the fact that this was a rebound relationship and those never lasted. She genuinely liked Conner and wished she’d met him about six months later.

Jessica kissed him. “Did you not remember my disappointment last night? I’m more than ready.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I do. Come on.”

The driver brought their bags into the tent while she and Conner stared at the stars.

“They go on forever.”

“That they do. Before I came out here, I had no idea this many stars actually existed.”

Jessica sighed. No man had treated her this way.

Conner led her to the tent. She went in first, and he followed. She’d been expecting a crude bed like last night, but this was completely different. Camel blankets covered the ground, and a large bed had been set up in the middle, draped with what looked like down comforters. When she looked up, she realized there was no roof. It was completely open to the stars.

“This is gorgeous.” She couldn’t imagine lying in that bed and looking up at those stars all night long. Falling asleep and waking up to that view.

“I wanted this to be perfect and amazing for you.”

“It is. I just didn’t think it was very practical to come up with something so elaborate in what is quite literally the middle of nowhere.”

She couldn’t help herself. She jumped right onto the bed. It was definitely more comfortable than the rocks they slept on the night before.

“You know, you might have gone too far. This bed is way too comfortable. I’m not sure I’ll be staying awake very long.”

Conner climbed in after her. “Oh, you underestimate me. You’re going to be awake for a very long time tonight.”

That got her attention. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he smiled. He pulled her close and kissed her long and deep. She wiggled away and lay flat on her back and looked up at the stars. They made her feel so insignificant.

Conner pushed her shirt up a few inches and traced circles on her stomach. She shivered.

“Jess, I gotta tell you something before we do anything.”

She flashed her eyes to his face. This didn’t sound good.

“What?”

“I know we haven’t been seeing each other for very long, but you’re the first woman in a long time that I’ve felt anything real for. I didn’t expect for this happen, but I think I’m in love with you.”

Jessica stared at him for a long few seconds. She hadn’t thought this far. Was she in love with him too?

“Conner, I’m not sure how I feel.”

“That’s okay. Remember, I’m pretty patient.”

“No, you deserve an explanation. When we started seeing one another, I just assumed you’d be my rebound guy. I didn’t expect us to get this far. Now I have to reevaluate my expectations. You forget that I’m a therapist. Rebound relationships never last.”

He kissed her neck. “But aren’t there exceptions to every rule? Let’s be an exception.”

She rolled onto her side so she was facing him. His hand slid from her stomach to her back, and he pulled her up against him.

“I’m just cautious,” she said in spite of the goosebumps his fingers brought up.

“I know.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But I promise to always be honest with you, and we’ll go as slow as you want. Just because you think this is a rebound doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”

His lips grazed her cheek and her jaw.

“It’s scary trusting someone.”

“It is,” he agreed. “I can’t change that. I can, however, spend every day showing you that it was the right choice.”

He kissed her, and she lost herself in the kiss and his touch. She grew bold and slid her fingers up under his shirt across his back. His muscles tensed and relaxed as she smoothed her hands across his skin.