Must Have Been The Moonlight by Melody Thomas Read Free Book Online

his.
    “Major Fallon.” Alex struggled to her elbow. “We were just touting your culinary expertise.”
    “Your praise is obvious.” If he felt insulted, it didn’t show.
    Beneath an open caftan that hung to his knees, his torso was bare save for the dark thatch of hair that narrowed and disappeared in the low waist of his baggy pants. In one hand he carried the long rifle. He knelt, bringing with him the scent of his shaving soap. Fine black hair shadowed his armpits.
    “I’m glad to see that you’ve both recovered, amîri .” His eyes seemed almost a caress on hers.
    The feeling inside Brianna was so unexpected, she wondered what was wrong with her. “We Donallys are forged in iron, Major,” she managed in the spirit of the moment.
    “That’s reassuring,” he said, his voice silky dark. He stood. “Because I’ll be needing your clothes. Tomorrow night we’re riding back into hell.”

Chapter 3
    “I t’s never my luck that anything might be simple.” Alex wrinkled her nose. “Or that Major Fallon couldn’t have found clothes from a man who’d bathed within the last year.”
    Brianna struggled with the binding around her breasts, then slid a robe over her head. “I only hope he knows what he’s doing.”
    “My lady, are you prepared to leave?” Abdul said from the other side of the screen after they’d finished dressing. Brianna looked up to find Alex working the turban over her head. A strand of Alex’s hair, bleached honey by the sun, had escaped captivity, and Brianna tucked it behind her ear. She worried that Alex felt feverish. “Walk with stride in your step, my lady.”
    Major Fallon entered the tent as they stepped out from behind the partition. Earlier, he’d stopped to say something to the feminine versions of themselves, eating dinner outside beneath the awning. Their disguises complete, people had to believe Brianna and Alexandra were still in camp or Major Fallon’s plan would fail. The night was still.
    The very image of a desert warrior, Major Fallon turned when Alex approached, and the front of the tent flap dropped as he stepped inside.
    He’d been implicit in his instructions. Alex would leave first. She was dressed as one of Christopher’s cooks.
    “You’ll be staying with the foreman’s family for two days before the caravan leaves. Everything will be packed,” he said, when he caught Lady Alex’s gaze going over the photographs on the shelves.
    “I’m sure you’ve seen to every detail, Major Fallon.” Alex’s reply was every bit that of a lady. “I’m not worried for myself, only for my husband.”
    “Five armed men from the outpost will be traveling with you. It will look like you’re part of your husband’s staff. If anyone is watching tonight, they will see me leaving with you and Miss Donally.”
    “I don’t have to tell you to be careful.” She held out her hand, and he brought it to his lips. “ Salaam aleikum . Go in peace.”
    Bowed over her hand, he responded in kind. Abdul gave her a silver tea tray. Together they walked out of the tent.
    Brianna remained where she’d been left as she watched Major Fallon observing Alex’s departure. A skein of jealousy lifted her chin. The strength of it caught her by surprise. A single tallow lamp lit the cavernous space of her brother’s desert abode. The plan was that she would wait thirty minutes. A guard would ride into camp, enter the tent, and she would ride out in his place.
    Abdul had promised earlier that her photography equipment had already been packed. She didn’t want to fret over something so frivolous. She shifted her thoughts. The way Major Fallon had looked with his robe off that morning came to mind as she found herself alone with him. Brianna caught him regarding her, his expression indolent. And her heart did that strange flutter that she didn’t like.
    His eyes went to the long winding cloth in her hands. She’d been unable to make the turban stay on her head. “I’mafraid my