The Christmas Bride

by Susan Mallery

  “The school will not provide them?”

  “I suppose they could. They asked if some of the parents could help out. I said I would. Lina found this machine for me. It’s fabulous and practically sews on its own. You should see the instruction manual—it’s as thick as a dictionary. But I’ll figure it out.”

  He fingered a length of fabric. “I am sure there are employees in the palace who could do this for you.”

  She looked as if he’d slapped her. “But I like sewing. Besides, it’ll matter more if I make the costumes for the girls.”

  “As you wish.”

  “I’m going to guess you’re not into crafts.”

  He allowed himself a slight smile. “No.”

  “I learned to sew in the orphanage. I could make more clothes for a lot less. You probably don’t do anything like that here.”

  “We do not.”

  She tilted her head and her long, red hair tumbled over her shoulders. His fingers curled toward his palms as he ached to touch her hair, to feel it in his hand, dragging along his chest, across his thighs.

  “Did your mother sew?” Kayleen asked, jerking him back to the present.

  “I don’t know. She died when I was very young. I don’t remember her.”

  The light faded from her eyes. “Oh. I’m sorry. I knew she was gone. I didn’t know how old you were when it happened. I didn’t mean to remind you of that.”

  “It is of no consequence.”

  “But it’s sad.”

  “How can it be sad if the memory is gone?”

  She frowned. “That is the loss of what should have been.”

  “I am not wounded, Kayleen. Share your concerns with someone who needs them.”

  “Because you feel nothing?” she asked. “Isn’t that what you told me? Emotion makes you weak?”

  “Exactly.” Any emotion. Even passion. His current condition proved that.

  “What about trust?” she asked.

  “Trust must be earned.”

  “So many rules. So many chances to turn people away. It must be nice to have so many people in your life that there are extras.”

  She sounded wistful as she spoke, which made him want to pull her close and offer comfort.

  Kayleen, who wanted to belong, he thought, realizing her concern for the girls came from having lived in an orphanage herself. She was all heart and would bruise easily in a harsh world. Their backgrounds couldn’t be more different.

  “It is a matter of control,” he told her. “To need no one is to remain in charge.”

  She shook her head. “To need no one is to be desperately alone.”

  “That is not how I see it.”

  “That doesn’t make it any less true. There’s nothing worse than being alone,” she told him. “I’ll get this cleaned up now, and get out of your way.”

  * * *

  Kayleen walked through the palace gardens. While she loved the beauty of the rooms inside, they were nothing when compared with the opulence of the lush gardens that beckoned just beyond her windows.

  She chose a new path that twisted and turned, and once again reminded herself that she wanted to find a book on flowers in the palace library. She’d grown up gardening, but in the convent, all extra space had been taken up with vegetables. With money tight and children to feed, the nuns had not wasted precious earth on flowers.

  Kayleen plucked a perfect rose and inhaled the sweet scent, then settled on a stone bench warm from the sun. She needed a moment to close her eyes and be still. Maybe then the world would stop turning so quickly.

  So much had happened in such a short time. Meeting As’ad, moving here with the girls, getting ready for the holidays, kissing As’ad.

  The latter made her both sigh and smile. She longed for another kiss from him, but so far there had been no opportunity. Which made her wonder if the kiss had been as interesting and appealing to him. Maybe he’d found her inexperience disgusting. Maybe he’d been disappointed.

  Did it matter? There shouldn’t be any more kissing between them. She had her life plan and As’ad had his. They wanted opposite things—she needed to connect and he claimed connection didn’t matter. She just wasn’t sure she believed him.

  She heard footsteps on the path and turned toward the sound. She expected to see one of the many gardeners. What she got instead was the king.

  “Oh!” Kayleen sprang to her feet, then paused, not sure what she was supposed to do.

  King Mukhtar smiled. “Good afternoon, Kayleen. I see you are enjoying my garden.”

  “I enjoy wandering,” she said with a slight bob she hoped would pass for a curtsy and/or bow. “Have I stepped into off-limits space?”

  “Not at all. I welcome the company. Come, child. Walk with me.”

  It didn’t sound like a request.

  Kayleen fell into step beside the king and waited for him to start the conversation. She was just starting to sweat the silence when he said, “Are you settled into the palace? Does it feel like home?”

  She laughed. “I’m settled, but I’m not sure anywhere this magnificent will ever feel like home.”

  “A very politically correct answer,” he told her. “Where did you grow up?”

  “In an orphanage in the Midwest.”

  “I see. You lost your parents at an early age?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know anything about my father. My mother had me when she was really young. She couldn’t handle a baby so she left me with her mother. When that didn’t work out, I went to the Catholic orphanage, which turned out to be a great place to grow up.”

  She was used to telling the story in a upbeat way that avoided making anyone feel awkward. There was no reason for the king to know that her mother had abandoned her and that her grandmother hadn’t wanted to be stuck with another child to raise. No reason to talk about what it had felt like to be left on the doorstep of an orphanage on her fifth birthday, knowing no one in her family wanted anything to do with her. King Mukhtar wouldn’t know what it felt like to never belong anywhere.

  “So you don’t remember your mother at all?” he asked.

  “No.” Which was fine with Kayleen.

  “Perhaps you’ll meet again one day,” the king said.

  “I would like that very much,” Kayleen lied, knowing it was what the king wanted to hear.

  Growing up, she’d been taught that it was her duty to forgive her mother and grandmother for abandoning her. She’d made peace with what had happened, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be close now. Perhaps there were circumstances that, if explained, would help her understand. In truth, she wasn’t interested enough to find out.

  “So your past is the reason you were so against the three sisters being split up,” the king said.

  “Absolutely. They only have each other. They need to stay together.”

  “Because of you, they will.”

  She smiled. “Actually As’ad gets all the credit. He’s the one who saved them. I’ll always be grateful to him.”

  The king glanced at her. “I heard you rode into the desert and met with some of the villagers who live there.”

  “I did. I liked them a lot. It’s an interesting way of life. Carrying one’s roots wherever one goes.”

  “Most young women would be more interested in the elegant shops on our boulevards than in the desert.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not much into shopping.” She’d never had the money for it to be serious sport and she doubted the stores the king spoke of had much in the way of bargains.

  “Perhaps As’ad will take you one day,” the king said.

  “That would be fun, but it’s not necessary. He’s given me so much already.”

  “So you like my son?”

  “Of course. He’s a wonderful man. Charming and kind and patient.” And a great kisser, but she wasn’t going to mention that to the king.

  “I am pleased to hear you are getting along,” King Mukhtar told her. “Very pleased.”


  CHAPTER SIX

  Kayleen waved at Neil, As’ad’s assistant, and when the man didn’t lunge for her, walked past him and into the prince’s office.

  As’ad glanced up from his computer. “You have so intimidated my assistant that he has given up trying to stop you.”

  She laughed. “If only that were true. I won’t stay long, I just…” She walked to the desk, started to sit down, then stopped. “I spoke with the king.”

  As’ad looked at her as if waiting for her point.

  “Your father is a king,” she said.

  “Yes, I know.”

  “I don’t. I can’t be speaking with a king. That sort of thing doesn’t happen to people like me. It doesn’t happen to anyone. It’s not normal.”

  “You live in the royal palace. What did you expect?”

  “Not to be living here,” she admitted. “It’s too crazy. You’re a prince.”

  “Again, information I have already obtained.”

  She sighed and sank into a chair. “You’re not taking me seriously.”

  “You have given me no reason to. My father and I are who we have always been.”

  She nodded slowly. He’d grown up this way. It was impossible for him to grasp the incredibleness of the situation for her.

  “I shouldn’t have made you take the girls,” she told him. “I didn’t think the whole thing through. How they would change things for you.”

  He rose and walked around the desk until he was standing in front of her and she had to look way, way up to meet his gaze.

  “You did not make me do anything.”

  She waved that away. “You know what I mean.”

  “Indeed, I do not. I was aware that adopting three American sisters would make things different and still I went forward.”

  Which made her wonder why he hadn’t just dismissed her like an annoying gnat. Wasn’t that what princes did?

  “I don’t belong here,” she told him. “I’m not used to this sort of thing.”

  He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “I say who belongs and who does not.”

  “Off with my head?”

  “That is not what I had in mind.”

  She knew he was going to kiss her even before he bent toward her and brushed his mouth against hers. She couldn’t say how she knew, only that anticipation tightened her stomach and she forgot to breathe. Nothing else mattered but the feel of his lips on hers and the nearness of his body. He put his arms around her and drew her close.

  It was like going home. The sense of belonging and safety. She’d never experienced that before and the sensation was so sweet, so perfect, she never wanted to be anywhere else. Then his mouth was moving on hers and she got lost in the kiss, the feel of his hands moving up and down her back. The heat of them. The way they pressed against each other, her body melting into his.

  She put her hands on his upper arms and explored his muscled strength. When the pressure on her lips increased, she parted and was rewarded by the sensual sweep of his tongue across hers.

  Somewhere along the way she must have remembered to breathe again because she moaned low in her throat. She felt tense and relaxed at the same time. She wanted this to never stop and she wanted more.

  Without thinking, she rose on tiptoe, so she could press herself against him more fully. She tilted her head and kissed him back, teasing his tongue with hers.

  His hands moved more urgently. One slipped to her rear, where he squeezed her curves. The contact shocked her, but excited her, too. Instinctively she arched forward, bringing her lower body in contact with his. He squeezed again, then moved his other hand to her waist before sliding it higher.

  Anticipation chased away any hint of apprehension. His large hand settled on her breast with a confidence that allowed her not to be afraid. She broke the kiss so she could lean her forehead against his shoulder while he cupped her breast in his hand.

  His touch was gentle and slow, but more wonderful than anything she’d ever experienced before. It was as if he knew the best way to touch her, to stroke her. When he moved his fingers across her nipple, she gasped and clung to him.

  He moved his free hand to her chin, raised her head, then kissed her again. She held on to him as the room began to spin faster and faster. When he finally stepped back, she wasn’t sure she could stay standing.

  His eyes were dark as night, but bright with a fire that burned as hot as the one flaring inside of her. She’d never seen sexual need on a man’s face before, but she recognized it now. Recognized it and knew that somehow she had caused it.

  He wanted her. It was magic and filled her with delight and wonder and a sense of feminine power. Now if only she knew what to do with it.

  “Kayleen.”

  He’d spoken her name dozens of times before, but never with his voice so heavy and rumbling. She wanted this, she thought happily. She wanted this and so much more.

  Somewhere in the distance she heard people talking. She remembered they were in his office and she had interrupted his day. The realization made her unsure of what to do next.

  “I should, ah, probably go,” she told him, wondering if he would ask her to stay.

  “Do not worry about the king,” he said instead. “My father is very pleased with you.”

  “How do you know? Have you talked to him?”

  “I have no need. You are exactly what he wants you to be.”

  What? But before she could ask for an explanation, As’ad’s phone rang. He glanced at his watch. “A teleconference with the British foreign minister.”

  “Right. Okay. I’ll see you later.”

  She walked back to her room, wondering what it all meant. The kiss, the intimate touch, As’ad’s comment that she was what the king wanted her to be. Did that mean a good nanny? A tidy guest?

  Yet more reminders that this was a foreign world and not one she was likely to be comfortable in. She should be eager to escape. Yet there was a part of her that wouldn’t mind staying for a very long time.

  * * *

  “You summoned me?” Lina asked as she breezed into the room. “And don’t say you didn’t. There was a definite command in your message.”

  “I won’t deny it,” As’ad told her, motioning to the sofa in the corner and joining her there.

  “Am I to be punished?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

  “You are my aunt and the woman who raised me. I have great respect for you.”

  “So I’m in serious trouble.”

  She didn’t sound worried, but then why should she? He would never do anything to hurt her. Despite what she’d done, he had trouble being angry with her. Not that he would let her know that.

  If he was annoyed with anyone, it was with himself for being too blind to see what was happening. It had been obvious from the beginning and he hadn’t noticed.

  “Shall you go first or shall I?” Lina asked.

  “I called you here.”

  “I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have an agenda.”

  He nodded. “Please. Begin.”

  “I spoke with Zarina the other day. You claimed Kayleen as your own.”

  “For the moment. She created a stir in the village. I did not wish things to get awkward.”

  “You kissed her.”

  That damn kiss, he thought grimly. It had created nothing but trouble. The second kiss had been worse. Now he knew the passion between them had not been brought on by too many nights alone. It flared as bright and hot as the sun. He ached to claim Kayleen’s body. But her innocence and position in his household made the situation complicated.

  “To make a point,” he said with a casualness he didn’t feel.

  “So that explains it,” Lina murmured. “You have no feelings for her yourself.”

  None that he would admit to. “No.”

  “So if I wanted to introduce her to a pleasant young man, you would be agreeable?”

  “I would,” he lied, picturing himself ripping o
ff the man’s head. “But it will not be an issue.”

  “You’re saying I don’t know any young men, but you are wrong. I know several. One is an American. I mentioned Kayleen to him and he thought he would like to meet her. Did you know it’s nearly Thanksgiving?”

  “Nearly what?”

  “Thanksgiving. It’s an American holiday. I had forgotten myself, but the young man in question mentioned getting together with Kayleen that evening. They would both be missing home and could connect over that.”

  Missing home. Kayleen would, he thought, and so would the girls. They would miss the traditional dinner.

  “I will arrange it,” he told his aunt.

  “Kayleen’s date?”

  “Of course not. Thanksgiving dinner for her and the girls. A traditional meal. I’ll speak with the head chef right away.” He turned his attention back to his aunt. “As for your young American, I doubt he exists.”

  “Of course he does.”

  “Perhaps, but he is not intended for Kayleen. You have other plans for her.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But while we’re on the subject, Kayleen is lovely, isn’t she? I met her the first time I volunteered at the orphanage. She’d been here all of two weeks and yet had already settled in. I was impressed by her intelligence and her dedication to the children. She has many fine qualities.”

  “I will not marry her.”

  Lina narrowed her gaze. “No one has asked you to.” Her voice was level enough, but he saw the temper in her eyes.

  “You would not ask,” he told her. “But you have gone out of your way to throw her in my path. Tell me, was Tahir a part of your plan? Did you arrange for him to come to the orphanage and set the events in motion?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if I did, I would point out Kayleen would be a good mother. Her sons would be strong. You have to marry someone. Why not her?”

  Why indeed? A case could be made for his aunt’s logic. Kayleen may not have been born royal, but sometimes that was an advantage. She had an inner strength he respected—it was her heart that made him wary.

  “She cares too much,” he told his aunt. “She is too emotional.”