The Desert Rogues Part 1

by Susan Mallery

  If only she would give in on this one simple matter. How dare she expect him to apologize for what he’d done? It wasn’t as if she’d had such a great life and he’d taken her from it. She’d been alone, jobless, abandoned by her fiancé. She’d been…

  The thought ended, and a new one began. It was most disquieting, so he started walking to distract himself. He hurried down the familiar corridors until he came to his own rooms. But instead of entering, he stood there thinking.

  Dora had been a person, he thought at last. Someone with rights and feelings, and there was the smallest possibility he’d been wrong to take advantage of her. Even if she was just a woman.

  But to admit that he loved her? Preposterous. He opened the door to his suite and stepped inside. The darkness seemed to surround him. He still ached for her. They’d begun to build the fire but had not had time to quench the hunger with flames. His body was ready to take her to that place of perfect paradise. His arms needed to hold her close, his lips longed to utter her name.

  She wanted words of love and foolish apologies. He offered a kingdom—money and power. They battled to be the victor. His grandmother had told him to woo her; his pride said that Dora must surrender first. One of them would have to bend, he thought sadly. If they didn’t, they were destined to fail.

  The party was going strong when Dora arrived. She stood in a side entrance to the ballroom and admired the beautiful decorations and the glittering crowd. King Givon hosted a “small, intimate” birthday celebration for his good friend and prime minister, Aleser. However, small and intimate in the royal world was different from small and intimate in Dora’s experience. There were more than a hundred people in the room.

  Dora drew in a deep breath and tried to relax. She felt fine, and she looked good. At least that’s what she’d told herself as she’d dressed an hour before.

  Since arriving in El Bahar, she’d started letting her hair grow. Now she wore it swept up in an elegant French twist. A few weeks before she and Khalil had gone to Paris for business meetings. Fatima had given Dora the name of an exclusive salon, which had pampered her with a manicure and facial. Afterward, a gifted artist had taught her the best way to apply makeup. All the horseback riding and the long distances between rooms in the palace had helped Dora drop ten pounds since arriving. While she would never be model perfect, she was an attractive, vital woman. Unfortunately she cowered in the shadowed doorway like a frightened schoolchild. If only she’d been able to walk in with Khalil.

  Dora sighed. While her husband had been greeting guests, she’d been throwing up in her bathroom. So much for morning sickness occurring in the morning. Her attacks were infrequent, but they generally came in waves, striking every few hours, then disappearing for a day or two. Still not sure how to tell Khalil the truth about her pregnancy, she’d sent him away, telling him that she’d found a stain on her dress and had to change. The price of her lie was that she would be forced to enter the party on her own.

  She took a step into the well-dressed crowd and moved toward the bar. There she ordered sparkling water poured into a wineglass, then plastered a smile on her face and prepared to plunge into the insanity.

  “Your Highness,” a familiar voice said from behind her.

  Dora turned and saw Martin Wingbird hurrying toward her. A tall, stately man walked briskly behind him. She paused.

  “Good evening, Martin.”

  “Your Highness.” Martin bowed, then glanced at his companion. “Princess Dora Khan, may I please present Lord Andrew Hall. He’s heard about your plans to increase opportunities for young women to attend college and would like to speak to you about that.”

  Lord Hall took her offered hand and bowed low over her fingers. “Your Highness, I hesitated to disrupt a party to discuss business, but I’m only in El Bahar for a short visit.” He straightened. “My late wife was a great advocate of female education, as she called it.” He smiled, but his deep blue eyes remained sad. “In honor of her, I have dedicated my life to that cause. After hearing about your campaign and your success in convincing the king of the need to educate women, I would like to talk about offering scholarships to worthy female students so that they could attend British universities.”

  Dora studied the thin man. His white hair was thick and wavy, his skin permanently tanned. “How on earth did you hear about my program?”

  “News travels quickly, Your Highness. You are a highly visible and respected member of the royal family. People watch and talk.”

  Dora laughed. “I suppose I have to believe you, but I’m still having trouble adjusting to all this.” She waved to take in both the party and the palace. “Lord Hall, I would be most delighted to discuss the scholarships with you. Will you still be in El Bahar tomorrow?”

  “Business keeps me here for three days.”

  “Good.” She looked at Martin. “Make an appointment for Lord Hall.” She returned her attention to the older man. “I look forward to our discussion.”

  “As do I.” He nodded and moved away.

  Dora sipped at her sparkling water. Life was certainly different these days. Just six months ago, she couldn’t have imagined a world such as this.

  She circled the room, greeting people she knew, introducing herself to others. Small talk wasn’t her favorite, but practice made her better. She kept looking for Khalil, wondering where he was and what he was doing. Finally she caught a glimpse of something familiar, and she stopped in her tracks.

  Dora stood near a small alcove, one of many that lined the ballroom. Behind her music played and people laughed and talked, but in front of her was relative silence. She waited, then caught the movement again. It was no more than a swirl of fabric from a woman’s dress and the gesture of one slender arm. Yet she sensed something familiar…something dangerous.

  Quietly Dora moved forward until she could see the two people standing in shadow. She recognized the man immediately—despite looking somewhat like his brothers, she would never mistake Khalil for anyone else. It took her a minute to place the woman. Not because she didn’t remember her, but because of the way the light and shadows played on her face.

  Amber. The stunningly beautiful woman who had been engaged to Khalil. The woman who was a temptress in clinging red silk that outlined a perfect body. Thick, black hair piled high on her head, leaving her neck looking slender and delicate.

  Dora stood just outside of their sight and fought against the waves of pain and hurt that crashed through her. Despite the pretty dress, the jewelry, the makeup, she was a pathetic parody of that beautiful young woman. Amber wore red silk, Dora blue. But the styles were similar enough to cause comment—ribbed column styles that accentuated bosom, exposed shoulders. Amber’s dress clung all the way to her knees, emphasizing her amazing curves, while Dora’s gown had been softened with folds of fabric so that her still-heavy hips would not be highlighted.

  Amber was all things more, Dora thought miserably, wanting to back up but frozen in place. Her own hair had been put up, but she didn’t have the thick length to add height and volume. Her own earrings were lovely diamonds, but they paled in comparison to the jewels glittering on Amber’s ears and around her neck. She felt like an ugly parody of the younger woman’s beauty.

  All her confidence, all her happiness, evaporated like a bowl of water left out in the desert sun. Khalil had been right, she was nothing.

  Defeat weighed heavily on her. She forced herself to turn so that she could leave and escape to her room to lick her wounds. At that moment, the music ended and relative quiet settled over the ballroom. While others were too far away to hear what was said in the private alcove, Dora was not.

  “I want you, Khalil,” Amber purred in her sultry tones. “I am your destiny, not that cow of a wife. What were you thinking, taking her when you could have had me? I know you don’t love her. I’m willing to admit I was wrong. I want to be with you. I want to have your sons.”

  It was too much, Dora thought as tears blinded her.
She hurried away before she made a sound and betrayed her presence to the lovers.

  Up ahead she spotted a side door and made for it. Pain ripped through her. Pain and disappointment—for all that should have been but never would be. She’d lost before she’d begun. How on earth was she supposed to compete with a woman like Amber? No wonder her husband wouldn’t admit to caring about her—he didn’t. He loved another and she, Dora, was only in the way. She’d been fooling herself to think Khalil would ever love her.

  A sob ripped through her. She opened the door and stepped into the night. But instead of soothing her, the faintly sweet scented air turned her stomach. She rushed to the edge of the balcony and threw up into a potted plant. She’d thought she’d hit rock bottom before when Gerald had rejected her, but this was far worse.

  “It can’t be all that bad,” a soft voice murmured as a delicate handkerchief was pressed into her hand.

  Dora took it gratefully, then wiped her mouth. She looked up and saw Fatima standing next to her.

  “If you would stop hiding from the truth, child, so much would be better.”

  Dora tried to force a smile, but she couldn’t. “It’s not what you think.”

  Fatima, beautiful as always in her favorite Chanel, leaned close and patted Dora’s hand. “I know more than you suspect. I see many things that others do not, and what I don’t see, my spies tell me.”

  Dora opened her mouth, then closed it. Fatima had spies? Then she did smile. Why not? The world was completely mad, and she was trapped in El Bahar.

  “I can’t leave him,” she said, not completely aware she was speaking aloud. “Not just because I love him. If it was only that, I could probably tear myself away.”

  “I doubt you could, but we can pretend, for the sake of discussion,” Fatima said kindly. She leaned against the railing and stared up at the sky. “Look at the lovely stars. So many and so bright.” She sighed. “Of course now that you’re pregnant, you’re trapped. You know that El Baharian law forbids a woman to leave her husband while she’s pregnant.”

  Dora knew all too well. “Unless the husband had been abusing her or their other children. Yes, I’ve become most familiar with El Baharian law in the past few months.”

  Dora touched her stomach. Life grew within. Soon that life would be visible to all. Then what?

  “How many people know I’m pregnant?” she asked.

  Fatima laughed. “We’re dealing with men, my dear. They’ll know when you tell them, not before.”

  That was something. She had time. But for what? “Nothing is going to change.”

  The night air surrounded them in soft darkness. The sounds of the party were faint beyond the glass doors. Out here, on a small balcony off to the side, they were alone. Dora wished they could stay here forever, that she might never have to go back and face her husband.

  “What do you want to be different?” Fatima asked.

  “Everything,” Dora sighed. “Loving Khalil is difficult enough, but having his child will tie me to him forever.” El Baharian law would allow her to leave once the child was born, but to what end? The royal family would not allow her to take her baby with her, and she doubted if Khalil would agree to joint custody. Besides, she didn’t want to leave. What she wanted was her husband to love her.

  “Not everything,” Fatima corrected. “It is a matter of priorities. If you don’t mind my saying so, you’ve gone about things all wrong.”

  Dora glanced at her. “In what way?”

  “You must earn what you most desire.” Fatima turned to face her. “You are pregnant with Khalil’s firstborn. That gives you power no other woman possesses, but you must be wise when you use that power. Far better for you to win your husband on your own.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “So it’s obvious to everyone that Khalil doesn’t love me.”

  Fatima touched her bare arm. “What is obvious is that you two began your marriage for reasons other than love. Such is the way of many royal matches. Only the very lucky, or the determined, find love later. Is that what you want? Khalil’s love?”

  Dora nodded, then swiped at the tears on her face. “I desperately need that. I can’t live half a life anymore. I’ve done it that way for too long.” She sniffed. “But it’s too late. He’s in love with Amber, and there’s no way I can compete with her. She’s younger, she’s more beautiful.”

  Fatima dismissed the information with a wave of her hand. “She’s nothing. You’re the princess…you’re already his wife. Amber is not all you believe her to be. She is like a magician’s smoke. Very impressive during the performance, but nothing remains afterward.”

  The older woman stared intently. Dark eyes seemed to see into Dora’s soul. “Khalil went to a lot of trouble to marry you. He turned his back on his betrothed and the traditions of his family. He risked his father’s anger. Have you ever wondered why?”

  Dora tried to remember what Khalil had said about that. “He didn’t think Amber would be a good mother.” She rubbed her temples, which had begun to ache. “Except she’s so lovely.”

  “What is beauty? True loveliness comes from a good heart, not long legs or a pretty face.” She straightened her shoulders. “When I married my husband, the harem wasn’t as it is today. All those years ago, it was filled with beautiful women from all over the world. I was his wife, but he wasn’t interested in me. Who wants plain bread when there are trays of sweets to explore?”

  Dora didn’t know what to say. Women in the harem? At least she didn’t have to compete with that. “What did you do?”

  “I decided that possession of his name was not enough. I had to earn his heart. You must do the same.”

  Oh, sure, something simple, she thought glumly. “How am I supposed to do that?”

  Fatima smiled. “Give him what he most desires and in a way no other woman can. Then you will have all that you most long for in your life.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Give him what he most desires…you will have all that you most long for in your life,” Dora muttered when Fatima had left her alone on the balcony. “Oh, sure. Words to live by. But what do they mean?”

  Although she spoke the question aloud, no answer appeared to her. The silence itself seemed to mock her, and she had to fight against the pressure of more tears. She didn’t want to cry anymore, she thought. She didn’t want to be unhappy. She had to find a way to make her marriage work, or she had to leave. She was tired of her games with Khalil.

  But where did she begin? How did she change herself, or get her most stubborn husband to see the truth? Was Fatima correct and could she, Dora, give Khalil his heart’s desire? Did she know his heart well enough to understand what he might want?

  Too many questions and no answers. What she needed was to be in her husband’s company. Only his smile, his light touch on her arm, would restore her good humor.

  But before she could leave the balcony, a woman appeared out of the shadows. “Ah, Princess Dora, how lovely to see you again.”

  Dora froze. The ever-stunning Amber stood in front of her. The young woman had destroyed all of Dora’s illusions, not to mention her wedding day. She didn’t want to hear any more of her hurtful words. What she really wanted was to bolt for cover, but she would be damned if she would let this El Baharian heartbreaker see that she had her running scared.

  “Amber. Very nice to see you again.” She gave a regal bow. “Are you enjoying the party?”

  “Of course. My father is happy to have his family around him to celebrate this day.” Amber pouted slightly. “He’s been difficult about me being gone so much, but it’s impossible for me to stay long in El Bahar. So painful.”

  Dora supposed she should be more sympathetic, but she wasn’t in the mood. Nor did she trust Amber. “I would guess that being around your former fiancé and his new wife would be difficult. How nice that you can afford to travel. It distracts as well as broadens the mind.”

  Amber’s delicate eyebrows drew together. “Don’
t sound so confident, Your Highness. Things are not as they appear.”

  “Aren’t they?” Dora made a great show of glancing at her wedding ring. “And here I thought I was the one he’d married.”

  “You might have his name and his ring, but you don’t have his heart. That belongs to me.”

  Dora didn’t have a quick response for that one. While she wasn’t sure that Amber knew anything about anyone’s heart, Dora knew that she didn’t have possession of Khalil’s heart, either.

  Amber took a step closer. “We’re still lovers. He still visits me when he can.”

  Dora wanted to deny the words. Her husband came to her bed more often than not. He was vigorous and passionate, and she didn’t believe for a single moment that he was with another woman. Khalil had many flaws, but deception wasn’t one of them.

  Or was it, a little voice in her head whispered. What about the lies he told at the beginning of their relationship? What about his stubborn refusal to admit that he was wrong and that he’d hurt her?

  “I don’t know when he’d have the time,” Dora said coolly, refusing to let the other woman know that she was trembling from both fear and pain.

  “Of course you wouldn’t know,” Amber scoffed. “You sleep alone in your chamber on the far side of the palace. You have no way of knowing how often I’ve crept into his bed or he into mine.” She took another step closer and clutched Dora’s arm. “He’s already had me this night. You can plan on spending your evening alone.”

  Dora jerked free. She refused to believe these stories, she told herself, even as the hurt ripped through her. “You’re lying. I will tell Khalil of your lies, and you will be banished from the palace.”

  Amber laughed. “My father is prime minister of El Bahar and the king’s closest friend. My family has been close to the royal family for generations. Don’t think that a few words and a ring are going to come between me and the man I love. Go to him, tell him what I said, if you dare. Find out how little you matter. You are nothing.”