The Desert Rogues Part 1

by Susan Mallery

  “How very visual,” he said dryly.

  “Mommy has a great imagination. She can make really boring stuff interesting. That’s why she’s such a good teacher. Oh!” His riding companion brightened. “She’s mad about losing her job, too, and she’s even more mad about her getting all her money, even though she didn’t finish teaching.” Her voice lowered confidentially. “You’re kinda in trouble, Prince Malik. I didn’t know grown-ups could be in trouble like kids, but they sure can.”

  He didn’t know how to respond. He understood that Liana was annoyed with him for tricking her, but she’d overreacted to the situation. After all, he was a prince, and he’d married her. It wasn’t as if he’d taken advantage of her then cast her aside. He had willingly given her his name, then set her up as his country’s future queen.

  Yet in return she insulted him by refusing to move into his quarters. Didn’t she understand that he wanted her there? Not only so they could be lovers again, but because he wanted to think about her living where he lived. He wanted her fitting into his life, using his belongings, appreciating the art, enjoying the views, just being a part of his world. Was that so wrong? Couldn’t she see that he had not wanted anyone else to do that? Did she know what it cost him to open up enough just for this?

  He stared at the horizon where the sun was barely visible in the cool, clear dawn. Sometimes his life felt as empty and cold as the desert in winter. Liana could be his sun—offering both warmth and light. Yet she turned her back on him and rejected him. Then he reminded himself that he should expect little else from her. The price of his position was isolation.

  “I don’t understand why Mommy is so upset,” Bethany said a few minutes later when they’d turned the horses and were heading back to the stables. “I think she likes you, but she doesn’t want to say that. And she’s so mad now that she keeps talking about you being just like my dad.” Bethany glanced at him, her expression confused.

  “You’re not like Daddy at all,” she said confidently. “You never forget our plans to go riding, and you’re never too busy to talk to me. You’re always nice, and we have fun. I told her that, too, but she said I’m too young to understand.”

  Malik didn’t understand either, but he wasn’t about to share that with Bethany.

  “I’m sure we’ll come to some agreement,” he said.

  “I hope so, because I don’t want to leave El Bahar. I want to live in the palace and be a real princess.”

  “I’ll have to see what I can do about that.” Bethany grinned. “Then everyone in school will have to bow to me, and I won’t have to do what the teachers say.”

  “Unfortunately, little one, it’s not that simple. Sometimes being royal means doing a lot of things you don’t want to do, even when all your friends are going out to play. There are many responsibilities.”

  Bethany sighed. “I guess it couldn’t be as wonderful as I think.” She glanced at him. “Is that why you married Mommy? To have her help with your responsibilities?”

  “Some,” he admitted. “Some of the reason is that I didn’t want her to go away.”

  “But she says we’re going away anyway, and in a month, not in two years like we were at first.” She frowned. “You’re gonna have to do something, Prince Malik. Because if Mommy doesn’t stop being mad at you, she’s not going to stay here at the palace.”

  “I know.” The problem was he didn’t know what to do to change Liana’s mind. “Do you have any suggestions?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m only nine. I don’t know about grown-up stuff like that. Except in those books she reads, the men are always getting the ladies to fall in love. And then they get married and live happily ever after. I think you forgot the in-love part. You should have done that first. Then she wouldn’t want to leave.”

  They were by the stables. Malik slid off his mount, then helped Bethany down. “I suspect you’re right. I did do things backwards.”

  “So make Mommy fall in love with you. It can’t be too hard. Those women in her romance novels are always falling in love. You could read one, then do what they do.” She beamed. “If you get it right, we won’t have to leave.”

  Malik was not the kind of man to take advice from a book, but he couldn’t quite explain that to a nine-year-old.

  “I’ll think about it,” he said at last.

  Bethany hugged him, her small arms going around his waist. “I’ll try to talk to Mommy more,” she said. “So we never have to leave.”

  Malik removed her hat and then smoothed her sleek blond hair. “I don’t want either of you to leave,” he said.

  What he didn’t dare tell her was that she was part of the reason he’d married her mother. Not only was Bethany proof that Liana would be a good mother for his sons, but he’d actually grown to care for the child. She was intelligent and spoke her mind with a frankness he found refreshing.

  Sometimes when he was with her, he allowed himself to forget all the responsibilities waiting for him when he returned to his world. In Bethany he saw how life would have been had he not been the Crown Prince.

  So different, he thought, remembering all the afternoons he’d spent watching from the window as his brothers left the schoolroom to go riding or out to the souk with their tutor. But his days lasted long after the hours of study. When he had finished with his tutor, he reported to his father. In the afternoons, the king and his ministers trained him in matters of government. After dinner, there had been more lessons, or state events he was expected to attend. While his brothers had been free to return to their mother’s side to be cuddled and read to or sung to sleep, Malik had lived alone. He’d been deemed a man at the age of four and had been expected to act like one at all times.

  Malik didn’t want that for his children, but he knew no other way. So he needed Liana to be the loving force in their lives. She would fight for them, protect them, even from him. She would make sure they knew what it was to love and be loved. With her as their mother, he wouldn’t have to worry that they would grow up with a black soul and an empty heart.

  Liana felt she and Malik were still at a draw. He’d forced her to stay in the palace, but she’d insisted on living in guest quarters rather than moving into his rooms. She wasn’t teaching, but she also wasn’t a part of his life. Unfortunately, the victories weren’t very helpful, and after two days of pacing the length of her suite, she was ready to go crazy.

  There was nothing to do with her day. She was used to always being on the run. Between teaching and Bethany and her house, she’d had a list of things to do that stretched into next month. Every day had been busy from the time she woke up until she fell exhausted into bed. But now there was nothing. Bethany was in school all day. The suite didn’t require cleaning—there were servants who got insulted if she so much as made her own bed. Someone else did the cooking. She had no friends and no one to talk to. Worse, she sensed that her marriage to Malik—not to mention their unusual living arrangements—was the subject of much gossip and speculation.

  A part of her felt guilty that people might think badly of Malik because of her actions. But then she reminded herself what he’d done to her, and she got mad all over again, and that made her swear she wasn’t going to give in.

  Her life had become very complicated, she thought to herself as she stared out at the beautiful view. She still didn’t understand why Malik had married her. Nothing about her screamed “great catch.”

  She didn’t think he was madly in love with her. She thought he might like her and she was reasonably confident that he’d enjoyed making love as much as she had…at least she hoped so. But that was all temporary when compared with the act of getting married. Which brought her back to her original question of what on earth he’d been doing.

  “I need some answers,” she said aloud and turned her back on the view. That was the problem. She had too many questions and not enough information. Therefore she had to go to the source and find out what exactly was going on.

  T
hat decided, Liana stalked out of her suite and made her way into the working wing of the palace. She remembered some of the way from when Malik had taken her to see the king.

  After a wrong turn and detailed directions from an assistant, she found herself standing in front of an imposing desk, staring down at an official-looking man with short blond hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He was pale and slight, but with an air of importance that made her tug at the hem of her short-sleeved cotton sweater.

  The man continued typing on his computer for what seemed like hours. Finally he looked up at her and raised his eyebrows. “Yes?”

  “I’d like to see Prince Malik,” she said, trying not to sound as intimidated and out of place as she felt.

  The man smiled, but the gesture wasn’t the least bit friendly. “I’m sure you would, but that’s not possible. At the moment he’s meeting with the king. Later he has a meeting with Prince Jamal. There is a parliamentary session this afternoon and a formal state dinner tonight. I just don’t see where I can squeeze you in.” He clicked three keys on the computer. “The prince might have something at the end of the month. Would that be convenient?”

  Instead of answering, Liana looked around the room. She’d given the open space a quick perusal when she’d first entered, but now she noted the original oil paintings, the coat of arms on the far wall, the richness of the carpet and the odious little man barring her from her husband.

  The truth hit her like a bolt of lightning. She’d really married a prince. A future ruler of a real country. Not just a wealthy man or a successful man, but an honest-to-God prince. What on earth had she been thinking?

  “Well, do you want the appointment or not?”

  Liana blinked at the man and shook her head. “No. Thanks.”

  She backed out of the room and quickly made her way down the marble hallways. There were fountains and statues and priceless rugs.

  She hurried back toward the more familiar section of the palace. When she rounded a corner, she saw the golden doors that marked the entrance to the harem. Gold, she thought, feeling dazed. These were solid gold doors that had been carved or hammered or whatever it was people did to gold to make it decorative. She traced the intricate pattern, then pushed her way inside. She wasn’t sure what she wanted here, she only knew that at least in these rooms the men weren’t allowed.

  Liana shut the heavy door behind her and leaned against it. In front of her, Dora and Heidi sat on two sofas, talking.

  Dora looked up and saw her first. She smiled. “You look terrified. Whatever has happened, we can help. Please join us.” She motioned to the tea set on the low table between them. “We sent Rihana to your suite with an invitation, but you weren’t there.”

  Liana crossed the marble floor and sat down next to Heidi. She gave them both a wobbly smile. “I was at the other end of the palace. I wanted to see Malik, but his secretary told me I needed an appointment.”

  Heidi wrinkled her nose. “Don’t get me started on Malik’s secretary. I don’t like Zachary very much. He’s too self-important for me. But I suppose he’s efficient. At least that’s what Jamal says.”

  Dora shrugged. “I agree with you about him not being my favorite.” She looked at Liana. “Next time, tell him who you are. I suspect he didn’t know. Otherwise he would have let you right in.”

  Liana wasn’t sure if that was the case, but she nodded because it was expected. Rihana entered then, carrying a tray of more tea and sandwiches. As the afternoon snack was served, Liana tried not to think about the fact that she was having English tea with two princesses in the harem of the palace in El Bahar. She felt as if she’d followed Alice down to Wonderland, only she had to contend with more royalty than just the Red Queen.

  Dora passed her a cup of tea. “What on earth are you thinking? You have the most peculiar expression.”

  “That I’m a nobody from a small town no one has heard of and I’m sitting here with two princesses and I’m married to a prince. How on earth did this happen?”

  Dora brushed her comment off with a wave. “Don’t get caught up in the whole royalty thing. I was an executive secretary until I was thirty. Then I met Khalil. Now, Heidi here actually attended Swiss finishing school, which is pretty close to princess school if you ask me.”

  “I didn’t,” Heidi said teasingly. She tucked a strand of long, light brown hair behind her ear and sighed. “Don’t let it get you down, Liana. I know that getting used to being in the palace and married to Malik is going to take some time, but it’s not so very horrible. You do have us to help, and you can take things as slowly as you need to.”

  Liana studied both women. They were attractive and well-dressed in clothes that probably cost more than she paid in rent in a month. She wanted to believe that they had something in common, but it couldn’t be true.

  “I don’t even know how I got here,” she admitted. “One minute I was teaching math at the American School and the next I was married to a prince.”

  Dora sighed. “I don’t know all the details about what happened, but I think I know enough to understand how you feel. For what it’s worth, Khalil married me under false pretenses. It took a long time for us to come to terms with our marriage. Eventually I managed to tame him…or he managed to make me more wild, I’m not sure which.” Her mouth curved up at the corners. “Either way, we’re very happy.”

  “She’s right,” Heidi said, leaning forward and touching Liana’s arm. “The Khan men aren’t easy but they’re worth the trouble.”

  “You’re both talking as if I’m going to stay.”

  “How do you know you’re not?” Dora asked.

  Liana was so stunned by the question, she had to stumble for an answer. “I don’t know him. He doesn’t know me. I’m still clueless as to why he wanted to marry me in the first place. We have nothing in common. I don’t know how to be a princess. I’m the first person in my family to graduate from college. What on earth are we going to talk about? How will I keep from completely humiliating myself and Malik? Why would the people of El Bahar accept me?”

  “All good points,” Heidi said calmly. “Sounds like you’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

  Dora nodded. “But you left out the most important question, Liana. What do you want from this marriage? Are you so very sure you want to leave Malik before you’ve found out what it’s like to be with him? I won’t disagree that he had no right to trick you into marriage or that you both have to take the time to get to know each other. But this is a wonderful opportunity. You need to be sure you’re not interested in this life before you turn your back on what you have. Once you walk away, there’s no returning.”

  “She’s right,” Heidi said. “You’re stuck here for a month, right? Why not take the time to get to know Malik and learn about El Bahar? You don’t have to make up your mind today.”

  They were both so calm and rational, Liana thought, slightly stunned by all they were saying. She was still reeling from the reality of her situation, so the thought of stepping back and taking some time to think things through hadn’t occurred to her. But according to all she’d learned, she wasn’t leaving for a month. Should she take that time and assess her situation?

  “What have you got to lose?” Heidi asked. “If you find this isn’t what you want, you were planning to leave anyway.”

  “You make it sound so simple.”

  “Maybe it is.”

  Maybe…but it wasn’t. First of all, she had Bethany to think of. The more time her daughter spent with Malik, the more the girl became attached to him. Then there were her own feelings to consider. For reasons she wasn’t willing to explore, she was a little cautious about getting to know Malik any better than she did. As if something deep inside warned her this man could be dangerous to her heart. The last thing she needed was to fall in love with him.

  But the alternative was to spend the next few weeks hiding out in her room. Running away from a problem had never been her style. She wouldn’t have gotten throu
gh college and been able to raise Bethany on her own if she’d allowed fear to get in her way.

  Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to get to know the man to find out if they had anything in common…anything other than an ability to spontaneously combust when they got too close.

  “Right now we’re barely speaking,” she confessed. “I wouldn’t know how to start getting to know him.”

  Dora and Heidi looked at each other. “There’s a state dinner tonight,” Dora said. “Were you planning to attend it?”

  Liana shook her head. “The first I heard about it was earlier when Malik’s secretary recited his schedule for the day. It included the dinner.”

  Heidi smiled. “Gee, as the new wife of the Crown Prince, I think you should attend.”

  “Obviously Malik doesn’t,” Liana said, suddenly hurt by the realization. “He didn’t say a word.”

  “Did he have a chance to?” Dora asked bluntly.

  Liana swallowed. “I guess not.” She looked at her new sisters-in-law. “Do you think I should go? I mean, would I be allowed?”

  “Of course you’re welcome. But as to whether you should or not, that’s your decision.”

  Liana pressed her lips together. If she wanted to get to know her husband, she was going to have to start to understand his world. In her mind, attending a formal state dinner was about as appealing as a foot surgery and a root canal on the same day. But it would give her an idea about what she was up against.

  “I’d like to go, but I don’t think I have anything to wear.”

  Dora smiled “That is the least of your problems. Between us, Heidi and I have dozens of gowns, many of which have never been worn. In fact—” Dora tapped her forefinger against her lower lip “—you’re a couple of inches taller than either Heidi or myself, but I do have a gown that is a little long. I haven’t bothered to have it taken up, mostly because I didn’t think the style would flatter me.” She patted her hips. “Those of us shaped like a pear have to worry about certain dresses emphasizing the wrong thing. But you’re more balanced.”