Her Desert Prince

by Rebecca Winters

  “Good morning, Lauren,” he said in a voice an octave deeper than usual. His penetrating black gaze took in her complete disarray. He on the other hand looked magnificent as always. “Sleep well?”

  The wind had died down. She pushed the errant curls out of her face. “What do you think?”

  His lips twitched. When they did that, she almost had a coronary. “I think you should sleep with a man more often.” But Rafi didn’t mean himself. This was his goodbye speech and it hurt so terribly she wanted to cry it to the desert surrounding them. “Nine hours has done you a world of good.”

  “Nine? I slept that long? When did you wake up?”

  “Half an hour ago.” He handed her a mug of coffee he’d heated on a little burner.

  She took a few sips. “Ambrosia. My compliments to the chef.” She looked around and decided to walk up to the edge of dune, but Rafi stopped her.

  “Don’t.”

  Lauren turned to face him. “Why?”

  “Let the picture of last night be the one to fill your mind when you leave for El-Joktor tomorrow morning. Without the moonlight, its impact is lost.” Tomorrow morning?

  Pain caused her to take a deep breath. “I’m sure you’re right.”

  “Try this.” He handed her a roll from one of the bags. “It’s sweet and will take the edge off your appetite until we return to the palace.”

  “Do we have to get right back?” Then she shook her head. “Wait—don’t answer that. Duty calls and I’ve taken up too much of your time.” She finished her food before returning to the tent to roll up the quilts and carry everything out to the horses for Rafi.

  He was in a mood she couldn’t decipher. Lauren knew that in his mind she had lied to him and continued to do so, but she felt no hostility from him. She sensed he had worries on his mind that had nothing to do with her.

  Life without Rafi. It is what it is, Lauren.

  Unlike her grandmother so many years ago, she wouldn’t be going home pregnant with her lover’s child. How much she suddenly longed to leave pregnant with Rafi’s baby. He would never know and she could never tell him.

  She worked faster to stave off her pain. Without his asking, she helped him dismantle the tent. Once the stakes and poles were packed, they were ready to leave. She threw on her cloak and headscarf before mounting Zia, but inside she was groaning from unbearable heartache.

  He approached her side on his stallion and flicked her a glance. Their eyes clung for a moment. “Ready?” She nodded. They started out, making faster progress than they had last night. The horses knew where they were going. Zia was happy to have free rein.

  Lauren purposely fell behind Rafi so she could feast her eyes on him in his robe and headdress for as long as possible. This episode in her life was fast coming to an end. She didn’t want to miss a second of it.

  Every so often they stopped to drink from their water bags, then pushed on without talking. They’d said it all last night in the tent. Rafi wanted to hate her for lying to him. She could never get past that with him.

  Before long they came in sight of the Oasis. Lauren had once read that a Bedouin burst into poetry and song when he saw the greenness after being many weeks in the sand-drenched wilderness. She’d thought it such an odd thing to do until she too had been out in it.

  Ah, Rafi… I can’t bear to lose you.

  The palace loomed ahead. They made their way to the west entrance where Nazir and two other staff were waiting for them.

  “I’ll contact you later.” As Rafi dismounted, she scanned his face, which had been scarfed the whole time except for his eyes. With the bearing of a prince, he walked away from her and disappeared. Naturally his first priority was to report for work, but she almost begged him not to leave her.

  Needing an outlet for her emotions, she leaned forward to pat Zia, then dismounted quickly.

  “Welcome back, mademoiselle. A hot bath and a meal are awaiting you.”

  “Thank you, Nazir.” While he escorted her inside, the two other men took care of the horses.

  He left her outside the door of her suite and she hurried inside. After removing her cloak and boots, she quickly discarded her clothes and stepped into the bath. Rafi had ordered it especially for her because he knew how good it would feel after riding beneath a blistering sun.

  But wonderful as the scented water felt lapping around her head and body, she’d sell her soul for another night like last night. She closed her eyes, replaying every second from the moment he’d started washing her hands with the towel.

  He’d created a world of beauty for her inside that tent. They were the acts of a man who worshipped the woman he loved. If there were no lies to have destroyed his trust, would he have worshipped her enough to ask her to stay here at Al-Shafeeq because he couldn’t live without her?

  She knew what her answer would be, but realized the question would never pass his lips.

  After his shower, Rashad hitched a towel around his hips and drank a cup of black coffee. He’d had his sources checking on facts for him since early morning. So far everything Lauren had told him was the truth.

  There had indeed been a Melrose family from New York that had made a fortune in manufacturing. Certain other facts had also been verified. As for Mustafa, she’d even admitted lying about him in order to protect him because she didn’t want the poor man punished. She’d convinced him Faisal hadn’t been involved, too.

  He tossed the medallion and chain in his palm. The gold he held in his hand proved she’d come to Al-Shafeeq on a mission she still refused to talk about. But even not knowing the reason hadn’t mattered to him last night. He’d wanted to make love to her and would have, but for the one thing his father had engrained in him from the time he’d come of age.

  “You’re a prince, destined to be king, Rashad. Enjoy our women at your discretion, but stay away from forbidden fruit. The strongest man can be tempted to take a bite. Once he does, he will eat the whole and lose his way because of it.

  “You, my son, don’t have that luxury. For that to happen to you will bring disappointment to your mother and me, but that is nothing compared to the shame and dishonor you will bring upon yourself. You cannot reclaim your honor once it is gone, therefore you cannot be an honorable husband and father to your children, let alone serve a nation that needs its strongest son to rule.”

  When Rashad would have lost his head at the last moment, a picture of his wedding night to an innocent Princess Azzah in a month’s time wouldn’t let go of him and cooled his blood.

  Tomorrow morning Nazir would accompany Lauren to El-Joktor. As he should have done yesterday, but for Rashad’s need of her. It was so great, he’d gone off with her instead. Now his agony was at its zenith.

  Today he would fly to Raz and immerse himself in work. He might even stay over in order to avoid further temptation and not return to the palace until tomorrow after she’d gone. It was a lame plan, but he was a desperate man.

  Even if he pressured her enough to know the whole truth, it would change nothing. His life’s path had been set from the moment he was born. She was the forbidden fruit. The ultimate test. He checked his watch. Twenty hours from now, she’d be gone. Forever. That word was so hideous, he couldn’t dress or get away from the palace fast enough.

  Once he reached Raz, he drove the Jeep to the outskirts where the foundation of the new refinery would be built. After levering himself from the seat, he walked around the perimeter, wanting to get a feel for it before the actual work began.

  His plan for a new era of prosperity was about to get underway. In time they’d make enough money to build more infrastructure. The list of things to be done stretched from one end of the kingdom to the other.

  He looked all around, brushing the sweat off his brows with his forearm. On the one hand, Rashad had been blessed in abundance. On the other, he was denied the one thing that brought a man true happiness.

  According to his father, Rashad couldn’t have that. He was a prince,
and that kind of happiness was for ordinary men like Tariq. His assistant couldn’t wait to go home every night to his bed where he found the woman he loved waiting for him.

  Rashad’s father had been right about one thing. He’d tasted Lauren last night and her fruit had been so sweet, he knew he would crave it over and over again for the rest of his life. That was his penance.

  How many years was he going to be tortured by her taste? One misstep had already eaten away at his soul. His eyes smarted.

  He supposed if there was one mercy, it was that Princess Azzah would have no expectations. Undoubtedly she too had a secret love she would have to say goodbye to in order to obey her own father. Rashad could conceive of no greater hell than to sleep with her when both of them would only be going through the motions in order to produce offspring.

  His father had done it. So had his mother. So had his grandparents. Somehow they’d all lived through it and survived.

  In the end, was that all it meant? To survive?

  His thoughts were so dark and grim, Tariq had to remind him his phone was ringing. He glanced at the caller ID. Why would Farah be phoning him? If it wasn’t about their father, then this had to do with Lauren. He felt a rush of adrenaline before he clicked on.

  “Farah?”

  “Forgive me for disturbing you. Can you talk?”

  “Yes.” He walked a little distance off where the others couldn’t hear him. “Is this about Father?”

  “No. It’s about Lauren.”

  His body tautened. “Go on.”

  “I don’t quite know how to say this.”

  He shifted his weight. “Just come to the point.”

  “Lauren isn’t like the other women you’ve enjoyed over the years, Rafi. I’m afraid she has taken your attention too seriously.”

  His hand formed a fist. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I’ve been with her this afternoon. She told me she’s leaving tomorrow, but she shows all the signs of a woman who doesn’t want to go.”

  Tell me something I don’t already know, Farah. The thought of Lauren never coming back was destroying him.

  “You’re usually so careful. I think she’s really hurting.”

  “What would you have me do?”

  “I don’t know. Talk to Father. Tell him you’re not ready to get married and see where this thing leads with you and Lauren. I like her very much.”

  “It can’t lead anywhere. You know that.”

  “No, I don’t know that! You’ll be king one day. Prevail on father to change the rules. A good king is a better king if he’s happy!”

  His throat swelled because Farah was his champion. “You want me to change centuries of tradition to take what I want?”

  “Yes—if it means you can live your life with the woman you love.”

  “I never said I loved her.”

  “You didn’t have to. You’re a different man since you flew her out of the sandstorm. There’s a look in your eyes I’ve never seen before. Our sisters have noticed, too. If you let her go, then you have a stone for a heart. When father’s gone, you won’t have to worry about filling his shoes. Yours will crush his.” She rang off.

  The silence on the other end deafened him. He spun around and raced back to his Jeep. Tariq joined him in the front seat. “What’s wrong, Your Highness?”

  “You don’t want to know. I have to get back to the palace immediately.”

  En route he phoned Nazir and told him to keep an eye on Lauren’s activities. Nazir was able to tell him she was having dinner in Princess Farah’s suite. Rashad gave him further instructions about the plans for her flight to El-Joktor in the morning, then he hung up.

  Once he arrived at the palace, he went to his suite for a shower and change of clothes. He decided to wear a suit in a stone-gray color with a white shirt and tie. After a visit to his office to clean up some paperwork, he left for the garden suite with the half dozen newspapers he hadn’t read that morning.

  Normally he scanned them before leaving for Raz. He didn’t trust the television to tell the truth about anything. The printed news wasn’t much better, but there were a few editorials that informed to a certain extent.

  He let himself inside Lauren’s suite and turned on the lamp at the desk after ordering his dinner and a carafe of hot coffee. While he waited for it to arrive, he made a call to his mechanic to be sure everything would be ready for tomorrow’s flight.

  Once he was served his food, he sat down and began reading. By the time he’d gotten to the fourth newspaper, he heard the door open and looked up.

  The blonde woman who entered the sitting room wore the sleeveless black dress from her luggage and a pair of black high heels. Between her stunning face and figure, his lungs tightened in reaction.

  She stopped in her tracks when she saw him. “Rafi— I didn’t realize you were in here or I would have left Farah’s suite sooner.”

  “I only got back from Raz a little while ago.” He put down the paper. “In another minute I would have come looking for you. How was your dinner with Princess Farah?”

  “We had a lovely time.”

  “What did you do?”

  She stood there, rather nervously, he thought. “Mostly she talked about her brother. Their thirty-fifth birthday is coming up and she’s in charge of getting the present for him while her sisters plan the party. We discussed everything from horse blankets and saddles, to a bronze of some kind for his desk. She still hasn’t made up her mind.”

  He nodded and got to his feet. “And what did you talk about?”

  “This and that.” She rubbed her arms. “Look— I’ve imposed so much on your time I feel guilty. You don’t have to keep me company. I need a good night’s sleep before I leave in the morning. Why don’t we just say goodbye now.”

  “You want to say goodnight?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  LAUREN AVERTED HER EYES. “I think it would be best. I have to pack.” She started for the bedroom, but Rafi followed her. With her heart thudding, she stepped out of her high heels and walked over to the wardrobe to get her suitcases.

  After putting them on the bed, she packed her boots and high heels followed by her cloak and headscarf. Then she emptied the drawers. The pants and blouse she planned to wear on the flight home she laid out on the back of the dressing-table chair with her sandals. It didn’t take her long to get the bulk of it done.

  He stayed where he was with his hands at his sides. She noticed they were forming fists. Good. She was glad to see he wasn’t in control any more than she was. Had he decided he wanted to make love to her after all? Maybe she’d make it easy for him.

  Without glancing in his direction, she unzipped her dress and stepped out of it, putting it on top. After shutting the cases, she set them on the floor. Beneath her dress she wore a modest slip over her underwear. It covered her better than the cotton shift from the hospital had done.

  When he did nothing, she looked at him half in longing, half in despair. “What is it you want, Rafi?”

  He moved closer. His black eyes raked her body. “I’m going to ask this one more time. Tell me why you came to the Oasis and why you wanted to see the Garden of the Moon. Then we’ll really talk.”

  “I’m sorry, but I told you I made a promise to someone and that’s why I can’t tell you.” Ignoring him, she turned off the light and got into bed, pulling the covers over her. “Goodnight. I’ll be ready in the morning when Nazir comes for me.”

  Suddenly he flung his suit jacket and tie on the end of the bed. The next thing she knew he’d pulled up a chair and sat next to her like he’d done that first day. “Don’t you know there are factions that would cause harm to the king and his family?”

  “I realize that,” she came back. “But I’m not one of them. If you recall, I wanted to leave the palace and return to El-Joktor as soon as I was able to stand on my own two feet without fainting. You’ve had the authority to send me on my way at any given moment.”

&nbs
p; He nodded his dark head. “That’s true, but there was a reason why I didn’t, and you know what it is,” his voice rasped.

  “You mean because of our attraction to each other.”

  “What else?” Rafi reached for her hand. She tried to pull away, but he was too strong and clasped it. “You can tell me the truth. I’ll keep your secret. I swear an oath on it.”

  Her lower lip trembled. “I swore an oath, too.”

  She heard him breathe heavily. “Then we’re deadlocked.”

  “I guess we are.”

  “This isn’t the way it has to be.” He looked forbidding in the semi-darkness.

  “It isn’t the way I want it to be either.” Whether he knew it or not, he was rubbing his thumb across her palm, sending little darts of awareness through her body. This was agony in a new dimension. “Please let go of me.” If he went on touching her, she’d beg him to spend the night with her.

  He released her hand as though it were a hot potato and shot to his feet. “Is there no reasoning with you?” he asked in a harsh whisper. “No way to reach you on any level?” She’d never heard him angry before.

  “Not any more than there was a way for me to reach you last night, even when I threw myself at you. Your seduction of me was complete. I’ve been reduced to nothing. You can consider me your greatest triumph. You and I have reached the bitter end. Do what you have to do to me.”

  She couldn’t bear it when she saw him get up and reach for his jacket and tie. It meant he was leaving, and this time he wouldn’t be back. He was almost to the door.

  “Rafi?” she cried out. “There’s one confession I will make.”

  He wheeled around, his body alert.

  “I want you to know that you made me live and feel like I’ve never lived and felt before. That’s a distinction no other man will ever hold.”

  Lauren lost track of time before he left the room. It hurt so much to think he suspected her of some wrong-doing, she’d taken off her dress to provoke him to action. Never in her life had she done anything so outrageous. No one who’d known her before she’d come to the desert would recognize the person she’d become. She didn’t know herself anymore.