Claimed by the Sheikh

by Rachael Thomas

The tall double doors opposite the bed opened and he stood on the threshold. Nothing could have prepared her for that moment. Dressed in full white robes, he took her breath away, rendering her completely speechless. The last time she’d seen him like that it had been their wedding day.

  He looked regal and totally relaxed in the palatial surroundings. A wild prince of the desert tamed, just a little, by his unwavering duty. His eyes met hers, his expression guarded, and pain lanced through her. She was back in a country she had no wish to be in, one that was painfully close to her father’s country of Quarazmir and with a man who only wanted her there out of a sense of duty. But she would never let him know that and demurely clutched the sheet against her. He, on the other hand, didn’t appear fazed by the situation at all.

  ‘I trust you are rested?’ The enquiry was polite, his voice resonant yet powerful; she still couldn’t speak but nodded.

  ‘Good. Your maid will help you dress then you will receive your first visitor.’ He stepped into the room, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor.

  He stopped by the bed and stood looking at her for a moment, his gaze locking with hers. The spark that always ignited deep within her flared into life once again. He looked as if he’d just stepped out of her wildest dreams, the ruggedness that had called to a primal part of her on their wedding day evident now Western clothes weren’t able to mask it. His thick brows lifted and his face showed impatience but she could barely register what he’d just said.

  ‘Kazim—’ she finally managed to say something and briefly his face softened and he moved closer to the bed ‘—I must know what is happening with Annie.’

  His face hardened as he stood looking down at her. She’d said completely the wrong thing, she knew that. She should have been patient and at least waited until she was up and dressed so that she could face him on an equal level. But at the same time she was here because of Annie and Claude, so wouldn’t it be better to know this now, before her time as Princess Amber of Barazbin started, especially as she’d tried endlessly to phone Annie? Her only contact with her friend now seemed to be through Kazim.

  ‘I will see that you are kept up to date with the child’s progress.’ With those terse words he marched from the room, the echoing retreat of his footsteps hard and furious. In just a few minutes she’d blown it, shattered any hope of actually becoming closer to Kazim. Did he let anyone close?

  She hid her face in her hands and wished the last few minutes undone. Why had she said that? All she’d managed to do was remind him of the deal they’d made, the real reason she was here at all, when she should have built on those tender moments in England.

  Heat flooded her as she recalled the way he’d taken her, claiming her as his. The urgency of the first time had unlocked something inside her, allowing her to throw caution aside and surrender to his mastery. The second time had been less urgent, but far more intense. For her, the moment had been loving and she’d let her love shine through, but was she now to pay for that?

  Had she uttered words of love as passion had consumed them? She hoped not. Instinct told her a man like Kazim didn’t want to hear such words. Her ever growing love for him was something she must keep hidden. What good would it do to love a man she couldn’t stay with?

  More footsteps, this time softer, drew her attention and she looked up as a young girl walked into her room, carrying the most beautiful abaya. At first Amber was unsure of allowing herself to be dressed. Before her marriage, it was not something she’d done but she soon gave into the ministrations of her maid, happy to be wearing such beautiful fabrics again. As a teenager she’d had the most amazing wardrobe of cool silks, but she’d quickly converted to Western clothes when she’d gone to England and now felt most comfortable in them.

  A short while later she was led through to a sitting area. Another set of elegantly arched doors opened and her mother walked in. She had had no idea who the visitor was but her mother was the last person she’d expected and she greeted her cautiously, the last angry words spoken by her father, undefended by her mother, still etched lividly into her memory.

  ‘I had not expected that you would return,’ her mother said as she sat elegantly opposite her, but on the edge of her seat.

  Amber watched as her mother looked around the room; nerves seemed to be getting the better of her. What had happened to the woman she’d looked up to as a child? Had her father’s ambitious schemes been unkind to her also? Amber considered, for the first time, that her mother might be unhappy, that the smiles she bestowed on everyone could be a mask to hide that unhappiness.

  Life had changed drastically for her mother. She’d been an English bride to a sheikh and had fallen in love with the desert and the man. She remembered her English grandmother telling her fairy stories of love and happiness, assuring her that one day she too would have her own prince. Had that been her mother’s way of escape? Finding her own prince? Had it gone wrong?

  Amber blinked back tears, tiredness making her too emotional to say much. She couldn’t dwell on the past now; she had to look forward, to focus on doing what was necessary in Barazbin, so that as soon as she got word that Annie and Claude were okay she could prepare to leave—both the country and its prince—for good. She couldn’t delude herself any longer: she didn’t belong here.

  ‘You are the last person I’d have thought would be here to welcome me home. I thought I brought nothing but dishonour to the family.’ Finally she managed to speak, her words hard and to the point. She wanted to let her mother know just how hurt she’d been by their reaction to her failed marriage. The callous dismissal of her as a daughter had cut deep. Far deeper than she’d realised.

  Her mother stood up and walked towards her and took her hands in an uncustomary show of affection. ‘You look well. England must have suited you.’ Her mother’s words were soft and genuine, tugging at her heartstrings and childhood memories.

  ‘For a while, but I moved to Paris; that’s where Kazim found me.’ Suddenly everything she’d been through in the last few days was too much and the need to confide became unbearable. ‘He sent me away because of the school scandal.’

  Her mother tightened her hold on her hands as if trying to infuse her with strength. ‘The reporter was paid off and paid well. It will only have been gossip within these walls. Always remember that, Amber. Walls listen and tell all your secrets.’

  Amber frowned, confused by her mother’s words. ‘It might have been different—we could have at least been happy.’

  Her mother smiled a soft knowing smile. ‘You love him.’

  She nodded, accepting the truth. There was nothing she could do about it. She loved Kazim.

  Her mother let her hands go and walked across to the window, looking out over the courtyard garden. A trickle of dread slipped down Amber’s spine. ‘Mother?’

  She watched at her mother returned to her seat, the mask of propriety she always wore back in place after the tender moments of concern for her only daughter.

  ‘I have come for one other reason. Prince Kazim, your husband, sent your father money.’ Amber looked at her mother, an unsettling feeling pressing down on her. ‘Money that he believes you had requested. He sent it for you, so that you could live your life in comfort.’

  Amber tried to take in what she was being told, remembering Kazim’s pointed comments about her lack of money, but still it didn’t make sense. She met her mother’s gaze, tilting her chin in defiant challenge, sensing trouble. She wasn’t going to be meek and malleable any more—for anyone.

  ‘Your father has been using it for other causes. He’s been funding attacks on Barazbin’s people,’ her mother finished quickly, her voice almost a whisper as she looked down at her hands, grasped tightly in her lap.

  ‘Why?’ Amber asked, moving towards the chair her mother sat in. She wanted to kneel down and look up at her as she’d always done. She co
uldn’t take in this unexpected piece of news.

  ‘He is avenging your honour, Amber.’ Her mother spoke softly, her expression intent and serious. ‘He believes he is exacting punishment for the way Kazim discarded you.’

  ‘What?’ Amber couldn’t believe it. All along she’d thought her father had disowned her, but he’d been planning revenge. ‘No, he can’t be.’

  ‘Please don’t say anything!’ Her mother looked up beseechingly and Amber saw real panic in her eyes. ‘It is misguided loyalty to you, I’m sure, but don’t tell your husband. We will all be ruined. Your marriage will be over.’

  ‘Why are you telling me, if I can’t tell Kazim?’ Amber loved her mother, but she also loved her husband. Her loyalties were being pulled and tested between a family who’d as good as disowned her and a man who didn’t love her.

  ‘Because you love him and because I want you to be happy.’ Her mother’s eyes looked sad despite the forced upbeat tone of her voice.

  ‘How can I not tell him? Keeping one secret has all but destroyed my marriage.’ Panic rose up as she met her mother’s gaze. She was asking the impossible. She couldn’t be loyal to both her husband and her parents.

  ‘I must go,’ her mother said and got up, anxiously looking around her. ‘Promise me you won’t tell him.’

  How could her mother ask that of her? ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered honestly. ‘I don’t know if I can promise you anything.’

  ‘Then, whatever happens, remember I’m here for you.’ Her mother touched her arm briefly and Amber had the strangest desire to throw herself into her arms, to be a young child, safe and protected. But she wasn’t that child any more.

  Amber swallowed down disappointment and watched as her mother turned and walked away. She still sat in disbelief when Kazim returned a short while later. She looked up at him, not knowing what to say. Should she tell him what she’d just learnt? His comments about how she’d been living when they were in London now made so much more sense. All along she’d thought he’d been referring to the cost of Claude’s treatment, as if he begrudged the child a chance at life.

  ‘It is good that your mother has come to welcome you back,’ he said as he sat in the same seat her mother had just vacated. His long legs stretched out before him, unusually relaxed, drawing her attention.

  Amber bit back the bitter taste of tears, looking down at her hands clasped much tighter than she’d realised in her lap, just as her mother’s had been. What would he say if she told him why her mother had come?

  She didn’t know what to think, who to be loyal to. Deep down she knew her first loyalty should be to Kazim now, but how could she ignore the plea in her mother’s face?

  ‘It is,’ she said and looked up into his handsome face, her breath catching when she saw the warm smile on his lips. Inside her, a liquid heat rushed around, making her feel giddy as he continued to watch her, his eyes sparking with unmistakable desire. She nearly gave in, but sense prevailed.

  ‘I have more good news,’ he said as he sat forward, bringing them close enough for her to catch the heady masculine scent of the desert, stronger now.

  What else was he going to throw at her? ‘Is it news from Annie?’ Hope leapt in her chest. She was desperate to hear from her friend.

  He frowned and the excitement she’d momentarily felt seeped away. ‘You will hear soon. Hasim is looking after them, do not fear. The news I have is more important,’ he said quickly, as if trying to distract her. ‘Tonight there will be a feast here in the palace, in honour of your return.’

  ‘A feast?’ This was the last thing she’d expected. She’d been hoping to remain as low profile as possible, not wanting to give false hope to anyone that she would stay around. Least of all to herself.

  ‘Word has gone out swiftly and people are celebrating your return. It is a good sign.’ He reached out and took her hand in his, the heat of his skin scorching hers, making her breath catch. ‘You are very much wanted in Barazbin and not just by the people.’

  ‘I am?’ Why was he saying such things?

  He leant forward and took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips, pressing them lightly against the back of her hand, making her heart flutter wildly. ‘You are mine now,’ he said in a husky whisper, his eyes sparking with a challenge that mixed with desire, creating a lethal cocktail. ‘Truly mine.’

  This wasn’t about anything more than possession. He’d claimed her as his wife with such dedicated charm he’d been assured success. There would be no question of an annulment now and divorce wasn’t on his agenda. He’d made that perfectly clear. She was effectively trapped here with him. A man she loved and found ever harder to resist who only wanted her in the line of duty.

  ‘I will only stay until Annie and Claude return from America,’ she interjected fiercely, pulling her hand back, but his fingers held hers tightly, preventing it.

  He stood up, his regal command instantly back in place. ‘That was never part of our deal, Amber. You agreed to return to Barazbin and you will stay.’

  ‘No,’ she snapped, and she pulled her hand away.

  ‘No?’ he questioned, his desire-laden eyes hardening to glittering black. ‘You will stay and tonight you will go to the feast.’

  ‘I can’t. It would be wrong to give the people false hope.’ She couldn’t keep the pleading note from entering her voice.

  From the grim line of his lips she knew it was futile to beg and plead. Instead, she glared at him, seeing his expression turn as heavy as storm clouds. He stood, towering over her, reminding her of his power.

  ‘I shall escort you to the feast. Be ready by sunset.’

  * * *

  Kazim turned and marched from the room, away from the woman who’d practically driven him mad with desire. He had thought her allure would fade once he’d tasted the forbidden fruit, but the fact that she was now truly his and his alone only intensified his need for her. She made him want things he could never have, be the person he could never be.

  He thought of her insistence on leaving and irritation bubbled inside him. His people had welcomed her and were expecting her to stay. They wanted her to be their princess and one day their queen. He wanted her by his side on the path through life that fate had forged him—the same fate that had led her to him. He also wanted her in his bed at night. Each and every night. This was a new realisation, one he hadn’t totally come to terms with.

  As afternoon slipped into evening Kazim realised he was going to have to do more to convince Amber that he wanted her to stay. He had amends to make and tonight would give him the perfect opportunity. He would show off his wife to all present, including his father. He wanted to make sure that nobody would ever question the validity of their marriage. But, most of all, he would do it his way; he wouldn’t allow himself to be influenced any more by the way his father had treated his mother. The emotional bully who had eventually broken his mother’s spirit, forcing her to retreat from everyone until her death, was not something he wanted to be. He didn’t want to live beneath that shadow any longer.

  Kazim pushed open the doors to their suite a short time later and his breath was taken away by the sight that greeted him. In full traditional dress of stunning gold, Amber shimmered like an oasis in the parched desert. As his silence lengthened she raised her chin in the defiant little gesture he had come to admire. She was out of this world.

  ‘This time,’ he said as his heart hammered a little too fast and desire raced in his blood, making his head pound as if Arabian stallions were galloping right over him, ‘far more beautiful than exquisite.’

  He moved towards her, drawn by an unknown force, watching her delicate face as a flush swept over her exotically high cheekbones. Her brown eyes, enhanced by make-up, watched him boldly and he clenched his fists against the desire to drag her to bed right now and forget the formalities of the banquet. Ho
w was he going to be able to spend the entire evening at her side, when all he wanted was her naked and beneath his body in his bed as he claimed her again and again?

  ‘Not without the help of an army of maids.’ She smiled, her face suddenly lighting up, her eyes sparkling like the ocean on a sunny day. He had never seen her smile like that, but he liked it and vowed to make it happen more often.

  ‘You are a princess and such treatment goes with the job.’ He stood to one side, his hand held out towards the doors. ‘If you are ready, Princess Amber of Barazbin, we have to attend a banquet in your honour.’

  * * *

  Shyness rushed over Amber as she walked towards him, as his eyes seemed to devour every part of her body, which sizzled from just his gaze. It was madness, but she wanted him with such a force it almost knocked her breath from her body.

  Focus, she told herself as, a few minutes later, they entered the banqueting hall, which was adorned with flowers and where a scent of spices filled the air. Voices hummed to a hush as she entered with Kazim, curious eyes cast her way. What were they thinking? Were they really welcoming her with open arms?

  Such thoughts raced through her mind as the festivities erupted around her; dancers and beautiful music filled the magnificent room that formed the centre of the palace. Captivated, she stopped and looked around her, feeling Kazim stop at her side, his arm pulling her just that little bit closer.

  ‘This is for you, Princess Amber.’ His voice, velvety soft as he spoke close to her ear, sent shivers down her spine. ‘They are welcoming you home.’

  Her heart thumped in her chest and she turned to look into his handsome face, now so tantalisingly close. ‘I am honoured.’

  ‘Before we enjoy the evening, my father would like to welcome you back.’ Was it just her imagination or had his voice hardened, just from the mention of his father? Before she had time to say anything he guided her through the throng of people, all smiling her way and eager to catch her attention. She smiled back with graceful dignity and followed, but inside quaked at the thought of seeing her father-in-law again. Kazim’s revelations about his childhood only reinforced her first impression of the man: hard, mean and relentless.