The Sheikh’s Royal Bride

by Cara Albany

  Contents

  THE SHEIKH’S ROYAL BRIDE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THANK YOU

  Also Available

  THE SHEIKH'S ROYAL BRIDE

  Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 18

  CARA ALBANY

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  The Sheikh's Royal Bride © 2017 Cara Albany

  ONE

  "Did I tell you that we're getting a royal visit, this afternoon?"

  Lori Reithe, glanced across at Alaya and frowned. "What?"

  Alaya smiled at Lori, as if she already knew the statement was surprising. Of course it was, Lori reflected. It wasn't every day you got a visit from royalty.

  Especially Qazhar royalty.

  Lori stood quickly and wiped the sweat from her brow. Even beneath the protective covering of the massive white tent it was warm. It had already been a long day, and she was beginning to feel tired.

  They'd been out here since after lunch. Lori let her gaze drift appreciatively across the wide expanse of the large mosaic floor. She felt a tingle of excitement as she allowed herself a moment to take in the beauty of what they'd unearthed from the palace gardens during these past few weeks.

  Lori glanced down at the figure of Alaya who was still kneeling on the mosaic, gently clearing dust away from the brightly colored surface.

  Alaya was her co-worker on this project. More than that, really. Alaya, as the senior archeologist, was really Lori's boss. Although she was a boss who'd also become a good friend since Lori had arrived in Qazhar.

  Alaya's dark eyes were bright with mischief as she stood and faced Lori. Alaya always liked to tease, Lori told herself. It was one way of getting through the long days of the excavation.

  "A royal visitor," Alaya repeated.

  "Seriously?" Lori asked lifting a brow.

  Alaya nodded and pushed some loose strands of her dark hair away from her even, pretty features. "I found out this morning."

  "Royal, eh?" Lori asked, casually dropping the dust covered trowel onto the mound of earth behind her, just outside the protective cover of the vaulted tent which had been constructed over the dig.

  Lori narrowed her eyes at Alaya. "As in, royal family royal? Like, for real?"

  Alaya nodded. "What other kind is there?" she asked as she stepped up out of the ten metre square, shallow pit and through the open doorway of the tent. Lori followed her, stepping up out of the two foot deep pit, and wiped some of the dust from her shirt and jeans.

  Lori glanced back through the open flap of the tent and into the shaded interior. The four remaining workers were all on their knees, busy in the open, flat area which had been dug during the last few weeks. There was still plenty of work to do, Lori reflected. The last thing they needed was a distraction in the form of unnecessary visitors.

  "Who else is coming?" Lori asked.

  Lori saw Alaya's face color. "Sheikh Kadir obviously," she said.

  "Obviously," Lori repeated, peering knowingly at Alaya. She saw Alaya trying to control herself, her features impassive. Did she think that Lori didn't already know just how close Alaya and the sheikh had become to each other?

  Lori tried to restrain the impulse to tease Alaya. But it proved too tempting to resist. "He doesn't seem to miss a chance to come and see how we're doing, does he?" she said. "Like, he's here almost every day, checking us out. I didn't know sheikhs were that interested in archeology."

  "Well, it's only natural that he should come here as often as he does," Alaya replied ignoring Lori's playful teasing. "The palace does belong to him, after all."

  Lori smirked. "The fact that he doesn't live here all the time just underlines how rich he is," she said. "It must be great to be so rich," Lori added.

  Alaya gazed past the high tent which covered the area of the dig and around the wide expanse of the walled garden. Following Alaya's gaze on their right, Lori took in the sight of the gleaming white walls of the palace.

  "It's his extra palace," Alaya said, as if that explained anything, Lori reflected.

  As if that was an everyday occurrence. Well, maybe in Qazhar people owned multiple palaces, Lori reflected. But not where she came from. Not in Idaho. That seemed like a million miles away, now.

  "Extra palace," Lori snorted and shook her head, smiling.

  The idea of owning more than one palace was staggering, Lori told herself. Some people just had it all.

  Since coming to Qazhar she'd witnessed some amazing examples of incredible wealth. Opulent palaces, dozens of limos, the finest of everything. Qazhar had well and truly emerged from its past and was now a modern paradise. Maybe some people liked it that way. As far as Lori was concerned, leaving the past behind wasn't always the best idea.

  Except maybe when it came to relationships, Lori told herself. There were times when leaving those behind was definitely a good idea.

  "So, who's the royal coming with sheikh Kadir?" she asked, dragging her attention away from her own troubled past.

  "Someone quite high up in the ruling families," Alaya said.

  "How high up?" she asked Alaya.

  Alaya rolled her eyes. "Very."

  Lori knew there were a few principal ruling families in Qazhar. The Al Kharif's for one. They seemed to have influence in just about every part of the running of the country. Some of them had even taken American wives. She'd done her research before coming to the kingdom a month ago. Lori figured, since she'd be staying here for a while, she should know as much as possible about the country.

  "He's not an Al Kharif, is he?" Lori asked.

  Alaya squinted at Lori as if she was surprised that Lori even knew the name of one of the senior families. "Yes. He's from a branch of the family with royal lineage," Alaya said. "The Al Kharif's are a huge extended family."

  "A proper Qazhar royal, then?" Lori asked Alaya.

  "They do exist, Lori," Alaya said patiently. "They just like to keep a low profile."

  "So they don't ride around in stretch limos, then," Lori teased.

  Alaya frowned. "Not everyone has turned their back on the past," she said with a hint of disapproval. Lori knew that Alaya didn't always regard the massive changes which had taken place in her kingdom with pleasure.

  "It would hardly be someone from a neighboring kingdom, would it?" Alaya asked. "Not now, at least."

  Relations between Qazhar and some of the adjoining kingdoms weren't good. There had been recent border conflicts and disagreements over oil rights. Lori had learned that from some of her conversations with the other staff on the team.

  Lori shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe some European royal might have decided to take a sudden interest in ancient rediscovered Qazhar palace floor mosaics," she said glancing at the shallow depression which had been dug out of the palace grounds.

  "European royals do come here from time to time," Alaya said.

  "How do you know that?" Lori asked, smiling at Alaya.

  Alaya tilted her head. "I've made the acquaintance of one or two," she said in a hesitant tone of voice.

&nb
sp; "Get away!" Lori exclaimed. "Who?"

  Alaya shook her head. "I'm not telling."

  Lori moved toward Alaya, desperate to know more. "It's not someone from England, is it?"

  Alaya laughed. "No. Not from there." Alaya pouted thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll tell you some other time."

  Lori groaned. "You can't hold something like back, Alaya," she said. "It isn't fair."

  Alaya smiled. "You'd be surprised at the life of a senior archeological project manager," she joked. "There's always some ancient building to be dug up. Especially in Europe."

  "You're in demand," Lori teased.

  "An archeologist's life is a glamorous one," Alaya joked.

  They both knew that wasn't strictly true. Most of the time it involved being up to their knees in dirt.

  "You've been mingling with the jet-set," Lori laughed. Lori shook her head. "But, you know I've had my eye on you, Alaya. Don't you."

  Alaya's eyes widened. "What do you mean, Lori?"

  "You haven't fooled me. Not for one minute. I've seen the way you and sheikh Kadir have been looking at each other."

  Once again, the cheeks of Alaya's smooth, olive-skinned face flushed with obvious embarrassment.

  Alaya turned away from Lori. "We're just good friends," she said to Lori. "I have a professional duty to be friendly. There are courtesies to follow."

  "Of course," Lori replied, trying not to smile. Alaya was doing her utmost to hide the fact that she and Kadir had become an item.

  What she'd seen going on between Alaya and Kadir had been much more than just courtesies, Lori reflected. Alaya and sheikh Kadir had been getting on recently pretty well. The couple doted on one another every time they were together. It was obvious something was going on between her boss and the sexy sheikh who owned the palace they were currently staying in for the duration of the archeological dig.

  Was she jealous? Lori had asked herself that every time she'd seen Alaya and Kadir together. But, every time she asked herself that question, Lori knew the answer would always be the same.

  Lori had no time for men. No matter who they were. Her career was just taking off, just getting started. She had no time for relationships.

  Alaya was a few years older than Lori's twenty-five years, and she came from a different background. She was a native of Qazhar.

  Alaya gestured toward the beautiful gardens and the equally gorgeous palace. "In a place like this, it wouldn't be right not to be polite and try to maintain good relations," she said.

  Lori smiled at Alaya. "Very diplomatic," she said and grinned.

  "Of course," Alaya replied.

  Lori thought that professional duty didn't usually extend to being taken out on dinner dates with the sheikh. Alaya had tried to keep the liaisons secret from Lori, but word had gotten to her from the staff members on the team. Lori had resisted the urge to ask Alaya for details. Juicy details.

  Lori walked alongside Alaya as they made their way toward the shelter of some nearby trees.

  Even dressed in faded jeans and blue shirt, Alaya had a casual elegance about her, despite the nature of her job which involved the supervision of digging holes in the ground to unearth long-buried treasures.

  Alaya was also whip-smart, and the hardest-working woman Lori had ever met. She was a decent person in so many ways. Perhaps a fling with a rich sheikh was what Alaya needed to relieve the burdens of work.

  Lori was happy for her friend. Happy that she was able to find time for a relationship. Especially one with such a fabulously wealthy sheikh as Kadir.

  They came to the trees, and Lori felt the cooler air against her skin. It was a relief to be out of the bright sun. It was going to take a while to get used to the change in the climate.

  "So, who's the royal that's coming, then?" Lori asked, leaning back against the tree trunk.

  "You know him, already," Alaya replied.

  "What?"

  "You met him at the welcome reception," Alaya announced.

  Now it was Alaya's turn to tease. Lori squinted at Alaya. "You don't mean..."

  Alaya nodded and smiled. "I do. It's Prince Zafar."

  Lori felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Her entire middle seemed to lurch as she heard those words. Prince Zafar.

  It couldn't be him, could it? Not him of all people. Lori leaned her weight against the tree trunk.

  Lori forced herself to smile. "That's nice," was all she could bring herself to say out loud. Her jaw tightened and she forced herself to look away from Alaya.

  "Is that all you have to say?" Alaya asked.

  Lori could almost feel Alaya looking at her, trying to gauge her reaction to the news.

  Lori turned back to Alaya. "What do you mean?" Lori asked abruptly.

  "Didn't you two speak at the party?" Alaya asked. Alaya's eyes narrowed lightly, examining Lori for some kind of reaction.

  What was she supposed to tell her boss? Yes, we spoke. And he was just about the most arrogant, insulting, insensitive man Lori had ever met in her life. Even if he was gorgeous, even if he was devastatingly handsome, that didn't excuse the obnoxious, aloof manner he taken toward Lori.

  From the moment she seen his grand arrival at the welcome reception, Lori had taken an instant dislike to Prince Zafar.

  To make matters worse, Lori had overheard the high and mighty Prince passing judgment on Lori during a conversation she'd overhead him having with one of his friends.

  Apparently, Lori was just another American fortune seeker. One of the many who'd come to Qazhar in recent years to try and grab a sheikh for themselves.

  Zafar had had no idea Lori had overheard him saying that about her. And, when she'd confronted him later in the evening, out on the terrace of the high rise building overlooking Qazhar city, his response had been to ask her if his opinion wasn't wrong.

  They'd argued for a while over that. But, the last straw had been when it had become clear that, somehow, Prince Zafar had gotten into his head that he could try to seduce Lori out there on the terrace.

  At first, she hadn't believed that he'd tried to come on to her. But he had. Of course, Zafar was gorgeous. And he obviously knew it. Tall, broad shouldered, fit-looking with devastating, even features, and dark eyes which had a dangerous quality that Lori was sure many women had found irresistible.

  But Lori had resisted him. In the first instance with a firm push against his wide chest. That had prompted a look of incredulity from the Prince. Maybe he wasn't used to being refused.

  But, he'd insisted, as if her refusal had merely been a spur to more determined efforts.

  Lori recalled the way he'd gazed at her as he'd edged closer to her. The way his nostrils had flared. The obvious desire in his eyes.

  And then she'd done the one thing he probably wouldn't have expected, let alone believe.

  Lori had slapped him across the face. Firmly and with all the force she could summon.

  The sharp sound of her palm against his cheek had faded quickly in the wind, high up in the Qazhar night.

  Zafar had frozen on the spot, stared at her a moment and then rubbed his cheek. He'd started to smile at her and, right at that moment, she'd known that she had to get away from him.

  It didn't matter that he was royalty, or that she'd never seen a more tempting man before. She'd known with absolute certainty that she had to get away from him, otherwise it was all going to end badly.

  Lori had stormed off and spent the rest of the evening alongside Alaya, mingling with the guests. Lori was thankful that no-one had seen what had gone on out on the terrace. She'd seen Prince Zafar later in the evening, but he'd simply done everything he could to ignore her. As if the incident on the terrace was already something to be forgotten.

  Well, Prince Zafar certainly knew how to make a girl feel special, Lori reflected as she leaned against the tree.

  And now he was coming to Kadir's palace. Maybe Lori could excuse herself. Perhaps claim that the heat was getting too much for her. But, even as she
considered that, she knew she'd have to remain with Alaya. For professional reasons.

  In any case, she wasn't going to hand the Prince an easy victory. Maybe he'd already forgotten about Lori.

  "When are they coming?" Lori asked Alaya.

  Alaya glanced at her watch. "Around now," she replied, glancing toward the palace. "Let's go inside."

  Lori followed Alaya toward the palace, knowing that she was about to endure another encounter with a very arrogant royal male.

  TWO

  "You're sure about this?" Prince Zafar asked his friend sheikh Kadir as the limo eased along the driveway of Kadir's palace.

  "Of course, I am," Kadir replied.

  Zafar leaned back against the leather seat and gazed out the tinted window. There was no sign of the archeological dig in what he could see of the sunlit garden.

  Zafar struggled a few moments, trying to find a diplomatic way to say what he knew had to be said to his friend. Finally he said, "But, she is from such a different background, Kadir."

  Kadir merely smiled. "That's what I like about her. She's different."

  Zafar contained any expression of his concern, and thought about the woman they were about to meet. Alaya was pleasant enough, Zafar reflected. She was obviously ambitious and highly competent at her job. But, she wasn't marriage material. Especially for a sheikh. Particularly one as high-born as Kadir.

  Zafar had made some careful inquiries and had discovered that, while Alaya's family were not poor, neither were they of the same class as himself and Kadir. There was a huge social difference between the two families.

  Zafar glanced at Kadir. "You don't move in the same circles," he said. It sounded diplomatic and it was the best he could do.

  He saw that Kadir had not taken any offence. Kadir smiled. "Perhaps, that has its advantages," he said.

  "How?"

  "You know these days there is so much change taking place in the kingdom," Kadir said. "Maybe it's time to put aside the old ways."

  "I agree. Qazhar has changed in recent years. But, you don't have to sacrifice your position to become some kind of example to others."