by Maya Blake
Zufar too had changed. Gone was the magnificent military uniform he’d worn for the ceremony. In its place was an equally captivating tunic that drew her eyes to his broad shoulders and the tapered physique that been honed from his love of polo. Dark curly hair gleamed under the chandelier lights. He’d taken a shower at some point since she’d last seen him.
Despite the emotions raging inside her, Niesha couldn’t take her eyes off him. The subtle clearing of his throat embarrassingly long seconds later alerted her to her gawping.
When she met his gaze, his eyes were a touch cool, but as his gaze roved from her head down to her feet a different look replaced it. A look that sent hot tingles surging through her belly to curl low and insistent in her pelvis.
‘Are you going to invite me in or do you wish to tackle me where I stand?’
Niesha cursed the blush spreading in her cheeks, and stepped back hastily. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
‘The gown suits you,’ he said with more than a hint of satisfaction.
The thought that he’d chosen it especially for her shouldn’t have sent that traitorous bolt of pleasure through her bloodstream, and Niesha immediately wished it away. She didn’t want to speak about clothes. Or wonder whether the unbelievably soft and silky gown that clung to her breasts, waist and hips pleased him in any way. She only wanted to talk about her freedom.
‘Tell me what you said isn’t true,’ she blurted heatedly.
He didn’t respond but his nostrils flared slightly as he looked around the room. ‘Perhaps we should sit down.’
Niesha shook her head. ‘No. You said this was an interim solution. I want to know why you deceived me,’ she demanded, her voice more plaintive than she wished.
‘Calm yourself.’ His voice was a firm command.
‘I’ll be calm when you tell me that this marriage will be annulled as soon as possible,’ she returned.
He didn’t react to the unbecoming screech in her voice or the undeniable accusation she lobbed at him. He merely continued to stride away from her towards the living room, leaving her no choice but to follow.
She watched him lower his impressive frame into the heavy silk armchair she was sure cost more than two years’ salary, and cross one leg over the other.
‘I’ve had you investigated,’ he stated baldly. ‘You do not have any family, correct?’
A bolt of pain shot through her heart, along with the shock of discovering he was changing tactic yet again.
With balled fists, she stared at him. ‘You had me investigated?’ she parroted.
He nodded calmly, as if her incredulity was of no consequence to him. Perhaps it wasn’t. But the thought that while they’d been exchanging vows he’d been digging into her background made nausea rise in her belly. Knowing what he’d found, knowing that he had evidence that she was a nobody, literally and figuratively, sent another wave of anguish through her.
Nonetheless, she raised her chin. ‘Then you’ll have your confirmation that I’m unsuitable for this...this...’
‘Being my Queen?’ he finished softly. So softly she barely heard the words.
Why was he so calm? Why was he not doing everything in his power to be rid of her at the first opportunity?
‘Yes,’ she hissed, taking a step closer to him even though her instincts warned that it would be wiser to keep a sensible distance between them.
‘On the contrary, I believe it is to my advantage.’
‘Your advantage?’ she echoed blankly.
‘Precisely. I have no relatives to appease, no scandals to come out of the woodwork. There is only you to deal with,’ he stated with faint satisfaction.
Her heart lurched. ‘What exactly do you mean by that?’
His gaze raked over her again, lingering longer this time. As if he had all the time in the world. ‘You’ve had a challenging day, little one. Sit down before you fall down.’
Niesha barely managed to stop herself from stomping her feet. ‘I’m not as weak as you think I am. I’m perfectly capable of carrying on a conversation without needing to wilt into the nearest chair.’
‘But perhaps it will be more civil that way?’ he parried in a mocking tone before flicking one sleekly elegant hand towards the seat next to him.
The suggestion that she was not being civilised cut her to the quick. Niesha brushed it aside. She didn’t really care what his opinion was of her. All she cared about was that this evening’s conversation ended with her achieving her freedom.
Nevertheless, she made her way to the sofa, acutely aware that he followed her every step until she perched on the corner of it, tucking her legs neatly to one side and folding her hands in her lap. Only then did she lift her head and meet his gaze full on. An expression passed through his eyes, gone too quickly for her to decipher.
‘I’m sitting down now, Your Highness. Please explain yourself.’
He gave the barest hint of a smile, but it was gone an instant later.
‘The constitution is not as backwards as I allowed you to think. Divorce isn’t disallowed, but, were I to divorce, I would be the first in my family’s history to do so.’
Relief surged through her, but it was accompanied by an alien, disturbing sensation she couldn’t quite pinpoint. ‘We can divorce?’ she repeated slowly, wondering why the words attempted to stick in her throat.
He remained silent for a long moment, then he gave a brisk nod. ‘Yes.’ The word was uttered with a single, acrid bite. ‘There is a clause that states that divorce can be initiated by either party, but there are specific circumstances under which it will be considered.’
‘What circumstances?’
His nostrils flared. ‘Infidelity.’
Her eyes widened when he didn’t continue. ‘That’s it?’
‘Yes,’ he said.
‘But—I’m not... This isn’t a true marriage...not that I have any intention of doing...being unfaithful...’ She shook her head to stem her babbling. ‘All this is absurd. What about an annulment?’ she tagged on desperately.
He shook his head. ‘No history of that in my family either.’ An intensely arrogant expression crossed his face. ‘No al Khalia has failed to consummate his marriage.’
For some reason that statement sent a bolt of heat surging through her belly. ‘But you’re going to be the first though?’
Slowly, Zufar uncrossed legs, leaned forwards and rested his elbows on his knees. ‘Am I?’ he drawled softly, his eyes narrowed like twin lasers on her.
Niesha’s fingers trembled. She clenched them tighter. ‘Of course you are. That’s our only choice.’
‘It is not.’
The finality of those three words shook her to her very foundations. The hairs on her nape rose chillingly as he continued to regard her steadily. ‘Wh-what do you mean?’
‘I mean this marriage can be real.’
‘Real?’ she echoed as if the word were alien to her. Perhaps it was. None of what he was saying made any sense.
‘Real,’ he affirmed. ‘I will be your husband, and you will be my wife. You will bear my children, and you will be my Queen.’
He’d said those words to her previously. And yet Niesha’s jaw still dropped to the floor.
‘And...why would I want to do that?’
‘Because your reward would be elevation to a position very few women will ever achieve in their lifetime. You will have the respect of a whole kingdom and the adoration of millions.’
Something curled into a tight ball inside her. ‘I’m not sure when I gave you the impressive that I wanted any of that. I don’t.’
He sent her a disbelieving look as he leaned forwards even further. ‘You wish to remain a chambermaid for the rest of your life?’
The lash of the question was meant to wound. And it did. She didn’t need reminding that she w
as a nobody, with no family or even friends she could count on. That all she had was the deep yearning to leave a mark deeper and more meaningful than the sad and transient childhood that had been thrust upon her.
Despite her shredded emotions, she kicked up her chin, glared down her nose at him. ‘No. I have a little bit more ambition than that. But it doesn’t involve sitting around basking in the adoration of your subjects.’
He nodded, as if he hadn’t all but snorted his disbelief moments before. ‘Very well, tell me what it is.’
‘Why?’ she asked suspiciously.
He levelled a shrug so beautifully arrogant and elegant she blinked a few times before she could concentrate again. ‘Perhaps I can help.’
Niesha shook her head. Nothing came for free. She knew that all too well. But his eyes were hypnotising her, the gold depths drilling to the heart of her desires.
She found herself responding before she could stop herself. ‘I’ve always wanted to work with children,’ she said softly. ‘I’ve been saving to start a course next year.’
‘A tutor will be hired for you,’ he declared immediately.
Her breath caught, but the reminder that nothing came for free stuck harder. ‘In return for what? You want something, I know you do. Why don’t you just tell me?’
His eyes gleamed at her. ‘I have already told you.’
She shook her head, shaken beyond belief. ‘This cannot possibly be what you want. You...you don’t even know me.’ Her voice was a perplexed shrill.
He shrugged again. ‘Perhaps a blank slate is exactly what I need.’ The hardness to his tone sent a cold shiver through her.
‘That doesn’t make any sense.’
‘It may seem that way to you, little one.’
The bolt that went through her this time was all heat and charged electricity. ‘Please stop calling me that.’
He stiffened. ‘Does it offend you?’
She bit her lip but remained silent because, contrary to offence, every time he used that low, deep-voiced endearment, something decadent churned within her, something she didn’t want to fathom, never mind explain.
Everything about this man pushed her severely off kilter. But it was time for her to regain her balance.
Before she could speak, he rose to his full, imperious height.
Long, elegant strides brought him to where she sat, and he lowered himself into the seat next to her.
The virile force of his masculinity hit her square in the face. Niesha attempted to swallow, and realised that even that small action couldn’t be achieved with him so close.
‘Today my people confirmed what I have known for a while—that they need the stability of a king who is married and stable rather than one who is not. The economic potential of my marriage is immense. To upset that turn of events will be unfortunate and unacceptable. For your part, you have been accepted into their hearts. You, a nobody from nowhere. Even if I wanted to be the first in my family to divorce, which I do not, the reaction to our union has made me rethink my decision. You will stay married to me, and in return I will give you a better life.’
Her insides shook but Niesha forced herself to speak. ‘And what life is that, exactly?’ She wasn’t asking because she was about to accept his ludicrous proposal. She just wanted to buy herself a little time to come up with her own strategy to extricate herself from this situation.
‘Any life you wish for yourself.’
‘And what about Amira?’
His jaw grew rigid for one second. ‘You said she wasn’t coerced into leaving. Unless you were mistaken?’ he asked, one eyebrow lifted.
She bit her lip, recalling those moments in the room. As much as she wanted to deny it, the truth had been plain to see. ‘No, she wasn’t coerced. But don’t you want to find her?’
‘I know exactly who took her and why. It was meant to cause humiliation and chaos, and I’ve successfully averted that.’
She frowned. ‘But you’ll want her back, surely?’
His face shuttered. ‘I spoke to her father before the ceremony. Our arrangement is broken.’
‘Just like that?’
He gave a cold, firm nod. ‘Yes. Besides, I believe I’ve already said I’ve made my choice. Right now, I want to discuss us.’
Her heart shuddered once more. Us. When had they become us?
‘My people have been through enough,’ he continued forcefully. ‘I will not jeopardise the stability of this kingdom with another emotional spectacle like the one my father exhibited recently.’ The heat behind his words shocked her to the core. As if he hadn’t intended those words to slip out, his face tightened. ‘I need someone with a clear head and a strong work ethic by my side.’
‘But...you don’t even know me,’ she repeated.
‘I’ve seen your file. Spoken to those that matter. Your work in my palace has been exemplary.’
She stared at him, stunned. ‘And that’s it? That’s all it takes?’
‘No, that’s not all it takes. But it’s a good basis on which to start.’
Niesha shook her head, her racing heart seeming to have no intention of slowing down. ‘This can’t be happening,’ she said under her breath.
‘Reconcile yourself to it.’ The finality to the words frightened her.
‘I don’t want to,’ she whispered heatedly. ‘You said this was an interim solution,’ she reminded him.
Without warning, he reached out and brushed his knuckle down her cheek. The action, electrifying and unexpected, froze her in her seat.
Several minutes passed in silence. When she chanced a glance at him, his eyes were narrowed, the look in his eyes intently calculating.
Niesha was sure that whatever was going on behind his breathtaking face wouldn’t include setting her free.
‘My people need us to remain married, Niesha,’ he eventually said.
Her heart squeezed painfully. ‘I...I don’t want to make them unhappy but—’
‘But what? You wish to return to a life of single servitude?’
‘I want to have a choice in when and who I marry!’
His hand dropped, his expression tightening in offence. ‘And I’m so vastly unsuitable?’
‘I didn’t say that,’ she mumbled. On the contrary, he was a little too close to her ideal specification of a husband.
‘What will suit you, then?’ he asked, but Niesha had a feeling he was just humouring her.
Her chin went up. ‘For you to honour your initial agreement, that this was only temporary.’
Again he went silent for several spine-tingling minutes. Then he nodded. ‘Very well. Five years,’ he murmured deeply and abruptly. ‘That is all I ask. Five years.’
‘I... What?’
‘If a permanent marriage to me is too much for you to handle, then let’s revisit our situation in five years. In the meantime, you stay by my side. Bear my heirs. At the end of it, if you still want your freedom, I will grant it to you. In return, you will have the education you want, any position you desire, the title of Queen, and riches beyond your wildest dreams.’
‘Can you please stop talking about your wealth? I don’t want your money.’
His forefinger tucked under her chin and lifted her gaze up to meet his. ‘What about my people? Do you hate them so much that you wish to see them unhappy?’
‘That’s not fair,’ she said.
A grim smile played around his lips. ‘Get your head out of the clouds, little one. If life was fair, you would not have ended up in an orphanage.’
There was no malice in his tone, only stark truthfulness. And yet the pain was hard to block out. Although there was no record of her past, the quality of the clothes on her back when she’d been found wandering dangerously close to a ravine had indicated that she might have been cared for at one point. But this was no salve rig
ht now. Well off or not, she’d been abandoned, possibly left for dead, the orphanage matron had informed her after endless probing.
Niesha had stopped asking about her past when every query—besides those about what she’d been wearing the day she was found at just five years old—had met with a stern rebuke to look forwards not backwards. She had a roof over her head and food in her belly. She needed to be grateful for that, she was told.
Nevertheless, those questions had never left her. It was what fuelled the burning need to work with children. Especially orphaned children.
If she could at some point in the future reunite one child with their rightful past that would be enough for her. Because the pain lodged in her heart all these years later wasn’t something she wanted any child to experience.
The idea that Zufar al Khalia could expedite everything she’d ever dreamed of slowly wove through the waves of pain. The other things he had mentioned—being Queen, bearing his children—sent bolts of anxiety through her. They were so impossibly far-reaching she shook her head. ‘You...want me to have your children?’
His lips twisted. ‘That is generally the idea when a man takes a wife. But especially so in my case since mine is a hereditary rule.’
She stopped herself from laughing hysterically. Was she even capable?
‘If you’re wondering if you can bear children, I’ve also seen your medical file. There’s nothing to suggest that you may not be able to carry my children.’
Was there a square inch of her life he hadn’t probed? The question was ludicrous, of course. He was the head of the royal family. It stood to reason that he would cover every base. Even though they’d been brought together by a set of bizarre circumstances, it seemed as if Zufar had every intention of making this work.
But did she?
‘I need your answer, little one.’ He pressed his finger still resting beneath her chin, not allowing any avenue of escape.
‘Children,’ she echoed, her mind darting to his face, unable to stop her imagination from running wild. Would their offspring look like him? Images bombarded her, filling her with a sudden longing that robbed her of breath.
‘Many,’ he echoed. ‘As many as we can manage in five years.’