The Sheikha’s Unexpected Protector: Desert Sheikhs Book Two

by North, Leslie

  She hurried off, and Kalif didn’t stop her. And though every part of her body begged to continue what they’d started, she just couldn’t let herself give in.

  Not with him. Not all the way.

  7

  Kalif stood with his palms pressed to the shower wall for what felt like hours. Reliving every moment of those stolen kisses. Forcing himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, he could still have a chance with her.

  His cock was hard as a rock, but he refused to get himself off. He needed to harness that energy, save it up for her. It was both torture and a promise.

  Kalif toweled off, wondering if Salari had emerged from her bedroom yet. He’d posted a guard there before coming to his own room to shower and freshen up. He tugged on a simple black shirt and light linen pants before heading out of his room, his shoes snicking softly against the marble floor. On his way to Salari’s room, Alexis passed by.

  “Hey, Kalif!” She approached him with a bright smile, but it fell slightly once her gaze searched his face. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes, of course.” He tried to shrug off the question, but her smile turned into a frown.

  “Is everything going okay with Salari?”

  He nodded. “Absolutely. There was a bit of a scare at the market today, but all danger was avoided. We made it back to the palace without incident.”

  Alex nodded, her eyes narrowing. She stepped closer. “I mean, like…personally.”

  His heart rate picked up. “Can you be more specific?”

  She glanced around them, then leaned in like she was telling a secret. “Zatar told me there’s a history there, but personally, I want to hear it from you. Salari was banned from the palace…what the hell happened there?”

  Kalif clenched his jaw, shoving his hands into his pockets. He took a deep breath through his nose. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Of course.” Alex ushered them toward a few chairs at the edge of the covered hallway and overlooking a portion of the garden. They sat down on the wrought iron patio chairs. Kalif cleared his throat as he thought about where to begin.

  “Ten years ago, the Prince of Asodonia was visiting.” Kalif balled his hand into a fist; just the mention of his name could send his pulse streaking with anger. “He was a playboy, the sort of royal who constantly got into trouble. He had his sights set on Salari, which I didn’t know at the time. He was also engaged to another princess who he didn’t like, and he often complained about this behind his father’s back.”

  Kalif scrubbed at his jaw, contemplating a nearby planter full of irises. “One day, a little scandal emerged. The Prince of Asodonia claimed that Salari had visited him in the night. Of course, King Patar was outraged about this. The prince told me to back him up, but…I couldn’t.”

  Alex nodded, her eyes soft with understanding. “Were you two seeing each other?”

  Kalif studied the marble tiles for a moment. “Yes. But we weren’t public about it. It was illegal, actually. Salari’s father had a rule that she couldn’t court until age nineteen. We had plans to announce it after her nineteenth birthday, of course. But…” He shook his head. “When the prince told me to back him up, I told him no. That I wouldn’t slander the princess that way. But he told me he knew about our trysts. That the princess and I were an item the king wouldn’t be pleased to discover.”

  Alex gasped. “How did he find out?”

  “He must have spotted us meeting up. Or maybe he’d seen it in our faces. Who knows? We always used to worry that the king would find out just from seeing us look at each other. But however he found out, the prince used it to his advantage. So I was backed into a corner.”

  “He sounds like an asshole,” Alex said.

  “The worst kind.” He paused, searching Alex’s face for comprehension. “Maybe it doesn’t seem like a difficult decision to you, but you never knew the king. He was a tyrant. I was just a lowly guard’s boy, but still, I knew that if anything came out about me, my father would take the brunt of it. Salari sneaking around with a price was bad enough, but with a non-royal?”

  Alex frowned. “He would have punished both of you.”

  “So when the prince told me to vouch for him, I couldn’t say no. He’d have ratted us out without a second thought. And if I vouched for him, then Salari was still going to take the fall, but maybe it wouldn’t be quite so bad.”

  “So what did you do?”

  “I vouched for the prince.” Kalif pinched at the bridge of his nose. He’d lived with this decision every day for ten years, and it still didn’t feel any easier. “I thought it might blow over better that way; between royals, you know, some sort of understanding. But King Patar was furious. I tried to help the situation by claiming that Salari hadn’t slept with the prince, that she had only met up with him in his bedroom for conversation or something, but King Patar went on a rampage. It didn’t matter what anyone said. He was convinced that his daughter’s purity was stained.”

  Alex blinked, her eyes wide. “This was seriously ten years ago? Or a hundred years ago?”

  Kalif grimaced. “Nobody could talk him out of his rage. He banned the prince of Asodonia, and our two countries nearly went to war over it. And then…poor Salari…” Kalif shook his head, emotion cinching his chest. “She begged and pleaded to have her side heard. But the king wouldn’t hear it. He exiled her almost immediately, telling her that an impure daughter was worse than no daughter at all.”

  Alex’s mouth parted. “So why didn’t you say anything?”

  Kalif lifted a brow. “Would you have?”

  Alex snapped her mouth shut. “I don’t know. It just seems…”

  “Listen. Everything was at stake. I could have gone to prison…or worse.” Kalif swallowed a knot in his throat. He hated the choice he’d had to make; neither option would have ended well for them. The passage of time never made the burden easier to bear. He just hoped that now he could finally begin making it up to her.

  “Yeah. Wow.” Alex frowned a little as she contemplated the ground, a few moments of silence passing.

  “I never knew one lie could cause so much destruction.” Kalif squinted as he rested his forearms on his knees, studying the backs of his hands. “I want to do it over again, but I don’t know how to change things either.”

  “It doesn’t sound like you could have.” Alex sank back into her chair. “The burden was on the prince. He fucked everything up.”

  “Yeah. Just so he could get out of his own prearranged marriage. He couldn’t stand the lady he was going to marry. She was some low-ranking nobility of a different country, pretty but a little crazy. I remember her because the prince wouldn’t stop complaining about her. It was Imelda this, Imelda that. Well, he fixed his own problem. His father cancelled the marriage once the war with Kattahar took precedence, and her father would have done it if he hadn’t. Infidelity.” A burst of air escaped through his nose. “And in solving his own problem, he created thousands more for everyone else.”

  Alex watched him for a long time, so long that it made him uncomfortable. Finally, she asked, “Do you still love her?”

  Kalif straightened. The question caught him off guard, but the answer was easy. Still, it took him a moment to admit it. “Yes.”

  “Then why don’t you tell her?”

  Kalif ran a hand through his hair, pushing the longer locks off his forehead. “She doesn’t want to hear it. She wants nothing to do with me. And why would she?”

  “But you can explain.” Alex held a hand out to one side, as though this solution were so easy. “You can just tell her what you told me.”

  “Alex, you forget.” Kalif stood up, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I helped ruin her life. Do you think she’ll be so willing to overlook that?”

  “Okay, so it sounds a little bit like a buzzkill, but—” she began.

  “I will explain everything to her, until I can’t repeat it again. But what would you do? If Zatar agreed with a prince’s lies?” He shook hi
s head, the familiar thrum of regret coursing through him.

  “But you were nineteen,” she said.

  “And I was old enough to know that she was the only woman for me. I should have done better.” He sniffed, jerking his head down the hallway. “I need to go check on her now. This is the only way I can really be close to her. I should go.”

  Alex offered a small, sad smile. “Kalif? You’re a good man, you know that?”

  He shrugged it off, heading for Salari’s room.

  He hadn’t let himself believe that since the day Salari left the palace. And today wouldn’t be the day to begin.

  * * *

  Salari stayed put inside her room for hours. Dinner was served and then consumed within the walls of her bedroom, and every urge to check outside her door was met with strong rebukes.

  You will not check if Kalif is outside. It doesn’t matter if he is. He is not the right man for you.

  It didn’t matter how many times she repeated this to herself. The urge never lessened. She’d ordered a bottle of wine with dinner, and after a glass, just one more seemed like a good idea. But after two glasses, her rational mind flew out the window. She opened the door and peeked outside.

  Kalif sat outside, his back against the wall. When the door moved he looked up at her, the cocoa brown of his eyes sucking her in.

  “Hey.”

  He tilted his head back and smiled up at her, that trademark half grin making her pussy pulse with anticipation. “Hey.”

  “How long have you been out here?”

  He shrugged. “A few hours. Why?”

  “Just curious.” She looked around the hallway, a wily idea occurring to her. “Can we go to the zoo?”

  He blinked, then pushed to standing. He propped his forearm against the doorway. “We’ll go anywhere you want.”

  She nodded, slipping out of her room before she could think better of it. She had a loose shawl on over a skimpy tank top and short shorts. Standard attire for French summers seemed scandalous here in the conservative confines of her father’s former dominion. Even though Zatar now ruled and all of the limiting rules of her childhood were gone, it still felt naughty somehow to slink around in such western attire.

  Kalif’s gaze tripped over her body, leaving a painful wake as his eyes gobbled up the view. “Let’s go.”

  He turned to lead the way, and she sauntered behind him, leaving a healthy distance. The part of her that was intent on making him suffer was now too distracted by the allure of making them both feel amazing. That pleasure could be theirs…and with the wine to lubricate her darkest desires, she was closer than ever to giving in.

  Kalif glanced over his shoulder at her, sending her a heart-stopping smile. The man was the stuff of movies, an undiscovered celebrity if she’d ever seen one. She followed in his wake, swishing her shawl around her. The night air was far more tolerable—still dry, but cool enough that she could breathe.

  “So.” She looked around as they followed the winding path to the zoo. “Who do you think is after me? Be honest.”

  Kalif slowed his pace until they walked side by side. Each time their arms brushed, her pussy clenched. “I don’t know, Salari. I can’t figure it out. Trust me, it’s all I think about.”

  The honesty in his tone made her melt a little on the inside.

  “The last I heard, the Prince of Asodonia married someone, so he has a queen now.” Kalif rubbed at the back of his neck. She couldn’t help but watch the flex of his forearm as he worked his muscles. “Doesn’t seem like he’d be looking to cause you any harm.”

  “What about his dad?” Salari scuffed her sandal against the stone path. “He might still be upset about what my father did.”

  Kalif frowned. “Unlikely. He’s very ill these days, battling cancer, I believe. He’s been confined to a hospital for some time. Besides, he’d have more reason to come after Zatar than you, since your brother is king now.”

  Salari ran a hand through her hair, letting the dark tresses tumble over her shoulders. She knew Kalif always liked that. She watched him carefully for a reaction. His eyes were shrouded in the darkness of the path.

  “It seems like it could be anyone then.” The wide gate of the zoo entrance loomed nearer. The grounds were quiet, small lanterns illuminating the path within the zoo. They slowed once they passed the threshold.

  “Salari,” Kalif began. He stopped walking and turned to her, taking her hands in his. In the golden glow of the lanterns, anguish creased his face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for all the pain I caused you. I never meant to hurt you.”

  His words rocketed through her, rooting her to the spot. All she could do was blink up at him, gaping like a fool. She’d dreamt of these words for too long to recall, and now that the moment had arrived, all she could do was stare.

  “It might be too much to expect that you forgive me someday,” he went on, “but I want you to know that I never stopped thinking about you. For ten years, you’ve been in my head. And we’ve been together.”

  Her throat tightened, tears pressing at her eyes. She didn’t want to admit how true that was for her too. It seemed wrong to admit that. “So why did you say that I slept with the prince?”

  “I never said that.” Kalif’s voice came out rushed and hot. “The prince made up the lie and told me to back him up. He said if I didn’t back him up, he’d out our relationship. He found out somehow and used it against me. If I went with him or didn’t, you were doomed. And just because he wanted to get out of his prearranged marriage.”

  Salari watched him with shimmery vision, emotion tugging at the last strings of her composure. “But you never even tried to say it was a lie?”

  “I wanted to. But I didn’t. Not when your father exploded.” Kalif rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, his dark eyes searching hers. “I was afraid my father would lose his job. I was afraid I’d go to prison. I was afraid he’d do something worse to you for being with me.”

  A hiccup escaped her; a pent-up sob. Salari rolled her lips inward, pinching her eyes shut as though this might stave off the tears. “You probably would have. He probably would have.”

  “I was weak.”

  A few tears escaped her eyes. God, it felt good to hear him say this. But it chipped away at something she didn’t entirely want to let go of. Did she know how to forgive Kalif? It had never once occurred to her that he might have just been a young man, scared for his future, making just one choice from a selection of awful options.

  “My father was a tyrant,” she finally said, yanking her gaze up to his. “Everything else is secondary to that.”

  Kalif squeezed her hands in his. “Can you ever forgive me?”

  A shaky breath escaped her. She couldn’t answer that yet. Not with this hot mess of desire and confusion circulating inside her.

  “I lost ten years of my life for having done nothing wrong.” As soon as the words escaped her, she realized that wasn’t entirely true. It had been so easy to build up the story from abroad. Exiled from home, life without truly living.

  But that wasn’t the whole story. Of course she missed her brother and mother during her exile, but in France she’d created a sweet, soft life for herself. One that she was grateful to have experienced. She’d made the best of a horrible situation…and part of her never wanted to relinquish those years in France.

  Kalif brought her knuckles to his lips. The brush of his mouth against her skin sent desire streaking through her.

  “I understand,” he said. “I can never get those back for you. Though I would if I could.”

  She tilted her head back to look at him, the moment hanging heavy and swollen between them. Their eyes locked, and Salari knew what was coming. Space shrank between them, bringing them closer until their lips touched. Warmth flooded her as Kalif cupped her head in his hands. He kissed her delicately, as if he was afraid she might crumble into dust beneath him.

  “I’ll spend my life making this up to you,” he whispered over her lips.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, drawing a deep inhale as their bodies aligned. What she wouldn’t give to feel the weight of him next to her in bed…to roll over in the middle of the night, knowing he was there. She’d fantasized about that too many times to count.

  “How will you make it up to me?” She smiled through another kiss, loving the way his hands found the dip in her waist without even trying. He pushed at the silky fabric of her top so that it bunched at the waist. His fingers slipped over her smooth skin. Electricity sparked where he touched.

  “I have a list,” he said, backing her up slowly, until her back hit the wall of the zoo gate. “Of all the things I can possibly do to prove my sincerity.” His lips made a moist trail along her jawline. She shivered. He hooked his hands under her ass cheeks, fingers grazing the backs of her thighs. When he hoisted her, she sighed without meaning to.

  But it was beyond her control now. There was even less fabric separating them, and it had been far too long. She needed this in a way she could barely understand.

  “I didn’t expect you to come home in clothes like these,” he whispered, smoothing a hand along the length of her thigh.

  Her pussy clenched, and she tightened her legs around him. He’d seen her in far less, but clothing like this had been expressly forbidden during her father’s reign. “France is a different world. Do you have a problem with these clothes?”

  “Not at all.” His voice came out a sexy growl. He pushed his fingers beneath the hem of her shorts, his eyes swirling with desire as he looked up at her. He rocked his hips against her. “Or can’t you tell?”

  Her eyes fluttered shut. If he kept this up, she’d be liable to agree to fuck right here at the zoo entrance. Even though Zatar was a modern king, Salari supposed he wouldn’t exactly condone sex in the open air. Besides, she wanted her first time to be special. Pushed up against the wall of the Balizar Zoo didn’t seem to qualify as the romantic scenario she’d always hoped for.