The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress (16 page)

But before she"d gotten two steps, she felt the steel-like arms wrap around her waist and her body was flung up and over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” she yelled, uncaring of the open door to the suite or who heard her screams. She wasn"t going to be this man"s play thing!

“With pleasure,” he replied and a moment later, she was unceremoniously dumped onto the bed. She didn"t have a chance to escape before his strong, hard body covered hers. She shook her head back and forth, avoiding his kiss but he didn"t care. He simply used his mouth in other places. When his lips captured her breast trough the thin silk of her shirt, she gasped out and tried to push his head away, but he was merciless. Within moments, she was no longer pushing him away but was pulling him toward her, urging him to move faster.

In the end, they both found satisfaction. Electra"s last thought before she tumbled into oblivion was, “This still doesn"t mean anything,” she mumbled.

Electra woke the following morning to chaos. Her bedroom was still, ominously so when she turned her head on the soft, cotton pillow. But deep inside her, she could feel impending doom. A moment later, the noise outside her bedroom hit her. Sitting up in bed, she held the sheet to her naked chest and looked around, trying to orient herself.

Sliding out of the bed, she quickly found a robe and pulled it on, tying the silk sash tightly at her waist before venturing out into the living room of her suite. She heard the word “wedding” and “reception” all within the same breath as her name and Dharr"s. Shrinking back into the bedroom, she leaned heavily against the doorway, wondering how she was going to get out of this mess.

Each time Dharr touched her, she simply melted into his arms. Last night was evidence enough that she couldn"t count on her body to obey her mind"s orders. Stumbling to the bathroom, she showered quickly and changed into a pretty pink dress, finding a matching pair of shoes that were both comfortable and stylish. She looked pretty and feminine but inside, she was a roiling mass of nerves. She had to get out of here. She had to leave this mess. Dharr didn"t love her, he only wanted to marry her out of obligation. That was a problem she"d have to avoid at all costs. She couldn"t marry a man who didn"t love her. Especially when she lo….

Her stunned eyes caught her reflection in the mirror, horror at what she"d just realized. She was in love with Dharr! She was in love with the man who had been making her miserable all her life.

Well, not all her life, she corrected with complete honesty. She"d been deliriously happy for the past six weeks. Spending each weekend with the man had been blissful, challenging, fun, hilarious and adventurous. She"d never met a man who could make her feel so much, so intensely.

How could she not have fallen in love with him, she asked herself when she thought about all they"d done together. No man had ever touched her before Dharr but if she thought about it, she"d never really met a man who she"d thought was worth the effort to fool her guards. On that point, her grandmother was correct. If push had come to shove, she would have had her way and gone out on a date with any guy that had piqued her interest.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she let her head fall into her hands. She would not marry a man who didn"t love her. Of that, she was sure of. Yes, he might like her body and they were sexually compatible. Last night had proven that beyond a doubt. Even when she was angry with him, he could still reduce her to a quivering mass of need.

But she wanted more from life. She wanted to be happy and know, deep down inside her that the man she was married to worshiped her for who she was inside. Not just for the body everyone else saw. Was that too much to ask for?

No, she thought to herself. It all came down to the fact that she wanted what everyone else in the world had. She wanted a normal marriage. And that couldn"t happen if she was married to Dharr. Love was the basis for a long lasting, satisfying and fulfilling marriage. Not obligation.

With grim determination she stood up and walked out of her bedroom to confront the bevy of women in the next room who were planning her wedding without consulting her in any way. It was as if she were superfluous to the entire process.
Hiding her shaking hands behind her back, she looked across at the ladies who were diligently discussing the wedding plans. “Excuse me,” she said and waited until all eyes were upon her. “I was wondering if it would be too much trouble for me to escape for a little while and walk through the markets. I"ve never been to this beautiful country and, it doesn"t appear that I"m needed here.” She hoped none of the ladies with kind eyes noticed the slight edge of sarcasm behind her words.

The group of ten women simply stared back, astonished that Electra would make such a request. Finally, the woman in the back of the room holding a sketchpad cleared her throat and stood up. “If you desire something, you have only to ask and it will be delivered to you. There is no need to go shopping on your own.”

The woman had a superior air to her that just grated on Electra"s nerves. It didn"t help when the rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement. Obviously, a future queen going out into the marketplace like a commoner was simply not done.

Gritting her teeth in frustration she said, “That"s very nice of everyone but I don"t have anything in particular that I"d like to purchase. I simply want to look around, discover what"s being sold and experience a little of the culture. As the future queen, I"d like to see what the country is like.” She paused for a long moment, praying the title and her use of it wouldn"t damn her in hell. It smacked of hypocrisy.“Is that too much to ask?” she questioned, making the request more of a challenge.

The woman who appeared to be a dressmaker shrank back down into her chair and the rest of the women looked around at each other.

Electra decided that a mor e direct approach was needed in this situation. “Perhaps I should rephrase my comment,” she said and straightened her shoulders. “I"m going to explore the marketplace. If any of you would like to join me, I would be delighted but I understand that each of you is diligently working on the King"s orders. Since I"ve been taken out of the wedding equation, I find myself redundant to the activities and will therefore occupy myself in some other way.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the suite of rooms, leaving ten stunned faces behind. She would have laughed if she weren"t so terrified. She had to continue with this brave façade, otherwise everything would be ruined. Feigning a confidence she didn"t feel, she walked up to Gerrard who was still assigned to be her guard. “I"m going to visit the marketplace,” she said and turned toward what she hoped was the exit to the palace.

She felt more than heard Gerrard walking behind her and as she approached one hallway, she heard him sayingsomething into a hidden speaker. She"d seen things like that on television in the movies, especially in the American movies where the Secret Service guards would communicate about the American President through hidden microphones, but she"d never thought she would be part of that process.
When she reached the exit, by luck more than her sense of direction which was generally backward at best, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a limousine already positioned outside with an SUV in front and behind it. A guard was holding open the door and she smiled to the strange man as she stepped into the darkened interior.

She sat still as the car drove her through the streets of the city and when they stopped, she was fascinated by the market place. It was like an old world bazaar. There were tents with brightly colored fabrics protecting each vendor"s face from the harsh sun. About half of the women were wearing the burka while the other half were dressed in western clothing, the teenagers even exposing navels and wearing earrings while the spoke on cell phones or listened to music through headphones. Good, she thought to herself as she smiled to each of the vendors, pretending to ignore the guards that were surrounding her. This was exactly the type of environment she was hoping for. It suited her purposes perfectly.

“That looks lovely,” she said to one vendor who was displaying several long, colorful robes. “How much?” she asked and instantly the vendor smiled, bowing slightly as he gave her a price. Electra smiled tentatively and looked at Micha who was standing behind her. “Is that a good price?” she asked.

The angry expression on Micha"s face told her the answer before he spoke, furiously waving his hands and gesturing toward other stalls lined up down the main aisle of the marketplace. After several comments, the vendor blushed, bowed deeply and nodded his head.

“What did you say to him?” Electra asked as she watched the vendor hand the neatly wrapped robe to Micha.

“He quoted a price three times the usual for you.”

Electra was horrified. “Really?” she asked, looking back at the man. “Why?”

“Because he knows you are the bride and therefore, wealthy. He was ripping you off.” Micha tried to take the bag but Electra maintained it in her own hands. “That"s okay. If I can"t carry something, I shouldn"t buy it, right?” she asked.

“We"re here to serve you,” he said, bowing slightly and reaching for the package.

“No!” she snapped a little too loudly. Noticing the stunned look o n his face, she smiled quickly to appease him. “I"m sorry, Micha. I know you"re just trying to do your duty but Its been only one dayand I"ve been waited on, pampered and basically coddled so much, I"d just like to do something for myself for once. Youknow how independent I"ve been in the past. Soon, all of this will be taken away from me and I"ll be hidden in the palace with nothing better to do but figure out which outfit I"ll wear to dinner that night. I need something that tells me I"m not going to perish. If that something is simply carrying my own bag, what"s the harm?”

Her explanation seemed to sooth his concern and he bowed again but stepped back, signaling that he would allow her to carry her own purchases.

Breathing a sigh of relief th at her plan wouldn"t be spoiled by overly attentive servants, she turned and looked down the rest of the aisle. There were so many vendors and obviously word of who she was had spread. Many people were looking in her direction, smiling brightly and some even bowing.

Electra"s heart sank. If she was known to everyone, how was she going to slip away unnoticed? This might be harder than she"d thought.

Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and pasted a bright smile on her face, then continued down the aisle toward the next stall. She bought one item from each vendor, including a large bag that would hold all her purchases. Acting as if she didn"t want to leave any vendor out, she continued to purchase at least one thing from all of them, delighting the vendors and the populace alike.

Slipping behind one of the brightly colored fabrics at one stall, she stayed hidden long enough to determine how many seconds it took for her guards to become concerned. They were perfectly vigilant so she calculated she had only a few seconds. One or several of them had an eye on her at all times. This wasn"t good, she thought. She needed more time, at least a minute in order to disappear into the crowd. Then an idea struck her. She"d never be able to melt into the crowd in her own garb. Her appearance was known all over the country now and she"d easily be recognized. Besides, each person in the marketplace was watching her, eagerly anticipating making a sale of their own so they could brag about how each had sold a coveted trinket to the future queen.

It took several more stalls before she found what she was looking for. The long, black material looked hot and uncomfortable and the veil was thick, made to cover all of her hair and some of her face.She"d have to wipe off her makeup, she thought, biting her lower lip as she figured out her new strategy. But glancing back at Gerrard and Micha as well as the other guards who were surrounding her, she figured she could duck behind something, throw on the burka and basically vanish from everyone while being in plain sight.

It would work, she told herself. It had to. She hadn"t been able to come up with another idea.

Glancing backwards, she noticed that several of the guards were now being used for crowd control. One of them was talking into his microphone, possibly calling for backup as the crowds started to increase now that word of her presence and patronage spread. It was now or never, she thought. If extra guards arrived, she"d be doomed and would arrive back in the palace with efficiency and the nauseating decorum she"d been dealing with for the past several days.

Looking back one more time, she caught Micha"s eyes. The look lasted longer than normal and she sent the silent message of apology. She noticed the guard"s expression change so she shook her head, telling him that everything was okay. He turned away, watching the crowds but she knew that there was added tension in his shoulders. She"d have to work fast and she slipped behind one of the sheets, her voice exclaiming with feigned delight.

A moment later, she ducked down behind a pile of fabric and threw the black material over her head. She could feel her heart beat increase and the sweat on her back start to drip. The tension would make her fail if she wasn"t careful. Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, she tied the veil as efficiently as she could. Then on her knees, she crawled to the opposite end of the stall. Peeking over the top of the table piled with fabrics, she noticed with relief that most of the people were still watching the area in which she"d disappeared.

With a sigh of relief, she stepped up and walked down the aisle, back toward the cars. She kept her head down and pulled the veil as low over her forehead as possible, hoping no one would notice her. There were a couple of men who watched her, one even pointed in her direction and her heart almost stopped in fear that they might call out and alert her guards.

By the time she was back at the cars, she bit her lower lip in indecision. There was obviously an alert raised as one of her guards ran by her, stepping into the SUV and speaking rapidly on a radio. But moments later, he gave her the ideal exit strategy. He raced back to the crowd, his eyes swerving from side to side, obviously looking for her.