The Sheik's Secret Bride (14 page)

“No. Jamal and
Khalil
stayed with our mother until she died. Then they had a nanny and tutors. For them, the responsibilities of being a prince weren’t so all-encompassing. But then they weren’t going to grow up to rule El
Bahar
.”

Liana wondered if she could really read between the lines of what he was saying or if she was assuming too much. It all sounded very sad and lonely to her. She could picture a much younger Prince
Malik
being told that he had to be strong and brave, that he wasn’t allowed to cry or show weakness, no matter how much he hurt or how tired he might be. But was that reality or fanciful thinking on her part?

“What about now?” she asked. “Are you still held apart from your brothers?”

“We are close,”
Malik
said, staring past her out the darkened windows. “But their lives are different. I have the responsibility of the country’s oil production. I negotiate favorable terms with our
customers,
maintain our alliance with our neighbors. I also have my duties here, within the boundaries of El
Bahar
. My father is still a young man, but he is ready to have me take over some of his functions.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“Perhaps, but it is all I’ve known. I am the future leader of my country. The people of El
Bahar
look to me to be strong and always to do the right thing. For them I am the lion of the desert.
Powerful, moving forward, fearless.”

“I think you do a good job,” she said, then finished her glass of champagne.

Yes,
Malik
was a fine Crown Prince, but he was also a man. Who did he go to when he was tired of being the lion of the desert? Who held him when he was broken in spirit, if not in body? With whom did he trust his doubts, his hopes and his fears?
For he had to have them.
He was human, like everyone else.

“You must get very lonely,” she said.

Malik
looked surprised by her comment.
“In a palace full of people?
Not possible.”

She wasn’t sure if he was denying it because he didn’t want to talk about it with her, or if it was because he really didn’t know how isolated he was. His entire life was designed to keep him apart from everyone else. Her heart ached for the young boy taken away from the loving support of his mother and given to the care of ministers designed to turn him into a man who wouldn’t dare feel any weakness, let alone show it.

How did
Malik
pass the long nights when the ghosts of the past seemed to lurk around every corner and the emptiness of the future loomed on for eternity? Or was she projecting? Maybe she was assuming that
Malik
was enough like her to long to have someone special in his life to ease the burden and make the good times even better.

It was the champagne, she thought, even as he poured her another glass. She’d been too excited to eat much that day so the bubbles and alcohol were going to her head.

“I’m very impressed with your daughter,”
Malik
said as he set the bottle back in the small refrigerator. “She’s going to be an excellent horsewoman. She’s also very bright. I enjoy her company.”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Yes. I’ve never spent any time in the company of children.”

“I suppose not.” She eyed his glass and tried to figure out if he’d filled it as well as hers, or was he still on his first drink? But she wasn’t sure, and it was suddenly so very unimportant.

“I’m sorry I accused you of using her to get to me,” she said earnestly. The words sounded slightly off to her ears. Was her tongue thickening? What had she been talking about? Oh, yes. “What I mean is
,
your relationship with her is separate from the one you have with me. Not that you really have one with me. She adores you, by the way.”

“I suspect I’m something of a father figure to her.”

“You need to have children of your own,” Liana told him.
“Heirs and all that.
Your brothers have children.”

“I know.”

He leaned toward her and took the glass from her hand. She wanted to protest its absence, but he was moving closer and she had the sudden thought that given the choice between drinking the bubbly moonbeams and kissing
Malik
, the kiss would win every time.

“So, have you forgiven me for bringing you to the palace?” he asked.

“Oh, sure.
It was fine.”
Malik
momentarily swam out of focus,
then
reappeared. Was she drunk?
On less than three glasses of champagne?
She considered for a moment and decided it was very possible. She’d never been much of a drinker. “I mean I’m glad we stayed friends.”

He moved closer still, slipping his arms around her and lowering his head to hers. “Is that what we are?
Friends?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a bare whisper.

“How disappointing.”

“Why? What did you want us to be?”

“I’m not sure.” His mouth brushed hers. “Perhaps something more…intimate.”

“That works, too,” she managed before his lips claimed hers in a molten kiss that left her breathless.

It was as it had been before, she thought hazily as the magical heat began to flood her body. In a matter of seconds she found herself aroused and hungry for him. Maybe it was the champagne, or maybe it was the man himself. All she knew was that he hadn’t even touched her with his tongue and her body was aching for them to make love.

The need increased when he brushed her lower lip, causing her to part for him. He entered her mouth slowly, but with a sureness that left her breathless. He explored her, returning to favorite spots that made her moan and writhe and clutch at him. His headdress prevented her from burying her fingers in his hair, so she contented herself with slipping them under his robe and exploring his strong, broad back.

Outside, the sun had set and all was darkness.
Malik
turned off the interior lights and plunged them into blackness. Then he placed his hands on her waist, shifting her until she straddled him, her thighs cupping his hips, her hands resting on his shoulders.

“Liana,” he breathed as he kissed her cheeks, her nose, her chin, then trailed down her neck to the folds of cloth that covered her.

He peeled away the first layer, exposing her chest down to the top of her bra. She felt a shiver of anticipation,
then
gave in to the gentle caress of his lips and tongue against her sensitive skin.

He licked the sweet valley between her breasts, then explored as much of her curves as were available to him. She found herself clutching his head in her hands, urging him to do more, yet half afraid he would unfasten her bra, exposing her to him. Despite the aching dampness between her thighs and the pressure in her breasts, she wasn’t sure she was ready to take that next step. After all, she barely knew
Malik
and she’d only ever been with Chuck, and what woman in her right mind made love in the back of a car with a prince?

As if reading her mind and understanding her indecision, he returned his attention to her mouth, kissing her deeply, making her writhe until her sensitized feminine place settled directly on the hard ridge of his arousal.

And then she was lost. She reached for his hand to draw it to her breast, more than willing to make love right here, right now. She would worry about the consequences in the morning. But as her fingers closed around his, the limo drew to a stop.

Malik
sighed. “Talk about lousy timing,” he said, his words muffled against her throat. “With the privacy glass in place
Sandy
has no idea what we’ve been doing, so he’ll be around to open the door in about five seconds.”

Liana squeaked as she scrambled off him. He helped her smooth her clothes back in place,
then
gave her a wolfish grin. “I can’t tell you when I’ve enjoyed a car ride more,” he said.

“Yeah, right,” she mumbled, suddenly feeling awkward about what they’d done. “I’m sure this sort of thing happens all the time.”

The passenger door opened, but
Malik
ignored it. Instead, he cupped her face and forced her to look at him. “I’ve never done anything like this before. Not with anyone else.”

His gaze was steady, and, for reasons that made no sense, she actually believed him. A smile tugged at her mouth. “Good.”

The walk to the camp was shorter than Liana had expected. The night was clear, and hundreds of stars illuminated their way.
Bilal
, the leader of the nomad tribe, had sent scouts to guide them. She and
Malik
found themselves surrounded by short, powerful-looking men in traditional robes and carrying torches.

When they crested a rise, she could see the camp sprawled out below them. Dozens of tents circled three sides of a huge fresh-water spring. There were children running
about,
and open cooking fires. Goats and camels were kept in makeshift pens on the far side of the camp. She felt as if she’d found her way onto a movie set.

“Are they remaking Lawrence of Arabia?” she asked
Malik
.

He grinned. “This is the real world, not
Hollywood
.”

Perhaps, but it felt very surreal to her.

As their arrival was noticed, the
tribespeople
gathered around them. Conversation flowed in an unfamiliar tongue. Liana found
herself
surrounded by women and was suddenly led away.

“You’ll be fine,”
Malik
called after her. Liana wasn’t so sure.

The women took her into a large tent where their high-pitched conversation and frequent laughter made her smile as well. Using mime to communicate, they had her remove her robe,
then
gasped in wonder at the sight of her blond hair. She was fawned and fussed over, then found herself agreeing to
having
henna applied to her hands and feet. Sweet tea was passed around, and children were brought in to be named and shown off by their proud mothers.

Liana accepted all the attention with good humor and found
herself
thinking that there were parts of
Malik’s
world that she liked very much. Then she wondered if the prince was being made welcome in the same way.

“What the hell is all this?”
Malik
demanded after
Bilal
had bowed and offered words of respect.

Bilal
raised his hands, palm up. “Why is the lion of the desert unhappy? I have simply done as you requested.”

Malik
paced the length of the tent, then spun back to face the other man. “I requested a welcoming ceremony.”

“At first, yes.
But later I received a message from the palace asking for the change. Is it not so?”

“It is not,”
Malik
told him.

“But Your Highness, you must,”
Bilal
insisted. “Your most faithful people have seen it written in the stars. She is your destiny. The foreign woman might come from far away, but she has the desert in her heart.”
Bilal
, a normally wise and conservative man, spat and muttered a curse. “She is nothing like the evil one.”

“No argument there,”
Malik
said, knowing that
Bilal
would have his tongue ripped out before he actually spoke
Iman’s
name. “But I can’t agree to this other thing.”

Bilal
shrugged. “Perhaps you don’t have a choice. Perhaps this is already written. There can be delay, but not escape.” The older man placed a strong hand on
Malik’s
shoulder. “
Come,
let us continue as we have begun.”

Malik
stared at the man who had been a second father to him. He didn’t want to disappoint
Bilal
or his people, but he also knew this was wrong. He had no right to play with Liana’s life this way. Who had requested the change? Was it his father?
Fatima
?

He shook his head and decided it didn’t really matter. He had to call it all off. If he’d thought Liana was annoyed with him for keeping her at the palace against her will, he couldn’t imagine her reaction to this if he let them go through with it.

“We can’t do this,” he said firmly.

Bilal
shook his head. “We must. I told you. It’s in the stars. She is the one.”

Malik
started to tell him no. He had to. It was wrong to make any other decision. Except…If the truth were told, he wanted Liana to be the one. He wanted this. Knowing how she would react and the price he would pay later, he was still willing to risk it all.
Which made him a fool and a liar.
For, by not telling her the truth, he was going to make her hate him. But at least he would have had her as his own…if only for a short time.

This was the oddest dinner Liana had ever attended. She and
Malik
seemed to be the center of attention as dish after dish of food was brought to them. They each tasted from the same plate, then the food was taken away and another brought in its place.