The Sheik's Secret Bride (27 page)

He didn’t answer. Instead he turned and left.

She stood staring after him, then grabbed a pillow from the sofa and tossed it at the closed door. The childish gesture didn’t make her feel any better, nor did it make the situation any
more clear
.
Malik’s
sudden flowery compliments were very strange. And she hated his insistence that she move into his rooms. What was that all about? She paced the room, something she’d been doing a lot of these days, and knew she wouldn’t be falling asleep anytime soon. She was too aroused, too ready for her lover’s touch. Damn the man. She could only hope he was as uncomfortable as she.

“Do it,” a little voice in her head whispered. “Would it be so terrible to go live with him?”

But that was too much like giving in. She was always the one who bent in this relationship. Just once she wanted him to be the one to give in.

“You’re making Mommy really crazy,”
Bethany
confided later the next week as she and
Malik
walked back from the stables.

Malik
wasn’t sure if she offered good or bad news. “How do I make her crazy?”

The nine-year-old removed her riding hat and smoothed her blond braids. She smiled up at him. “She says we eat with you every night and all you do is talk about im-impersonal stuff.” She stumbled over the word,
then
continued. “And when you’re alone you keep talking about her slender ankles and her porcelain skin. She says she’s beginning to feel like the doll of the month on a cable-shopping channel.”

Her small nose wrinkled. “Do you really like her ankles?”

“I’m sure they’re very nice,” he said. “But they’re not my favorite part.”

“Then why do you talk about them all the time?”

They walked into the main garden outside the rear of the palace.
Malik
led them to one of the many stone benches along the path and sat down.
Bethany
settled next to him.

Their daily rides had darkened her skin to the color of honey and added a dozen or so freckles to her cheeks. She still had an expression of wide-eyed innocence that made him want to hold her close and protect her from everything bad. He couldn’t imagine what his life had been like before this amazing child had burst into his world and changed it all around.

“I took your advice,” he admitted, faintly embarrassed by the fact. “After I married your mother, you suggested that I find a way to make her less angry with me. You mentioned those romance novels she’s always reading, so I picked up a few.” He shook his head. “The men in those are always talking about the women’s slender ankles.”

“That’s pretty dumb,”
Bethany
said.

“I agree. But I thought it was worth a try.”

“Try something else,” the child offered. “The ankle thing isn’t working. Besides, she’s also worried about the fact that you two have nothing in common and that you’re exactly the wrong kind of man for her.” She glanced around as if to make sure they were alone,
then
lowered her voice to a confidential whisper. “I think she’s kinda scared about being a royal princess. She was telling me that it’s fun to read about and dream about, but living that life is very different. She doesn’t want to mess up and embarrass you or the country.”

“She could never do that. Your mother is very poised in every situation.”

Liana putting a foot wrong was the least of his worries. He was more concerned that she wouldn’t give their marriage a chance. Time was slipping through his fingers, and he didn’t know if he was any closer to making her fall in love with him than he’d been when she’d first arrived. All his compliments didn’t seem to be helping. Not making love with her was slowly killing him, but he was determined to bring her into his bed. His gut told him that if he could get her into his quarters he would be that much closer to keeping her in his life.

But not being with her meant that he couldn’t sleep. He had trouble concentrating while he worked, which had never happened to him before. He needed Liana not to leave. Somehow he had to convince her to stay past the one-month deadline.
But how?
What words could he use? All his life he’d been taught to be strong and in control, but no one had taken the time to show him how to get a woman to do what he wanted.

“
Malik
, now that you and Mommy are married, are you my new dad?”

Bethany
asked the question without looking at him. She turned her riding hat over and over in her hands as if it were the most interesting thing she’d ever seen.

When she was riding alongside him, her braids blowing behind her and her seat so comfortable and relaxed on her mount, he forgot that she was just a little girl. But now, with her sitting next to him and obviously afraid of his answer, she seemed small and defenseless.

He put a hand on her shoulder. “Your father back in
America
will always be your real father. Nothing can change that and no one will take his place. If you’re asking if we’re now a part of each other’s lives, the answer is yes.”

She raised her head, and he saw tears filling her blue eyes. Eyes so like her mother’s. “But what happens if we leave? Mommy swears we’re still going at the end of the month and if that happens, you’ll forget all about me.”

A single tear spilled onto her cheek. It was as if she’d cut him with a knife. The pain sliced through him, making his muscles stiffen.

Slowly, he brushed away that tear and the one that followed. He looked at her sweet face and knew that while
Bethany
might be the biological child of another man, she would always be the daughter of his heart.
Because if Liana left him, he would not marry again.
He couldn’t enter into an empty union of convenience now…not even for his beloved El
Bahar
.

“Did you know that your name has a meaning in Arabic?” he asked.

She sniffed,
then
shook her head. “What is it?”

“In that language,
Bethany
means daughter of the Lord. In time I will rule El
Bahar
, which makes me lord of this country. So in some ways, that makes you my daughter, too.” He pulled her close and hugged her. “Don’t worry, child. I will never forget you.”

Bethany
clung to him. “I don’t want to go,
Malik
,” she breathed. “Don’t make us go.”

“You are welcome as long as you would like.”

She raised her head and looked at him. “I love you.”

Her words completed the job her tears had begun. The knife cut clear through to his soul and all his life’s blood began to seep away.

He didn’t say anything, he simply held her close. As much as he wanted her to care about him, he didn’t want her hurt when she left. And she would be hurt. He should have seen that before, but he hadn’t. As for loving her back…he shook off the thought. Love was not a part of his life. Long ago he’d vowed never to love anyone. Nothing had happened to change his mind. He wouldn’t love
Bethany
and he would never love Liana. Still, he promised himself that he would find a way to make them stay.

“If I kill a prince, will they cut off my head?” Liana demanded as she paced her sister-in-law’s living room.

Dora laughed. “I suspect they might.
If they got the chance.
However,
Malik
is much loved by his people, and you’d probably be killed by a vicious mob instead.”

“Gee, thanks.” Liana stopped in front of the chair opposite the sofa and rested her hands on top of the back.

“I’ve been living with an El
Baharian
prince for some time now,” Dora said. “They are difficult men.
Passionate and incredibly loyal, which helps, but never easy.
They have the normal annoyances inherent in all men, plus the idiosyncrasies that go along with being a member of a royal family. It’s not a life for the faint of heart.”

Dora sat on a pale yellow sofa that brought out the gold in her brown hair. She was as elegant and regal as
Fatima
, and just as well dressed. Liana had heard the stories of her marriage to
Khalil
and it was hard to reconcile the princess in front of her with the image of an abandoned executive secretary standing alone and jobless in an airport.

“But I think it’s worth it,” she added. “
Khalil
is the most wonderful man I’ve ever known. I would change the tide for him if he asked.
As he would for me.”

Liana nodded. She’d seen the love between husband and wife with both Dora and
Khalil
, and Heidi and Jamal. Sometimes when she and
Malik
dined with the other two
couples,
she felt a sharp stab of envy for their happiness. She wanted that, too.
A caring relationship with a man who loved her as much as she loved him.

“I don’t know what he’s feeling,” Liana confessed. “I can’t figure out why he wants me to stay.”

“Does it matter?” Dora asked. “Isn’t it enough that he does? He chose you, Liana. Out of all the women in the world, he picked you.”

“I know and because I can’t figure out why, it’s driving me crazy.”

“I do empathize with your position, but I’m also selfish. I think you’re wonderful for
Malik
and I don’t want you to leave.” Dora spread out her hands, palm up. “What do you want?” she asked. “What isn’t
Malik
doing right?”

“I don’t know.”
Malik
was doing a lot of things right. If she ignored the fact that he’d tricked her into marriage, he was being a real sweetie. He was charming and attentive whenever they spent time together. If he seemed a little obsessed with her ankles, it wasn’t such a big flaw. He still wanted her to move into his rooms and wouldn’t sleep with her until she did—which she hated but understood.

As for what she wanted…she remained clueless and completely confused.

“I’m going to go talk with him,” Liana said and glanced at her watch. It was nearly two in the afternoon. He was probably still in his office.

“I can’t wait to hear the outcome of this conversation,” Dora called after her. “I want the details later.”

Liana was still smiling when she marched into the foyer of
Malik’s
office. Zachary took one look at her face, then buzzed his boss and announced her.

Rather than waiting to be let in, Liana walked into
Malik’s
office and closed the door behind her. Her husband raised his eyebrows.

“An unexpected treat,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah, lay off the ankles this
time
, okay?”

“As you wish.”

He was so polite all the time, she thought grudgingly.
And handsome and attentive and emotionally distant and complicated and good in bed.

“I thought you wanted this marriage to work,” she said.

“I do.”

“But you won’t sleep with me.”

“Not until you share my bed.”

“And I can’t just come in for a few hours and then leave?”

He didn’t bother answering that one.

She sighed.
“Fine.
Bethany and I will move our things in this afternoon.” Her gaze narrowed. “But don’t think for a second that I’m going to beg you to make love with me.”

A slow, male smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I promise you won’t have to beg.”

Liana decided to make the move on her own. She didn’t want to get one of the servants to help and have the news spread all over the palace. Not that it was going to be a secret for very long. There were too many clothes for her to transfer everything in a single trip, but it was easier to carry over armfuls of clothes than to pack them all up and then unpack.

As she draped dresses over her arms, she found herself both excited and disappointed. Somehow she’d hoped for more than a teasing acceptance from
Malik
. After all, her giving in was a big deal. She’d promised herself that he was going to be the one to bend this time, and he hadn’t. What did that say about her strength of character? Or did it mean she was realistic?

She hated that she spent so much of her time second-guessing herself. Before meeting
Malik
, she’d always known the right thing to do, and now everything was upside down. But a part of her was thrilled at the thought of being with
Malik
again. As much as she might want to tell herself she needed to live with him to give their marriage a fair chance, she couldn’t deny the anticipation that raced through her at the thought of being able to see him and touch him whenever she wanted.

She paused at the entrance to his private rooms and realized belatedly she didn’t have a key. Not all the doors were kept locked inside the palace, but his suite might be. However, she tried the knob and found it turned easily. After shifting the clothes to a more comfortable position, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.

She hadn’t thought much about what his suite would look like. From what she could tell, they were all variations on a theme. Living quarters faced the ocean and were large and spacious. She’d expected sofas and chairs, a small dining area and artwork reflecting his taste. She found all that in the room, but the elegant furnishings weren’t what caught her attention.