Royal Affairs: Desert Princes & Defiant Virgins

‘You needn’t waste sympathy on the Sultan,’ Karim drawled. ‘He has vast experience with women, and is well able to protect himself.’

‘Well, he won’t need to protect himself from me. I’m honest.’ She trod hard on the accelerator. ‘And I certainly won’t be pretending to be in love with him. We’re going to get along just fine.’

‘I’m sure the Sultan will be overwhelmed by your romantic nature,’ Karim said dryly, wondering whether greed was any less distasteful when it was practised openly.

‘From what I’ve heard, the Sultan doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body.’

‘You’re very sure about that. What if marriage to you is preventing him from marrying someone else?’

‘Oh, come on, Karim! You yourself said that the Sultan has avoided marriage all his life. He’s thirty-four years old, and he’s dated every beautiful woman in the western hemisphere.’ She changed gears viciously. ‘If there was someone he wanted to marry, he would have done it by now.’

‘And you have reached this conclusion on what basis?’

‘He’s the Sultan. The absolute ruler. He can marry anyone he pleases.’

‘Evidently not, since it seems that he will be marrying you. I’m afraid life is nowhere near as simple as you describe, even for the Sultan.’

‘We’re here.’ Ignoring his last remark, she turned the wheel sharply and drove the car through a gap in a fence and into an open field. Then she flashed the headlights three times. From across the field came an answering flash, and she nodded and switched off the engine. ‘We need to be quick.’

She was already out of the vehicle, the collar of her black jacket pulled up and a hat pulled low over her eyes. ‘Hurry. I don’t know how much time we have.’

Seriously questioning his decision to go along with her, Karim followed her, and then reached out a hand and hauled her against him. ‘Enough,’ he growled. ‘Enough, Your Highness. No one is following us.’’

‘Maybe not yet, but they will be. We need to get on that plane. Now.’ Her voice was urgent. ‘They’re coming, Karim. They’re already on their way. I can feel it.’

Karim felt her shiver in his arms, and his own body stirred in response as he stared down into her beautiful face. Why was she so desperate to go through with this marriage? Was this really all about money?

And what had happened to his judgement? Was he seriously going to board a strange aircraft with a woman who he didn’t trust, like or even admire?

‘You’re making no sense. Give me one good reason why I should do as you say.’

Her breath was coming in rapid pants, and then she jerked away from him and pointed a gun—his gun—straight at his chest. ‘Because if you don’t then I’m just going to have to shoot you. I will not allow anyone to stop this marriage, and that includes you. We’ve already wasted far too much time. Make your choice, Karim, but make it fast.’

Her hands shaking, Alexa held the gun as she’d seen it held in the movies, hoping that she looked suitably threatening. ‘Well?’

Karim stood still, remarkably calm, given that he was staring down the barrel of his own gun. And then he reached out and gently prised the gun from her shaking fingers with a hand that was entirely steady.

‘It’s dangerous to play with weapons that you know nothing about,’ he said softly, and she made a desperate grab for the gun but he slid it back into the holster under his jacket. ‘Next time you want to threaten someone, choose a weapon you’re familiar with.’ He watched her for a moment, his eyes searching. ‘Given that our prompt departure is obviously a matter of great importance to you, we’d better leave.’

‘Thank you.’ She should have felt relief, but instead she found herself wishing that he’d opted to stay behind. He was the most disturbing man she’d ever met, and she didn’t want him in her life. Especially not at this particular moment when concentration was crucial to her very survival. Alexa took a phone out of her pocket and made a quick call. Immediately a set of landing lights illuminated a runway, and she saw the small plane waiting. ‘They’re ready. Quickly.’

Checking over her shoulder for any glimmer of approaching headlights, Alexa pulled away from him and sprinted towards the plane, not really caring whether Karim followed or not.

She didn’t understand why he was asking so many questions.

He was a bodyguard. His brief should have been to follow orders, not to give them.

Arriving at the plane, she climbed the few steps and then sank down on the nearest seat, her insides churning so badly that she could barely breath. Karim sat down next to her and she felt the brush of his arm against hers.

Even without turning her head she knew he was watching her. She could feel him watching her.

And then he gave an impatient sigh, leaned across and fastened her seat belt in a decisive movement. Wishing he’d selected a seat across the aisle, Alexa’s mouth dried.

‘Thank you.’

She didn’t look at him. She didn’t dare.

She had to stay focused, and looking at Karim just blurred her mind.

A man walked out of the cockpit and nodded to her. ‘You are ready, Your Highness?’

‘Yes. Just go, David. Quickly.’ Knowing the risk he was taking, she looked at him doubtfully. ‘You’re sure you want to do this?’

‘How can you doubt it?’ The man’s expression was fierce. ‘We owe it to your father’s memory. We owe it to Rovina.’

Karim lounged in the leather seat, studying the woman next to him through half-shuttered eyes.

The moment the plane had taken off, she’d fallen deeply asleep, and now she lay without moving, her thick, dark lashes forming a crescent against her ashen cheeks.

He still hadn’t quite recovered from the shock of seeing her standing there, pointing his gun at him. But the incident had taught him two important things.

Firstly, that the Princess Alexandra was determined to marry the Sultan, and, secondly that she was not such a tough, independent soul as she would have liked him to believe. The slender hands holding his gun had been shaking so badly that, had she actually succeeded in firing the thing, the first shot would have hit his head and the second his toes. Clearly she didn’t have a clue how to use a gun.

Still, he’d underestimated her, and he wouldn’t be doing that again in a hurry.

Her extreme behaviour had surprised even him.

But it shouldn’t have done, should it? He gave a cynical laugh. His wealth of experience with her sex had long since taught him that nothing focused a woman’s mind more than a serious threat to her spending power, and the princess appeared to be facing that threat in the form of her uncle.

What would she say, he wondered, if she knew that he, too, was determined to prevent the wedding? The only difference between him and her uncle was that he intended to succeed.

Transferring his gaze to the front of the plane, he briefly wondered about the identity of the pilot. He’d been surprised by the loyalty and devotion displayed by the young man. Was he one of her many lovers?

Probably, if her reputation was to be believed.

Not that there had been any communication between them since that first brief greeting.

On the contrary, she’d been sleeping since the plane had taken off.

Deciding that it was time to take back control, Karim took advantage of her unconscious state to make some necessary calls. Blessing modern technology, he removed his hand-held computer from his pocket and sent two urgent e-mails that were both immediately answered. He was just pocketing the device when Alexa’s head flopped sideways onto his shoulder.

Karim froze in shock as she snuggled into him. The top of her head brushed his neck as she automatically searched for the most comfortable position, and his senses were engulfed by the delicious scent of her amazing red-gold hair.

She smelt like an English garden in the middle of summer.

Seriously discomforted by the unexpected familiarity, he lifted a hand, intending to push her back into her own seat, but somehow his fingers became entwined in a lock of her hair. The curl looped itself around his fingers like a silken coil, and he studied the vibrancy of the colour with fascination.

Whatever else had been said about her, it was certainly true that the Princess Alexandra was astonishingly beautiful. She was a woman that any healthy, red-blooded man would find impossible to ignore. And as for how she tasted …

Irritated by the dangerous direction of his thoughts, Karim allowed her hair to slide through his fingers, reminding himself that this journey was all about helping her to review her decision to marry the Sultan. To stray from that path would complicate things in the extreme.

The weight and warmth of her body remained pressed against his shoulder, and, although sleeping snuggled against him was an intimacy he’d never before allowed a woman, Karim found himself strangely reluctant to wake her. He had no desire to travel with a tired, irritable woman, he reasoned, and anyway sleep not induced by the exhaustion of sex held no significance whatsoever.

He forced himself to relax in his seat, grimly determined to ignore the intrusive and disturbing reaction of his body. Occasionally he glanced at her, wondering when she was going to wake up.

She slept as though she was never going to regain consciousness, and at one point he found himself leaning closer, just to check that she was actually breathing.

It was only when the plane finally landed in Zangrar that she stirred, perhaps sensing the sudden stillness of the plane. Her head was still resting on his shoulder and her gaze met his, her face dangerously close.

Karim felt something stir inside him and curved his hand around her cheek, tempted to help himself to another taste of her luscious mouth before continuing with the job in hand. His body throbbed and ached with the memory of that kiss, and he realized with no small degree of irritation that he had been in an almost permanent state of arousal since he had met the princess only a day earlier. Only the most ruthless self-discipline prevented him from sacrificing his principles in favour of immediate sexual gratification. His hand dropped and he drew back, and she did the same, apparently dismayed to find herself so intimately entwined with him.

‘I slept—I’m sorry.’ She sounded astonished. ‘What time is it?’

‘We have just landed in Zangrar.’

‘Landed?’ Her expression confused, she looked out of the window. ‘But that isn’t possible.’

‘Why isn’t it possible?’

‘Because Zangrar is a ten-hour flight.’

‘And you have slept for ten hours.’ And for most of those ten hours she’d been wrapped around him. Trying to calm the vicious throb in his body by moving his thoughts as far from seduction as possible, Karim flexed his shoulders. ‘It was the middle of the night when we left. It is hardly surprising that you were tired.’

She looked shocked. ‘I’ve slept for ten hours?’

‘Without waking.’

‘But I’ve never—’ Without bothering to finish her sentence, she chewed her lip and glanced out of the window. ‘So, if this is Zangrar, then how far is it to the Citadel?’

Karim gave a cynical smile. For single-minded focus, you couldn’t fault her. She’d barely rubbed the sleep from her eyes, but already she could see the flash of gold across the desert. He only wished that half the people he worked with were even a fraction as driven. ‘I’m sure the Sultan will be most flattered by your eagerness to begin married life.’

It was a moment before she replied, and he wondered whether she’d even heard his comment. Then she looked at him, her face blank of expression. ‘I need somewhere to change. I can’t wear this.’

‘This’ was the pair of dark trousers and black jumper that she’d worn to leave the palace, presumably chosen to disguise her identity. Clearly she wanted to change into something more glamorous before she met the Sultan.

‘The Sultan is going to be far more interested in the person than the clothes. In Zangrar we have a tradition,’ he said softly. ‘When a woman marries, she dresses in a very simple gown, and that simplicity is of great significance. It means that she is offering herself to her man, all that she is, unadorned and exposed. It is symbolic of the fact that truth can be concealed, and that the marriage of a man and a woman should be about openness and truth.’

‘Truth?’ Her eyes fixed on his face. ‘You’re suggesting that I’m not being honest?’

‘I’m saying that when a woman gives herself to a man there should be nothing concealed.’

‘And what about when a man gives himself to a woman? How much concealing is allowed then? Or is this honesty onesided?’ Disillusionment rang in her voice, and the expression in her eyes was bleak. ‘You still haven’t answered my question. How far is the Citadel from here?’

‘It’s a four-day drive through the mountains and the desert.’ Omitting to tell her that a helicopter could make the journey in a matter of hours, Karim watched with satisfaction as something close to horror flickered across her beautiful face. ‘Zangrar, as a country, is still comparatively underdeveloped. The terrain is a mixture of sand and rock. When it came to building an international airport, the options were somewhat limited. The fortress city is several days’ drive away from here, across harsh desert.’

‘No!’ Clearly horrified by his announcement, she shook her head vigorously and moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. ‘I studied a map. It looked like a short drive.’

‘Distances in the desert are deceptive.’

‘I can’t do a four-day journey—the desert isn’t safe.’

No, it certainly wasn’t.

More than content with her reaction, Karim relaxed in his seat. As he’d intended, the princess was clearly afraid of the prospect of a journey through the desert. All he needed to do now was ensure that she spent long enough in those surroundings to convince her that life in Zangrar was not going to be to her taste. Once she was exposed to those elements of desert life guaranteed to make a delicately brought-up princess run hard and fast in the direction of the nearest shopping mall, his mission would be virtually complete.

Her eyes were still fixed on his face. ‘We have to drive? There is no other way?’

‘Four-wheel drive is best.’ Pausing, he decided that a little elaboration could only help his cause. ‘Camels are equally effective, but obviously not so speedy, and I know that you are desperate to reach the Sultan as fast as possible.’

Apparently missing the irony in his tone, she sank back onto the seat, her breathing rapid as she struggled to control her anxiety.

Karim gave a cynical smile. It wasn’t hard to guess the direction of her thoughts. For a girl used to dressing in silk and partying until dawn, a prolonged trip through the desert held little in the way of attractions.

And she was right to be afraid.

By the time she arrived at the Citadel she would, with a little outside assistance, have decided that marriage to the Sultan was not for her. ‘Why don’t you change your clothes?’ She would doubtless select something feminine and unsuitable, and the more unsuitable the dress the more uncomfortable the journey.

And, the more uncomfortable the journey, the faster she would decide to rethink her matrimonial intentions.

Convinced that the success of his mission was already assured, Karim gave a faint smile. ‘Welcome to Zangrar, Your Highness,’ he drawled softly. ‘Welcome to the desert.’

CHAPTER FOUR

WITHOUT a word, Alexa picked up the one small bag that she’d carried on board with her, stood up and moved to the back of the plane.

They were going to travel through the desert and it was going to take four days? No. That couldn’t be right. It was just too dangerous. At any other time she would have been wildly excited at the prospect of exploring the desert, but not right now! Not when so much was at stake.

She didn’t know which made her feel more uneasy: the thought of being out in the open where William could intercept them at any time, or the thought of being with Karim.

The memory of waking with her head on his shoulder made her want to curl up and hide with embarrassment.

What was happening to her?

First she’d kissed him—or had he kissed her?—and then she’d slept snuggled against him as if they were lovers, not strangers. It didn’t make sense. At night she only ever dosed fitfully. She never slept. In fact, she’d long since decided that her body had actually forgotten how to sleep properly. In the last sixteen years she hadn’t once slept for a ten-hour stretch. And yet suddenly she’d done exactly that, and, not only had she slept a deep, dreamless sleep, she’d done it nestled against Karim.

It was as if in her sleepy state she’d been somehow aware of his strength and had gravitated towards it.

But that couldn’t be the case because she didn’t rely on others, did she? Not consciously or subconsciously. No matter how desperate she was, she didn’t see Karim as her rescuer. She did things on her own, the way she always had.

She didn’t want him here.

Like others before him, he didn’t believe that she was in danger, which meant that the danger was suddenly increased, because he would be distracting her when she should be alert.

And he was extremely distracting.

Warmth curled inside her as she acknowledged the other reason that she was reluctant to travel with him. It wasn’t just that she didn’t trust him, was it? It was more than that. She didn’t want Karim with her because he made her feel like a woman for the first time in her life. He confused her, with his macho decisiveness and raw sexuality. There was something about the way he looked at her that she found profoundly disturbing. He’d made her feel things she didn’t want to feel at a time when the only thing on her mind should have been reaching Zangrar safely.

Alexa groaned aloud with frustration.

She didn’t want this now.

Not when she was on her way to her wedding. This was not the time to discover that there was actually an intensely passionate side to her nature that had never previously been exposed.

Telling herself that her feelings for the arrogant bodyguard weren’t relevant, she dressed swiftly. This wasn’t about her; her feelings didn’t matter and they never had.

All that mattered was reaching the Citadel safely and marrying the Sultan.

She was relying on the Sultan’s wealth and influence to help restore Rovina to prosperity.

But if the Sultan refused to help her …

He wouldn’t, she told herself firmly as she stuffed her old clothes back into the case. Ruthless he might be, but he was also said to be scrupulously fair. Their fathers had been friends. Surely the Sultan would want to honour the bonds of that friendship?

And as for Karim—well, he was just going to have to learn to follow orders.

Having calmed herself, she walked back to the front of the plane, wearing sand-coloured combat trousers tucked into sturdy desert-boots, and felt a flicker of satisfaction as she saw the surprise in Karim’s eyes.

‘What’s the matter?’ She put the case down by her seat. ‘You were expecting high heels and a tiara? Don’t believe everything you’ve heard about me, Karim. I knew we had to make at least a short journey through the desert. I’ve dressed accordingly. What I didn’t realise was that it was a four-day journey. I need some time to adjust our travel plans.’

‘I have already made the necessary arrangements.’ His authoritative tone made her pause.

‘I make the plans.’

‘Not when you are travelling with me, Your Highness. I am your bodyguard. You do as I say at all times. You go where I go and you sleep where I sleep.’

He made it sound impossibly intimate, and suddenly a dangerous heat exploded inside her. ‘No way. I’d rather travel on my own.’

‘A fool crosses the desert of Zangrar without a guide.’

‘A bigger fool trusts another with her life.’

He lifted an eyebrow. ‘You doubt my ability to protect you? There is no need. You’ll be quite safe.’

Safe.

It was a word that hadn’t been part of her vocabulary for sixteen years. The whole concept of ‘safe’ was a distant fantasy for her. ‘How can I be safe when you don’t even believe I’m in danger? How can you protect me from a threat you refuse to even acknowledge?’

‘The desert is in my blood. If anyone is following us then I will know.’

Alexa stared at him helplessly. She wanted to refuse, but she had to face facts—there was no way she could handle a four-day journey through the desert without expert help. She hadn’t planned for that. ‘You know the desert well?’

Her reluctantly voiced question drew a faint smile. ‘You could drop me blindfold in the middle of it and I would be able to find my way back to the Citadel.’

Arrogant.

That was the other word she’d apply to him. Powerful and arrogant.

Alexa looked away from his firm, sensual mouth, trying to think clearly. Relying on anyone else for anything was completely alien to her, but what choice did she have?

She hadn’t anticipated a journey of four days.

If she was navigating a complex route, she would never be able to protect herself.

‘All right. You do the navigation.’ She spoke the words reluctantly, comforting herself with the knowledge that she was still responsible for herself. He was merely providing the transport. ‘We travel together.’

But she wasn’t going to go where he went, and she certainly wasn’t going to sleep where he slept.

Two hours later she was beginning to feel relieved that she hadn’t attempted the journey alone. The desert was vast, and although the road was clear enough, it was also exposed. There was no way she would have been able to drive and keep watch. There was nowhere to hide and nowhere to run to.

‘Can we drive any faster?’

‘Not if you wish to reach the Sultan alive with all your limbs still attached to your body.’ Karim drove with relaxed ease, sunglasses shielding his eyes from the vicious glare of the sun. ‘If your uncle is that desperate to prevent this wedding, then I’m surprised you haven’t had doubts yourself.’

‘It’s the right thing for me.’ Uncomfortably aware of his hard, powerful body so close to hers, she kept her eyes forward. It felt bizarre to be discussing her forthcoming wedding while feeling the most intense sexual attraction towards another man. ‘You talk a lot for a bodyguard.’

‘In our country intelligence is as great an attribute as physical strength, and both are equally necessary.’ He gave a faint smile. ‘The hunter cannot hunt if he cannot first find his prey, Your Highness.’

Alexa shivered. For the past sixteen years of her life she’d been someone’s prey. She’d thought she’d finally escaped, but looking at the dangerous gleam in Karim’s dark eyes she suddenly felt the fleeting control she’d had of her life slip through her fingers. She had no doubt that he was now the one in charge, and the thought made her desperately uneasy. Did she want to cross the desert with this man for company? No, she didn’t. She didn’t want or need other people in her life. She was so much safer alone.

Trying to control her fear, Alexa checked the mirror again for signs of another vehicle, and then tried to relax by studying the scenery.

Before they’d landed in Zangrar she’d seen the desert as nothing more than a land feature that they were going to have to cross. But as Karim had accelerated towards the highway that led through the desert she’d been astounded and then captivated.

Now, as she looked, she saw endless dunes stretching into the distance, the colours myriad shades of burnt orange.

‘Like my hair,’ she murmured, and Karim glanced towards her.