Sheikh's Stand In

by Sophia Lynn

  Viviana dismissed the thought, or at least she did then. After all, there was a lot to do, and she certainly didn't have the time to be mooning after the man who was going to become her sister’s brother-in-law.

  At least that's what she told herself during the day. At night, alone in her bed, that was another story, but that wasn't something her sister had to know about.

  ***

  The day of the wedding was overcast, but apparently, according to Khutal custom, that was the best possible omen. Viviana and Charlotte had been up since dawn, and Viviana was doing everything she could to keep her sister sane.

  "It'll be great," she kept saying. "It'll be wonderful, I promise …"

  Finally the ceremony was about to start, both of them were dressed, and Viviana had to say goodbye to her sister as she was supposed to appear first.

  "It'll be amazing. See you when you're a married woman, Sis."

  The ceremony was being held underneath an enormous antique tent, one that had been in the family for almost two hundred years. Underneath the tent, more than two hundred guests attended. These were the intimate guests; an even larger party was going to be held later on at the palace.

  Bouncing her niece in her arms, Viviana took a deep breath and walked down the aisle. She knew that every eye was on her, but this was where she excelled.

  When she reached the place where the officiant was waiting, she turned to the audience with a solemn look before reading the passage that had been assigned to her. It was a short piece about how marriage was a symbol for love, how the husband and wife, through their love, created something greater than themselves. It lit a light, and that light could warm a nation.

  She finished to applause, and now it was Mikal's turn. Like his brother, he was dressed in a severe tunic and trousers, a ceremonial sword hanging by his side. He looked every inch his brother's commander of the cavalry in that moment, but she could still tell the moment he laid eyes on her. His green eyes went wide, and though he almost missed a step, he recovered beautifully.

  Khutal wedding garments for women were beautiful, consisting of a beaded vest that acted as both shirt and bra, and a long, wide embroidered skirt that, for Viviana, was crafted entirely in greens and reds. With her hair twisted, braided, and piled on top of her head, she looked like something out of a fairy tale, but judging from Mikal's reaction, it would have been one of the darker ones.

  She smiled at him as he took his place beside her, taking her hand in his, and turning to the audience.

  His reading was a little different from hers. It spoke of the duty that a husband and wife had to each other, and how together, that duty would drive them to great good in the world. He spoke of the duty necessary to maintain two hearts, and in doing so, to create a shelter that would sustain all those around them.

  She knew that when he finished, it was part of the ceremony for him to give her a ceremonial kiss. It had been an enjoyable part of the ceremony rehearsals, and she lifted her face to him.

  During the rehearsals, however, he had kissed her chastely on the cheek, usually followed by a swift wink. That was what she expected today.

  Instead, leaning over the baby in her arms, he brushed his lips across hers, and her eyes flew open at the shock that flew between them. He pulled back with a wink that was certainly more devilish than what he had done before, taking his place by her side.

  There was no time to talk about the churning emotions and the well of fire that had opened up inside her. Now Aladdin was stalking down the aisle, as proud and handsome as a man could be. Once he was in place, Charlotte, resplendent in pale green, appeared.

  The entire assemblage stood to honor her, and though Viviana had never been the sentimental sort, she felt tears pricking her eyes as her beautiful sister floated down the aisle.

  When she took her place next to Aladdin, the assemblage took their places again, and the ceremony continued.

  Viviana was shocked to feel herself tear up again, as the two recited their vows to one another, swearing to honor each other's hearts and to guard each other's nights. Annika, sweet and quiet in her arms, watched the proceedings with such wide eyes that Viviana was sure the baby knew what was going on.

  When Aladdin and Charlotte kissed, the room burst into wild cheers, and Viviana hugged Annika so hard the baby made a sharp sound of disapproval.

  "Sorry, sorry, sweetie," she whispered. "It's only that I'm so happy for your mama."

  In the general tumult that followed, Viviana gave Annika back to Charlotte, and found herself swept into the crowd. Some of the people recognized her from her spokeswoman work, while others were simply curious about the new bride's foreigner sister. One older woman, dressed in stunning midnight blue robes embroidered with silver, questioned her closely on a number of, what Viviana thought, were strange things, and it wasn't until much later that Viviana realized that she had been talking to Charlotte's new mother-in-law.

  The wedding party finally migrated into the palace, where there were now news crews and politicians in attendance. Viviana watched Charlotte and Aladdin handle the press and the politics with impressive élan, and for once, she delighted in being overlooked.

  She was just wondering about what snacks were available from the wandering waitstaff when she turned and found herself face-to-face with Mikal. He was as handsome as he had been at the wedding just a few hours ago, and she grinned, looking up at him.

  "That wasn't the kiss we rehearsed," she said teasingly.

  "Did you dislike it?" he asked, leaning a little closer.

  "No, as a matter of fact, I was just wishing we had rehearsed it a little more."

  "That's good. I wouldn't like to think that I had offended you," he said. "As a matter of fact, I wanted to see if you wanted to get out of this crowd for a little bit. It's been pretty hectic since the wedding, and this is fairly busy."

  "I thrive on chaos," Viviana said with a laugh, "but maybe a good place to sit and watch for a bit would be nice."

  Mikal did far better than just nice. Somehow, he secured a large plate of varied appetizers from the waitstaff and showed her the way to a staircase that was locked for the guests. Mystified and curious, she followed him up the winding staircase until they came to a space that she could only describe as a hidden balcony far above the proceedings.

  Thanks to the jut of the balcony and its height, she could look down on the party below without any of them seeing her. The space was small and empty, a perfect spot for privacy for the two of them.

  "I had no idea that this was up here," she marveled, looking down at the crowd.

  "It was a place where my brother and I used to hide when we were children," he said with a grin. "I had to make sure that Aladdin wasn't going to try to use it for exactly this purpose before I brought you up here."

  "Oh, I hope they're doing okay. Charlotte's been going nonstop since dawn."

  "The worst is behind them, I would say. Now there's just being social, and at least they get to sit in one place while everyone comes to them."

  Viviana looked over to the head table, where indeed Aladdin, Charlotte, and Annika were greeting people like royalty. Viviana sighed with pleasure at the sight.

  "They look amazing," she said. "I've never seen anything like them."

  "Nor I," agreed Mikal, offering her the plate.

  There were no chairs, so the two of them sat on the floor with their backs to the balcony wall, sharing the delicious morsels of food between them.

  "This is perfect," Viviana said with pleasure. "I didn't even know that I needed food …"

  "Well, if Charlotte's been going nonstop since dawn, you probably have as well. I did want to say that you're pretty amazing yourself. You've been working just as hard as Charlotte and Aladdin, and I know you've been keeping your sister sane."

  "Oh, I know she would do the same for me," Viviana said around a mouthful of what she thought must be a savory-sweet jam rolled around a cube of sweet cheese and prosciutto. She swallowed, an
d then she turned to Mikal.

  "So that kiss …"

  "What about it?" he asked, eyes as innocent as a lamb's.

  "Oh, don't play innocent with me," she retorted. "I just want to know a little more about it. Were you just feeling a trifle prankish? Did you want to see what kissing the prom queen felt like? Did you want to see if you could throw me off?"

  He looked as if he was taking her question seriously. Mikal thought for a moment, and then he shrugged. "A little of all of that, perhaps, but more than that … I wanted to kiss you. There's something about you that just … pulls me in. Ever since I laid eyes on you after you arrived at the palace, I can't make my head work when you're around. I've wanted to give you a real kiss since the rehearsals started."

  She thought for a moment about that. "So that's what you think is a real kiss?" she said finally, a daring grin on her face.

  Mikal's expression turned dark as he grinned as sharply as a wolf. "That's what I would call a real kiss in front of my parents and two hundred people," he said. "A real kiss up here, where there's no one to see … that might be something quite different."

  "Oh really …" Viviana pushed the half-finished plate of food aside. She had an idea how things were going to go, and the last thing she wanted was to get food, no matter how delicious, on her beautiful wedding clothes.

  "Why don't you show me what a real kiss looks like, then?"

  She only had a moment to be stunned at how fast Mikal moved. Where had this speed been when he was a teenager? He moved to a kneeling position in front of her, and with one hand on her cheek, he kissed her.

  From the very first moment, she was taken by the passion of the kiss, the skilled way he built the heat inside her with the brush of his mouth on hers, the hot velvet touch of his tongue against the corners of her lips. She gave herself up to the kiss, throwing her arms around him and taking just as much as she was giving.

  The spark that she had felt between them fanned into a bonfire, and she knew that if she didn't stop him, she would end up being taken right here, above a crowd of more than a thousand people.

  Right now, she couldn't understand why that might be a bad idea. The heat inside her had built up to where she couldn't remember the last time that she was this aroused. She could feel the heat of his body through her clothes, she could feel the strength in his body, and she knew in that moment that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  "You feel so amazing," she whispered. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to do this over the last few days, how much I've wanted you …"

  "I might have had some idea," Mikal admitted. "I caught you watching me, and … well … that got me thinking."

  Viviana slid down onto her back, gazing up at Mikal with half-lidded eyes.

  "Why don't you tell me all about your thoughts?" she murmured, reaching up to run an indolent finger along his cheek.

  Mikal laughed. He lay down on his side next to her, running his hand down the length of her body. There was an assurance and confidence to his motions that made her purr. She wondered if that was how he drove.

  "I imagined how it might be to lie you down, and to touch you, to make you start to squirm just a little bit as I touched you everywhere except … where … you … needed …"

  Viviana let her eyes flutter shut as his warm hand teased her. It was a pleasurable kind of torture to feel his hands slide over her clothing. Once or twice, he dipped his fingers underneath the neckline of her vest, making goose bumps line up on her skin.

  "I thought about what it might feel like to run my fingertips over your face, to touch that gorgeous hair of yours. I thought about what it might be like to feel you start to want me …"

  He leaned over her body, supporting most of his weight on his elbow. He kissed her with a kind of leisure that said that he had all the time in the world. She could hear the noise from the floor below, but it felt otherworldly. It was as if the only thing in the world that mattered was being up here with Mikal, feeling the way he was touching her. Now that he was this close, she could feel how aroused he was, how the same fire that ran through her ran through him as well. There was something unspeakably exciting about the idea that he was so excited but that he was restraining himself.

  "I want you to feel so good that you can't stand it. I want you to call my name and I want you to come over, and over, and over again …"

  His hand ghosted up over her thigh, gently touching her between her legs. It was sweet and tender, but it was nowhere near as firm as the touch she wanted. When she bucked her hips up against his hand, however, he pulled it away.

  "You're teasing me," she whispered, a mock-wounded note in her voice.

  "Consider it a form of revenge," he said. "Whenever I saw you this week, I thought of what you looked like naked, what you might sound like when I kissed your neck, your breasts, your belly … I think you can take a little frustration for me, can't you, beautiful?"

  "How do you know that I wasn't just as frustrated as you?" she murmured, reaching up to touch his face. "How do you know that I wasn't thinking about dragging you into a handy closet, pressing you against the wall, and seeing what you felt like when you were completely aroused, when you could think of nothing but what it might be like to have me …"

  Mikal went completely still for a moment. She caught a glimpse of his amazing green eyes right before his mouth crashed down onto hers. There was nothing calculated about this kiss, nothing planned to tease her. Instead, it was something that they were both feeling, something that they both needed. He pressed her against the floor, holding her hair to keep her still as he kissed her savagely. His previous kiss had been taunting and sweet, but this one was unleashed raw sensuality. He wanted her, and now he was going to take her. Viviana arched up against him, feeling as if this was what she had wanted, had wanted for every moment of her life.

  She could feel him push her skirt up, moving it past her knees, baring her legs. She knew what was going to happen, and she wanted it so much. She was on the verge of opening herself up to him entirely when there was a roar from downstairs. Both she and Mikal froze, and Mikal pulled back.

  "Dammit," he hissed. "The dancing is beginning …"

  "So?" she asked. Her hand was on his shoulder, ready to pull him back down, but he shook his head.

  "We're supposed to lead it."

  "Oh, hell," she swore.

  In a heartbeat she was on her feet, smoothing down her clothes, and tidying her hair. She was a master of appearances, and in a few moments, she looked as innocent as she had when she climbed the stairs.

  "Check me," she said. "How do I look?"

  "Impressively untumbled. Let's go …"

  She caught his elbow, holding him back. "Hang on. You look like you've been rolling around on a dusty floor with a girl who's of no matter than she ought to be …"

  He laughed for a moment as she tidied his clothes as well. "There, are we ready?"

  "Not yet," she said as she pulled him in for a deep kiss. She had learned that she should never take anything for granted. In a few hours, perhaps Mikal would change his mind, or perhaps she would. Right now, this was a thing she could do, so she did it.

  The kiss was short and brutal, as much an attack as a sensual thing, and when she pulled back, she was pleased to see that Mikal's eyes were slightly dazed.

  "All right. Let's go lead the dancing."

  ***

  The rest of the night was roisterous with color and laughter, dance and food. Mikal and Viviana lead the dancers in a ring around Charlotte and Aladdin, who was holding Annika. The dancing went faster and faster before ending in a shout, and after that, both she and Mikal had plenty of people who wanted to partner with them. She saw Mikal get whisked away by woman after woman, but she had no time to feel jealous because man after man stepped up for his turn with her.

  She laughed, she danced, she held Annika when Aladdin and Charlotte wanted to dance, and throughout it, she realized she always knew where Mikal was in the en
ormous room. It was as if there was a kind of signal that he put out, one that kept her zeroed in on him.

  Charlotte and Aladdin finally took their leave with their daughter. Viviana knew that some of the guests were gleefully imagining jets to London or Venice, but she knew that the couple was off for a night of solid sleep before flying off in the morning.

  After that, the party broke up slowly, and Viviana decided that she had absolutely done her duty for the wedding. She winked at the ancient man who had her last dance, she saw off the aunties who wanted her to meet their sons, and she headed off to the private wing of the palace.

  Crossing the border from the public to the private space was like stepping into a warm bath after having been in a cold storm. She had seen Mikal leave just a few moments earlier, but now she didn't see him.

  She sighed. She would find him, if not tonight than tomorrow. She made her way back to her room, undoing her braid, and combing it out with her fingers as she walked.

  When she turned the corner to her room, she realized that there was a dark shape in front of her door. It resolved into the shape of a man leaning against the wall, and when he stepped forward, she saw that it was Mikal.

  She almost spoke, but then she realized that the time for words was long past. Instead, she reached up to grasp a fold of his tunic, bending him down until he could kiss her. There was no urgency here, only a depth of passion that promised more to come.

  "I want you," she said. Looking up at him, his green eyes were turned black with need for her, and in that moment, she knew she had never desired anyone more.

  "Yes," he said, and they closed the door behind them.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Viviana had always thought that her bedroom at the palace looked like it belonged in a fairy tale, as if it was a set piece from some ancient drama. Tonight, with the rising moonlight coming in the windows, it had never felt more true. It felt as if they were unmoored in time and space, drifting loose in a dimension that was shaped by nothing more than their desires and their needs.