A Golden Betrayal

by Barbara Dunlop

  She rehashed Kalila’s translation of Elena’s words and the mother’s interjections. Then Ann turned her mind to the expressions on their faces and their body language while they spoke. As she did, another memory surfaced.

  There’d been a stern-looking man standing in the corner of the room during the entire conversation. Ann was growing used to the servants and security who moved unobtrusively through every room and corridor of the palace. But, as she thought back, she realized something had been out of place with him. He wasn’t dressed as security, and he didn’t have the demeanor of a servant.

  There was a knock on Ann’s bedroom door, interrupting her thoughts. She made her way through the opulent room, passing a huge four-poster bed, the door to a massive en suite, a burgundy, overstuffed furniture grouping that surrounded a low oak table, and the two marble pillars that delineated the entry area.

  Swinging open one of the oversize double doors, she found Kalila standing in the wide hallway.

  “Hello,” Ann offered in surprise. She’d been expecting one of the household maids with tea or fruit. Rayasians seemed to have decided that hospitality meant a constant stream of food and beverages.

  “Raif just called me,” Kalila said, coming straight into the room. She was also dressed for bed, her lilac gown covered in the matching robe.

  “Did they seem nervous to you?” Ann asked, her mind still grappling with Elena and her mother.

  “Raif?” Kalila asked, stopping to turn around in the middle of the room.

  “No, Elena and her mother. Did they seem nervous?”

  “It was me,” said Kalila. “My station generally makes people nervous.”

  “More than that,” said Ann. “And that guy standing in the corner? What was up with him?”

  “What guy?”

  “The big, burly one. What was he doing there?”

  Kalila shrugged and sat down, perching on the edge of the sofa. “I just spoke with Raif,” she repeated.

  “Oh,” said Ann. “Sorry.”

  In Kalila’s mind, obviously anything the crown prince had to say trumped all else.

  “He wants to talk to you,” said Kalila, something curious and secretive in her smile.

  “About what?”

  “He didn’t say.”

  “I don’t understand.” Ann glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. “It’s late.”

  “Yes, it is,” said Kalila, expression open and obviously curious.

  “I didn’t think we were allowed to do that,” said Ann, struggling to understand what was going on.

  “Do what?” Kalila asked in mock innocence.

  “Be alone together in the palace. Oh, wait. Are you coming, too?”

  Kalila shook her head. “Only to show you the way. He asked me to bring you through the tunnels.”

  A shimmer of uncertainty flittered through Ann’s stomach.

  It was after eleven o’clock. Raif’s request could only mean one thing. Ann wondered if she should comply or tell him to get stuffed.

  After days of minimal communication and strict adherence to protocol to protect her reputation, he simply summoned her to his room through some tunnel?

  “What about servant gossip?” she demanded of Kalila.

  Kalila came to her feet and padded across the room in her thin slippers. “No one will know. These are very private tunnels. That he’s asked me to show them to you... Well...”

  “Means he suddenly wants company?” Ann didn’t make any move to follow Kalila. If it was this easy, why hadn’t she and Raif been spending time together all along? Why did they count on snippets of conversation on the dance floor, or in groups of people.

  “Means he trusts you,” said Kalila, obviously ready to staunchly defend her cousin.

  Ann wondered if Kalila suspected Raif wanted sex. Then she found herself wondering if she was jumping to conclusions herself. Maybe he only wanted to talk to her in private. Maybe he’d learned something about the Gold Heart. Here she was, getting all snippy with him, and he might simply be sharing good news.

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Show me the tunnels.”

  Kalila nodded, then stretched up to reach for a decorative sword hanging on the wall. She twisted the sword’s handle. There was a popping sound, and a small hidden compartment opened up in another wall.

  Ann watched in amazement as Kalila moved to the compartment, set aside a jeweled box and pressed a button, and a person-size panel in the opposite wall slid sideways, revealing a dim stone passage.

  Ann reached out to steady herself on a bedpost. “You have got to be kidding.”

  “We don’t use them very often,” said Kalila. “They’re kind of musty and creepy. But our ancestors sometimes needed to escape from marauding hordes. You can get all the way outside the palace walls if you know what you’re doing.”

  Ann wrinkled her nose. “Are there spiders in there?”

  “Probably,” said Kalila, producing a flashlight. “We’ll walk fast.”

  Ann couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. Somehow, she’d been expecting to be handed a torch.

  “I was ten the first time my mother showed them to me,” Kalila continued. “I was under strict orders to only use them in an emergency. But I sometimes hid on my nanny or spied on the adults.”

  “Did you ever get caught?” The more Ann learned about Kalila, the more she liked the woman. In other circumstances, she could see them becoming friends.

  “I had a few close calls. I guess I’m still an unruly rebel.” Kalila led the way inside.

  “Only by Rayasian standards,” Ann couldn’t help noting. The passage was dark and narrow, with a low ceiling. The door slid shut behind them, but the flashlight cast enough light to see several yards in front. The air was musty and still. Ann stuck to the very center of the passage, keeping a sharp eye out for creepy-crawly things of any kind.

  “By British standards, as well. Niles says our children must attend a proper British boarding school, so they don’t turn out like me.

  The words took Ann by surprise. “You’re thinking about marrying Niles?” The admission flew in the face of everything Kalila had told her so far.

  “He begged me,” Kalila confessed. “I keep telling him I can’t. But now he’s...”

  “He’s what?” Ann couldn’t help but ask.

  “Nothing.” Kalila swiftly shook her head. “It’s impossible, and Niles has to accept that. Now, we mustn’t keep the crown prince waiting. He can be a bear.” She strode on ahead, and Ann quickly increased her pace to keep up.

  * * *

  Raif kept a nervous gaze on the panel that would slide open to access the tunnel from his bedroom suite. He was only half listening to what his executive assistant was saying, waiting for a place to end the conversation and get the man out of his suite.

  He knew it was foolish to take the chance of bringing Ann to his room. But he had to see her alone. He couldn’t face another night without at least talking to her, maybe holding her in his arms, at best making love to her.

  He knew she might turn him down, might tell him to get lost, but he had to ask. If there was a chance she’d let him hold her one more time, it was worth it.

  “A relatively minor member of the royal family,” Saham was saying. “But the request for an introduction came directly from Buckingham Palace. And the Walden-Garv family does have considerable influence with Wimber International and Iris Industrial. I was thinking a private meeting, followed by a small reception, or perhaps a tea?”

  “Sure,” said Raif, more interested in getting rid of Saham before Kalila arrived with Ann than the details of any hospitality with British royalty.

  That was assuming Ann had agreed to see him. He realized it could go either way.

  “Which one?” asked Saham.

  “Either. Check my schedule and decide.” Raif moved toward the door, herding Saham in front of him.

  “Very good, sir.” Saham made a note on his PDA.

  Raif
opened the door to usher him out. “Who were we talking about again?”

  Saham glanced at the PDA. “The Marquess of Vendich, heir to the dukedom.”

  “Fine.” Raif ended the conversation, closing the suite door, just as someone tapped on the passage panel.

  He quickly crossed the room. He maneuvered the secret levers, and the panel slid smoothly open.

  Kalila gave him a quick hello and goodbye, disappearing back through the tunnels to her own room. While a bemused and very sexy-looking Ann stepped onto his carpet.

  She wore a shimmering emerald silk robe. It gaped open at the neck, revealing a matching gown with a lace V-neck. Her face was free of makeup, shiny clear, pale as moonlight, her dark-fringed blue eyes set off against her blond hair.

  His feet automatically took him to her as the panel slid shut behind her. He reached for her hand. It was cool, slim, delicate in his.

  Neither of them spoke. She didn’t smile, but she didn’t frown either. His stomach tightened with anticipation. She’d once asked him if there was anything he couldn’t have. It was definitely her. She was the one thing Raif couldn’t have, and at this moment she was the only thing he wanted in the world.

  “Do you know how foolish I am?” he found himself asking.

  That brought a smile to her face. “I tried to tell you that that first time we ever met. What makes you admit it now?”

  He reflexively smiled back. “I was just thinking, you are the worst woman in the world for me.”

  Her delicate brow went up. “Wow. Who doesn’t like to hear smooth talk like that? What else have you got?”

  He tried to organize his thoughts. “You’re Western, you’re blond-haired and blue-eyed, not a drop of royal blood, and you have no political value whatsoever. You’re not even a virgin.”

  “I’ve always liked my blue eyes,” she defended with mock insult.

  “I love your blue eyes. I love your voice, your intelligence and especially your sense of humor. But I can’t do that. I have my duty. A relationship with you, even rumors about you, would cause unimaginable chaos for my family. My father is dying, Ann.”

  “I know.”

  “I am going to be king.”

  “I know that, too.”

  “I must marry soon.”

  Ann sighed. “A young Rayasian virgin with a royal pedigree. I get it, Raif.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She gave a short laugh. “Hey, you’re the one agonizing about it. Don’t be sorry for me. It’s probably just the curse. Once the statue is back, you’ll fall for a suitable young lady and live happily ever after.”

  Raif wished it was possible. If he knew these feelings for Ann would go away, he might be able to convince himself to tough it out and wait. But Raif lived his life firmly planted in the real world. The Gold Heart statues’ luck was a myth, as was the curse.

  His world lit up when Ann walked into the room. It dimmed when she left. He wanted to talk with her, laugh with her, even fight with her. He wanted to share his pain over his father and his worries for his country.

  “On the bright side,” she joked, interrupting his thoughts, “between now and when the curse wears off, we could indulge ourselves.”

  He struggled to understand what she was saying.

  “It’s not like I’m a virgin. So you can’t exactly ruin me for my future husband.”

  Raif was stunned speechless.

  * * *

  Seeing the expression on Raif’s face, Ann bit down on her lip. Obviously, her joke had fallen flat.

  But then, he pulled her into his arms. His embrace was strong and secure, and she found herself molding against him. For a stolen moment, she blocked out the past, the future, any semblance of real life. For a stolen moment, she pretended it was safe to love him.

  She tipped her chin, and he brought his lips to hers. His kiss was gentle at first, but then it grew deeper. Their passion grew, and he cradled her head, stroking his thumbs along her checks, her temples, into her hair.

  “I can’t get you out of my mind,” he whispered. “I try. I fight it. I focus. But nothing works. I don’t want to hurt you, Ann.”

  She pressed her palms against his chest, feeling his deep heartbeat through his fine cotton shirt. He wasn’t hurting her now. Whatever was to come, he absolutely wasn’t hurting her now.

  “I miss you so much,” she confessed.

  He touched the bottom of her chin, tipping her head. “Will you stay? Sleep with me? Let me hold you tonight?”

  She nodded. When the pain came, the pain came. She’d find a way to handle it. But for tonight, she was his, and she was going to love him with all her soul.

  Raif lifted her into his arms. He carried her through the ornate archway that separated his living area from the sleeping area. His rooms were massive, even bigger than the ones she’d been assigned. The bed was a carved four-poster, with thick quilts and a dozen pillows.

  Inside, he set her gently on her feet. Then, with more than a little impatience, he pushed off the multitude of pillows and threw back the covers, revealing crisp white sheets.

  He straightened, facing her, moving in close, but he didn’t kiss her again. Instead, he smoothed back her hair. Then his lips curved into a very satisfied smile as he flicked open the sash at her waist.

  Ann’s heart thudded hard. Her skin prickled with heat, and desire rushed to every corner of her body. Nothing in her life had ever felt so right. He slid the robe from her shoulders. The nightgown beneath had a low V-neck with intricate lace and spaghetti straps.

  His dark eyes went black, and he eased forward, placing a gentle kiss on the tip of her bare shoulder. He nuzzled his way to the crook of her neck, using his hands to peel away his own clothes. There was something intensely erotic about being touched only by his lips.

  When there was nothing between them but her nightie and his boxers, he urged her gently back on the bed. Then he came down beside her.

  “My own personal fairy tale,” she couldn’t help but muse. The ceiling was domed, gilded with gold, covered in a mural. There were huge windows on three sides of the room, with views of the gardens and ocean beyond. The dressers, armoires and chairs were obviously prized antiques, polished within an inch of their lives.

  Raif pulled her against him, spooning their bodies together, his big hand cradling her stomach, scorching hot through the thin silk. “I’m a man as much as I am a prince,” he whispered against her hair.

  “I wish you were only a man,” she found herself responding.

  He gathered her closer still. “Some things cannot change.”

  She nodded, drawing a deep breath, focusing on his hands, his lips, wondering where he would kiss her, where he would touch her. He was an amazing lover, and her skin tingled in anticipation.

  She waited, waited a moment long, and a moment longer.

  “Raif?”

  “Hmm?”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I love the way you smell.” He placed a light kiss on the back of her neck.

  Okay. That was better. Here they’d go.

  She waited. She wriggled a little. He sucked in a tight breath, he didn’t make any other move.

  “Uh, Raif?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re not kissing me.”

  “I know.” There was a trace of exasperation in his voice, and she struggled to figure out what she’d done wrong.

  The seconds ticked by, and her tension mounted until she couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Why not?” she dared.

  “Why not what?”

  “Why aren’t you kissing me?”

  His hand tightened on her stomach. “Because I’m not made of stone. You’re asking too much, Ann.”

  Now she was thoroughly confused. “Do you want me to kiss you?” He’d always taken the first moves, but she was open to it if he wanted to switch things up. She tried to twist in his arms, but he held her fast.

  “Raif, what’s wrong?”


  “What’s wrong?” His voice was strained. “I’m holding on by a thread here.”

  “Why?” She stretched her neck to stare at him. “Not to criticize Your Royal Highness’s gold-star technique, but we can get this show on the road anytime.”

  He stared blankly down at her. Then he blinked. “Correct me if I’m wrong. Oh, I so hope I’m not wrong. But, did you take me saying ‘let me hold you tonight’ to be a euphemism for making love?”

  He had to be joking. She bopped him on the shoulder. “What else would it mean?”

  A huge smile spread out on his face. “So, your yes meant... yes.”

  “Of course I meant yes. What kind of a tease do you think I am?” Were they suddenly having a problem with the language barrier?

  Without another word, he turned her in his arms, gathering her close and tight as he pinned her beneath him. His lips came down, kissing her deeply, while his hand found the hem of her nightgown, peeling it up, tracing the bare skin of her thigh, her hip, her stomach, his hand closing over her breast.

  She gasped for air, her brain moving from confusion to arousal at warp speed.

  “Too fast?” he asked, even as he stripped the satin gown over her head.

  “Fast. Please. Fast right now. We can slow it down later.” She’d been waiting far too long already.

  Nine

  At breakfast the next morning, Ann’s skin still tingled, in some spots more than in others. But Raif had meetings and appointments all day long and into the evening, so she wouldn’t get a chance to see him. She told herself to be patient. He hadn’t said anything about her joining him in his bed again tonight. But he would. She hoped. She hoped very much that he would.

  For now, she sipped her strong coffee, and she tried to focus her mind on something else—anything to prove to herself that she wasn’t a lost cause.

  One of the serving staff put an omelet in front of her, just as Kalila walked into the breakfast room. The room was open on one side, and the ocean breeze rustled her green print silk dress. Like all Rayasian women, Kalila wore a colorful scarf partially covering her hair. She’d tried to show Ann how they were put on, but Ann was a slow learner. She hoped she could learn how someday, because they were quite beautiful.