“Kardal,” she breathed, opening her arms.
A warning sounded in her head. A small voice whispered that once done this act could not be recalled. They would both be changed forever. But she couldn’t pull away or demand that he stop. She wanted him. She needed him. She loved him and she wanted to lose her innocence in his arms.
He didn’t take much persuading. He slipped between her thighs and she felt him pushing against her. She was slick from her recent release and at first he moved inside her easily. But then her body began to stretch to accommodate him. Pressure increased—a different kind of pressure from the pleasure she had felt before.
He paused and reached between them, finding her point of pleasure and rubbing it. She was quickly aroused. He pushed in a little more. And so they went until he reached the barrier that defined her innocence. With a kiss of apology, he pushed through, making her wince at the slight pain.
And then he was inside of her. Supporting himself on his arms, he began to move in and out of her in a rhythm as old as time itself. She clung to him, feeling her body respond to each thrust. Tingling began. Odd flares of heat filled her. She found herself pulling him closer, straining toward him. Wanting more, wanting him. Knowing that—
Deep contractions started low in her belly. They moved out like ripples in a pond. She was caught unprepared and found herself drowning in the sensation.
“Yes,” Kardal growled, thrusting in her again and again. With each movement, another ripple began. Then he stiffened and called out her name. She felt the powerful shudder that shook his body.
They lay tangled together until their breathing slowed. He touched her face and smiled at her. “You are mine,” he told her. “I have made you so and nothing will ever change that.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sabrina lay curled in Kardal’s arms and tried to think only of how contented she felt. How this had been right from the very first moment he had touched her.
She had finally done it—she was no longer the innocent virgin she had been just an hour before. The realization surprised her because it didn’t frighten her. She’d been so terrified that if she allowed herself to want a man, she would turn into her mother—going from relationship to relationship, her life ruled by sex.
She recalled a conversation she’d overheard between her mother and another woman. They’d talked about how being with one man made them want to be with all of them. Sabrina hadn’t understood their feelings then and she still didn’t. As far as she was concerned, she would be happy to have Kardal be the only man in her life for always.
For so long she had tried to be unlike her mother and now she knew that she’d succeeded. Perhaps they had always been different and she had never noticed before.
“What are you thinking?” Kardal asked as he gently stroked her hair.
She snuggled closer, savoring the heat of his body and the way the hair on his legs tickled her skin. “That I don’t have to worry about turning into a wanton.”
He was silent for a moment, his expression confused, then he smiled. “You were worried that making love with me meant you were like your mother. You see that you are your own person instead?”
She nodded, her chin brushing against his bare arm. “I have no interest in another man.”
He shifted so that she was on her back, her head pressed into the pillow. He bent down and kissed her.
“That is as it should be,” he said arrogantly. “I have told you—you are mine. No one else will ever have you.” He grinned. “Not even the troll prince.”
His words broke the fragile protective wall she’d erected. While they’d been making love she’d been able to ignore the fear gnawing at her but it crashed into her, filling her with apprehension.
“Kardal, you can’t joke about that,” she said frantically, pushing him away and sitting up. She pulled the sheet with her so that she could cover herself. “You don’t understand.”
He sat up as well. “Do not trouble yourself. All will be fine.”
“Will it? What do you think will happen when my father finds out about this? And the troll prince? He’s not going to be happy that I’m not a virgin.”
Panic filled her. She tugged the sheet free and wrapped it around herself while she hurried to her closet.
“Why are you pretending this doesn’t matter?” she asked as she reached for her clothes. There had to be a solution. What would her father do to Kardal? Would he simply threaten him or would there be actual violence? And what about the troll prince? What kind of man was he? If he had a temper…
She spun back to face Kardal. Tears burned at her eyes. “You have to do something. Go away. Maybe just for a little while until all this blows over.” She pulled on panties and a bra, then slipped into a sleeveless dress.
Kardal didn’t seem to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. Instead of getting up and dressing, he stretched out on the bed and beckoned her to his side.
“I have told you,” he said lazily. “You need not worry. I will be fine.”
He was so handsome, she thought as the first of her tears fell. So strong and such a good leader for his people. She’d never met anyone like him and she never would again.
Sabrina leaned over him. “Kardal, you have to listen to me.”
He touched a tear on her cheek. “You cry for me?”
“Of course.” She wanted to shake him. “Don’t you get it? I love you and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” The tears fell faster. “Dammit, Kardal, get up, get dressed and get out of here.”
She hadn’t thought about what would happen if she confessed her feelings, but she never expected him to sit up and start laughing. His reaction was so unexpected, she stopped crying and stared openmouthed at him.
He kissed her cheek. “How sweet you are to worry about me.” A smile curved his mouth. “And I’m glad that you love me. It is always important for the woman to love the man. Loving him makes her happy. Obedient as well, but I doubt you will ever be that. Still, you have many good qualities and you will be an excellent wife for me.”
She heard the words. They physically entered her ears and moved to her brain. She was even somewhat confident that he was speaking English. Yet nothing made sense.
“W-what?” she asked, barely able to form the question.
“Haven’t you guessed?” His smile turned into a grin. “I am the troll prince.” He chuckled. “At first I was quite insulted that you would call me by such a disrespectful name, but now I find it charming.”
“You?”
She took a step back from the bed. She tried to recall her conversation with her father. The one during which he’d announced her engagement to a stranger. She hadn’t stayed around long enough to find out anything about the man. But Kardal?
He shrugged. “I know. You are happy now. That is as it should be.” He got out of bed and reached for his clothes.
A large object sailed toward him. Kardal barely had time to duck out of the way before a vase crossed the place where his head had been just the second before. He stared at Sabrina who stood by the table at the foot of the bed. Fury darkened her face and fire flashed from her eyes.
“You bastard,” she said in a tone of outrage. “How dare you?”
He quickly pulled on his trousers, then held up his hands in protest. “What’s wrong? Why are you angry? You should be happy that there is no troll prince.”
“You knew!” She pointed at him as if he’d just stolen something precious. “You knew we were engaged, but you never told me.”
Her mouth opened, then closed. “That’s why you claimed me as your slave. You wanted to know what I was like. And that’s why my father didn’t come get me. It’s not that he didn’t care that I’d been kidnapped. I hadn’t been kidnapped at all.”
“Sabrina, you are overreacting. You said you loved me and now we will be together. I told you it would be fine, and it is.”
“Like hell.” She picked up another vase, glanced at i
t, then set it back on the table. A fruit bowl flew at him next.
“You played with me, you bastard,” she spat. “You deliberately kept this information from me and let me feel horrible about everything. How dare you presume to decide if you want me around without consulting me?”
“Why are you angry? I will be your husband.”
“What makes you think I want anything to do with you?”
He still didn’t understand why she was so upset. “Sabrina—”
“Don’t you ‘Sabrina’ me,” she yelled. “All this time I was worried about you. I was afraid to be with you and make love with you because I thought you were going to get killed because of me. You used me and you kept the truth from me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away. “I thought we were friends. I thought we mattered to each other.”
“We are friends…and lovers. Soon we will be married.”
She spun back to face him. “Don’t for one second think I’m going to marry you. I’ll never forgive you for this, Kardal. You treated me badly. You’re still doing it.”
“How?” he asked, genuinely baffled. “What have I done wrong?”
“You don’t love me.”
“You are a woman.” Love? A woman? Him? “I am the Prince of Thieves.”
“You’re a man. I have to tell you, I’m really sorry there isn’t a troll prince, because I would much rather marry him than have anything to do with you. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to let myself care about you. Well, you can be sure that I’m never going to make that mistake again and just as soon as I figure out how not to love you anymore, I’m going to do it.”
She stalked toward the door and before he could stop her, she was gone.
Sabrina ran through the halls of the palace. Adiva saw her and tried to find out what was wrong, but Sabrina couldn’t think. She couldn’t do anything but keep moving because it all hurt too much.
She ached inside, as if someone had ripped out her heart. Perhaps they had. Kardal had thought all of this was a great joke. He’d been laughing at her expense. So many things now made sense. She should have realized. Somewhere along the way, she should have known the truth.
Without realizing where she was, she found herself in front of Cala’s quarters. She walked through the arch that used to lead to the harem and knocked on the closed door of Cala’s private chamber.
“Cala,” she called as she knocked again on the door. “Cala, are you there?”
“Just a moment.”
There was a rustling sound from inside the room, then the door opened a few inches.
The normally perfectly groomed and unruffled princess wore a thin robe. Her long hair was mussed.
“Sabrina.” Cala sounded distracted. “What’s wrong, dear?” Her gaze sharpened. “Have you been crying?”
A movement in the rear of the room caught Sabrina’s attention. She saw a partially dressed King Givon pulling on his shirt. Color flared on her cheeks. She pressed one hand to her chest.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you while you were…That is, I didn’t want to bother you.”
Apparently Givon and Cala had picked up the pieces of their relationship. The information should have made Sabrina happy, but instead it was very hard not to cry.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated, and started to leave.
“Wait.” Cala glanced at Givon who nodded slightly. She drew Sabrina into the room. “Tell us what’s wrong.”
Sabrina felt uncomfortable discussing her personal life in front of King Givon. She tried to retreat, but Cala’s grip on her arm was firm. When Cala and Sabrina were seated on the sofa, Cala took her hands and squeezed them gently.
“What happened?”
Givon sat in a club chair at right angles to the sofa. His concerned expression combined with Cala’s kindness was Sabrina’s undoing. She found herself stumbling over her story, starting with her father telling her that she was engaged to someone she’d never met and ending with Kardal’s admission he was her betrothed.
“He laughed at me,” she finished, barely able to keep from crying. “All the time I worried about him and loved him, and he was laughing at me. Plus he doesn’t love me at all. He thinks I’ll be a decent wife, but that’s not the same thing. He’s talking about the fact that I’ll be happy loving him. I guess that’s supposed to be my reward as his wife. Pleasure in service.”
She looked at Cala. “What did I do wrong? How can this have happened?”
Kardal’s mother sighed. “It seems I do no better in my relationships today than I did thirty years ago. I’m sorry, Sabrina. I knew who you were, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to interfere with my son’s life, but I see now that was a mistake.”
Sabrina tried not to feel even more stupid than she already did, but it was impossible. She started to rise to her feet.
“I see. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“Don’t,” Cala implored. “Please, don’t run off. I feel terrible about what’s happened. I’m sorry my son is an idiot. I want to do what I can for you. I know you and Kardal have a lot in common. I think you would do well together.”
Great. Cala was offering a lifetime of companionship. Sabrina wanted love.
“Perhaps I can help,” Givon said, speaking for the first time.
Sabrina sniffed. “I don’t think anyone can. I don’t care if Kardal is willing to marry me. I won’t have him. He treated me as if my feelings were only there to be convenient for him. If he doesn’t love me back, I don’t want anything to do with him.”
Givon nodded. “I understand what you are saying. However, I have recently watched all three of my sons fall in love with wonderful women. Not one of them did it right. In fact they all came perilously close to losing the loves of their lives. Thirty-one years ago, I lost mine. So I have some experience in this matter. Kardal needs to learn what is important.”
Sabrina swallowed. “You know how to teach him that? Because I don’t.”
“I have a good idea.” He smiled. “Men often do not realize the importance of what they have until it is taken from them. With that in mind, I would very much like to offer you sanctuary from both your father and Kardal.”
She blinked. “You can do that?”
“Young lady, I am Givon, king of El Bahar. I can do anything I wish.”
Less than thirty minutes later Sabrina, Cala and several servants crossed toward Givon’s waiting helicopter. In addition to suitcases containing clothes, they carried with them several small trunks. Inside were the stolen artifacts Sabrina was determined to return to their rightful countries.
The helicopter blades circled lazily in the early-evening twilight, stirring up dust and the sweet scents of the desert.
“Princess, are you sure you want to do this?” Adiva asked, sounding worried and yelling to be heard over the engine. “The prince will miss you very much.”
“I hope you’re right,” Sabrina said as Cala kissed Givon goodbye and stepped onto the helicopter.
“What is going on here?”
At the shouted question, Sabrina glanced back and saw Kardal striding toward her. He’d changed into traditional garments and the front of his robe flapped with each step. He looked dark, angry and very dangerous. Sabrina thought about ducking into the helicopter, but instead she squared her shoulders. Kardal couldn’t hurt her any more than he already had.
“What are you doing?” he asked when he stopped in front of her.
“Leaving.”
Dust swirled around her, making her squint but she could still see the frown as Kardal planted his hands on his hips and stared down at her.
“Why?”
She wanted to scream with frustration. The man honestly didn’t know. When had he gotten so stupid?
“Because I fell in love with you and you played me for a fool. I was worried about you dying and you laughed at me. I’m leaving and I’m never coming back.”
“But if you love me
, you must want to marry me. I will consent to the union. I wish us to be married.”
Givon moved close and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Tell her you love her.”
Kardal glared. “I do not need your fatherly advice at this late date.” He reached for Sabrina’s arm. “Enough of this game. Return to your rooms at once.”
“Not even on a bet.”
She jerked free of him and hurried to the helicopter. As she settled in her seat next to Cala, a man appeared in the door. Rafe! She gasped.
But he didn’t grab her or haul her out. Instead he stared at her for several seconds.
“He’s a stubborn man,” he said finally.
“I don’t expect him to change. I simply refuse to play his game anymore.”
Rafe surprised her by smiling. “You have backbone. I always figured you were exactly what he needed.”
She knew that Rafe was only trying to be kind, but his words were a knife to her heart. Why did everyone see that she and Kardal belonged together except Kardal?
“I can’t wait around until he figures that out,” she said.
Rafe nodded. Kardal approached. Rafe quickly shut the door, then stepped back and gave the pilot a thumb’s-up. Seconds later they were in the air, moving away from the City of Thieves.
Sabrina glanced out the window at the ancient castle. She’d been happy there. She’d fallen in love there. And now she was leaving and would probably never come back. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so broken and sad.
Cala touched her arm. “Things will work out. You’ll see.”
Sabrina didn’t say anything. Words of comfort from a woman who had lost the love of her life for thirty-one years didn’t make her feel better.
“I will not stand for this,” Kardal raged.
He paced the length of his office, unable to believe what was happening. One moment everything had been fine with Sabrina. The next she was in tears and threatening to leave him. More than threatening. She was gone.
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