The Royal Wager

by Kristi Gold

  Once they reached the corridor outside her father’s suite, Dharr turned to her. “If he asks questions about our trip, be brief.”

  “I know that, Dharr. If we’re lucky, this visit will be brief.”

  “I would not count on it. He has not seen you in a while.”

  “I’ll handle everything fine. You don’t have to stay.”

  “I would prefer to see how he is doing.”

  The concern in Dharr’s tone prompted Raina’s latent fears. “Are you not telling me everything? Is he worse than you’ve been letting on?”

  “I have told you everything. I am more concerned with you.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, so you’re worried I’m going to spill the beans and tell him we spent a good deal of time fooling around?”

  “No. I am concerned that he might press you about our marriage arrangement. I do not want you to have to answer to that alone.”

  “How chivalrous of you. But again, I know how to handle my own father.”

  “I am certain you do. I am still going in with you.”

  Resigned Dharr wasn’t going to give up, Raina rapped on the heavy door and waited for her father’s “Come in,” before she turned the knob.

  She stepped inside to find her beloved papa lying on crisp white sheets contrasting with his navy pajamas, his head propped on two pillows, a book resting on his chest and his reading glasses and near-gray hair askew.

  Raina propped her hands on her hips and looked mock-disapproving. “Now what are you doing up this time of night, oh stubborn sultan?”

  He grinned and held out his arms. “You are here, safe and sound, my child.”

  “Yes, I’m definitely here.”

  “Come and let your old papa get a better look at you.”

  On sluggish legs, Raina walked to him, perched on the edge of the bed and gave him a lengthy hug. “You’re not old, Papa. You’ll never be old.”

  He slid his glasses to the top of his head. “I would like to believe that but I fear my physical condition is saying otherwise.” When Raina straightened, her father turned his attention to Dharr who was standing near the door. “My thanks to the shayx for bringing my daughter to me.”

  Dharr nodded in response. “It was my pleasure to serve you, Sultan.”

  Raina laid a hand on his arm. “How are you really feeling?”

  He scowled. “Well enough not to be in this bed. I am still in control of all my faculties.” He leaned forward and sniffed. “What is that perfume you are wearing?”

  Perfume? She didn’t have on any perfume. Unless… The oil. And she just thought she’d washed it all off. “It’s new. A nice floral scent, don’t you think?”

  “Ah, flowers. That suits my záhra.”

  “You’re too kind, Papa, but I’m not a flower tonight. I am about to wilt.”

  He brushed a hand over her cheek. “You do look tired. Did you not sleep on the plane?”

  Not hardly. “Yes, I did. Dharr was kind enough to provide his quarters for the duration.”

  He shot a quick glance at Dharr. “As best I can recall, only one bed exists.”

  Uh, oh. “Yes. I slept there. Dharr stayed up most of the trip.” And that part wasn’t a lie.

  “Then you two have gotten to know each other better?”

  A tremendous understatement. “Yes.”

  Again her father looked to Dharr. “Would you mind if I spoke to my daughter privately?”

  Raina glanced over her shoulder to see Dharr nod. “I will be outside when you are ready to retire to your room, Raina. Peace be upon you, Sultan.”

  “And peace be upon you, Sheikh Halim.”

  After Dharr left the room, Raina turned to find her father’s face forming a mask of concern. “Is there something you wish to tell me, Raina?”

  She balled her hands into tight fists in her lap. “Tell you?”

  “Yes. I feel as if you are concealing something from me.”

  Darn his intuition. “I’m not, Papa. Everything is going well with work. My life is in order. I’m settling into my new—”

  “I am referring to your relationship with Dharr.”

  Despite internal panic, Raina attempted a relaxed façade. “I promise you, we got along just fine. He’s a very interesting man.”

  “And he treated you well?”

  “Of course. Why would you think otherwise?”

  “Because you are a beautiful woman and he is a hot-blooded male. And although I consider Dharr the closest thing to a son, if I discover that he treated you inappropriately, I would have to kill him.”

  Raina released a nervous laugh. “You have a grand imagination, Papa, as always.”

  “My only concern is for you. I expect Dharr to treat you with the greatest respect and withhold any serious affection, at least until you are married.”

  Here we go again. “I am not even going to discuss that marriage contract, Papa, because as I’ve told you before, I have no intention of going through with it.”

  “You should not be so quick to toss the idea away.”

  “I don’t want to get married right now.”

  He looked hopeful. “But you have not completely ruled out the possibility in the future?”

  Leaning over to kiss his cheek, she told him, “Good night, Papa. I’m too tired to hash this out now, and you need your rest.”

  “I am fine.” He laid a hand on his chest, contradicting his assertion.

  “Are you okay?” Raina asked, her tone laced with worry.

  “Again, I am fine. I am taking enough medications to make the most ill of men miraculously recover from any maladies.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He patted her cheek. “I am sure. Now run along to bed. We will talk again tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” Raina saw escape at hand when she reached the door until her father called her back. She faced him once more. “What is it now, Papa?”

  “How is your mother?”

  Raina’s heart clutched when she saw the familiar sadness in his eyes. “She’s doing okay. She’s not very happy that I moved out.”

  “She is lonely. How well I understand that.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way for either one of you, if you’d both quit being so stubborn and admit you still have feelings for each other.”

  “It is too late for us to be happy,” he said. “But it is not too late for you. Search long and hard for that happiness, my daughter. And once you find it, do not let it go.”

  “I’m happy with my life, Papa.” Oddly she didn’t sound all that convincing. And her father wasn’t convinced. She could see it in his eyes.

  “Now get some rest,” she said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “I hope so,” he murmured. “I would also like to see a grandchild before I pass on to the great unknown.”

  Without responding, Raina sent him a smile before she rushed out the door.

  Dharr was leaning back against the opposite wall of the corridor, arms folded across his broad chest, looking gorgeous despite his ruffled hair and rumpled shirt. “Shall I show you to your room now?”

  “Yes. We need to talk.”

  Dharr led Raina down the hallway to a room three doors from her father’s suite. After they entered the room, she was vaguely aware of the recessed U-shaped sofa beneath an arched overhang and the rich russet colors mixed with turquoise. But she was very aware of the four-poster, carved bed not far away, and that had nothing to do with her lack of sleep.

  First and foremost, she had to tell Dharr about her conversation. “Close the door,” she said, her tone more anxious than she would have liked.

  “Perhaps that would not be a good idea.”

  “I don’t want anyone to hear us.”

  “Hear us?”

  She let go a frustrated sigh. “Talking, Dharr. I think you need to know what my father just said to me.”

  “As you wish.” He closed the door then faced her again. “I am ready to listen
now.”

  Raina wasn’t certain how she should tell him, so she simply blurted, “He knows.”

  Dharr took a few steps forward. “Knows what?”

  “He knows that something went on between us.”

  “How would he know this unless you told him?”

  “I didn’t say anything that even remotely hinted at our…you know.”

  “Extracurricular activities?”

  She pointed. “Exactly. He obviously sensed something. Maybe it’s the oil. He smelled it, you know. I swear I thought I washed it all off—”

  “Raina.”

  “Obviously I didn’t, not that I didn’t try. But then it was on the sheets when—”

  “Raina.”

  “This morning, when we went at it again. I knew I should have taken another shower—”

  He clasped her shoulders, ending her senseless rambling. “He would have no way of knowing it was massage oil. Now precisely what did he say to you?”

  “He said that if he learned that you were inappropriate with me, or something like that, he would kill you.”

  Dharr had the nerve to laugh. “He must be feeling better.”

  “He said you weren’t allowed to touch me intimately.”

  He dropped his hands from her shoulders. “I see.”

  “Until we’re married.”

  Any sign of humor disappeared from Dharr’s expression. “Then he brought up the marriage arrangement.”

  “Yes, he did. And I refused to discuss it with him. Of course, he added a little drama by clutching his chest although he insists it’s nothing. I’m beginning to believe he might be partially right. Until that point, he looked perfectly fine.”

  “Do you believe he is manipulating you with his illness?”

  Raina wrung her hands over and over. “I honestly believe he probably has been sick. I also believe that now that I’m here, he’s going to milk it for what it’s worth, hoping to convince me to hook up with you permanently. That was apparent when he mentioned grandchildren.”

  Dharr paced the length of the room then back again. “All the more reason not to give him anything to be suspicious about.”

  “I know. It’s probably best we don’t even look at each other when we’re together.”

  Dharr stopped and frowned. “That would seem rather unusual, do you not agree?”

  “Probably so.” She shrugged. “I’m sure everything will be fine. Regardless of what he believes might have happened between us, he has no proof. And he did say he considers you the son he never had.”

  “I am flattered.”

  “I suppose you should be, although considering what we’ve done, that seems a little incestuous.”

  Once more Dharr moved in closer to her. “I assure you that any thoughts I have entertained about you have not been brotherly.”

  Drawn in by his sultry expression and his mysterious eyes, Raina slipped her arms around his waist. “I would have to say the same about you. I’ve never thought of you as my brother.”

  “Raina, we should not be doing this,” he said, yet he pulled her totally against him.

  “We’re not doing anything. It’s just an innocent embrace between surrogate family members.”

  “What I am considering now would not be deemed innocent.”

  She gave him a coy look. “And what would that be?”

  He responded by claiming her mouth in a not-at-all innocent kiss. It was hot. It was deep. It was intoxicating.

  But after too short a while, in Raina’s opinion, it ended. Dharr stepped back and clamped his hands behind his neck. “You need to sleep.”

  She needed him. Raina called herself the worst kind of fool—a woman too weak to resist a man who shouldn’t interest her at all. But he did. Too much. “You’re right. Now run along to your bedroom. By the way, where is your bedroom?”

  He dropped his arms to his sides. “You are standing in it.”

  “You mean we’re going to sleep in the same bed again?” She couldn’t conceal the surprise, or the excitement, in her voice.

  “No. I am taking the suite at the end of the hall. It is smaller than this one and smells of fresh paint. You will be more comfortable here.”

  Not without him in her bed, as badly as she hated to admit it. “I really don’t think it’s necessary to put you out of your room. I can take the smaller one. I’m used to the smell of paint.”

  “I insist. And this room is also closer to your father.”

  Raina wasn’t so sure that was a good thing, especially if in some uncontrolled fit of lust, she might hold Dharr prisoner, bound with some well-placed bed sheets. “If you’re sure.”

  “I am only sure of one thing, Raina.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “I will miss not having you in my arms tonight.”

  With that, he headed out the door without further comment, leaving Raina alone with a total loss of composure.

  Unless Dharr Halim took a sabbatical on the other side of the world, for Raina Kahlil, ignoring him would be impossible.

  “Will you be escorting Miss Kahlil to the celebration tonight?”

  Dharr looked up from the financial documents to Abid Raneer, standing before Dharr’s desk, confused over the query. “What celebration?”

  “The one commemorating the recent marriage of Ali Gebwa’s daughter. Have you forgotten?”

  Dharr tossed aside the papers and dashed a hand over his jaw. “Yes, I had forgotten. I suppose I should make an appearance considering he is a major investor in the museum project.”

  “And one of your father’s loyal supporters.”

  “True.”

  “You did not answer my original question. Will you be taking Miss Kahlil?”

  Dharr had not considered taking Raina to a public function. Yet if he did not, that would be considered inhospitable. “I will ask if she would like to attend.”

  “Very good, Sheikh Halim. I will inform the sultan since he has been inquiring.”

  Dharr should have suspected as much. “Does the sultan plan to leave his bed to attend?”

  “No. He suggested his daughter go in his stead.”

  “Again, I will ask.” Dharr leaned back in his chair. “Now tell me again what the sultan’s wife said when she contacted you after receiving the message?”

  “She told me to tell the princess not to do anything she might regret.”

  “And she gave no other indication as to what that means?”

  “I presume it could have to do with you.”

  Dharr presumed the same and he hoped he did not live to regret what he and Raina had done. “Perhaps she is concerned that the princess might decide to remain in Azzril with her father.”

  “That could be true, but I’m certain she will not be the only one to speculate on your relationship with Princess Kahlil.”

  “I do not plan to give anyone any cause for speculation.”

  “I am afraid you already have.”

  Concern sat like a massive weight on Dharr’s chest. “What do you mean?”

  Raneer took the seat opposite Dharr and leaned forward. “Most of your men are loyal to you, but they are still men, and men do talk. I have heard some rumors about your journey with Miss Kahlil.”

  “Unfounded rumors.” Dharr recognized he sounded too defensive, which made him appear guilty. In truth, he was.

  “That quite possibly is true, but tonight with you serving as her escort, many will believe you have decided to take her as your bride in accordance with the betrothal.”

  “Then they would assume wrong. Neither I nor the princess have any intention of upholding the marriage contract.”

  “Should anyone ask, what do you wish me to say?”

  “Simple. The palace has no comment on the sheikh’s personal affairs, and leave it at that.”

  “I believe your father would object to that response.”

  Anger and lack of sleep began to take its toll on Dharr. “My father is not present and he has left me in charge, so I wil
l handle matters as I see fit. Is that understood?”

  As usual, Raneer looked unaffected by Dharr’s show of temper. “That is quite clear.”

  A change of subject was definitely called for, Dharr decided. “Speaking of the king, have you heard from him or my mother?”

  “They left implicit instructions that they not be disturbed once they boarded the yacht two weeks ago.”

  “I suppose that is to be expected since it is their anniversary trip.” Even after forty years of marriage, his parents still acted as if they were newlyweds. Yet they had an abiding love for each other, something Dharr had found very rare in his experience. Something he dared not hope for.

  Raneer stood. “Is that all, your grace?”

  Dharr picked up the documents and pretended to study them once more. “Yes. I have work to do. Tell Badya to inform the princess of our evening outing. If she agrees to attend, then I expect her to be ready no later than 7 p.m. as I do not plan to stay long into the evening.”

  “I will.”

  Dharr sensed Raneer staring at him so he looked up. “Is there something else you require, Abid?”

  “No. I would only like to say that the princess is a beautiful woman. A man could do much, much worse.”

  Dharr did not need the commentary, even if Raneer was his closest aid. “Yes, she is beautiful, and she is a free spirit. Any man who would be foolish enough to fall for her would have to be willing to do things her way.”

  “Much like yourself, I see.”

  “You may go now,” Dharr said through clenched teeth.

  Raneer nodded. “As you wish.”

  When Dharr was again alone, he tipped his head back against the chair and closed his eyes, the image of Raina arriving with great clarity.

  Yes, she was a free spirit, intelligent and full of life. Yes, she would make a man a fine wife—if the man was strong enough to hold her. Dharr did not consider himself to be that man for he had already failed once with another woman who was much the same.

  Regardless, the fantasy of making love to Raina took flight again. Now if only he could leave it at that. Yet he admitted that he craved to have the beauty in his arms—in his bed—once more.

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