Desert Kings Boxed Set: The Complete Series Books 1-6

by Jennifer Lewis

  “Mid morning? But Ronnie and Zadir’s ceremony is at ten. What if he’s not back in time?”

  “He’ll be here.” Rifal bowed. Sam wanted to shake him for almost making her have a heart attack, and now leaving her frustrated. Not that she’d been sleeping anyway.

  “Wait! Who shot who? Did they find out what’s going on with the power?”

  “The facility appears to have been sabotaged. Two men have been apprehended and one of them shot at the guards before he was captured. No one was hurt.”

  “Are there other saboteurs running around?”

  “I can’t say, your majesty.” He bowed again.

  “Thank you, Rifal.” She wanted to call Osman but didn’t want to disturb him if he was in the middle of a sensitive operation.

  She’d just have to distract herself with the million little details of the festivities tomorrow, and making sure that Ronnie and Zadir’s wedding was everything Ronnie dreamed it would be. Sam was already married by Ubarite convention, so her wedding was just for fun, but Ronnie’s would be the moment where she and Zadir committed their lives to each other.

  She paced anxiously around her room until dawn started to pierce through the intricate patterns on the filigreed wood shutters. When her phone rang she almost jumped out of her skin. “Osman?” She hadn’t even glanced at the number.

  “No darling, it’s Dad.”

  “How is your phone working here?”

  “It isn’t, I borrowed one from the staff. Your mother appears to be in labor.”

  “What?” Sam’s adrenaline surged. “When is she due?”

  “In two months.” Her dad sounded like nothing was wrong. But then he was an actor.

  “Oh my goodness. That’s way too early! Let me call a doctor. Hopefully they can stop it. Are you in your room?”

  “Yes dear, and the doctor is here. He’s given her a shot of some kind. Why don’t you come on over.” He said it like he was inviting her over for a barbeque, not an emergency labor intervention. But staying calm was good in a situation like this. She hoped her mom wasn’t panicking, because that would only make things worse.

  Sam tugged on a shirt and pants, and sprinted along the corridor to the room she’d chosen for her parents because it was the largest and most beautiful guest room with a glorious view of the orchard outside. Now she cursed herself for not picking the closest. A knot of servants had gathered outside the door, murmuring anxiously. One carried a large brass bowl, another a jug of steaming water and yet another bore a stack of white towels, like they were going to deliver the baby right here in the bedroom.

  Which was, of course, exactly how they did things in Ubar.

  Sam squeezed through them and burst into the room. “Mom, are you okay?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. The doctor gave me a shot and it seems to have stopped the contractions.” Sam drew in a grateful gasp of air, which made her realize she’d been holding her breath. Her mom had a surprised look on her face, but that could be from all the Botox and facelifts. “Would my baby need a green card if she’s born in Ubar?”

  Sam burst out laughing. “I don’t think so. But she could certainly have dual citizenship. Are you sure it’s a girl?”

  “Yes.” Her mom smiled. She was wearing full makeup, probably applied between contractions before calling for help. “We have an album of ultrasound photos already.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t even tell me you were pregnant.”

  “Your mother didn’t want a media circus,” explained her father, stroking his wife’s shoulder. “And we didn’t want you to worry.”

  It’s true. She would have worried. But her mom must have been pregnant even when she and Osman went to visit them in California earlier in the year. “You’re a dark horse.”

  “Nonsense, darling, I just don’t want the paparazzi trying to take pictures of me looking fat. I have a big role coming up next summer, in Hedda Gabler at the Mizner theater! I don’t want them to start thinking I won’t be available.”

  “I can keep a secret, you know.” Sam was pretty mad. “And we could have prepared better for something like this.” She gestured to the staff, with their towels and jugs and bowls.

  “It seems you’re marvelously prepared already, darling. I do love this sweet country of yours.” Her mom let out a dramatic sigh. “I suppose I should try to get some rest before morning.” She pulled down her blackout mask over her eyes, shutting out the world.

  Sam looked at her dad. Who shrugged. At least he seemed to be taking the whole thing in stride. “All right, Dad. Let me know if anything happens again, okay? Preferably before you call in the cavalry.”

  Sam consulted with the doctor, and thanked the servants for responding so quickly but told them to put everything away for now and keep quiet about this. There were probably journalists at the wedding and she didn’t want all the stories about it to focus on her mom’s miracle pregnancy.

  At eight-thirty in the morning, Osman still wasn’t home. Sam gave into the urge to call him. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too, beloved. I can’t wait to see you in your finery.”

  “You really won’t be home until I’m all dressed? It’ll be very last minute since the dresses are not even here yet.” They should have arrived by now. Another thing to worry about.

  “I’m interrogating these men we found at the power station. I have to make sure there are no further threats, especially with so many visitors in our country.”

  “I understand. I just wish I could hug you right now.”

  “I’ll make up for it later. Ilyrimas, my love.”

  Sam smiled. She loved Ubarite endearments. “You carry my heart, too.”

  She put down her phone with a sigh. There was nothing for it but to forge ahead without him. First she needed to find out what was going on with their dresses. A shriek outside her door startled her, and she opened it to see a black and white goat trotting by.

  7

  Sam realized that the cry had emerged from the mouth of an older lady who was screaming not at the goat but at the sight of a young man, dagger raised, charging after it. “Don’t kill that beautiful creature!”

  “Aunt Edna, you’re up early.” Sam recognized her mother’s sister, who—like Sam’s mom—had grown up on a farm in the Midwest and run as far away from it as possible.

  “You have to stop him!”

  “It’s probably for the wedding feast. I’m afraid goat is a popular dish here.”

  “But look at it. The intelligence in its eyes makes killing it a crime.”

  The goat darted around a corner, with the man in hot pursuit. Aunt Edna ran after him, her colorful kaftan flopping at her heels.

  Oh dear.

  The sound of hooves on the mosaic tile floors made Sam turn and look in the other direction, where a pretty honey-colored goat was trotting after its friend. Sam reached out and grabbed his collar. “Whoa there. Where do you think you’re going?”

  Other guests had emerged from their rooms at the commotion. “You aren’t really going to kill it are you? Look how cute it is. Did you know that goats have rectangular pupils in their eyes?” People crowded around to peer into the goat’s rather lovely blue eyes.

  “I’ll do my best to grant a reprieve. Maybe we can have chicken instead.” Sam started walking along the corridor, trying to lead the goat—which proved surprisingly strong and unwilling.

  “He’s afraid of you.” A girl came forward. Probably one of the brothers’ college friends. “Here, let me.” She grabbed hold of the collar. The startled goat swiftly head-butted her, knocked her off her feet, and took off running along the corridor.

  “Are you okay?” Sam offered her a hand. Embarrassed, the girl—fully dressed in wedding finery—nodded and scrambled upright in her stilettoes. Sam found the goat further down the hallway, munching on some decorative mistletoe and disturbing the crowd of butterflies already claiming it. She phoned the head of staff. “Why are there goats running through the p
alace?”

  He apologized profusely and explained that their pen had collapsed in the night and they’d all escaped. Sam attempted to explain that Americans wouldn’t want to eat animals they’d formed a personal relationship with, so it was now important to serve something else.

  Later she realized she probably should have specified what, but instead she hurried back to her room, anxious to get dressed so she could make sure everything was in place for the ceremony at ten.

  “Deck the halls with boughs of holly…” The song suddenly blasted over the palace intercom, announcing that the power was back on. On her way to the garden, Ronnie put a hand to her chest, trying to calm herself. Why was she so nervous? She and Zadir had been living as man and wife for some weeks now.

  Maybe it was all the people. And the goats. A dark brown one darted past her with a sprig of holly in its mouth.

  “Tis the season to be jolly…” And Christmas always made her feel emotional. It was supposed to be such a happy time, when families gathered together to give thanks for the birth of their savior, but in her house it has always been a time when she was painfully aware of how different her family was from those happy ones on TV.

  But today, her mother and father were gathered under the same roof, the smell of cinnamon and roasting nuts filled the air, and joyous music was now playing on everyone’s nerves. She should be overcome with joy.

  Instead she was about to start sobbing.

  “Sweetheart, you’re shaking.” Zadir rubbed her shoulders, which were the only part of her not currently swathed in crystal-encrusted white fabric. At least the dress fit.

  “Oh no! You’re not supposed to see me until the wedding.” She stared at him in horror. Surely this was terrible luck. Yes, they’d spent the night together, but she’d dressed with all-female attendants who had strict orders to keep him at bay. “You need to go away.”

  “What?”

  “Surely you know that. You lived in the west for years.”

  “That I can’t look at my lovely bride on her wedding day?” He wasn’t listening at all. He moved in front of her and took her hands in his. “What foolishness is that?”

  “It’s so you can be surprised when you see me coming down the aisle.” She blinked, taking in the sight of him in a sleek black tux, blue eyes gleaming with excitement. She started to relax. “But it’s okay. I forgive you. And I’m sorry for snapping. I’m just jumpy.”

  “I forgive you, too. For anything and everything. For ever.” He swooped in and planted a firm kiss on her mouth. As his tongue darted between her lips, her nerves evaporated.

  “Why do you always make me feel so much better about everything?” she murmured, when their lips finally parted.

  “Because I’m your soul mate and life partner, here to strew your path with roses. How long until we’re officially hitched?”

  Ronnie pulled her phone out of the pocket concealed in her voluminous skirt and checked the time. “About twenty minutes. If I can manage not to die of fright before then.”

  “I don’t care about your old western superstitions. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a moment.”

  “Don we now our gay apparel….” How could the same song still be playing? Time was moving so slowly Ronnie thought she might go out of her mind.

  “Okay.”

  Sam felt really strange getting dressed when Osman wasn’t even back yet. She’d tried calling again but he didn’t answer. She refused to even contemplate that anything bad had happened. Besides, in that case someone would call her.

  Wouldn’t they?

  Her dress hung on the bed frame, still in the bag from the dressmaker. She hadn’t even dared look at it because it was too late to make changes now.

  She dabbed pale gold eye shadow on her eyelid and started to apply eyeliner. She wasn’t very good with makeup, but it did make people look better in pictures and she wanted the photos to be memorable.

  Festive music rang through the palace, and she could hear the happy shrieks of children. She’d insisted that all the staff bring their children today, and she had gifts for everyone. She’d always hated how children often weren’t welcome at weddings, and had always vowed to include them, even if that made things a little noisier.

  She couldn’t wait to have her own children. Osman would be such a wonderful father, and it would be nice for him to have the chance to create the happy family he never got to enjoy.

  A knock on the door made her smudge the eyeliner. “Osman!” Her heart leapt.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just me.” Ronnie peeked around the door. “My dress fits.” Her dress was stunning. With her hair in a lovely updo, decorated with little white flowers, she looked so radiant that Sam wanted to cry.

  “Don’t cry!” Ronnie rushed toward her. “You’ll smudge your makeup. Here, let me finish that.” She expertly drew a line above Sam’s lashes. “How does your dress look?”

  “I haven’t dared find out.” She glanced at the hanger. “I suppose it’s now or never.”

  Ronnie retrieved the hanger while Sam put in some delicate pearl earrings that her grandmother had worn on her wedding day. Outside the bag the dress looked foolishly ornate and fluffy, like something the girl on top of a cake would wear.

  “Put it on,” scolded Ronnie gently. “Osman will be here any second.”

  “He’ll need to get dressed, too.”

  “You know he can do pretty much anything in thirty seconds. He’s infuriatingly capable.” Ronnie winked.

  “Not everything,” said Sam with a sly smile. “Some things take at least a few minutes. But now you’ve distracted me. Let me get this on.”

  She poked her toes carefully into the pool of white tulle and Ronnie helped her lift the bodice up to her chest. “Goodness, it’s heavier than I expected.”

  “All the seed beads. They’re so lovely. They must have taken hours to sew.” Beads of ice white, pale ivory and frosty silver swirled in a beautiful pattern that covered the bodice and dripped down onto the full skirt. Sam pulled the bodice up over her breasts and Ronnie went behind her to zip it up.

  Sam felt Ronnie tug gingerly up to her waist, then stop.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Hmm. There’s a big gap. Let me pull the two sides together a bit.” Sam felt her yank on them, then tug again at the zipper. “I think we need a third pair of hands.”

  “It won’t close?” Sam felt tears welling in her eyes. Why hadn’t she been more efficient about getting the dresses made earlier?

  “It might, if we can find a vice grip, or a pair of hands just like one.”

  “Oh no.” Sam tried to suck in her waistline. “I must have gained weight. Which is weird. Usually I drop weight if I’m nervous and busy.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll get it closed. I have a lot of experience from getting my bags zipped each time I headed off to boarding school. Usually I would just sit on them and keep yanking, but in this case—”

  Another knock on the door made them both turn. Sam shrieked with relief and joy to see her big handsome husband standing there. Her eyes filled with tears again. “I can’t get my dress done up.”

  Osman crossed the room in two strides and laid a reassuring kiss on her lips that reduced her blood pressure by a good ten points. Within seconds he’d lined up both sides of the dress and held them steady while Ronnie raised the zipper up to the top and let out a whoop of victory. “Just don’t breathe for a few hours, okay?”

  “Okay. I can’t breathe anyway with so much going on. Did I smudge my makeup?”

  “You look stunning.” Osman’s deep voice soothed her. The way he looked at her she really did feel radiant and beautiful. “Now I’d better take a quick shower and throw something on myself. Do you think people will be offended if I wear pajamas?” Mischief twinkled in his eyes.

  “I doubt anyone but the servants would even notice. One long man-robe looks the same as another to most of our guests,” said Sam with a smile. “But Rifal brought this for y
ou.” She pointed to a sleek black tux, hung over a snowy white shirt. “We’re going western today, remember?”

  “Of course, I’d completely forgotten.” He hurried into the bathroom to take a shower. Once the water was running he turned and called back. “But I’m most looking forward to the part where I get to take it off.”

  8

  Sam watched as Ronnie’s dad walked her proudly down the aisle, and she couldn’t stop her lip from quivering as she watched Ronnie and Zadir repeat their vows. They sat outside in the garden, under the shade of the orchard trees, in rows of chairs arranged on either side of a makeshift aisle strewn with rose petals.

  Zadir went first, ridiculously handsome in his black tux, crisp against a white shirt and tie.

  “I promise to share my life with you as both a lover and a friend. I vow to nurture and support your dreams and help you to achieve your goals. I promise to cherish and love you, through any adversity that comes our way, and to grow with you as we build our family and share our lives.”

  He slipped the ring onto her finger, eyes shining with emotion. “I love you, Ronnie, and I’m so overjoyed that you agreed to be my wife.”

  Ronnie looked so beautiful in her delicate white dress, with tiny flowers glowing in her dark hair. “I promise to share life’s challenges and joys at your side. I promise to be your partner in parenthood, your ally in conflict, and your companion in adventure. I promise to be your greatest fan and your toughest critic and to love you each and every day that we’re blessed to spend together.”

  She slid the ring onto his finger, and a murmur of appreciation spread through the crowds. “I love you Zadir, and I’m thrilled that you are daring enough to be my husband.”

  Sam became so overwhelmed with emotion that she actually let out a little whimper.

  A couple of people sitting nearby turned to look at her, probably wondering if she was okay. Was she? She was probably just overtired and frazzled from all the organizing and decorating, and spending the night before the ceremony without her beloved husband. It was all a bit much, apparently.