by Tina Leonard
“The purpose of coming with you would be?”
“Popping by and checking out Mac. Turnabout is fair play, I suppose.”
She refused to smile at his suggestion, although his tone suggested irony. “Prince Kadar, I am not a plaything.”
“I am not suggesting you are.” He leaned close to where she sat, touching her hair with a reverent finger. “Quite the opposite. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Both her brows rose in astonishment. “I find that difficult to believe from such a playboy.”
“I am not a playboy!”
“A man who ‘pops’ by a foreign country to check out the goods is obviously a connoisseur. Or else your brother wouldn’t have sent you,” she stated with conviction. “Besides, your very personality tells me that you are too confident that no matter what situation you find yourself in, you always find a way to turn it to your advantage.” She raised her chin. “I do not like that trait in you. You remind me of Prince Sharif.”
“I wouldn’t compare me to a spoiled prince.”
“Oh?” She smiled without the sentiment behind it. “You know so much about him then, in the thirty minutes you’ve seen him?”
“He reminds me of someone I know.” His voice was thoughtful. “And he doesn’t like me, I can tell.”
“How intuitive of my brother, then,” she said sarcastically. “To mistrust a man who is lying to him, marries his sister under false pretenses, and is no more a real prince than any commoner living outside these walls.”
“I am from the family I say I am,” Cade said sternly.
“It takes more than the accident of royal blood to make a prince,” Serena retorted. “Do not disparage my brother in the future. And don’t try to turn this particular situation to your advantage. I refuse to be manipulated for your purposes.” She crossed her arms. “Why should I not go to my father this instant and tell him what you’ve done?”
“Because I think you know that I mean you no harm. And I understand you being a little insulted that I don’t want to stay married to you, but you have to understand that my brother is—”
“I think I’ll keep you,” Serena said suddenly. “The punishment for your rash behavior should be to deal with your actions.”
“Hey, Princess, I’m not a child or one of your servants to command—”
“No, but you have wronged me. Do not play the injured party when it is me, Prince Kadar.” Serena could tell he didn’t like the tables being turned on him one bit, and that feeling of power provoked her into words. “You find me beautiful. I find you somewhat handsome.”
“Somewhat handsome!”
“Somewhat. Passably,” Serena said, glossing over the feminine fib. “I’m assuming I’d find your twin just as attractive, but he let you steal me away from him and I can’t admire that in a man.”
“Wait! I didn’t mean to steal you.”
“I am not in a mind to have my marriage annulled,” she cut in. “Already there are people who wish to see my father undermined, and such hesitation would definitely factor in weakness.”
“I don’t follow your thinking, Princess.”
“Of course you do not. You have not lived among palace spies and royal intrigue all your life. Quite simply, within moments of this problem getting out, those who wish harm to my father would know. And they would use the time needed to annul this marriage to their advantage. In other words, I can’t risk the danger to my father by playing games. You are married to me, and you will stay so.”
“That sounds dangerously like a command, Princess.”
She heard the steel in his voice and saw the glint in his eyes. This was a man who did not like to be pushed around. He had strength in him.
He would be good for Balahar and Sorajhee.
Allah provided in strange ways, but those ways should not be questioned by a princess who wanted more than anything the best for her people.
“It is not a command, my prince,” she said, her soft voice masking her determination. “It is merely a favor I am asking in return for a situation you brought on me not of my making. I know you to be a man who will take responsibility for your actions, and who would not wish to bring embarrassment upon me or my father.”
He considered her suddenly gentle point in silence. Serena could tell he was thinking over her words, although he wasn’t terribly happy.
“You will have to explain to your brother, of course, that the two of you made a plan between you that did not work out the way you’d hoped.” She gave a delicate shrug. “But if he sent you in his place I think he will not mind too much that I will be yours instead of his.”
That was truth. Kadar never blinked, confirming her suspicions that Prince Makin had not been amenable to the match. She did not want a husband who did not want her. At university in America, she had learned many quaint expressions, and one of them was that the devil one knew was better than a devil one didn’t.
And this devil wasn’t totally hellish. He would be strong for Balahar, and she found him appealing as a man. For an extra moment she examined her motives, to make certain it was not her feminine heart-strings that spoke to her reluctance to give up this man.
The servant entered the room, moving forward with more food and yet a different drink for Prince Kadar, and Serena was decided. “Leave us,” she told the servant.
The servant obeyed readily.
“Don’t drink that,” Serena told Kadar.
“Why not?”
She had expected him to question her. “It is drugged.”
His gaze went to the goblet again before returning to her. “Okay, first, were you going to let me drink the tea he’d given me before, and second, why are you harboring a palace spy?”
“You made no move to drink the tea, so you were safe. My father is trying to make his honored guest feel at home. He is honoring you, and you would drink and eat in recognition of your host’s efforts. The spy is counting on your manners for the best chance at drugging you.”
“Oh. I apologize for not falling in with the plan.”
She shot him a dry glance. “I am harboring, as you put it, a palace spy because it is better to keep the spy that I know. If I get rid of him, Queen Layla will merely find another weak link in the palace to do her dirty work. And I wouldn’t know who that one was for a while, which could be dangerous.”
“The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.” He grinned at her.
“Precisely my thought,” she said mildly. “I am glad that we think so much alike. It bodes well for our marriage.”
He shifted, suddenly on unfamiliar ground. “Why would anyone want to poison me, beyond the expected threat to the throne?”
She laughed softly at how tense his muscles had gone under his dark skin. Clearly this man did not like to be caught out of his element. “I suspect it is a drug to keep you from making love to me.”
Straightening, he pulled slightly farther away from her. “I’m not going to make love to you.”
“You’re not?” Her voice held laughter. “Will you never want me, Prince Kadar?”
“I…I—” He stared at her, uncertain as to how to answer. “Are they going to try to drug me every day so I can’t make love to you?”
“I suspect they know you are leaving Balahar soon. The servant will have immediately let them know any plans you might have mentioned to my father. In the future, you must remember that every wall hides a listening ear and absolutely no one is to be trusted.”
“Hell of a way to exist,” he grumbled.
“You seem to be able to think on your feet. You can survive once you learn some basic skills of royal life.” She smiled at him encouragingly. “To get back to the dilemma we are facing, if you can’t perform your princely duty before you leave,” Serena said with a smile, “the marriage has a chance of being undone. It can be annulled. Queen Layla would have a chance to think of a hundred reasons why this marriage should not be. Maybe a thousand reasons, given
the insult she will be feeling for not being invited to the wedding. As I said, it is not in Balahar’s best interests for anything to undo our marriage. Thus, we must make love.”
She saw him take a deep breath, saw his eyes slide over her in a swift, assessing sweep. From the darkening of his pupils, there apparently was nothing he found repulsive about the task ahead of him.
“You think faster on your feet than I do. You’ll have to give me a minute to think this through. I don’t know that I can make love to a woman intended for my brother. My mind still thinks of you that way.”
She leaned close to him, near enough to tease him with her perfume and her femininity. “Prince Kadar, your brother did not want me.”
“He didn’t have a chance to find out.”
“The race goes to the swiftest,” she said, placing her fingers lightly over his hand. “In this case, the crown, with all its benefits and drawbacks, goes to the fastest warrior. That would be you, Prince Kadar.”
“Only because Mac—”
“You are my choice,” she told him sincerely. “His arranged marriage is now yours.”
She admired his consideration for his brother, Serena decided. He put other people’s needs and wishes in front of his own. That was a quality a strong ruler needed. This was the right prince for Balahar.
“Prince Kadar, I promise you will not find me a clinging wife. I am an independent woman. You will not need to keep me entertained, nor treat me like the pampered lapdog you seem to have expected. I am a woman who wishes to put the country she loves first.” She took a deep breath, knowing that Kadar’s answer meant everything to her. “So, my husband, do you find me desirable enough to make love to me?”
Chapter Five
Cade’s throat dried out as he stared at Serena. Was she kidding? Making love to her would be a dream come true; he could feel desire heating through him just by being this close to her.
He’d made love to enough women to know that loving Serena would be soul-claiming pleasure. He also knew that holding her and being one with her would be like nothing he’d known before.
It wasn’t simply because she was his wife. Nor was it because she offered herself to him so sweetly and yet so forthrightly.
Serena was like no other woman he’d ever met—and it had nothing to do with her lineage. This woman would have stirred him if he’d met her in the meanest hut in the world.
She fascinated him.
“I would honestly enjoy making love to you,” he said, his voice hoarse in a choked whisper he couldn’t quite control. “Make no mistake about that.”
Her eyes drew him in as she waited for him to speak. What could he say? There was no “but,” no qualifier on the truth. He wanted to pull that flowing gauzy stuff off her slowly. Discovering her mysteries was as tantalizing as the thought of swirling through the veils of Arabian Nights, enjoying her one layer at a time.
He hadn’t come to Balahar for a wife. Yet she was his wife. He was her husband.
He could search the entire earth and never find another woman like her.
But he could lose her.
“Call the spy back in here,” he said suddenly.
She looked at him for a moment. He picked up the goblet and poured the liquid inside it into a nearby planter. Then he took her goblet and put the contents inside his.
“Shadi,” she called loudly, her gaze on Kadar.
The servant entered a moment later.
“We are finished,” she told him.
“Not quite, my princess,” Cade said with a flourish. He lifted the goblet in a toast so that the servant could see—and then he drained it. “As delicious as your lips,” he said airily.
Serena rolled her eyes, but since the servant stood obsequiously behind her chair, he could not see. Cade grinned to himself before yawning hugely. “I think I’ll return to my room to shower,” he said. “I will come to your room later.”
Serena stood. “As you wish, my prince. Shadi will show you to your rooms.”
“Great. I’m worn-out as an old hound dog,” he said in his most exaggerated Texas accent.
The servant’s expression was triumphant. Cade yawned again. The servant bowed, leading the way for him. “Bye, Princess,” Cade said in an annoying voice. “Wait up for me.”
Serena whirled on her low-heeled feet and fled the room. Cade smirked. “I’m following the yellow brick road, Shadi, unless you’ve got a magic carpet for me.”
Shadi hurried down the hall into a long corridor. Cade strolled behind him leisurely. “Sure am tired after all the excitement, Shadi.”
The servant barely glanced over his shoulder at Cade. Finally Shadi passed through an arch into a large room hung with heavy drapes and filled with furnishings fit for a prince. Cade threw himself down onto the bed, his body limp.
Silence told him Shadi was observing his position, making certain he was asleep. Cade didn’t move a muscle.
After a moment, he heard the whispery sound of the servant disappearing from the room. Waiting another few minutes for good measure, Cade finally lifted himself off the bed.
“Prince Kadar,” a voice said outside the open window of his room.
“Serena.” He levered himself out of the window to stand beside her.
“You fake the effects of sleeping potion badly. Fortunately, Shadi seemed to buy your act.”
He grinned at her. “I’d do anything to impress you, Princess.”
“What was the need of pretending to drink the potion?”
“You said it was better to know who the spy was. He believes he has executed his task, and will rush back to let his commander know what a good soldier he is. In the meantime, you and I will head to my private jet and take off for Texas. It won’t be the honeymoon you might have wanted, but under the circumstances, I think it’s for the best. Let’s get going before we’re discovered.”
She balked for an instant. “I must say goodbye to Father, and Prince Sharif.”
“We can’t risk it. The spy will know soon enough that the potion didn’t work to his satisfaction.”
“You are, of course, correct,” Serena whispered unhappily. “If you are certain—”
“I believe it’s the only way, Princess. With you faraway and safe at The Desert Rose, you are out of reach of spies and potions. We’ll have time to get to know each other.”
“You are not wishing to make love to me so fast?”
“I want to make love to you. But marriage is based on more than sex. And I don’t like jumping around like a puppet because Princess Lana’s pulling my strings.”
“Queen Layla.”
“Whatever.” He shrugged. “The who doesn’t matter. The what does, and the ‘what’ happens to be this marriage. I’ll do what I want on my terms.”
“You are not like other men,” Serena said quietly. “And so I trust you. I will go with you, because I can tell you are doing what you believe to be right. Such a man makes the right decisions for many people.”
They stared at each other for a long moment.
“Let’s go,” she said, putting on a black silk scarf that concealed all but her eyes. Her black Jilba disguised the rest of her. “I’m anxious to see this Texas that makes such strong men.”
IF ROSE COLEMAN WAS SURPRISED that the wrong son came home with Princess Serena, she was too experienced at hiding her emotions to show it. She came forward to greet the princess with a hug. “Welcome to Texas, and to The Desert Rose, Princess Serena.”
“Thank you.” Serena smiled shyly at her new mother-in-law. “Texas seems as hot as Balahar.”
Rose smiled. “The late summer months will be far closer to what you are used to. We will make you comfortable at The Desert Rose, though it isn’t quite the palace.”
“I have a feeling I will like this as well.” Serena meant to be polite, but something told her she would like being away from palace intrigue—and also like finding out more about her new husband’s way of life.
“No spies here
.” Rose smiled at her.
“I don’t want to be royalty while I am in your home. I don’t wish to be treated like a princess,” Serena said earnestly. “I want to help, and do the same things you do.” She sent a glance to the half apron Rose wore. By no means could Rose be considered homely, though she was considerably more careworn than one might expect royalty to be. She had a graceful way about her, as well as delicate speech. Her demeanor was refined and yet not stiff in any way.
Serena had seen many photos of the late Princess Grace of Monaco. She had never met anyone who reminded her more of Grace than Rose. If some of the cares were worn away from Rose, Serena suspected she would be as gently lovely as Princess Grace had been as she’d grown older.
Perhaps living on a ranch did that to a woman. Serena admired a woman who would sacrifice her beauty for the safety of her children, and the ranch she now oversaw. Would it have been easier for Rose if she’d remained insulated in a princess’s world?
But then her sons would have been at risk. Serena well knew the dangers inherent in royal life.
Rose Coleman would have worn sackcloth and starved before she would have let anyone harm her children.
Serena smiled at her new mother-in-law. “I feel very fortunate that I can be here. I know my visit will be all too short.”
Cade had been leaning against a wall, his shoulder jammed against the wall as if he held it up rather than accepted its support. Now he stepped away, his interest caught by Serena’s words.
Then he turned around and left the room. Puzzled, Serena watched him go.
He did expect her to return to her country, didn’t he? It was one thing to leave Balahar so that they could spend some time cementing their marriage. She had merely respected Prince Kadar’s wishes in that regard. He had wanted to spend time with her before they…before they—
“You are blushing, Princess Serena,” Rose said gently.
“Please. I don’t wish to be princess while I am here.” Serena made her tone soft so that Rose would not take offense. But she could feel her blush staining her face, and though Rose didn’t bring it up again, Serena wondered if she knew she’d been thinking of her son in a physical way. About the two of them sharing marital closeness.
