His Reluctant Bride (10 page)

“You don’t have a boyfriend lurking in the background do you?” Rafe asked and Katie gave a weak smile.

“Nope, no boyfriend,” she replied about to pull away from his embrace.

“She does have a husband though,” said a voice from the darkness and they both spun round in surprise to find Tariq stood there in all his fierce glory as his eyes shot sparks of fury at the two of them.

“A husband?” Rafe asked in shock as he stared down at her with wide eyes as though he had never seen her before.

“Rafe, I’m sorry,” Katie said softly as she willed him to believe that she hadn’t meant any harm and to be truthful she wasn’t even certain that she would have gone through with it.

“Your highness, I did not realise. Please forgive me,” Rafe said dropping to his knees in his plea for forgiveness. It left Katie alone and vulnerable as she tore her eyes away to look at her husband instead.

“Leave us. And do not attempt to contact my wife again,” Tariq ordered. Rafe immediately got to his feet and entered the house without even glancing at Katie who felt his hurt and anger without him having to say a word. After all he had once been in love with her too and she had used him for her own ends without even a thought to his feelings.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered again though he wouldn’t have heard her and she doubted whether he would be able to forgive her even if he had.

“You think to betray me?” Tariq demanded once they were alone and Katie turned to face him wishing she could hide from the blistering rage that was so clear on his face but she had never been one to hide from her punishments and so she straightened her spine and looked him directly in the eyes.

“Perhaps I wanted to even the playing field,” she responded facetiously but either he had no idea what she was talking about or he was deliberately ignoring her meaning.

“I warned you not to cross me,” he reminded furiously as he tried his best to reign in his anger.

And what could you possibly do to make my life more miserable than you already have?” she asked with no hint of feeling in her tone.

“You are being overly dramatic. You don’t like being forced in to this arrangement? I hardly think that betraying me and making us both look like a fool will improve the situation,” he snapped making her wince at his outburst.

“Why can’t you just let me go?” she pleaded from the heart wanting just to go back to how things were before all this started. Before she lost herself to this damn sham of a marriage.

“Because you are my wife. And that means something to me even if it does not to you,” he said firmly as he strode forward and grasped her arm in a tight grip.

“I’m begging you Tariq. Do not make me come back. We will both be miserable from this marriage,” she pleaded in a soft voice that did strange things to his libido.

“Then so be it,” he replied as he tried to pull her back to the car and when she resisted he simply threw her over his shoulder and carried her there where he deposited her none too gently in the back before sliding in beside her.

“I hate you,” she said as she tried to readjust the dress that had slid up to somewhere beyond decency and she barely succeeded and did not look graceful doing it.

“You hate what you feel for me to, I’m sure,” Tariq replied making Katie glare at him in denial.

“I feel nothing but hate for you,” she denied furiously and he laughed.

Turning to look out the window Katie was completely unprepared for the strong arm that snaked around her slim waist or the sudden tug that had her landing in his lap where she could only stare up at him in shock as he lowered his head and claimed her lips in a possessive kiss that showed her exactly who she belonged to.

She didn’t even think to struggle as his tongue parted her generous lips to take possession of the sweet inner tissue that lay within. He was ruthless in his claiming of her mouth and she couldn’t help the deep moan that escaped her. She moved herself closer as her hands tangled in his hair wanting more contact between them and he laughed as he rolled his hips making her very aware of his erection.

“Seems you are feeling a little more lust than hate. I’m actually disappointed. I thought you would at least put up a fight,” he murmured as he pulled away and it took Katie a moment to remember her earlier words and realise that he had simply been playing with her.

“I will make you regret the day you married me,” she warned although she looked less than threatening with her hair all mussed and her pinkened lips trembling from his kiss.

“If that was your way of making me regret then I look forward to it,” he said with a laugh and it was only then that Katie realised she was still on his lap with his arm around her and worse still her dress had once again ridden up and Tariq was completely aware of that fact if his smirk was anything to go by.

“Let go of me,” she demanded as she tried to move away only for his arm to tighten keeping her in place.

“I think you need to learn that it is what I want that matters,” he informed her making no move to release her and Katie glared at him as she struggled against the steel band of his arm.

“I don’t care what you want. Now release me,” Katie ordered in her haughtiest voice and all it elicited was a laugh from him.

“Ah, but Catherine you will learn to care about what I want. Starting with this,” he said pulling her closer and once again leaving her breathless with the power of his kiss.

How was it that she could hate him so much yet couldn’t help herself from responding to his touch? She should feel nothing for this man and yet every time he touched her she burned with a fever that she couldn’t control.

“Please,” she begged unaware of whether she begged for her freedom or for his possession.

“Be still my little wildcat. We will continue this. But not in the back of my limo,” he told her firmly as he removed her arm from around his neck, where she wasn’t even aware she’d placed it, and lifted her back in to her own seat leaving her suddenly bereft.

She felt oddly humiliated even though he was the only one who had seen her fall apart in his arms. It haunted her, this feeling of lust that she couldn’t shake. How was it possible that she could want him so much when he should be the one man she couldn’t bear to touch her.

She had lived all her life without feeling the need to sleep with a man. Several had tried to coax her in to their beds but she hadn’t felt a single spark with any of them and yet one touch from him and she had thrown away her virginity without a second thought. It made no sense to her and it made her feel so undeniably foolish and she wondered how many women before her had fallen for the same charm.

“Where are we going?” Katie asked finally after it became obvious that they were not returning to her parents and nor were they returning to the palace.

“Far away from temptation,” Tariq informed her without adding any more information and Katie fell silent once more as she simply waited to see where they would end up.

It didn’t take long to discover his intentions. As soon as they pulled up at the airstrip she turned accusing eyes on him as panic washed through her.

“You’re taking me back to the desert?” she questioned certain that he could not be so cruel.

“It would not be necessary to take you anywhere if you had just behaved yourself,” he said as though she were forcing him in to this.

“You think to make things better between us by taking me out in to the middle of the desert and leaving me once again?” she asked incredulously and he sighed at the accusation, accurate though it may have been.

“Who said the desert was our destination?” he said and without pausing to check her reaction he exited the car and helped her out behind him.

Katie didn’t know whether to be thankful that she wouldn’t be alone in the desert or scared of what lay in store for her.

The flight didn’t take long and as they travelled deeper in to the desert she turned accusing eyes on Tariq who completely ignored her choosing instead to work through some documents that had been waiting for him on the plane.

As the plane began to descend Katie glanced back out the window and was surprised to find that there was more than just stretches of desert below her. Instead of the tent that she had been expecting to see there was an actual village below them.

How strange it seemed to find a village out here in the middle of the desert where surely nothing could survive and should surely not be able to thrive. Yet there it was a small collection of wooden houses all grouped together and even from here she could see people milling around going about their daily business.

“Where are we?” Katie asked turning to find her husband observing her silently.

“It’s the Serenity Village,” he offered in response and Katie frowned as something tugged at the back of her mind.

She remembered being told about the village once but everyone thought it was a rumour and didn’t exist. What was it that they had said?

“This is the village where those in trouble can find salvation,” Katie recalled slowly frowning in her efforts and Tariq gave a grim smile.

“They shouldn’t need salvation in the first place,” he growled and she found herself looking at her husband in a new light. How was it that he could be so considerate to strangers yet treated his own wife like she was something he was forced to endure?

“You set this village up?” Katie asked in wonder as the plane slowly came in to land.

“My mother did. She couldn’t bear to rule a country where people overlooked the bad things that were happening right in front of them. In those days it was considered fine for women to be beaten for their disobedience and children were often left in the desert to die when they angered their fathers,” Tariq explained and Katie stared at him in growing horror. She had known that women had very few rights years ago but she’d had no idea that it went that far.

“That’s awful,” Katie said quietly as tears welled in her eyes at the thought of all those women and children who had been mistreated and without a voice to defend them.

“My mother thought so. That’s why she created this village. It was designed to hide those who had done no wrong and just needed a safe haven. Many of the women here were raped or beaten in to submission before they were bought here. Most of the children were bought here when they were close to death and it is a miracle that many of them even survived. The only men here are those that were sent here to protect the village and it is by some miracle that some of them have even found love here,” Tariq informed her and Katie stared out at the village in wonder for she’d had no idea the desert hid such a secret.

“What happens when their husbands or fathers find the village?” she asked curiously and Tariq’s lips tightened at the thought.

“Many have attempted to find this place but nobody has yet succeeded. This village is completely off the grid,” he informed her and Katie had a sudden moment of clarity.

“With no way to leave,” Katie whispered in horror as she realised the beautifully haven was nothing but another prison.

“Not unless I allow it,” he acknowledged as he assisted her from her chair and began leading her out to the intense heat of the desert.

There was nobody around when they alighted from the plane and Katie was grateful for that as she tugged her dress down wishing she hadn’t been so foolish as to try and best this man. There were lesser men than her had tried to take him down and they had ended up in worse states so it was clear she was never going to win. Yet it wasn’t in her nature to simply give up and willingly obey his every word.

“We will freshen up before we meet the villagers,” Tariq dictated and Katie turned her stunned eyes on him for she had thought he would simply deposit her here and leave to return swiftly to his mistress.

Katie was surprised to find that there were showers in the small house they were shown to. She had expected it to be completely basic housing but it was clear they had made what could have been a basic hideaway in to a home.

After showering quickly she glared down at the dress she had worn in disgust wondering what had possessed her to try and compete with Amber when she was not even in the same league as the woman.

Re-entering the room she was surprised to find a traditional dress there. It was not often that the people of Darlaya observed their formal dress codes and they were as obsessed with the latest fashions of the world as anyone else but here it lay waiting for her. It was a beautiful piece of clothing yet it felt like it was just something else to proclaim Tariq’s ownership of her.

It consisted of a golden skirt that skimmed her hips and swayed and sparkled as she moved, a matching golden top that was barely more than a bikini top and was held by the thinnest of straps. Sweeping her hair back in to an exotic plait, Katie slid her feet in to the golden sandals that awaited her and considered herself ready.

She had never been too comfortable bearing so much flesh and yet for some reason in this outfit it felt right. She didn’t feel foolish or slutty in this outfit like she had in the dress. Instead the material made her feel special and grown up. Which was strange, considering there was so little of it.

“I’m ready,” Katie said as she stepped in to the small room that acted as their lounge and she had the pleasure of seeing Tariq’s eyes widen as he sucked in a deep breath apparently stunned at her appearance.