His Reluctant Bride (3 page)

"No!" she gasped as she tried to take the thing off but it was impossible, no matter how hard she tried it would not loosen, unlock or break.

"That will not work, Catherine. It is to show that we are to be married," he reminded her and she glared at him.

"It is there to show that I am nothing more than your possession!" she snapped and he shrugged unconcerned.

"Think of it as you will,"

"I will never marry you and you can't force me, no matter what you believe!" Katie told him firmly.

"This conversation is growing tiresome. You will marry me or your family will lose everything. And what about if you are already pregnant? Do you believe for a second that I will let you take my child from me?" he demanded and Katie stared at him in growing horror at the consequences that may have come from her actions.

The rest of the journey was conducted in silence as Katie became lost in her thoughts and stared determinedly out the window doing her best to ignore the man beside her. She was aware of his speculating glances her way but refused to react.

"We're here!"

His voice startled her and Katie found herself looking up at the impressive Dalayan palace. It was a beautiful sight and one that many travelled across the globe to see, but Katie wished that she could be anywhere else but here.

"Why are we at the palace?" she demanded furiously for she'd had no intention of coming here. She had thought Tariq would allow her to stay at his city apartment or perhaps a hotel but not once had she considered that he might bring her to the palace.

"It is where we will be staying until the wedding," he informed her coolly and Katie could only stare at him stunned as he got out the car and came round to hold her door open for her.

"I'd prefer to stay at a hotel," Katie told him stubbornly and a shadow crossed his face.

"That is not an option," he replied holding out his hand to assist her from the car but Katie stayed where she was with her hands folded in her lap as she sent him an angry glare.

"I'm not staying here!" she declared heatedly and Tariq's mouth tightened as fury reared its head.

"Get out of the car Catherine!" he instructed but she refused to move staring straight ahead instead.

"No!" 

"Dammit, Catherine. Get out of the car now!" he ordered furiously and when she still didn't move he reached over and caught her around the waist bodily lifting her out the car despite her struggles.

"Put me down!" she demanded furiously as he strode from the car with her in his arms but he refused to acknowledge her complaints instead hardening his jaw and carrying her in to the palace past his shocked staff and up the grand staircase. He ignored the punches she aimed at his shoulder and the curses that she flung at him as he made his way along the corridors until he entered a spacious room and placed her gently on the bed trapping her with his arms before she could move away.

"Let me make one thing clear, Catherine. I am going to be your husband and you will do as I say!" he commanded and she stiffened beneath him unable to believe that he would treat her like one of his minions,

"You are not my husband yet which means I still have my freedom until it is official! If I want to stay in a hotel then I shall," Katie informed him and his jaw tightened while his eyes darkened in fury. She shouldn't poke the tiger yet just couldn't seem to help herself.

"You will be staying here! And you will not be leaving the palace grounds unaccompanied," Tariq told her firmly while Katie glared at him.

"You have no right to keep me here against my will," Katie snapped furiously as her eyes flashed angrily.

"I have every right!" Tariq corrected as he leaned closer and before Katie even had a chance to realise his intention he captured her lips in a kiss that was intended to punish and possess.

Katie couldn't help herself from responding. She tried but Tariq was nothing if not thorough and she found herself putty in his masterful hands. Sparks wound their way up her body as Tariq moved his lips from her mouth down to her throat and she threw her head back with a passionate moan escaping her.

"Two weeks Catherine!" he said as he pulled away and before she could utter a word Tariq had left the room leaving her a quivering mess. 

Determined that she would not obey anyone and certainly not Tariq, Katie got unsteadily to her feet and headed to the door wanting nothing more than to put space between her and the damn palace. Only when she tried the door she discovered that it was locked and though she tried her best to force the door open it was just too thick and sturdy. Leaving her locked in with no way out. Something that seriously pissed her off!

"Good morning mistress Bennett!" 

Katie awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar old lady looming over her and she sat up straight clutching the sheet to her as memories of the day before came flooding back.

"What time is it?" she asked rubbing a weary hand over her eyes.

"Almost eight, Sheikh Tariq is waiting for you at breakfast," the woman offered in a cool tone and Katie narrowed her eyes.

"You can tell his highness that I won't be attending breakfast!" Katie informed her wanting to spend as little time in Tariq's company as possible.

"But he requested your presence," the woman gasped in shock and Katie shrugged unconcerned.

"And I declined," she told her waiting only until the woman had left the room before she slid from the bed and showered quickly before dressing in jeans and a shirt that had been buried under all the other clothes that had mysteriously appeared in her wardrobe.

It was as she re-entered her room that Tariq appeared in her doorway his face full of fury and his gaze hard and unyielding as he stared at her with his arms folded across his broad chest.

"Ana said you refused to come down for breakfast," he said and Katie turned deliberately away from him as she instead crossed to her dresser and brushed her hair back in to a plait.

"I wasn't hungry," she replied jumping when she turned around and found Tariq right behind her. He had the tread of a cat and she hadn't heard him move.

"You were avoiding me," he corrected and Katie glared stubbornly back at him.

"So what if I was?" she asked determined not to be cowed.

"I do not like what you are wearing," he said stepping closer and Katie frowned at the sudden change of subject.

"Good thing you're not wearing it then," she replied flippantly causing him to narrow his eyes on her.

"It is not appropriate for my future wife to be wearing jeans," he said with a sneer and Katie bristled under his judgement.

"I happen to feel comfortable in my jeans," she told him furiously.

"I demand you change them then join me for breakfast!" he demanded and Katie gaped at him in shock. How dared he order her around like this?

"And if I refuse?" she asked instead tilting her head back with a challenging glare.

"Then I shall change you myself!" he informed her and when Katie still refused to move that was exactly what he did. Ignoring her protests he stripped off her jeans in one fluid movement and replaced them with a cotton skirt leaving Katie to glare at him furiously as he ripped her jeans and threw them in to the rubbish bin in the corner of her room.

"What the hell?" she demanded shaken at the fact that she seemed to have no say in their relationship whatsoever.

"Now they can see proof of our engagement," Tariq said with satisfaction and it took Katie a moment to realise what he had done as she looked down and saw that her anklet that had been covered by her snug jeans was now on show for the world to see. Further proof that she was nothing but a possession to him.

"Bastard!" she flung at him but he seemed unconcerned as he caught her around the waist and ushered her out the door.

"Breakfast I think," he said leaving Katie in no doubt as to what her role as his wife would be like.

Breakfast was a tense affair that consisted of Katie doing her best to ignore the darkly intimidating man beside her who seemed only too happy to make it as difficult for her as possible.

"Eat some breakfast," he bade when it became apparent that Katie was not eating. She chose to ignore him though and deliberately turned away to pour herself some coffee instead.

Tariq growled low in his throat as he made a show of selecting some of the delicious pastries Ana had served out and placed them before her.

"I'm not hungry," Katie informed him and Tariq's eyes darkened as fury danced within them at her insolence.

"I said eat!" he instructed firmly as his temper reached boiling point but Katie took no heed of his anger.

"I said I'm not hungry!" she replied in a bored voice watching in fascination as his intense gaze filled with a hot anger that was directed solely at her.

"If you think that starving yourself will solve anything then you are sorely mistaken," he told her doing his best to reign in his temper which was not easy when he was confronted with someone as stubborn as his future wife.

"I hadn't really thought about it but I suppose starvation would be an infinitely better prospect than a lifetime of marriage to you!" Katie responded factiously as she went to take a sip of her coffee only for it to fall from her nerveless fingers as Tariq's hand snapped around her wrist like a band of steel.

"Believe me, Catherine. I will not allow that to happen even if I have to feed you myself," he told her firmly and as if to illustrate the point he selected a small piece of pastry and raised it to her lips, his gaze narrowing when she stubbornly refused to accept it. Placing a deliberate hand on her knee and moving it slowly up her pale flesh he gave a satisfied smile as she gasped at the sensations he evoked and Tariq took the opportunity to slip the pastry between her parted lips before following it with a brief kiss. As he pulled away she raised her stormy green eyes to glare furiously at him for taking such a liberty.

"I intend to stay with my parents until the wedding," Katie informed him suddenly as the need to be away from his darkly overbearing presence struck her.

"Impossible I’m afraid. There are far too many preparations to make for our wedding over the next two weeks and it will be easier with you here," Tariq declared while Katie stared at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"In two weeks? You were serious about that?" she gasped in horror and he smiled at her.

"Of course I was serious," he said with a frown.

"No!" she gasped.

"Yes!" he corrected and Katie fought not to panic as the walls began to close in on her. 

Two weeks? That wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to have months, maybe even a year before she was forced to tie herself to this man not just two weeks.

"It's too soon!" she said hurriedly but Tariq merely laughed at her protest.

"You have had years to come to terms with our marriage," he replied and Katie sighed for it had been one thing to know that she would one day marry this man when she hadn't met him and another to be confronted with the man himself.

"I need more time," she pleaded and Tariq sighed as he placed one hand against her cheek and leaned closer to brush his lips briefly against her own.

"You have had enough time," he told her before he excused himself to go and make some calls leaving Katie to stare after him in confusion at how she could feel so lost without his touch.

The next two weeks seemed to fly past and Katie was grateful that urgent business kept Tariq too busy to be around much and barely saw him at all. 

Her days were filled with preparations for her upcoming wedding and Katie had to use all her experience to project the outward appearance of excited bride when the truth was that she was finding it harder to feign excitement the closer the big day came.

But now here it was, the day she had been dreading and it was as awful as she had imagined it would be. Being dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn by her mother and several women was the highlight of her day as she was forced in to a rose scented bath before emerging in her silk robe and being subjected to all manner of beauty techniques that her glowing by the end. Forced to sit in a chair for hours as her hair and makeup were expertly done Katie was furious to discover that while all her assistants and even her mother were enjoying a celebratory drink of champagne, Tariq had left instructions for her to only be allowed mineral water until after the ceremony. Something which made the day seem even longer as everyone else became merry while she was forced to endure the horrors of the day stone cold sober.

Before she even realised it the time had crept up on her and all of a sudden Katie decided that the horrors of the morning were nothing compared to what she was facing now. It only enhanced her nerves when she was helped in to her wedding outfit which consisted of an emerald green skirt that flowed around her ankles with a generous slit up one side and was paired with a matching top that covered one shoulder and stopped far above her midriff. It was connected by several thin gold chains that crossed her slim frame and made her look every inch the Darlayan princess.

A Darlayan wedding was completely different to an English one and although Katie had never attended one she knew all about the stages that completed the ceremony. The first stage of the ceremony was conducted by the three elders of the royal church who waited silently as Katie entered the room to face them.

"Do you agree to the union child?" the first one asked and Katie hesitated as for one wild moment she actually considered refusing but knew the choice was out of her hands so lowering her head she gave a deep sigh before answering.

"I agree to the union," she confirmed quietly watching as the elder stepped closer to grasp her wrist while a second elder approached holding a jar of black liquid. Taking a brush he gently sketched a small symbol that looked like a crown on to the underside of her wrist before releasing her and leading her in to a room beyond where Tariq awaited along with their guests for stage two of the ceremony.

He looked handsome in his emerald and gold tunic paired with dark trousers that matched her outfit and as she caught her hand in his when she drew closer Katie noticed that he too had the crown marked on his wrist. 

Taking her place beside him she held her breath as the third elder wrapped the royal rope around their ankles joining them together and leaving it there for several minutes as the foul black liquid that coated the rope transferred itself on to their skin binding them forever. 

After several minutes the rope was removed and the room erupted in cheers at the sight of the marks adorning their ankles. They silenced a moment later as the final part of the ceremony was conducted with the elders holding out a tray that held two small mushrooms and two little glasses of red liquid. Each of these were supposed to aid fertility and ensured a good long marriage with many children, something which Katie wished she could refuse.

Selecting one of the mushrooms Tariq held it out to her and Katie steeled herself before she summoned a faint smile and parted her lips to accept the mushroom trying to hide her surprise at how nice it actually tasted. Holding out her fingers she selected the remaining mushroom and held it out to Tariq trying to stifle the shivers that wound their way down her spine when he caught her gaze with his own and gently nipped her fingers before they withdrew. Finally they each selected a glass and downed the contents in one go as Katie tried not to shudder at the foul taste. 

"I now declare you man and wife! May your marriage bring much love, happiness and many children!" The elders announced and Tariq lowered his dark head to capture her lips in their first kiss as husband and wife.