His Reluctant Bride (6 page)

Her smile faded as she turned to find Tariq waiting for her with his arms folded and a harsh expression on his face.

She cursed furiously at the injustice of it all. Why couldn’t she just once have something go right? Why shouldn’t she be allowed her freedom?

“Going somewhere Catherine?” he asked in a biting tone and Katie glared at him.

“As far away from you as I can!” she responded furiously and that elicited a laugh from the man she had foolishly married.

“Nice try,” he offered and she glared at him. It just wasn’t fair. She was certain that if he was trying to escape then nobody would find him unless he wanted them to, so why couldn’t he afford her the same courtesy?

“Please let me go,” she begged hating herself for stooping to this level.

She was unprepared for his sudden nearness and had no warning when his head suddenly descended and caught her lips with his own.

“No,” he told her firmly when he pulled away and he offered a lazy smile as he traced her lips with his thumb noting the way they trembled beneath his touch.

“Why?” she asked not understanding why he would want her around.

“Because you are my wife,” he said as though that should be reason enough. Only it wasn’t to her.

“I don’t understand why you would want a wife who doesn’t want you,” she revealed and he smiled as his hand trailed down her arm to catch her hand and entwine their fingers.

“You want me, Catherine. You just hate yourself for the weakness,” he corrected and she turned her fierce gaze on him. It wasn’t fair that he could see through her shields when he had no such weakness.

“You’re wrong. I don’t want you!” she informed him furiously and he simply raised one brow not believing that any more than she did.

Instead he led her to his private plane and this time she went without objecting, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She had no idea where they were going and for once she didn’t care. Instead she just stared out the window sightlessly for the whole flight. She didn’t even acknowledge Tariq and refused to so much as glance his way.

When they finally reached their destination Katie wasn’t surprised to see that they were back in Darlaya. She was however surprised to find a helicopter waiting for them but she climbed aboard without a word not really caring that Tariq wanted to arrive back at the palace in style.

It only took half an hour for Katie to realise that something was wrong.

They should have been at the palace by now and yet all she could see was the desert stretching far ahead like a never ending sea before them.

“Where are we?” she demanded. Her first words since he had forced her on to the plane hours earlier and he turned to her with an amused expression.

“I was wondering when you would ask that,” he told her with a smile and she glared at him furiously.

“Just where the hell are you taking me?” she demanded suddenly scared. After all what did she really know about her husband? For all she knew he could be about to kill her for her disobedience and as Sheikh he would probably be within his rights to.

“It’s a surprise,” he said mildly and her eyes darkened with a shadow of fear.

She didn’t really believe that he was capable of murder but he had forced her in to this marriage and she didn’t really know the man that well. He may have always been a spectre in her life but that didn’t mean she knew him in any way.

The rest of the helicopter ride seemed to take forever and Katie kept sending furtive glances out the window hoping to see some sign of civilisation but there was nothing but the stretch of desert. No houses or people for miles and she wondered just where they were.

When the helicopter finally began to descend Katie let out a relieved sigh for there beneath them were huge marquee sized tents. That suggested that people most likely lived in those tents which meant that she wouldn’t be completely alone with Tariq.

“Come,” he growled when the helicopter had landed and Katie hesitated before she accepted his hand and allowed him to assist her on to the desert sand that slipped in to the trainers she was wearing making her wince in discomfort as he began leading her back so they could watch the helicopter rise back in to the sky like a majestic bird.

They continued to watch until the helicopter had disappeared in to the distance and then Tariq turned and led her towards the tents making Katie uncomfortably aware that he still hadn’t released her arm.

“Where are we?” she asked breathlessly as he tugged her through the entrance flap and she found that the tents were all connected together to form a palace of their own. It had corridors leading all over and bedrooms and other rooms that she couldn’t see yet.

“The Harem,” he informed her lightly and Katie froze as she turned to stare at him in disbelief.

“Are you telling me that you bought me to the place where you keep your mistresses?” she asked furiously and he chose not to respond as he tugged her through a multi-coloured curtain and in to the most incredibly beautiful room she had ever seen.

It was a bedroom but it was the biggest room she had ever seen and that included in the palace. The tent walls were made of fine gold material that glittered and there was a rug on the floor with the most gorgeous shade of midnight blue that she had ever seen. In the centre of the room like some big spectacle that drew her attention was a four poster bed with billowing curtains of the same glittering gold and midnight blue sheets that matched the carpet. There was a large wardrobe made of the same gold silken material in the corner of the room and when she crossed to it she found that it was filled with clothes for them both. They even had her size right though she had never seen any of the clothes before.

“What is this place?” she asked indicating the room and Tariq offered a smile.

“It is our room, Aziz, and your new home for the foreseeable future,” he informed her and Katie froze at the suggestion that he would be leaving her here.

“Where is everybody?” she demanded furiously and Tariq shrugged lightly.

“There is nobody else here,” he informed her coolly and Katie’s heart began hammering furiously.

“But there has to be,” she said in horror and he raised a brow in query.

“Why does there?” he asked genuinely puzzled.

“This place is huge; there can’t just be you and I here,”

“Yet that is exactly what there is, Catherine. Just you and I,” he informed her making Katie gasp in surprise.

“Why did you bring me here?” she demanded furiously as anger began to take hold and Tariq shrugged not looking the least bit sorry for bringing her to some deserted home in the desert where she could die and nobody would even know about it.

“I couldn’t risk you running away,” he offered as a solution and Katie gaped at him in sudden realisation.

“You bought me here so I couldn’t escape?”

“Yes,” he confirmed and her rage became a palpable entity that filled the room and made her see red.

“You bloody bought me to the middle of the dessert so that I couldn’t escape you! Just how do you plan to run your country from the desert?” she demanded and he frowned.

“I plan to run my country from the Darlayan palace. But at a stretch I can run it from the desert for a few days,” he corrected and Katie breathed a sigh of relief.

“So, we’re only staying here for a few days then. Like a honeymoon,” she said with a relieved smile until she saw Tariq’s stern gaze.

“You will not be accompanying me to the palace,” he told her sternly and she gaped at him barely able to believe that he had said that.

“What exactly do you expect me to do?” she demanded and he shrugged.

“You will stay here,” he informed her autocratically and she gave a humourless laugh.

“And do what exactly?” she asked wondering how he expected her to spend her unlimited time here when there was literally nothing but a bed and clothes.

“Await my return,” he responded like that should have been obvious and Katie decided she’d had enough.

Turning on her heel she began storming from the room before she did something foolish like try to punch her damn fool of a husband and she knew he wouldn’t take kindly to that.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded and too late she realised he was right behind her.

“To explore my new prison!” she responded flippantly before she walked briskly away from him relieved when he stayed where he was.

But then it wasn’t like he was worried about her escaping again because as she discovered there was no escape. There were hundreds of rooms, mostly bedrooms decorated in the highest quality silks though none were as fine as the ones in the room Tariq had shown her to. There were a few rooms with baths that needed filling with the buckets provided and she found the source of the water outside where a well had been made to hold it and a fire lay next to it where she could boil the water. The only other rooms were nurseries where she presumed any children conceived by the mistresses would live, for no Sheikh would allow his heirs to live in the desert away from their adoring public.

The whole place was just one big damn secret hideaway for the Sheikh to hide his mistresses and illegitimate children from his wife. Only in Tariq’s case he had clearly chosen Amber over her and she noticed that he had stuck his wife in the middle of the desert while he was free to carry on with the woman he really loved without interference.

She doubted anyone would really notice that she was missing and if they did Tariq would come up with some excuse as to why she wasn’t with him. Her family wouldn’t really notice or care when she didn’t show up for weeks and she expected that Tariq would be too busy with work and Amber to really socialise much.

“Catherine?”

She heard his shout but refused to answer. Let him find her, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

“Dammit, Catherine!”

Still she refused to answer. He wouldn’t be too worried about her whereabouts. After all she could hardly escape from the inescapable. This place was better than a prison. The only way out of the damn place was to walk and she had lived in Darlaya long enough as a child to know that the desert was not her friend. One wrong move and it could kill you in an instant. Even if she could avoid the temperament of the desert and it’s creatures, the heat would get her before she reached civilisation and she would die long before rescue came.

“Catherine? Answer me,”

Again she ignored him as she contemplated the folly of risking such a plan but then even if she somehow miraculously made it to help she had no doubt that Tariq would find her and simply drag her right back and then she would be too weak and emotionally drained to fight back. At least stuck here she still had her spirit to fight back and she wouldn’t let Tariq wear her down.

“There you are. Why didn’t you answer me?” he demanded as he appeared in the doorway and she didn’t even glance up as she continued to trail her fingers over the small rocking horse that looked as though it had seen a lot of use in its days.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked curiously and Katie continued to ignore him as she turned to survey the dolls that had been strewn about as though abandoned during play. She wondered just how long this place had been empty and where the children were now.

“Answer me, Dammit!” Tariq ordered as he spun Catherine round to face him and she gave him her best blank stare as she crossed her arms over her stomach protectively vowing that she would never give him a child. Never give him the chance to keep her child in a place like this, abandoned and hidden from the world.

“Catherine,” he said more gently and it was the gentleness that did it for her. She could ignore him when he was being a ruthless bastard but somehow she couldn’t deny him when he was this gentler person.

“How many of your children were here?” she asked quietly as shadows haunted her gaze and he actually looked surprised by the accusation.

“I have no children,” he informed her and she gave a humourless laugh.

“Amber hasn’t been that generous?” she asked certain that one day this nursery would hold several children of his. She just hoped that they weren’t ill-treated though this place was as much a palace as the Darlayan palace and she could imagine several nannies being employed to care for them.

“You are speaking nonsense. What has Amber got to do with anything?” he asked and she had to give him credit for his acting because he certainly looked confused though she knew that every word was a lie.

“Everything… Nothing…” she said not really caring what he made of it.

“You have heatstroke,” he said seeming to think that this accounted for her bizarre behaviour.

“Doubtful given I was only in the sun for five minutes,” she offered making Tariq frown.

“You will come and rest!” he ordered expecting her to comply immediately but Katie simply turned her back as she moved around the room to examine a hand stitched blanket that was only half finished and had been abandoned on the floor.

“Catherine!” he snapped and she turned back to him with her eyes blazing.

“Stop that!” she shouted and he looked taken aback.