The Sheik's Kidnapped Bride (21 page)

Quietly Dora moved forward until she could see the two people standing in shadow. She recognized the man immediately—despite looking somewhat like his brothers, she would never mistake
Khalil
for anyone else. It took her a minute to place the woman. Not because she didn’t remember her, but because of the way the light and shadows played on her face.

Amber. The stunningly beautiful woman who had been engaged to
Khalil
. The woman who was a temptress in clinging red silk that outlined a perfect body. Thick, black hair piled high on her head, leaving her neck looking slender and delicate.

Dora stood just outside of their sight and fought against the waves of pain and hurt that crashed through her. Despite the pretty dress, the jewelry, the makeup, she was a pathetic parody of that beautiful young woman. Amber wore red silk, Dora blue. But the styles were similar enough to cause comment—ribbed column styles that accentuated bosom, exposed shoulders. Amber’s dress clung all the way to her knees, emphasizing her amazing curves, while Dora’s gown had been softened with folds of fabric so that her still-heavy hips would not be highlighted.

Amber was all things more, Dora thought miserably, wanting to back up but frozen in place. Her own hair had been put up, but she didn’t have the thick length to add height and volume. Her own earrings were lovely diamonds, but they paled in comparison to the jewels glittering on Amber’s ears and around her neck. She felt like an ugly parody of the younger woman’s beauty.

All her confidence, all her happiness, evaporated like a bowl of water left out in the desert sun.
Khalil
had been right, she was nothing.

Defeat weighed heavily on her. She forced herself to turn so that she could leave and escape to her room to lick her wounds. At that moment, the music ended and relative quiet settled over the ballroom. While others were too far away to hear what was said in the private alcove, Dora was not.

“I want you,
Khalil
,” Amber purred in her sultry tones. “I am your destiny, not that cow of a wife. What were you thinking, taking her when you could have had me? I know you don’t love her. I’m willing to admit I was wrong. I want to be with you. I want to have your sons.”

It was too much, Dora thought as tears blinded her. She hurried away before she made a sound and betrayed her presence to the lovers.

Up ahead she spotted a side door and made for it. Pain ripped through her. Pain and disappointment—for all that should have been but never would be. She’d lost before she’d begun. How on earth was she supposed to compete with a woman like Amber? No wonder her husband wouldn’t admit to caring about her—he didn’t. He loved another and she, Dora, was only in the way. She’d been fooling herself to think
Khalil
would ever love her.

A sob ripped through her. She opened the door and stepped into the night. But instead of soothing her, the faintly sweet scented air turned her stomach. She rushed to the edge of the balcony and threw up into a potted plant. She’d thought she’d hit rock bottom before when Gerald had rejected her, but this was far worse.

“It can’t be all that bad,” a soft voice murmured as a delicate handkerchief was pressed into her hand.

Dora took it gratefully, then wiped her mouth. She looked up and saw Fatima standing next to her.

“If you would stop hiding from the truth, child, so much would be better.”

Dora tried to force a smile, but she couldn’t. “It’s not what you think.”

Fatima, beautiful as always in her favorite Chanel, leaned close and patted Dora’s hand. “I know more than you suspect. I see many things that others do not, and what I don’t see, my spies tell me.”

Dora opened her mouth, then closed it. Fatima had spies? Then she did smile. Why not? The world was completely mad, and she was trapped in El
Bahar
.

“I can’t leave him,” she said, not completely aware she was speaking aloud. “Not just because I love him. If it was only that, I could probably tear myself away.”

“I doubt you could, but we can pretend, for the sake of discussion,” Fatima said kindly. She leaned against the railing and stared up at the sky. “Look at the lovely stars. So many and so bright.” She sighed. “Of course now that you’re pregnant, you’re trapped. You know that El
Baharian
law forbids a woman to leave her husband while she’s pregnant.”

Dora knew all too well. “Unless the husband had been abusing her or their other children. Yes, I’ve become most familiar with El
Baharian
law in the past few months.”

Dora touched her stomach. Life grew within. Soon that life would be visible to all. Then what?

“How many people know I’m pregnant?” she asked.

Fatima laughed. “We’re dealing with men, my dear. They’ll know when you tell them, not before.”

That was something. She had time. But for what? “Nothing is going to change.”

The night air surrounded them in soft darkness. The sounds of the party were faint beyond the glass doors. Out here, on a small balcony off to the side, they were alone. Dora wished they could stay here forever, that she might never have to go back and face her husband.

“What do you want to be different?” Fatima asked.

“Everything,” Dora sighed. “Loving
Khalil
is difficult enough, but having his child will tie me to him forever.” El
Baharian
law would allow her to leave once the child was born, but to what end? The royal family would not allow her to take her baby with her, and she doubted if
Khalil
would agree to joint custody. Besides, she didn’t want to leave. What she wanted was her husband to love her.

“Not everything,” Fatima corrected. “It is a matter of priorities. If you don’t mind my saying so, you’ve gone about things all wrong.”

Dora glanced at her. “In what way?”

“You must earn what you most desire.” Fatima turned to face her. “You are pregnant with
Khalil’s
firstborn. That gives you power no other woman possesses, but you must be wise when you use that power. Far better for you to win your husband on your own.”

Tears filled her eyes. “So it’s obvious to everyone that
Khalil
doesn’t love me.”

Fatima touched her bare arm. “What is obvious is that you two began your marriage for reasons other than love. Such is the way of many royal matches. Only the very lucky, or the determined, find love later. Is that what you want?
Khalil’s
love?”

Dora nodded, then swiped at the tears on her face. “I desperately need that. I can’t live half a life anymore. I’ve done it that way for too long.” She sniffed. “But it’s too late. He’s in love with Amber, and there’s no way I can compete with her. She’s younger, she’s more beautiful.”

Fatima dismissed the information with a wave of her hand. “She’s nothing. You’re the princess…you’re already his wife. Amber is not all you believe her to be. She is like a magician’s smoke. Very impressive during the performance, but nothing remains afterward.”

The older woman stared intently. Dark eyes seemed to see into Dora’s soul. “
Khalil
went to a lot of trouble to marry you. He turned his back on his betrothed and the traditions of his family. He risked his father’s anger. Have you ever wondered why?”

Dora tried to remember what
Khalil
had said about that. “He didn’t think Amber would be a good mother.” She rubbed her temples, which had begun to ache. “Except she’s so lovely.”

“What is beauty? True loveliness comes from a good heart, not long legs or a pretty face.” She straightened her shoulders. “When I married my husband, the harem wasn’t as it is today. All those years ago, it was filled with beautiful women from all over the world. I was his wife, but he wasn’t interested in me. Who wants plain bread when there are trays of sweets to explore?”

Dora didn’t know what to say. Women in the harem? At least she didn’t have to compete with that. “What did you do?”

“I decided that possession of his name was not enough. I had to earn his heart. You must do the same.”

Oh, sure, something simple, she thought glumly. “How am I supposed to do that?”

Fatima smiled. “Give him what he most desires and in a way no other woman can. Then you will have all that you most long for in your life.”

“Give him what he most desires…you will have all that you most long for in your life,” Dora muttered when Fatima had left her alone on the balcony. “Oh, sure. Words to live by. But what do they mean?”

Although she spoke the question aloud, no answer appeared to her. The silence itself seemed to mock her, and she had to fight against the pressure of more tears. She didn’t want to cry anymore, she thought. She didn’t want to be unhappy. She had to find a way to make her marriage work, or she had to leave. She was tired of her games with
Khalil
.

But where did she begin? How did she change herself, or get her most stubborn husband to see the truth? Was Fatima correct and could she, Dora, give
Khalil
his heart’s desire? Did she know his heart well enough to understand what he might want?

Too many questions and no answers. What she needed was to be in her husband’s company. Only his smile, his light touch on her arm, would restore her good humor.

But before she could leave the balcony, a woman appeared out of the shadows. “Ah, Princess Dora, how lovely to see you again.”

Dora froze. The ever-stunning Amber stood in front of her. The young woman had destroyed all of Dora’s illusions, not to mention her wedding day. She didn’t want to hear any more of her hurtful words. What she really wanted was to bolt for cover, but she would be damned if she would let this El
Baharian
heartbreaker see that she had her running scared.

“Amber. Very nice to see you again.” She gave a regal bow. “Are you enjoying the party?”

“Of course. My father is happy to have his family around him to celebrate this day.” Amber pouted slightly. “He’s been difficult about me being gone so much, but it’s impossible for me to stay long in El
Bahar
. So painful.”

Dora supposed she should be more sympathetic, but she wasn’t in the mood. Nor did she trust Amber. “I would guess that being around your former fiancé and his new wife would be difficult. How nice that you can afford to travel. It distracts as well as broadens the mind.”

Amber’s delicate eyebrows drew together. “Don’t sound so confident, Your Highness. Things are not as they appear.”

“Aren’t they?” Dora made a great show of glancing at her wedding ring. “And here I thought I was the one he’d married.”

“You might have his name and his ring, but you don’t have his heart. That belongs to me.”

Dora didn’t have a quick response for that one. While she wasn’t sure that Amber knew anything about anyone’s heart, Dora knew that she didn’t have possession of
Khalil’s
heart, either.

Amber took a step closer. “We’re still lovers. He still visits me when he can.”

Dora wanted to deny the words. Her husband came to her bed more often than not. He was vigorous and passionate, and she didn’t believe for a single moment that he was with another woman.
Khalil
had many flaws, but deception wasn’t one of them.

Or was it, a little voice in her head whispered. What about the lies he told at the beginning of their relationship? What about his stubborn refusal to admit that he was wrong and that he’d hurt her?

“I don’t know when he’d have the time,” Dora said coolly, refusing to let the other woman know that she was trembling from both fear and pain.

“Of course you wouldn’t know,” Amber scoffed. “You sleep alone in your chamber on the far side of the palace. You have no way of knowing how often I’ve crept into his bed or he into mine.” She took another step closer and clutched Dora’s arm. “He’s already had me this night. You can plan on spending your evening alone.”

Dora jerked free. She refused to believe these stories, she told herself, even as the hurt ripped through her. “You’re lying. I will tell
Khalil
of your lies, and you will be banished from the palace.”

Amber laughed. “My father is prime minister of El
Bahar
and the king’s closest friend. My family has been close to the royal family for generations. Don’t think that a few words and a ring are going to come between me and the man I love. Go to him, tell him what I said, if you dare. Find out how little you matter. You are nothing.”

“I am his wife.”

“For now.”

Dora squared her shoulders. “You are a spoiled child, Amber. In time you will learn that being a man’s wife gives a woman more power than it would appear. You may be younger and beautiful, but I will win this battle.”

Amber shrugged. “We’ll see. And if he doesn’t join you in your bed this night, we’ll both know that I’m telling the truth.”

Dora thought about calling the other woman a bitch, but decided it was too childish. Instead she returned to the glittering ballroom with the intent of finding her husband.

But once inside, the agony of her encounter with the younger woman stole her breath and made her legs tremble. She was going to be sick, she thought as she frantically tried to retrace her steps. Only this time it wouldn’t be because of the baby. Oh, dear God, what if Amber was telling the truth?

Dora could feel herself losing control. Tears threatened and with them, agonized sobs. She didn’t want to lose
Khalil
—not when they’d come so far. She loved him. Perhaps she’d loved him from the very beginning, she wasn’t sure. She only knew that without him, her world would be smaller and meaner than it had ever been in the past.

A shadow fell over her. She looked up and saw her husband standing in front of her. “You look ill,”
Khalil
said. “Do you not feel well?”

She opened her mouth to explain, then closed it. What was there to say? Did she dare repeat Amber’s lies? Except there was a small chance that they weren’t lies. And if that woman spoke the truth then she, Dora, would be lost forever.

“I think I’m just tired,” Dora said weakly. “I need to go to my room.”

Khalil
wrapped a sheltering arm around her and led her away. When they’d entered her chamber, he turned on the lights, then gently helped her undress. Finally he eased her into bed.

“I’ll make your excuses to the king,” he said, his voice kind, his expression concerned. “Sleep and feel better in the morning. I won’t disturb you this evening.”

She told herself he was just being considerate; she told herself it had everything to do with his perception of her being sick and nothing to do with Amber…but she wasn’t sure.

“I don’t feel that ill,” she murmured. “Perhaps after the party…”

He shook his head. “You often accuse me of being insensitive, so I won’t give you ammunition. If you’re not well, I refuse to insist.” He gave her a sad smile. “It is not in you to be won over this night, sweet Dora.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then left her alone.

She stared after him, willing him to return to her. This wasn’t happening, she told herself, listening to the silence and wondering if that emptiness was going to fill her world for the rest of her life. Amber couldn’t be correct, could she?

Dora sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Had she come so far only to lose it all in the end, or had the prize never been hers?

She’d been a fool.
Khalil
had once accused her of being a nobody, and he was correct. She was just a glorified secretary who had happened to snag the attention of a wealthy prince. Not because she was beautiful, or witty, or smart, but because she was available. A virgin with childbearing hips. Talk about a claim to fame.

The first tears fell slowly, then faster and faster. Great sobs robbed her of breath. She clutched her knees, pulling them close to her chest as if she could hold in the last drops of happiness that had been hers. But there was no more happiness…just pain and suffering. If only things had been different.

She cried for what felt like hours, then she brushed her face and told herself to figure out a way to let it all go. The relationship was over, she thought as her heart broke. All her dreams, her plans for the future.
Khalil
didn’t love her, didn’t even want her. She didn’t know if he’d really been making love with Amber or not, but Dora knew that the young woman in question was determined to win
Khalil
. Dora had no way to stop her. And if not this stunning creature, then surely another would claim
Khalil
. He was a prize, the kind of man any woman would desire.

Give him what he most desires.

Fatima’s words returned to her, echoing inside her head. She listened, then turned them over, but they didn’t make any more sense now than they had before. What could she possibly give
Khalil
? He was a handsome, rich prince, and she was a nobody.

Frustrated, Dora threw back the covers and pushed to her feet. She stormed across the room, heading for the balcony. The great emptiness inside of her grew until it threatened to swallow her. She was trapped in a sham of a marriage. She had no way out, no hope, no—

A slip of movement caught her attention, and she spun toward the shadow. There was little light in the bedroom, but
Khalil
had left on a floor lamp in the parlor. As she stared into the darkness, Dora realized that what had caught her eye was merely her own reflection in the mirror at her dresser. Her pale gown had shimmered slightly.

She paused to stare at herself, then reached up to brush her cheek. How different she looked, she thought with some surprise. Her time in El
Bahar
had changed her appearance, or maybe it was just her new life that affected her. Gone were the shyly lowered eyes, the deferential tilt of her head. Instead she stood tall, with an air of confidence about her. She’d slimmed down, and while she would never be fashionably thin, her top and bottom were now the same size. Her longer hair flattered her face, softening her features and making her look more approachable.

Sometime in the past few months, the small mouse had been transformed into a more self-sufficient creature. She didn’t see herself as the desert wildcat
Khalil
liked to call her, but she’d made definite improvements.

She walked over to her desk, to the stacks of folders there. Sometimes she worked in the evenings. There was so much to do, and it all took time. Meetings filled her schedule, and when she wasn’t busy with that, there were speeches to write, phone calls to make, not to mention her time with
Khalil
. She’d come a long way from the lonely virgin who ached to belong to someone.

Dora glanced around the spacious room, then clicked on the desk lamp so she could see more clearly. The luxurious furnishings no longer intimidated her. In fact, very little intimidated her. Even Amber’s harsh assessments of her life and her relationship with
Khalil
had wounded, but not destroyed. She was no longer Dora Nelson, doormat, she was Dora Khan, princess of El
Bahar
.

In a blinding flash of insight she could neither explain nor describe, she understood what Fatima had been talking about. She understood the one thing she could give to
Khalil
that he most desired. Her love.

She smiled as she shook her head. How simple. Why didn’t she see it before?
Khalil
wasn’t interested in an affair with Amber, and he didn’t want a showpiece for a wife. He needed and wanted an equal partner—someone who would match him in intelligence and drive, not to mention vision for El
Bahar
. She was all those things, not Amber. And even if the other woman was younger and prettier, Dora refused to believe their lovemaking could be any more satisfying than what she and
Khalil
shared. When he took her in his arms, she felt the magic as their intimacy bound them together in a biological and spiritual union that could not be destroyed.

Except…except he’d never once admitted he was wrong. He’d never apologized for what he did back when he seduced her and married her, and he’d never acknowledged his feelings. He’d never told her he loved her.

She sank onto the chair in front of the desk and rested her hand on the pile of papers there. It was a question of stubbornness and wills, she thought. Who would give in first? And if no one gave in, who would win?

“If I give in on this, I…”

Dora pressed her lips together. If she gave in, then what? Would
Khalil
suddenly walk all over her? Would she cease to be a deputy minister? Or would she achieve her heart’s desire?

“But I want him to be the one to bend,” she said aloud. “I want him…” She pressed her lips together. “I want him to love me back.”

She thought of how he’d persevered, coming to her room night after night and seducing her until she consented to make love with him. She thought of how she frustrated him by refusing to live in his quarters, yet he never displayed his irritation when they worked together. She thought of his pride when she’d been made deputy minister and how he was content to watch her take on the king when her ideas differed from
Givon’s
. On more than one occasion, he’d allowed her to speak for them both.

She thought of his attempts to woo her and how they spent evenings alone, just the two of them, reading or talking. She thought of the places he wanted to show her. She thought of how he teased her that he would only allow her to give him sons, yet how he liked to talk about having at least one daughter, or even two.

These were not the actions of a man who didn’t care, or even those of a man who had settled. Perhaps she had not been his chosen bride, but she was now his only wife. He had yielded in many ways. Was she going to risk it all to have him answer her demands?