Desert Orchid: The Desert Princes: Book 1 (36 page)

And before everything got too hot and heavy he lifted his head and stared into those big blue eyes.

"I'm going to talk to my parents," he admitted.

The pride and the love in her eyes for him made his heart beat that little bit faster.

How the hell had he got so lucky to have her in his life?

"You're lucky to have them," she said, plucking the thought right out of his head.

Guilt nagged his conscience.

He bit his bottom lip.

"I had the best of everything and messed up my life. You had a living nightmare, created your own future and came out of it whole."

Standing on her tiptoes, Charisse kissed him back.

Once they got their breath back, she said, "With a lot of help from Amir."

He grinned at her flushed face, at her hard nipples, and the way she was watching him through drowsy eyes filled with lust as well as love.

His woman needed him.

And as he pressed his hard length into her soft belly, Khalid knew he needed her, too.

"Yeah. God bless Amir."

The cry high in the sky above had Charisse tip back her head to watch the huge raptor glide in the up draft of the searing desert heat.

The child tucked safely in her belly shifted.

Her hand stroked her swollen tummy as a happiness, a completeness, she'd never known filled her lungs.

In two months their baby would be born, and she prayed for a strong son. A son as strong and as wonderful as his daddy.

Khalid had taken to impending parenthood like a duck to water, stating he didn't care what the sex of their child was, as long as it was healthy. And as he was sharing the father-to-be experience with his brother, it had brought them closer.

Sarif had managed to swallow a colossal amount of pride, with Arabella still refusing to marry him, even for the sake of their child. He still had a battle on his hands and had taken the fight to win over Arabella all the way to London. Charisse wished him all the luck in the world. Knowing her friend, he was going to need it.

There was only one dark cloud marring the sunny skies of her happiness.

The disappearance of her sisters.

It appeared Ms. Willow Chanteluelle was one brave and intrepid young lady. She'd absconded from her boarding school and taken her sister with her, just six hours before Wallace Monroe and his team had arrived. Where they were, no one knew. The Monroe brothers were on the case, the latest lead having taken them to Ireland. The only blessing was that the girls were free and not in the clutches of a beast. But for how long?

She rose from the daybed tucked in the shade on her balcony and wandered over to the edge, to stare unseeing over the mountains and into the sea. Her late father had left one big mess behind him. But she wouldn't think of that now.

Rufus and Boris sprawled themselves at her feet.

It was the dog's yip of welcome that alerted her to the presence of her husband.

Strong arms wound around her belly.

Khalid's big hands held the outline of their child.

"What are you doing standing in the sun? Why are you not resting?"

His mouth nuzzled the soft spot under her ear and she tipped her head to give him better access.

"I've just this minute got up from my lazy afternoon reading on my Tablet."

It cost her, but she didn't ask the question trembling on the tip of her tongue.

His soft sigh told her he knew what was in her mind.

"No news. It's not good for you or for the baby, for you to be anxious like this. Bruce told me they have the best lead they've had for months. He'll bring them home to you safe and sound. Have faith."

Resting her head against his shoulder, Charisse El Haribe let her eyes roam over her land and her people. There will still plenty be of challenges to be overcome, for Onuur, and for her family.

"I do have faith. Our Willow is giving them a run for their money."

Researching her sisters, she'd found out that her sibling was a very well organised thinker, with a logical brain, who was incredibly intelligent. Amazing. And she couldn't wait to meet her. But for the moment, she'd learn patience and pray that the girls remain safe and well.

She had Khalid. A man who grew as a person every single day. With him at her side, there was nothing they could not do. Together. She was blessed.

Turning in his arms, she let her gaze linger over the strength of purpose in those dark eyes as they, too, scanned their land.

He'd filled out.

No longer too thin.

And he'd cut his hair.

Now he looked more like his father and his brother.

But she missed being able to run her fingertips through those silky locks.

Maybe one day she'd persuade him to grow once more.

She missed her Rock Star.

"If it bothers you so much, I will grow it again," he said without looking at her.

The twitch at the corner of his mouth made her smile.

Now he watched her through thick black lashes.

And she didn't miss the twinkle in his eye, a constant presence when he looked at her these days.

"I love you just the way you are," she told him.

As they strolled into their apartment, they halted before the vivid painting of her that never failed to capture her breath.

In colours of swirling gold, the painting was huge.

Her face and hair blended into the desert as her eyes, a shocking blue, gazed into the person looking at the painting. And she read a happy contentment that echoed the feeling in her heart.

Desert Orchid

"I'm not that beautiful," she spoke the thought.

"I could never capture how beautiful you are. And you're all mine. My Desert Orchid."

The End

It Doesn’t Stop Here

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The Prologue and Chapter One of the next book in the Ludlow Hall Romance Series ‘The Fall of Jacob Del Garda’ follow on the next page. This book will be released in 2014.

Prologue

"I’m sorry, Jacob. But I can’t do this. I can’t go through with it."

Gabriella’s voice was no more than a whisper. Her fiancé's spectacular face swam in front of her eyes. And she blinked rapidly to clear them.

He was simply staring at her as if she’d sprung another head.

They were standing in their home, the penthouse apartment of The Ortiz Prince Felipe Hotel in the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. The spacious rooms were beautifully decorated in soft creams with luxurious splashes of jewel colours on silk cushions, drapes and vivid glass bowls, along with carefully chosen pieces of furniture. Pieces they’d shopped for together. Yet another wedding gift beautifully boxed with a waterfall of silver ribbon lay unopened and forgotten on the table between them.

Dark, dark eyes, filled with an intensity that made her heart drum too loud in her ears were riveted on hers.

"I do not understand,
querida
," he said carefully. His deep voice went rough and he cleared his throat. "You want to postpone our wedding. Or you do not want to marry me, ever?"

Colour rose and fell from high cheekbones leaving him too pale.

Her heart fractured.

Gabriella clung to the back of the chair for support. A corner of her mind registered the fact that her knuckles were bone white.

She wouldn’t think about why her life, her future, with a man she loved so much was lying in tatters. If she thought about it, she’d never be able to go through with this.

Even now the mere thought of the pain and the harm she was inflicting on a man who didn’t deserve either made her wonder if she could do it.

But the alternative was not an option.

And that alternative made her straighten her spine, look him dead in the eye.

Jacob Del Garda was a hard man. In business he gave no quarter, she knew that. But with her he’d been patient and so loving and giving. Dark eyes the colour of burnt chestnuts narrowed into hers, while a crease lined his usually perfect forehead. He had a smooth lean face that complemented the aristocratic carve of his cheekbones and his long, thin mouth. His nose was slightly aquiline, which had always appealed to her. The hair, raven black and those brooding eyes always made her think of one of those statues of a fallen angel.

She was used to seeing wonderful looking men. In her line of work a carefully maintained body was a given. At twenty-three she needed to workout four times a week to stay lean, healthy, and to keep her body in shape.

A body she’d taken utterly for granted. And body that had let her down in the worst possible way.

Bitter tears stung again. Oh God, please help her do this.

The buzz in her ears became louder and she forced herself to take a shallow breath.

Her eyes stayed on his. "Ever."

She saw the blow hit him and read a toxic mix of pain, confusion and despair.

Her legs threatened to give way so she held on tightly to the chair.

Be strong, you can do this, she told herself.

"This is madness, Gabriella." Jacob’s deep voice cracked. The Spanish accent was more pronounced now as he paced and ran a shaky hand over his hair. He wore a lightweight suit in pale grey, immaculately cut by an up and coming tailor from Savile Row. His crisp shirt was pristine white cotton, the Windsor knot of his silk tie perfect.

He shook his head.

Dark eyes lasered into hers. "I know I have been busy with the new acquisition. You knew how it would be."

She could almost hear his clever analytical mind clicking through the probabilities of what had gone wrong.

Now he stopped. "You have been quiet and distracted, lost a little weight. But I put it down to nerves. I know you wanted a small wedding." He frowned, rubbed the back of his neck, that strong jaw. He stared hard at her. "Is that what this is all about? I agree things have got way out of hand. My father is enough to drive any sane person crazy. Has he...?"

"No," she said quickly. She adored Don Norberto Juan Ortiz Conde Del Garda . "It has nothing to do with your father. I’m sorry..."

Her voice faded and she wondered why the hell she'd thought she could do this?

She could have written a letter and then run as fast as she could. The thought had crossed her mind more than once. But that would have been sheer cowardice.

Jacob deserved to be told face to face that the future he’d dreamt of, a wife and a family, with her, could never be.

Of course, she could never tell him
why
because he’d never let her go. He was an honourable man with a highly developed sense of duty. He’d stick by her, of course he would.

But she was the one who couldn’t live with it, refused to even consider giving him a choice in his own future, his own destiny. She loved him too much to see him suffer, to see him look at other couples, normal couples, living a normal life. To see him wish that he’d chosen differently.