The Defiant Princess (20 page)

Even from her position of retreat, she attacked. “You are the most egotistical, contemptible, patronising individual I've ever had the misfortune to meet.”

He laughed. “Why can't you just admit to your desire? We're both adults. Enough of the outraged virgin act.”

She felt her chest heave and burn with tumultuous feelings. “For your information, Prince Khalid,” she enunciated very clearly past the hard lump of emotion clogging her throat, “I am both outraged and a virgin.”

His body straightened. His incredulity was almost laughable. “That can't be true.”

“Why?” She glared at him. Her breath came in choppy little bursts as she forced herself to have this intimate conversation with a man she barely knew.

“Because you're twenty-five years old—”

“What does my age have to do with it?” Her voice rose in frustration and her fists clenched. “I didn't realise there was an age one was required to lose one's virginity.”

“—and very desirable.” He gave her an unreadable look before he shook his head. “You can't expect me to believe no man has ever found you desirable.”

“Did I say that?” He exasperated her and she wished she'd never started this conversation.

“Of course you've had the opportunity, and your responses to me tell me you're not indifferent to—”

“That's enough and this isn't a guessing game,” she told him angrily. “I was raised thinking I was going to marry Hazim. I believed that right up until his marriage eighteen months ago.”

Khalid sat forward, pinning her with a penetrating gaze. It was an effort for her to continue her explanation in the face of his evident disbelief, and she focussed on a point on the floor and forced herself to go on.

“Long before I even understood what sex was, my mother impressed upon me that I was to save myself for Hazim. Apart from a couple of fairly innocuous kisses, I didn't even look twice at anyone at university because I believed Hazim was going to be my husband. Since his marriage … well … you've seen the country town where I live. There really hasn't been anyone around who's interested me.”

That was it. She didn't care what he thought or whether he believed her. Her words were the simple truth and if he chose to mock her then he could go to hell.

He was strangely silent for what seemed to be forever. Sabrina couldn't bear to look at him. Instead, her gaze moved from the floor and out the window of the limousine. She looked at the security guards who rode their motorbikes with the royal cavalcade without really seeing them.

“You were saving yourself for my brother.” His voice seemed to come from a long way off.

“How silly is that?” To her intense embarrassment she felt tears prick at her eyes and heard the waver of emotion in her voice.

“Not silly, Sabihah. It was … noble of you.”

“Noble?” She felt an insane wave of hysteria bubble up inside her and fought the urge to laugh manically. Was that pity in his voice? Pity for the poor, forgotten princess who'd languished away in a foreign land waiting for her prince to claim her? Sorrow for the woman whose prince hadn't even thought of her and had married someone else? Pity for the twenty-five year old virgin?

“Honourable,” he added.

Her control frayed and her temper made her shake. “Garbage!” she exploded in frustration as she turned back to him. “It wasn't honourable or noble. It was bloody-well old-fashioned and plain stupid. It was the result of being brainwashed and believing in what my parents had told me. Just stupid.
Stupid
. Hazim didn't even come for me and now I'm supposed to be marrying you.”

In the act of reaching out to her, Khalid was whipped by her words. Slowly, he lowered his arm to his side.

“Marrying the spare who now just happens to be the heir.” His voice was harsh and laced with self-mockery. “Too bad you're not getting the prince of your dreams. You're getting stuck with the polo prince instead.”

“The
playboy
polo prince,” she amended his half-use of the media tag automatically and saw him flinch as if she'd struck him. His features hardened and she knew she'd hit a nerve. She regretted that and tried to soften her words with a little self-mockery. “We're at completely opposite ends of the spectrum—a playboy prince and a virgin princess. But we're hardly going to be stuck with each other in what will only be a temporary marriage”. “Listen well, Sabihah,” he told her with fierce, biting power as he shifted to close the distance between them. “When I was given that tag by the media, I had no real royal responsibilities. That all changed once Hazim died. There's no time for playing now and let me assure you that the burden of my duty could not be borne by a mere boy.”

“You've just had a doctor virtually throw herself at you in the presence of a woman who's supposed to be your fiancée. She obviously believes in your reputation and you did nothing to set her straight.”

One hand lifted and he pointed a finger at her as he said. “That's not true. I declined her invitation to tour with her in private. I made it clear to her that I wasn't interested in anything she might have in mind.”

Damn it, he had. Yet pure instinct and self-preservation made her want to cling to a negative image of him. “You made the most of the media presence to kiss me when you knew I couldn't make a scene,” she scoffed. “That's what I'd expect from a practised playboy who's used to getting his own way in everything.”

Every one of his features was taut. Each word loaded with denial. “Pretending that you aren't clamouring to be in my arms is getting rather boring.”

She didn't bother trying to refute his claim.

“You won't convince me you haven't earned your playboy reputation,” she told him through tight lips.

“I don't need to.” He shrugged his shoulders, but there was a serious tone to his voice as he said, “I won't act like I didn't play hard or that I wasn't a man who made the most of opportunities that presented themselves.”

“Women, you mean!”

“Circumstances have changed.”

“You certainly won't convince me you've changed.”

“Perhaps I haven't changed. Have you ever stopped to consider that I was merely bored with my life? Qualities I've always possessed now have a reason to surface.”

His question pulled her up. She felt her jaw slacken. Could it be true? Had the playboy merely been filling his time because he'd had no real role, no real direction?

“And the serial womanising you're renowned for?” she demanded.

“It's time I settled. It's the reason I planned to marry.” He shifted slightly in his seat. “Hazim would have ruled Turastan well. I will work just as hard to ensure my country prospers and my people are happy.”

“And you're prepared to sacrifice yourself in a temporary marriage of convenience.”

“I no longer think of our marriage as a sacrifice.”

She chose to ignore that comment. His behaviour today indicated he planned to break their agreement of a paper-only marriage. He'd threatened as much last night, but she would find the strength from somewhere within her to deny free rein to the passion that pulsed between them.

“I hope there's more to you than the media portray, Khalid.” She'd already acknowledged privately that he was a force to be reckoned with and she'd witnessed the deference members of the council had given him, but she wasn't ready to completely overturn her opinion of him. “The future of Turastan and Rhajia will be in your hands.”

There was a look of promise in his eyes as he took her hands in his and kissed both the back and palm of each one. “You will also be in my hands, Sabihah. Know this—what I hold, I keep and I protect.”

Chapter Nine

For the third time in as many minutes, Sabrina switched her gaze from her maid, Farrah, to the clock on the bedroom dresser. A message had been received more than two hours ago advising Sabrina that Helen had arrived safely at the palace and been taken to her suite. Yet Sabrina's attempts to see Helen had been stonewalled at each turn. Every request to have Helen brought to her met with the response that her former nanny would appear soon.

Anxiety clawed in Sabrina's stomach. “What's keeping Helen?” She couldn't keep the frustration from her voice. “I know her. There's no way she'd take this long to settle in. She'll be dying to see me and I want her brought here now.”

Farrah set down the ornately gilded hairbrush and said, “I am nearly finished, Your Highness.”

“Two hours of primping and preening by stylists is more than enough. If I'm not presentable enough now, I never will be,” Sabrina insisted.

“There.” Farrah settled a diamond encrusted tiara and short veil on Sabrina's head. “You are truly beautiful, Princess.”

Sabrina had studiously ignored the mirror opposite her while she'd been fussed over. Now she braced herself to look.

Her heart hitched in her chest and her mouth formed a small O-shape as she absorbed her appearance. Happiness bubbled up inside her. The maids had worked magic. The length of her blonde hair shone like spun gold as it fell to her shoulders. Somehow her cheekbones looked higher, her mouth fuller, her eyes larger and her skin almost luminescent. Every feature was shown to its best advantage and the effect was so incredible she hardly recognised herself.

Gowned in an exquisite white satin, off-the-shoulder creation for the ceremony, Sabrina stood carefully. The dress nipped in to show off her slender waist and mould to her hips. The bodice pushed upward to give the impression of a cleavage she'd never realised she possessed. The tiara sparkled, setting off the effect of a fairy-tale princess bride.

A fairy-tale bride, but hardly a fairy-tale wedding.

The bubble of happiness burst. Disappointment overwhelmed her when she remembered that today was an illusion of her own creation—a marriage she'd forced upon Khalid and one that would be over before it ever truly began. Tears threatened. She needed to collect herself before the entire effect created in the last couple of hours was ruined.

“Thank you, you have worked wonders.”

Farrah bowed low. “Your Highness, I will go now and return with your guest.”

“Please be quick. It's nearly time for the ceremony to begin.”

As soon as Farrah left, Sabrina sank back into the chair. With a heavy heart, she stared again at her reflection. How many times had she envisaged her wedding day? There would be a Christian service in the chapel of the palace attended mainly by international politicians and diplomats, followed by the traditional Bedouin ceremony for the Arab community. The latter would be under a thousand twinkling stars in an oasis encampment where afterwards, her groom would await her at a separate camp for their wedding night.

Hazim.

Hazim should have been her husband. Yet somehow, since she'd been a teenager, read about Khalid and seen photos of him in glossy magazines, Hazim's features had always morphed into Khalid's in her mind's eye when she'd pictured her groom.

Be careful what you wish for, it might come true.

The old adage taunted her.

She'd got part of what she'd wished for. Her groom would be Khalid. But rather than the fairy-tale wedding she'd hoped for, it was a farcical marriage of convenience.

After their divorce, Khalid would win Inaya back, rule wisely and play an important role on the political stage. Inaya would take her place as Queen of Rhajia. And Khalid and Inaya would have beautiful, tawny-eyed children …

Deep, lacerating pain lanced through her heart and made her stomach cramp. The thought of Khalid as a father with Inaya as the mother of his children had her swallowing back on the cry of sorrow that threatened to emerge.

“Sabrina!” Helen's anguished tone announced her arrival. Sabrina jumped up from her chair and ran into her former nanny's embrace despite the frown from Farrah.

“You're here at last! I've missed you so much.” Sabrina had been surrounded by women all morning, as they flitted about the opulent room with its silk woven carpets and rich tapestries. Yet she'd felt terribly alone. It was a relief to have Helen with her. She was the one person who'd been a constant in her life. “It seems like so much longer than a couple of days since I left Australia.”

“What on earth are you doing?” Helen asked quietly near Sabrina's ear so Farrah wouldn't hear. “You can't possibly marry Prince Khalid.”

Sabrina let out a long breath and shook her head hopelessly. Leading Helen away from the maid and out onto the balcony, she whispered, “It's the only solution.”

“
No!
One thousand times, no!”

Helen's denial only magnified Sabrina's inner turmoil. “I have to do this. It's the only way to help Rhajia and guarantee our safety.”

“Oh, dear girl. I've kept you safe all these years. I've loved you as my own daughter.”

Guilt tore at her, sharp as razor blades as she saw Helen's distress. The older woman looked as though she'd aged ten years and worry was furrowed into every line of her forehead. Sabrina owed her life to her former nanny yet she just couldn't turn her back on her father's people.

“I love you, Helen, and I wish I could spare you this anguish you're feeling. You'll always be like a mother to me.”

“Excuse me, Your Royal Highness.” Farrah had followed them onto the balcony. “You need to make your way down to the ceremony now.”

“Please, wait outside for me in the corridor. I'll be there shortly.” The words were uttered a little more sharply than Sabrina had intended.

Farrah curtsied and left but her hesitation in leaving the two women together was evident. Sabrina wondered whether the maid was merely conscious of the time or whether she was afraid Helen would talk Sabrina out of the marriage. The entire world would hear the explosion from Khalid if he was jilted at the altar.