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Had he not been watching closely, he might have missed the way that her slender fingers suddenly locked and unlocked in a manifestly agitated gesture. The princess was nervous about something. The question was, what?
‘My uncle is aware of those plans?’
As she turned to face him, he could almost feel her anxiety sharpening the atmosphere of the tiny room.
‘He requested a full itinerary.’
‘And you gave it to him. Excellent.’ She was silent for a moment, apparently thinking. ‘Then we leave at dawn. My uncle wishes you to join us for dinner. As the Sultan’s envoy, you are the guest of honour. But I have one more question before we leave this room.’
‘Ask it.’
‘Are you truly good at your job, Karim? Are you really the best?’
‘Your wellbeing is my highest priority, Your Highness. You have no reason to worry about your safety.’
Her laugh was hollow. ‘You think not?’
Was she afraid of some sort of physical threat? Resolving to question the palace security-team in greater depth, Karim frowned. ‘No one would dare lay a finger on the Sultan’s future bride.’
The princess watched him for a long moment, her wide blue eyes fixed on his face with disturbing intensity. ‘Except, perhaps, those who don’t want me to be the Sultan’s bride.’
CHAPTER TWO
ALEXA sat at the long table in the banqueting hall, her hands shaking so badly she could barely hold a knife and fork. She was so on edge that it was almost impossible to sit still. If it wasn’t for the fact that her uncle would have become suspicious, she would have excused herself from dinner. As it was, she didn’t dare. Too much was at stake.
Although she was staring at her plate, she nevertheless saw Karim’s hand reach for his wine, and her attention was momentarily drawn to the strength of his long, bronzed fingers. Then his arm brushed against hers and that simple, innocent contact was enough to send heat rushing to her pelvis.
Instantly she shifted away from him, bewildered and alarmed by her inexplicable reaction to him. What was the matter with her? Why was her body selecting this particular moment to notice the finer points of the male physique? Had her mind elevated him to hero status simply because he’d insisted on remaining by her side for the journey? Surely not, when she knew perfectly well that having him there was going to threaten everything that she’d been working towards.
She needed to be the one in charge, and she definitely couldn’t risk having some autocratic, commanding bodyguard thinking that he knew what was best for her. And she certainly wasn’t going to do anything as foolish as trusting anyone with her future.
‘You’re unusually quiet, Alexa.’ Her uncle William’s cultured tones cut through the murmur of conversation around the table, and he raised his glass to Karim. ‘I hope you have decent shops in Zangrar. Alexa isn’t going to be happy somewhere that doesn’t have shops. All that glitters has to be gold, that’s her motto—isn’t that right, my sweet?’
Knowing from experience that her uncle was always at his most deadly when he used his caring voice, Alexa felt a flutter of panic and focused on the subtle flex of muscle in Karim’s forearm as he returned his glass to the table.
She hoped he was as tough as he looked. He’d unwittingly landed himself right in the middle of palace crossfire with no flak jacket to protect him, and she knew that if he happened to be standing between her and her uncle when the final moment came then he’d die alongside her.
Her conscience nagged her.
Why hadn’t he just gone home as she’d ordered?
She hadn’t wanted to drag anyone else into this.
Aware that her uncle was watching her, Alexa faked a yawn and tried to look like a girl incapable of planning anything other than her next shopping trip. ‘I’ve heard that some of the souks sell amazing silks. I’m looking forward to designing myself a whole new wardrobe.’
‘I admit that I’ve probably overindulged her a little since her parents were killed.’ William addressed his remark to Karim. ‘I just hope that the Sultan will be as generous as he is wealthy.’
‘The Sultan’s generosity is not in question, but it is hard to spend money in the desert, and that is where much of his time is currently spent.’ Karim spoke in a matter-of-fact voice and Alexa turned her head and looked at him, unable to hide her surprise.
‘He lives in the desert?’
‘Since the death of his father, the Sultan has spent much of his time in the desert with his people. His wife will be expected to support him in that role. If you wish to augment your wardrobe, you might be wise to include robes and sturdy desert-boots.’ He reached for his glass. ‘The sort that repel the bite of a snake.’
Reflecting on the fact that dealing with snakes would be a piece of cake after living with her uncle for sixteen years, Alexa gave a shrug. ‘I’m sure I can live in the desert if I have to. I mean, when all is said and done, it’s just a giant beach, really. Sand, sand and more sand.’ She kept her tone as light as the subject matter. ‘I’m sure the Sultan isn’t going to want his wife dressed in rags. With all that money at his disposal, he’s hardly going to begrudge me a few pairs of shoes.’
William’s eyes narrowed. ‘He might, when he finds out how much they cost! Karim, I’ve been telling my niece that this marriage is ridiculous. Her father arranged it when she was a child, before he had any idea what sort of a woman she would become. And the truth is that she is not a woman who is going to be happy incarcerated in a dusty old fortress in the middle of a baking-hot desert.’ He softened his words with a smile and reached for his wine. ‘No offence.’
Alexa felt Karim’s sudden stillness, and wondered whether it was possible to die of embarrassment.
Reminding herself that Karim’s thoughts and feelings had to be secondary to William’s, she forced the expected response from her mouth. ‘I’m sure the Sultan entertains occasionally. As long as there’s a party going on, and everyone is having a good time, it doesn’t really matter where it is.’ Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Karim’s long, strong fingers tighten on the stem of his glass.
‘Parties are not high on the Sultan’s agenda. When he entertains, the guest list includes foreign dignitaries and other heads of state. The purpose of the gathering is all about diplomacy and international relations.’
He obviously thought she was shallow-minded and frivolous, which didn’t surprise her. What did surprise her was the fact that she minded what he thought. Why would she care about the opinions of a bodyguard? His views were irrelevant. They had to be. Tonight of all nights it was essential that she maintained her image of a woman who thought about nothing deeper than what to wear at her next social engagement. If William knew what was truly on her mind, he would be turning all of the keys in all of the doors.
‘Foreign dignitaries sound pretty dull.’ She suppressed a yawn. ‘I’m sure I’ll be able to help the Sultan liven things up a bit.’
William’s gaze flickered from her to Karim. ‘Her head is full of romance. She’s expecting Arab stallions, a desert and a glamorous Sultan who is going to sweep her off her expensively clad feet.’
Aware that the expression on Karim’s face had gone from mild impatience to thunderous disapproval, Alexa wondered if he was about to lose his temper.
Her heart thumping against her chest, she braced herself for a terrifying display of masculine aggression—but when he finally spoke Karim’s tone seemed almost bored.
‘There is nothing romantic about the desert. It is a harsh, unforgiving landscape that contains any number of threats. A sandstorm is one of the most deadly natural phenomena known to man, and the desert in Zangrar is inhabited by scorpions and snakes so dangerous that one bite produces sufficient venom to kill ten grown men.’
‘Scorpions and snakes. You see, Alexa?’ William leaned back, and someone hastily stepped forward to remove his plate. ‘It is a long way from Rovina.’
‘Indeed, it is,’ Alexa said quietly. She was banking on it. ‘Nevertheless, my father arranged this marriage, and I shall do as he wished. I owe it to his memory.’
And she owed it to the people of Rovina. The only way she was ever going to reach her twenty-fifth birthday was if she married the Sultan.
Karim’s dark gaze fixed on her with brooding intensity. ‘You are very young, Your Highness. Your uncle is obviously worrying about how you will fare in a country like Zangrar. You would do well to listen to his advice.’
‘I’m not afraid of anything I’ll find in Zangrar.’
‘Then perhaps you are not sufficiently enlightened as to exactly what awaits you.’ He spoke softly, his words only audible to her, and she lifted her gaze to his, wondering what he was alluding to.
Their eyes met and held, and Alexa felt a shiver of awareness and a flash of the same sexual chemistry that had singed her earlier in the day. ‘You’re doing it again—trying to frighten me.’
He lifted a dark eyebrow in sardonic appraisal. ‘Are you frightened, Your Highness?’
‘No.’ But that was only because she knew what true fear was.
Alexa glanced across the table at William and saw him smiling at her. Her pulse-rate doubled. If the Sultan’s bodyguard really wanted to know what frightened her, then he need look no further than the man sitting across from them. Over the years she’d learned to read her uncle’s moods, and if there was one thing that scared her more than his temper it was his smile.
His smile widened as he looked at her. ‘I hear she fenced you earlier, Karim. Hardly a ladylike sport, I’m sure you’ll agree. I think you’re going to find that the Princess Alexandra is unusual in many ways. Most of the time you wouldn’t even know she was a princess, from the way she behaves.’
Alexa noticed the sudden tightening of Karim’s mouth, and knew that William’s repeated attempts to undermine her were succeeding. Not for the first time in her life, she was seriously tempted to pick up her knife and silence her uncle in the most permanent way possible.
‘I have many qualities which the Sultan will appreciate,’ she said lightly, and then saw the glimmer of disdain in the bodyguard’s eyes and realized that she’d actually made the situation worse, not better.
Not those qualities! she wanted to shout. Why were men so basic? Why did they only ever think about one thing—sex? Well, actually, it was two things. Sex and power. Forget everything else—they seemed to be the only two things that motivated the male species.
And normally she didn’t even think about sex. So why was it that, since the Sultan’s bodyguard had removed his fencing mask and revealed his impossibly handsome face, she’d thought about little else?
Or perhaps it was just that this whole situation was turning her slowly loopy. There was so much at stake. And so many things that could still go wrong.
She was a nervous wreck.
Marrying the Sultan was the only way that Rovina would have a future, and if anything happened to prevent that …
Reminding herself that this was not the time to lose her cool, she allowed herself a small sip of wine.
William gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘Talking of qualities, most of yours are displayed over the front page of today’s newspapers. I think the headline read something like, “rebel princess hot for the harem?” I mean, really—’ he gave a weary shake of his head ‘—newspapers have no sense of moral restraint. Always digging up the past when it should be forgotten. We just have to hope for your sake that the Sultan isn’t expecting a virgin bride. Perhaps his reputation is way off the mark and he’s one of those rare men who values experience over innocence. I’m so sorry, Alexa.’
So was she.
Under no illusions as to why the papers had chosen to reprint those pictures, anger suddenly burst through her usual cautious restraint. ‘When the time comes, I intend to tell the Sultan the truth about my life. The whole truth, Uncle William. And he will believe me.’ She caught Karim’s astonished glance and saw the deadly gleam light her uncle’s eyes.
The emotion drained out of her, and she started to shake.
Why had she said that?
She’d gained nothing by that remark. Nothing at all. And she could have lost everything.
This was not the time to antagonize a man as dangerous as her uncle, and she knew that. Since when had she allowed anger to incinerate common sense?
‘You’re my niece,’ William said smoothly. ‘I only want what is best for you, and Zangrar is such a terribly long way away. I’m so afraid that something dreadful might happen to you on your journey. You know how accident prone you are.’
Alexa felt her heart stumble and her palms grow damp. He was threatening her.
‘Karim will ensure my safety,’ she said in a clear voice, hoping desperately that Karim wouldn’t choose this moment to mention the fact that she’d tried to dispense with his services.
William gently dabbed his mouth with his napkin. ‘If anything were to happen to you, I don’t know what I’d do.’
He would have achieved his lifelong ambition.
He would finally have destroyed her family.
Suddenly Alexa felt bitterly cold. ‘Your care and concern is always touching, Uncle William. My father would have become quite emotional, had he been able to see everything you’ve done for me since his death.’ Unable to share his table a moment longer, she rose to her feet. ‘We leave in the morning. I need my passport.’ And this was the moment she’d been dreading.
For sixteen years he’d held her passport.
Would he finally return it to her?
William was silent for a long moment, and then he gave a gentle smile. ‘You are such a featherbrain. I will give it to Karim for safekeeping.’
No, no, no!
Her stomach turned over. She had to have her passport. And the fact that William was prepared to give it to Karim was of no use to her at all, because she knew that he had no intention of allowing her to leave in the morning.
Which was why she had no intention of waiting until morning.
Alexa felt a great weight in her chest. So much depended on the next few hours. If she couldn’t gain possession of her passport, then she couldn’t take the next step and everything would have been for nothing.
Trying to think her way through the dark mists of panic, she tried to look relaxed. ‘That’s fine. Give my passport to Karim.’
One way or another she would just have to find a way of retrieving it.
She just hoped the bodyguard was a heavy sleeper.
The room was dark but she could see the faint outline of his body lying under the covers. He was asleep, thank goodness. She’d been relying on that fact.
Where was he likely to have put her passport?
Seeing his jacket on the back of a chair, she moved towards it with the stealth of a burglar, her bare feet making no sound on the carpet. She reached out a hand, and then gasped with shock as someone caught her from behind, unbalanced her and pushed her down hard onto the bed. Flattened against the mattress and panicking, Alexa fought like an animal in a trap, using all the skills she’d learned to defend herself. She twisted, bit and punched, but as her fist connected with solid muscle she realized desperately that this was a hopelessly uneven contest, and she was going to lose.
No! This wasn’t going to happen to her. Not when she was so close to her final goal. Driven by desperation, she managed to free one leg and kicked hard.
With a grunt of pain, her assailant shifted his body over hers, caught her wrists in a vice-like grip and muttered something in a foreign language.
She recognized the voice. ‘Karim?’
She felt him still, and then he pinned her to the bed with his powerful body and reached out a hand to flick on the light.
Alexa found herself staring into dark pools of anger and went limp with relief. ‘I thought—’
‘You thought what? You were expecting someone else?’ He stared down at her with incredulous disbelief. ‘This is my bedroom.’
‘Yes, I know that.’ The weight of his body made it hard for her to breathe. ‘But I saw the lump in the bed and assumed you were asleep. Then someone grabbed me from behind so I thought it was—’ She broke off, unwilling to betray more than she had to.
‘The lump in the bed was the pillow. I heard you outside the door. I wanted to see who was so keen to enter my bedroom unannounced. What is this, Your Highness—you are now testing me in unarmed combat, or did you have an entirely different reason for visiting me in my bedroom in the middle of the night?’ His meaning was clear enough, and suddenly she was breathlessly aware of the strength in his bare shoulders, of the intimate pressure of his body against hers.
‘I need my passport. That is why I was in your bedroom.’
‘Why would you need your passport at three in the morning? Are you planning a trip?’
She tried to wriggle free, but his weight held her pinned to the mattress. ‘It’s none of your business.’
‘If it involves your passport, then it’s my business.’
Alexa tried a different tack. ‘The Sultan would not want you lying on top of his bride!’
‘Given that I’m apparently just one in a long line of men who have adopted this exact position, I think it’s a little late for that argument to be useful.’ His soft tone was faintly mocking. ‘My job is to escort you safely to him. If you’re intending to vanish in the middle of the night, then your travel plans are of considerable interest to me. Start talking, Your Highness.’
The weight of his body was impossibly distracting, and Alexa suddenly found that she couldn’t say a word. Trapped by his virile strength and the fire in his eyes, she just gazed at him, her body paralyzed by a shockingly powerful explosion of sexual excitement.
And perhaps he detected her feelings, because he shifted slightly above her, his attitude softening from aggressor to seducer.
