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Why would he bother, she thought bitterly. Dean had never been a fan of being responsible.
“As I said, sir, I’ll cover his debts.”
Kateb seemed unimpressed. “He offered something else, instead.”
Victoria didn’t understand. “What could my father possibly have that would be of interest to you? Whatever he’s been telling you, he’s not a rich man. Please. Let me pay the money he owes you. I have it in the Central Bank. I can get the account number right now and you can confirm I’m—”
“He offered you.”
The room began to spin, and Victoria put out a hand to steady herself. She felt the cool, smooth stone of the wall and wished she could sink into it.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
Kateb shrugged. “When I confronted your father with his cheating, he begged me to be merciful. He offered me money, which I’m sure he did not have. When that didn’t work, he said he had a beautiful daughter here in the palace who would do anything to save him. He said I could have you for as long as I wished.”
Victoria straightened, then turned to stare at Dean. Her father sagged a little.
“Honey,” he began, “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” she said coldly. “You could have not played cards.”
The sense of betrayal was familiar, as was the disappointing realization that Dean wasn’t like other fathers. Nothing mattered more than the thrill of gambling. No matter how often he promised or went to meetings or said all the right things, in the end, the cards won.
She forced herself to stand tall and face the prince. “What happens now?”
“Your father goes to prison. It will be up to the judge to determine the sentence. Eight or ten years should suffice.”
“Dear God, no!” Dean McCallan sank onto the stone floor and covered his face with his hands.
He looked broken and defeated. She wanted to believe he finally understood that his actions had consequences, that he’d learned his lesson, that he would change. But she knew better. He was probably incapable of being different. It was time to turn her back on him.
Except she’d made a promise ten years ago. As her mother lay dying, she had made Victoria swear she would protect Dean, no matter what—at any cost. And Victoria had agreed—because her mother had always been there for her, had always loved her and supported her. Dean had been her only weakness and wasn’t everyone allowed a single mistake?
“Punish me instead,” she said, turning back to Kateb. “Let him go and take me.”
Dean scrambled to his feet. “Victoria,” he said, sounding hopeful, “you’d do that for me?”
“No. I’d do it for Mom.” She stared at the prince. “Put me in jail. I’m a McCallan as well. The shame and dishonor is as much mine.”
“I have no desire to imprison you,” Kateb said, wishing he were back in the desert, where life was simple and rules enforced without thought. Had Dean McCallan been caught cheating out there, someone would have cut off his hand…or his head. There would not be endless discussion of the problem and various solutions.
Send a woman to prison for her father’s crimes? Impossible. Not even this woman who was nothing but a waste of space.
He knew Victoria McCallan—at least as much as was necessary to understand her character. She was pretty enough, in an obvious way, with impressive curves and blond hair. She worked for Prince Nadim as his assistant and had spent the past two years trying to get Nadim to notice her. She wanted to marry a prince. She cared nothing for Nadim, not that he could blame her for that. Nadim had the emotional depth of a grain of sand and the personality of gray paint. Still, Victoria had pursued him. Not that he had noticed.
Nadim’s recent engagement to a woman of the king’s choosing had shattered her plans. Kateb was sure that Victoria would soon be leaving their country in search of other potential rich husbands. In the meantime, there was the problem of what to do with her father.
He looked at the head guard. “Take him away.”
Victoria sucked in her breath, then grabbed Kateb’s arm. He ignored his body’s reaction to her touch. She was female, he was male—it meant nothing more than that.
“No. You can’t.” She stared at him. “Please. I’ll do anything.”
He shook off her hand and her claim. “You exceed your position and try my patience.”
“He’s my father.”
Kateb looked between her and the other man. He would have sworn Victoria had nothing but contempt for her father, so why this display of emotion? Why would she care? Unless the situation with Dean wasn’t the main point at all. Did she see this moment as an opportunity? Was one prince as good as another?
There was a time when he had not been so cynical about women. When he had believed in love and marriage and a happy union. But he had spent the past five years being pursued by women on every continent. They didn’t care about him directly—they wanted the title and the wealth that came with marrying a sheik. Nothing more.
He stepped back and looked at the woman before him. She was dressed in silk and lace, and ridiculous slippers. Her long, curly hair, large eyes and red lips were all designed to seduce. Where her robe gaped open, he could see full breasts that quivered with every breath.
She would do whatever was necessary to get what she wanted. And while he respected an adversary who would use any means to win, he didn’t like those tactics being used on him.
Did she really think he was foolish enough to fall for her superficial beauty? How far would she go in her pursuit of a prince?
He looked at the father who stood anxiously awaiting the next move in the game. The man who should be defending his child, yet did nothing. Would Dean allow his daughter to sacrifice herself on his behalf, or was he in on the scam as well? Had they conspired to set up Kateb?
His gut told him they had not, but until he was sure, he would assume the worst.
“Take him into the hallway and keep him there,” Kateb said, his voice low.
The guards grabbed Dean, who whimpered and pleaded, and dragged him out. The door closed behind him.
“What will you do to save your father?” he asked.
“Whatever you ask.”
Something flickered in her blue eyes. Had he been a kinder man, he would have assumed fear. But he hadn’t been kind for many years now.
“It must be difficult for you, a woman alone, to make her way in a man’s world,” he said, ignoring the growing need pounding through his body. Even disheveled and taken from her bed, she appealed to him. “The equality you took for granted in America is more difficult to find here. Yet you have done well. You’ve been Nadim’s assistant for some time now.”
“Two years.”
“A pity about his engagement.”
“He seems very happy.”
“But you are not. All your plans…crushed.”
Her spine stiffened. She stared him in the eye. “That has nothing to do with my father.”
“Are you so sure? Perhaps you are eager to try to win me instead. What an excellent opportunity this must be for you. To present yourself dressed as you are? To beg?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m dressed like this because your guards wouldn’t let me put on regular clothes.”
“And this is how you sleep each night? I think not.”
“Then you need to go check my closet.” Anger added force to her voice. “You think I’m trying to seduce you? That when I woke up and saw five guards standing around my bed I thought it was my lucky day? Oh, goody. Now I get a shot at Prince Kateb? And then they stood there while I flipped through my wardrobe and found something appropriate?”
She dropped her arms to her side. “No, wait. I know. I actually dress like this every night hoping my father, whom I haven’t seen in years, happens to come by where he gets in a card game with you so he can cheat and then you send for me. Thank goodness all my plans are finally working out.”
She had a point, he thought grudgingly. Not that he would admit that to her. And she had spirit, which appealed to him nearly as much as her body.
“Do you deny you wished to marry Nadim?” he demanded.
The fight seemed to go out of her. “I wouldn’t have said no,” she admitted, staring at the floor. “But it’s not what you think. It was about security. Princes don’t get divorced. At least not here.”
“But you have no feelings for him.”
“He’s very nice.”
Kateb waited.
She raised her head and glared at him. “What do you want from me? Am I to be punished because I fantasized about marrying a prince? Fine. Do what you want. You have all the power here. Right now I’m more concerned about my father.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s my father.”
“That isn’t the reason. I saw how you looked at him. You resent him for putting you in this position. You are angry with him.”
“He’s still my father.”
Kateb allowed the silence to weigh on her. She stood her ground, meeting his gaze, not speaking. Whatever else there was, she would not tell him. Interesting.
“Will you take his place?” he asked softly.
“Yes.”
“In jail?”
She swallowed. He could smell her fear.
“Yes.”
“Life there is harsh. Unpleasant.”
“I made a promise.”
The words seemed forced out of her. He knew he had won something important but couldn’t say what.
A promise. What did a woman like her know about promises?
He stared into her eyes and saw a lifetime of weariness there. Her soul was old beyond her years. Or was he simply looking for a reason because that appealed to him more than the reality of a mercenary woman taking advantage of the situation?
If only Cantara were here, with him. She would know the truth. But if she were still here, he would not be in this situation. He would not need a night of cards to fill his hours. He would not have to face the darkness that surrounded him. The emptiness.
“Your father attempted to steal from me,” Kateb said coldly. “Had I not caught him cheating, he would have left this place with several hundred thousand dollars.”
Victoria’s breath caught.
“He cheated in the royal palace, with guards in the room. Now that there are consequences, he is content to let you take his place in prison.”
“I know.”
What kind of father did that? Why wasn’t the man willing to be responsible? Why was she enabling his cowardice?
He wanted to teach them both a lesson. The obvious solution was to put Dean McCallan in jail.
“Return to your room,” he told her. “You will be notified when he is sentenced. You will be able to visit with him before he begins serving his time, but not after. There are—”
“No!” She grabbed his arm with both hands. “No. You can’t. Please. I’ll do anything.” Tears filled her eyes. “My mother made me promise I would take care of him. That I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. She died loving him. Please, I beg you. Don’t lock him away. Take me instead. He offered me in the game. Did you tell him no or did you accept? Was I in play? Did you win me?”
Kateb narrowed his gaze. “I knew he didn’t mean it.”
“You’ve spoken with him. You know he did. You took the bet. You played the hand. You won me. So take me instead.”
“As what?”
Victoria drew herself up to her full height. “As whatever you want.”
Chapter Two
Victoria sensed Kateb’s impatience with both her and the situation. She knew she was running out of options. Desperate times and all that, she thought grimly, then shrugged out of her robe.
The silk fell to the stone floor and puddled at her feet. Kateb’s gaze never left her face.
“Perhaps you’re not as tempting as you think,” he said coolly.
“Perhaps not, but I have to try.”
“You are offering yourself? For a night? Do you really think that could repay your father’s transgressions?”
“I only have myself to offer.” She felt cold and thought she might throw up. “You won’t take my money and I have no other skills you’d appreciate. I doubt my computer skills are of much use to you in the desert.” Her throat tightened and she fought fear. “It doesn’t have to be for a night.”
One eyebrow raised. “Longer? To what end? You are not worthy of marriage.”
A well-placed slap, she thought, refusing to let him know he’d hurt her. “I will be your mistress for however long you wish. I’ll go with you into the desert and do whatever you say. Anything. In return my father goes free. You can banish him from the country. Make sure he never returns to El Deharia. Just don’t put him in jail.”
Kateb’s dark gaze continued to study her. She trembled but was determined not to let him see. At last he reached for the skinny straps on her nightie. He slid first one then the other off her shoulders. The short gown joined the robe on the stone floor.
Except for a pair of tiny bikini panties, she was naked before him. She desperately wanted to cover herself, to turn away. Embarrassment burned her cheeks, but she continued to stand there. It was the last card in her hand. If this didn’t work, she would have to fold.
Dean McCallan wasn’t worth it—she was clear on that. But this wasn’t about him. This was about the promise she’d made her mother.
He looked her up and down. She had no idea what he was thinking—if he wanted her or not. Then he turned away.
