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His Defiant Desert Queen
Jane Porter
I will not marry you. I will not!When Sheikh Mikael catches notorious model Jemma Copeland flaunting Saidia’s laws – and her body – in his desert, he knows one thing. Revenge against his family’s destruction is within his reach! To achieve it he makes Jemma an offer: imprisonment or marriage.With her life shattered by the scandal that rocked her family, Jemma needed that modelling job. She didn’t know that she was breaking the law! But Mikael’s outrageous proposal pushes her beyond shock… to utter fury. If he expects her to be a meek, pliable bride, this arrogant Sheikh has another thing coming!Jane Porter’s The Disgraced Copelands Duet:A family in the headlines – for all the wrong reasons! The Copelands’ world was once filled with unrivalled luxury and glittering social events. Now that privileged existence is nothing but a distant memory and the Copeland heirs seek to start new lives – with no-one to rely on but themselves. At least that’s what they think…!Book 1: The Fallen Greek BrideBook 2: His Defiant Desert QueenPraise for Jane PorterThe Fallen Greek Bride 4.5* TOP PICK RT Book ReviewPorter makes her larger-than-life characters appeal by stripping away the opulent façade to reveal the base emotions everyone understands: hurt, anger and, most of all, love. Add breathtaking vistas and a couple whose explosive intensity is evident on every dramatic page, and you have a winner.His Majesty’s Mistake 4* RT Book ReviewPorter paints an extravagant tale, filled with strong-yet-vulnerable characters and a satisfying against- all-odds romance.Not Fit for a King? 4.5* TOP PICK RT Book ReviewReaders will sigh when this story ends and long for more pages to read. Porter is a masterful storyteller who keeps readers riveted with great characters and a spellbinding tale.
“I am to decide your punishment for you,” Mikael said finally.
“What are the choices?”
“Seven years’ house arrest here in Haslam—”
“Seven years?”
“Or I take you as my wife.”
“That’s not funny. Not even remotely funny.”
“It’s not a joke. I either marry you, or leave you here in Haslam to begin your house arrest.”
He saw Jemma recoil and her face turn white.
“I warned you that Sheikh Azizzi would not be lenient. He is not a Copeland fan either. He knows what your father did to my mother, and he wants to send a message that Saidia will not tolerate crime or immorality.”
“But seven years!” She reached for the edge of the table to steady herself. “That’s … that’s … so long.”
“Seven years or marriage,” he corrected.
“No. No. Marriage isn’t an option. I won’t marry you. I would never marry you. I could never marry you.”
THE DISGRACED COPELANDS (#u0f82f5fa-93c4-54e5-8802-9731c45b3471)
A family in the headlines—for all the wrong reasons!
For the Copeland family each day brings another tabloid scandal. Their world was one of unrivalled luxury and glittering social events. Now their privileged life is nothing but a distant memory …
Staring the taunting paparazzi straight in the eye, the Copeland heirs seek to start new lives—with no one to rely on but themselves.
At least that’s what they think …!
It seems fame and riches can’t buy happiness—but they make it fun trying!
Read Morgan Copeland’s story in:
The Fallen Greek Bride
Read Jemma Copeland’s story in:
His Defiant Desert Queen
Look out for more scandalous stories about
The Disgraced Copelands
by Jane Porter
Coming soon!
His Defiant Desert Queen
Jane Porter
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author JANE PORTER has written forty romances and eleven women’s fiction novels since her first sale to Mills & Boon
Modern
Romance in 2000. A five-time RITA
finalist, Jane is known for her passionate, emotional and sensual novels, and loves nothing more than alpha heroes, exotic locations and happy-ever-afters. Today Jane lives in sunny San Clemente, California, with her surfer husband and three sons. Visit www.janeporter.com (http://www.janeporter.com)
For Lee Hyat,
who has been there every step of the way since reading
The Italian Groom! Thank you for being my first reader and a most loyal and cherished friend.
Contents
Cover (#ub32d5281-01c7-52a5-888f-a4f995a6fcbe)
Introduction (#uc3dd3298-15f8-5caa-bb2f-6ac2a71ec156)
THE DISGRACED COPELANDS
Title Page (#u30ac1d0e-9358-5411-815d-3ba11b6ab34d)
About the Author (#uef953664-a816-53f7-8fc1-460beaa0b274)
Dedication (#u46d91858-0ac1-5dc5-abf5-c254f9204e8b)
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE (#u0f82f5fa-93c4-54e5-8802-9731c45b3471)
SEETHING, SHEIKH MIKAEL KARIM, King of Saidia, watched the high fashion photo shoot taking place in the desert—his desert—wondering how anyone could think it was okay to enter a foreign country under a false identity and think he, or she, as it happened to be in this case, could get away with it.
Apparently the world was filled with fools.
Fools by the name of Copeland.
Jaw tight, temper barely leashed, Mikael waited for the right moment to intervene.
He’d been pushed too far, challenged directly, and he’d meet that challenge with swift retribution.
A king didn’t negotiate. A king never begged, and a king refused to curry favor.
Saidia might be a small kingdom, but it was powerful. And the government of Saidia might tolerate the West, but Westerners couldn’t enter Saidia, flaunt Saidia law, and think there would be no repercussions.
Jemma Copeland was a foolish woman. So like her father, thumbing her nose at the law, believing she was above it.
Perhaps Daniel Copeland had got away with his crimes. But his daughter would not be so lucky. Miss Jemma Copeland was going to pay.
CHAPTER ONE (#u0f82f5fa-93c4-54e5-8802-9731c45b3471)
NECESSITY HAD TAUGHT Jemma Copeland to shut out distractions.
She’d learned to ignore the things she didn’t want to think about, to enable her to do what needed to be done.
So for the past two hours she’d ignored the scorching heat of the Sahara. The insistent, hollow ache in her stomach. The stigma of being a Copeland, and what it meant back home in the United States.
She’d blocked out heat, hunger, and shame, but she couldn’t block out the tall, white-robed man standing just a foot behind the photographer, watching her through dark, unsmiling eyes while a half dozen robed men stood behind him.
She knew who the man was. How could she not? He’d attended her sister’s wedding five years ago in Greenwich and every woman with a pulse had noticed Sheikh Mikael Karim. He was tall, he was impossibly, darkly handsome, and he was a billionaire as well as the new king of Saidia.
But Mikael Karim wasn’t supposed to be on set today. He was supposed to be in Buenos Aires this week and his sudden appearance, arriving in a parade of glossy black luxury SUVs with tinted windows, had sent ripples of unease throughout the entire crew.
It was obvious he wasn’t happy.
Jemma’s gut told her something ugly could happen soon. She prayed she was wrong. She just wanted to get through the rest of the shoot and fly out tomorrow morning as planned.
At least he hadn’t shown up yesterday. Yesterday had been grueling, a very long day, with multiple shots in multiple locations, and the heat had been intense. But she hadn’t complained. She wouldn’t. She needed the job too much to be anything but grateful for the chance to still work.
It still boggled her mind how much things had changed. Just a year ago she had been one of America’s golden girls, envied for her beauty, her wealth, her status as an It Girl. Her family was powerful, affluent. The Copelands had homes scattered across the world, and she and her gorgeous, privileged sisters were constantly photographed and discussed. But even the powerful can fall, and the Copeland family tumbled off their pedestal with the revelation that Daniel, her father, was the number two man in the biggest Ponzi scheme in America in the past century.
Overnight the Copelands became the most hated family in America.
Now Jemma could barely make ends meet. The fallout from her father’s arrest, and the blitz of media interest surrounding the case, had destroyed her career. The fact that she worked, and had supported herself since she was eighteen, meant nothing to the public. She was still Daniel Copeland’s daughter. Hated. Loathed. Resented.
Ridiculed.
Today, she was lucky to get work, and her once brilliant career now barely paid the bills. When her agency came to her with this assignment, a three day shoot with two travel days, meaning she’d be paid for five work days, she’d jumped at the opportunity to come to Saidia, the independent desert kingdom tucked underneath Southern Morocco, and nestled between the Western Sahara and the Atlantic Ocean. She’d continued to fight for the opportunity even when the Saidia consulate denied her visa request.
It wasn’t legal, but desperate times called for desperate measures so she’d reapplied for a new visa as her sister, using Morgan’s passport bearing Morgan’s married name, Xanthos. This time she’d received the needed travel visa.
Yes, she was taking a huge risk, coming here under a false name, but she needed money. Without this paycheck, she wouldn’t be able to pay her next month’s mortgage.
So here she was, dressed in a long fox fur and thigh high boots, sweltering beneath the blazing sun.
So what if she was naked beneath the coat?
She was working. She was surviving. And one day, she’d thrive again, too.
So let them look.
Let them all look—the disapproving sheikh and his travel guard—because she wouldn’t be crushed. She refused to be crushed. The clothes were beautiful. Life was exciting. She didn’t have a care in the world.
Despite her fierce resolve, perspiration beaded beneath her full breasts and slid down her bare abdomen.
Not uncomfortable, she thought. Sexy.
And with sexy firmly in mind, she drew a breath, jutted her hip, and struck a bold pose.
Keith, the Australian photographer, let out an appreciative whistle. “That’s beautiful, baby! More of that, please.”
She felt a rush of pleasure, which was quickly dashed by the sight of Mikael Karim moving closer to Keith.
