Forged in the Desert Heat

Forged in the Desert Heat
Maisey Yates

A woman who could start a warThe Gypsy Sheikh. Betrayer. Modern-day marauder. Zafar Nejem has been called many things, and now he is to be called Your Majesty. Returning to the throne of Al Sabah, his first act is to rescue American heiress Analise Christensen from her desert kidnappers.Ana is engaged to the ruler of a neighbouring kingdom, and her discovery must be concealed until Zafar can explain her presence or else he risks war. But as the sun rises over the sand dunes so does the forbidden heat that burns between them, threatening everything…‘The hardest working woman in romance!I never miss a Maisey!’– Annabelle, 39, Wakefieldwww.maiseyyates.com

‘I don’t have to be good, Ana, I just have to win. In the end Al Sabah has to win. The rest … The rest doesn’t matter.’

‘And you’ll do anything to win?’

‘Anything,’ Zafar said.

Ana believed him. There was no doubt. The way he said it—so dark and sure and certain—sent a shiver through her body, down into her bones. And yet it didn’t repel her. It didn’t make her want to run. Perversely, it almost made her want to get closer.

The shock of fear that ran through her body was electric. It sent ripples of warning, showers of sparks that sent a crackling heat along her veins. She felt like a child standing before a fire. Fascinated and awed by its warmth, knowing there was something that might make it all dangerous, but not having any real concept of the damage it could do.

Even having that moment of clarity, she didn’t draw back.

MAISEY YATES was an avid Mills & Boon

Modern™ Romance reader before she began to write them. She still can’t quite believe she’s lucky enough to get to create her very own sexy alpha heroes and feisty heroines. Seeing her name on one of those lovely covers is a dream come true.

Maisey lives with her handsome, wonderful, diaper-changing husband and three small children across the street from her extremely supportive parents and the home she grew up in, in the wilds of Southern Oregon, USA. She enjoys the contrast of living in a place where you might wake up to find a bear on your back porch and then heading into the home office to write stories that take place in exotic urban locales.

Recent titles by the same author:

HIS RING IS NOT ENOUGH

THE COUPLE WHO FOOLED THE WORLD

HEIR TO A DARK INHERITANCE

(Secret Heirs of Powerful Men) HEIR TO A DESERT LEGACY (Secret Heirs of Powerful Men)

Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

Forged in the Desert Heat

Maisey Yates

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To my daughter.

Never be afraid to stand up for yourself, or to stand for what’s right.

You’re the hero of your story.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE (#u7b82d84e-007f-5425-a945-df40e9eed037)

CHAPTER TWO (#uf3f30fdb-9690-50eb-aa9d-f2ff4b8626cb)

CHAPTER THREE (#ubd7df52a-bff7-522e-b759-e70435b0f699)

CHAPTER FOUR (#u8c9aedf2-ef52-5303-93bd-ddd1581f309f)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

EXCERPT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ONE

SHEIKH ZAFAR NEJEM scanned the encampment, the sun burning what little of his skin was revealed. He was as covered as he could possibly be, both to avoid the harsh elements of the desert, and to avoid being recognized.

Though, for most, the odds of that would be low out here, hundreds of miles from any city. But this was his home. Where he’d been raised. The place where he’d made his name as the most fearsome man in Al Sabah.

And considering his competition for the position, there was weight to the title.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary here. Cooking fires were smoldering, and he could hear voices in the tents. He stopped for a moment. This was no family encampment, but that of a band of highway men. Thieves. Outlaws, not unlike himself. He knew these men, and they knew him. He had a tentative truce with them, but that didn’t mean he was ready to show himself.

It didn’t mean he trusted them. He trusted no one.

Especially not now.

Not now that there was certain to be unrest. Anger, backlash over his installation in the palace. On the throne.

Back to his rightful position.

The Gypsy Sheikh’s return had not been met with delight, at least not in the more “civilized” corners of the country. His uncle had done far too efficient a job in destroying his reputation for anyone to be pleased at his coronation.

If only he could dispel the rumors surrounding his exile. But he could not.

Because they were true.