Desert Rogues Part 1

“Why?”

“Because of you,” he said, although his answer made no sense.

“There was a lot of blood,” he continued before she could ask more questions. “I started yelling. The king and the fencing master came running. I told them both what my friend had done, and in a burst of uncontrolled anger, I swore I never wanted to see him again. I was rushed to the hospital. I was frightened and in a lot of pain, although I wouldn’t admit either to anyone.”

Dora touched his arm. “You don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”

“I’m fine,” he told her. “In a few hours I’d had stitches and was resting comfortably. I had time to regret my harsh words to my friend, and I told my father that I wanted to see him.”

His mouth twisted into a grim line. “But a prince had spoken, and a prince was to be obeyed. My friend had been sent over the mountains to stay with family until I recovered and sent for him again. But there was a car accident, and he was killed on the way. I never saw him again.”

Dora stared at him, not sure what she was supposed to say. “Sometimes I feel as if we’ve never even lived on the same planet. How am I supposed to relate to your life?”

“You can’t. But you can deal with the man who has lived it.” He turned to face her. “Is that so difficult for you to imagine?”

“No.”

They were suddenly sitting too close. Or had they always been next to each other and had she just now noticed? The air seemed to grow hotter by the second. Khalil shifted until he had his arm around her, and his mouth was inches from hers.

“Kiss me,” he demanded.

She stared at him. “I can’t.” Maybe she’d picked a dumb hill on which to die, but this was the last barrier she had in place against the handsome prince who wanted to steal her soul.

“You won’t. There’s a difference. Stubborn fool. When you have my children playing around your feet will you still deny me?”

She turned away so he wouldn’t see the panic in her eyes. Children. Dear Lord, she had done her best not to think about getting pregnant. At the rate they were making love, it was just a matter of time. Khalil was a vigorous lover who visited her more nights than not. She wasn’t on any kind of birth control and as a princess in El Bahar, she couldn’t exactly walk into the local drugstore and buy condoms.

She’d thought about going to Fatima, but although she and Khalil’s grandmother had made peace, Dora doubted that Fatima would approve of preventing a pregnancy.

Even though they were sitting in the middle of a desert, Dora suddenly felt as if invisible walls had started to close in around her. She was cold and hot at the same time. She didn’t know how to handle this situation.

“We should head back,” she said quickly, trying to pull away from him.

Khalil didn’t release his hold on her. “Not yet. Stay a little while.”

She pressed her lips together. In this mood, when he was caring and conciliatory, it was impossible to resist him.

“Sweet Dora, you are my wife. Why is it so difficult to do as I request?” He sighed. “You are stubborn and infuriating, yet I can’t imagine going an entire day without seeing you. I have told the king I will no longer travel without you.”

Dora stared at him. Unable to help herself, she reached up and touched the thin scar on his left cheek. His eyes were large and dark and filled with an emotion she’d never seen before. Affection perhaps? Vulnerability? Was it possible that Khalil was changing?

She knew what she wanted. In her heart of hearts, she wanted it all—the fantasy and the fairy tale. She wanted her husband to fall in love with her, most likely because she was in love with him. She wanted a real marriage, not this battle of wills they’d somehow created. Yet as much as she wanted to give in, she believed with every beat of her heart that if she didn’t stand firm on this issue that he would grow complacent. He had to understand that he couldn’t play with her emotions. He had to learn that what he’d done was wrong.

“Kiss me.”

His words were a request, not a demand, and she found herself unable to deny him. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to be close to him, to feel his body next to hers. This was her husband, and it hurt her to deny him. But deny him she must.

Then she again touched the scar on his face. The thin ridge reminded her that Khalil had admitted to making a mistake. Was that his own arrogant, twisted way of telling her there were other words he regretted?

She studied his face, the handsome lines, the set of his mouth. Who was this man she’d married? What did she know of the depths of his soul?

And then she pressed her mouth to his. Not because he’d asked, but because he’d shared a bit of his life with her. Because he’d compromised just a little. And mostly because she needed to feel his hot passion fueling her own.

She slipped her hand into his hair and felt the cool strands slipping against her skin. She leaned into him, wanting to be closer, yet not actually pressing against him. She kept her mouth closed, her kiss chaste, yet she felt the difference in both of them as she gave herself willingly to him.

She rested her free hand on his shoulder, then slowly parted her lips. When he didn’t respond, she brushed her tongue against his lower lip and when he opened for her, she entered his mouth. At the first touch of her tongue against his, he shuddered. As if contact was more than he could stand—as if this surrender of hers was more than he could stand.

She braced herself for his assault, but Khalil did not attack, or even try to make love with her. Instead he broke the kiss. When he pulled back he cupped her face and stared at her.

“Thank you,” he murmured, his voice low and controlled.

She waited, but there were no smart comments, no claims of victory. Instead he pulled her to her feet and helped her onto her horse. They rode back to the palace in silence. Once there, he swept inside without saying a word.

“I’m not discounting all that your majesty has already done,” Dora said patiently. “However, the job isn’t complete. We have more work to do.”

Fire flashed in her eyes, and color stained her cheeks. She looked passionate and committed, and it was all Khalil could do to stay in his seat and listen quietly. What he wanted was to jump to his feet and publicly claim this woman as his. He wanted to drag her off to his rooms and make love with her for the rest of the afternoon.

But he didn’t. For one thing, Dora, his brothers and he were having a working lunch with the king, and Khalil didn’t think that any of them would appreciate his impulsiveness. Well, Dora might, but she would never admit it. Another reason to resist was that his most stubborn wife continued to sleep in her own quarters, across the palace from his. Despite that lone kiss the previous week, she had not willingly come to him and initiated their lovemaking. She frustrated him until he was sorry they’d been at peace with their neighbors for so many generations. He was in the mood to go to war.

Instead he sat quietly while his wife argued with his father. It was the king’s fault. Givon had been the one to set up the brief tour of the country for Dora. She’d spent three days this week visiting nearby towns and villages, and each night she’d returned home filled with ideas.

“The colleges are open to all,” the king said and took a spoonful of sorbet. “Even the women.”

“Yes, and how much they appreciate your forward thinking.”

Her voice was calm, but Khalil caught the faint note of sarcasm in her tone. She was beautiful when she was inspired, he thought suddenly. How had he not noticed that before? When they’d first met, he’d barely seen her. Then they’d married so quickly, and he’d been angry and confused about all that happened. There was also the matter of her resistance. Yet despite it all, or perhaps because of it, he’d grown to see the real woman who was Dora Khan, princess of El Bahar, and he knew that she was a jewel. That he’d stumbled upon her under what were at the very least unusual circumstances only made him treasure her more.

“King Givon,” she said, pushing her dessert aside and leaning forward. “Opening the colleges to women isn’t enough. Despite the advances made during your glorious rule, many families still believe it is a waste to educate a woman. They don’t bother to send them to more than a half dozen years of school, and most only receive that much because your government has made it the law. There are hundreds of bright and articulate females out there, and their potential is going to waste.”

The king raised his bushy, graying eyebrows. “They marry, they produce children. That is not a waste.”

“Oh, I agree completely. If you’re saying that your people are El Bahar’s greatest resource.”

Khalil watched as his father considered Dora’s words. Khalil saw the trap at once, but he had the advantage of knowing his wife’s agile mind. The king was not so fortunate.

“Of course. They are our future.”

“If that is your belief, then I don’t understand your willingness to ignore and waste nearly fifty percent of the resources available to you. Educated women can still marry and have many children, but uneducated ones can do little to improve technology or teach in the schools, or become doctors and lawyers and entrepreneurs.”

She stared at the king. “These women deserve a chance to be their best. Not only for themselves, but for their country. All I’m asking is that you consider preparatory schools for teenage girls. Give them the opportunity to learn what they need so they can attend college.”

King Givon glared at her. “Schools mean buildings and teachers. That requires a large financial commitment.”

“You’d need scholarships, too,” Khalil reminded him. “Very few families could afford to send both sons and daughters to college.”

The king frowned. “You want too much.”

“It’s not possible to have too many dreams, Your Majesty. Especially when those dreams reflect what is best for El Bahar.”