The Sheikh's Contract Bride

She walked into the suite and picked up her cellphone, intending to call Addie and beg her sister to end this. Before she could put in the number, the phone attached to the landline rang.

She picked it up. “Hello?”

“Good morning.”

There was no mistaking that deep velvet voice. “Malik. Good morning.”

“I trust you slept well?”

“Never better,” she lied, and realized the lies were getting easier, in spite of her resolution to tell as much of the truth as possible.

“I am glad to hear it. I have a surprise for you.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“If I tell you it wouldn’t be a surprise. But I will come for you in an hour.”

“Where are we going?”

“You are attempting to trick me into revealing the surprise.”

“Actually, I need to know what to wear.”

“Dress casually.”

Casually? That could mean anything, from jeans to a silk lounging outfit. “Casual as in sundress? Or casual as in pants?”

“Jeans,” he said. “And that is all I will say.”

The line went dead. Before she could stop it, excitement arced through her. In her life, surprises had been few, and usually bad. Her mother had walked out and her father wasn’t the warm, fuzzy type. The man she’d loved had married someone else. But the pleasure in Malik’s voice made her believe his surprise was something good, and she hurried to get ready.

In precisely an hour the Crown Prince showed up at her door, wearing jeans, a loose white cotton shirt and boots. He refused to say where they were going, but escorted her to the car he had waiting. A few minutes later they drove past white slat fencing that looked a lot like horse corrals. When the car stopped in front of a stable she had a very strong feeling that her good surprise was going to turn bad.

“Why are we here?” she asked, as he took her hand to help her from the back seat.

“I wish to show you the horse that my brother Kardahl purchased for you when he visited his wife’s family. The mountain people raise some of the finest horses in the world.”

Beth walked with him into the stable’s shaded interior and realized the jig might very well be up. In finishing school, along with learning etiquette, how to throw elaborate dinner parties and protocol, Addie had become an accomplished horsewoman. Because all the royals were avid riders, it would be expected of the King’s wife. On the other hand, Beth had never been on anything besides a carousel pony.

“I don’t know what to say.” After so many lies, it almost felt good to tell the truth.

“Come and meet the mare,” he said, taking her hand. He led her to the stall where the animal stood waiting, her coat shiny black with splotches of white on her face. Addie would have been thrilled—would be thrilled—about this surprise. Beth—not so much. She was going to have to fly by the seat of her pants—so to speak. At the very least she needed to be polite.

“Thank you, Malik.”

“You are most welcome.”

Beth tried to look confident when she put her hand on the horse’s neck. She knew enough that mare meant female. “Does she have a name?”

Malik smiled down at her, then chuckled when the horse nuzzled his shoulder. “As she is yours, you must choose what to call her.”

“Jezebel.” It was the first name that came to mind—from one shameless woman to another. At his questioning look, she shrugged. “I like the sound of it.”

“Then Jezebel it is. I will have two horses saddled and we can ride—”

“No.”

He frowned. “I do not understand. I was under the impression that my betrothed enjoyed riding.”

“She does.” On top of everything else, Beth realized she was talking in the third person, but technically it was the truth. Addie loved riding.

“Then I’m at a loss.”

“It’s just that I’m a little tired—”

“But you slept well.”

And yet again her words came back to bite her. Oh, what a tangled web we weave…

“I did. But I lost count of how many time zones I crossed traveling here. I guess I’m still getting used to the difference. Jet-lagged.”

“Another time, then. I should have waited, but I was anxious to give you this gift.”

“I’m definitely surprised,” she said, feeling like slime. “It’s very thoughtful of you.” Again, that was the truth. And, stretching it a bit, she said, “But I have to confess it’s been a long time since I’ve been on a horse. I’m probably pretty rusty.”

“Then we must make it a priority when you are sufficiently acclimated and well rested.”

And by that time, if Beth hadn’t alienated all the gods, Addie would have gotten her out of this situation.

“I’ll look forward to that.” She gave Jezebel one last pat on the neck, then walked out of the stables. Standing on the bottom rung of the fence, she rested her arms on the top and stared at the mountains in the distance.

Bha’Khar had a beauty all its own, and the air here seemed full of romance. While Malik would be nice to look at over breakfast every morning, there was more at stake than an unpleasant view. Beth had been watching her sister’s back for as long as she could remember, and she couldn’t stop now. Unless she could somehow convince Malik that this tradition was wrong there was every chance that Addie would be disowned. In Beth’s view that would be preferable to Addie marrying and falling for him, because he would probably play by the rules of powerful men and break her heart with his infidelity.

Malik stood beside her, close enough that she could feel the heat of his skin. “You are looking most pensive about something. Would I be wrong to assume it is about our betrothal?”

“You would not.”

“Tell me what you are thinking.”

She sighed. “It just seems wrong to map out a person’s life and rob them of free will.”

“That is one point of view. Mine is that traditions are reassuring. And the custom of royal betrothal is even more reassuring than most. If you truly object to the marriage, you have only to say so.”

“If only it were that simple,” she said softly.

Her father would be furious. She and Addie had grown up under their father’s thumb, learning to please him and trying to earn a rare word of praise in the battle to win his love. But Beth had realized early on that rebellion garnered his attention as following the rules did not. Finally she had come to the conclusion that he would never love her. Addie would become a queen, but she, Beth, was nothing special. So she’d followed her heart and become a teacher. When he had disowned her for choosing career over waiting for marriage, as he’d ordered, she hadn’t expected it to hurt so much.

She’d always said, What’s he going to do? Not care about me? But when he had indeed stopped caring about her, the pain of being cut off had been far worse than she’d realized. So Beth understood Addie’s hesitation to stand up to him about the marriage. When her sister had begged Beth to fill in and give Addie a little time to see if she’d met “the one”, time to find out if he was worth the price she would have to pay, Beth had agreed. Because she knew how hard it was to lose the only family you had.