His Arranged Marriage

Serena was like no other woman he’d ever met—and it had nothing to do with her lineage. This woman would have stirred him if he’d met her in the meanest hut in the world.

She fascinated him.

“I would honestly enjoy making love to you,” he said, his voice hoarse in a choked whisper he couldn’t quite control. “Make no mistake about that.”

Her eyes drew him in as she waited for him to speak. What could he say? There was no “but,” no qualifier on the truth. He wanted to pull that flowing gauzy stuff off her slowly. Discovering her mysteries was as tantalizing as the thought of swirling through the veils of Arabian Nights, enjoying her one layer at a time.

He hadn’t come to Balahar for a wife. Yet she was his wife. He was her husband.

He could search the entire earth and never find another woman like her.

But he could lose her.

“Call the spy back in here,” he said suddenly.

She looked at him for a moment. He picked up the goblet and poured the liquid inside it into a nearby planter. Then he took her goblet and put the contents inside his.

“Shadi,” she called loudly, her gaze on Kadar.

The servant entered a moment later.

“We are finished,” she told him.

“Not quite, my princess,” Cade said with a flourish. He lifted the goblet in a toast so that the servant could see—and then he drained it. “As delicious as your lips,” he said airily.

Serena rolled her eyes, but since the servant stood obsequiously behind her chair, he could not see. Cade grinned to himself before yawning hugely. “I think I’ll return to my room to shower,” he said. “I will come to your room later.”

Serena stood. “As you wish, my prince. Shadi will show you to your rooms.”

“Great. I’m worn-out as an old hound dog,” he said in his most exaggerated Texas accent.

The servant’s expression was triumphant. Cade yawned again. The servant bowed, leading the way for him. “Bye, Princess,” Cade said in an annoying voice. “Wait up for me.”

Serena whirled on her low-heeled feet and fled the room. Cade smirked. “I’m following the yellow brick road, Shadi, unless you’ve got a magic carpet for me.”

Shadi hurried down the hall into a long corridor. Cade strolled behind him leisurely. “Sure am tired after all the excitement, Shadi.”

The servant barely glanced over his shoulder at Cade. Finally Shadi passed through an arch into a large room hung with heavy drapes and filled with furnishings fit for a prince. Cade threw himself down onto the bed, his body limp.

Silence told him Shadi was observing his position, making certain he was asleep. Cade didn’t move a muscle.

After a moment, he heard the whispery sound of the servant disappearing from the room. Waiting another few minutes for good measure, Cade finally lifted himself off the bed.

“Prince Kadar,” a voice said outside the open window of his room.

“Serena.” He levered himself out of the window to stand beside her.

“You fake the effects of sleeping potion badly. Fortunately, Shadi seemed to buy your act.”

He grinned at her. “I’d do anything to impress you, Princess.”

“What was the need of pretending to drink the potion?”

“You said it was better to know who the spy was. He believes he has executed his task, and will rush back to let his commander know what a good soldier he is. In the meantime, you and I will head to my private jet and take off for Texas. It won’t be the honeymoon you might have wanted, but under the circumstances, I think it’s for the best. Let’s get going before we’re discovered.”

She balked for an instant. “I must say goodbye to Father, and Prince Sharif.”

“We can’t risk it. The spy will know soon enough that the potion didn’t work to his satisfaction.”

“You are, of course, correct,” Serena whispered unhappily. “If you are certain—”

“I believe it’s the only way, Princess. With you faraway and safe at The Desert Rose, you are out of reach of spies and potions. We’ll have time to get to know each other.”

“You are not wishing to make love to me so fast?”

“I want to make love to you. But marriage is based on more than sex. And I don’t like jumping around like a puppet because Princess Lana’s pulling my strings.”

“Queen Layla.”

“Whatever.” He shrugged. “The who doesn’t matter. The what does, and the ‘what’ happens to be this marriage. I’ll do what I want on my terms.”

“You are not like other men,” Serena said quietly. “And so I trust you. I will go with you, because I can tell you are doing what you believe to be right. Such a man makes the right decisions for many people.”

They stared at each other for a long moment.

“Let’s go,” she said, putting on a black silk scarf that concealed all but her eyes. Her black Jilba disguised the rest of her. “I’m anxious to see this Texas that makes such strong men.”

IF ROSE COLEMAN WAS SURPRISED that the wrong son came home with Princess Serena, she was too experienced at hiding her emotions to show it. She came forward to greet the princess with a hug. “Welcome to Texas, and to The Desert Rose, Princess Serena.”

“Thank you.” Serena smiled shyly at her new mother-in-law. “Texas seems as hot as Balahar.”

Rose smiled. “The late summer months will be far closer to what you are used to. We will make you comfortable at The Desert Rose, though it isn’t quite the palace.”

“I have a feeling I will like this as well.” Serena meant to be polite, but something told her she would like being away from palace intrigue—and also like finding out more about her new husband’s way of life.

“No spies here.” Rose smiled at her.

“I don’t want to be royalty while I am in your home. I don’t wish to be treated like a princess,” Serena said earnestly. “I want to help, and do the same things you do.” She sent a glance to the half apron Rose wore. By no means could Rose be considered homely, though she was considerably more careworn than one might expect royalty to be. She had a graceful way about her, as well as delicate speech. Her demeanor was refined and yet not stiff in any way.

Serena had seen many photos of the late Princess Grace of Monaco. She had never met anyone who reminded her more of Grace than Rose. If some of the cares were worn away from Rose, Serena suspected she would be as gently lovely as Princess Grace had been as she’d grown older.