An Inconvenient Marriage (Married to a Prince) (10 page)

She exhaled deeply. “A heads up and you would have found a way to back out.”

“I took
your…”

“You didn’t take it. I gave it to you.”

“Why?”

She rolled her shoulders in a sexy little shrug. “I wanted to.”

Sami stroked her hair. She snuggled closer. Something had happened between them and it was more than the sex. A few events in his life had been memorable for various reasons. The assassination of his uncle. The funeral of her father. The infidelity of his fiancé. Those incidents had caused him to pull back and keep people at a distance. If he didn't feel he could be hurt.

What would happen now?

* * **

The most ungodly sounds woke Delilah the following morning. Camel belches. What a hideous wake up call. At least the sounds were not coming from her husband. He was up and out already. She slid from the bed. Her legs nearly buckled.  Oh my! Muscles ached and raw patches of skin marred a few areas that her clothes would thankfully cover.  She should ask him to shave next time. But she wouldn’t. The goatee made him look dark, dangerous and totally gorgeous.

Yes, Mama, you were right. We all do like the bad boys. 

Besides, she didn’t know if there would be a next time.  Good sex did not a relationship make! Okay great sex. Not that she had a basis for comparison.

She retrieved her cloths for the day from the bathroom. The red and white tunic and black wide leg pants would cover her, which her maid assured her was a must in the desert sun. As the sounds of the crowds became louder, she wondered if the auction had begun. She should search out Sami? Or wait for him to come back?

After slipping on a pair of flats, she settled into an oversized floor pillow. She knew nothing about Bedouin customs so she stayed inside.
Probably not a good idea. Her mind fixated on her short term future. Her imagination rode a run-away train ride into the unknown.

“You ready for your ride?”

She got so caught up in the hundreds of crazy scenarios that she had not heard Sami enter. Like the first day she saw him in the airport, he wore the white kaftan. She stared, caught somewhere between the past present and her future.

He offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. He tugged her close and traced his thumb along her jaw.  “I can’t believe I am saying this, and if you tell anyone, I will deny it, but do you want to talk about something?”

“It’s not necessary.”

“I didn’t ask that. Something is obviously on your mind.”

Delilah shook her head. How was she supposed to tell him she was worrying about the future after one night? She almost wished she was more like her mother and consequences wouldn’t matter. “It’s not easy to talk to you.”

“I am the easiest person to talk to.  You can say anything and not hurt my feelings. I don’t have any.”

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “You say that but it’s not true.”

“Give me one example.”

“Our shopping trip.”

“A disaster.”
He let out a hearty laugh. “It proves my point.”

“Admittedly, you have the sensitivity of granite when it comes to women but the fact that you even worried about my feelings when it came to that article, proves my point.”

He cuffed her wrist and urged her closer. “Well while I’m having a rare moment of sensitivity talk to me.”

Her eyes met his questioning gaze. “What comes next?”

“What?”

“What happens to us now?”

He stopped, paused and seemed to give the matter serious thought. Had it not occurred to him until now? Maybe her mother was right about her. She worried too much.

“Whatever you want. I will not divorce you.”

“But do you want to be married to me? And before you answer just tell me honestly what you want. Not what the families expect. Don’t talk about duty or what you think I might want. If you really are as unfeeling as you believe that should be easy.”

“It’s not that simple…”

She stomped a foot in frustration. “Answer the damn question. Sami.”

“Yes I want to stay married to you.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She had braced herself for a negative response.
“Really? Why?”

He slid an arm across her back and cupped her waist. The heat from his body contrasted nicely with air condition. She loved the feeling of him. More than she should.

“At the risk of being called a jackass again… I need a wife anyway. I will never wonder if you married me for the title. You are quite beautiful when you are not trying to make yourself invisible. You don’t have a notorious past that will be of interest to tabloids. The sex is good.  At least it was for me. It seemed to be for you. So keeping you makes my life a lot simpler. But I am not unaware of the complication it makes for you.”

Strangely, she was neither insulted nor angry. He thought she was beautiful. A warm and fuzzy feeling flowed through her. In retrospect, her intended engagement to Bob was based on much less.

“You are so strange, Lilah.” Sami chuckled. He traced a finger long her smiling lips. “I just spelled out the most unromantic reasons to be married and you didn’t hit me.”

“Why would I? You were honest. I can live with that a lot easier than someone who showers me with romantic lies. So I guess I’ll keep you too.”

He arched his thick eyebrows suggestively. “Should we seal the deal?”

She spayed her hand over his chest to keep him at bay.
“After my ride. According to you, I will need it.”

He brushed his mouth over hers, pausing long enough to fill her senses but still leaving her wanting more. 

“Should I cover my face?”

“Yes.
With sun block.”

She expelled a frustrated breath.  “Don’t mock me. I don’t know what they expect from me.”

“Just be yourself, Lilah. Like you, the desert tribes respect honesty above anything else.”

As he pushed her through the tent flaps a blast of heat reminded her they were in the middle of the desert. When she saw a camel with the colorful saddle right outside her door, the temperature took a back seat to the exotic beauty of the oasis. Yes, this would be a trip to remember in more ways than one.

Chapter Eight

Delilah plopped down in the middle of the sofa and tucked her feet under her legs. This work from home arrangement suited her. Too bad it was a temporary situation until her boss found a replacement. The seven thousand mile commute for the monthly meeting wasn’t feasible.

Her new tablet, which she fought tooth and nail against buying, turned out to be a great little gadget. The lightweight devise proved more portable than her four year old laptop. She could work from the bed, the garden and even a coffee shop. When she had questions, she face-timed with her colleagues.  The down side? The games. Whoever invented Candy Crush should be arrested. After seven days she was an addict.

A week had passed since she returned from the desert and it had been one of the most exciting, confusing, sexy and happiest times she could remember. To say her mother pitched a fit over her decision to stay would be understatement. She tried to explain that
Nadiar had transformed into a modern city in the past twenty years but Marissa refused to listen.  Delilah shook her head. Some mindsets couldn’t be changed. Time to get back to work.

After another few minutes of Candy Crush.

She wasn’t sure how long she played before she heard Sami come in. With a quick touch of the screen she closed the game and switched screens.

A shake of his head said he knew she’d been feeding her candy habit but he was not amused.   He joined her on the couch but settled into the far corner.

“Something’s wrong.”

“Is it?” he asked.

“You tell me?” They hadn’t fought so why the attitude? Was he tired of married life already?  He certainly never got tired when they were in bed.

“Have you spoken with your mother recently?”

Her stomach cramped. “If you call ten minutes of yelling a conversation, then yes, I spoke to her. Why?”

“What did you speak about?”

“Did something happen, Sami?”

“I don’t know. Your ambassador came to the palace today.”

“My ambassador?”

“The American ambassador.
Had a meeting with my parents. As counsel I usually sit in on those meetings but I was left out. Any idea what that might be about?”

“Not a clue. How would I?”

“I guess you will find out tomorrow. You are requested to meet with the Consul General tomorrow, but my parents were led to believe it would be an act of aggression if I were to stop you from going.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Have I stopped you from doing anything you wanted or made you do anything you didn’t want?”

“No. Nor did I ever say you had.
To anyone. I will call the embassy.”

“No. You need to show up in person.”

Sami was not one who showed feelings since he denied possessing any. But something about this bothered him. Although he sat next to her, he felt miles away. She touched his hand, He didn’t pull back but she could have grabbed a block of ice.  Hard, cold and emotionless.  He hit the remote for the TV and put on the news. What was going on in his mind? She wasn’t a psychic and he wasn’t a talker. She was in for a long and silent night.

* * * *

The following morning the driver dropped Delilah in front of the American Consulate. U.S. passport holders entered through the front gate while non-citizens were led to a security check point at the side of the well-guarded building. Portraits of the president and the ambassador framed the flag at the entrance. She proceeded through an archway where both American and Nadiarian visitors lined up in front of numbered booths for visas, passports and other government business. Although the law permitted her to bring an escort, she was asked to come alone.  She had been trying since yesterday to call her mother but got no answer. Delilah had no idea why she had been summoned, but she knew in her gut it had something to do with Marissa.

A
well dressed woman in her mid to late thirties met her at the far end of the room. “Miss Jordan. I am Lisa Engle. Thank you for coming.” They shook hands.  “Can you come this way?”

Delilah followed the woman down a long line of corridors to the center of the compound.

“Can I get you anything?”

She took a seat at the wooden board table. “No thank you.”

“Do you know why we asked you to come in?”

“No.”

“First I want to let you know that this room is secure.”

“Okay,”

“Do you know what that means?”

Delilah nodded.

“I also want to let you know we can take you from here in an embassy car to the airport.”

“Why?”

“I want you to understand that you can leave here at any time.”

The conversation had gone from ridiculous to aggravating. “I know.”

An expression of sympathy, or was it pity, crossed Ms. Engle’s face.  “You may have told that but have you actually tried to leave?”

“No.
Because I don’t want to.”

“As an American you have the absolute right to leave.”

“I am also a Nadiarian citizen. I have family. A husband. None of whom have put any pressure on me to stay.”

The consular leafed through the faxes in front of her. “We are following up on a complaint from your mother via her senator. She feels that despite your denials that you were sending verbal signals all was not right.”

A lump caught in her throat and she could barely speak. “She was mistaken.”

Cold shivers ran through her and she trembled. She couldn’t believe her mother would make such an accusation. Their last argument occurred precisely because Delilah had refused to leave
Nadiar.

How would she be able to face the Royal family?
Her own family? Especially Sami. He might not care what the tabloids wrote about him. But his parents were another matter. 

Miss Engle nodded, looking properly chastised but that didn’t end the doubt reflected in her eyes. “We had to act, Miss Jordan,”

“Actually my last name is Rafik.”

“And you are also a princess and I will address you as such if you prefer.”

“It is not necessary, but I have to question whether I would have been called here if we were in a European country.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

She had read all the horror stories of American women kidnapped in Asian and African countries. Lifetime Movies produced docudramas depicting the misadventures of unsuspecting tourists. “Yes, you do, even if your position prohibits you from confirming it.”

A long pause followed.

“What do I have to do to stop this from escalating?”

“I suggest you go back to the States and meet with you mother and your senator.”