Читать книгу Royals Untamed! - Andie Brock, Annie West - Страница 11

CHAPTER THREE

AS THE SKY lightened over Paris, Amber quietly closed the door of the flat. She’d left a note for Annie, explaining she had to go away for a while but saying nothing about Kazim’s promise or, rather, his blackmail. She hadn’t known what else to tell her. How did you explain a husband you’d never mentioned, let alone that you were a princess and far from an ordinary girl?

As if conjured up by her thoughts, what could only be Kazim’s sleek black car purred to a stop in the narrow street. She swallowed down the guilt of running out on Annie, which mixed with the nerves of what she’d agreed to do. Was she really about to go back to Barazbin?

She took a deep breath of early morning air and blew out softly, trying to still her nerves. She was going back, but it would only be for a while; of that she was certain. Just until Claude was well enough to return home, then she would too.

Amber looked at the car and what it represented—her return to a life she’d thought she’d turned her back on. Ever since the day she’d left, she’d thought that if she ever heard from Kazim again it would be to arrange their divorce. Although secretly she’d wished he would turn up and whisk her back to his kingdom with declarations of true love.

The thought that he’d turn into a ruthless blackmailer hadn’t entered into the equation at all. She stood on the steps and looked down at the car, its darkened windows preventing prying eyes, and for a moment she had to fight the urge to run away, as far and as fast as she could from the hand that fate had dealt her.

‘Good morning, Princess.’ The driver got out and walked around the car to her, his greeting rasping her already jittery nerves. Where was Kazim? Was he so sure she’d go back with him that he hadn’t even considered it necessary to fetch her personally?

For a moment she wanted to bolt back inside the flat. If he couldn’t be bothered to greet her himself why was she even thinking of going with him? Did he assume he could just pack her up like a parcel and send her back to the desert?

The driver took her bag and opened the back door of the car. Apprehension skittered over her as she stepped into the spacious interior. But it was already occupied. A startled gasp escaped her before she had a chance of regaining composure as Kazim sat, full of regal command, watching her.

Calm, completely sure of himself and devilishly handsome, he sat and watched her as she froze, unable to sit or turn back. She could see the question in his eyes and wondered if he sensed the turmoil racing through her at top speed. Warily, she sat opposite him, not daring to get too close to the commanding presence that radiated from him and was sapping her strength.

Nerves mixed with anxiety, making her irrationally angry. He hadn’t bothered to get out of the car, much less speak to her. She shot him a glare. ‘You could at least say good morning.’

He smiled. A slow sexy smile that deepened his eyes to the colour of the midnight sky. He was far too sure of himself. ‘If it makes you feel better, I will. Good morning, Amber.’ His voice sounded deeper, more intense than she had ever noticed before. ‘It is, however, not long since we parted.’

She refused to rise further to the bait and focused instead on the streets of Paris, the daily life she’d found so entertaining beginning around them. As the car moved silently, like a predator stealing her away, she glanced up at the magnificent buildings. Then the chic cafés that she’d always promised herself she’d visit passed before her, teasing her with all she hadn’t yet done.

It didn’t seem possible that this man had managed to turn her life upside down again. Worse still was the fact that she’d given him all the ammunition he’d needed, by telling him about Claude. He wouldn’t have had any kind of lever if she’d said nothing. She should have just refused to go back with him. Insisted on a divorce.

‘Not long enough,’ she said quickly, her tone flippant. ‘I just wish our next meeting had been for the purpose it should have been for—to arrange a divorce.’ She turned to look at his face and tried not to pay any attention to the way her body reacted to being so close to him. Those childish dreams of passion and happy endings needed to be stamped out once and for all—and quickly.

‘Things have changed.’ He leant forward in the seat, coming too close to her, serving only to increase her irritation. His heady aftershave, potent within the confines of the car, caused her heartbeat to accelerate rapidly. She couldn’t allow him to affect her like this, to turn her insides to molten lava with just a look. She had to maintain control.

‘It’s you who came to find me, Kazim. It’s you who needs me.’ She injected a steely edge into her voice, wondering why she’d ever agreed to his demands—but instantly reminded herself of Claude. This could be his only chance to get the treatment he needed. So, for Claude, she would go. She would protect her foolish heart and keep her distance from Kazim. It was the only option she could see right now.

He sat back, the movement drawing her from her thoughts, and she watched as he reached inside his jacket pocket for his phone. What was wrong with him? He couldn’t even give her his full attention.

‘No, Amber, it is you who needs me. You want funds for the child’s operation and, deep down, you must want to please your family, to build bridges. You need this marriage as much as I do.’

She clenched her teeth, biting back the retort. How could he think she wanted to please her family after they’d disowned her? There was no going back; they’d made that quite clear. ‘I don’t have a family, thanks to you.’

He looked at her and a question sparked in his eyes but he said nothing, his silence goading her, making her press home her point.

‘You saw to that when you sent me back to them. They were so horrified and ashamed that you’d turned your back on me, they sent me to England.’ But England hadn’t quite been the punishment intended. She’d met distant relations of her grandmother’s and there had gained the strength to move to Paris, a city that had always entranced her.

It still hurt like hell to think of her father’s proud face, barely able to conceal his disappointment. Her marriage, he’d told her, hadn’t achieved anything but disgrace as far as he was concerned. If her husband had turned her away after one night, her father had raged, then he too had no option but to send her away.

Amber looked at the passing streets, the impressive Eiffel Tower as it rose skywards above the city. She hadn’t even made it there, let alone the galleries and museums. But she hadn’t expected to be leaving so soon.

‘They shouldn’t have done that.’ Kazim finally spoke, his voice velvety-smooth yet hard-edged, and she reluctantly dragged her gaze from the beautiful city. ‘Your father got what he wanted out of our union. His lands are now very prosperous.’

She shook her head. ‘You don’t understand, Kazim.’

‘What is there to understand?’ His expression hardened as he looked at her before returning his attention to his phone. Seconds later he spoke into the phone in his native tongue and, like a chant, it wound its way around her, tugging at her memories. It took her back to the days when she’d been happy, the long lazy days of childhood spent in her father’s homeland, Quarazmir, to a time when all had been right in her world. At least until she’d been sent to boarding school in England to enable her to learn more of her English heritage, something her father had insisted upon and her mother had fought hard against.

Amber pushed those thoughts aside as Kazim finished his call, slipped the phone back inside his jacket pocket and looked at her. ‘The jet is ready and waiting. We shall be there in little more than an hour.’

‘An hour? I thought we were going to Barazbin.’ Confusion pushed aside her daydreams of times long since passed, sharply bringing the present into focus.

‘I am on my way to England. I have business to conclude before returning to Barazbin.’

Shock ricocheted through her like a pinball. He hadn’t come to Paris especially for her. He’d just stopped off on his journey as if she was nothing more than an irritating loose end that needed tying up. Anger quickly followed the shock and she clenched her fingers tightly in her lap, her nails biting into her palms.

‘You should have told me. I could have made better plans for leaving.’ Or not left at all. Then she remembered Claude and what he stood to gain from her deal with this devil. Guilt tore through her once again. She was doing this for Claude and Annie, not for herself and never for Kazim. As soon as she could, she would leave Barazbin and her marriage behind.

‘What plans would they have been? To slip away, assume a new identity and take on another job in an equally unsavoury establishment?’ Although his deep voice was courteous there was an underlying patronising kick in it.

She blushed. He’d guessed her thoughts but she kept her voice light, trying to provoke a reaction from him, to shake his rigid composure. ‘Would you rather I had told everyone who I was?’

‘No.’ His voice was brusque as she sat forward again. ‘But be warned, Amber. If this episode in your life gets out and threatens all I’m trying to achieve in Barazbin, you will pay dearly.’

‘Now we are getting to the bottom of it all.’ She smiled sarcastically at him. ‘Just what is it you are trying to do—apart from blow my life to pieces again? Why exactly am I, the woman you married and turned your back on in one night, so necessary?’

Just when she thought she was about to unravel the mystery of Kazim’s sudden intrusion into her life, the car stopped. The private jet looming above them brought reality hurtling at her.

She was about to leave with Kazim—a man who had dismissed her from his life so coldly. She had no idea when she would return to Paris, but one thing she was sure of was that she would not be staying in Barazbin long.

* * *

‘We’re here,’ Kazim said, grateful for their timely arrival at the airport. He’d nearly let things slip, nearly told her she was not only of paramount importance to his succession to the throne, but crucial in a deal he was making—a deal to secure peace to his people, a deal very important to him. It was his duty to return to Barazbin with her. A duty he intended to fulfil, whatever obstacles he had to remove.

He’d always wanted to help the nomadic tribes, previously his father’s venture. Now it was time for Kazim to step aside from his successful oil company and take up the position he’d been born to. Duty called and that call was becoming increasingly more insistent.

In an effort to forget a life he’d been forced to forgo, he focused his attention on Amber, watched as she all but physically rooted herself to the seat, her full lips parting, drawing his gaze, and his control wavered. She’d thrown herself at him on their wedding night and he’d turned his back on her. He’d had his reasons—good reasons. But now he couldn’t ignore what he’d felt that night, stirrings of passion so strong it still simmered in his blood. He wanted her.

Was that so wrong? For a man to want his wife?

He leant further forward, closing the distance between them, surprising himself as much as her, as his lips claimed hers. A dizzying sensation hurtled around his body as he met no resistance from her, her lips moving beneath his. After a second she stilled as if she was about to pull away then her lips parted against his, encouraging him. She tasted of mint, so clean and vibrant it infused his body, making him want much more than a kiss.

The polite cough of the driver and the cool air rushing into the car dampened the desire flooding his body and he moved abruptly away. Her lovely face was flushed beneath her dusky complexion, her eyes burnished bronze and her lips plump and extremely kissable.

His body stiffened. As did his resolve to achieve what he’d set out to do. Reclaim his wife. It was more than time to claim his bride, make her his.

‘You are my wife, Amber, and it is past time you started being just that.’ The harshness of his voice had echoes of his father, but he couldn’t dwell on that now. Not when hot desire raced around him in a way he’d never experienced before.

‘No, I can’t.’ Her eyes were wide with shock, her cheeks lightly flushed, fuelling his desire even more.

‘I will not accept that. You belong to me and it’s time I claimed what is mine.’ Even to his ears his words sounded barbaric, like something uttered by a sheikh of many years ago—or his bullying father. He’d never wanted to be either but as soon as his lips had touched hers he’d lost all reason, all ability to think rationally. Wildness raced in his blood, driving him on.

‘Please, Kazim, I can’t be your wife,’ she begged, her eyes beseeching him. ‘You can’t just whisk me back to Barazbin.’

‘We’re not there yet.’ A gust of wind all but snatched his words away as he got out of the car, tossing them around the airfield, and he saw a frown of confusion furrow her brow.

‘Why did I have to come now?’ Amber got out of the car, the wind pressing her blouse against her, and he savoured her slender figure until she glared at him. She stepped closer to him, her chin lifted in defiance and, although her height didn’t quite match his, she was still tall for a woman. ‘I’m not a wayward pet that needs bringing to heel.’

‘This way,’ Kazim said, touching her arm and guiding her towards the plane, determined not to rise to her provocation. At his side, she kept pace with his strides and it felt strangely right to be walking with her, as if they were matched and meant to be so.

‘We will stay in London this evening. Tomorrow, we will attend a polo match where I am due to meet with several other rulers. Once my business is concluded we will return to Barazbin.’

He climbed the steps into the small private jet, turning as he entered it. ‘From the small amount of luggage you have, I’m assuming you don’t have evening wear or anything suitable for a polo weekend.’

‘Weekend? This is getting worse by the minute, Kazim. Why can’t I just travel back to Barazbin with you?’ Her eyes were wide as she stood on the threshold of the jet, looking like a startled animal. A flicker of guilt pulled at him but he couldn’t afford to heed it now, not when so much was at stake. If emotional force was needed to keep her at his side then so be it.

‘Do you really need to ask?’ He pushed aside all notions of guilt, needing to remain focused.

‘Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.’ Indignation made her stand tall and he met her gaze, seeing the challenge in her eyes.

‘You could refuse to go.’ She would have every right to do so. He knew that, just as he knew how he’d handled things on their wedding day would be enough to make any woman turn and run. But she hadn’t, because last night he’d seized the one thing that meant something to her and used it to his full advantage. She’d made it all surprisingly easy for him.

‘As long as you keep your side of the bargain and send Claude to the States, I will go with you. For a time, at least.’ Her eyes hardened and deepened to mahogany as she looked at him, defiantly laying down a challenge. He held her gaze and something zipped between them—something more than just attraction and desire. Again, he ignored it—for now.

‘The child will have his medical treatment; you have my word. I will send the one person I trust above all others to ensure that.’ The flight attendant halted any further discussion on the subject as she showed them to their seats and carried out the necessary safety checks in the cabin. He sat and relief rushed over him as Amber did too, but she didn’t look at him, pretending instead to be engrossed in a magazine.

* * *

Amber wanted to get up and run out of the plane. She watched as the flight attendant closed the door, its heavy clunk ominously final. Was it final? Was she leaving to go back to Barazbin for good? No—she shook her head in silent denial—she couldn’t do that.

As the jet soared up into the sky she gripped the seat, keeping her attention focused directly ahead of her. Could Kazim really appear out of nowhere and blackmail her to go back and be his wife—forever? She didn’t think she had the strength to resist him for long. His kiss just now had proved that. She’d wanted to push against him, but instead had yielded. What would have happened if the driver hadn’t opened the door at that moment?

The plane levelled off and she turned to look at him, finding he was watching her intently. ‘How long am I expected to be in Barazbin?’ She was amazed at the calm tone of her voice and, judging by his expression, so was he.

‘That is a strange question when you are my wife.’ He treated her to one of his most charming smiles, the kind that had robbed her of her heart within seconds of seeing him for the first time.

She’d been young and naïve then, swept up in the romance of being engaged to such a handsome man. She’d known of him long before she’d met him and had fallen in love with what she now knew was the fantasy conjured up by her imagination.

‘For almost a year, Kazim, we have led completely separate lives. I am your wife in name only, nothing more.’ Because you refused me, turned me away in disgust. The words were on the tip of her tongue and she pressed her lips firmly together to prevent them from leaving. He must never know how humiliated she’d been when he’d rejected her. A man legendary for his prowess as a lover, her mother had warned, would not be expecting a simpering girl. Heeding that warning had been her one mistake and one which ended her marriage before it had begun.

‘I have been busy with many problems since our wedding. I hope now all those issues can finally be resolved. My father’s ill health worsened the situation, forcing me to return to the palace. On our return, all will be well.’ His words rushed her back to the present faster than the jet was flying. She mustn’t dwell on that night. She had to be as strong as he now was; it was her only defence.

‘Our return?’

‘Yes, Amber. You are Princess of Barazbin and you have a duty to your people, just as I do. Your return is expected in the current circumstances.’ Had she missed something when her mind had been back in the past? Had he told her just why he was demanding her return?

‘What circumstances?’ She heard the slight tremor in her voice and hated herself for it.

‘As I explained last night, my father is ill. He is a weakening man and, despite whatever else I think of him, he is a good ruler. He wants to secure the future for his people. A future both you and I are duty-bound to play a part in.’

‘I am not returning to Barazbin with you out of any sense of loyalty or duty to your people...’

His words cut across hers. ‘They are your people too.’

She took a deep breath, composed herself and spoke with as much regal dignity as possible. ‘I am returning because you have blackmailed me, using a young boy who is in desperate need of help. That is the only reason I am going anywhere with you, Kazim. Don’t ever forget that.’

Not because I am still in love with you.

He rubbed his finger and thumb over his jawline as he took in her words, the shadow of stubble rasping, snagging her attention. His eyes narrowed with suspicion, irritation clear in his voice as he leant towards her. ‘It is not blackmail. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. One we will both gain from.’

How could he possibly believe that, when he’d plainly stated he would walk away from her and from Claude if she didn’t agree to return to Barazbin with him?

She looked at him, aware of the hum of the jet’s engine, taking her on the first part of her journey back to his country, a place she didn’t want to go. And she was going because he held all the cards, wielded all the power.

‘It’s blackmail, Kazim. And you know it.’