Читать книгу Midnight in the Desert Collection - Оливия Гейтс - Страница 47

ON THE MORNING FOLLOWING her flight from Al-Shafeeq, Lauren drove to the cemetery and put white daisies on all three of the family graves. She lingered over her grandmother’s.

“I took the trip you took, Grandmother, and guess what? I, too, fell in love with a great Prince of the desert, but our love wasn’t meant to be. Instead of bringing home his baby beneath my heart, I have two cigar boxes, one with his father’s image on the top, the other of your beloved Malik. I don’t even have a photograph of Rafi.” Tears dropped onto the marker.

“Like you, I can’t go back to get one. All I could do was leave the medallion. It’s in the hands of the man I love. Help me find a way to survive, Grandmother. Please.”

Unwilling for people to see her in this condition, Lauren hurriedly left the cemetery and drove back to the apartment. She knew she had to keep busy or go insane and decided she would start some major housecleaning. One day soon she’d phone her friends, but not right now.

After parking her car on the street behind two limos, she got out, then came to a complete standstill. At least ten men wearing native robes and headscarves blocked the main entrance. Her heart jumped at the sight of them.

“Mademoiselle Viret?”

“Nazir—” she cried, shocked at the sound of the familiar voice.

He walked over to her. “Bonjour, mademoiselle.” He smiled. “Please forgive the intrusion. If you would be so good as to come with us, we’ll escort you to the plane King Umar has sent for you.” The group had surrounded her, leaving her with little room to maneuver.

Her legs felt like water. “Don’t you mean Prince Rashad?” Why would he do this now? It was a cruelty she wouldn’t have expected of him. There could be nothing between them.

“No, mademoiselle. The king wishes you to return immediately. He would have come, but he can’t travel in his condition. He asks if you will be kind enough to spend a few days at Al-Shafeeq with him and his family. He would like to meet Princess Lauren, the American granddaughter of King Malik.”

Princess—

This meant Rashad had told his father everything. Lauren couldn’t stop her body from trembling. “Much as I would love to meet him, I can’t.” She needed to root Rafi out of her heart. Of course that would never be possible, but to return to Al-Shafeeq …

“Prince Rashad predicted you would say that. He asked me to tell you that he will be away from the palace while you’re there.”

Her pain grew worse.

“Since he won’t be present, he says there’s no reason for you not to come. It will make his father and mother and his sisters very happy, unless you can’t forgive him for a deception he felt compelled to carry out at the time for the safety of his family.”

She rubbed her temples where she felt a headache coming on from all her crying.

“He at least asks you to forgive him as you would one who believes that the ways of his tribe are the laws of nature.”

Oh, Rafi. Another one of his unique sayings that made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. This one wound its way into her heart with the rest of them.

She bit her lip. “Are you saying the king wants me to come now?”

“Yes. He hoped it would be a good time since you haven’t yet settled back in to your home here.”

Rafi might not be at the Oasis right now, but he knew her whereabouts and had eyes in the back of his head. “I would have to pack.”

“The prince says that unlike other tourists you are a master at packing lightly. He is very impressed.”

Oh Rafi …

“The King urges you to come. He says to remind you he’s not well. He may not be your father, but you share the same blood and he already loves you as his half-daughter. He’s aware your own father died before you could get to know him. Will you please accept him as your second father and allow him to spoil you a little bit?”

Her eyes smarted. Sheer blackmail.

Like father like son.

Lauren found King Umar to be much like any father and grandfather, surrounded by his family and loving it. The real miracle was that Lauren was a legitimate part of that family. He and his wife accepted her as if she were their long-lost daughter.

For three days they’d gathered at meal times in the king’s sitting room to hear the story of her grandmother’s great love affair with King Malik.

Naturally the conversation turned to Lauren and the things she’d done with her life. The older children bombarded her with questions about the places she’d traveled, the sights she’d seen when Richard Bancroft had been alive to take her on some of his expeditions.

On the third afternoon, Farah asked Lauren to go on a horseback ride with her around the perimeter of the Oasis. Knowing she’d ridden Zia before, Abdul had the mare saddled and ready for her. The horse made a nickering sound and nudged Lauren in greeting. When she mounted her, the memories were so overwhelming, it was almost debilitating for her.

“The family loves you, Lauren.” She and Farah rode side by side. Their bodyguards went along at a discreet distance.

“I love all of you.”

“Before you leave, there’s something you should know.”

Lauren couldn’t do this anymore. “Farah—if this is about your brother, I’d rather nothing was said.”

“But you need to know he talked to my father on the day you flew to Geneva. Whatever was said, his wedding to the princess was called off permanently.”

A moan escaped her lips. “What a sad day for everyone.”

“Not for Rashad. He couldn’t marry a woman he didn’t love.”

Lauren gripped the reins so tightly, it cut off the circulation in her hands. “Does this mean your father will allow him to choose the woman he wishes to marry?”

“I don’t know. But since he didn’t force him to marry Princess Azzah, I have to hope he won’t command him to marry someone else who will mean nothing to him.”

At the thought of Rashad choosing a woman he could eventually love, physical pain attacked Lauren. “I’m sorry, Farah, but I can’t talk about this. I can’t.”

“I’m sorry if I have distressed you. Come. We’ll go back. The family is planning a special farewell dinner for you.”

“Everyone has done more than enough for me.”

“You still don’t understand, do you? My father has asked you to stay here and live with us.”

“I know, and I’m very touched, but I couldn’t. My life is in Switzerland.”

“Life is where your heart is,” Farah corrected her.

Lauren had no answer for that. They rode back to the palace in silence.

After a long swim, the two of them parted company so they could get ready for dinner. Once back in the garden suite, Lauren showered and put on a filmy plum-colored sundress with spaghetti straps.

Because of King Umar’s poor health, they ate all their meals in his sitting room, this farewell dinner being no exception. Seventeen family members gathered round.

Lauren and her grandmother had been a twosome before Richard had come along to make it three. To belong to such a big family now could have been a real joy except for one thing. One person.

Rafi’s absence was the camel in the room no one talked about. Lauren missed him so acutely, she wasn’t able to concentrate on the conversations going on around her. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough to end this pain. The king insisted on flying her back to Geneva in his private jet if she wished to go.

After coffee, he clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “One of my duties as king is to secure husbands for my daughters, which I have done. Since my father, King Malik, can’t be here tonight to secure a husband for his granddaughter, Princess Lauren, the great honor has fallen to me.”

Lauren had been eating a sugar-coated almond and almost choked on it.

“As I have the power to act in his stead, I’ve chosen a man of our tribe who is in every way worthy to be your husband. In a few minutes you will meet him and tomorrow formal negotiations will be made for your marriage.”

Her eyes widened. Surely the king didn’t mean it, yet when she looked around, everyone was staring at her with a pleased expression—except Farah.

The princess got to her feet. “You can’t do this, Father. She’s not used to our traditions.”

Lauren loved Farah for defending her. What the king had just said might have made sense to him, but it was impossible!

He nodded his graying head. “Nevertheless, it is not your place to counsel me, Farah,” he spoke kindly. “Please sit down. Lauren has no one to protect her. We are her family now and must do what is best for her.”

“But—”

“No buts. You’ve told me on more than one occasion that you have been very happy with my choice of husband for you. Therefore, you trust my judgment, don’t you?”

“Yes, but—”

“Silence, my daughter.”

He clapped his hands. Lauren heard the doors to the suite open. She jerked around in absolute panic and saw Rafi in the entry wearing a cream silk robe. Her heart turned into a battering ram as he walked into the room and sat down next to his father.

Nazir had assured her Rafi would stay away from the palace during her visit, yet here he was with that tall powerful body, looking more princely than any prince. The king must have insisted his son come to watch, but she couldn’t do this, and she jumped to her feet.

She felt Rafi’s piercing gaze on her, but she kept her eyes focused on King Umar. “Princess Farah was right, Your Highness. Though the last thing I would ever want to do is offend you, I can’t go through with this because I don’t wish to be married.”

“You would say that to me, knowing I want to take care of a great wrong done to one of my family?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but it would be a much greater wrong if I were forced to marry a man I didn’t love no matter how much I appreciate your wanting to take care of me.”

“You prefer to live a solitary life and die of old age without knowing love or children?”

“Millions of women in the world do it,” she stood her ground.

“Not our women,” he came back.

“Putting aside my feelings for a minute, what about the man you would force to marry me? He would be a stranger to me.”

“You will learn to adapt to each other’s differences. A lifetime study to make the other person happy is one of the most exciting aspects of marriage. Let me give you an example. When my wife, Tahirah, and I started out, we were blessed with three baby girls.

“But during the pregnancy with Farah—which had taken a long time to happen—there were problems. Dr. Tamam said that once the baby was delivered, my wife would never be able to have another baby.

“We realized it wasn’t written in the stars, but deep inside I knew my wife suffered because she could never give me a son. Deep inside I suffered because I knew she was suffering and I couldn’t take her condition away.

“The night Farah was born, I was away fighting. It was at that same time my best friend Saud died saving my life. That night I learned his wife, Fadwa, had been killed in a village raid. When I found her body, I discovered she’d just delivered a baby boy who was still alive.

“I took him home to my wife, only to discover our little Farah lying in her arms. When I showed her Saud’s son, she loved him on sight and asked if we couldn’t keep him and raise him as our own. That was the wish of my heart, too, so the two babies became our twins. Only Dr. Tamam knew our secret.”

All around Lauren she heard gasps, but none were greater than her own.

“Nothing could have made us happier. A life for a life. Though Saud’s and his wife’s deaths came at the appointed hour, their child’s did not. Together, Tahirah and I vowed to raise him as if he’d been born from our bodies.

“I called him Rashad in honor of his birth father who was a man of flawless integrity. My wife called him Rayhan, the favoured one. His best friend called him Rafi, the exalted one.”

Rafi.

“He’s headstrong and modern-thinking. Indeed, he’s so much like Saud, who always had vision, it has been as if I had my friend back in the form of his perfect son.”

His wife nodded. “Rashad has been so perfect, there’s been no princess to measure up to him. We feared we’d never find one good enough for him which is why we hadn’t forced a marriage before now. But with his thirty-fifth birthday approaching, we picked Princess Azzah in desperation. She had some of the qualities we knew Rashad would admire.”

King Umar nodded. “Then fate worked its will once more, and my father’s granddaughter suddenly appeared out of the desert, more royal than any princess we could have found for our son.

“You have Shafeeq blood flowing through your veins, Lauren.” He smiled at her. “We know Rashad very well and recommend him highly. He will make you a fine husband. Your marriage will secure the sheikhdom for Rashad after I’m gone.”

Lauren’s gaze fused with Rafi’s as he started across the room toward her, but she was feeling light-headed. The last thing she remembered hearing was Farah’s squeal of happiness before everything began to spin.

When she regained consciousness, her eyelids fluttered open and she became aware Rafi had brought her to the garden suite. She was lying on her bed.

“Rafi?”

He poured a glass of water for her. “Drink this first,” he said emotionally, cradling the back of her head to help her.

Lauren stared at his beloved face while she drank. It was déjà vu for the third or fourth time. She’d lost track.

When he put the glass on the bedside table, she raised up on one elbow. His concerned black eyes made a swift inventory of her features. “Your color’s coming back.”

“What happened?”

“You fainted when my father said I would make you a good husband. I need to know if you did that because something has changed and you don’t want to be my wife. He insisted on handling everything his way. I know it made him happier than he’s been in years, but the truth is, I came close to having a heart attack when you slumped in my arms.”

“You caught me?” she cried out in wonder.

“I watched your face start to turn white and acted before you slid to the floor. Don’t ever do that to me again, darling. I couldn’t take it.”

“I’ve never fainted in my life.” She looped her arms around his neck and pulled him down. He stretched out on the bed beside her. “I think it might have been because I had been granted the wish of my heart and my body couldn’t take in that much joy all at once. A miracle has happened to us,” she cried. “Oh, Rafi—”

She started kissing him all over his face, his hair, his neck. “Don’t move. Don’t leave me. I’m going to need till morning to believe this is really happening to us. I love my grandmother for giving me the medallion. I’m crazy about your parents for loving you enough to hold off on finding you a wife until I blew into your life. I love and adore you so terribly, it hurts.”

“Even when I was so cruel to you on our campout?” he whispered against her lips.

“I knew there had to be a reason. The more I saw of you, the more I wanted to be with you. I lived for the moments you walked in this suite. Every time I saw you, I couldn’t wait to find out what little tortures you had in store for me. At the Garden of the Moon I was shameless with desire for you.”

“Do you think a woman with less fire or passion could ever have held me?” he cried huskily. “Those were gifts I never planned on in this life. Then, when I thought they were miraculously within reach, it was all snatched away by your confession about our grandfather. My heart came close to dying.” “So did mine.”

He kissed her deeply, then fastened the chain with the medallion around her neck. “I love you, Lauren. Marry me.”

She touched it, feeling the warmth of his fingers against the metal. “I already feel married to you. Does that shock you?”

“No, kalida. It thrills and humbles me.”

“Kalida?”

“My love, my darling.” He sealed the endearment with another kiss that swept her away.

When she could breathe again she said, “I’ve been thinking about what to do with all my money, my inheritance. I want it to go into a fund for some of your big plans for the kingdom. My grandmother will be entirely approving. Anything you want, but I’ll hold a little of it back to hire more bodyguards to protect you. I’m determined to stave off your appointed time until we’re old and can die together.”

“Your wish is my command.”

When Lauren’s cell phone rang, she felt too nauseous to turn on her other side and reach for it. But she made the effort anyway because it might be her husband. He’d wanted to make love this morning before leaving for Raz early, but she’d pretended to be asleep so he wouldn’t know how sick she felt.

One look at the caller ID and she realized it was Farah calling. Making another superhuman effort, she clicked on and said hello to her sister-in-law.

“Good morning, Lauren. How would you like to go riding with me this morning?”

“Much as I’d love to, I’m feeling a little under the weather. Perhaps tomorrow morning. Please don’t tell anyone else. I’m hoping it will pass because I don’t want Rafi worrying about me. He has enough on his mind right now winding up the completion of the new smelter.”

“Do you feel too awful for a visitor?”

Farah was excited about something. After four months of living at the palace, Lauren was adept at reading her moods. “No. Just walk in. I barely woke up and am still in bed.”

“I’ll be right there.”

No sooner had Lauren hung up, than she had to dash to the bathroom where she was promptly sick. After rinsing out her mouth and brushing her teeth, she felt a little better, but she’d clearly caught some kind of bug. Yesterday morning she’d felt it coming on. Oddly enough tea and a roll suddenly sounded good to her.

She rang the housekeeper and asked that a tray be sent. Enough for two. Then she got back in Rafi’s bed. They’d been living in his suite. As soon as he could take a few days off, they were going to fly to Switzerland. She planned to put the apartment up for sale and have all her things shipped to Al-Shafeeq. What they couldn’t use, she would put in storage. Rafi wanted her to be completely happy.

While her thoughts were on her fantastic husband, Farah arrived at the same time as the maid and brought the breakfast tray into the bedroom. She put it on the coffee table and flashed Lauren a speculative glance.

“I thought you didn’t feel well.”

“Right after I got off the phone with you, I was sick in the bathroom. Now I’m hungry.”

“How long has this been going on?”

Lauren blinked. “I started feeling queasy yesterday morning.”

Farah’s dark eyes lit up with excitement. “Both my pregnancies started off exactly like that. I bet you’re carrying Rashad’s baby.”

Lauren slid off the bed and hurried over to hug Farah. “If I thought that were true, I’d fly to Raz and tell him.”

“Then get dressed and go to the clinic. Dr Tamam will verify one way or the other. If you’re not pregnant, then Rashad will want to know why you’re ill because he watches every move you make. Honestly, Lauren, he’s so in love with you it’s sickening … in the most wonderful way of course.”

“I feel the same way about him.” She bit into a roll and followed it with several swallows of sweet tea.

Farah smiled. “The whole palace knew the day after you arrived here the first time.”

A blush crept up Lauren’s neck and cheeks. “I’m sure they do.” She finished off her roll. “Before I get dressed and take your advice, tell me what you wanted to talk to me about.”

“Well, Abdul and I have made a decision. Since Father and Mother told us Rashad wasn’t their blood child, it has convinced us to adopt a baby. At first I was afraid to do it because I didn’t think I could be a good mother. But when I see Rashad and Mother together, I know she loves him as if she’d given birth to him.”

“Oh, Farah—” Lauren reached out and hugged her again, much harder this time. “That’s the most wonderful news I ever heard. Now, come to the clinic with me and we’ll see what the wise doctor has to say about me.”

While Rashad was inspecting the smelter, he saw three helicopters from his father’s fleet headed for Raz. Something had to be wrong, He whipped out his phone and called Nazir to find out what was going on.

“Nothing I’ve been informed about, Your Highness.”

With his heart starting to thud, Rashad rang off and left the smelter for the area where the helicopters were about to land. Soon the doors opened and more guards poured out followed by a golden-haired woman. Lauren!

She jumped down and ran toward him.

He caught her in his arms and swung her around. Her fragrance, the feel of her body intoxicated him. “What are you doing here? You’ve never flown to Raz to see me before.”

Her head fell back so she could look into his eyes. The light green of hers between those dark lashes dazzled him. “Forgive me for intruding, but something important has happened and I couldn’t wait to tell you. I’ll go inside your office until you can take a break.”

“We’ll go together. I decided not to eat lunch so I could get home faster to you this afternoon.”

With their arms wrapped around each other’s waists, they entered the building and hurried toward his office suite. Once inside, he closed the door and locked it.

“It’s so hot! You need some water first.” She would have gone over to his mini fridge to get him a bottle, but he pulled her back.

“First I need this!“ His dark head descended and his mouth covered hers, devouring her with shocking hunger, as if they’d never kissed before. “I missed you this morning,” he confessed on a ragged breath.

She knew what he meant. “I wanted you more than anything, too, but I didn’t feel well. I’ve just been consulting with Dr. Tamam, actually. It’s why I’m here.”

In the next instant he took a shuddering breath and his hands tightened around her upper arms. She saw that white ring encircle his seductive mouth; she had come to recognize it as fear. “I’ve been too happy,” his voice throbbed. “Tell me what’s wrong with you.” She actually saw tears in his eyes.

Lauren stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips, but they refused to cooperate until she gave him his answer. “I’m two months pregnant. We’re either going to have a little Saud or a little Fadwa. Your birth parents made the most gorgeous son who ever lived. With you as the father of our child, we’ll have to keep him or her scarfed for protection.”

An explosion of joy lit up the deep recesses of Rafi’s eyes. He picked Lauren up and carried her through to his apartment. Over the last four months he’d taken her to his bed more times than he wanted anyone to know about, but he’d never put her down so gently before. She was a miracle to him. He slid his hand over her stomach to feel her.

Her heart shone out of her eyes. “Rafi, it’ll be a few months before we feel the little one kicking, but our baby’s in there. The doctor has given me some medicine to help with my morning sickness. I hope that tomorrow morning I’ll be able to wake you up first.

“I love mornings with you, Rafi. But then, I love every second of the day and night with you. I told Dr. Tamam I have a sickness because of you. Do you know what he said?”

“What?” he whispered, tracing her delectable mouth with his finger.

“That you were the luckiest of men to have a wife with such a sickness. He said he would pray that I’d go to my grave with it.” She kissed his finger. “I told him not to bother. He’d do better to pray that I don’t wear you out with my love. That’s the reason I haven’t come to Raz before now. I haven’t wanted to distract you from your work.”

He rolled her over carefully on top of him. “I dare you to try.”

“You mean now?”

“Now,” he growled into her neck.

Lauren’s breath caught. “Don’t you have to go back to work?”

“No. I’ve got all the work I can handle right here.”

“Hours and hours?” she asked, already out of breath.

“Maybe days.”

“Darling.”