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His hawk-like features hardened and his eyes darkened. He moved his hand to her waist, his thumb softly stroking at the metallic indentation before propelling her towards a gilded anteroom, where silent servants were circulating with trays of drinks. ‘Then let’s do what we need to do,’ he said roughly. ‘Let’s play out this pantomime to the full until I can get you alone.’
Hannah’s throat was dry with sudden nerves as she was introduced to guest after stellar guest, but it wasn’t social unease which was making her feel jittery. It was the unmistakable message of sexual intent which glittered from Kulal’s black eyes whenever he looked at her—which was a lot. Had she really been naïve enough to think that theirs might be a marriage in name only? She found herself wondering if it was obvious to everyone else that the desert King was looking on his new bride with unashamed lust.
And that she was feeling exactly the same way about him.
The wedding feast took place in an enormous dining gallery, with musicians playing a kind of dreamy music she’d never heard before. One elaborate course followed another—so many that Hannah lost count. But she only picked at the delicious fare, because her weighty golden gown didn’t exactly provide a lot of room for expansion. Nobody had actually mentioned her pregnancy—she supposed nobody would dare—but it must have been obvious to anyone, especially to the Zahristan dressmaker who had been dispatched to London to make her wedding gown.
Following a fulsome speech from the country’s Prime Minister and then a few heavily edited anecdotes from Salvatore, she and Kulal stood up to raise their jewel-encrusted goblets in a toast, before entwining arms so that they could drink from each other’s cup. Afterwards, Kulal clasped her fingers in his and led her onto the dance floor. But this was nothing like the private dance they’d shared in Sardinia when they’d been watched by nothing but the silver moon. Now she felt like an exhibit in the zoo as all the guests circled to watch their shimmering movements. Were they observing her bulky silhouette? She was just sixteen weeks pregnant, but her tiny stature made her look much further ahead in her pregnancy than she really was.
And all the longing which had been building up inside her began to evaporate beneath the spotlight of the spectators’ stares. Perhaps they were thinking that Kulal had fallen for the oldest trick in the book—though they’d probably be even more appalled if they realised that theirs had been a one-night relationship. Looking around in vain for the encouraging smile of her sister, Hannah felt like a mannequin in her new husband’s arms. She was relieved when finally he led her from the vaulted gallery, past the bowing servants who lined the corridors as they made their way towards Kulal’s private rooms. Hers, too, from now on, she reminded herself grimly.
But for how long?
As he gestured her inside, Hannah looked around. She’d only been in the palace for a week—which had been spent in her own lavish quarters on the other side of the palace. She had been more than comfortable there, close to the palace’s vast central courtyard, where peacocks wandered amid orange trees and the air was fragrant with the heady perfume of gardenia. Kulal had given her a guided tour of all the state rooms, as well as the dimly lit library with all its ancient books, and she remembered her momentary burst of pleasure as she’d realised that here were all the tools to continue her learning. He had shown her the throne room and the crown jewels—to which she would have unfettered access as his new bride. After that, he had taken her to the state-of-the-art stables, as well as the garage complex with a fleet of cars which could have graced any international Grand Prix circuit.
But nothing could compete with the splendour of the King’s private residence with its soaring pillars and gilded rooms which each flowed seamlessly into the next. Low velvet divans were scattered with brocade cushions and faded silk rugs were strewn over the floors. Intricate silver lanterns hung from the vaulted gleam of the golden ceiling and the air was richly scented with incense.
‘You look subdued, Hannah,’ Kulal observed softly as the massive doors clanged shut behind them, leaving them alone at last. ‘Does the thought of your wedding night fill you with trepidation?’
She met his ebony gaze and remembered what it had been like when she’d used to clean for him in Sardinia, when her days had seemed impossibly simple and free from care compared to now. When he’d shown her his country on the map and talked about mountains and rivers and the rare, pink-tinted Zahristan deer which drank at the crystal streams, and which you could sometimes observe if you were very quiet. Sometimes he would actually ask her opinion about something and his eyes used to gleam with humour when she told it the way it really was. When she’d talked to him as if he were just a normal man, rather than a royal potentate. Couldn’t she do that now?
‘I’m scared I’m going to get lost among all these marble corridors,’ she admitted.
A brief smile played on his lips but, visibly, he seemed to relax. ‘And that’s all?’
No, of course it wasn’t all. She was terrified of the wedding night which lay ahead, despite the desire which was never far from the surface. Terrified that her newly bulky shape would kill his passion for her stone-dead. And there were other fears, too—nebulous things she didn’t dare acknowledge, especially not in these nervous moments before the Sheikh claimed her as she knew he would.
But she had vowed to try to make this marriage work, hadn’t she? To give it her best shot—and she wouldn’t be able to do that if she behaved like a chambermaid. She could only succeed in her role as his desert Queen if she adopted a new confidence—if she started believing in herself and her ability to make this work, as she had done so many times before.
Sucking in a deep breath, she lifted the diamond coronet and the golden veil from her head and carefully set them down on a nearby table and began to walk towards him. Each step felt as if it were covering an infinite amount of space during a short journey which seemed to take for ever. And then she was standing before him, her eyes fixed firmly on his, praying that he would be the master of what happened next because, although she was trying like mad to believe in herself, she didn’t think she was up to seducing the Sheikh in such intimidating surroundings.
‘Not quite all,’ she admitted in a rush. ‘I feel nervous about the night ahead even though I have no right to. I mean, it’s not like I’m a virgin any more, and—’
He silenced her, not with his kiss but with a forefinger placed over her lips. ‘You have every right to feel nervous,’ he said gravely. ‘For although you are no longer a virgin, you are still relatively inexperienced and today must have been very difficult for you in many ways.’
She nodded, warmed enough by his consideration to confide her biggest fear. ‘It was pretty daunting,’ she confessed. ‘And it wasn’t helped by wondering where Tamsyn had got to.’
‘Or Xan Constantinides,’ he offered drily. ‘He left the ballroom soon after her. Didn’t you see them go?’
‘No, I didn’t.’ Hannah bit her lip. ‘Isn’t he supposed to be a terrible womaniser?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘Do you think she’s okay?’
‘I’m sure she’s physically safe, if that’s what you mean—though it’s probably inadvisable to sleep with Xan Constantinides unless she’s prepared to get her heart broken.’
‘That’s the last thing she needs right now!’ said Hannah urgently. ‘Kulal, we’ve got to find her!’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘What do you want me to do—spend my wedding night ordering my guards to extricate Constantinides from her clutches?’
‘Or her from his!’ she declared loyally.
Kulal frowned. ‘Tamsyn is an adult, Hannah—just like you. I’m sure you were the exemplary big sister to her when you were growing up, but don’t you think it’s time you cut the apron strings?’
She’d thought that plenty of times, but habit was one of the hardest things to break. ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea if she starts associating with people who are way out of her league,’ she said, meeting the sudden mockery in Kulal’s eyes.
‘Like you did, you mean?’
