Annie West - Royals Untamed!

‘On our wedding day you tried to be something which I now know you were not. Now I discover you knew of your father’s allegiance with the rebels. How can I ever trust you?’

If he could walk away from her at this minute he would. But he couldn’t. They were trapped together in this tent and, judging by the sound of the wind outside, they would be for some time yet. Could he turn it to his advantage? Find out the truth about the woman he’d married, once and for all?

* * *

Amber sighed. Did he not trust anything she’d said or done? ‘From day one of our marriage it was doomed. You didn’t want to believe me; you only wanted to believe what you saw—or what you thought you saw.’

‘What I saw then and still see now is a woman who was very proficient at weaving a web of lies. The same woman who is unable to deny the facts I’ve just presented her with. You do not know truth.’ His words were slow but firm and she glanced up at his profile, his handsome face drawn into a mask of concentration.

Around them the wind buffeted the tent, seemingly determined to gain entry. Nervously she watched the fabric shifting ominously in the low light from the lanterns. It should be romantic, a time for two lovers to come together and lose themselves from the outside world.

But they were not lovers. What they shared was an undeniable spark of attraction—one that demanded satisfaction and one she was sure would fade in time until it was nothing more than glowing coals amidst a dying fire.

‘I was doing my duty, Kazim. Surely you, of all people, can relate to that?’ They had been forced together by the might of the desert and he had to listen to her, had to see why she’d acted as she had. She pressed on before he added anything and distracted her from her mission. ‘It was made very clear to me that, to inherit your father’s kingdom, it was of the utmost importance that our marriage went ahead.’

‘That, at least, is true.’ He picked up a gold cushion, absently examining the braiding. Anything other than look at her it seemed. ‘I was told much the same. As long as we consummated the marriage it did not matter if we lived together afterwards or not—for a while, at least. That is the only reason I agreed to it.’

‘But you weren’t even able to consummate the marriage.’ Anger burst to life once more inside her, rushing through her veins so insistently she wanted to get up off the bed and run as far away as possible. She fought the urge with everything she had. ‘Why was that, Kazim? Did you hate me that much?’

‘No!’ He rounded on her, furiously throwing the cushion aside. ‘I hated that we were forced to marry. I had a life. I’d built up a successful business. I never wanted to inherit.’

He took a deep breath and looked at her and she waited, biting down on her lip anxiously.

‘I didn’t want responsibility either for the people of Barazbin or for you. I didn’t want to desire you or make you truly my wife because you represented all that I resented.’

His harsh words hit hard and she blinked in shock. He really did dislike her and certainly hated the fact that they had been forced to marry. As soon as she could she would leave this country, this man, and go back home to Paris.

‘I had no knowledge of what my father was doing,’ she pushed on, needing to clear her name, but not wanting to cause any problems for her mother. It wasn’t going to be achievable, judging from the look on Kazim’s face.

He got up and marched away from her, pacing across the carpet so fast it was as if he would at any moment walk out beyond the tent and into the desert, which she was quickly realising was his mistress.

He turned to her, anger evident in the rigidity of his stance. ‘You should have told me.’

Her eyes widened in shock. This was the last thing she’d expected to hear from him and she could barely stammer out the words. ‘I couldn’t...my mother...’ she stammered, feeling as if she was losing her footing.

‘Don’t try and tell me you didn’t know anything about it, that your mother was the one who told you.’

‘I didn’t.’ Her words were a strangled whisper, his nearness and the shock of his accusation clamping tightly on her throat. He didn’t believe anything she said and never had.

The blackness of his eyes darkened and the intensity of his gaze became too much and she moved away from him, walking across the carpet as he had just done. Beneath her feet the sand moved, reminding her just how volatile the peace they’d recently shared actually was.

‘But you still didn’t tell me.’ It wasn’t a question, but a statement. One filled with regret. ‘You had plenty of opportunity to tell me on the drive here.’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realise the importance or significance of what I’d learnt and then you talked of your father. The time didn’t feel right.’ She wished now she’d insisted she had something important to say, but he’d opened up to her, let her into his world, just for a moment.

‘That was a discussion you forced on me.’ He gritted his teeth and she knew she was pushing him too far, but suddenly she realised she had to.

Here in this tent, with a sandstorm threatening, she had to force him to face up to his emotions. Maybe then there would be a future together, but if there wasn’t she had at least tried. Once and for all she had to admit what was between them. It was up to her, it seemed, to decide just what it was. Suddenly nothing was more important. She had to know what it meant to her, as well as Kazim.

‘You lock everyone out, Kazim. Why?’

His breathing deepened but he remained where he was, glaring at her.

‘Don’t try to analyse my emotions, Amber. That is a game you will not win.’

‘This is not a game. This is real.’ She moved towards him so that she stood close enough to feel the heat from his body, hear the deep breaths he took.

‘Be very careful, Amber.’ He growled out the words. ‘You might find you’re taking on more than you can handle.’

‘I can handle this,’ she snapped, glad that the simmering tension was finally about to boil over. ‘I’m telling you I knew nothing of the money you have been sending to my father. If I did I would never have worked in that club or lived in that flat and it would have been me helping Annie and Claude—me, not you.’

The tirade rushed from her like an avalanche, gathering speed and power as it went until her heart raced and her head throbbed.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion but before he could say anything she pushed on.

‘I admit I came with you to Barazbin because you were going to help Claude, and that I intended to go back to Paris as soon as I could. But I also came because I needed to explore what is between us and because, deep down, I wanted to.’

‘You wanted to?’ He looked at her in complete disbelief. ‘That is as far from the truth as you can possibly get. As soon as I found you in that club you were talking of a divorce.’

‘Because I thought that was what you wanted.’ The wind seemed to rush at the tent but she didn’t take her eyes from his. ‘You rejected me, Kazim, and I will never forget how that felt. I tried to be what you wanted, but it wasn’t enough. The disgust in your eyes nearly killed me.’

It also nearly killed my love for you.

‘I didn’t expect my wife to come with a baggage of scandal.’ The words snapped from him but she didn’t care. The lines of communication had at last been opened. If nothing else, she would find out why he’d turned her away so brutally.

‘But I thought...’ What had she thought? That he’d been so enraged to find out she was an inexperienced virgin, he’d turned her away?

‘What did you think?’ he asked.