Susan Mallery: The Sheikh and the Bought Bride

He knew Victoria McCallan—at least as much as was necessary to understand her character. She was pretty enough, in an obvious way, with impressive curves and blond hair. She worked for Prince Nadim as his assistant and had spent the past two years trying to get Nadim to notice her. She wanted to marry a prince. She cared nothing for Nadim, not that he could blame her for that. Nadim had the emotional depth of a grain of sand and the personality of gray paint. Still, Victoria had pursued him. Not that he had noticed.

Nadim’s recent engagement to a woman of the king’s choosing had shattered her plans. Kateb was sure that Victoria would soon be leaving their country in search of other potential rich husbands. In the meantime, there was the problem of what to do with her father.

He looked at the head guard. “Take him away.”

Victoria sucked in her breath, then grabbed Kateb’s arm. He ignored his body’s reaction to her touch. She was female, he was male—it meant nothing more than that.

“No. You can’t.” She stared at him. “Please. I’ll do anything.”

He shook off her hand and her claim. “You exceed your position and try my patience.”

“He’s my father.”

Kateb looked between her and the other man. He would have sworn Victoria had nothing but contempt for her father, so why this display of emotion? Why would she care? Unless the situation with Dean wasn’t the main point at all. Did she see this moment as an opportunity? Was one prince as good as another?

There was a time when he had not been so cynical about women. When he had believed in love and marriage and a happy union. But he had spent the past five years being pursued by women on every continent. They didn’t care about him directly—they wanted the title and the wealth that came with marrying a sheik. Nothing more.

He stepped back and looked at the woman before him. She was dressed in silk and lace, and ridiculous slippers. Her long, curly hair, large eyes and red lips were all designed to seduce. Where her robe gaped open, he could see full breasts that quivered with every breath.

She would do whatever was necessary to get what she wanted. And while he respected an adversary who would use any means to win, he didn’t like those tactics being used on him.

Did she really think he was foolish enough to fall for her superficial beauty? How far would she go in her pursuit of a prince?

He looked at the father who stood anxiously awaiting the next move in the game. The man who should be defending his child, yet did nothing. Would Dean allow his daughter to sacrifice herself on his behalf, or was he in on the scam as well? Had they conspired to set up Kateb?

His gut told him they had not, but until he was sure, he would assume the worst.

“Take him into the hallway and keep him there,” Kateb said, his voice low.

The guards grabbed Dean, who whimpered and pleaded, and dragged him out. The door closed behind him.

“What will you do to save your father?” he asked.

“Whatever you ask.”

Something flickered in her blue eyes. Had he been a kinder man, he would have assumed fear. But he hadn’t been kind for many years now.

“It must be difficult for you, a woman alone, to make her way in a man’s world,” he said, ignoring the growing need pounding through his body. Even disheveled and taken from her bed, she appealed to him. “The equality you took for granted in America is more difficult to find here. Yet you have done well. You’ve been Nadim’s assistant for some time now.”

“Two years.”

“A pity about his engagement.”

“He seems very happy.”

“But you are not. All your plans…crushed.”

Her spine stiffened. She stared him in the eye. “That has nothing to do with my father.”

“Are you so sure? Perhaps you are eager to try to win me instead. What an excellent opportunity this must be for you. To present yourself dressed as you are? To beg?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m dressed like this because your guards wouldn’t let me put on regular clothes.”

“And this is how you sleep each night? I think not.”

“Then you need to go check my closet.” Anger added force to her voice. “You think I’m trying to seduce you? That when I woke up and saw five guards standing around my bed I thought it was my lucky day? Oh, goody. Now I get a shot at Prince Kateb? And then they stood there while I flipped through my wardrobe and found something appropriate?”

She dropped her arms to her side. “No, wait. I know. I actually dress like this every night hoping my father, whom I haven’t seen in years, happens to come by where he gets in a card game with you so he can cheat and then you send for me. Thank goodness all my plans are finally working out.”

She had a point, he thought grudgingly. Not that he would admit that to her. And she had spirit, which appealed to him nearly as much as her body.

“Do you deny you wished to marry Nadim?” he demanded.

The fight seemed to go out of her. “I wouldn’t have said no,” she admitted, staring at the floor. “But it’s not what you think. It was about security. Princes don’t get divorced. At least not here.”

“But you have no feelings for him.”

“He’s very nice.”

Kateb waited.

She raised her head and glared at him. “What do you want from me? Am I to be punished because I fantasized about marrying a prince? Fine. Do what you want. You have all the power here. Right now I’m more concerned about my father.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s my father.”

“That isn’t the reason. I saw how you looked at him. You resent him for putting you in this position. You are angry with him.”

“He’s still my father.”

Kateb allowed the silence to weigh on her. She stood her ground, meeting his gaze, not speaking. Whatever else there was, she would not tell him. Interesting.

“Will you take his place?” he asked softly.

“Yes.”

“In jail?”

She swallowed. He could smell her fear.

“Yes.”

“Life there is harsh. Unpleasant.”

“I made a promise.”

The words seemed forced out of her. He knew he had won something important but couldn’t say what.

A promise. What did a woman like her know about promises?

He stared into her eyes and saw a lifetime of weariness there. Her soul was old beyond her years. Or was he simply looking for a reason because that appealed to him more than the reality of a mercenary woman taking advantage of the situation?

If only Cantara were here, with him. She would know the truth. But if she were still here, he would not be in this situation. He would not need a night of cards to fill his hours. He would not have to face the darkness that surrounded him. The emptiness.

“Your father attempted to steal from me,” Kateb said coldly. “Had I not caught him cheating, he would have left this place with several hundred thousand dollars.”

Victoria’s breath caught.

“He cheated in the royal palace, with guards in the room. Now that there are consequences, he is content to let you take his place in prison.”

“I know.”

What kind of father did that? Why wasn’t the man willing to be responsible? Why was she enabling his cowardice?

He wanted to teach them both a lesson. The obvious solution was to put Dean McCallan in jail.

“Return to your room,” he told her. “You will be notified when he is sentenced. You will be able to visit with him before he begins serving his time, but not after. There are—”

“No!” She grabbed his arm with both hands. “No. You can’t. Please. I’ll do anything.” Tears filled her eyes. “My mother made me promise I would take care of him. That I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. She died loving him. Please, I beg you. Don’t lock him away. Take me instead. He offered me in the game. Did you tell him no or did you accept? Was I in play? Did you win me?”