Elizabeth Lane - Special Deliveries - Heir To His Legacy - Heir to a Desert Legacy

“If I am to keep Rashid’s secret, having her here could be problematic.”

“Yeah, it could be.” There was a pause. “You are avoiding my question which only piques my curiosity. What did you tell her?”

“I asked her to be my wife.”

His friend laughed, genuine, filled with humor. He wasn’t sure how Alik did it. How he had lived through all of the things he had, seen and done the things he’d seen and done, and emerged with a smile. Alik lived fast and hard. Honor falling far behind pleasure on his list of important things in life.

Sayid envied him sometimes. Envied the ease with which the other man lived. That he was able to somehow be invincible, and a man, at the same time.

“That’s a bad idea, comrade. There is nothing worse than a wife.”

“Have you ever had one?”

“No. And not by accident.”

“Then how do you know?”

“I know because there is a blonde in my room tonight, and last weekend there was a brunette. Tomorrow, who knows? You cannot have that if you’re married.”

“Some men do.”

“Then what is the point of making vows? I never made a vow I didn’t keep.”

“You don’t make many vows.”

Alik laughed again. “No. No, I don’t.”

“You made one to me.”

“I did. And I did not make it lightly. You have my loyalty. Whatever you need, consider it done.”

“And you have mine. There will be a wedding. A small one, out of observance for Rashid’s death.”

“You need security,” Alik said.

“Naturally.”

“You want me.”

“Of course.”

“Is this your version of asking me to be best man?”

The corners of Sayid’s mouth twitched, the closest thing to a real smile he’d managed in too many years to count. “Best man with a handgun.”

Sayid heard a door open on the other end of the line, the music, the woman, again. Then finally, Alik responded. “I’ll do it.”

For the second time in her life, Chloe watched her life change through a news story. It was all over the TV. An announcement that interim ruler of Attar, Sheikh Sayid al Kadar, was taking a wife. The hero nanny who had disregarded her own safety to protect the miracle prince.

She felt her jaw go slack as the story played across the screen. As a picture of her flashed onto it. Then a picture of Sayid. She cringed at the sight of herself, squeezed into the only dress she had. She still wasn’t used to her fuller figure, and she could hardly call herself a fan of the look.

The female anchor was making eye contract with the camera, and talking about Chloe. A surreal experience for sure. “The stoic regent of Attar has announced his engagement to the heroine of the people, Chloe James, a part-time nanny and science student from Portland, Oregon. The wedding will be a small affair, appropriate for a nation still in mourning, and will take place a week from Saturday.”

“Ugh.” She groaned and turned the TV off, then turned around to face her whiteboard again. She’d been working an equation as part of her course work for half the morning while Aden lay on a blanket on the floor, kicking his feet in a slow, jerky fashion.

She leaned in and put her pen on the surface, trying to wipe the images on the screen from her mind, which was completely impossible to do. Completely.

She looked back at Aden, tugging her glasses off. “What am I getting myself into?” she asked. She got nothing from him, his blue eyes scanning the room, his fist finding his mouth.

Chloe blew out a breath. “No advice?”

“Why exactly do you need advice?”

She turned and saw Sayid striding toward her with purpose and that maddening self-assurance of his.

“I just saw my engagement announcement on the news,” she said. “Along with the information that our wedding is less than a week away. Imagine my surprise.”

“Why wait?”

“I don’t know. There’s no reason to, I suppose.”

He shook his head once and reached into his pocket, producing a small box and holding it out to her. “I had my family’s jeweler take a gem from the Crown Jewels and set it into a ring for you.”

She flipped open the top of the box. “From the Crown Jewels?” She examined the piece. It was gorgeous, utterly perfect and unique.

A garnet, deep and clear, set into bright yellow gold, fashioned into vines that held the stone in place like a glittering flower.

“This is a little… much, don’t you think?” she asked, touching the jewel with her fingertip. It struck her then, that no one had ever given her a gift. A strange realization, especially when this wasn’t a gift, but a piece of the facade.

It felt like one, though. And not just any gift, something extravagant and beautiful. Something special. The sort of thing her parents never would have done for her because she was simply an afterthought.

It was embarrassing to realize how badly she wanted to put it on. How badly, in that moment, she wanted it to be special. How badly she wanted someone, even if it was Sayid, to think she was special enough to deserve something so incredible.

She closed the lid on the box. On the feeling.

She didn’t need that. Aden was her family. The only family she needed.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“Of course. But I don’t need a piece of the Crown Jewels.”

“You do. Because every al Kadar woman is presented with a piece of it for her wedding, and you will be no exception.”

“It’s not a real marriage.”

“So give it back when we divorce.”

She cleared her throat. “And when… when do you think that will be, exactly?”

“When will you be ready to live apart from Aden?”

She shook her head. “I won’t. Not until he’s grown.”

“Then we will be married until then.” He studied her closely. “It is a big commitment for someone your age. For someone whose life is outside of the royal family.”

“Having a baby is always a big commitment. When a woman finds out she’s pregnant… in that instant, her whole life changes. Her whole future changes. That’s all that’s happened to me. Yes, the circumstances are more complicated. And yes, the change happened a little later. But I’m willing to change my expectations of life for him. More than that, I want to.”

“You will be a good mother for him,” he said, his voice steady. Serious. “You will be the mother Tamara would have wanted for him.”

Emotion swelled in her chest, and again she was conscious of the empty space in her that wanted so badly to be filled by another person. She wanted him to take her in his arms, to tell her everything would be fine. To simply hold her up for a while so that it wasn’t only her strength keeping her from falling to her knees.

But she couldn’t afford the weakness. Not when Aden needed her.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Now, there is the small matter of lovers,” he said, changing the subject with a shocking swiftness that made her head spin.

“Of what now?”

“Lovers,” he said.

“I mean, I heard you, I just wasn’t sure what you… meant… by it?”

“If I am not in your bed, I will, at some point during our marriage, be in the bed of another woman. I am willing to give up a lot for my country, and to give Aden the best life he can have, but I am not giving up sex for sixteen years.”

She blinked. She supposed asking that of him was completely unreasonable. And yet, there was a small spark of anger, jealousy, inside that started in her stomach and flared up to her chest, making her heart pound hard.

Not so much jealousy in a possessive way. Not because she couldn’t bear the thought of sharing him, which would be silly, all things considered. But because a part of her very much wanted to be the woman in his bed. Wanted to be the one he couldn’t abstain from and, more than anything, be the one to benefit from his experience.