Page 41 of Her Vow to Be His Desert Queen

He wore white, as she did—white shirt, loose white trousers and a white robe over his broad shoulders, heavily embroidered with gold thread. It glittered in the sunlight, a spectacular contrast to the smooth bronze of his skin and the inky blackness of his hair and eyes. And those eyes were fixed on her, a burning flame glowing in the darkness.

He didn’t speak, merely raised his hand to her, and she walked towards him, drawn helplessly, reaching for his hand. His fingers wound through hers, warm and strong, and the nervous fluttering inside her settled.

This was right. This was what she’d wanted. What she’d always wanted. He didn’t question it, so why should she? And, while she had no idea what this marriage would bring, she’d be strong enough to deal with it.

Are you sure? After all those years of letting your aunt walk all over you, hoping for a scrap of affection that she was never going to give? After he walked away from you and broke your heart?

Well, once they were married, he couldn’t walk away, could he? She wouldn’t let him.

Sidonie held tight to Khalil’s hand as a priest appeared in the sunlight too, and then there was no more time for thinking as the ceremony began.

It was short and sweet and she said her vows in a steady voice, mirroring Khalil’s deep tones of certainty as he said his. Then he pushed a narrow band of white gold studded with diamonds onto her finger and she did the same for him—his ring was simpler, with a single diamond in the centre.

Then the priest pronounced them husband and wife, and Khalil stepped towards her and with careful hands lifted her veil. There was a triumph in his eyes that stole her breath. Then he bent and kissed her, a hard, intense kiss. A claiming.

She was trembling as he lifted his head and turned to the priest, nodding and murmuring a word of thanks. The priest glided away, leaving her finally alone with her new husband in an echoing throne room.

It was done. Finally, he was hers and she was his.

Her gaze met his and she could see the satisfaction in it. He felt this rightness too, didn’t he?

But you’re just his trophy. His prize. His queen. You’re not really his wife.

In those years where they’d been friends, she’d indulged herself in fantasies about marrying him. About their wedding day and his ring on her finger, and what their wedding night would be like. And in every one of those fantasies it had been love she’d seen in his eyes, not triumph. He’d told her he loved her, too. Saying the words in his deep, dark voice.

An icy thread of doubt curled through her, that perhaps loving him wasn’t enough after all, that she needed more than that, but she shoved it away.

It was too late for doubts. They were married.

‘I hope you did not mind the lack of ceremony,’ Khalil said, reaching for her hand once again and closing his fingers around it. ‘I did not want any witnesses other than the priest. This was just for you and me.’

‘No,’ she murmured, her voice not quite steady. ‘I didn’t mind at all. But...why the throne room?’

‘It is customary. All royalty in Al Da’ira are married in the throne room.’ He frowned at her. ‘Your fingers are cold. Are you okay?’

The satisfaction in his expression had been replaced by concern, and it made her heart ache. Hedidcare about her. He did. She wasn’t just a prize he’d won.

‘Just nerves,’ she said, forcing a smile.

His gaze narrowed slightly as if he didn’t believe her. But he didn’t say anything else, merely tightening his grip as he walked towards the doors, drawing her along with him. ‘No need to be nervous,ya hayati.I have something special planned.’

His hand was warm, so she concentrated on that, and not on the uncertainty that had gathered in her stomach. ‘What something special?’

He glanced at her, his eyes dark as obsidian, and he flashed her a brief smile, a smile she remembered from years ago, so rare and yet so full of warmth that her heart turned over in her chest, banishing the doubt. ‘You’ll see.’

Yes, she could do this. Loving him would be enough. She didn’t need him to love her in return. And who knew? Maybe one day he would, and everything would be fine.

She followed him as he strode into the ornate hallway just outside the throne room, palace guards falling into step with them.

They went up a great, sweeping staircase and then down a few more corridors, before coming out onto a large terrace that, given the helicopter sitting in the middle of it, must have been a helipad.

Guards were everywhere, flanking her and Khalil as he went straight to the machine and opened the door for her. ‘Another helicopter ride, Khal?’ She gave him a look from underneath her lashes. ‘Let’s hope there is actually dinner at the end of this one.’

Much to her surprise he laughed, the sound deep and warm and incredibly sexy. ‘Oh, there will be many things at the end of this one,ya hayati.Dinner being the least of them.’

Five minutes later they were in the air, leaving behind the royal palace and Al Da’ira’s capital city, and in another ten they were soaring above a starkly beautiful mountain range. Then, almost before Sidonie was ready, they were descending towards what looked like a small palace that stood on a mountain plateau, surrounded by a series of terraces and balconies.

Her heart kicked inside her chest. She’d never been here before, but she was certain she knew this place. It looked familiar to her in some way.

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