Modern Romance Collection: June 2018 Books 5 - 8. Jane Porter
the bond between them. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen. Feeling like this after making love was wonderful—so why was she crying again? Millie wondered as she floated on her back in the cooling water, gazing at the sky. She had to pull herself together and fast. She’d always known they would have to go their separate ways to live their very different lives. And she would always feel different, as if part of Khalid would never leave her. A sense of rightness and completeness filled her, taking over from the tears. It was a feeling she would have to try and remember for always and ever, she accepted as she tried her best not to think about returning home.
‘Come on,’ Khalid prompted when she shivered involuntarily. ‘You’ve had enough swimming for today. You must eat something now.’
‘To keep up my strength?’ she teased, wondering why just the mention of food should make her stomach churn.
Khalid soon made her forget. Drawing her into his arms where she felt safe, he made sure that the only hunger she felt was for him.
Don’t play with fire.
Why not? Brushing away the shadows that briefly darkened her elation, she put on the fresh robe that, miraculously, or so it seemed to Millie, had been laid out on the bank for her, together with a robe for Khalid, as well as towels for both of them, and simple sandals to slip on. Millie’s robe was so pretty. Diaphanous rose-coloured silk, it was a perfect foil for Khalid’s stark black. What else would a hawk of the desert wear? she thought as he turned to look at her. Then it occurred to her that there must be invisible helpers, and she glanced around red-faced with embarrassment at the thought that they might have been watched. ‘I thought we were alone,’ she exclaimed.
‘We are.’ Khalid shrugged, unconcerned.
‘And the gold table covered in a crisp white linen cloth?’ She’d just noticed it now. ‘Did Burkan set the table for us?’
‘He’s a horse of many talents,’ Khalid told her straight-faced.
And the line of tents and portable buildings that had been erected in the shade behind the dune? How had she missed those? She’d been too preoccupied with Khalid, Millie realised. Of course the ruling sheikh of Khalifa would have staff and security wherever he went, and she was naïve for not knowing this from the start. A little more discretion would be required in future, not to mention muffling her screams of pleasure, she thought as Khalid took her by the hand.
‘No one will disturb us,’ he promised with a long stare into her eyes. He confirmed this with a lingering kiss, but the shadows were back. What was the point of trying to pretend they were lovers on the bank of an oasis, with nothing to stand between them and their passion, when there was an entire tented city at Khalid’s beck and call, just a few yards away?
Duty first, duty always, Millie thought as he excused himself to check with his people if there were any outstanding issues to be dealt with in Khalifa before they settled down to eat.
I love you, she thought as he strode away.
Turning, she entered the royal pavilion on her own. She’d better get used to that feeling of being alone. She loved him madly, deeply, passionately, but must keep that to herself. Khalid had always made it clear where his duty lay, and, wonderful though this trip to the desert had been, their time together was almost over.
DETERMINED TO MAKE the most of whatever time was left, Millie kept a lookout for Khalid’s return. She blenched to see him arriving with a group of grandly dressed men. Quickly retreating into the private section in the depths of the pavilion, she remained by the dividing curtain to listen. It could only be a deputation from his court. Khalid brought them inside, and she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was furious.
‘I gave clear instructions that I was not to be disturbed while I was in the desert. Speak in English,’ he rapped when the leader of the men, with an obsequious bow, began to say something. Khalid knew she was here, and he wanted her to hear everything. It filled her with warmth and confidence to know he was protecting her even now. Though the sense that they would be parting soon hadn’t left her, and her heart was aching with real physical pain.
‘Forgive me, Your Majesty,’ the same man said. ‘Urgent news from the capital.’
‘Which is?’ Khalid demanded, looking every inch the hawk of the desert as he spoke, Millie saw as she stood in the shadows.
‘Another bridal party has arrived, this time from a Mediterranean kingdom—’
She heard Khalid’s sound of disgust. ‘Have these people no manners? Are they so desperate to offload their daughter? That’s enough. They have been told not to come, and nothing has changed.’
‘We know you had forbidden this, but the Mediterranean royal family decided to bring the Princess, anyway.’
‘In direct contravention of my wishes.’
‘Yes, Your Majesty.’
A Mediterranean princess, Millie thought. She could imagine someone beautiful, who had been groomed to rule at Khalid’s side—not a tomboy with oil on her overalls. She had always known this would happen. There was no point in getting upset about it. She shouldn’t feel so brutally let down. Khalid had done everything he could to protect her, and she had always known what she was getting herself into. He had never misled her for a moment. Her broken heart was all her own doing.
He was still talking, but in a muted tone, and in his own language. To her ears, he seemed calmer, happier. Perhaps the Princess was very beautiful and he’d relented. Digging her fingers into her palms until her nails cut the skin, she was glad he was talking in Khalifan. She couldn’t bear to hear the truth as written by her imagination.
‘Take refreshments before you go,’ she heard Khalid say in English. ‘I will follow you back to the palace in due course.’
She clung to the tent pole, feeling dizzy as she waited for the men to leave. Being hidden in the pavilion should have been wake-up call enough. She could only ever be hidden away. She could choose to be his mistress, even now. The offer had never been rescinded. Think of the engines she could work on, while she waited for him to find time for her.
Even humour couldn’t help her now, Millie concluded; she was long past laughing at this situation. And she couldn’t fudge how she felt when he came to find her.
‘Millie?’
Her head was swimming. For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel strong, or capable, she felt faint, physically, mentally, and it must have shown. As if alarmed by her pallor, Khalid took hold of her arm and drew her to him. The pretence was over. A prospective bride with ironclad credentials was waiting at the palace in his capital city. There was no place for Millie in Khalid’s life going forward. ‘I’ve always known this had to end,’ she said, smiling as she tried to make it easy for him. ‘I just didn’t think it would happen so soon. But,’ she added in a fiercely upbeat tone, ‘better now, and quickly, than death by a thousand cuts.’
‘What on earth are you talking about?’ he demanded. ‘Didn’t you hear me send them away? This is not the end, unless you want it to be the end. We can have as long as you want.’
As his mistress, she thought. A muscle flicking in his jaw betrayed his tension as he waited for her answer.
‘You’ve spent too long away,’ she said, ‘and the country is missing you. It’s time for us both to go home.’
He held her at arm’s length so he could stare into her face. ‘I don’t regret a moment of this.’
That sounded like a death knell.
Dreams, she mused as she stared into Khalid’s harsh, warrior face. They all had to end somewhere, and she would never hurt him by prolonging this. How could she hurt the man she loved?
‘Nothing