The Defiant Princess (9 page)

He handed her the file. “The payment to the contract teacher was extremely attractive. There will also be a substantial donation made to the school to ensure there is no difficulty with the transition.”

“How dare you?” She stood and thrust the file back at him, slapping it hard against his chest. “You are the most arrogant individual I've ever met!”

Khalid's patience strained on its leash as he grabbed her hand and held it to his chest, whipping the file out from between them. The physical skin-to-skin contact burned, pulling both of them out of the situation they were debating and into another zone. As seconds stretched, there were only the two of them and the feel of her hand in his. Nothing else existed or mattered. As he looked into her eyes, Khalid watched the dilation of her pupils. He heard the hitch of her breathing while he inhaled the faint floral scent of her. When her lips parted and her tongue tip darted out to moisten them, the need to kiss her ripped through him like a hurricane. But hurricanes left disaster in their wake, and to kiss her would wreak certain havoc.

Control. He needed to exert the control he was so famed for on the polo field.

Letting her hand go, he placed the file on the table. When he turned away from her, he swallowed hard. He had no desire to speak while want thickened his vocal cords. The last thing he needed was to act on this insane attraction. It would only complicate matters now she'd agreed to go with him.

“You have incredible gall!”

“Don't underestimate the urgency of the situation, Sabihah,” he advised as he turned back to face her. “Contingency plans had to be made.”

“You were pretty sure I'd just tag along meekly,” she said hotly as she picked up a cushion and gave it a hard thump. Her cheeks were still flushed red from their contact. Each breath was still shallow.

Khalid let out a humourless laugh. “I wouldn't agree you've been meek.”

“But a replacement? I haven't even said goodbye to my students.”

She looked genuinely upset, but there was no room for sentimentality. “What exactly were you planning to tell them?” he pressed her.

“I don't know, but I need to speak with the Principal. I need to let him know I'll be back.”

“There isn't time.” And she wouldn't be back.

“But if I don't explain, I'll lose my job.”

“That seems fair. You're proposing I lose my right to choose my wife.”

Her mouth went a little slack and she shook her head in annoyance. “At least you get to explain to your fiancée that this is only a temporary measure. You should at least let me explain that to the Principal.”

“And if he leaks that information to the press?”

“And your fiancée won't?” she flung back at him.

“No,” he stated with absolute conviction, omitting to correct her use of the word
fiancée
. No proposal had been made to Inaya yet.

“This is happening too fast. Helen doesn't even have a passport.”

“Helen won't be accompanying us.”

“But you said she could be in danger!” She threw the cushion back onto the chair. “I can't leave her alone.”

“After this afternoon's shooting, I spoke with the police officer. He was in agreement and I arranged for a new security team to guard Helen for as long as necessary. Another team will keep a discreet eye on the town in general, especially the school. They arrive tomorrow. If Helen wants to come to Turastan, the arrangements will be made as quickly as possible. Now, I suggest we get some sleep. We will leave in the morning.”

“I'll make sure I lock up when you leave.” She went towards the front door, to see him out.

“I'm not leaving.”

She swung back quickly and glared at him. “That's what you think!” Her chest rose sharply as she drew in an indignant breath. He wished she'd stop doing that. Once again the action drew his attention to the full swell of her breasts against the fabric of her top.

Khalid resisted the urge to clear his throat as he forced his eyes away from the lush swell and up to meet eyes that had turned a frigid ice-blue.

“As I have only a small security team, I cannot split them in half to provide adequate guard for you and me this evening in two separate locations,” he explained. “I will need to spend the night as your guest.”

“You can't do that.” She sounded horrified.

“If you don't have a spare room I can sleep on the couch.”

“But that's not even comfortable.”

“Are you offering me your bed?” The instant he uttered the words he regretted it.

“Absolutely not. May I remind you our marriage will be nothing more substantial than two signatures on the certificate. Even then, I'll be returning here as soon as possible. Hopefully that won't be too long after the ink is dry.”

“You're quite safe, Sabihah. May I remind you—” he echoed her warning mockingly, “—I have already chosen the woman I plan to make my wife.”

“Then you have no business even thinking of sharing another woman's bed!”

And that was the sheer hell and torment of it. Sabihah was right and he knew it. Yet, while he admonished himself for his wayward thoughts and needs, it was true he'd never desired a woman more passionately than he did the reluctant Princess of Rhajia.

Chapter Five

By the time the small Learjet reached Brisbane airport, Sabrina was a seething mass of nerves. She'd seen every hour tick away through the night, unable to sleep while thoughts of Khalid and her return to Rhajia dominated her mind.

Matters had been even worse this morning when she'd had to explain her decision to Helen, and remain firm in the face of her former nanny's fervent objections and near hysteria.

Then, there'd been Khalid. Every gorgeous inch of him, larger than life in her home space, dominating everything effortlessly by his sheer presence. Time and time again during breakfast, she'd found herself snatching glances at his very sexy designer stubble. And when she'd gone to fetch a towel for him so he could shower, she actually felt envious of the fabric that would rub all over his naked flesh. She was quite certain she'd never be able to stand in the shower cubicle again without conjuring up images of what she was sure would be absolutely perfect naked masculinity. Her thoughts were ridiculously teenage fantasy, yet she couldn't banish them.

In less than twenty-four hours she'd become incredibly attracted to him. Correction—she'd fallen in lust with him in less than twenty-four seconds. Despite all she knew about his character and the way he used women in a series of meaningless affairs, she found she was no more immune than any other individual with two X chromosomes.

Oh, she'd been fascinated by him for years. She'd appreciated his good looks in her teenage years the moment she'd eyed images of him on the computer screen. When she was fourteen she'd actually cut out a picture of him from a polo magazine and kept it in a secret place where Helen wouldn't find it.

But what she was experiencing now was far different to how she'd felt when she'd been a teenager. Up close, all the factors that made up the essence of him caused sensory overload. His voice like melted chocolate, the strength he radiated, the way he moved with masculine grace and the aura of supreme confidence and capability he exuded was just too much to resist.

As an adult her hormones were running rampant and her imagination delved into X-rated fantasies she couldn't have conceived as a teen. For the first time in her life she wondered about what it'd be like to be made love to by an all-powerful, sensual alpha male. All her mental images revolved around her and Khalid naked—in bed, on the uncomfortable couch, in the shower, and even across her desk in her classroom for heaven's sake. She felt the burn of a blush steal across her cheeks as she watched his throat move up and down in the basic act of swallowing his coffee. Even sitting across from him here in the V.I.P. lounge at the airport while they waited to board the private flight to Turastan, she couldn't stop her fantasies.

As much as she tried, she was certain she wasn't doing a very convincing job of keeping her desires for him hidden. Her face was too transparent. How on earth was she going to survive this without completely embarrassing herself?

Simple,
her conscience told her.
He's made it very clear he doesn't want to marry you
.
He's in love with another woman.

Lucky woman.

Or was she? After all, Khalid was a renowned playboy. A serial womaniser. Would he have shared her bed last night if it'd been on offer? An involuntary tremor of longing ran through her and she rubbed her hands along each opposite arm in reaction.

She was sure Khalid was essentially a love-rat.

How long would he stay faithful to his wife? With his track record it'd probably not be long before he broke the poor woman's heart. The sensual mastery he promised to deliver in bed wouldn't be worth the long-term heartache his future wife would suffer. Or did she know what she was getting into and not really care? A crown and masses of wealth may be the woman's real objective. Sabrina couldn't help wondering what sort of woman his true fiancée was. What sort of woman had captured his heart?

“Have you told her yet?” she blurted.

Khalid looked up from the newspaper he was scanning and paused, coffee cup mid-way to his mouth. One dark eyebrow arched up in inquiry.

“The love of your life,” Sabrina clarified. “Have you told her about our plan?”

“Your plan, Sabihah,” he corrected. He continued to drink his coffee, ignoring her question.

“Well? Have you?” His reference to it being her plan disconcerted her.

“I don't see it as your concern.”

“Prince Khalid, I have every right to be concerned,” she said. “I've already got Mustaf hiring assassins to put me out of the picture, I don't need a jealous lover hiring assassins as well.”

His lips quirked and then, as if he couldn't help himself, he broke into a full smile. It transformed him. Stunningly, gorgeously drop-dead good-looking became something much, much more with his sex appeal shooting off the Richter scale. That smile caused tremors from her feet up and then major shock waves of reaction. She had to grip her own coffee cup to prevent the contents sloshing everywhere.

He was completely irresistible. No wonder he had women falling all over him. If she hadn't felt the impact of his attraction, she would've thought it pathetic earlier when every female at the airport seemed to tune to his frequency. One woman had stopped looking where she was going and nearly fallen over a garbage bin! And what was worse, although he didn't seem to notice the effect he had on the women at the airport, every time he caught her looking at him, his expression showed that he knew she couldn't keep her eyes off him. It was utterly humiliating because she so did not want to be attracted to him.

“You know, you haven't got a very good track record with women.” She looked outside the window to the runway where planes were taking off in sequence. His track record was the reason she was lucky he wasn't truly her betrothed. “When your average relationship doesn't last past a few dates, you wouldn't want her to think she's on the way out. If you really want to hold on to this woman, you'll be completely honest with her. You should …” She broke off as she registered the very slight whitening of his knuckles as he gripped his coffee cup.

He leant back casually in his seat and then slid a finger nonchalantly up and down the handle of the coffee cup, but she'd already observed his anger. If she hadn't tuned into the menace in his eyes, the steel in his voice would have alerted her to the fact that he was feeling far from casual.

“Please don't stop, Sabihah. This is just getting interesting.”

She leant forward across the table, refusing to be daunted by him. “I feel sorry for the woman you're going to marry, and I'm damned glad it isn't me. You're one of the most notorious playboys in the stratosphere. You're hardly good husband material.”

A slight flush rose under his dark cheekbones, and she felt instant panic. What on earth had caused her to be so rude? She could think it all she liked, but she shouldn't have voiced it. He wasn't going to be her husband for long. It wasn't as though she was about to have her heart broken, so what was it to her? She wasn't his moral keeper.

“Yet, you're the one insisting the out-dated betrothal be honoured.”

“Only in the short-term,” she reminded him. “Only on paper. My sole motivation is to depose Mustaf.”

“You don't need to marry me to do that. You have the power to depose Mustaf all by yourself just by being the Crown Princess of Rhajia.”

“Excuse me, Your Royal Highness. Your plane is now ready for boarding.” A male flight attendant bowed respectfully to Khalid.

Khalid thanked the man. “It's time,” he told Sabrina.

Sabrina got up from her chair and started to follow him. The closer she got to the boarding gate, the slower her steps became.

What was she doing? Why was she even contemplating getting on this plane and flying to Turastan?

Her brain signalled her doubts to her feet and they refused to budge another step.

Something was wrong. Something more than her flying half way across the world to claim a heritage she didn't want. Khalid was up to something. He was completely relaxed and in control despite the fact he'd agreed to her proposition. Or had he? He'd refused to answer her question about whether he'd told his fiancée.

“
If I agree to the betrothal …
”

Sabrina replayed their conversation from the night before. Going over and over it, she realised he'd never agreed to her proposition they marry, only to the betrothal. Now he wasn't saying whether or not he'd outlined things to the woman who was so important to him. If he hadn't, why hadn't he? It was possible his true fiancée might not really mean very much to him. It was also possible he had no intention of going through with the marriage to Sabrina, so there wasn't anything to tell his fiancée about.