Desert Rogues Part 2

“Of course,” she murmured. His being so darned agreeable was humorous, only she couldn’t seem to make herself smile.

She thought of the boxes stacked in the living room and her few items of clothing hanging in his vast closet. How on earth was she supposed to fit in here? She was so the wrong person for Sadik to have married.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, his voice sounding kind.

He was being nice. Perversely, she almost wished he would go back to demanding his way. At least she understood that man.

“Just that this is all too strange,” she admitted. “I don’t belong here.”

“You are my wife,” he repeated. “You are a royal princess of Bahania. Your place is wherever you want it to be.”

“As long as I don’t try to leave, right?” she said bitterly.

He dropped her hand and rested his palms on her shoulders. “Cleo, we are married. I know there have been difficulties between us, but it is time to put them in the past. Let us begin again, as husband and wife.”

Anger flared inside her, fueled by a sadness so profound she thought it might break her in two. “I appreciate what you’re saying. Of course it makes perfect sense. The problem is I can’t forget the truth. If I hadn’t been pregnant, you would never have wanted to marry me. When I left here, you didn’t give me a second thought. You never called or tried to get in touch with me. I ceased to exist for you.”

What she didn’t say, but was thinking, was that while he expected her to get over the past, he had no plans to do the same. Kamra was still alive and well in his mind.

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

I want you to love me, or I want you to let me go.

Cleo sighed. There was no point in trying to answer the question, she thought.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, feeling tired.

“It does to me.”

“No, it doesn’t.” She shrugged free of his touch. “I’m not a person to you. I’m a vessel to carry your child.”

“That is not true.” He reached for her, but she backed away. Sadik sighed. “In time you will come to see that you are an important part of my life. You will understand that I have married you with the intention of fulfilling my vows. I will respect you and desire you all the days of our lives.”

She didn’t know what to say, so chose to say nothing. When he put an arm around her, she let herself be led from the room. No doubt Sadik thought the problem had been solved. All would be well now.

She walked into the living room and saw that he’d had food brought in. Several covered dishes sat on a wheeled cart.

“We had dinner at the reception,” she reminded him.

“You did not eat. Come. You will find that I have ordered all your favorites.”

The thought of eating made her stomach turn. “I’m not very hungry,” she said. “I’m tired, Sadik. I want to go to bed.”

He glanced at her. She figured he would be able to see there wasn’t much of an invitation in her eyes. No doubt he’d been expecting that they would do the wild thing that night—after all, they’d only made love once since she’d come back to Bahania and this was their wedding night.

Sadik saw the weariness in Cleo’s expression. He wasn’t surprised that she was tired. There had been many changes in the past few weeks. But the hopelessness also lurking there disturbed him more. He wanted her happy for the sake of the baby. Too much sadness could not be good.

His first instinct was to order her to smile, but the ridiculousness of the instruction stopped him. He could force Cleo to do as he wished, but he knew he would have little luck making her feel as he would bid. She could be both stubborn and difficult.

Patience, he told himself. He would be patient and she would come around.

He kissed her gently on the mouth, resisting the passion that flared instantly. “Go to bed,” he told her. “I will not bother you this night.”

She pressed her lips together, then nodded gratefully and headed for the bedroom. As he watched her go he had the fleeting thought that she would be taking the only bed in the suite, which left him in the uncomfortable position of being a bridegroom with nowhere to sleep.

Once he was alone, he glanced around for something with which to occupy himself. The food did not interest him, nor did he want to watch a movie or read a book. He prowled restlessly through the living room, then down the hall to the two empty bedrooms. The first would be for the baby. He tried to imagine how his son would look sleeping in his crib. Sadik frowned, then tried to imagine anything about his son. He did not have contact with infants or small children, nor did he know anything about Cleo’s pregnancy. He barely knew when the child was expected.

His frown deepened as he made his way to the second bedroom. The makeshift office had not been used in some time, but the computer would be adequate for his purposes and it was hooked up to the Internet.

In a matter of seconds he’d logged on to a search engine and typed in the word pregnancy. Far too many links came up. He chose several at random and began to read. An hour later he saw there was much to be learned. He clicked his mouse on an on-line bookstore and searched their stock. When he’d ordered a half dozen different books on pregnancy and childbirth, he returned to the various Web sites and began to read.

Cleo woke up shortly after dawn. Except for a bathroom break, she’d slept through the night, resting more deeply than she had in weeks. She might not like her current situation, but knowing her fate apparently allowed her to relax about it.

She knew it was time to make the best of a bad situation. Upsetting herself couldn’t be good for the baby, and being depressed would only make her feel worse. She and Sadik were married. In her case the “for better or worse” seemed to be starting out on the “worse” end, but her complaints were her own problem. She had shelter, food and a man who desperately wanted his child. They were healthy and her future was secure. Considering all that, the dream of true love seemed a little greedy.

Sadik had been right when he’d pointed out they had passion and mutual respect. And friendship. For the most part they got along. She enjoyed his company, and she would guess he enjoyed hers. That he’d been able to let her go without once thinking about her was irrelevant.

There were worse fates than being married to a wealthy, handsome prince who didn’t love her.

That decided, she got up and brushed her teeth. She was trying to decide if she wanted to eat before or after her shower, when there was a knock at the bedroom door.

Sadik let himself in before she could decide what to do. He glanced first at the empty bed, then made his way into the bedroom.

“You’re already awake,” he said, sounding disappointed.

Cleo was too taken aback by the tray he held in his hands to answer.

“I’ve brought you breakfast,” he said. “Please return to bed. I will serve you.”

She was so surprised she nearly stumbled. “You’re serving me?”

“Yes. It will be this way every morning through your pregnancy.” He set the tray on the nightstand. “Unless I have to travel for business. Then I will have one of the servants bring in your breakfast.”

Cleo thought about pointing out that she was more than capable of walking to a breakfast table. Especially considering that there was one right in the suite. But his thoughtful act did a number on her hormone-sensitive emotions. She found herself fighting tears.

Rather than try conversation, and risk those tears, she simply made her way back to bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

Sadik motioned to the tray with a flourish worthy of a magician performing a disappearing act. “Fresh fruits, all picked at dawn from the palace garden. Scones because I know you like them.”

She didn’t want to think about the past, but his comment made the memories impossible to resist. The first night they’d been together had stretched into the following morning. As they had both been too busy flirting the previous evening to eat, they’d been starving. Sadik had ordered up breakfast, offering Cleo her choice of several items. She’d been rapturous about the scones. In fact, he’d gotten into the habit of collecting favors from her by promising scones in return.

Her gaze slid from the plate overflowing with the fragrant pastry to a bright purple drink in a tall glass. Her stomach turned at the sight of it.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“A protein drink,” he said. “I found the recipe on the Internet last night. It has many of the essential nutrients both you and the baby need. There are also several ingredients, such as ginger, to ease any lingering morning sickness.”

“I felt fine until I took a look at that drink,” she muttered. “Does it have to be so purple?”