Royals Untamed!. Annie West

to do now is return to Barazbin with you. Once you have sorted things with your father we can divorce and go back to our lives. Providing Claude has had his treatment, that is.’

      He had to tell her everything.

      ‘We can’t divorce, Amber, not ever.’

      * * *

      Amber felt as if the floor she stood on had turned to quicksand and that she was sinking—fast. Was there no end to his ability to shock her?

      She shook her head. ‘That can’t be right.’ She’d wanted a happy ever after since she was a young girl, had dreamed of marrying a handsome prince and being loved. So far she’d only got one part of that dream.

      Kazim threw back the sheets and got out of bed, not even trying to cover his naked body as he crossed the room and took clean clothes from the wardrobe. He turned to face her, his bare chest, sporting the scar, drew her attention until he spoke.

      ‘You knew I was heir to the throne. Just as you knew our marriage was arranged to unite two kingdoms and nothing more. We should never have parted, certainly not within hours of the ceremony.’ He paused and looked at her, as if letting the words sink in.

      ‘Now your father is ill,’ she whispered, more to herself, finally understanding the implications of what he was trying to tell her.

      He nodded. ‘That is why you must return to Barazbin. I am the sole heir to the throne. We cannot divorce.’

      ‘But you don’t love me.’ The words rushed out of her as his stern face regarded her from the other side of the room.

      ‘Love has nothing to do with it,’ he snapped and he picked out a shirt, roughly pulling it on. ‘It never has and never will.’

      She watched as he continued to dress, obviously preparing for his final meeting. She couldn’t wait for him to go. She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts and the knowledge that she would never be free of the man she loved—a man who didn’t love her.

      Shock made her shiver and she sat down on the bed, hardly able to stand any longer. ‘You knew this all along?’

      ‘I am doing my duty, Amber, just as you are.’

      Indignation flared to life inside her. ‘By first blackmailing me and then seducing me? You even let me carry on believing I only needed to return to Barazbin for a short while.’

      His handsome features clouded with anger as their eyes locked. She didn’t know what to think. How had life become so complicated? Because Kazim had come storming back into it.

      ‘I haven’t time to discuss it now.’ He strode to the door, his anger evident with every step. ‘Be ready to leave for Barazbin as soon as I return. It is time to go home.’

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      AMBER WOKE TO new sounds as the palace came to life around her. The heat of the desert invaded her room and scents from the courtyard garden drifted in through her open window. It was a magical place but right now, just as she had been on arrival late last night, she felt immune to its beauty.

      Emotionally bruised by the last few days, she just wanted to curl back up under the crisp sheets of her massive bed and stay there. She had no idea what time it was; the night flight to Barazbin had totally confused her, as had the man who’d accompanied her.

      She hadn’t been able to help herself and had fallen utterly under Kazim’s spell. Memories of the time they’d spent making love still warmed her body. His callous dismissal before he’d left for his meeting reminded her she needed to guard her heart against him. She’d been silly to believe, even for one moment, that he really desired her. All he’d wanted was to do his duty and make her truly his wife and she’d made it easy, falling into bed with him.

      She heard voices and sat up in bed, the opulence of the room startling her. High ceilings, domed and ornately painted, rose above her and the vastness of the room was broken by intricately carved marble pillars. The four-poster bed was so large and soft white tulle hung from it, draping to the floor as if the room was meant for romance. This wasn’t the room she’d spent her wedding night in.

      As confusion settled over her she heard Kazim’s voice, unmistakable and strong. It sent a ripple of awareness cascading over her. It wasn’t right that he could be so unaffected by her when she only had to hear his voice to stir all those longings.

      She couldn’t let those heady desires take over again. They served only to expose her emotional vulnerability—to herself and Kazim.

      The tall double doors opposite the bed opened and he stood on the threshold. Nothing could have prepared her for that moment. Dressed in full white robes, he took her breath away, rendering her completely speechless. The last time she’d seen him like that it had been their wedding day.

      He looked regal and totally relaxed in the palatial surroundings. A wild prince of the desert tamed, just a little, by his unwavering duty. His eyes met hers, his expression guarded, and pain lanced through her. She was back in a country she had no wish to be in, one that was painfully close to her father’s country of Quarazmir and with a man who only wanted her there out of a sense of duty. But she would never let him know that and demurely clutched the sheet against her. He, on the other hand, didn’t appear fazed by the situation at all.

      ‘I trust you are rested?’ The enquiry was polite, his voice resonant yet powerful; she still couldn’t speak but nodded.

      ‘Good. Your maid will help you dress then you will receive your first visitor.’ He stepped into the room, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor.

      He stopped by the bed and stood looking at her for a moment, his gaze locking with hers. The spark that always ignited deep within her flared into life once again. He looked as if he’d just stepped out of her wildest dreams, the ruggedness that had called to a primal part of her on their wedding day evident now Western clothes weren’t able to mask it. His thick brows lifted and his face showed impatience but she could barely register what he’d just said.

      ‘Kazim—’ she finally managed to say something and briefly his face softened and he moved closer to the bed ‘—I must know what is happening with Annie.’

      His face hardened as he stood looking down at her. She’d said completely the wrong thing, she knew that. She should have been patient and at least waited until she was up and dressed so that she could face him on an equal level. But at the same time she was here because of Annie and Claude, so wouldn’t it be better to know this now, before her time as Princess Amber of Barazbin started, especially as she’d tried endlessly to phone Annie? Her only contact with her friend now seemed to be through Kazim.

      ‘I will see that you are kept up to date with the child’s progress.’ With those terse words he marched from the room, the echoing retreat of his footsteps hard and furious. In just a few minutes she’d blown it, shattered any hope of actually becoming closer to Kazim. Did he let anyone close?

      She hid her face in her hands and wished the last few minutes undone. Why had she said that? All she’d managed to do was remind him of the deal they’d made, the real reason she was here at all, when she should have built on those tender moments in England.

      Heat flooded her as she recalled the way he’d taken her, claiming her as his. The urgency of the first time had unlocked something inside her, allowing her to throw caution aside and surrender to his mastery. The second time had been less urgent, but far more intense. For her, the moment had been loving and she’d let her love shine through, but was she now to pay for that?

      Had she uttered words of love as passion had consumed them? She hoped not. Instinct told her a man like Kazim didn’t want to hear such words. Her ever growing love for him was something she must keep hidden. What good would it do to love a man she couldn’t stay with?

      More footsteps, this time softer, drew her attention and she looked up as a young girl