Royals Untamed!. Annie West

heart at the very thought of such a suggestion. Would he really be that hard and unfeeling? A few days ago she would have said no, but right now, as he looked at her, she wasn’t at all sure.

      ‘That’s outrageous!’ he protested. But she stood firm, his reaction proof enough that that was exactly what he’d planned.

      As if to test her further, the wailing of the wind increased and the tent walls seemed to flap wildly, and she wondered if it would at any minute fall down around her. Just like her marriage had. Now it seemed her life was doing the same thing. For a few short days in England she’d glimpsed what could be, sampled the delights of loving, but since arriving back in Barazbin everything had fallen apart. Her dreams and shattered hopes were crushed almost beyond recognition. He’d never wanted her, not in the way she wanted him. He needed her, not as a woman, but in the same way an actor would need a prop.

      ‘It’s the truth, Kazim, and you know it.’ Oh, how she wished she could storm off somewhere and give vent to her ever increasing frustration.

      ‘Truth seems to be something you are not familiar with.’ He spoke softly, his voice lowered and his inky black eyes fixing hers with a piercing gaze. ‘From the minute I saw you in that club, you have lied to me. You can’t deny that, Amber. Everything you have said has been wrapped in deceit.’

      ‘That is not true,’ she gasped, remembering the way she’d allowed him to jump to conclusions about the money. She’d let him assume she’d spent it all, had frittered it away on frivolous things. ‘I’m not in the wrong. You’re the one who always made assumptions because His Royal Highness is always right, no matter what.’

      ‘Now you are talking nonsense.’ He shot the words out, his anger at her ridicule obvious.

      ‘I’m speaking the truth and you know it. You deceived me about the reason I had to return here with you, not to mention the callous blackmail tactics you employed.’ The tent seemed to bow inwards to them, as if the wind wanted to join in, but she didn’t take her eyes from his.

      * * *

      ‘This has gone on long enough,’ Kazim snapped as fury and frustration boiled over inside him. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing more to discuss. They were married and that marriage would produce the heir he needed.

      He watched as Amber took in a deep breath. He’d never met such a challenging woman. Neither had he met a woman he wanted so much. Even now, with furious words flying between them and the undisguised mistrust radiating from her, he still desired her.

      ‘Yes, it has and as soon as I can I am leaving. I want to go back to my flat in Paris, and to start my art course. I want my life back, Kazim. I will not be a part of your power games.’

      ‘Strong words for a woman in such a weak position.’

      ‘I’m not the one who needs the heir,’ she said slowly, her delicate brows raised in mockery. ‘Which I think will put you in the weak position. And yes, I intend to be strong.’

      ‘You are back in Barazbin as my wife, truly my wife.’ He watched as annoyance flashed across her face. ‘That, at least, is something we can build on.’

      ‘What is?’

      ‘The attraction we have for one another. You can’t deny that, even now. You don’t want me to kiss you?’ He watched her eyes turn a deeper brown and become heavy, but as her lips pressed together he saw her expression change, as if she’d just stepped behind a protective barrier. A wall meant to keep him out.

      ‘I most certainly do not,’ she retorted as she walked away.

      She wasn’t getting away with it that easily. If he had to face up to things then so did she. Love was what she’d called the simmering tension that stretched tautly between them every second they were together. He called it lust.

      ‘Prove it,’ he said as he followed her, grabbing hold of her arm and pulling her against him, the silk of her abaya whispering softly. Her breasts pressed against his chest and a hot stab of lust hurtled through him. All he was doing was proving he was the one attracted to her, while she remained rigid in his arms. Unyielding and unrelenting.

      ‘No, I will not.’ Each word was razor-sharp and she glared up at him.

      The challenge was too much.

      ‘Then I will.’

      With that his lips claimed hers in a demanding kiss, one that made his pulse race. Beneath his lips, hers remained still and pressed tightly shut, but as his hand plunged into the softness of her hair they parted and a sigh escaped. His heart rate rocketed and desire thumped in his blood.

      He’d proved his point. It didn’t matter how much she protested, she wanted him. She was his. He should stop now, should pull back and let her know he’d won, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to. Hot need for her was rushing through him and as she sighed against his lips once more, pressing her body harder against him, he knew he was lost.

      ‘How can this be so right when everything else is wrong?’ she whispered as she pulled back to look up at him, her breathing hard and fast, her eyes like molten gold and heavy with desire.

      He couldn’t answer her, not when he didn’t even know why himself. He’d never known such an overwhelming need before, such all consuming passion that had the power to render anything else inconsequential. ‘All that matters at the moment is kissing you,’ he said in a hoarse whisper as he ran his fingers once again through her hair before angling her head so that he could kiss her deeper and harder than ever. ‘I don’t care about duty, the wind or the rebels. All I care about is kissing you.’

      Amber was intoxicating and Kazim was well and truly lost. Could it be that he was hers, that he would for ever be hers?

      ‘Kazim, I...’ Her voice was barely above a whisper as she looked up at him, her brown eyes full of the same desire that thudded in his veins. ‘I can’t...we mustn’t.’

      ‘We should,’ he said in a low rumble, unable to deny his need for her any longer. ‘And we will.’

      With that he moved her towards the low bed, laid her down against the array of cushions and covered her body with his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her, all protest and fight gone from her glorious body.

      ‘We shouldn’t,’ she said in a husky whisper as she spread her palms against his back, which only increased the heated hardness of his body. The very fact that she still wanted him, that, despite her protests, she couldn’t stop kissing and touching him, made him want her all the more.

      * * *

      Urgency filled Amber’s kiss as she pulled him down closer to her. She wanted him. She knew that doing this would only make it harder to leave, but she was powerless to resist. She shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. It was madness—total madness.

      Kazim’s hands deftly worked to remove the daring red abaya she’d dressed in until she lay on a bed of red silk, totally naked to his gaze, her whole body on fire. Eagerly he pulled his robe off, towering above her as he knelt among the cushions. He was magnificent; every honed muscle made her quiver with desire.

      ‘Do you still think we shouldn’t?’ His deep voice, now a hoarse whisper, sent a shiver of anticipation racing down her spine.

      She shook her head and licked her dry lips as his dark-skinned nakedness was revealed, her eyes drawn down to the evidence that, if nothing else, he desired her.

      Warmth pooled between her legs and she reached out to touch him, enjoying the sudden power as he closed his eyes and groaned in pleasure. But it wasn’t enough. She wanted more—much more.

      As if sensing her desire, he moved and once again covered her body, this time the heat of his scorching hers. Then, with frantic need, more powerful than she’d ever experienced before, she wrapped her legs around him, encouraging him deep inside her. She lifted her hips, moving with him as a tidal wave of passion submerged them. She cried out, hearing