.

then began chanting the pre-wedding incantations.

      Allegra had wondered why the women who’d dressed her had insisted on giving her the customary hour on her own before the ceremony began. Now she knew. Only her mind wasn’t at ease at all. The mental nail-biting and butterflies-battling had increased a hundredfold.

      She hadn’t been able to help her mother or her siblings when they’d needed her. But with the different perspective provided ironically by Rahim, she could begin to forgive herself for her failure in that regard. As for helping the women in Dar-Aman, she was also confident her help would be welcome, even valuable.

      And as Rahim had pointed out, as queen, she would be even more influential in helping to bring about change. Perhaps she’d been wrong to condemn herself so soon. Perhaps she’d needed Rahim to show her that this was her time to make a true difference.

      It was the role of wife she feared most. She had no idea how she could be Rahim’s wife when she didn’t know what he expected of her. And she certainly wasn’t about to share his bed when he planned to share himself with others!

      In less than an hour, she would no longer be Allegra Di Sione, but Her Royal Highness, Allegra Al-Hadi, Queen of Dar-Aman.

      And she was already failing at that! Because she knew she would never be the kind of wife who would blithely look the other way while her husband lay with other women.

      She wanted to be the only woman he took to his bed. His only wife. And she wanted Rahim as her husband. Her true husband. The admission shook her to the core, even as the cruel reminder that Rahim’s sole reason for marrying her had been to secure legitimacy for his heir and to please his people struck deep.

      Anguish slashing through her, Allegra’s steps faltered as they reached the edge of the western wing. Through a large Moorish archway, a gold carpeted walkway led to the palace’s private beach. Rose and jasmine petals had been strewn along the way. The part of her that wasn’t reeling with deep apprehension took in the sheer beauty of the ceremony and logged it away in her memory banks.

      Beyond the boundaries of the no-fly zone Nura had excitedly pointed out to her, news helicopters from around the globe hovered.

      She was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other when a tall shadow detached from the VIP guests lining the walkway to follow her down to the beach. Her breath caught as Alessandro stopped in front of her.

      ‘Allegra.’ His voice was firm, but his eyes bore into hers with brusque concern which warmed her.

      ‘Alex. Bianca told me you were here.’

      He frowned. ‘Are you sure about this?’

      Beneath the folds of her gown, she crossed her fingers and pushed down the overwhelming panic and despair. ‘Yes, I’m sure,’ she said in as firm a voice as she could muster.

      Her brother stared at her for another brooding minute, then nodded. ‘Then you have my blessing. And Grandfather’s too.’

      Allegra glanced at Bianca, who’d joined them, then back at Alessandro. ‘You weren’t just in the area, were you?’

      He shook his head. ‘No. The old man sent me.’

      Despite her clogged throat, Allegra summoned a smile. ‘Thank you.’

      With another nod, her brother stepped back into his place in the crowd.

      The end of the walkway loomed and the chanting stopped. Yasmina, the head of her wedding entourage, turned and gestured to her feet.

      Wordlessly, Allegra took off the golden slippers. Yasmina picked them up and stepped to the side.

      ‘You make the journey alone from here.’

      Heart in her throat, Allegra glanced down the endless flight of steps.

      On the beach, wearing a blue and gold abaya and matching keffiyeh held in place by silk rope, stood Rahim. His eyes were trained on her, his frame tall and proud, his demeanour set in stone.

      A shift registered deep in her soul, pressing home that there was no turning back. Whether she wanted it or not, Rahim was her destiny.

      On bare feet, she glided down the stairs and paused at the edge of the carpet.

      At the instruction of the three elders officiating the ceremony, Rahim strode forward. Stopping in front of her, he removed his own jewelled slippers and stepped barefoot on the carpet next to her.

      Wordlessly, he held out his hand and she placed hers within it. Warm and strong, his hand gripped hers, setting off fresh nerves, and a horde of new butterflies.

      She glanced up at him, and darkened hazel eyes bore implacably into hers.

      ‘We do this part together.’

      Shakily she nodded and stepped off the carpet onto the warm, coarse sand with Rahim.

      The elder moved forward and uttered words she didn’t understand. Opening an ancient book, he extracted a long, braided rope and nodded at Rahim. He spoke his vows in Dar-Amanian, his voice firm and deep. Then Allegra repeated the words she’d learned in the language of the kingdom she was about to dedicate her life to.

      Rahim held her steady and the rope was bound around their clasped hands from her wrist to his.

      ‘Now in English, so there is no misunderstanding,’ Rahim commanded.

      Allegra swallowed. ‘In the presence of the sand, sea and sky, I pledge myself to you. My honour, my body, my soul.’

      Rahim’s gaze pinned hers. ‘In the presence of the sand, sea and sky, I pledge myself to you. My honour, my body, my kingdom.’

      And with those handful of words, they were married.

      * * *

      ‘Where are we going?’ Allegra asked, although she half suspected the answer.

      Behind the wheel of the sturdy Jeep, Rahim navigated another shadowy sand dune, one of many they’d encountered since their journey from the palace straight after the wedding feast.

      ‘Dar-Amanian wedding custom dictates that a bride spend a secluded night in a Bedouin tent with her groom,’ he replied, his eyes on the road before them.

      He’d barely spoken to her, except to introduce her to their most distinguished guests during the wedding reception. All through the ceremony, he’d conversed with his ministers, then their guests. But to her, he remained polite and courteous, but distant. And she hadn’t had much to contribute in the way of conversation, consumed as she was by what the future held. And the very vivid, unacceptable subject of his harem.

      Her stomach roiled as she struggled to answer. ‘Yes, I know that from the giant book I had to study in twenty-four hours. Same way I know that the royal bride has a two-week grace period before her coronation for the night to happen.’ She certainly wasn’t in a hurry to grace Rahim’s bed, not when the thought of him choosing another bed in the near future stabbed like a hot knife between her ribs.

      ‘That grace period was to accommodate monthly issues that no longer apply to you since you’re already carrying my child. I did not see the need to wait,’ he stated.

      Allegra’s head snapped round to him as she caught the thick pulse of lust in his voice. She was fiercely glad the interior of the Jeep was dark and he couldn’t see her unguarded reaction to that lust. Or the need for it to be solely hers. ‘I didn’t think...we didn’t discuss anything about the physical part of our marriage.’

      ‘What is there to discuss?’ he demanded.

      She gave a shocked laugh. ‘A lot, I should imagine. Or did you think I would accept the status quo without question?’

      He directed a frown at her. ‘What are you talking about?’

      ‘Why did you not take my call this afternoon, before the wedding?’ she slammed back, the hurt she’d tried her best to gloss over gaping wider.

      ‘I