‘You must come back to Barazbin. I am the sole heir.’ He resisted the urge to tell her that their marriage must provide heirs for the country. That was a given fact.
She shook her head. ‘No, Kazim, that’s never going to happen.’
He sighed impatiently. ‘I am concerned for our people. Your absence has brought my ability to rule into doubt. You will come back with me. Do you understand?’
Irritation surged through Amber, instantly replacing the softer emotion she’d felt for Kazim as he’d told her about his father. ‘Oh, I understand, Kazim. You think you can send me away and order me back at your whim. I don’t feel like your wife, Kazim. It has been ten months since we married and this is the first time I have seen you.’
All the hurt and anger she’d kept inside her since that night bubbled up, giving her the confidence to face this man who had broken her heart and shattered her foolish dreams.
‘We married out of duty, Amber—never forget that.’ His calm voice was full of authority, his expression harsh and forbidding. ‘And now my duty is to return to Barazbin—with you.’
RACHAEL THOMAS has always loved reading romance and is thrilled to be a Modern Romance™ author. She lives and works on a farm in Wales—a far cry from the glamour of a Modern story—but that makes slipping into her characters’ world all the more appealing. When she’s not writing or working on the farm she enjoys photography and visiting historic castles and grand houses. Visit her at www.rachaelthomas.co.uk
For Kate Walker and Sharon Kendrick, whose inspiring and encouraging courses have helped me enormously.
THIS WAS THE MOMENT Amber had been looking forward to. Her wedding day. Her new husband, Prince Kazim Al Amed of Barazbin, was powerful and, despite her nerves, Amber wanted their first night together to be perfect. He might be the man her father had chosen for her to marry, but she’d given her heart to him the moment they’d first met. His reputation preceded him and she intended to hide her virginal innocence by playing the role of seductress to perfection.
As soon as they’d left the wedding feast things had changed, had gone wrong. His warm smile had disappeared and he stood in their suite, anger clouding his handsome face.
‘I have no wish for this marriage.’ He almost had to force the word ‘marriage’ out. ‘There is no need to change your life.’
‘Change my life?’ How could he so calmly say that? Of course her life would change, but she held her chin high, kept her strength, not wanting to appear weak to a man so strong.
‘Like you, I have married out of duty and respect for my family.’ His eyes, as black as obsidian, fixed on hers and a sizzle of something indefinable raced down her spine. She clenched her fingers tightly beneath the silk of her abaya.
He picked up her hand; the warmth of his fingers around hers made her heart race and for a moment she saw confusion in his eyes.
‘We have done our duty. Now you will return to your family.’
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