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Chapter 45 The Doubts?
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DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 46 I Won't Marry You Amira
SHE’D BEATEN HIM to it, Abdullah thought bemusedly, even as an elemental panic clawed at his insides. He’d been considering marriage to Amira as a solution to both of their problems since this morning. Yet looking at her now, seeing the hope and determination blazing in her eyes, everything in him resisted. There had to be another solution.Slowly he shook his head. ‘That’s impossible, Amira.’‘Why is it impossible?’ she demanded.‘Because I have no wish or reason to marry you, Amira.’ Better to be brutal. Nip it in the bud, if he could. ‘You may be desperate, but I am not.’She flinched, but only slightly. ‘Are you sure about that, Abdullah?’‘Quite sure. You asked for a wedding night, Amira, not a marriage.’‘Well, now I’m asking for a marriage.’‘And I’m telling you the answer is no.’ He rose from his chair, fought the panic that was crashing over him in tidal waves. ‘This discussion is over.’She raised her eyebrows, a small smile playing about her mouth. A mouth he’d kissed. Tast
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 47 Marriage Of Convenience
It had been worth a shot, Amira told herself as she walked back to her tent, escorted by the same men who guarded her. They didn’t speak and neither did she, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to manage a word. Her throat ached and she was afraid that if she so much as opened her mouth she’d burst into tears.Back in her tent she sat on her bed, blinking hard to contain all the pain and hurt she felt. Then suddenly, almost angrily, she wondered why she bothered. Why not have a good cry? Let it all out? No one was here to hear her or think her weak or stupid or far too feminine.She lay down on her bed, drew her knees up to her chest and swallowed hard. Crying—letting herself cry—was so hard. She’d kept everything in for so long because she’d had to. Men like Markos in Muscat were always looking for chinks in her armor, ways to weaken her authority. Shedding a single tear would have been just handing them ammunition. The only time she ever cried was when she had nightmares. In Abdu
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 48 Doubts
‘Amira...Amira!’Amira felt hard hands on her shoulders drawing her up from her damp pillow and then cradling her against an even harder chest.Abdullah. For a second she let herself enjoy the feel of him. Then she remembered that she’d been bawling her eyes out and twisted out of his embrace.‘You should have knocked,’ she snapped, dashing the tears from her cheeks. She probably looked frightful, her face blotchy, her eyes red and swollen...She sniffed. And she has a running nose. Perfect.‘Knock?’ Abdullah repeated, one eyebrow raised in eloquent skepticism. ‘On the flap of a tent?’‘You know what I mean,’ she retorted. ‘You should have made your presence known.’Abdullah regarded her quietly for a moment. ‘You’re right,’ he finally said. ‘I should have. I’m sorry.’‘Well.’ She sniffed again, trying desperately for dignity. ‘Thank you.’‘Why were you crying, Amira?’She shook her head as if she could deny the overwhelming evidence of her tears. ‘It’s been a couple of very long days
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 49 Back To Muscat
AMIRA GAZED OUT of the window of the royal jet at the perfect azure sky and marveled at how quickly things had changed. Just forty-eight hours earlier she’d been sobbing into her pillow, stuck in the middle of the desert with no possibilities and no hope.Now she was flying back to Muscat with Abdullah by her side, planning a wedding in just a few days’ time, and everything was possible.Well, almost everything. She snuck a sideways glance at Abdullah who sat opposite her, his face looking as if it had been chiseled from marble. A deep frown had settled between his brows and his mouth was its usual hard line. He’d barely spoken to her since he’d reconsidered her marriage proposal, a proposal which Amira had wondered more than once whether she should have accepted.Yet in the moment before she’d agreed, when he’d been waiting for her answer, she’d seen a look of uncertainty on his face, almost as if he were bracing himself for a blow. As if he expected her to reject him.That moment of
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 50 The Council
She stared at him uncertainly for a moment and he imagined how hard it must have been for her, all of nineteen years old, devastated by grief and so utterly alone, trying to assert herself against the sanctimonious prigs of her Council. The fact that she was still here, still strong, both amazed and humbled him.‘You can do it,’ he said softly. ‘You can do anything you set your mind to, Amira. I know that. I’ve seen it.’She gave him a small, tremulous smile. ‘Except maybe make a fire in the middle of the desert.’He felt himself grin back at her. ‘There were a few flames going there. If that snake hadn’t come along...’‘If you hadn’t come along,’ she shot back, her smile widening, and then she drew her up and turned towards the double gold-paneled doors.He watched as she threw open the doors, grinned at the sight of twelve slack-jawed, middle-aged men rising hastily to their feet as Amira walked into the room.‘Good afternoon, gentlemen,’ she greeted them regally, and Abdullah had t
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 51 He Learned To Trust Her
Suddenly her mouth was dry. Her heart beat harder. ‘No,’ she whispered.He took another step towards her and then another, so if she lifted her hand she could touch him. He smiled down at her. ‘I didn’t think so.’Of course, he didn’t think so. Her need for him was obvious, overwhelming, and undeniable. And the very force of it made her bold. ‘I want you, Abdullah.’ Appreciation flared in his eyes. ‘I want you too.’Want. So basic, so huge, yet Amira felt even more than just that. She felt gratitude and admiration, respect and joy, all because of what he’d done, who he was. How he’d helped and strengthened her. She’d never expected to feel that way about someone, to have that person fulfill a need and hope in her she hadn’t even known she had.The need to tell him all that she felt was an ache in her chest, a pressure building inside her, so she opened her mouth to speak, to say even just a fraction of what was in her heart.But Abdullah didn’t let her.He curled his hands around her
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 52 The Fake Wedding?
Their wedding took place in the palace chapel, with only the Council members and their wives, as well as a few ambassadors and diplomats, in attendance.Amira wore a cream silk sheath dress and a matching fascinator, no veil or bouquet, or really anything bridal at all. She’d picked the outfit with the help of her stylist when she’d arrived in Muscat, thinking only of what image she wanted to present to her public. She’d wanted to seem like a woman in control of her country and her destiny, perfectly prepared to begin this businesslike marriage.She hadn’t wanted to look like a woman in love, yet she knew now that was what she was. And as she turned to Abdullah to say her vows she wished, absurdly, perhaps, for a meringue of a dress and a great, big bouquet, a lovely lace veil and a father to give her away.Never mind, she told herself. It’s the marriage that matters, not the wedding. Yet what kind of marriage would she have with Abdullah?Last night had been so tender, so wonderful a
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 53 I Want To Love You
THE NEXT MORNING they boarded the royal jet to Paris. Since last night Amira had felt closer to Abdullah than ever before, even though neither of them had put a name to what they felt. Perhaps it was too early to put such fragile feelings into words; in any case, Amira was simply glad to be sharing Abdullah’s life, and that he wanted her to.‘You must be very close to your aunt,’ she said as the plane took off and they settled into their seats. A royal steward brought a tray of coffee and pastries into the main cabin.Abdullah poured milk into both of their coffees, his mouth twisting in something like a grimace. ‘I am, but it is a complicated relationship.’‘How so?’‘When Aunt found me, I’d been in the desert for three years. I was...’ He paused, his gaze on the bright blue sky visible from the plane’s windows. ‘Difficult. No, that is putting a polite spin on it—feral is a better description.’Feral. Amira swallowed and blinked back sudden tears. Emotions, ones she’d suppressed and
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