“I’m not flying back to New York.”
“Frankly, Lord Rashid, I don’t give a damn where you’re—”
“I’m flying to Quidar. My father’s having political problems. Serious ones.”
Amanda folded her arms. As excuses went, this was a good one but then, a man who was the son of an absolute monarch wouldn’t be reduced to pleading absence because of a sick grandmother.
“It’s the truth.”
It probably was. Nick might not have much loyalty to the women who warmed his bed, but she had no doubt that he was loyal to his king and to his kingdom.
“I’m sorry to hear it,” she said stiffly.
“I’ll be gone a week. Or a month. I can’t be certain.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Your Highness.”
“Dammit,” Nick growled, clasping her elbows and lifting her to her toes, “what’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing’s the matter with me.”
“Don’t lie to me, Amanda.”
“Why not? I asked you that same question a little while ago. Remember? ‘What’s the matter?’ I said, and you gave me the answer I just gave you.”
“Yeah, well, I lied.” His hands tightened on her. “You want an answer? All right. I’ll give you one.” He took a deep breath. “I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of…” He let go of her, ran his hands through his hair. Color striped his cheekbones. “I don’t know.” He hesitated. “Dammit, I was afraid of you.”
“The Lion of the Desert? Afraid of me?” She laughed and took a step back. “Nice try, Your Loftiness, but—”
Nick pulled her into his arms. “This isn’t a game! I’m trying to tell you what happened to me this morning. When I kissed you, when I knew it was time to leave you…” His throat constricted. “Amanda.” He drew her close, cupped her face and looked into her eyes. “Come with me.”
“Come with you?”
“Yes. I don’t want to leave you. I can’t leave you.” He kissed her, then looked into her eyes again. “Come with me, sweetheart.”
“No!” Marta Baron’s voice rang out like the hour bell from a campanile. Amanda spun around and saw her mother, standing in the entrance to the breakfast room. “Amanda, darling, don’t go. Please. I have this feeling…”
“Amanda,” Nick said softly, “I want you with me.”
What was the good of pretending? Amanda turned to the man she loved. “And I want to be with you.”
An hour later, they were in the air, en route to an ancient kingdom where the word of the Lion of the Desert was law.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
NICK wasted no time once Amanda said she’d go with him.
They were in the air in record time. Shortly after takeoff, he took out his cell phone and made a flurry of calls. Then he sat back and took Amanda’s hand.
“Abdul will meet us in Quidar.”
“You’ve asked Abdul to fly to Quidar?”
“Yes, of course. He’s familiar with the situation back home. He’s worked with me for years, and before me—”
“I know. Your father, and your grandfather, too.”
“Exactly.” Nick brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “You don’t like Abdul, do you?”
“I don’t know him well enough not to like him. It’s just…I get the feeling he doesn’t like me.” Amanda looked at their joined hands, then at Nick. “I doubt if he’ll be very happy when he sees you’ve brought me with you.”
“He’s my secretary. He’s not required to think about anything other than his duties. My private life isn’t his concern.”
“You don’t really believe that,” she said with a little laugh. “Everything about you is Abdul’s concern.”
“No, sweetheart, you’re wrong. The duties of the secretary to the heir to the throne are very clear. It is—”
“—the custom,” Amanda said, more sharply than she’d intended.
“Yes. Such things are very important in my country.”
“Customs. Duties. And rules.”
“Sweetheart, don’t look like that.”
“Like what?” she said, and even she could hear the petulance in her voice.
Nick put his arm around her. “You’ll like Quidar.” He smiled. “At least, I hope you will.”
Amanda sighed and let herself lean into him. “How long is the flight?”
“Too long for us to try to make it in this plane. We’d have to stop for refueling at least twice, and I don’t want to waste the time. We’ll board a commercial jet in Dallas. And…” He glanced at his watch. “And twelve hours from now, we’ll step down on the soil of my homeland.”
The soil of his homeland. A place called Quidar. A country so remote, so ancient, that it had only opened its borders to outsiders under the rule of Nick’s father…
Amanda sat up straight. “Nick. I just realized I don’t have my passport.”
He smiled and reached for her hand. “That’s not a problem.”
“But it is. They won’t let me out of the country without—’
“You only need a passport to get back into the States. And, of course, to enter Quidar.” He tugged gently on her hand and drew her close to his side. “You forget, sweetheart. You’re traveling with me. I’ll see to it you’ll have no difficulty reentering your country.” His smile tilted. “And I can guarantee you’ll be allowed to enter mine.”
“But…”
She hesitated, trying to find the right words. His explanation wa
s simple. What wasn’t simple was the sudden panic she felt at the thought of leaving everything familiar and going into the unknown with a man she hardly knew.
Without a passport, she’d be totally dependent on Nick. And she knew what that kind of dependency could do to a woman after seeing the mistakes of her mother’s two marriages and experiencing the problems of her own.
“I’d just feel better if I had my passport.” She tried to soften the words with a smile. “It would seem strange to travel abroad without—”
The phone beside Nick buzzed. He picked it up.
“Yes?” he said brusquely, and then he frowned. “Please tell my father I’m on my way. No, no, I’m glad you called. Yes. I understand.” He put the phone down slowly, his face troubled.
“Nick? What is it?”
A muscle knotted in his cheek, a sign she’d come to know meant he was worried.
“That was my father’s physician. My father hasn’t been well. And now this added stress…” He fell silent, then cleared his throat. “Well,” he said briskly, “what were we talking about?”
Amanda twined her fingers through his. “You were explaining why I didn’t need my passport.”
“And you were explaining why you did.”
“Well, I was wrong.” She brought his hand to her face and pressed it to her cheek. “Ah, the joys of traveling with the Lion of the Desert,” she said lightly.
Nick looked deep into her eyes. “I’m not the Lion of the Desert when I’m with you,” he said, and he drew her into his arms and kissed her.
* * *
They changed planes in Dallas and settled into the first-class cabin of the commercial flight that would take them to Quidar.
The flight attendant who brought them champagne recognized Nick and dropped a quick curtsy. “Your Highness. How nice to have you with us again.”
She turned brightly curious eyes on Amanda. Nick took her hand.
“Thank you,” he said politely, and asked something inconsequential about the projected flight.
“Forgive me for not introducing you,” he said softly when they were alone again.
“That’s all right.” It wasn’t. Amanda knew how stiff her words must sound. “You’re under no obligation to—”