“I meant only to discipline my daughter,” Tamara’s father explained nervously. “She has shamed your family and your country with her promiscuous ways.”
Jurid dropped Idran’s wrist, as if it disgusted him to even touch the man. “Only a coward hits a woman,” Jurid sneered. “And I know Princess Tamara very well. She is not promiscuous. She is proud and brave. She is intelligent and a brilliant businesswoman. She danced with that man and left with her friends.”
Tamara had no idea how Jurid knew that, but it was true. She had danced that night with Mike and Joe and then gone home alone. It hadn’t even been very late because the three of them weren’t night owls. Besides, Tamara had planned a run the following morning, so she hadn’t even had alcohol.
Jurid wasn’t finished. “You will leave this place. And if I ever hear that you’ve hit a woman, then be warned, all ties to our country will be severed.”
Idran sputtered for a moment, but he knew that Jurid was the more powerful ruler. Slowly, he backed out, trying desperately to save his dignity. “I will leave you to discuss…things…with my daughter. I look forward to a fruitful relationship with Tular.” With that, he was gone.
Jurid turned to look at Tamara and she threw herself into his arms. For a moment, he was surprised by her vehemence, then his arms closed around her and he buried his nose in her hair, holding her close.
“Has he ever hit you?” he asked, tightening his arms around her. He needed to hold her close, to know that she was unharmed. He felt her trembling and tried to absorb her fears and to share some of his strength.
“It’s over now,” she whispered, clinging to him. “Thank you.”
He closed his eyes at the horror of that fat slob slapping her. His woman! Damn it, Tamara was his woman! She was so damn beautiful and when she’d stood there, proud and defiant, he’d wanted to kill that man!
He pulled back slightly, but didn’t release her. “If he ever touches you again, I will destroy him!”
She touched his cheek as she smiled. “It’s okay. He’s gone now.”
“You don’t understand,” he started to say, but she leaned into him, resting her cheek against his chest.
“I understand. And I’m sorry. I used to know how to protect myself. But I’m out of practice.”
He shuddered again, tightening his arms around her. “You shouldn’t have to!” he hissed. “He’s your father! He should be protecting you from harm, not you trying to protect yourself from him.”
“Yes, in an ideal world, that’s the way things should go.” She snuggled closer. “But I was away at school for most of my youth, so he didn’t really hit me all that much. My mother knows to keep her voice low and to stay out of his way. She has a system with the servants to protect her.”
“That’s ridiculous!” he snapped, horrified.
“That’s the way he is. And because he’s in power, it’s not going to change.” Tamara snuggled against his chest and his fingers wove into her hair. He wanted to pick her up and carry her off to the car where he could fly her to his country and protect her forever. But that wasn’t Tamara. She was independent and strong.
Besides, he wanted her to choose him. He wanted her heart and soul. But she wasn’t willing to give him that. And after what he’d seen with her father, he understood why. She didn’t trust him yet.
But she’d given him her body. Was that enough?
It would have to be, he told himself. Because the idea of a future without Tamara in it was unacceptable.
He turned and nodded to his guards, two stood sentry at the front door and he knew that another two would be standing at the back entryway.
“I came here to talk to you, love.” She looked up at him and his gut clenched. “I have to leave. I wanted to stay and be with you for a bit longer, but I have responsibilities back home.” He saw those eyes shutter and knew that he was losing her. She was closing down, shutting him out. “I want you to think about something while I’m gone.”
She pulled out of his arms and leaned back against the desk, folding her arms over her stomach. His gaze dropped to her breasts but he quickly lifted it back up to her face.
“I want you to think about setting a date for our wedding,” he said, watching her carefully. Before she could completely shut down, he took her hands, trying to open up her body language in the hopes of opening up her mind. “We’ve had a great week together. I know that you don’t love me. But I think we could forge a marriage based off of mutual respect.” She looked down and he stroked the backs of her hands with his thumbs. “We don’t need love, Tamara. We have desire, which is strong. And I respect you. I think that you respect me as well. That should be enough for a strong marriage.”
She looked out the window, but he couldn’t read her eyes. She looked lost, as if she was in pain, and he didn’t know why. If he could figure that out, he’d take her pain away in an instant, make her smile again.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time. Already, he’d put off his meetings for several hours just so he’d have time to talk with her, to settle this between them. He hadn’t come to London to force this issue, but after spending a week in her arms, in her company, he knew what he wanted. He wanted Tamara. Forever.
But he wanted her to come to him willingly.
Yes, he could force the issue. Her parents had signed a treaty with his country. The betrothal was legally binding. If he and Tamara both agreed to set the betrothal aside, that would be one thing. But he wanted her. He wanted all of her, damn it!
“Will you think about it?” he asked.
She looked back up at him, her eyes shuttered. “Yes,” she finally replied. “Yes, I’ll definitely think about it.”
“Good,” he told her. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his guard signal to him, indicating that they needed to hurry. “I’m leaving some guards to watch out for you. I know that you don’t like having someone follow you around, but you are still my fiancée. Unfortunately, that puts you in danger. So, I need to protect you. They will stay out of your way as much as possible, okay?”
“That’s fine.” She bit her lip and he ached to kiss her again. So instead of waiting, he lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. “I hope that you will miss me,” he murmured, then pulled away.
Before he could do more, he released her hands and left, forcing himself to step into the waiting limousine that would take him away.
Chapter 10
“Sire,” his head of security stopped just outside of his office doorway. Jurid turned and looked at the man, noting the grim expression.
“Come in,” he called out, and moved away from the windows. It had been three days since he’d left Tamara in London and he still ached for her. He was going to call her tonight and talk to her, get her to talk about her feelings regarding setting a date for their wedding.
“We’ve had more chatter,” his guard announced.
That got his attention and his head snapped up. “More than usual?”
“This is very specific, Sire, and we’re not sure what it means. There are threats coming from every direction and the data we’ve pulled up indicates that there is an imminent threat to the palace.”