Desert King, Pregnant Mistress(30)

'Good for me?' Beth clutched her chest. 'You never were talking about marriage, were you?'

'Marriage?' he said. 'What are you talking about?'

'You  must think I'm naïve,' Beth said, unable to stem the tears pouring  down  her face. 'You'd be right-I am naïve, and stupid too.'

'Of course you're not stupid.'

'I was making plans, Khal … I'd planned everything we'd do together when we were married, for Hana, and for Q'Adar … '

'You can still do these things; I don't see what's changed.'

She  laughed, a sad sound. 'I'm wasting my time thinking there's a human   being under those robes, aren't I? There isn't a human being behind  your  title, there's just the ruler of Q'Adar-a cold, unfeeling man.'  She  shook him off when he tried to take hold of her. 'A man who will  stop at  nothing to get what he wants, even if that means trampling over  those  who love him.'

'Beth-'

'No, Khal!' She shook him off. 'Did  you think you could stick me away  out of sight in the old fort so I'd  be there at your convenience, and  buy my silence with a holiday home in  Liverpool? No!' she warned him  again. 'Stay away from me! You talked  about love. You talked about how  much I meant to you, when all the time  you were planning this-'

'I was trying to show you how much you mean to me.'

'By setting me up in a love nest at the old fort?'

'Eventually, when the renovations were completed, I did think we could meet there-'

'Far away from prying eyes?'

'I was thinking of you.'

'And yourself too, no doubt!'

'I thought the renovation project would provide you with an ongoing interest.'

'Don't  you dare patronise me, Khal. I don't need anything to keep me  busy. I'm  a mother, I've got Hana, and I work for my living back in  England.'

'You can't just cut me out of your life,' Khal reminded her.

'And  you can't ignore mine. You have no idea, do you?' she exclaimed.  'To  you a relationship between a man and a woman is all about ownership  and  possession. For me, it's about the freedom to love  unconditionally-'

'And that's the difference between us,' he cut across her. 'I'm the realist, Beth, and you're the dreamer.'

'And  you dream of a warm bed and welcoming arms at the fort? No way,  Khal!  You can't stick me away in the desert and enjoy me whenever you  have a  spare moment.'

'Don't make it sound so sordid.'

'Isn't  it?' She backed away from him, from his scent, from his heat,  from his  overwhelming presence. 'What type of role models do you think  we'd make  for Hana if I do as you suggest?'                       
       
           



       

'Hana is a princess of Q'Adar, and will have an army of servants-'

'Hana doesn't need an army of servants, what she needs is love and security.'

'And you think I wouldn't give her that?'

'I would never stop you seeing Hana, you know that, Khal. You also know I will never stay here as your mistress.'

'I've only just got Hana back, and I won't let you take her out of Q'Adar.'

'No court in the land would refuse you joint custody-'

'No court in which land?'

Beth  shuddered involuntarily. The man she had so briefly known had   disappeared, and she was confronting a stranger determined to impose his   will on her. 'Please don't be unreasonable. This is our daughter we're   talking about.'

'Exactly. Hana will live in the royal apartments, with me and with other members of the royal family.'

Beth  paled as the truth sank in. 'And if you had your way Hana's mother   would be housed some miles away, out of sight in the old fort? I don't   think so.'

He stopped her leaving at the door. 'Where do you think you're going?'

'Away  from you-to the nursery,' Beth said as her thoughts came into  clear  focus. 'I'm going to collect Hana, pack our cases, and get out of   here-I'm going to take Hana home.'

'This is her home, and if you want to go, if you want to leave without your daughter, so be it.'

Beth could only stare at Khal in astonishment. 'You can't mean that. You can't imagine I would leave without Hana?'

'Hana's place is in Q'Adar with me, as is yours.'

'My  place? Should I know my place, Khal? Is that it? Should I be  grateful  for all your bounty?' Beth cast a disparaging glance at the  discarded  jewels. 'I've never known my place, and I can't be bought.  Now, open  this door,' she said, rattling the handle. 'Let me out of  here!'

'You can go,' he said, releasing his hold on the door. 'But Hana stays with me.'

'Stay  with you? Do you think I want my daughter growing up with a stone  for a  heart? You think everything can be fixed with money and power,  but I  know it can't. I know when I'm being offered something  worthless.'

'Worthless? I'm offering you a home and security!'

'Shut  away as your mistress?' When he remained silent, Beth shook her  head.  'It's an empty gesture, Khal. I already have a home, and Hana and  I have  everything we need.'

'As a royal princess of Q'Adar, Hana will need round-the-clock security, can you give her that?'

Beth paled as the helplessness of her position sank in.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN




'IT  DOESN'T have to be like this,' Khal told her as Beth turned her  face  from his blazing stare. 'I never meant to hurt you. Beth, please  listen  to me. You shouldn't be so stubborn. You don't have to stand  alone. You  don't have to be brave all the time.'

'Yes, I do.'

As she  bit her fist to stem the tears, he knew he ruled a country in  which  millions of people depended on him, but could see no way out of  this.  Having Beth stand broken in front of him was more than he could  bear,  and he would do anything to make it right for her. Anything  except marry  her, of course. He could never do that. 'What can I do to  make this  better for you?'

'Nothing,' she told him bluntly, recovering.  'You can't do anything.  Just let me appoint a lawyer who can help me  sort this out.'

'I can help you sort it out.'

'I don't want your type of solution.'

'We could live as a family here.'

'Until you were married? I won't live some charade in Q'Adar, Khal.'

'As  my mistress you're not at risk,' he said pragmatically. 'You would  be  safe to return to the house in Liverpool whenever you wanted to.'

'And leave Hana here with you and your bride?'

Folding  his hands inside the sleeves of his robe, Khal stared at her  levelly.  'I suggest you go and think about this Beth … think about all  your  options.'                       
       
           



       

She stared at him, the man she loved-a man so changed  she hardly  recognised him. 'I'll do that, Your Majesty,' Beth said  tensely.



She had no intention of sitting around doing  nothing, or of accepting  her fate as decreed by His Majesty, Khalifa  Kadir al Hassan. She rang  the airport and booked a flight. It was that  simple. Then she went to  the nursery, and, after speaking to the staff  on duty, lifted Hana from  her cot. She had no intention of running off  or sneaking away; she  would do this properly. Hana wouldn't be at risk  for an instant,  because she would phone the Foreign Office in England  and have the  appropriate security measures put in place for when they  landed. She  had tried reason, but Khal wasn't interested, so now she  would take  action. Then later in England she would appoint a solicitor  to act for  them.


Beth asked one of the professional nannies  to accompany her. 'Just as  far as the airport,' she explained as they  left the palace through a  side gate. She had telephoned ahead to the  coach house where there were  drivers on duty night and day. 'I want His  Majesty reassured that Hana  boarded the aircraft safely.'

The  woman assured her that she would do this, and Beth thanked her  before  climbing into the rear of the limousine with Hana asleep in her  arms



He  guessed Beth would be in the nursery with Hana. When he discovered  they  were gone, he issued an all-points alert to close the borders. But  if  possible he intended to apprehend them himself. Beth's route was  clear  in his mind. She would try to take Hana back to England where she  would  feel safe. The controller on duty at the coach house confirmed  this. The  next thing he did was call up the limousine and tell the  driver to  return to the palace with his passengers immediately. When  he'd done  that, he'd jump in a Jeep to follow them overland while his  helicopters  circled overhead.



They had been driving for some time  when Beth asked the driver to stop.  He had been driving far too fast in  Beth's opinion, and she was  concerned for their safety on the bumpy  road. She rapped on the glass  when he didn't respond, and was alarmed  when he ignored her.