His Defiant Desert Queen(65)

                “You told him that?”

                “No, not then.”

                “But you did go to your mother? You tried to make amends?”

                He sat still, expression blank. “I waited a long time. I waited too long. If I’d gone to her earlier, and tried to help her earlier, she might not have relied so much on others. On outsiders.”

                “Like my father.”

                He nodded. “I should have been there for her sooner.” His expression turned mocking. “You can see why I don’t like talking about the past. I was not a good person. I was a very destructive person, and that is why I’m so driven to redeem the Karims and restore honor to our family and Saidia. I cannot let my mother’s death be in vain.”

                “I think you judge yourself too harshly,” she said gently.

                “Power is never to be abused.”

                “I have yet to see you abuse your power. If anything, you appear determined to be fair, even if your idea of justice is very different from how we, in the West, would view it.”

                “Then perhaps I have begun to make amends.” He smiled at her, but his smile failed to light his dark eyes, then he glanced out the window, and nodded. “See those lights in the distance? That’s where we are having dinner tonight, my queen.”

                Jemma gazed out at the swathe of darkness with the pinpricks of light. “Is that a restaurant?”

                “No.” Amusement warmed his voice. “Not a restaurant. At least not the way you’d think of it. But it is where we’re eating.”





                                      CHAPTER ELEVEN

                JEMMA WAS SPEECHLESS as Mikael escorted her into the tent. Plush crimson carpets covered the sand. Rustic copper lanterns hung from the tent’s wooden poles. More lanterns and candles glowed on low tables. From the fire pit outside the tent she caught a whiff of roasted lamb. As if on cue, her stomach growled.

                Mikael looked at her. “Ready to eat?”

                “Starving,” she admitted.

                “You’re in luck. Our first course is ready.”

                The grilled vegetables and meat were served with a couscous flavored with slivered almonds and currants. They scooped up the couscous and meat with chunks of warm sesame bread and Mikael was fascinating company, as always.

                Jemma welcomed his stories about Saidia’s history and tribal lore, understanding now why he’d worn his robes tonight. This was his desert. His world.

                Just then the evening breeze played with the sheer silk panels lining the tent, parting the material, giving her a glimpse of the white moon and the deep purple black sky.

                The night sky was so bright and the stars dazzled. The sky never looked like this in London or New York. But in the vastness of the desert, with darkness stretching in every direction, the sky literally glowed with light.

                “Beautiful night,” Mikael said, following her gaze.

                She nodded. “Amazing. I feel like I’m in a fairy tale.”

                He hesitated a moment. “I think after the honeymoon, we should go visit your mother. I don’t want her to worry about you. She has enough worries already.”