The Duke's Runaway Princess Page 0,58

demeanor of the man changed. Gone was the arrogance and in its place was a reverence for both woman and child.

“Sidra, I have this under control…” Rashid tried to say as he protected his infant child with his arms.

She looked around and shook her head, linking her arms with Zarah’s. “It doesn’t appear to be under control.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her husband’s guilty expression. “Rashid, what did you do?”

Zarah laughed at her brother’s stunned expression, knowing he was trapped and couldn’t talk his way out of this one. “He kidnapped me and brought me back yesterday morning. The reason I haven’t come to say hello to you is because he’s restricted me to certain areas of the palace and your suite isn’t one of them.”

Sidra’s mouth dropped open with shock and horror at that explanation. She turned back to her husband, hands on her hips and glared at him. “Please tell me you didn’t really do that!”

Rashid stepped forward, shaking his head in an effort to appease her. “Now honey, it isn’t as bad as you think…”

Zarah wasn’t going to let him get away with anything. “He had me bound hands and feet, even a gag in my mouth so I couldn’t even talk to the men who carried me into the plane,” Zarah announced, then realized that she might have brought Sidra more on her side, but now Derrick was livid.

“You did that to my fiancée?” he demanded, stepping forward and trying very hard to get Zarah safely out of his path so he could pummel her brother more thoroughly.

Rashid wasn’t sure who he should appease first. His instinct was to soothe his wife, but Zarah’s new man was the most imminent threat. Zarah might not be a bad one either since she was sowing the seeds of his banishment from Sidra’s bedroom quickly, a situation he refused to let happen.

Deciding that his wife was more important than anything at the moment, he turned to face her, soothing Tiala by gently rocking her in his arms. “It isn’t like that.”

“What was it like?” Sidra demanded. “She’s your sister and fully capable of making her own decisions. We discussed this over and over while she was away.” She turned to Derrick, looking him up and down and smiling. “Besides, I know about the men you were trying to set her up with and it looks like she’s done a much better job than you did in selecting a man.”

Zarah smothered her laughter at Sidra’s assessment, but completely agreed with her. Rashid, on the other hand, was not amused. “Now wait a minute, Sidra. Those men were perfectly acceptable. They had the right pedigree and could protect my sister properly. Unlike some others…” he said, looking behind his wife at Zarah’s choice.

“I’ll damn well make sure she’s protected from you!” Derrick growled, wrapping his arm around Zarah’s waist and pulling her back against him.

“I can protect myself!” she replied vehemently, but Rashid noticed that she didn’t pull away from the man’s touch. Even got a bit closer, in fact.

With a sigh, he shook his head, conceding the issue of his sister’s choice in husbands. “If this is the man you choose, Zarah, you have my blessing.”

“And you won’t interfere again?”

Rashid closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “As long as I know you are safe, I won’t interfere.”

Zarah knew that was as good as she was going to get. “Fine. Then yes, Derrick is my choice.” She tensed initially, until she felt Derrick’s arm tighten around her waist, telling her that she’d said the right thing. Zarah relaxed, even leaning against him with the relief that was flowing through her. Involuntarily, she glanced down at the beautiful ring on her finger, feeling a rush of warmth flow through her.

“Now that this is all settled,” Sidra announced, walking over to Rashid and taking her daughter out of his arms, “Let’s have something to eat.” She glared at her husband as she said, “A nice, family meal without any arguments so we can get to know the newest member of our family.”

She was about to glance away when something on her husband’s face caught her eye. “Rashid, is there a bruise on your cheek?”

Rashid blushed and pulled his wife and daughter closer. “Never mind.”

Zarah glanced up at Derrick. “I can’t believe you took a swing at him.”

Derrick pulled her around so that they had a bit of privacy. “I won’t let anyone take you away from me, Zarah.”

Sidra realized that these two needed a moment alone and pulled her husband farther away, trying to give them some privacy. She nodded to the palace guards as well as the body guards Zarah’s fiancé had brought with him and all of them took several steps back, understanding that the tension was gone and the potential threats had finally been diffused.

Zarah reached up and touched Derrick’s face, regret in her eyes. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about my past.”

“This is why you didn’t tell Joe and Alicia your last name, right? He would have recognized your name so you purposely kept it out of the conversation.”

Zarah smiled sheepishly. “Absolutely. I thought if you knew who I was, things would change between us.”

“And you’d have to leave because you didn’t think your brother would allow me to marry you.”

She shrugged as she nodded. “You should have seen the men my brother had chosen as appropriate husbands.” She shuddered at the memory.

He grinned as his hands moved against her waist. “So are you saying I’m the lesser of those evils?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No. You’re not a lesser evil. In fact, I’m not really sure what I’m getting myself into.”

Derrick raised one eyebrow and bent his head lower. “Maybe I should remind you,” he suggested softly as he gently kissed her soft lips.

Zarah’s instantly raised her face up to his, eager for the kiss she’d only recently thought never to experience again. “Maybe you should,” she sighed and let her arms curl around his neck.

They didn’t even notice Rashid’s glance back, see his baby sister in a man’s arms and the way he started to advance on the two of them. He only made it two steps before his wife grabbed his arm and with just a gentle look and a shake of her head, he turned around and left the lovers alone. Reluctantly.

“How long is this meal with your family going to last?” Derrick asked a long time later.

Zarah chuckled and kissed the middle of his chest. “If I know my brother, it will last a long time.”

“And then I can get you naked and into my bed?”

She had to laugh, but was just as eager. “You’ll have to get through the normal palace guards. And the extra guards that I’m sure my brother will place in strategic places around my room.”

Derrick simply shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t imagine anything stopping me from getting to you. I found you once. There’s no way I’m going to lose you again.”

Zarah looked up at him with a sly look. “Don’t worry about it. Rashid doesn’t know about some of the secret tunnels. My sister used them all the time to get into and out of the palace. I’m sure there’s one that will lead me right to you.”

Derrick was stunned for a long moment but then he threw back his head and laughed, hugging Zarah to him as he thought about this shy, wonderfully passionate woman sneaking through secret tunnels for him. “I love you,” he said and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you too,” she repeated back to him, amazed at how wonderful it felt to be facing a wedding to a man she genuinely loved.