to ride in and carry her off on his Arabian stallion, Serena thought she would have to really bite down hard to keep her dismay in check.
She would know in less than thirty minutes.
In the hallway outside, the sound of maids scurrying with excitement caught her attention. That meant the arrival of the prince.
Serena closed her eyes to compose herself and waited for her maids to fetch her.
The door flew open.
“He’s here! The prince has arrived!” her ladies announced with glee.
Serena stared at them. “And the palace gossip says he is…?” she prompted.
They looked back at her uneasily.
“Out with it,” she told them. “Prepare me for the worst.”
“Tall,” was the first response.
“Loud,” was the second.
“Not dressed appropriately,” was the third. “Not like a prince.”
Serena’s eyebrows rose.
“Jeans, a cowboy hat and boots, my lady,” her most trusted handmaiden explained.
Serena drew herself up, unwilling to allow palace gossip to titter over the depth of her dismay. Nor would she embarrass her bridegroom with her reluctance.
“Take me to him,” she said.
Chapter Three
The minute he stepped into the palace, Cade knew he’d underestimated the warmth of welcome extended to Prince Makin. King Zak’s idea of hush-hush apparently didn’t extend to a close gathering of advisers. A large room Cade would have described as a ballroom was filled with people wearing lavish ceremonial dress and jewels. It was a greeting meant to please and impress a future ruler.
King Zak apparently felt that to do any less would be to insult Prince Makin.
“Balahar and its king welcome Prince Makin,” a courtier announced.
Cade was led forward. He saw beautiful woman after beautiful woman, all with their eyes downcast as he passed them. If he were in a different position, he would have been strongly inclined to take advantage of the wealth of loveliness temptingly displayed before him.
The king of Balahar sat on a throne at the end of the room, his face lit with a proud smile. Cade was ushered to within two feet of the regal king. He bowed deeply, only rising when the king touched his shoulder.
And then Cade saw the princess. She was brought forward from somewhere behind the throne, and took her place to the side of the king. She was arrayed in stunning purple and gold, and more strands of gold laced through magnificently burnished hair that reached her waist. Cade could see her eyes because she didn’t keep them lowered as he knew custom dictated. Nor did she curtsy as her maidservants were frantically indicating she should. She merely looked at him evenly with fabulous emerald eyes that assessed him as he did her.
She wasn’t tall, but she wasn’t petite, either.
In fact, she was just the perfect height for him. She watched him, and he watched her, and the whole court waited, enveloped in a hush.
He’d never seen a woman like her. The words that blew into his mind weren’t royal in the least: What a babe! She’s a goddess. Mac’s gonna have a fit when he sees how lucky he is!
The princess never blinked as he stared, her perusal so thorough and honest that he had to smile. He’d been checked out by females before, but this lady left coyness to her Arabian sisters. He could tell his jeans and boots didn’t necessarily agree with her but that something about him caught her interest in spite of herself.
So she was as reluctant as Mac was. And not about to get caught buying a stallion without checking out its molars, either.
Cade couldn’t help himself. She was an absolute doll. He grinned hugely at her.
The court erupted with excited whispers and muted applause.
“Welcome to the family, Prince Makin,” King Zak said. “Your acceptance of my daughter, Serena, brings great joy to my heart.”
SERENA’S HEART JUMPED in her chest when her father spoke the words from which there was no going back. It’s done, she thought wildly as the chattering voices swirled around her. King Zak embraced his new son-in-law, and then the prince bowed before her, taking her hand in his as he kissed her fingers.
Shock ran through her. The cowboy prince was not following custom, and it caught her off guard. Strange feelings of excitement ran through her at the touch of his lips brushing her skin. Amazement rippled over her as she hesitated, unsure as to what she should do next. What did he expect from her?
“Smile for me, Princess,” he said softly, for her ears alone.
His husky command threw her into confusion. That voice sought her compliance, made her want to do whatever he wanted of her.
This was not the way she wanted to feel about a husband she wished to feel nothing for.
Even for a princess who knew her duty, the magnetic appeal seeking to steal her senses was overwhelming. Before Serena could force herself to obey her prince, her cowardly legs managed a brief curtsy before she escaped to the shelter of her room.
I cannot do this! I cannot marry a man who looks at me as if he could devour me with a single kiss!
WITHIN MOMENTS, her maidservants came for her. There was no escaping her fate now that Prince Makin had nodded his acceptance of their arranged marriage. Her hair was swiftly combed to hang free to her waist, no longer adorned with the gold ribbons. Perfume meant to tantalize her bridegroom was lavishly dabbed at her temples and between her breasts.
She was taken to a small antechamber where the king and Prince Sharif—King Zak’s other adopted child—and her own prince awaited her. The look on Prince Makin’s face was somehow priceless. He’d been pried from his jeans and robed in raiment befitting an Arabian prince for his marriage. Because of the need for swiftness and utmost secrecy, the only other people in the room were the king’s trusted adviser, her favorite maidservant, and the official who would bless their union. Momentarily she wondered if Prince Makin was taken aback by the lack of pomp surrounding their marriage, but that was impossible. It was his mother, Rose Coleman-El Jeved, who had emphasized the need for such.
The ceremony was over in a matter of moments, which flew by all too quickly. Numbly Serena realized that not only was she now irrevocably married to the American pretender, he fully intended to claim a kiss from her. Heart rate accelerating, she closed her eyes and prayed the kiss would be mercifully swift.
FOR A MAN USED TO THINKING on his feet, Cade would later admit to himself and everyone else that he’d been caught totally off guard. First off, he hadn’t realized that a simple smile meant he was accepting the princess as his. Second, he would have to confess that his command of Arabian hadn’t prepared him for the swift rush as he was led to a private chamber where his clothes were swiftly replaced with more appropriate ones. Realizing he was in over his head, Cade opted to keep his mouth shut.
To
