The Desert Lord’s Bride

Shehab laughed, dropped a kiss on Farah’s alarmed mouth. “Maybe they’ll be exactly what the region needs.”

“Don’t you mean what it deserves?” the king scoffed, before approaching, bringing with him the still-weeping Anna and his highly moved sister.

“My daughter, forgive me for opposing Shehab’s pledges, but I was unaware of the depth of your involvement. I have to say I was alarmed when I saw this would lead to settling on the last Aal Masood brother…” He winced, as if settling on the devil would have been preferable in his opinion. “But now I’m only grateful Shehab has a spare heir, even if it is Kamal, so he can give you what you deserve, the best this life has to offer. In the time I thought of you as my daughter, I truly came to care for you. I hope now you’ll be my daughter’s selfah- sister-in-law-and by virtue of sharing a mother, her sister, that I’ll be in your heart as you are in mine.”

Farah gave a strangled sound and catapulted from Shehab’s hold to throw herself at King Atef, hugging him around the waist and sobbing, “I would have loved having you for a father. I k-know you’ll be in my heart…” She raised hesitant eyes to his. “And in my life?”

The stunned king groaned, hugged her back. “B’Ellahi, it would be a privilege and an honor, ya bnayti.”

At this point, Shehab feared Anna would collapse, or worse. He turned to her. “And I hope you’ll feel as enthusiastic about having me in yours, ya sayedati.”

The woman’s color became dangerous, her eyes never leaving Farah’s face as she stuttered. “Yes…yes, of course…”

He tugged at Farah, who’d stepped away from the king, murmured in her ear, for her ears only, “Make peace with the mother who loved you so much, she didn’t know how to love you. Guide her, ya habibati, like you guided me, in how to love, then take all the love that’s due to you.”

The flare of love and gratitude in her eyes was so pure, it was more bittersweet torment, his Farah’s specialty.

Then without further recriminations his magnanimous Farah swept her mother into her embrace. “I always wanted to make you proud and happy, Mom. I love you. You shouldn’t have struggled alone-you should have let me help you. And I will, from now on.” Anna burst into another weeping jag, and Farah soothed her, kissed her cheeks, hugged her more securely. “Don’t feel bad, Mom. It’s over. As for all the things I said, look how wrong I was. If not for you keeping silent, I wouldn’t have found Shehab, wouldn’t be happier than a human being has a right to be now. And I didn’t mean it, about Aliyah-uh, or I did only because I thought Shehab would marry her, not because she’s your real daughter. I hope she lets you, and me, be part of her life. I’d love nothing more than to have a sister.”

“Aliyah most certainly would love nothing more, too.” That was Bahiyah, smiling tentatively now. “She always wanted a sibling, namely a sister.”

“This means you’ll be my aunt.” Farah threw her arms around the woman, to Bahiyah’s delighted surprise. “I always wanted an aunt, too.”

The gathering soon moved to the king’s family room, where Shehab watched Farah winning over everyone around. And though he wanted nothing more than to sweep her away to be alone together again, he let them have as much as they wanted of her and she of them.

Hours later, the king had left and only Anna remained, getting acquainted with him and getting reacquainted with Farah. It was only when Shehab felt the mother/daughter relationship was on the path to true balance that he finally decided to bring the warm gathering to an end.

He bent to kiss his future mother-in-law’s cheek. “I would have insisted that you come with us now, but I know you are King Atef’s guest and have another daughter to forge a relationship with. When you’re ready to come to us, our home is yours.”

He bent to Farah, who was looking at him with her heart emblazoned on her face, and swept her up in his arms. “Now, pardon me. I need to take my bride-to-be home.”

An hour later, aboard his jet in their bedroom, Farah turned in his arms and whispered, “Is all this happening? I have you? And I will have my mother at last? And maybe a whole new family, too?”

He smoothed his hand lovingly down her back. “It’s all happening, the least that you deserve, ya malekat galbi.”

“You will translate every word in Arabic from now on. I want to speak it as soon as I can.”

He chuckled. “I promised to teach you everything you want. Malekat galbi means ‘ruler of my heart.’”

She bit her lip. “Speaking of rulers…there’ll soon be another who’ll rule both our lives. I suspected it, did a test in that bungalow before you arrived, and…and I…I’m pregnant.”

He froze. Her words stumbled over each other in alarm. “W-we never used protection, and it was reckless of me, but I always thought I’d end up adopting or having a child without a father, since I wasn’t going to have a man in my life. But I-I loved you, knew I’d never love again, and I thought i-if I got pregnant with your baby I’d have a part of you forever…”

He crushed his mouth over hers, then withdrew to give her one shake. “You…you…” He had no words. For the first time in his life. But he had to find them.

He sat up, reeling, raking his hands in his hair. “You had better watch what keeps spilling from these lips, from this mind, or you may end up married to a madman with a very short life expectancy.” He turned, snatched her onto his lap, hiding her in his embrace as if afraid she’d disappear. “You would have walked away carrying my child, sacrificing yourself? What did I tell you about sacrifices? You will give me your pledge never to sacrifice anything again.”

“Having your child alone would have been no sacrifice but my very own miracle. Now she or he remains so, besides having you. And I certainly won’t pledge such a thing. I’d sacrifice anything for you, so you’d better learn to live with that. Just like I have to learn to live with the huge sacrifice you made for me.” He started to rumble that it had been no sacrifice, that he was only waiting for the chance to give to her as much as she’d given him, but she silenced him with her next words. “And I want to have at least one more baby. Uh…if everything goes OK with this one…and, uh…if it’s OK with you…that is…”

He swung her around, above him, overcome. “There’s nothing I want or hope for more than to fill my world with outspoken, enslaving replicas of you. Every time we made love, I did wish for a child made of our love and pleasure. But know that I’d be happy with one, or with none. I’m happy just having you…”

It wasn’t until they were landing in Judar that emotion relinquished its hold enough for him to speak again.

“Welcome to your new home, ya ameerati…my princess.”

She smiled in expectation, sat up, twisted to look outside the window. Wonder crept over her features. “This looks like another planet.”

He chuckled, trailed kisses up her back. “And I’ll give you a wedding from another time, another realm. A One Thousand and One Nights reproduction the likes of which the kingdom has never seen.”

She turned, alarm firing her eyes. “But you saw how I handled attending a sophisticated party and wearing an elaborate gown. I’d die if I embarrassed you in front of the whole world.”

“Uh, about that…” And he confessed his setup.

After he’d borne her punishment in delight, she looked up from her revenge, flushed and excited, before her face fell again. “Still…those events can take endless planning and we’d probably see nothing of each other for weeks. Didn’t you pledge every minute to me?” Her flush deepened as she hastened to add, “Not that I want you tied to my side or anything, but think of all the minutes we’d waste chasing our tails during the hectic preparations.”

“We’re both in luck, since Farooq’s wife, Carmen, is apparently an event-planner fairy. I bet she’ll wave her magic wand and free all those precious minutes for us. I promised you everything, ya mashoogati. And you’ll have it all.”

“I already have it all…uh, how do you say habibati and mashoogati, for a man?”

He kissed one hand. “Habibi.” Then the other.