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CHAPTER ONE

‘HAVE I met anyone whom I would like to hed out loud as he considered his father’s gently voiced question Engrained good manners, however, restrained such a blunt response ‘No, I fear not’

King Hazar surveyed his son and heir with concealed disquiet His guilty conscience was pricked by the truth that he had been blessed by Rashad’s birth, for his son was everything a futurequalities had shone like a beacon during those dark days when Bakhar had suffered under the despotic rule of Sadiq, Hazar’s uncle In the eyes of the people, Rashad could do no wrong; he had endured ed a hero froitimate line to the throne Even the ruarded as a notorious womaniser abroad barely raised a brow, since it was accepted that he had earned the right to enjoy his liberty

‘There co Hazar remarked with all the aardness of one who had never been anything other than settled in his habits ‘And put aside more worldly pursuits’

His lean and darkly handsoardens that were his father’s pride and joy Maybe when he was older he too would get a thrill out of pruning topiary, he reflected wryly Although he had a great affection for the older man, father and son were not close How could they have been? Rashad had been only four years old when he’d been torn from his mother’s arms and denied all further contact with his parents In the following two decades, he had learned to trust nobody and keep his own counsel By the time he had been reunited with his family, he had been an adult, a survivor and a battle-hardened soldier, trained to put duty and discipline above all other virtues But on this particular issue he was not prepared to meet his father’s expectations

‘I don’t want to get married,’ Rashad declared levelly

King Hazar was unprepared for that bold response, which offered neither apology nor the possibility of co that he had broached the subject clureatly add to your happiness’

Rashad almost winced at that simplistic assurance He had no such expectation Only once had a woman made Rashad happy, but al in a fool’s paradise He had never forgotten the lesson He liked his freedom and he liked sex In short he enjoyed women, but there was only one space for a woman to fill in his private life and that was in his bed And just as, when it came to food, he preferred a varied diet, he had no desire to have any woman foisted on hiree with you on that issue’

The older nored the decided chill that laced the ath He wished that he’d had the opportunity to acquire just a seon of his son’s superior education and sophistication so that they ed for the ability to deal with the son he loved with a wholly clear conscience, but unhappily that was not possible ‘I have never known us to be at odds I must have expressed my hopes badly Or perhaps I took you too much by surprise’

Rashad folded his wide sensual e my mind I have no desire for a wife’

‘Rashad…’ His royal father was aghast at the stubborn inflexibility of that refusal, for his son was not known for his changeability ‘You are so popular with our people that I believe you could marry any woman you chose Perhaps you are concerned about the type of woht be expected to ner would be acceptable’

Brilliant dark eyes veiled and grim, Rashad had fallen very still at that reference to the possibility of a foreign bride He wondered if the older lishwo Rashad’s ferocious pride He and his father had buried the ill-fated episode without ever discussing it