Then Melanie smiles at me. “Turns out you’ve got a little fire in you. I’ve never seen it before, but I like it.”

I drop my eyes down to my lap again. I don’t feel like I have any fire in me.

“You’re going to need it, Gigi. If the King wants to come find you, then we can’t stop him.” She stands up and walks over to the window in the family room. She looks out before turning to look back at me. “We’re on his land here. I married a businessman and gave up any royal title I had. He’s your king, and I can’t stop him from coming here.”

“He’s not mine,” I mumble out, and I wish that were true.

That’s part of the problem. It seems the man I chose to be my king would belong to others as well. What neither of us anticipated is that I’m the youngest in my family by far, and I’m not good at sharing. There was never anyone to have to share with, so I never learned how. Which just makes me all the more possessive of Karim. And the fact that I wasn’t his first choice just makes me even more bitter.

“If he wants you, then you’re his.”

I jump up from my seat. “I’ll call Ethan!” I tell her, rushing over to the phone.

“Did you sleep with him?” I pause at her words, the phone halfway to my ear. “Not that it matters. We both know our brother would agree to a match with Karim, as would our father. Such a pairing would be in both our families’ interest. In fact, I believe not too long ago Ethan tried to pair Megan with him.”

Anger floods though me at the thought of my other sister with Karim.

“He turned the offer down,” she adds. “Wouldn’t even take a meeting.” She gives me a smug look. “I have a feeling you slept with King Karim. So if I were you, I’d get used to the idea of being his.”

“You would just give me away so easily? Knowing I didn’t want to go?” I don’t understand. Melanie has always been so protective of me, but she’s always telling me to grow up, too.

“Of course not. If you want to run, I’ll help you. But Gigi, do you think being on the run is something you could handle? Alone?”

“What about with the child growing in her belly?”

I gasp when I hear Karim’s voice.

I turn to see him standing in the entryway of the family room with my sister’s husband standing behind him. Karim looks different now. His blue eyes are no longer bright and full of excitement. Now they’re trained on me with a hard, dangerous look. He’s like a predator after its prey. I take a step back and watch his nostrils flare at my movement. Suddenly I hear my father’s voice in my head. He always told us never to run if we came across a bear in the woods. The bear will always catch you.

Karim’s tux jacket is long gone, and his sleeves are rolled up. The first few buttons of his shirt are undone, and the tan skin of his chest is peeking out. His hair is even a little wild now, and I try to recall if I’d done that to him or if he did it to himself. The thought makes a little warmth hit my cheeks when I remember the feel of his locks between my fingers.

“I won’t let you take my sister with you in this state. It’s very clear you’re angry. Maybe you should come back tomorrow after everyone has calmed down, Your Highness,” my sister says softly, as if she’s trying to ease a wild beast without angering it.

“Nothing will stop me from leaving with her.” His eyes shoot over to Melanie. “Tonight.”

His words are final, and there is no room for argument.

“Stanley,” my sister says, calling to her husband. He takes a step forward, but I’m not real sure what Stanley can do. He’s no match for Karim. Tension and anger fills the room, and it makes me uneasy. I hate fighting. It makes me sick to my stomach.

I decide to put an end to this and walk towards Karim. His eyes come back to me, and they seem to soften the closer I get to him. I put my hands on his chest and can feel him release a deep breath. It’s like he’s been holding it in since the last time I touched him.

“Please don’t get angry. I’ll come with you.”

“You’ve been crying,” he says, studying my face. One of his big hands comes up to my cheek. His thumb runs along it. His words are so soft now, nothing like before.

“I’ll come,” I try again, not wanting to admit I’d been crying.

A smirk pulls at his lips. “I know you will,” he says before he scoops me up in his arms and strides out the front door.

Chapter 8

Karim

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to marry that woman?” Giselle snaps at me as her cheeks turn a sweet pink. Fucking hell, she’s even adorable when she’s mad. I didn’t know such perfection could even exist, but here it is, pissed as hell at me, and all I want to do is kiss her until those cheeks turn pink for a whole different reason.

I reach out and hit the button that raises the glass to separate us from Zion and my driver. I want her all to myself.

“Nikki?” I ask, looking over at her once the privacy partition is in place. Relief slowly trickles through me. I have her back again. I’m going to have to be more careful. She all too easily slipped right through my fingers. Something so precious must always kept within reach.

“The girl you were going to marry. How could you do that? How could you just pick one woman and then change your mind? That’s not fair, Karim.” Her eyes are filled with so much emotion and sadness, showing me she isn’t like any other woman out there. Most women I’ve seen would shove and step on another at the chance to marry a king. No, not my Giselle. She’s soft and sweet and likely believes in fairy tales. I might even start to believe in them after tonight.