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About the Author
Lucy Monroe finds inspiration for her stories everywhere as she is an avid people-watcher. Since selling her first book in 2002, she has sold more than forty books to four publishers and shows no signs of slowing down in the near future! When she's not writing Lucy likes to read, loves movies and the theatre. She adores her family, and hobby-wise does a little of this, a little of that. Lucy She really loves to hear from her readers! Visit her website at: http://lucymonroe.com
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Heart heavy with guilt at his envy, Zahir listened to his youngest brother speak his wedding vows.
Amir's voice came close to breaking as he promised, not just simple fidelity, but also love to his bride. Grace's eyes glistened, but her smile grew as she gazed at her groom with rapt fascination. Her own voice trembled as she returned the promise of love.
Love.
Both his brothers had found it with women not altogether suitable. But as neither were heir to the throne, their choices were hardly world-shattering. It was not the same for him.
His choice of bride had been set by an agreement between Zohra and Jawhar a decade past. His gaze skimmed the guests nearest the bridal party, gliding past his beaming father, king of their small Middle Eastern country, and his teary-eyed mother, to the woman he would one day wed. Though they shared no blood relation, Angele bin Cemal was treated as a favored niece by his uncle, the King of Jawhar.
Their eyes met, but she broke the gaze immediately, firmly fixing her gaze on the couple saying their vows.
He felt the dismissal, but was not surprised by it. Not after the past months preparing for the royal wedding.
Shocking everyone, the woman both royal families acknowledged would one day be his wife had refused to be a member of the bridal party or to participate in any meaningful way in the wedding. Citing her lack of close relationship to either the bride or the groom as her excuse, Angele had stood firm against every attempt by his mother and even Grace to include her.
Zahir had taken her uncustomary intransigence for what it was: a demand that he formalize an engagement between the two of them. Clearly she was done waiting patiently for her own nuptials. And, after the events of the past month, he realized the time had come to do his duty.
Besides, her father had kept his part of the bargain; he'd long since cleaned up his behavior so that he no longer courted tabloid attention.
After Zahir's mother had told him how devastated Angele was by her father's string of infidelities and the fact she had not spoken to the man in more than a year, Zahir had decided the time had come to do something about it. He wasn't close to his future bride, but Cemal would one day be a member of his family and Zahir wasn't about to stand by while the older man embarrassed them with his lack of discretion.
So, Zahir had laid down the law to Cemal. He'd told the older man that he would not marry a woman whose father's tabloid fame rivaled that of a European rock star.
Cemal had believed him. He'd patched things up with his wife and had not been featured in a scandal rag for almost five years, proving he took his daughter's future more seriously than his own marriage vows. Zahir kept the grimace such thoughts brought from his face.
He would never be that man—loveless marriage, or not.
He suspected that, unlike her mother, Angele would never tolerate it. Her surprising streak of stubbornness gave him hope for the years ahead. He did not want to tie his life to a doormat.
Regardless of how intriguing Zahir found this new side of Angele, his patience grew thinner by the minute as the wedding festivities marched forward. She took her stubbornness to a new, inexplicable level. She repeatedly declined to be in any of the formal wedding photos.
"Come, my little princess, I believe your point has been made." King Malik of Jawhar patted Angele's shoulder, his words showing he had put the same interpretation on her actions as Zahir had done. "Do not be the camel that tries to drink with its tail."
Angele smiled at her honorary uncle, though the expression did not reach her too serious eyes, and shook her head. "The formal shots are for family, not friends."
Stunned, and a little impressed, Zahir frowned. He had never heard her deny the king before.
"You are nearly family." And would be soon enough, Zahir implied, knowing she was intelligent enough to get his meaning.
She simply shook her head again and turned as if to go.
He reached out to grab her arm and then yanked his hand back, realizing what he'd almost done. They were not formally betrothed and to touch her so familiarly in this setting would be highly improper. As future king of Zohra, Zahir never acted without propriety. At least in a public setting.
His behind-the-scenes impropriety was over as well, and he still felt a fool for pining after what he could not have.
A life of love and happiness, as his brothers were building for themselves, was not to be for him.
King Malik laughed. "You begin to see the child as a woman with her own will, do you not?"
Zahir could not deny it. He had never seen Angele dressed with such an evident intent to entice, either. It had worked. He found her quite alluring. Used to barely noticing her at all, he'd been shocked by the low burn of arousal he'd felt when she had arrived. With new highlights shining in her dark brown hair, she wore it swept up to show off the slender column of her neck and the creamy, delicate slope of her shoulders.
The soft peach color of her couture dress was the only thing demure about it. Clinging to her slight curves, it fell inches short of her knees. While she did not share her mother's supermodel stature, in the dress and matching heels that added at least four inches to her height, Angele's legs looked every bit as long as the Brazilian beauty's today. And twice as sexy.
Add to that the fact that her stubborn refusal to participate in the wedding as a member-to-be of the family had intrigued him from her first refusal three months ago, and it was a lethal combination to his recently restrained libido.
Reminding him that his future wife had not been raised in the secluded environment inhabited by the women in the royal palace of Jawhar, she had continued to stand by her first denial. He'd been more than a little stunned to realize he liked it.
While his marriage would not be the love-match his brother had made, it would not be as much of a dry connection of two overly similar lives as he had always anticipated, either.
Frankly love could go hang, as far as he was concerned. This newfound passion and interest was all that he required, or wanted.
"Wasn't the wedding beautiful?"
A bittersweet smile curving her lips, Angela looked up at her mother. "It was, but the love between Amir and Grace made it even more so."
"It reminds me of your father and my wedding." Lou-Belia sighed with a fond reminiscence that Angele found difficult to understand. "We were so much in love."
"I do not think Amir is like my father."
Lou-Belia frowned. "You know Cemal has settled down."
Angele did know. She still floundered in her feelings for a man who spent the better part of two decades flaunting his marriage vows, only to become the model of propriety in the face of his only child's betrayal-fueled rage and disapproval.
She was thrilled for her mother that the older couple's marriage seemed to be working again. The two spent a great deal more time together now, going so far as to live in the same domicile even. Her father was quite affectionate toward her mother these days, too.
But it hurt something deep inside Angele that her father had not stopped his behavior until she had confronted him, and then refused to have anything to do with him for more than a year. What did that say of the strength of his love for his wife?
He'd pleaded with her mother to fix the breach between them and in the process, Cemal and Lou-Belia had found each other again.
"So, the past does not exist?" she asked helplessly.
"We let it go for the sake of the future." Lou-Belia's world-famous smile was soft but tinged with chiding. "It has been five years, menina"
Little girl. Angele hadn't been her mother's little girl for a long time, no matter what Lou-Belia, or Zahir for that matter, believed.
Still, she gave her mother a tight hug. "You are a kind and forgiving woman. I love you."
But I don't want to be you, she thought to herself.
With that truth burning in her mind, she went looking for the man who would one day be king.
Some minutes later, Angele slid around the partially opened door to Zahir's office. He had disappeared from the wedding feast and she'd known she would find him here.
"Shirking your duty, Prince Zahir?" Her arms crossed over the sweetheart neckline of her short-short designer original. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What would your father say?"
The room was very much like Zahir: masculine, rich and imposing. And yet there was something in the artwork and the old world furnishings that reflected more, something special—an appreciation for beauty that she knew few were aware of.
But while Zahir didn't pay her any particular attention, she had watched him closely and probably knew more about the real man than most. She still wondered at her ignorance of the secret revealed short months ago.
She'd decided it was willful blindness on her part, but that had not made her feel any better. Only mind-numbingly stupid.
She was a twenty-three-year-old virgin with no prospects and she knew she was to blame for that fact. She had clung to hopes and fairy tales that would never come true in the real world. Her parents' marriage should have made her realize that.
Zahir looked up from some papers on his desk, his gray eyes widening a fraction at the sight of her. He quickly stood to his full, impressive six feet four inches. He wore the traditional robes and head covering of a crown sheikh over a tailored suit that made him look mouthwateringly attractive to her.
Not that he was even remotely aware of the effect he had on her. She would have to be on his radar as an actual woman for that to happen.
"Princess Angele, what are you doing here?" He had always called her Princess, though she was not one.
But her godfather, King Malik, had nicknamed her such and the nickname had stuck. She'd always thought it sweet, but now realized it was one more barrier that Zahir kep...
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More About the Author
With more than 6 million copies of her books in print, USA Today bestseller Lucy Monroe has published more than 50 books and had her stories translated for sale in dozens of countries. While she writes several subgenres of romance (paranormal, historical, single title and short contemporary) for multiple publishers, all of her books are sexy, emotional and show that love will conquer all. She's a passionate devotee of romance and shares her love for the genre with her readers through her books and a policy of open communication. You can find Lucy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LucyMonroe.Romance) her blog (http://lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com), her official website (http://lucymonroe.com).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Book's okay, but lacking in love.,
By Michigangirl "michigangirl" (Michigan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: For Duty's Sake (Harlequin Presents) (Mass Market Paperback)
When she was 13, Angele was promised in marriage to Crown Prince Zahir. When she was 18 she figured she was old enough and kissed him. He told her she was a child and ignored her. Now she's 23 and her dreams have finally died.Angele was raised in America with her mother. She was shattered when she started college and found out that her father was actually a womanizing cheater. So once again she found herself shattered to realize the man she was promised to marry was having an affair with another woman. Worse, the picture showed him carefree and happy. And if that wasn't the worst of it, Angele found herself blackmailed with a bundle of pictures showing her future husband and his mistress together, the time frame spanning years. She paid the blackmailers their money to keep the pictures out of the press, but all her final dreams died on the day she saw those photos. Angele loved Zahir and she always thought he was such an honorable man. She'd put her life on hold, no boyfriends, no dates, she didn't even go to prom because she was already taken and didn't feel it was something she should be doing. She thought Zahir was also honorable and waiting for her. Now that she knows how trapped he was and how happy he would be to be able to marry someone he actually wanted, she decided it was time to let him go. She planned out every detail of giving him his freedom. But before she'll let him go completely, she wants what she'll never have from him, her wedding night. Zahir had a longstanding happy relationship with the other woman. He knew it was always coming to an end because he would always do his duty and marry Angele. Previously she was just a child and when she became an adult, he never bothered to look at her because he already had someone else in his life fulfilling that position. So he's waited 5 years of her adulthood without actually formalizing their engagement, and telling himself that since they aren't formally engaged, he's not cheating. He'd never cheat on her. Oh, but he also would have been pissed off if she'd found herself someone else, since they weren't formally engaged. Double standard, gotta love it. His relationship with the other woman is over because he's fanatical about keeping his private life private, and ever since their photo was put in the gossip rags he's ditched her. Of course, she also cheated on him. But now that she was gone, he was finally ready to do his duty and settle down with Angele. He thinks that she's just nervous about the intimacy of their relationship so agrees to have a wedding night with her. So he's extremely pissed and shocked when she follows through with breaking the not formalized engagement with him. Zahir hates to lose at anything so he sets out to get her back. This book was interesting. I generally like all Lucy Monroe books, but this was lacking in love. I really loved the heroine. She was strong, smart, methodical and she stuck to her guns. I would have loved to see her hit the dating scene with a bang. She needed something of a life outside of Zahir. Now the issue was with Zahir. He could have been great if he'd actually fallen in love with Angele, but it just didn't hold water. He lies by telling half truths or qualifying all of his answers. So if he says he loved Angele, his qualifying would be, he loved what they did together, or he loved that he could trust her. There's no real truth with him. His courtship of Angele was horrible. His only reason was because he hated to lose, not because he cared about her. The way he set it up in the press was just about appearances and had nothing to do with her. There was a great moment when he finally went to see her, which really helped me out, but was quickly dashed with how fast things moved from there. Angele never had any time to go out and be her own person. Zahir was never forced to recognize his own failings. I can believe they'll stay together only because Zahir can finally play kinky sex games with someone without worrying about the world finding out. Angele loves him so she'll do anything he wants. He'll never cheat on her because if he does, she'll leave him, and he'll never be able to do the things he does with her, with other women. That's it. There is no love. This was a really promising idea, and an easy read. But it failed in delivering a convincing story of love between these two people.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
he did not love her,
By Blue Lily "bluelily" (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: For Duty's Sake (Harlequin Presents) (Kindle Edition)
the hero did not love her. he has strong feelings for the other woman. even he sold his business in the germay. he did not get rid of the picture in his office even after her cheating. this speaks volume. he was a modern man when it was easy for him. the men in the book discussed her as a property, most of all the hero. the hero did see her as property. he did not love her. he told her he love her because the heroine told him to. the heroine is a doormat. she made excuses for the hero for everything.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
RealReader,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: For Duty's Sake (Harlequin Presents) (Kindle Edition)
For Duty's Sake (Harlequin Presents)Dear Ms. Monroe please stay clear of sheikh books--this is not your forte. I am a big fan and thought I could never read a Lucy Monroe book I didn't like--I was wrong. All of the negative reviewers were right on point. Add: I did not like the hero.
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