Her Vow to Be His Desert Queen

“You don’t remember, do you?” Sidonie blinked again, derailed by the unexpected question. “Remember? Remember what?” “How you told me that if you had not married by the time your thirtieth birthday came around, then you would marry me.” A flush of heat swept through her, closely followed by a tide of ice, and all the cool demands she’d been going to make, such as what Khalil was doing here and why, abruptly vanished from her head. That night in Soho, that’s what he was talking about. The night she didn’t want to remember. Not the words that had come out of her mouth that had driven him away, and definitely not the stained napkin she’d pulled out from under her cocktail glass and used to write down the most ridiculous promise. A promise she’d made him sign. Three Ruthless Kings Romance cannot be ruled... At university, royal friends Galen Kouros, Khalil ibn Amir al-Nazari and Augustine Solari were known as the wicked princes, causing mayhem wherever they went! Now they’re the three ruthless kings, each responsible for a whole nation, wielding more power than many could comprehend. But even from their gilded thrones, there is one thing these kings are about to learn they cannot control... Solace Ashworth is back and there’s one thing she wants from Galen...their son! Read on in: Wed for Their Royal Heir Khalil hasn’t forgotten the contract Sidonie Sullivan signed years ago. Now he’s about to make her his queen! Read on in: Her Vow to Be His Desert Queen Both available now! And look out for Augustine’s story, where Winifred Scott is rumored to be carrying the king’s heir! Pregnant with Her Royal Boss’s Baby Coming soon! Her Vow to Be His Desert Queen Jackie Ashenden www.millsandboon.co.uk JACKIE ASHENDEN writes dark, emotional stories with alpha heroes who’ve just gotten the world to their liking only to have it blown apart by their kick-ass heroines. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband, the inimitable Dr. Jax, two kids and two rats. When she’s not torturing alpha males and their gutsy heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, wasting time on social media or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband. To keep up-to-date with Jackie’s new releases and other news, sign up to her newsletter at jackieashenden.com. To my process. Without which I wouldn’t have had to write the beginning of this book three times. Thanks for nothing! Contents Cover About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Note to Readers Introduction Three Ruthless Kings Dedication CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN EPILOGUE Extract About the Publisher CHAPTER ONE SIDONIE SULLIVAN STARED, irritated, at the half-pint of lager and packet of pork scratchings sitting on the table in front of her. ‘Happy birthday, Sid.’ Derek, who was sitting in the booth seat opposite and who’d bought her both the half-pint and the pork scratchings, smiled. ‘I know it’s not much, but I’ve got dinner booked at Giovanni’s and that’s a bit special, don’t you think?’ Sidonie smiled back, forcing away the slight twinge of impatience. ‘Thanks, Derek. This is...lovely.’ It was lovely. Derek was an old school friend, and it was very nice of him to take her out for a birthday dinner, but he was part of a life she’d left behind five years ago when she’d moved to London. A life that didn’t bear any resemblance to the life she had now, and one she didn’t particularly want to return to. She was only here in Blackchurch, the little Oxfordshire village she’d grown up in, to pay a visit to her aunt, and then she’d be returning to London the next day, and quite frankly she couldn’t wait. Blackchurch was small and insular, and she’d never felt at home there. Plus, Aunt May had always been awful, and time hadn’t made her any less so. It was more a duty visit than anything else, since May wasn’t in good health and had no one else to check on her. Not that Sidonie could afford time away from the children’s charity she’d started five years earlier. The charity was getting bigger every day, providing opportunities for disadvantaged kids all over the country, and she had plans to take it to Europe too, then maybe the rest of the world. There was always so much to do. So much so that she’d forgotten it was her birthday until Derek, on hearing she was back for a visit—the village telegraph was apparently very much alive and well—had knocked on her aunt’s door and asked Sidonie out. She hadn’t wanted to go—she had emails to answer, a report to write, and a couple of phone calls to make—but Derek had been insistent, and Aunt May, who hadn’t been all that thrilled to be visited anyway, had wanted to be left alone to ‘watch her shows’. So Sidonie had reluctantly agreed. She couldn’t recall the last time she or anyone else had actually celebrated her birthday—certainly her aunt never had—so it had been very nice of Derek to remember. He would have. The thought came out of nowhere, startling her. How strange for her to think of him, after all this time. Not that he was relevant at all right now. He’d left England five years ago and the only communication she’d had since then had been a terse email telling her it would be best if they didn’t contact each other again. So she hadn’t. She’d put him firmly out of her mind that day, so why she was thinking about him now was anyone’s guess. She smiled determinedly at Derek because, while she wasn’t attracted to him in the least, he was a nice man who’d wanted to do something lovely for her and she appreciated it. ‘So, Sid,’ Derek began. But she never found out what