His Defiant Desert Queen
I will not marry you. I will not!When Sheikh Mikael catches notorious model Jemma Copeland flaunting Saidia’s laws – and her body – in his desert, he knows one thing. Revenge against his family’s destruction is within his reach! To achieve it he makes Jemma an offer: imprisonment or marriage.With her life shattered by the scandal that rocked her family, Jemma needed that modelling job. She didn’t know that she was breaking the law! But Mikael’s outrageous proposal pushes her beyond shock… to utter fury. If he expects her to be a meek, pliable bride, this arrogant Sheikh has another thing coming!Jane Porter’s The Disgraced Copelands Duet:A family in the headlines – for all the wrong reasons! The Copelands’ world was once filled with unrivalled luxury and glittering social events. Now that privileged existence is nothing but a distant memory and the Copeland heirs seek to start new lives – with no-one to rely on but themselves. At least that’s what they think…!Book 1: The Fallen Greek BrideBook 2: His Defiant Desert QueenPraise for Jane PorterThe Fallen Greek Bride 4.5* TOP PICK RT Book ReviewPorter makes her larger-than-life characters appeal by stripping away the opulent façade to reveal the base emotions everyone understands: hurt, anger and, most of all, love. Add breathtaking vistas and a couple whose explosive intensity is evident on every dramatic page, and you have a winner.His Majesty’s Mistake 4* RT Book ReviewPorter paints an extravagant tale, filled with strong-yet-vulnerable characters and a satisfying against- all-odds romance.Not Fit for a King? 4.5* TOP PICK RT Book ReviewReaders will sigh when this story ends and long for more pages to read. Porter is a masterful storyteller who keeps readers riveted with great characters and a spellbinding tale.
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âI am to decide your punishment for you,â Mikael said finally.
âWhat are the choices?â
âSeven yearsâ house arrest here in Haslamââ
âSeven years?â
âOr I take you as my wife.â
âThatâs not funny. Not even remotely funny.â
âItâs not a joke. I either marry you, or leave you here in Haslam to begin your house arrest.â
He saw Jemma recoil and her face turn white.
âI warned you that Sheikh Azizzi would not be lenient. He is not a Copeland fan either. He knows what your father did to my mother, and he wants to send a message that Saidia will not tolerate crime or immorality.â
âBut seven years!â She reached for the edge of the table to steady herself. âThatâs ⦠thatâs ⦠so long.â
âSeven years or marriage,â he corrected.
âNo. No. Marriage isnât an option. I wonât marry you. I would never marry you. I could never marry you.â
A family in the headlinesâfor all the wrong reasons!
For the Copeland family each day brings another tabloid scandal. Their world was one of unrivalled luxury and glittering social events. Now their privileged life is nothing but a distant memory â¦
Staring the taunting paparazzi straight in the eye, the Copeland heirs seek to start new livesâwith no one to rely on but themselves.
At least thatâs what they think â¦!
It seems fame and riches canât buy happinessâbut they make it fun trying!
Read Morgan Copelandâs story in:
The Fallen Greek Bride
Read Jemma Copelandâs story in:
His Defiant Desert Queen
Look out for more scandalous stories about
The Disgraced Copelands
by Jane Porter
Coming soon!
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author JANE PORTER has written forty romances and eleven womenâs fiction novels since her first sale to Mills & Boon>® Modern>⢠Romance in 2000. A five-time RITA>® finalist, Jane is known for her passionate, emotional and sensual novels, and loves nothing more than alpha heroes, exotic locations and happy-ever-afters. Today Jane lives in sunny San Clemente, California, with her surfer husband and three sons. Visit www.janeporter.com
For Lee Hyat,
who has been there every step of the way since reading
The Italian Groom! Thank you for being my first reader and a most loyal and cherished friend.
Contents
THE DISGRACED COPELANDS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SEETHING, SHEIKH MIKAEL KARIM, King of Saidia, watched the high fashion photo shoot taking place in the desertâhis desertâwondering how anyone could think it was okay to enter a foreign country under a false identity and think he, or she, as it happened to be in this case, could get away with it.
Apparently the world was filled with fools.
Fools by the name of Copeland.
Jaw tight, temper barely leashed, Mikael waited for the right moment to intervene.
Heâd been pushed too far, challenged directly, and heâd meet that challenge with swift retribution.
A king didnât negotiate. A king never begged, and a king refused to curry favor.
Saidia might be a small kingdom, but it was powerful. And the government of Saidia might tolerate the West, but Westerners couldnât enter Saidia, flaunt Saidia law, and think there would be no repercussions.
Jemma Copeland was a foolish woman. So like her father, thumbing her nose at the law, believing she was above it.
Perhaps Daniel Copeland had got away with his crimes. But his daughter would not be so lucky. Miss Jemma Copeland was going to pay.
NECESSITY HAD TAUGHT Jemma Copeland to shut out distractions.
Sheâd learned to ignore the things she didnât want to think about, to enable her to do what needed to be done.
So for the past two hours sheâd ignored the scorching heat of the Sahara. The insistent, hollow ache in her stomach. The stigma of being a Copeland, and what it meant back home in the United States.
Sheâd blocked out heat, hunger, and shame, but she couldnât block out the tall, white-robed man standing just a foot behind the photographer, watching her through dark, unsmiling eyes while a half dozen robed men stood behind him.
She knew who the man was. How could she not? Heâd attended her sisterâs wedding five years ago in Greenwich and every woman with a pulse had noticed Sheikh Mikael Karim. He was tall, he was impossibly, darkly handsome, and he was a billionaire as well as the new king of Saidia.
But Mikael Karim wasnât supposed to be on set today. He was supposed to be in Buenos Aires this week and his sudden appearance, arriving in a parade of glossy black luxury SUVs with tinted windows, had sent ripples of unease throughout the entire crew.
