The Sheikh’s Prize by Lynne Graham: Things were different in Maraban five years prior when Prince Zahir took a Westerner as his bride. His then wife, Sapphire, was made a virtual prisoner and hidden from public view. No-one outside of the royal family even knew they were married.
Sapphire learned on her wedding night that she had massive intimacy issues. Between that and Zahir’s frequent and extended absences, their one-year marriage was never consummated. When he divorced her and sent her back to London, she felt betrayed and plain not good enough.
In the five years they spent apart, Zahir took the throne, and Sapphire became a well-respected model. Zahir hadn’t been surprised, after all, she had taken millions of his dollars to make a name for herself. She hadn’t been able to give herself to him, but now the papers had her living with one man, while being seen in the company of many others.
To be fair, Sapphire also read many reports of Zahir’s exploits and understood the fault in their relationship had lain with her. She only learned about the trauma she suffered as a child after her return to London, and was almost ready to take the next step after much therapy and dealing with her issues.
When one of her photo shoot’s location changes unexpectedly, she finds herself again in Maraban. Zahir is informed of her presence and uses a loophole to whisk her away for the weekend. He feels things were left unfinished and needs closure.
Sapphire is incensed when she sees Zahir again. Even more so when he tells her that he’s confiscated her film and arranged with her employers for her to stay with him for two days. She knows he won’t force himself on her, but he knows there’s an attraction between them and uses it to get close to her. If only they’d known the repercussions from that weekend… well, they’d do it all over again.
Until I learned the background about the year-long unconsummated marriage, I thought things were a little too soap-opera-y, but it makes complete sense as you get further into the book. There were quite a few pangs of hurt felt when I read about their suffering, both during the first marriage, and their five-year separation. The story felt a tiny bit rushed at the end, but for the most part, I really enjoyed it.
Book Info
Publication Date: May 21, 2013 | Series: Harlequin Presents (Book 3145)As cold and untouchable as her jeweled namesake, Sapphire fled the kingdom before sharing the marriage bed, leaving Zahir to face the shame alone—and his bank account five million dollars lighter.
Now his ex-wife has been spotted in his desert and before she can run again, Zahir plans to banish her from his mind once and for all, beginning with reclaiming his wedding night!