Chapter 11
Malik adjusted the phone closer to his ear. “Could you repeat the results again? I’m having a hard time hearing you.”
“Certainly, Your Highness. You have nothing to worry about, the patient is just pregnant.”
Pregnant! The word ricocheted around in his brain like an Olympic ping–pong match. Pregnant! As hard as he tried, he couldn’t get past the word. Him . . . a father. The kingdom was going to have an heir. His first reaction was to smile, but the smile soon drifted into a sneer—an illegitimate heir. A baseborn heir like his uncle. No, he wasn’t going to let that happen, no matter what he had to do. But what could he do? His options were pretty slim. His worries from the previous night replayed in his brain, only now he knew her goal. He’d fallen for the oldest female trick in the book. What a stupid ass he’d been for not using a condom . . .
She was carrying his heir. The realization sent a shiver racing down his spine.
Pacing around the cooking fire that burned the whole day in the desert camp, his mind struggled to formulate a plan. He’d confront her with the news. See how she wormed her way out of this situation. But not yet, right now he was too angry. A sneer pulled his lip up. And then he let loose. He cursed a blue streak, using words that had never crossed his lips before as he kicked at the sand, sending it over his robes in a shower. He didn’t care. He was angry, he was trapped. The fact of the matter was that he didn’t have any options. He would have to marry her to keep his heir legitimate. Well, she might be getting what she wanted, but she wasn’t going to like it. She’d rue the way she’d tricked him . . .
Flipping the tent flap out of his way, he stormed inside. There his nemesis was, sitting on the bed brushing her hair He didn’t wait until she turned around to fire the words at her.
“You’re pregnant!”
She didn’t move, throw something at him, or smack his face. No, only her small gasp of surprise gave away her betrayal.
Enlightenment flooded him. “You knew!” he bellowed.
She turned to face him, a sweet innocent smile planted on her lips. Oh, she was good. “I had my suspicions.”
It took all of his restraint to keep from grabbing her by her forearms and shaking the hell out of her. Her treachery knotted his gut.
Smile gone, she confronted him with her hands on her hips. “You ran a pregnancy test without my knowledge, Doctor.”
Her emphasis on the word doctor should have shamed him, but it didn’t. She wasn’t going to point an accusatory finger in his face. Not after her mountain of deceit.
“You could have tipped me off. Don’t you think?”
“I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure,” she managed, but the blush staining her cheeks gave her away.
“Well, we’re sure now. Start talking.”
“You think I did this on purpose?” She crossed her hands over her chest.
“I know you did this on purpose.”
She walked toward him, but he stubbornly held his ground. When she was right in front of him, she slapped him hard across the face. The blow had enough force behind it to knock his head to the side. “How dare you accuse me of such trickery? What would I gain by becoming pregnant?”
“Ha! You know exactly what you would gain. Me. The ruler of this country.”
She crossed her arms as she stared at him. “And you know what, right now that doesn’t sound like such a great prize.”
Her words made his blood boil. This situation would have catastrophic repercussions stretching into the next generation and beyond.
“I think you’ve forgotten that I’m not just an ordinary man who can be taken advantage of with a stunt like this.”
He knew the minute he spoke the words they were a mistake. A big mistake. Her chin rose in defiance and sparks seemed to shoot from her eyes. “You might rule a country, but here is a news flash for you, Your Royal Highness, you don’t rule me. And—” she flipped her hair over her shoulder, “—you didn’t think to use precautions. Yet I did. I was on the pill. Don’t lay this entire situation at my feet . . . It took the two of us to make this baby.” Walking toward him, she pointed a finger at him. “I don’t need anything from you. Your Neanderthal actions just convinced me to go back to the United States and raise this baby on my own.”
He ground his teeth so violently he thought they’d shatter. “Over my dead body.”
“What are you so afraid of?”
And with those words his anger vanished in a puff of smoke. Afraid, he was very afraid. Afraid that both she and the baby would be hunted just like him. His heart sank in his chest. How much more of this could he take? His family had been killed pointlessly, and the attempts on his life were unceasing. How was he going to protect his wife and child when he couldn’t even protect himself? For the first time in his life, he was truly terrified. If he lost her and the baby, he wouldn’t survive. He turned away from her and silently stood with his back to her. “This is just what my enemies have been waiting for.”
“No, this is about a baby.”
“A royal baby. And this baby has made me vulnerable. What if they target the two of you?”
He heard the soft footfalls as she came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Using the pressure of her fingers, she turned him around to face her. “I’m not following. You have around-the-clock protection.”
“So did my family.” He reached out and took hold of her shoulders, anchoring her. “They know that I will protect you and this baby with my life. They will use that vulnerability to lure me to my death. And they are right. I will give up my life for the two of you. You hold my heart in your hands.”
Reaching up, she kissed his cheek. “Malik, I know the loss of your family has taken a great toll on you. But nobody has any type of guarantee in life. Not the king of a country, and not a woman who doesn’t even know her own name.”
He stroked her hair off her cheek and fed it behind her ear. “I’m sorry I blew up at you. I take full responsibility. I should have protected you.” He leaned into her, his lips pressing a kiss to her forehead. Then, he dropped to one knee. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She jerked him up and flew into his arms. “Yes, dear God, yes.”
His lips took hers again, her soft flesh underneath his as heat mingled with desire sparked up his spine. He took a step back. “We will make this work, but you have to realize I’m nervous about the whole situation.”
She laid her hand against his chest. “Well, that makes two of us.”
~ ~ ~
“The sheik is leaving!” the man yelled before he even had a chance to dismount from his horse.
The robed man threw open the flap of his tent and ran to the horseman’s side. “What are you talking about? He just got here. He was supposed to stay for at least a couple more days!”
“Lesha told me that the king’s lady is expecting his child.”
“Allah, be merciful!” the man shouted, raising his arms toward heaven. “With his bodyguard on his heels every moment of the day . . . we have once again lost our chance to end this tyranny. He also guards the woman well. His men surrounding her here in the desert like a prized stallion. We will need to devise another plan. Something that gets under the layers of his security. We must call together another meeting. Ride to the other compounds and spread the word that tonight we meet to discuss our next course of action.”
Without another word, the man spun his horse around and rode off into the desert.
~ ~ ~
“Nazem!” Malik called over his shoulder as he made his way to his vehicle caravan.
“I’m at your service, my lord,” Nazem replied, out of breath from trying to keep up with Malik’s pace.
“It appears you are finally going to get your wish.”
Nazem frowned, confusion drawing his eyebrows together. “And what wish is that, sire?”
“I’m going to be getting married.”
Nazem grabbed a hold of Malik’s robe, bringing him to a halt. “What did you say?”
Malik smiled at his friend’s bewildered expression. “I’m getting married. Jane is pregnant. I told you she wasn’t involved in these attempts on my life.”
“Your Highness, I don’t know what to say . . .”
“Congratulations would be a good place to start.”
Nazem bowed his head. “Of course, please excuse my lapse in manners. Congratulations, I wish you every happiness in the world.” He extended a hand, and Malik shook it.
Malik started to walk away, but then turned back. “What was that important matter you needed to address with me yesterday?”
Nazem’s eyes locked on his. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the importance of what he had been about to tell his sheik. “It’s about the revolutionaries, but it can wait until later. Right now, go and meet your bride.”
~ ~ ~
They had only been back at the palace a few moments when Malik strode into her bedroom, his optic white robes with the gold embroidery swirling around his muscular body.
“I’ve made you an appointment with Doctor Helen Fareed for tomorrow morning. We were in the same medical class at Harvard, so I know she’s fantastic and very knowledgeable. I trust her to take excellent care of you and the baby.”
Something was wrong.
There was a new tenseness in the way he walked. Deep lines of worry dotted his forehead. He was keeping something from her. She swallowed the words forming in her mouth about trust. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and this relationship wouldn’t be, either. She’d wait for him to trust her enough to tell her what had put those worried lines on his oh-so-handsome face. She sighed. She knew every inch of his face, had studied every succulent curve and angle while they made love, from the strength in his jaw to the white lines in his bluer-than-blue eyes that reminded her of frosted panes of glass on a winter morning. This wolf of a man, who loved her with a ferocity that bordered on obsession. Her heart leaped into her throat at the very sight of him.
His gaze roved over her camisole and panties, lingering on her erect nipples. Heat flooded her face as she looked down at her attire. Approaching the bed, he sunk one knee into the mattress and then leaned over to kiss her.
“I’ve also brought something else for you.” Reaching beneath his robes, he extracted a red velvet jewelry box. She let the rest of the covers slide off her, and she came to a kneeling position in front of him. When he popped the top of the box open, all she could do was gasp.
“Oh, Malik, it’s beautiful. The most amazing ring I’ve ever seen.”
“I had in flown in from Tiffany’s this morning, I hope you like it.”
Removing the diamond from the case, he captured her left hand in his and slowly pushed the ring onto the correct finger. The ten-carat, natural round solitaire winked back at him.
Holding her hand out in front of her, she admired his choice. “I love it. I absolutely love it.”
“So it’s official. You are mine.” He rubbed his thumb across her lips, and a growl erupted from deep inside him.
“At your beck and call.”
A smile teased his lips. “Anywhere, anytime.”
When the strap of her camisole slid off her shoulder, he pushed it lower and then turned his attention to the other side. “How about right now?”
Letting the camisole drop to her waist, she framed his face with her hands and ever so slowly kissed him. His body reacted immediately, and he lowered her to the bed.
~ ~ ~
A fever of sexual heat already consumed him; his body went into overdrive every time he came near this woman. He planned on spending most of the day in bed with her. He’d received some disturbing information from Nazem, but he would deal with the results of Nazem’s investigation tomorrow. He’d already called a cabinet meeting at the capitol, and until that time, he was going to worship his bride-to-be, and maybe he’d get a little worshipping himself. After a lazy afternoon in bed, he planned to celebrate their engagement by arranging dinner on the terrace overlooking the sea, since that was the place they first discovered each other. For now, though, his body was on fire. He wanted to caress every square inch of her, arouse her like she’d never been aroused before, and take her to new heights. As he pressed his lips to hers, he sighed, anxious for that journey to begin.