SHEIKH'S SURPRISE BABY: A Sheikh Romance (118 page)

She smiled as she remembered how fascinated Simone had been with the woman who had been changing the baby when they got there.

“They are the children of two of your other workers,” she explained.

He nodded, and smiled at her. “I am happy that you are satisfied. The less you have to worry about, the more focused you will be on your job.”

He hesitated, and she wondered what else he had on his mind. It was clear there was something going on behind those dark eyes of his, and her intuition told her it had something to do with her.

“Is there something else, Your Highness?” she prompted him, wishing it was something to do with wanting to kiss her the way she was suddenly needing him to do.

HIs lips were so temptingly close, but she was his father’s caregiver, an employee, nothing more. She was free to dream about those lips, those hands, those long legs, but that was all that she could hope for. Moreover, he was a prince, soon to be a king. She was out of his league.

“If you continue to look at me like that, I will be forced to act.”

His words penetrated the haze of her thoughts, and she blinked. Wait, what? How was she looking at him? Horrified, she dipped her chin and turned to open her door.

“Don’t hide from me,
habibti
,” he whispered huskily, and she looked up sharply, unsure of what he had called her, and confused by the tone of his words. There was such longing in it, and she didn’t understand why.

“What did you call me?” she asked, forgetting to call him by his title, and refusing to address the comment.

“
‘Habibti’
,” he said. “It is an endearment. I have been thinking of you a great deal.”

He tipped her chin up and looked into her eyes. She could not drag her gaze away, even though she desperately wanted to. He would not release her, and she waited breathlessly to hear what he would say next.

“There is something I want that only you can give me,” he said. “Something priceless. Will you give it to me willingly?”

She smiled, trying to appear cool. “Doesn’t that depend on what it is, Your Highness? I mean, I’m not likely to agree to giving up my freedom, for example.”

She clamped her mouth shut. What she thought she was doing, bandying words with the prince, she didn’t know, and now was not the time to find out. She was suffering from a serious case of lust where he was concerned, and they didn’t even know each other well enough for a…

“All I want is a kiss,” he said, as though he had been riding her train of thought, but arrived at the destination before she did.

She choked on her breath, and he smoothed his thumbs over her cheekbones. That did not help, making her even more breathless. She panted, trying to catch her breath to respond, and he said,

“Would that be too much too soon,
habibti
?”

Bemused by his use of the endearment again, she could hardly think as she shook her head no, and watched his own descend to taste her lips. It was a sweet, exploring, I-want-to-know-you kind of kiss, and as it fully expressed how she had been feeling since she had first laid eyes on him, she returned it eagerly, giving her stamp of approval to the sentiment. But then he pulled her closer, and she felt the hardness of his body everywhere, and suddenly sweet became sensual, became sexual, became hungry, and she was lost. He ravished her mouth with his kiss, and she let him do as he pleased, because she was too weak to step away from the tempting passion he was unleashing, because she wanted his kisses as much as he wanted to give them to her.

Finally, he seemed to come to his senses. Alex remained lost in sensations as he dragged his mouth away from hers, leaning his forehead against hers and panting softly. She gathered her scattered wits about her and pulled away from him enough to say, in a befuddled kind of way,

“Um…wow!”

He chuckled, his lips kicking up into the sides of his mustache, his teeth gleaming in the light.

“Yes, wow indeed!”

He smoothed his thumbs, which she noted were trembling slightly, over her lips, pulling the bottom one away from her teeth, and then, as though he couldn’t help himself, he leaned in and kissed her again, replacing his thumbs with his tongue, licking her lips slowly and sensuously, but not going into the tempting warmth beyond them. And then he let her go, and stepped away from her, as though he had finally come to his senses.

“I would like to get to know you better,” he said. “If you will let me. Think about it. We will speak again soon.” He sketched her a brief salute, turned on his heel, and said, over his shoulder, “Sleep well.”

Alex very much doubted that she would ever sleep again, but she went in and quietly closed her bedroom door. Simone was still sound asleep when she checked on her, and as she undressed, she wondered how she would handle being pursued by a prince whose father she was caring for. It could become very awkward. And what about Simone? How would it work with her little girl? She couldn’t deny that she was just as interested in getting to know him as he was in getting to know her, but she was a practical woman, and her situation was fraught with difficulties, not the least of which was the fact that she had a rather big and important secret that she had failed to tell him.

Telling herself that it hadn’t come up in any of their conversations didn’t make her feel any better about it. The knowledge that her child was the result of a one-night stand, and that most likely, even if Simon hadn’t died, she would not have married him, lay heavy on her mind as she got into bed. In the prince’s culture, loose women — among whom she was sure she was numbered — were probably stoned, if their transgressions and indiscretions were ever discovered. She couldn’t imagine the prince being at all understanding of her deliberate misleading of him in the matter of Simone’s father. He would see it as a lie, as would his father the king, and she knew she would lose her job if it were ever found out.

When she woke next morning, she was exhausted from tossing and turning all night, and her face, even after a long, hot shower and a steam treatment, was haggard. She applied makeup generously to hide the ravages of her sleepless night and went to deal with Simone. She woke the little girl, helped her wash her face and brush her teeth, and set her in front of the television while she dressed in clean scrubs. Then she took the child’s hand and walked with her out to the wide living room where a play area had been set up for her, at the king’s order, by Malik.

“I’ll be back in a bit. Play quietly, okay, honey?”

The little girl nodded and smiled at her, making a heart with her fingers. Alex’s heart warmed.

“I love you too, baby,” she whispered, kissing her forehead before going in to her charge. He was awake, which was not a surprise.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” she said as brightly as she could manage. “Did you sleep well?”

He eyed her, unsmiling, for a minute, without answering. She turned from pulling aside the drapes to look at him.

“Is everything all right? Are you feeling poorly?”

Without waiting for an answer, she walked over and touched his temple. His temperature seemed to be normal. She unwrapped the stethoscope from her neck and listened to his heart. Normal. She took his pulse rate. Normal. She reached for the blood pressure cuff, but just before she pressed the button to inflate it, he said,

“I am fine, as you can see. Stop fussing and sit down.”

He spoke like the commander he was, and she did as he ordered, pulling the chair by the bed closer to it.

“You are not like the others who have tended to my needs, either male or female,” he began. “You care about my welfare, not because I am a king, but because I am a man. That is laudable.”

Alex felt herself blushing and fought to keep her color under control.

“But I sense that there is more to you than we know. And it concerns me.”

Her heart began to thump heavily in her chest. What did this man think he knew? Would he try to find out, if she denied having secrets? This was only the second day of her job, and the complications just seemed to be piling up. Not only would she need to discourage the prince from anything more than friendship — which meant she couldn’t allow him to kiss her again — but now she had to worry that his father might have her fully investigated. Swallowing the fear that was trying to rise up and choke her, she managed a smile and said,

“I can assure you, Your Majesty, that I have lived a very simple life.”

He grunted, and motioned for her to get back to checking his blood pressure. As she pressed the button and the cuff inflated, she hoped he would not ask her questions about her ‘husband’ that she could not answer. She knew that that could be the only possible reason he still harbored questions about her, and it seemed somehow significant that he should be wanting to know so soon after her own doubts about her silence resurfaced. She wished she had a friend she could talk to who would give her good advice about what to do.

He seemed to accept her response, for which she was grateful, and after getting him set up in his wheelchair, she wheeled him out to the sitting room, where he sat and watched Simone play while she went to order breakfast. Then she sat and played with Simone until the knock announced its arrival. She wheeled him over to the small table set up for his dining, and placed the food before him, with an empty plate and utensils so he could serve himself if he preferred. He asked her to serve him, which she did happily, but noted it. Perhaps she should have the prince bring in the doctor to check him over thoroughly. She would watch him closely for the rest of the day before making that call.

“Well? Are you going to just sit there, or are you going to see to the child?”

His sharp question brought Alex back to the moment, and she flushed as she realized she had not given Simone anything to eat. Her daughter sat quietly watching the king eat, his hands shaking, though he managed to keep most of the food in the plate or in his mouth. Knowing he would not long tolerate anyone scrutinizing him, even if it was just a child, she served Simone some scrambled eggs and one breakfast sausage, with two peach slices, and a glass of milk. Then she ate her own breakfast, and was just clearing things up to replace them on the cart when he asked,

“What kind of man was your husband?”

She barely managed not to drop the delicate china cup she was holding, and her heart hammered in her chest so hard, she was sure he would hear it. Deciding that telling the truth, except for the part where he had never been her husband, was her best bet, she said,

“His name was Simon, and he was in law school when he died. We had been friends for many years before he died. I loved him. He was with me in some very tough times, and he was a loyal friend.”

He studied her as she resumed the clearing away, and finally said,

“Do you miss him?”

This was a trickier question, but Alex answered it head on. “Not as much any more, Your Majesty.”

Another pregnant pause, and then he asked, “Are you looking for a man to replace him?”

Indignation reared its head as she turned to look fully at her inquisitor. It really was none of his business whether she was looking for a man or not, but she knew instinctively that he was asking a far more important question. And after the kiss she had shared with his son the night before, she knew she had to be careful in her response. She chose to keep it simple.

“No, Your Majesty, I am not.”

“You are not what, Ms. Downing?”

Amir knew the question she had been asked, because he had heard it as he had entered his ailing father’s sitting room. Neither of them had heard him enter, and the little one was engrossed in coloring something so she missed seeing him as well. He could only imagine how uncomfortable Alexandra must be feeling at such a personal question. And given how they had parted the night before, he knew she would want to distance herself from him for fear of offending his parent.

“Not looking for a man, Your Highness,” she answered, avoiding his gaze.

And before either he or his father could react, she pushed the trolley ahead of her to the door, excusing herself to return it to the kitchen. He let her run away; he knew where she spent all her time, and he would find her when she was free.

“Father, why were you interrogating Ms. Downing?” he asked, sitting across the table from his sire.

“She works for me…” he began, but Amir cut him off.

“Actually, she works for me. But go on.”

“Something tells me she has something she hasn’t told us. Something important. We cannot afford to be lax in our security, Amir.”

“Do you feel threatened by her, Father?” he inquired. “Is she not working to your satisfaction?”

He deplored his father interference, but he didn’t want him to be concerned about the person who had the most intimate and lengthy contact with him. Much as it would pain him to do so, he would release Alexandra and send her back to the States if his father was in any way unhappy with her.

“She is calm and efficient,” the old man said grudgingly.

“Then I would like it if you could let her do her job and not frighten her away with your prodding,” Amir declared. “What could she possibly have to hide that you would care about, anyway?”

“I will never again be caught unprepared, my son,” his father said, and Amir knew at once that he was thinking of the attempts on his son’s life.

“Father, nothing will happen to me, and no one will penetrate our borders. We are safe now. I do not wish for you to worry about our nation’s security, or about mine.”

His father looked him in the eye, and for the first time, Amir saw the emotion he always kept hidden. There was real worry in his eyes.

“You are as yet unmarried, my son,” he said, “and you have no one to call your own. When I pass on, I want to know that you will be well cared for.”

Suddenly, Amir realized where his father’s interrogation had been headed. While it pleased him that his sire was thinking along the same lines as he was, he did not wish the king to interfere in what was to happen between him and Alexandra. This match, like his father’s, would be a love match. He knew that his parents had had an arranged marriage to join their two dynasties, but he also knew that they had grown to love each other passionately and completely. He knew his father had adored his mother, and had been lost when she died.