SHEIKH'S SURPRISE BABY: A Sheikh Romance (121 page)

She went back to sit with her patient, taking her tablet with her, and catching up on her reading while he slept. Given how emotional he had been all day, she thought he might need her during the night more than ever, if he became agitated, or had troubled dreams. She found that that sometimes happened with Alzheimer’s patients, after they had had a hard day emotionally. She watched him sleep, and he fidgeted more than usual, tossing his head back and forth on the pillow and muttering in his sleep.

Finally, he settled, and she sat back and found the place she had been reading. She would sit with him for another, in case he woke up, but so far he had slept through the night. She suspected it had something to do with the sedative she gave him before his evening ablutions, as prescribed by his physician. The hour passed quickly, and she lost herself in the intrigue surrounding the heroine. A soft knock made her turn her head to see Prince Amir waiting quietly by the door. She stood and walked out to meet him, pulling the door almost closed behind her.

“It is late, Alexandra,” he began, foregoing any greeting. “You should get some sleep.”

She nodded, feeling suddenly tongue-tied, because she had managed to forget his promise to return before she went to bed.

“Will you have lunch with me tomorrow? I have an evening engagement that I cannot break, and I won’t see you again until this time tomorrow if we don’t share lunch together.”

“Of course,” she said at once, forgetting he was making the request as a man interested in a woman, not as an employer to an employee.

His swift kiss reminded her immediately of the roles they were playing in that moment, and she gasped when he grazed her neck before planting a wet kiss in the place where her neck touched her shoulder blade.

“I won’t be able to see you again after tomorrow until next weekend,” he said, regret clear in his voice. “Then, I will have you relieved for a day and night so that I can take you to a special place. We will take Malik and Simone with us.”

“No security detail?” she wondered aloud.

“You will not know they are there,” he promised.

“What will I need to bring with me?” she asked, feeling excitement begin to curl in her chest.

“A swimsuit, sunglasses and sunscreen, a cool dress and sandals, and a nightgown.”

His eyes flared as he gave her the list, and she knew instinctively that he was imagining her in a nightgown.

“I look forward to the day when you let me see you,” he said, his voice husky, “and touch you and taste you.”

Feeling unaccountably bold for some reason, and needing to lighten the mood, which she could feel thickening rapidly towards hot and heavy, she teased him.

“You already do all those things, Your High…”

He stopped her with a hard finger against her lips. “I will need to devise a punishment for you for every time you refuse to call me by my name,” he said sternly, but she saw the twinkle in his eyes. “And to answer you, kissing and holding you are not enough for what I need.”

“I am still trying to wrap my mind around this,” she confessed, and he nipped her bottom lip.

“Ah, another reason to devise suitable punishments for you, eh? You continue to question my truthfulness. What shall I do to you?”

He tilted his head to the side, as though he were giving it serious thought, and Alex found herself chuckling at his teasing.

“As long as it doesn’t involve bodily harm, I suppose I can handle anything you dish out, Your Highness!”

She dared to give him a cheeky grin as she called him by his title again, and his mock glare delighted her. She loved that he was playful…there had been very little to laugh about in her life up to this point, and she relished the freedom to find humor and enjoyment in another person’s company, especially when the person wanted her to relax enough to let him do naughty things to her. The thought of all the things she could imagine doing with him brought heat surging to her cheeks, and she wasn’t surprised when he noticed.

“What thoughts have made your cheeks glow, my pretty?” he asked, kissing her heated cheeks.

“Just remembering what you said,” she replied incoherently, because he was sliding his lips down her chin to her throat, tilting her head with his thumbs so he could sample the soft flesh hidden there.

“And what was it that I said in particular?” he wanted to know, teasing the hollow of her throat with his tongue.

She swallowed against the pleasure rising in her veins at his seductive touches. “About needing to see me more,” she managed to get out, before his teeth on her skin drew a breathless gasp from her parted lips.

“Mmmmm,” he mumbled, coming back to her mouth and kissing her deeply, stopping all talk with the introduction of his tongue into her welcoming mouth.

Alex had been kissed few enough times that she could still remember them and how supremely ordinary and unarousing they had been. None had been as potent as the ones Amir was drowning her in. She held on tight to his shoulders, and when he pushed himself against her, drawing her more tightly into his body, she wrapped her arms around his neck, effectively removing every barrier between her body and his. And in that act she opened herself to him, and to whatever he decided that he wanted to do to and with her. When he pulled away, she felt the loss of his body heat at once, and mewled a protest.

“I must let you go to sleep, habibti,” he said, dropping a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. “I don’t think you are ready as yet for all that I plan to do with you.”

Alex had to agree, even though she knew it would have been an easier thing for him to seduce her completely now if he had tried. She loved that he was giving her time, and letting her get used to the idea of them as a couple.

“I will see you at lunch tomorrow. Malik will come to get you,” he said, walking with her to door to her suite. “Sleep sweet, my pretty,” he added, and bussed her lips before walking away.

Lunch next day was a picnic in the garden outside the king’s balcony. A tent had been set up, the table inside lavishly spread with so much food Alex had to laugh. Malik had taken Simone to school, and they were alone, except for the security detail whom she never saw but knew was there, somewhere.

“Are we feeding the five thousand?” she asked, as he seated her. At his confused frown, she explained, “It’s a story from the Bible about how five thousand men were fed by five loaves and two fish that kept multiplying miraculously.”

He chuckled, trailing his thumb over her smiling cheek. “I didn’t know what you might like, so I asked for a good sampling. Don’t worry, the food will not go to waste.”

He served her, putting the things on her plate that she asked for, and then he fed her, though she protested.

“I can feed myself, Amir,” she said, his name rolling off her tongue in annoyance.

He laughed. “Ah, I see what I must do to get you to call me by my name. I shall feed you at every meal we share together!”

His teasing threat dissolved her irritation, and she laughed with him, and let him have his way.

“What about you?” she wanted to know. “When are you going to eat?”

“When you are done,” he answered, but Alex was having none of that.

“What would you like?” she asked, refusing the succulent morsel of lamb that he was offering her on the fork.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Open!”

She opened for him, and he slipped the spoon between her lips. The food was all delicious, but she had chosen mostly light fare. She decided to share him a portion of the mouth-watering lamb stew, some couscous, a fruit stew that had a lot of complex flavors that was enjoyable, and some rolls to sop up the juices.

“I will let you finish feeding me, if you will let me feed you,” she said. “It’s only fair.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and then nodded, offering her some more food. They fed each other, with Alex laughing as the prince regaled her with stories of his childhood. Before she knew it, she had eaten everything on her plate, and all that was left on his was a roll to sop up the gravy. She broke the roll into bite-sized pieces, stuck the fork in it, and swiped it in the gravy before putting the soaking bread to his lips. He shook his head, and she said,

“Are you full?”

He smiled at her. “I can have one more roll, but I wish you to use your fingers.”

She tried not to blush, wiped her hands on a clean napkin, and put the piece on the fork to his lips again. As she expected, he nipped her fingers as he took the bite, and laughed quietly when she rolled her eyes at him. He repeated his teasing, until the last bite. This time, when she put it to his lips, he sucked her fingers into his mouth, and groaned. She tried to remove her fingers, before she groaned with him, but he grabbed her wrist and held her hand there, swallowing and returning to lick her fingers clean. The feel of his tongue on her fingers sent a riptide of sensation straight to her clit. She gasped, unable to stifle the moan that escaped her when he took her fingers all the way into his mouth.

“I know how good it feels, my pretty,” he said hoarsely, moving to sit next to her. “And I know how it feels to suck you in.”

She couldn’t speak, but there was no need as he licked her lips, sucking first one, then the other into his warm mouth.

“Mmmmm,” he whispered, “you taste delicious!”

He released her slowly, and asked what she would like to drink. Not wanting to be even more lightheaded than she already was from his sensual attentions, she opted for water, while he helped himself to a sweet white wine.

“Did you enjoy your lunch, Alexandra?” he asked, sipping his wine.

“Very much,” she replied, and realized that the parts she enjoyed the most were those parts that had had nothing to do with food. If lunch was to be like this all the time, she might never miss it again.

Amir watched Alexandra’s face bloom with color as he sucked on her fingers and her lips, and he had mercy on her. There would be more time for play soon, but he knew he had to take things relatively slowly until she felt relaxed enough to trust him completely. He was the first to admit, though, that holding off on his desires was an exercise in extreme self-restraint and patience, and he was fairly certain that it was high on the list of tortures for men who were falling in love. He had plans to take her to the oasis a few hours away from the palace, to ride with her, to swim, and to seduce her into his bed for the first time. He could wait a little longer to taste those other lips that he had yet to see, and to feel her body accepting his own.

“I suppose I ought to let you get back to work,” he said, standing and pulling her up with him.

He escorted her out of the tent, and as they walked through the shaded garden, he pointed out the roses that had been special to his mother, who had planted this garden with the help of the royal groundskeeper. The brilliant hues and scents of the flowers always filled him with such peace, and were a beautiful reminder of the woman he had never stopped missing. He knew he wanted the one walking by his side to be the woman to fill the spaces he had not known needed filling, and he would do everything he knew how to do to win her. A sound ahead of them made him look up, and Amina stood there, just inside the open door to the entrance, waiting. Amir felt his hackles rise. He had no idea what she could be doing in his home.

Beside him, he could feel Alexandra stiffen, and he knew what she saw. Amina was a beautiful woman, and the smile that she had plastered across her face was designed to dazzle. He wished he could reassure Alexandra that everything would be all right, but they had reached the door, and Amina was speaking.

“Good afternoon, Prince Amir!” she said, her voice a sultry purr. “Malik told me that you were at lunch. Who is your guest?”

Amir bristled, but hid his irritation. “Princess Amina Mohammed, meet Ms. Alexandra Downing. Alexandra, Princess Amina.”

He chose not to identify Alexandra any further, hoping that this woman he thought he had gotten rid of would take the hint and move on.

“I didn’t know you had house guests, my prince,” she murmured, casting a disinterested eye over Alexandra, and clearly dismissing her.

Amir did not respond, and Alexandra remained silent until they got to the long hallway that led to his father’s suite. Then she turned to him, and said quietly, her face expressionless,

“Thank you for lunch, Prince Amir. It was very kind of you. Please excuse me, now. I must get back to work.” Casting an equally bland glance in Amina’s direction, she added, “Princess!” before turning and walking away.

Amir held on to his rising anger by a thin thread when Amina spoke next.

“Work? What work does the American do for you, my prince?”

Her eyes and tone made the question sound less than innocent. He wasn’t obliged to explain the workings of his household to anyone, least of all the woman he had dismissed from his life a week ago. He gritted his teeth and turned away from her, and instead of replying, he asked as he walked,

“Why are you here, Princess?”

“My father asked me to bring you a personal invitation to our home,” she replied, walking beside him. “We will be hosting an official reception for emissaries from our neighboring nations on Friday evening, and he thought you would like to be a part of the event. We know how you like to be involved in anything to do with the security of our borders.”

Amir saw through the ruse at once. No doubt Sheikh Mustafa was looking to reel him back in by hosting this event, because he knew how seriously Amir took Mubaira’s border and national security. And to send Amina with the invitation was strategic. Doubtless, he hoped that another look at her, in all her beauty and allure, would make Amir at least question his decision to end things between them, and hopefully change his mind.

“I’m sorry. I have a previous engagement, Princess,” he said formally. “I will send my Minister of Defense in my stead. Now, if you will excuse me, I really must get back to work. Please thank Sheikh Mustafa for his thoughtful invitation. Khan will show you out.”

He motioned to the head of his security detail who just happened to be walking out of his office suite at that moment. As the man approached, she looked at him speculatively, with an angry gleam in her eyes.