The Sheik's Arranged Marriage (20 page)

He turned to look at her and smiled ruefully. “Unlike you, who announced at our first meeting that you were not interested in marrying
me.
”

Heidi felt herself flush. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“I know. And I’m not complaining. You’ve been honest about your feelings from the beginning. I never doubted where I stood. But Yasmin was different. Everything she said was a lie. She didn’t want to be married, although that is what she pretended. She had no interest in me. She wanted the title, the money and the position. After we had been married a few weeks, she revealed her true nature to me. Part of that was to make it clear she was not interested in having me in her bed.”

He stopped talking and looked away. Heidi sensed that this was difficult for him, and she touched his arm. “I understand.”

“No, you don’t,” he told her without looking at her. “You can’t. You’re too innocent, too good a person. She didn’t take lovers. In her way, she was faithful.
But only because the thought of being intimate with anyone was repugnant.
She wasn’t interested in having children, and she made it clear that she would prefer I never touched her again.”

His mouth twisted in a grimace. “The irony is that over those first few weeks, when she’d been living her lie, I’d made the mistake of falling in love with her. Once I realized the truth, I grew to hate her. By the time she died, I no longer cared about her at all.”

Heidi struggled to absorb all that she’d heard. She sensed that there was much more to the story than he was telling her and that eventually Jamal would confide in her more. But for now she knew enough to understand that her rejection of him on their wedding night must have sent him back to his time with Yasmin.

“No wonder you weren’t happy about me wanting a mental and spiritual marriage,” she said slowly.

He looked at her and smiled. “I wasn’t thrilled,” he agreed. “But you’ve since proven that your animal nature is as well developed as your intellect. It is one of your most charming features.”

She moved close so that she could cuddle against him again. He was right about her innocence. She couldn’t begin to know what that time had been like for him, nor did she have any idea about what it cost him to confess it all now. But she did know that telling her was an act of faith on his part.

“I love you,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder and sliding her leg over his. “I love you, and I want you.
Always.”

Jamal wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of him. He cupped her face. “Stay,” he murmured. “Stay with me. Let me love you and love me in return.
For always.
Have my children. Share my life as I want to share yours. We can be wonderful together.”

Somewhere in the middle of his telling
her
about his past her tears had stopped. She felt the burning again and tried to blink them back.

“I’ll stay forever,” she promised. “I was so convinced you were still in love with Yasmin. Somehow when we talked about her the first time, everything got mixed up. I thought you were saying you were still mourning her and you thought…”

“I thought you were tolerating me to get what you wanted. The way she had.” He tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled at her. “That’s why I was so charmed by you being Honey. At that point you’d already married me, so you had the money and the title and the position. The only thing left to win was my heart. You made me very happy by wanting that as well. That was the reason I played along. Not because I wanted to make a fool of you. I never thought you were anything but wonderful, Heidi. You are my life. I would move the world for you if I could.”

Her heart was so full of love and happiness, she thought she might burst. “I actually like the world where it is, but thank you for asking.”

“You’re welcome.” His gaze sharpened. “I thought we might end our discussion by making love. We never did have a wedding night in a tent. What do you think? I took a chance and chilled a bottle of champagne for us.”

She shifted, moving a little lower until she felt the hardness of his arousal pressing against her. He wanted her. Jamal Khan, Prince of El Bahar, both loved and wanted her. She had never thought her life could be so incredibly wonderful.

“Yes,” she whispered as she pressed kisses against his mouth. “I want to make love with you now and as often as possible. I want to feel your body pressed against mine, and I want to feel you inside me. One of these days, if you’re very lucky, I might even perform that silly dance again.”

He smiled a satisfied, male smile. “I’d like that. Hold on while I get the champagne.”

He started to move, but she stopped him with a shake of her head. “I can’t have any.”

“Why? Are you ill?”

She grinned.
“Not exactly.
I feel fine most of the time. However, I’m going to put on a lot of weight and get thick ankles and maybe even be crabby. You think you’ll still love me then?”

She was trembling by the time she finished her speech. It probably wasn’t the best way to tell Jamal she was pregnant, but she wanted him to know, and she hoped he would be happy and—

He rolled her onto her back, then jumped to his feet and pulled her up with him. He clasped her around the waist and swung her up in his arms, spinning them both until the tent was a blur.

“You’re pregnant!” he announced. “You’re going to have our baby.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your brain,” she said, laughing. “I’m smart, you’re smart. This bodes well for the gene pool.”

“Heidi. Thank you.” He let her slide down until her feet touched the carpeted floor,
then
he pulled her close and kissed her.
“A baby.
That’s wonderful. You’ll be an amazing mother.”

“And you’ll be the perfect father. I think we’re going to be very happy together,” she told him.

Jamal stared into her eyes and smiled. “We already are, my love. We already are.”