‘To prevent my country from being dragged through the mire,’ he defended. ‘After that was done, it was all about you.’
‘And I’m expected to believe that.’ Turning her back, she folded her arms, as if to contain her emotions. ‘Well, now it’s about me and my child,’ she said, whirling around to confront him, ‘which must be a considerable inconvenience for you.’
‘It’s nothing of the sort,’ he assured her.
She threw him a sceptical look. ‘I can just imagine the headlines: The Sheikh and the laundress expecting a baby, after the ruler of Khalifa returns to the UK to seduce the daughter of his brother’s victim.’
‘A rather long headline,’ he observed, curbing his natural response. He knew it was hormones driving this rant, but that didn’t make it acceptable.
‘Don’t make a joke of this,’ she warned.
‘And don’t you live in the past. We have a child to consider now, and the future of that child is far more important than anything that’s happened to us previously.’
Her lip trembled, and now he regretted pulling her up short. But not too much. What he had said was true.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why I thought I could discuss this with you calmly.’
‘Because you can.’
‘So long as I toe your line?’
‘So long as you state your case clearly and I state mine. Now. It’s been a long day for both of us. May I suggest we reconvene this meeting in the morning?’ Before she could answer, he stood up and walked to the door. Opening it, he waited for her to leave. After a moment’s hesitation, she did so.
‘Nine o’clock tomorrow morning on the terrace for breakfast,’ he said.
Lifting her chin, she walked past him without another word.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KHALID HAD BEEN watching over her all these years? Millie didn’t know whether to be comforted or furious. Back in the beautiful suite of rooms that had been allocated to her in his London home, she was consumed by blind fury and hormones—and blind fury was definitely winning out.
She’d told him they were expecting a child, and his response had been that they’d talk about it in the morning? What was that about? This was the biggest thing that had ever happened to her: a baby, a family, a ready-made grannie in the shape of Miss Francine, and honorary aunts galore. She didn’t need any more time to think about it, and she got his message loud and clear. He wasn’t interested.
He thought she was overwrought? Just let him try and pay her off. Then he’d see her angry. No one was going to put a price on her baby. Wrenching her ball gown this way and that, she now discovered that the zip was out of reach. Forced to concede defeat, she realised she’d have to ask a maid to help her.
At one o’ clock in the morning?
She couldn’t ask anyone to get out of bed to help her undress. Glancing at the house phone—palace phone, Millie amended, rejigging her thoughts—she remembered the housekeeper said it was manned twenty-four hours a day. If they’d tell her where the office was, she could go there and ask whoever was on duty to give her a hand.
Lifting the receiver, she waited for the call to connect. ‘Hello, I’m—’
‘Millie?’
She would have known that dark, husky voice anywhere. Why was Khalid manning the phones? ‘Are you monitoring my calls now?’ She sounded like a shrew with a nail in its pad.
A shrew with a hawk watching her?
Everyone knew what happened when a hawk watched a shrew.
‘Can’t you sleep?’ Khalid sounded amused.
‘Can’t you?’ she countered.
‘I happened to be passing the office, and was alerted to a call from your room. Is there something wrong?’
‘Nothing you can put right,’ she assured him.
She had to calm down, Millie realised as the silence stretched on. Her hormones might be racing out of control, but she was a guest here and Khalid was her host, as well as the father of her child, and the best hope she had to save the laundry. And she could hardly blame him for her getting stuck in her ball gown. ‘It’s a practical matter,’ she admitted crisply.
‘Like you want a cheese sandwich?’ he suggested with genuine interest. ‘Being pregnant these urges are natural. The kitchens are open. Just call down—or I can put you through, if you like...?’
‘If you must know—’ and now she felt incredibly foolish ‘—I can’t get out of my dress.’
‘I’m sure I can help with that,’ he said.
Before she had chance to argue the line cut, and seconds later, or so it seemed to Millie, who was pacing up and down, there was a knock on the door, and Khalid strode in.
‘Do come in,’ she flared.
He laughed. Why did he have to do that? She could never resist his laugh. He’d obviously taken a shower as soon as he got back, as his hair was damp. He had changed into casual clothes, jeans and a top. That was her clue. He couldn’t sleep, either.
‘It didn’t take you long to get here,’ the shrew inside her observed. ‘Were you monitoring my door, as well as the phone?’
‘Turn around,’ he instructed calmly.
Khalid’s fingers on the back of her neck were incendiary devices to her senses, creating delicious little shocks that went streaking through her veins.
Okay, so she’d let him help her with the zip, but then he must leave.
‘You’re very tense tonight, Millie.’
Well, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to either of them, she thought as Khalid’s hands rested on her shoulders.
‘You were a sensation at the ball,’ he commented.
‘I think the company I kept made sure of that.’
‘I disagree,’ Khalid argued as he pushed the dress from her shoulders. ‘You needed no help. You have your own very unique appeal.’
She stepped out of the dress, and was in his arms before she knew it. And now she was lost. One of the more enjoyable side effects of pregnancy was that it made her mad for sex.
‘I can manage now, thank you,’ she said primly, attempting to push him away, but her voice sounded hoarse and unconvincing. And when Khalid’s arms were wrapped around her, escape was...incidental.
‘I’m sure you can manage,’ he agreed. ‘The question is, do you want to?’
‘You not going to dictate terms just because I’m pregnant,’ she warned.
‘And neither will you,’ he assured her in a soft seductive whisper, with his mouth so close to the back of her neck she could feel his warm breath on her skin.
‘What are you saying?’ she demanded, reclaiming her hold on common sense as she turned to face him.
‘Just that tonight you need to sleep, and you will do so in my arms.’
‘You’re very sure of yourself.’
Much surer than she was that she could resist him. ‘And I’m to remain in your arms until you grow tired of me and send me away?’ Angling her chin, she stared up at him. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘I’ve got no plans to send you away,’ he said, drawing his hands down her body until the dress fell away. He steadied her as she stepped out of it, and then stepped back.
‘What are you doing?’ she demanded.
‘I would have thought that was obvious,’ he said, maintaining caution-shattering eye contact as he cupped her between her legs.
‘Sleep, you said,’ she accused shakily. ‘And then we’ll talk in the morning.’
‘You will sleep. I promise,’ he said.
After sex, she thought as her body overruled her caution.
‘You’re so deliciously plump here,’ he said as he cupped and soothed and teased, applying just the right amount of pressure until she was out of her mind with lust. ‘You definitely need my attention before you can sleep,’ he observed in a tone she found thrillingly matter
-of-fact.
So much, Millie thought as Khalid suggested in an amused whisper, ‘Let’s go to bed, so I can show you how much you need this.’
‘And then?’
‘And then you sleep,’ he said dryly.
‘I mean, when you go back to your life and I go back to mine.’
‘That’s what I’m going to talk about in the morning.’
‘Put me down,’ she insisted when he carried her to the bed, but it was only a token struggle. She enjoyed the banter between them, as well as everything else. It was just a pity it couldn’t last, but, as he’d once said to her, he was a man and she was a woman; carpe diem, seize the moment, or waste more of her life regretting.
Stripping back the covers with one arm, Khalid lowered her against the nest of pillows. Maintaining eye contact, he stripped off. Damn that mix of stern and wicked. She was lost. She wanted him. Even if it was just one last time.
‘I won’t hurt you,’ he promised.
Any more than he had already, Khalid thought.
‘Sex won’t hurt the baby,’ she told him. ‘I read up on it.’
Emotions he’d never expected to feel welled up inside him at the thought that this was the mother of his child.
‘Words hurt,’ she said quietly, staring deep into his eyes. ‘Actions hurt. Not telling each other the truth hurts.’
He said nothing, knowing the truth could be destructive, and he would never hurt Millie.
Stretching out his length beside her, he brought her into his arms. ‘I’m not joking about sleeping. I don’t want to hear another word from you until the morning.’
‘Like that’s going to happen?’ she said.
‘Close your eyes,’ he instructed.
‘Only if you touch me.’
‘Hussy,’ he growled, moving over her.
‘Only for you,’ she whispered as she wound her arms around him.
* * *
Millie blinked and realised daylight was streaming through the curtains. ‘What happened?’ she asked, looking around.
‘You’re still wrapped in my arms and I’m in no hurry to move away,’ Khalid told her in a growly, morning voice. ‘I’ve been watching you sleep.’
‘Snoring?’
He pulled a wry face. ‘Not that I could hear.’
‘What are you doing?’ she asked. ‘I’m still asleep.’
‘Not for long,’ he promised.
Kissing and touching, he stroked and soothed her as she whimpered and sighed. It was all too easy to fall under his spell, but when she woke up and came to her senses, what then?
‘Better?’ he asked as she trembled in anticipation of more pleasure to come.
‘No,’ she said, trying to regain a grip on reality that didn’t include the mighty Sheikh of Khalifa taking up a permanent berth in King’s Dock.
‘How about now?’
As Khalid sank deep, she lost control immediately, which made reasoned thought impossible. Wrapping her legs tightly around him, she worked as vigorously as he did to bring them both the satisfaction they craved. After making love, they slept again, and she woke in his arms. Khalid was still sleeping—or so she thought—when she slipped out of bed to shower and dress.
‘Where are you going?’ he asked.
She turned to see him resting his chin on his hand as he stared at her.
‘Home,’ she said quietly.
There was a pause, and then he frowned and said, ‘Why?’
Because this was the perfect ending, Millie thought. She’d spent so many teenage years dreaming and imagining that she knew exactly when the curtain should come down.
‘There’s nothing to be gained by staying any longer,’ she said. ‘We both know this can’t go anywhere.’
‘So you’re leaving before we talk about the baby?’
‘I’m sure you’ll have your lawyers handle your side of the discussion.’
He looked astounded.
‘I’ll be ready for them when they arrive,’ she promised calmly as her heart began to crumble like an iceberg in the sun.
‘Is this because of some silly idea you have about me being a king and you being an apprentice?’
‘Well, of course it has something to do with it,’ she admitted. ‘I’m hardly a suitable match. Don’t you have an arranged bride on the horizon?’
Millie’s heart shrank to the size of a pea as she waited for Khalid to reply. She could bear this, she told herself firmly. Whatever he had to say, she could take it.
‘There’s something I should have told you,’ he said as he swung off the bed.
She prepared for the worst.
‘That time...before the ball,’ he began.
‘When your meetings overran,’ she supplied tensely. ‘Were you...?’ She had to brace herself to say the words. ‘Were you discussing a marriage?’
‘Yes, I was,’ he admitted.
She swayed. He caught hold of her. ‘I was discussing our marriage.’
‘What?’ she said faintly.
‘It takes time to change the constitution of a country,’ he explained as she stared up in bewilderment. ‘That constitution has been changed to allow the ruler of Khalifa to choose his own bride. It’s the way forward, Millie, not just for us, but for our children, and for all the future generations.’
‘You did this for me,’ she whispered.
‘Yes, I did.’
‘I don’t know what to say,’ Millie admitted.
‘You’re a self-made woman and an inspiration to everyone who meets you. And you’re the mother of my child,’ he added. ‘The simple fact is, you’re a woman and I’m a man. Do I need any more reasons?’
Perhaps one, she thought.
‘And I love you,’ he said.
Yes.
‘I can’t think of anything more important than that, can you?’
And neither could Millie. ‘So...’
‘So, you’re not going anywhere,’ Khalid said as he lifted her into his arms. ‘You’re staying here with me.’
‘Well,’ she teased, hardly able to contain her happiness, ‘I suppose if I have to be anyone’s captive—’
With a laugh, Khalid swung her around. ‘That imagination of yours should be bottled and sold, and then I wouldn’t need sapphire mines to make a fortune.’
‘Another fortune?’ Millie commented as her heart threatened to explode with love.
‘Think of all the good you can do with my money.’
‘Now, there’s a suggestion I doubt anyone’s heard before,’ she admitted.
‘Then, it’s time you started thinking about it,’ Khalid insisted, turning serious. ‘You’re the love of my life, and I want to share everything with you.’
‘Are you asking me to believe that His Majesty the mighty Sheikh of Khalifa loves Millie Dillinger, oil-smeared apprentice, and sometime laundress?’
Khalid’s mouth pressed down in the way she loved. ‘A man called Khalid loves Millie,’ he said, ‘and that’s the beginning and the end of it.’
‘So, what are you proposing?’
Pulling back his head, he stared down at her. ‘Marriage, of course.’
‘Are you serious?’ she gasped.
Lowering her to the ground, Khalid got down on one knee? ‘Either that, or you’ve lost an earring. Marry me, Millie,’ he said in a very different tone, ‘and stand at my side for ever.’
‘As your Queen?’ Millie blurted, still shocked.
‘As my wife,’ Khalid corrected her. ‘You’re the only woman who is uniquely qualified for the job.’
‘What qualification would that be?’
‘You love me.’
‘Well, yes, I do,’ she admitted. ‘So much it hurts.’
‘Is that a yes?’ Khalid demanded, his eyes burning with love
and laughter. ‘Can I get up now?’
‘You are serious,’ she said.
‘Never more so,’ he confirmed. ‘I knew the moment that the young Prince hurried to escort you that I had to move heaven and earth to push that new law through. No one else could be my wife. No man could ever love you as I do. I intend to spend the rest of my life with you, and I want the whole world to know that I adore you. Starting with you,’ he added softly as he cupped Millie’s face in his hands.
It was a long time before they broke apart, and when they did, she remembered their talk.
‘About this child or the next?’ Khalid teased as he stroked her belly. ‘Or all of our children to come?’
‘Stop it,’ she said, laughing. ‘But what about my education?’
‘I intend to continue that in depth.’
‘I mean my college education,’ she whispered against his wicked mouth.
‘You can continue that at one of the best engineering colleges in the world.’
‘In Khalifa,’ she said.
‘Exactly. If that’s what you want.’
‘It is what I want.’
‘Good.’
‘But where will we live?’
Khalid shrugged as he smiled and admitted, ‘I have homes across the world. Where would you like to live?’
‘In one of the transportable palaces,’ Millie exclaimed softly as her imagination took her flying back to the desert.
‘Maybe when the baby’s a little older,’ Khalid suggested. ‘But we can take holidays in the meantime,’ he added quickly when he saw her disappointment.
As Millie stared up into dark, beloved eyes, she knew there would never be anyone to compare with her Sapphire Sheikh, and that whatever else Khalid had to tell her about the past, they had a lifetime to understand and discuss it.
‘I love you so much,’ she said. ‘I always have—right from that first moment when you came to my rescue like an avenging angel striding into the bowels of hell on board the Sapphire.’
‘I never doubted it,’ he said as he backed her towards the bed. ‘And I love you so much, it’s going to take a lifetime to prove it.’
‘Starting now?’ she said hopefully.
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