The Maharajah's Billionaire Heir

by Lucy Monroe

  Most of the speeches had been made, or so Eliza assumed, when Rajvinder stood to make his own.

  This was not part of the wedding agenda they had decided on.

  He stood and waited to speak until the entire ballroom was silent but for the random sound of cutlery clattering and a few stray whispers.

  He smiled down at her. "I told you I had another surprise for you."

  "Now?" she asked, feeling trepidation for no reason other than Rajvinder would never do the expected.

  This wasn't Christmas decorations in a palace that had never had them. It wasn't even a luxurious ruby and onyx necklace to take the place of the black and gold beads the groom was meant to give his bride during the wedding.

  This was something more serious. His expression said so, even if everyone else was smiling and acting like they couldn't see the intensity in his gaze and manner.

  Maybe they couldn't.

  Though Barbie had turned to give her full attention to her son, no apprehension on her lovely features, but a more serious expression than she'd worn earlier.

  Rajvinder nodded to one of the servants/security standing at the far entrance to ballroom.

  The man opened the door and a woman stepped inside.

  She was dressed traditionally in an ornately embroidered dress, like many of the guests, but unlike most of them, it was the burgundy color of the House of Mahapatras. Holding her hand, was a small boy of two or three and he wore an outfit almost identical to Rajvinder's.

  Gasps could be heard throughout the ballroom and the buzz of shocked whispers.

  "I present to you all the mother of my cousin Dev's son, Haya Anand Singh and my heir, Prince Devam Veeresh Singh. He will be Maharajah after me."

  "She is not a Singh," the Maharajah said dismissively. "They were never married. I saw to that."

  A gasp sounded from the direction of Veeresh and his wife's end of the table.

  "She is a Singh. We have had her name changed legally and I have drawn up all documents necessary to not only recognize her as my family, but Devam as my heir."

  Grandfather surged to his feet. "Stop this outrage! You signed contracts!"

  Rajvinder met the older man's gaze, no evidence he was bothered by the Maharajah's anger. "That stipulate I will name as my heir a direct descendant to your line. Prince Devam is your grandson. I have the DNA results to prove it, if you think to challenge me on this."

  And suddenly Eliza understood all the cryptic things Rajvinder had said about his child being heir to the Mahapatras Dynasty.

  Her heart hurt terribly to realize that Dev had a son he'd been prepared to abandon for the sake of duty, but joy at Rajvinder rectifying not only the past but the present with his actions overshadowed any pain.

  She turned to her new husband. "Thank you."

  "What do you mean, thank you?" Grandfather demanded. "He's denying your own children their heritage."

  She smiled gently at the man, who she genuinely did believe wanted the best for his family, but might be terribly blind to what that should be. "My husband has a worldwide empire, beyond the influence of the Singhs. Our children, if we have them, will inherit the legacy their father built."

  And what a gift that was, to suddenly feel no pressure to provide the next heir to the House of Mahapatras.

  "If you have them…" Grandfather spluttered, but the arrival of Dev's parents, forestalled any more words.

  Mayurika auntie reached out and touched the little boy's face reverently. "You have given us back a piece of our son. How can we thank you?"

  Veeresh uncle offered his hand to Haya. "Daughter, welcome."

  Grandfather made a sound of anger, but no one paid him any mind. Rajvinder had brought new life to the Singh family, he had brought comfort in unending grief for parents who had lost their only son.

  And he had unequivocally given Eliza all the time she needed to come to terms with the possibility of motherhood.

  Eliza grinned up at Rajvinder. "You really are Superman, aren't you?"

  "Superman could leap tall buildings but he could not run the businesses inside them. I can."

  She laughed, delighted by her husband's arrogance.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  They spent their wedding night in the palace, as every prince had done for generations.

  When those plans had been made at first, Eliza hadn't cared where she was going to spend her wedding night. She hadn't anticipated it being anything special.

  Now she knew differently.

  Tonight was going to be very special.

  But she was glad they'd opted to follow tradition, because that meant that she'd wake up Christmas morning to the amazing Christmas décor her thoughtful husband had arranged for.

  He'd even had a tree put in his suite, and there were presents underneath. Eliza felt a thrill of anticipation for the morning, but no present could outshine the gift he'd given her at their wedding reception.

  "Devam is a sweet child, and I really like Haya." She gave him a smile filled with joy as he carried her over the threshold in Western tradition.

  Rajvinder kicked the door shut behind them, his expression one she couldn't quite decipher, but she liked it. "You were happy with my surprise."

  "I was."

  Rajvinder's lips twisted wryly. "Trisanu was not."

  "He'll come around. He wants an heir with a traditional Indian upbringing. He's not going to get that with any child we might have."

  "Exactly." Rajvinder let her stand, but kept her close with an arm around her.

  "The Maharajah knew about Devam and not just his mother, didn't he?"

  "I believe so, yes. With the strangle hold he's had on his family? He would have made sure he knew everything about Dev's life."

  Neither of them commented on the fact that the Maharajah, as she was thinking of the man she used to call dadaji so easily, more and more, had said that he'd made sure Dev didn't marry Haya.

  "Veeresh uncle did not know." His reaction had been too shocked, too delighted, to be anything but genuine.

  "He and his wife were very happy when they found out," Rajvinder agreed.

  "You did a good thing."

  "I told you I would never allow a child to go unacknowledged in my family."

  Eliza patted Rajvinder's chest in approval. "You're a good man."

  "I am very glad you think so." He tugged her even closer. "But right now, I do not want to talk about family."

  "What do you want to talk about?" she teased.

  "You need to ask?"

  "Maybe not." She stepped away from him, removing her veil.

  In no real mood to dissemble, she lifted the flowers and necklaces from around her neck as well. She was as ready for this night as he was.

  Maybe more so.

  "Let me," he said when she went to start on the fastenings of her dress.

  No further words were spoken for several minutes as Rajvinder unwrapped her like a present. When her back was revealed and the Henna tattoo there, he gasped and then groaned.

  "You like?" she asked, nerves making her voice only a little breathy.

  "Beautiful."

  She smiled as she turned to face him. "You like the Henna."

  "I do. All of it. I'm pretty sure I anticipated your Mehendi more than you did."

  "I think you did too, but now that I know the effect the designs have on you, I think I would have looked forward to it a lot more."

  "It's all you, but yes, they enhance your natural beauty."

  "You are the only one that makes me feel beautiful."

  "You should feel beautiful, because you are, but I am glad no other man has found his way past your reticence."

  "It had to be you." Rajvinder was the only man she could imagine having a strong enough personality and character to draw Eliza out of her shell and get her past her fears. To heal her heart.

  "Do I get to unwrap you now?" she asked, stepping close to him again, unembarrassed by her nudity.

  "By all mea
ns."

  She took her time, starting with his turban and working down until he was as naked as she was. His sex was rigid and pointing upward already, showing he was as keen to consummate their marriage she was.

  Eliza couldn't help reaching out to touch.

  He made a strangled sound. "Be careful or this will be over too quickly."

  "Do you think I could make you lose your control?" she asked, genuinely curious.

  He was such a put together guy. Nothing seemed to get to him.

  "I know you can."

  So, she proceeded to try doing just that. Eliza caressed his body, remembering the hot spots she'd discovered in their intimate time together and using that knowledge to her best advantage. When she dropped to her knees in front of him, he gasped as if shocked.

  Although she hadn't done this yet, it was something she had been wanting to do.

  She took him in hand, guiding the leaking tip of his manhood to her mouth. Eliza stuck her tongue out and delicately licked the pearl drops of liquid.

  He tasted different than anything she'd ever experienced, salty and just a little sweet.

  "Eliza," he said in a strangled voice.

  And she took him into her mouth, her hands caressing him as well.

  "Stop…please, sonii. No more."

  She pulled back and looked up at him. "Don't you like it?"

  "I love it. I love you, you little torment, but it is our wedding night and I have other plans for you."

  Her heart swelled with emotion. "I think you're as good at making declarations as I am."

  He laughed as he pulled her to her feet and then swept her into his arms to carry her to their marriage bed. "Because I told you I love you for the first time when you were on your knees with my dick in your hands?"

  She laughed, all the joy and freedom this man had brought into her life spilling forth in the sound. "Not very romantic."

  "I disagree. That is one of the most romantic things I've ever experienced in my life."

  And that was what made Eliza blush. Not being nude with this man, not touching him so intimately, but having him say something so darn sweet about it.

  "I really do love you, Rajvinder, my very own prince."

  "And I love you, Eliza, keeper of my heart."

  "I'll keep it safe," she promised with all the gravity such a vow deserved.

  "And I will keep yours safe as well."

  And she believed.

  Their lovemaking was passionate and amazing, and yes, a little painful when he entered her for the first time, but even that was perfect. Eliza lost herself in the one man who could and had mended her shattered heart.

  He stopped, their bodies connected at the most intimate level, and met her gaze. "This is ours. It is not about making a baby, though one day…"

  "One day," she agreed. "I love you, Rajvinder, but if you don't start moving, I may resort to bodily harm."

  He laughed, the sound going through her as he began to thrust.

  It wasn't long before his powerful movements had driven her ecstasy to heights she had not hit, even with him. It was just too right. Too perfect.

  And it was earthy.

  And intense.

  And physically so much more than she thought even this act could be.

  "We are one."

  Tears tracked down her temple but she wasn't sad, just overwhelmed. This intimacy was something so amazing, it washed over her heart even as her body sought the pinnacle of pleasure.

  She moved with him, gasped, demanded, and wallowed.

  In the pleasure. In the feeling of his body being connected so perfectly with hers. In the scent of them together.

  In every aspect of this intimacy she never, ever wanted to do without again.

  "I love you," he gritted out even as he increased his pace, his pelvis giving a little twist on the downward thrusts, sending sensation through her clitoris.

  And suddenly that tight coil of ecstasy inside her exploded and she screamed, unable to hold back to the wash of pleasure.

  "Yes," he shouted even as he kept moving, chasing his own completion and then he was climaxing too. "Eliza! Yes, sonii, yes!"

  They collapsed together afterward, his body wrapped around hers in possessive, comforting strength.

  "I think if I'd discovered sex earlier, I wouldn't have gotten my doctorate," she joked breathlessly.

  "I won't pretend I'm not ridiculously pleased you waited to discover this kind of pleasure with me."

  She snuggled into his body, kissing his well-defined chest. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what a throwback you are."

  "A wife should keep her husband's secrets."

  "I may need a little convincing," she offered.

  He flipped her onto her back, his erection that had not gone down completely already sliding into her sensitized channel, his expression oh so sexy. "Your wish is my command."

  And they started all over again, showing her just how true her joking statement might have been.

  ***

  The next morning, he woke her just as the sun was sending its first rays through their balcony window. "Merry Christmas, sonii."

  They exchanged gifts and then had an amazing Christmas breakfast with everyone except Grandfather, who was still in his rooms.

  Devam and his mother came over later and Eliza took Haya aside.

  "I just want you to know how glad I am that Dev had someone to love before he died," Eliza told the Indian woman.

  Haya's dark eyes filled with tears. "He was such a gentle man, but…"

  "Not strong enough to tell Grandfather no." Eliza understood all too well. She'd been prepared to marry a man she did not desire, much less love, and enter a profession that was not her first, or even second choice, to make the Maharajah happy. "Maybe he would have in the end."

  Haya's bittersweet smile said she didn't think so. "Prince Rajvinder has given my son, and me, a whole new life."

  "He wants Devam to have his heritage. It's only right."

  "And you? You do not mind? He said you would be delighted for Devam to be made Prince Rajvinder's heir, but…"

  "I am delighted."

  "But despite his business interests elsewhere, His Highness is still the Prince, and will one day be the Maharajah," Haya said, sounding a little confused.

  "Yes, and we will always spend part of the year in the palace, but our home will be in San Diego. The palace will always be Devam's home, now, though."

  "When the families exiled Badriyah, they did not know what they were giving up. I saw them all at the reception. Everyone wants to get close to him and he has no time for any of them. But he made time for my son." Haya sounded like she found that unfathomable.

  "By naming Prince Devam his heir," Eliza tried to explain, "Rajvinder took him on as family, closer in his mind than any of his aunts, uncles, or cousins."

  "Or Grandfather. I see why Dev was so scared of him."

  "Rajvinder isn't though, and he'll teach Prince Devam not to be."

  Haya smiled mistily. "We are very lucky."

  "So am I."

  Haya nodded. "I think that is very mutual though, Princess. He could not have a more compassionate or loyal wife. Dev told me a lot about you."

  "I wish he'd told me about you," Eliza admitted without rancor, but feeling a little pain at the knowledge her best friend had hidden someone and something so important as being a parent from her. "I would have liked to know Prince Devam from birth."

  "You really are a special woman."

  "So are you. If Dev loved you, then you must be very special."

  Haya's eyes glistened, but she blinked back any tears. "He said you were his best friend, and I can see now how true that was."

  Eliza told Rajvinder about the conversation later and he nodded. "You were a very good friend to Dev and with one exception, I think he was a very good friend to you."

  "He helped me find my way in the palace. It was so hard to be here at first, I was hurting too much to accept any
of the adults around me, but Dev was different. And his son will find it very different than I did, making this place his home."

  Both Tabish and her sister-in-law had doted on Haya and Prince Devam. And those two had soaked it up, making it clear they looked forward to moving into the palace.

  The Maharajah might think he ran the family, but its strength was in its women and they were delighted to accept Prince Devam into their hearts and their home.

  "Now you have me," Rajvinder assured her.

  Eliza looked at him, letting every bit of love she felt for him show. "There is no comparison. I miss Dev's friendship, but you own my heart, Rajvinder."

  "As you own mine."

  "Life with you will always be an adventure."

  "You have my word on that."

  "And you always keep your promises."

  "I do."

  "My hero."

  "You know you are mine as well."

  "Your hero?" she asked, snuggling into his body, loving that this place of safety was hers, and hers alone.

  "Yes."

  "What did I save you from?" she asked him.

  "A life without consuming and all-encompassing love."

  "You are such a romantic."

  "We'll keep that between us."

  "I think your family figured it out when you gave me a three-week long honeymoon in Paris for Christmas."

  He shrugged. "A woman should remember her honeymoon."

  "I'm looking forward to Paris, but it's life with you I really look forward to."

  "I love you, sonii, for this day and always."

  She kissed him, giving the words back with her lips.

  Now and forever.

  EPILOGUE

  "Should there be this much pain?" Vin demanded of the world's top obstetrician as she coached Eliza through delivering their first child.

  They'd been married three years when Eliza came to him and told him she wanted to stop using birth control. She wanted children.

  She'd been shaking with the fear of it, but her desire for a family was stronger than her fear, his very own personal heroine.

  But this delivery thing was for the birds.

  "We are adopting in future," he informed the room at large.