One Night with The Sheikh: An accident of fate brought them together, and it would bind them for the rest of their lives.

by Clare Connelly

  Once they were a safe distance from other ears, Sam spoke. “How could you do this to me?”

  But Grace wasn’t going to let him get away with that. “How could I do this to you? Jeez, Sam. You’re right. I should have called you. Oh, that’s right. I didn’t have your number. Emailed? Nope, no luck there. Then again, I did know you’re name is Sam and you come from Elaminar, so I could have just rocked up at the embassy and asked around.”

  He turned his head away in frustration. Truthfully, had she done so, she would have seen an enormous portrait of him hanging in the entrance, and then, at least, he would have known about the baby.

  “Did you even try? Did you even want to tell me? Or was your pride so hurt by the fact that I walked out on you that perhaps you thought it served me right?”

  “No,” she denied hotly. “How can you think that?”

  “I don’t know what to think, Grace. My mind is reeling. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I have a son.”

  “I tried to tell you, Sam. I called the garage in Battersea but your assistant had just dropped my car at the gate. I even called my insurance company, but you never filed a claim.”

  “My car wasn’t damaged.”

  “I still thought… I don’t know. It was all I could think of. I really knew nothing about you.”

  “No.” He had been intentionally spare with the details. “What a mess.”

  Grace misunderstood and anger spiked inside her. “He is not a mess. He’s my child, and you can go back to pretending you don’t know anything about him if that’s how you feel. I do just fine on my own.”

  “Like hell,” he denied forcefully.

  “I do. With Ash and Rupert, he is always with someone he knows and loves.”

  Again, envy coursed through him. Strangers had been raising his son. “I do not mean to question how you cope. I mean there is no way on earth I intend to disappear out of my son’s life again.” He stopped walking and gripped her shoulders. “If I had known about him, I would have been here from day one.”

  His gaze was so intense, so passion filled, that she felt a strange sense of remorse, even though she had done nothing wrong. “I know.” And somehow, she did. Her complete trust in this man who’d seduced her and then disappeared into thin air angered her. How could she trust him so implicitly after what he’d done? “I suppose that will teach you not to have sex with women and disappear off the face of the earth.”

  “I told you. My father…”

  “And I told you, that doesn’t explain why you waited two years to explain. Oh, that’s right. You were busy getting engaged to another woman.”

  He swore under his breath. He’d forgotten about Irena. Though they were not engaged, it was expected by everyone. Their advisors had been secretly planning for it for months now.

  Then, out of nowhere, he realized he no longer needed to get married. At least, not to Irena. He had an heir. A ready-made Prince. And though Jacob’s mother might not be the Queen his country wanted him to choose, she was the woman he wanted in his bed. That was as good a place to start as any.

  Getting Grace to agree was going to be the only sticking point.

  Despite the electricity that sparked between them endlessly, there was no way she’d agree to marry him and move to Elaminar. Unless she thought them to be in love. And so he settled it in his mind. To get his son to Elaminar, he simply had to make Grace realize that she was in love with him. It would be the biggest, most important charm offensive of his life, but he was not prepared to fail.

  He would do whatever it took to secure his heir. A primal pride of blood-line made his blood ice cold.

  With a small smile of steely determination, he surprised Grace by putting his arms around her waist and pulling her to his body. “But I don’t want to marry Irena. I came to London to see if I still had feelings for you. And I do. It makes no sense, but Grace, I believe I might be in love with you.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Blood was pounding through her head and her heart with such intensity that she could actually hear the tidal force of her body. “Say what now?” She stared at him as though he’d lost the plot.

  “How else do you explain the fact I haven’t stopped thinking about you for two years?”

  Grace spluttered into the warm morning air. “You’re crazy.”

  “Perhaps.” He shrugged with an apparent lack of concern.

  “Is this because of Jacob?”

  Sam ran his palm across his stubbled chin. “How I feel about my son has no bearing on the way you make me feel.”

  Prickles of something suspiciously like pleasure ran up and down her arms. But she had to hold onto her rational head. With a slightly unsteady voice, she pointed out, “We hardly know each other.”

  “In the most important ways we do.”

  She looked up at him skeptically, but it was getting harder and harder to fight the sensations that were flooding through her. “Such as?”

  His smile wrought devastation on what little will power she had left. Between her legs, she felt moist heat pool as he lifted his finger to the soft flesh just beneath her ear lobe. “I know what you taste like, here.” His eyes were hooded as he moved his finger lower, to the outside edge of her shoulder. Slowly, he drew invisible circles with his fingertip, and Grace sucked in an uneven breath. “I know that you have a perfect little mole, right here.” She bit down on her lower lip as he brushed his hands down her sides, and held her hips firmly. “I know that the connection we have is special and unique, and that we have both been tormented by separation.”

  She didn’t bother denying it. He was right.

  “And even though I know all of that, I want to know more. I want to know everything about you, Grace. And I want you to know everything about me. I want to show you my country, show you Jacob’s heritage.”

  Grace’s eyes flew open, the web of desire weakening around her. “You do want to take Jacob to Elaminar?”

  Sam’s expression was inscrutable. “I want to show you both my country, Grace. One day. As part of getting to know me, you must see where I am from.”

  “I can’t.” She looked up at him, anguish in her face. “I’m sorry, Sam. This is our home. I don’t know how you see this working, but Jacob and I live here.” She took a step back from him, wringing her hands in front of her stomach. A summer’s breeze rustled past and lifted the edge of her cotton sweater, exposing for the briefest of moments a tantalizing glimpse of tanned flesh.

  Samir was an expert negotiator, and he knew better than to push his point too hard, too fast. “We will work everything out, Grace.”

  She shook her head fiercely, so that her blonde hair flew about her face. “You don’t understand, Sam. You might be Jacob’s biological father, but Ash and Rupert have been as much a part of his life as I have. They are like dads to him. I can’t… I could never think of taking Jacob away from them.”

  A muscle flicked in his jaw as he tried to fight the wave of fury he felt towards these men who had so easily taken his place in his son’s heart. But with the greatest strength of resolve, he forced a casual smile to his face. “All I want is a chance to spend time with you both.” He leaned forward and took her hand in his. “Grace, Jacob is my son. He looks like me. He is Elaminarn. One day – when you are ready – I would, of course, very much like to show you both where I, and where he, comes from. But that decision is yours, Grace.”

  Her eyes scanned his face warily, but all she saw was earnest reassurance, and so she let out the breath she’d been holding. “I’m sorry.” She smiled weakly at him. “I guess I’ve been living in fear that if you found out about Jacob, you might try to take him away from me.”

  With complete sincerity, he said firmly, “I would never separate a mother from her child.” And to himself, he silently reiterated the importance of both Mother and Child moving to Elaminar, together.

  “You do want to be a part of his life, though.”

  “Of course. Of both your liv
es, Grace. Were there no Jacob, I would still want you with all my soul. Do not forget, I travelled here to find you before I even knew you’d carried our son.”

  In her chest, Grace’s heart trilled in a way that was almost painful. She started to walk slowly down the street, and Sam moderated his long stride to match hers. “He looks so much like you. If I hadn’t had him in my tummy for nine months, I would almost wonder if he was mine.”

  “He has your smile,” Sam said instantly.

  “Do you think so?” She slid a sidelong look at the man walking beside her.

  “But other than that, he is my little doppelganger. And I was my father’s. My mother will be quite overjoyed to meet him.”

  “Your mother.” Grace turned to look at him properly. “I really don’t know anything about you.”

  “Why? Does it surprise you to learn that I have a mother? Most people do,” he said teasingly.

  “I didn’t think about it.” She shrugged.

  “When my father died, my mother was heartbroken. They married when she was sixteen; still a child, really. His death was sudden and unexpected, and despite the best medical attentions in Elaminar, he could not be saved.”

  Grace’s face was pale. “I am so sorry I didn’t believe you. When you first told me about him.”

  Sam said something in his own language and then translated with a wry grimace. “It means, of nothing speak of it. Don’t mention it, I suppose you’d say. You had every right to doubt me.”

  “How is she now? Your mum, I mean.”

  Sam’s face echoed the concern he felt for the woman who had borne him. “She is halishi,” he said, searching for the right word. “Shattered.”

  Grace thought of her own mother, and how deeply she adored Jacob. The love of a grandmother was a special type of affection. “And you think Jacob would make her un-halishi?”

  He smiled down at her. “Yes. Perhaps. I would hope.”

  “I want her to meet him, Sam. Thank you for understanding I need some time to adjust to all of this.”

  “You and me both,” he agreed. “When you do come to Elaminar, though, Grace, you will see that it truly is the most beautiful place on earth.” He stopped walking and stood, just inches in front of her. With a face filled with emotion, and a voice that was thick with some unknown sentiment, he said, “Do you remember the night we met?”

  “Of course,” she said with a small smile.

  “I told you then that the oceans of Elaminar are almost the color of your eyes. So blue as to take your breath away. Do you remember?” And he leaned forward, so that she thought he was going to kiss her.

  Speech was suddenly difficult and so she nodded jerkily.

  His accent was thick when he continued. “I want to show you. The mountains of Harid, which are snow-capped all year round, are like something out of a fairy tale. We have deserts that glow burnt orange beneath the sun, and in the South, miles and miles of fields covered in the brightly colored flowers we are famous for growing.”

  Grace felt swirls of magic run through her veins as she pictured the mystical lands he was describing. As with the first time she’d met him, though, she felt something akin to danger flared warningly through her heart. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him; only the way he made her feel was so overwhelming. She felt like she was wandering blind-folded through a forest; as though every step might bring some unknown peril.

  “It sounds beautiful,” she responded, finally, inadequately, because it sounded gloriously wondrous.

  “It is. And I have hardly done it justice. One day,” he ran his thumb across her lower lip, and his eyes followed its slow progress, “I will show it to you, and you will not be able to help agreeing with me.”

  She let out a long, juddering sigh when he removed his thumb. “I haven’t ever felt like that about a place.”

  He shrugged. “Perhaps I am particularly patriotic.”

  Grace refused to let her mind go where it was taking her. To the certainty that a man such as Sam was not likely to want to leave his country. Ever. Which meant the role he could play in Jacob’s life, and her life, was always going to be limited.

  They continued their walk, looping onto another small street that ran the length of a private garden, accessible only to the people who lived around the square. “You grew up in London?” He asked, reaching overhead and plucking a perfect white magnolia from an enormous bush as they passed. He twirled it in his thumb and then raised it to his nose to smell the wonderful fragrance. It brought a small smile to his lips.

  Grace had never known anyone so sensuous. She swallowed to bring moisture back to her dry mouth. “I did.” She sounded so abrupt. With effort, she tried to relax. They’d agreed to get to know one another better. It wasn’t his fault that he was so sensually distracting.

  “I can’t imagine growing up in a city,” he said thoughtfully. “Did you enjoy it?”

  She frowned. “I guess I never thought about it. You know what it’s like, when you’re young. You don’t question. You just get on with it.”

  “Where exactly in London were you raised?”

  “Kensington.” Again, he detected a faint glow of embarrassment and he wondered what caused it. She had reacted with exactly the same little grimace when he’d remarked on her house two years earlier.

  “That is nothing to be ashamed of,” he observed with a quizzical brow raised.

  “No, of course not.” She lifted her gaze to his. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?”

  “Not where you are concerned, Grace. In fact, I intend to become the world expert in Grace-ology.”

  She was becoming accustomed to the way a throwaway remark of his could bring her pulse to boiling point. He was promising her the world, and so fast. It was everything she’d yearned for in those first few months after he’d left. When she’d found out she was pregnant and she’d been so certain that she hadn’t imagined the completely crazy connection they’d shared. But now, was he two years too late?

  Her heart did not seem to think so.

  “So? What makes your cheeks pink and your little lips curl down like that?”

  “I didn’t,” she denied dishonestly.

  “You did, but I am prepared to let you open your secrets to me when you are ready.” His grin was completely disarming. “Perhaps over dinner tonight?”

  Grace imagined a whole night opposite this man, whose conversation and dynamism she was fast becoming addicted to, and she badly wanted to agree. But she couldn’t. She shook her head slowly from side to side, not breaking her step. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” He said. It was one of the signs she should have heeded; one of the clues she’d been too love struck to register. He spoke quickly, imperiously, demandingly, like one used to being obeyed.

  “It’s silly, but it’s our Night of the Round Table.”

  “Your… what?” Sam was far from enjoying the resistance she kept presenting. He had to be patient though. If his plan to get Jacob and Grace to Elaminar depended on her falling in love with him, he had to resist his usual impulse to simply order and require. Grace was not like one of his members of staff, nor was she a subject of Elaminar. Yet.

  “It started years ago, when we first moved in. Ash, Rupert and I have dinner together once a week. This is the one night we can all attend. I’m off from the show, and Ashley isn’t even on call at the hospital. It’s a way for us to catch up.” She looked at him uncertainly. “It’s just, we’re sort of like each other’s only family, and it’s become really important to us. We never cancel.”

  His smile hid the reflexive envy he felt whenever she spoke so affectionately for her two roommates. The men who had such unfettered access to his son, and the woman whose bed he had sensationally shared. “I wouldn’t dream of asking you to cancel. Why don’t I join you?”

  “Join us?” She frowned. It would be unprecedented. None of them had ever brought someone to the dinner.

  “Yes. Why not? I should like to get to know the
se men better. After all, they have helped raise my child, to this point.”

  She thought about it from all angles, and couldn’t come up with a single reason to say no. “Well, I suppose it depends.” She heaved out a contemplative sigh.

  “On what?”

  “Whether or not you like coq au vin.”

  He frowned. “I do not believe I’ve ever tried it. Why?”

  “It’s my night to cook and that’s the only thing I know how to make.”

  “Very well, tell me what wine will go best and I will come to dinner and promise to rapturously adore your cooking.”

  Her heart skipped a beat as his eyes slowly ran the length of her body, and she knew he had been talking about more than her cooking. Every single fiber of her being wanted to be rapturously adored by this man. It was unbelievable to think how much had happened in such a short period of time.

  Sam lifted the magnolia and tucked it gently into her hair, behind her ear. “Perfect,” he said, his green eyes scanning her face.

  “What time is dinner?”

  “Why don’t you come over a little earlier, so you can see Jacob and help with his bed time routine?”

  Samir felt a strange burst of hunger inside of him. For this woman, and for his son, who he wanted to know, and know immediately. Her offer was like a talisman that he clutched onto with both hands.

  “Yes, thank you.” Careful not to show too much of his overwhelming emotion, he kept his face impassive. “I’d like that.”

  When he arrived later that day, clutching a bottle of wine and a bag of toys from Harrods, he couldn’t decide what pleased him more. The way his son lurched forward as soon as he appeared at the top of the stairs, as though the chubby little toddler instantly understood and recognized that they were connected in a special way. Or the way Grace, looking angelic in a casual dress that fell from her shoulders to her ankles, blushed with barely concealed pleasure when he presented her with a bunch of flowers and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. Or, the fact that the twig of magnolia he’d tucked into her hair earlier was now nestled into an egg cup filled with water, as a makeshift vase, and on display on the kitchen bench.