I flew home in the chopper and prepared for my mom’s arrival. Omar joined me in the suite as I changed, and he commented, “Have your breasts grown?”
I giggled, “Yasmin says they have. You know I am putting on some weight, too. Are you sure you like me this way?”
He gave me that sexual growl he loved to use when he was most aroused, and I laughed at his expression of hunger, “You are even more luscious. I love your curves, and I love having a good handle when I need to hold you in place. Yes, of course I love you as ripe as possible. I will pluck your delicious fruit and suck out all your sweet nectar.”
“Oh my, Omar,” I gasped. “My body just reacted very badly.”
“Nonsense! There is nothing wrong with letting your husband arouse you.” He came to me and cupped my breasts, hefting them and jiggling them, “Yes, they are bigger. I like this very much.”
I sarcastically said, “You would know, you handle them more than I do.”
“Yes I do, and I now I must take you.”
I pushed on him in a weak attempt to thwart his advances, but since I was already half naked, there really wasn’t much I could do to dissuade him. My nipples had already puckered, and if he checked my center, he would find I needed no other foreplay. “My mom will get here any second,” I whined.
He gave me a lascivious grin, “Then I’ll have to be fast.”
I met my mom with flushed cheeks and a bit of a freshly messed up hairdo, but she didn’t seem to notice. We hugged and I commented on how vibrant she appeared. She looked at least ten years younger, and her eyes had a real sparkle in them. She informed me my dad was going to arrive in a couple days and that he couldn’t wait to walk me down the aisle and give me away.
Without preamble, she asked to see the soup kitchen installment, and I buzzed for our guards and a cars. On our way out of the building’s parking garage, there were a multitude of flowers and gifts left along the sweeping entrance to the building. “What is all that for?” asked my mom.
I wrinkled my nose and shrugged, “Omar tells me it is how the people show appreciation. He said it was for me and because of what I’ve already provided to them.”
My mom’s hand went to her heart and she exclaimed, “Oh dear, they adore you, Anna! Did you see how many there were?”
I again shrugged, but my cheeks tinted, “Yeah, I guess. All I care about is that the riots have ceased completely and Omar seems relieved. So, it’s all good.”
She put her hand on my thigh, “Because of you. I am so proud of you, Anna, you are an amazing adult.”
I leaned over and hugged her. “Only because you raised me right mom. I love you so much!”
We arrived in the ghetto area of the most lavish city in the world, and it seemed as if we’d driven to another planet. Instead of even a hint of hostility, though, we were met with greetings and appreciation and even a few proffered flowers as we walked through the gathered crowd waiting to eat. Armand was on my right and we were surrounded by ten of Omar’s best men, so I felt safe as I took my mom for the tour. Then we went to the sight where the planned ten-story housing development was to be constructed and she even looked over the initial blueprints and made comments and suggestions. Over all, she was impressed with how quickly we’d implemented so much and she again told me how proud she was.
Then we drove back to the skyscraper and had dinner and chatted with Omar. As my mom laughed at Omar’s jokes, I marveled at how changed she was. Later, after she was a bit drunk, she confessed that her and my dad had found a new passion in their relationship, one in fact that hadn’t even been there in the beginning. He often flew home to Boston to spend the weekends with her, and she even had plans to join him more often in New York. She confessed to me that part of her joy was simply that I’d found such immense love with Omar, and that made us both cry and hug.
The next day, I took her to the islands and showed her the private wing of the main house that she and dad would spend the following week in. She seemed a bit shocked at the opulence. I explained that Omar did it all the way, or not at all, and she needed to get used to living like the mother of a Queen.
She helped me with some final plans and preparations, and then Dad arrived. Within the next week, friends and family began to pour in. Julie showed up on Saturday, and that pretty much blew my schedule out of the water. Her and I giggled and immediately took up right where we’d left off. Before she’d even settled into her room in the Palace, she insisted we go down a few floors so she could see what the boutique mall had to offer.
Omar strode to us and handed me a black credit card. With a sly grin he kissed me and said to Julie, “There is no limit on this card; I want the best friend of my wife to enjoy herself. Whatever you purchase can be shipped back to the States. I hope you enjoy your time in my country.”
Ever the bold extrovert, Julie jumped up and down and clapped her hands together and made Omar blush when she said, “I really should offer your husband some sort of sexual favor for all this!”
I punched her arm and hurried her along. “You are so bad!” I scolded. “Women don’t talk that way to the King of Dubai.”
She snorted, “I just did! And if you’re okay with it, I was serious!”
“Julie! Knock it off!” I said between my tight lipped attempts to not laugh. “Besides, that is my job!”
She howled and asked me all the places I’d serviced him, so I began to tell her and she held up one finger after the other until she’d used both hands. “Oh my God, Anna, I’m impressed. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
She looked me up and down and then cocked her head to the side. “You do look well, you’re kind of glowing. I do believe he is good for you.” She then whispered, “So that is all the locations, what about on your body?”
I tried to look shocked at her question, but it was Julie, and to be expected, so instead I waggled my eyebrows and whispered, “All of them and many times!”
She hooted her delight and pulled me into a hug. “That’s my girl! I knew you had it in you. Anna Potts—correction, Khalid—is now a married Queen, and just a year ago she was still a virgin!”
We shopped for hours and had to have our guards help carry all the bags back up to the penthouse. When I crawled into bed next to Omar, I kissed his smiling face and thanked him for his generosity. He commented that I owed him big time, and I agreed, sliding under the covers and offering him my first installment.
He made that sound, and then through gritted teeth, as I seated him deeply down into my throat, he said, “When I get the total tomorrow, I’ll let you know.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
I wasn’t as nervous on this wedding morning as I had been the previous. I took my time and enjoyed breakfast with my family as we all sat around laughing and joking for hours. Yasmin did my hair, but didn’t spend hours on it as she had before, although it looked like she had. Today I was wearing it down and straight, and she had braided in tiny long braids with diamond and gold beads twined into them. I had a different dress that wasn’t quite as tight. I didn’t have to wear the corset, although I did wear a tight body shaper slip under the dress and even that cut off my breathing somewhat.
Yasmin chastised me for gaining so much weight so fast and said something about needing to buy me an entirely new wardrobe. My only answer was that Omar liked it, and so I wasn’t changing anything. But her comments did make me think. I made a mental note to check the calendar for when I’d had my last period. Just thinking about it made me realize it seemed longer than normal and I furrowed my brow as she was doing my makeup.
“Mistress? What is it?”
“I was wondering when I had my last period.”
She lifted her eyes as she thought, and then she grinned, “Oh dear, could it be? That would explain your plump bosom and glowing demeanor.”
I popped my eyes open and put a hand to my stomach, “Oh my God! Do you think?”
“Have you been on birth control?”
I gave her a
lame, one shoulder shrug, “Not really. Omar usually—you know—but no. If I’m honest, we haven’t been at all careful.”
Yasmin beamed at me with excitement, “Oh Mistress! This will please His Highness immensely. When shall we tell him?”
“Hold your horses, we aren’t sure yet.”
She shook her head and did a final spray on my hair, “Oh we know, I am certain. It explains so much about how I’ve noticed your body changing. I wonder how far along you are? Perhaps six weeks?”
I did some quick mental calculations and thought back to our first weekend together after the six month separation. We hadn’t been even a tiny bit careful, and Omar had climaxed inside me numerous times over those few days. I rested both my hands over my belly and grinned down, “I suppose yes, when Omar came to get me at graduation. It has been almost two months since.” I looked up at Yasmin with joyous tears welling in my eyes, “Will you call and get a servant to buy me a pregnancy test? I don’t want to tell him until we are certain.”
She nodded and picked up her phone and then rapidly spoke in Arabic. I understood the word for infant, or maybe it was baby, and the threatened tears began to slide out of my eyes. She put down the phone and then tisked at me, “Now stop the tears. We can all cry later when we see his Highness’s expression of joy. I do hope you give him a firstborn boy child. That would be most ideal.”
I sighed and continued to cup my still flat belly, but inside I was awash with an odd mixture of great joy and trepidation. I didn’t want anything to change the desire Omar had for me or our sexual compatibility, and I knew that a child could easily destroy what we had. I didn’t say anything and gathered my wits about me for the ceremony.
My dad walked me down the aisle as promised. The entire gathering enunciated a hushed sort of shock at my appearance. I did look fabulous, and I again wore the diamond tiara. Omar was also in his native costume of flowing robes and golden-wrapped headdress, and once I was standing before him, the last of my nerves settled. His eyes bore into mine, and when I went to kneel before him, he held my hands fast, and wouldn’t let me. He whispered, “You will stand at my side for this ceremony, as my wife and queen to a nation. We are a couple now and although you will still kneel before me in the bedroom, you shall from this day forward stand at my shoulder as my queen.”
I blinked and swallowed and found I was speechless. I gave him a demure nod, and then we faced the holy man and said our vows. I said mine in Arabic and Omar said his in English, something he’d not done before. And, despite the fact this was the second time for me to speak these vows and hear his in return, I once again began to weep. I was overflowing with joy at being his and belonging to such an incredible man.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The party began immediately after the ceremony, and I ran to change into yet another gown. Julie ducked with me into our private rooms and chortled, “Wardrobe change!” As she helped me strip, I confided my secret. She covered her mouth in shock. “Are you sure? A kid will change everything!”
“I’m almost positive. That’s what I’m afraid of, but I don’t really have a choice now.”
“True. At least you have help. Not like you will have to do all the work on your own. Other than get fat and have it ruin your body.” I gave her a withering glance, and she amended, “You know what? That is just my cynical side talking. Don’t listen to me. You’ve always wanted kids and you’re going to love being a mother. I can already tell your body is happy, like I said, you’re glowing all over! Anna, you are freaking radiant as the sun! It’s going to be wonderful, and I bet Omar will be over the moon about it. I don’t want kids! But that isn’t you. Sorry. Don’t listen to me! It’s awesome!”
I bit my lower lip and gave her a half grin, “Yeah, I have always wanted this, so I guess now is as good of a time as any.” Then I had a thought, “Oh God, I’m going to have to stop drinking wine. I’ve been drinking for weeks now. What if I hurt it? Oh shit! Omar will know something’s up if I refuse alcohol at the toast. What do I do? I’m not ready to tell him.”
Julie grinned and went to the door, calling out to one of the servants. She spoke in a hushed tone and then returned, smiling from ear to ear. “Problem solved and nobody will know. They will give you sparkling cider instead, so don’t worry.”
I hugged her, thanking her for being there and expressing how much I missed her. She joked that she might have to just come and live here to keep my company. After we went back to the party, I considered her joking suggestions and then decided to ask Omar if perhaps we could invite her over and hire her to help me with the charity. Also, when I got too big to go out or do anything, she could keep me company. It would mean the world to me have a friend that I knew so close, and I was certain that Omar would be fine with it.
At the toast, my glass was indeed full of sparkling cider as I toasted right along with the crowd. Omar and I danced almost every dance except the really fast stuff that his younger brothers, and of course Julie, wiggled and writhed to. Julie did get drunk, and although she could handle her liquor pretty well, she always became the most boisterous in the group and tonight was no exception.
Omar was seated and talking to Amir Rashid when I joined them. “Anna, you are more stunning than I recall. What have you done? You have a glow about you. You are an angel.”
I offered him a shy smile and Omar set his hand in mine on my thigh, “He is right darling, you are a vision to behold.”
Amir leaned in and almost whispered, “Anna, do tell me of your friend. Is she single? Would she reject me if I asked her to dance?”
I turned to see Julie twerking her butt up and down in front of one of Omar’s almost drooling brothers, “I’m sure she won’t reject you, Amir. Just watch yourself with her; she is nothing like the women you are accustomed to. She swears more than most sailors, and she has no manners to speak of. She is not a lady in other words. She is fun, though, and I’m sure she would enjoy the attention.”
He chuckled and stood, buttoning his jacket and smoothing his pants, “I could use some of that about now.”
Just as he walked to the edge of the dance floor, Omar lifted his hand and made a motion towards the band, and the music shifted instantly to a slow song. Amir turned and grinned at Omar and bobbed his eyebrows up and down once before striding out onto the floor. He tapped Yasser’s shoulder and proceeded to steal Julie right out of Omar’s youngest brother’s arms.
Just as Omar was, so Amir was. Both high born and raised with the arts and dancing as a strong foundation in their arsenal towards this lifestyle. Julie showed her amazement as Amir twirled her and expertly handled her as they effortlessly glided around the dance floor. At one point, when they were nearest us, Julie gave me a wide eyed look of amazement and mouthed, Oh my God!
I giggled, and Omar slid closer to me and put his hand up my thigh, “Perhaps Julie would like her very own sheikh?”
“Yeah, I think she might. Although tying that girl down is going to take the hand of God.”
Omar slid his hand higher until his fingers were touching the soft cotton over my center. “Amir is just that man then. Would you enjoy her living so close as to be only an hour away?”
I turned and gushed, “Yeah! You think? I was going to ask you if you would be okay with inviting her to live here, with us—you know, to help me with the renovations and charity—and when…” My voice trailed off just as both Yasser and Zahir joined us.
Omar quickly became distracted with his brothers ,and I took a breath. At least I did until Alath came and sat down next to me. The men were animatedly talking in Arabic, and I’d lost track of the conversation minutes earlier. Alath seemed warmer to me than she normally did and when she picked up my hand and told me how happy she was for this joining, I felt it was genuine. Then she added in a hushed enough tone that only I could hear her, “Anna, I do not understand the power you wield with my brother, but I respect the changes you have already made. I misjudged you, and for that I apologize.”
It wasn’t much, but it was a lot considering who those words were coming from, and I responded to her appropriately.
“Alath, it is my pleasure to be included in your family. I love your brother and your country and all the people. I want to be the best possible wife to your brother and queen to your people. I only seek to fulfill those roles. Thank you for this acknowledgement. I would dearly love it if you and I could be friends. Someday you will be the aunt to our children, and I would love for them to be an active part of your culture. Their culture.”
Her cheeks tinted and she nodded with lowered lids, “Yes, I would like that very much.”
My dad interrupted us when he asked me to dance with him. I tilted my head towards Omar and told my dad, “You need to ask my husband.”
My dad grumbled and gruffly turned to Omar’s amused expression, “Khalid, may I steal your young bride for a dance?”
Omar grinned and nodded, “Richard, remind me later. I’d like to give you a few of my US investments to handle. You up for it?”
My dad’s face went through so many expressions, I lost track. First he seemed shocked, and then he looked back at me and I just shrugged, then he looked pleased and excited and I saw the dollar signs flash in his eyes like he was a slot machine. Finally, he surprised me as I noticed some hesitation or maybe it was trepidation, but in the end he stuck out his hand and heartily shook Omar’s. “Sure thing, Khalid. It would be my pleasure.”
Omar returned the shake and simply said, “We are family now, Richard. Whatever happened in the past only brought us to now. Bygones?”
My dad nodded and returned the statement. Then he and I went out to the dance floor. It was nice to feel so much closer to him.
“Dad, I’m really happy you and Mom are working it out. Have you noticed how happy she is?”
“Thanks, kiddo. Big year for all of us. Lots of changes. I am trying, and I guess that is enough for your mom. God knows I don’t deserve such a wonderful and patient woman.” He twirled me and then added, “So proud of you, too. My little girl is all grown up, and look at all this. You never cease to impress me, baby!”
The Sheikh's Virgin Mistress 4 (Jatar Sheikh Series Book 4) Page 5
