She grabbed the moist washcloth he offered, sitting back on her heels. “I wasn’t.”
He hissed through his clenched teeth, tightening his chiseled features into a hard, angry mask. Along his jaw line, a tick pulsed. “You weren’t going to tell me? Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?” He loomed over her, appearing so much stronger, bigger, regal.
“How it makes you feel?” She pressed the moist cloth against her forehead, her mouth, as another bout of nausea rolled through her. “Stuff it, Diyari. You’re married to your queen. I won’t cause a scandal. Just turn around and walk right out the door and out of our lives.”
He leaned against her bathroom cabinet. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”
“You heard me.”
He began pacing the small interior of her bathroom. He seemed so out of place here, like a fish out of water, too masculine to be among her most feminine items, his body too large for the confines of the small bathroom. He filled not only the room but her line of vision. “I’m afraid you’ve made that option impossible.”
It was the first time since the day they’d met that she’d seen him in a suit. The black Armani heightened his tanned skin, his aristocratic features, his polished appearance, every inch royal. The king of B’Quara. Every time she saw him, he stole her breath, just like the day she walked into the Crowne Plaza and he was waiting for her. It seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened in such a short time.
The fury in his voice should have warned her to back down. She didn’t. Big tears rolled down her cheeks. “I don’t want to stand in the way of your happiness. I really don’t.”
Why was he here? Oh, why didn’t he leave her alone? They were finished. They couldn’t re-write history nor change the outcome. They were doomed the moment they met each other, condemned by a love that could never be. This pregnancy changed nothing.
He erased her tears, whisking them away with the pads of his calloused fingers, rough against her cheeks. OMG! The way he touched her, held her, like she was precious china within his grasp. He had loved her. She was sure of that. But duty and death interfered.
For the first time since he walked in, he smiled that cocky grin of his and if she already wasn’t on the floor, that flash of white teeth would have knocked her there. “Stand in the way of my happiness? You and this child are my happiness. How can you not see that?” He dropped down on his haunches, eye-level with her. “I can’t believe you knew you were pregnant and didn’t pick up the damn phone.”
She watched as his pulse ticked against the curve of his jaw as he struggled with his anger.
He glanced away. “I’m offended to the very core of my masculinity. You know how important family is to me.” Losing his temper, he withdrew his hands, stood up, and slammed his fist on the bathroom counter.
She nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Why would you disrespect me this way? Did you for one second think I wouldn’t claim this child as mine?”
“No,” she fired back. “I knew you’d claim the child.”
Green eyes crammed with disbelief stared back at her in the mirrored wall. Profound sorrow pierced her.
“Then why would you do this?” His voice held a sadness that shattered her heart. When they’d stepped upon this course so many months ago, they never envisioned the anguish that would follow.
He continued to stare at her, his breath coming in short spurts as he wrestled with his anger, waiting for an explanation he’d accept. How could she? What could she possibly say to make him understand? This child was the only piece of him she would retain. Queen Naomi claimed the rest of him. She tried to speak, then choked as emotion clogged her throat, making it impossible to continue. She tried again. “You have your queen. Together you’ll have a chance to have your children. This child . . .” She cradled her stomach with both hands, lovingly protecting her gift. His eyes followed her hand movements, a profound sadness echoed in his gaze. “This child is the only piece of you I’ll be able to keep. The only piece, Diyari. This child is the most precious thing to me. Please just go away. Leave me and my child alone.”
With her use of the word my, his shoulders slumped dejectedly. “Oh, Candace,” his voice was a haunted whisper.
She tried to stand, to be on even footing with him. She couldn’t, she was too weak. “I’ve had to cut you out of my life. Do you know the torment this situation put me through? Knowing that Princess Naomi was with you, in your bed, while I suffered here alone.” Staring at him, she knew she’d love him until her last breath.
His eyes snapped to hers, pierced her, cautioning her. “Oh, Baby. You are so wrong.”
“Just get out of here. Go to your queen. Your duty!” She wanted to hit him, she was so angry, but she couldn’t muster the strength. “Why are you here?”
“Why do you think? It isn’t just you anymore. I’m the one responsible for you being pregnant. I intend to do my duty to you.”
“Your duty,” she sneered. “Well, don’t feel obligated toward me. I don’t need the protection of a man. Remember?” She got to her feet, holding on to the bathroom counter for support. He offered his hand, she slapped it away. He growled his dissatisfaction, murmuring a four-letter expletive under his breath.
He reached for her again, putting his hands under her elbows as he pulled her up into his arms. “Maybe you don’t, but my baby certainly does.”
Another wave of nausea hit.
She pushed out of his arms and leaned over the sink. He jumped out of her way as she vomited again.
Filling the doorway, he appeared formidable as he watched her with those shrewd hawk-eyes, missing nothing. He knew she was lying. Her body betrayed her. Just that split second in his arms and he knew. He knew she loved him still.
Hanging onto the bathroom counter for support, she grabbed her toothbrush and gave her teeth a hard scrubbing, just in case he wanted to kiss her.
“I need to lie down.”
She longed for him to sweep her up in his arms and carry her off . . . to where? He had a wife at home.
He continued staring, deep in thought.
Her next words snapped him back to the present. “Diyari, you don’t need to stay. I’ll be fine, and you have a wife waiting at home.”
She slid into the oversized cushions of the couch. Diyari fluffed a pillow he’d stolen from her bed and placed it under her head.
“Let me fix you some tea.” He turned and headed for her kitchen.
“Thank you. I can only have herbal. It’s on the counter.”
He stuck his head around the corner. “Is it always like this? The sickness?” Concern centered in his question.
“Yes, most days,” she countered, adjusting her body, trying to get comfortable.
From the kitchen she heard him bellow, “You are a strong woman, but you’ve lost a lot of weight since I saw you last.”
“My stomach can’t tolerate food,” she called back, her eyelids drooping as sleep swirled around her.
“I see.” His voice was low, filled with worry. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been here for you. If I’d known . . .”
He strode out of the kitchen to check on her, leaned over, and kissed her forehead as he’d done a million times before. So familiar. So damn sexy. The heat of his lips branded her skin. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
You! Her mind screamed. But she shook her head negatively. “No, nothing.” He kissed her again, then headed back into the kitchen, leaving behind the scent of his mouth-watering cologne. She sniffed the air, inhaling his sexy essence deeper into her. Memorizing it for all the long years she’d be without him.
The sound of china smashing against the Italian tile on her kitchen floor jerked her attention away from the broadcast.
“Are you all right in there?”
“You want to tell me the reason you’re here?” She prodded, pushing herself up into a sitting position, glancing out over the ocean as the storm raged. Of course it didn’t match the intensity of the storm about to break in her living room.
Within minutes, he returned to her. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a black velvet box. Her breath froze in her throat. That couldn’t be what she thought it was. No, he was married. Did he buy her a parting gift? To make their separation final? She thought about the diamond bracelet and the way he’d stormed into her life. Knocking her for a loop the very moment they’d met at the restaurant. Oh God, she didn’t need another reminder of him leaving her. Please God, make him put that away. Her head spun like a whirlpool. She was going to faint, she must be dreaming. Picking up her hand, he kissed her fingers, then stared into her eyes.
And then . . . and then . . . he dropped to one knee. “I love you, Candace. I loved you the first moment I saw you. The first moment you challenged me in the bistro. I couldn’t marry Princess Naomi, didn’t have the heart to doom her to a loveless marriage. And that’s all we could have had because, my darling girl, I love you more than life itself. More than my kingdom, more than my duty.” He took a deep breath, struggling with the words and his emotions.
What? What was he saying? Her mind couldn’t wrap itself around the news. Had she heard him right? He wasn’t married. At that moment, she loved him more than life itself.
She scooted toward the end of the couch, wanting to be as close to him as possible. He reached out and helped to pull her to the edge, then, to her feet.
With a sexy tilt of his head, he pronounced, “I want you to be my wife. I’ve always wanted you. Only you.”
His lips arced into a sexy smile that she felt in her core. “Please do me the honor of becoming my wife. As before, I’ll shelter you under my protection, and you know the protection of a sheik is a powerful thing. I love you to the depth and breadth of my soul.”
“What the heck happened to Princess Naomi?”
A deep chuckle erupted from inside his chest. “Naomi and Taj hit it off the moment they laid eyes on each other. So all of us sat down and worked out terms for Naomi and Taj to be together.” He blew out a long breath before he continued, “I think this is what dad would have wanted. His sons happily married.”
Her mind spun with questions, so many questions. “So you abdicated the throne.”
That cocky smile of his was anchored firmly on his plush lips, lips she craved to have against hers. “No, the agreement worked in my favor, and I’m free to marry you. And have you reign beside me as my queen. As for the child, I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to hold our child in my arms.”
His eyes held her captive as he opened the box. A huge white diamond sat nestled amid the black velvet. It was beautiful. Perfect. Her breath pushed out of her lungs. The sheer size of that diamond was so astonishing, she feared it would make lifting her hand impossible.
He withdrew the ring from its box, raised it to his lips, and kissed it before sliding it onto her ring finger.
“Whoa,” she halted him, “I haven’t said yes yet. I may want to think about this a little bit.”
He pushed closer to her. “You little minx, you know you love me. If you continue to make this daunting for me, I’ll throw you over my shoulder and steal you away to my desert fortress, where I’ll keep you as my captive until you agree.”
He braced his arms under her as if he would make good on his threat. She held out her hands to ward him off. “Okay, okay, I’ll marry you.”
His head dropped as his lips found hers, kissing her senseless. Yes, yes, this was exactly where she needed to be. With him at her side. Always with him.
This man. This perfect man who cared so much for honor and family wanted to marry her. He loved her. Her. Her mind still couldn’t comprehend he was asking her to marry him.
“You’ll be mine, even if I have to kidnap you.” His lips crushed hers again.
“Wait a second.” Using all her strength to push at his chest, she only managed to move him an inch or two. “Does this mean you’re committed?” she asked, trying to prevent the smile that insisted on spreading across her face. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
He chuckled, and her toes curled at the sound. “No, I’m engaged,” he stated firmly, before breaking into a smile. “To be married.”
She flew at him with such force, she knocked him over onto the couch. Lying on top of him, she gave him a quick kiss. “I love you.”
Using her arms as leverage, she pushed herself away from him, wanting to see the play of emotions crossing his handsome face. “We’ll be married in a royal ceremony and live in B’Quara?”
“Yes.” He flashed a brilliant smile of white teeth. “And soon I’ll be a father. The most important job a man can have.”
Slipping back down on top of him, she enfolded him in her arms. All of her dreams, her fears, everything, was answered in the arms of this man. Finally, after all the heartbreak, she’d found her sheik. Her very sexy sheik.
Also from Soul Mate Publishing and Mary Jo Springer:
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
U.S. Attorney Violette Delacroix is celebrating with her BFF’S in a trendy Miami nightclub when she stumbles in her stilettos and her Cosmopolitan lands in the lap of Giovanni Sorrentino, the notorious head of the Sorrentino family.
Violette has put many of his New York family members in prison. Now she’s vowed to turn her efforts on Giovanni. But, she hadn’t counted on the breath-stealing heat when his lips captured hers. Now . . . all bets are off.
Available now on Amazon: TOO HOT TO HANDLE
HOT TEXAS TEMPTATION
Laurie Kincaid left Destiny, Texas, ten years ago protecting a dark secret. After she’s called home to bury her beloved uncle, that very secret threatens to rob her of everything she's worked so hard to achieve. Then, she was a lost and confused teenage girl but she's grown into successful author with the coveted title of The Homemaker's Guru who can handle anything sexy Cord West throws at her. At least that's what she thought. One look into Cord’s blue eyes and all the steamy memories resurface.
Available now on Amazon: HOT TEXAS TEMPTATION
THE SHEIK’S DANGEROUS TEMPTATION
Assassin.
The very word congeals sheik Malik el Hajjah’s blood. As the sole ruler of Baharah and the last remaining member of the royal family, he knows he’s a marked man. He’s sworn to apprehend the monsters who killed his family.
Now one year after his family was brutally murdered, Malik finds Allison McKay in the back of a bullet-ridden Mercedes in the middle of the desert and it sends him into a free fall. Who is she? What was she doing there? Why were her hands and feet bound? And who shot her?
So many questions and no one seems to have any answers. As the only surviving member of the desert massacre he suspects she’s hiding a dark secret. One that could cost him his life? Is she friend, or foe? Is this beautiful woman playing some sort of treacherous game?
Unable to remember who she is, Allison struggles with the dark-hooded man who haunts her cryptic nightmares.
Across the burning sands of Baharah, Malik and Allison battle not only the forces against them and their attempts to murder them, but their escalating feelings for each other. But when her memory returns will she become Malik’s most dangerous temptation of all?
Available now on Amazon: THE SHEIK’S DANGEROUS TEMPTATION
Mary Jo Springer enjoys all forms of romantic literature, from the classics to the most contemporary. After years of being a
voracious reader, she decided to write her own romantic tales and enjoys creating exciting characters for her readers.
Mary Jo grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati. She now resides in Oklahoma.
For the Sheik's Pleasure (Sheiks in Love Book 2) Page 26
