“We have been talking.” His hands moved back to her waist and she didn’t stop him this time. “I talked to you more than I have ever talked to a woman.”
She couldn’t stop the amusement when he shook his head. It was almost as if he couldn’t believe he’d had conversations with her. “And was it horrible?”
He thought about that question for a moment, then looked startled as he said, “No. I enjoyed our conversations.”
Her smile brightened. “And normal people say goodbye when emergencies happen, so the other party’s feelings aren’t hurt.”
His hand lifted, his palm cupping her jaw. “I hurt your feelings,” he whispered.
She didn’t have to confirm that statement. He could see it in her eyes and it explained why she’d been so angry with him. “I’m sorry. That was not my intention. I didn’t know that you would react that way.”
Her anger melted away with his words. “I didn’t understand why you’d left.”
He pulled her closer, pressing his lips to her forehead gently. It wasn’t a sexual kiss, but comforting. “I should have known that you were different, that you might not understand the rules.”
She pulled away, unaware that her fingers slid over the muscles on his chest. “What are some of the other rules?” she asked, seriously interested.
Amusement and desire lit his eyes. “A woman has to be sensuous,” he kissed her neck again, “beautiful,” he kissed her ear, nibbling slightly and she laughed, “and mine,” he finished and lifted her into his arms.
Cassy knew that something was wrong, but she couldn’t think long enough to figure it out. She was blissfully back in Nasir’s arms and her heart had melted with his explanation. He hadn’t abandoned her. He hadn’t dismissed her from his life. It was all just a misunderstanding!
Chapter 11
Cassy woke up and looked around, startled once again to realize that she was not in her bed. Not in her apartment. And worst of all, she was not alone.
“Oh no,” she gasped and hurried out of bed, as gently as possible so that she didn’t wake Nasir. The morning sickness hit her particularly hard this morning. She’d spoken to her doctor about it on her last prenatal appointment and she’d learned that keeping food in her stomach was actually the best way to avoid morning sickness. Skipping dinner last night had not been a good idea, but she hadn’t been able to think about food while Nasir made love to her over and over again.
She made it to the bathroom just in time. Her baby wasn’t patient this morning and she gripped the toilet with both hands as her stomach heaved and protested last night’s abuse.
When there was nothing left in her stomach, she leaned back against the marble tiles, her body weak and shaking. Good grief, she hated this! The morning sickness was miserable and she hadn’t eaten properly again. She stroked her stomach, thinking about the tiny cells that were forming into her child. She had to do better, she thought.
She slipped her arms into the thick, terrycloth robe that was hanging on the back of the door, tightening the belt around her waist. Soon, she wouldn’t have a waistline and that thought was exciting.
But then she caught her image in the beveled mirror and gasped. She looked horrible! Her face was pale, her lips almost white, her hair was a massive tangle, and her eyes seemed too large for her face. Quickly, she grabbed some mouthwash and tried to tidy her appearance. But when she couldn’t seem to get her hair in any semblance of order, a shower was the only solution. She felt drained, but she knew that showering was essential. Both for her body’s comfort as well as for her state of mind. She couldn’t let Nasir see her like this!
The shower helped her feel human again. She stood under the spray for a long time. She’d just picked up the soap when she heard movement and glanced over. Nasir was standing there, watching her. She gasped and pulled backwards, frantically searching for something to cover her nakedness. “Nasir, you can’t…”
She stopped talking when he laughed softly and moved closer.
“I can’t what?” he asked as he stepped into the glass enclosed shower area. It wasn’t a small space. In fact, there was plenty of room, enough to allow three or four other people to shower at the same time, and no one would feel crowded!
She looked lovely, he thought. She was a bit pale, but he put that down to the fact that he’d kept her up late last night. He couldn’t help it. Every time he thought about her, every time she’d shifted in her sleep, her naked body woke him up and he had to make love to her all over again. If she’d said no, he would have respected her wishes. He was trying to change, knowing she wasn’t like his previous lovers. He didn’t completely understand why or all the different ways that she was different, but the truth was there and, until he grasped the nuances of her differences, Nasir wanted to be wary and careful. He remembered his plan to marry Cassandra, how he’d wanted her to be safe, to learn to shoot and protect herself. He’d forgotten that plan over the past several weeks, too angry with her departure to think beyond punishing her for putting him through hell.
Now he wondered what he could do to get her to abandon the ass that had moved into her life.
“You hurried out of bed,” he growled into her ear as his hands slid down her back.
Cassy gasped, trying to gather her wits. His hands were everywhere and her body couldn’t help but respond. “Nasir, we can’t…”
“You keep saying that,” he grumbled, cupping her breasts. “And yet, I keep proving that we can.”
She couldn’t argue, not when his mouth covered her nipple and started to tease the overly sensitive flesh. She grabbed his head, trying to push him away but he wouldn’t stop. He simply moved to her other nipple.
“Nasir!” she gasped, her body ready to climax just from that stimulation. She pressed her legs together, fighting back the pleasure. She shouldn’t be doing this! Cassy knew she should be getting out of here so that she wasn’t hurt again.
“Don’t do that,” he commanded and spun her around. Cassy’s hands slapped against the marble tile of the wall, dizziness hitting her fast. It took her several moments to get her head to stop spinning. By that time, he’d already donned a condom and was moving his hand up and down her spine. She arched into his touch, feeling her body begging for him. Dizziness and nausea were gone. All that mattered was Nasir filling her up so that she could find a bit of relief from this overwhelming desire.
As she felt his erection pressing into her from behind, she was startled at first. It felt incredible! She bent more, taking him into her body, needing more of him. When he slowed his long, wonderful thrusts, Cassy reached behind her, trying to pull him in deeper, but he only laughed and placed her hand back on the wall. “No moving,” he commanded with a deep, husky voice. “I want you just like this while I have my way with you.”
Cassy whimpered and pressed her hips back, still trying to take him deeper. He gripped her hips, holding her still. Slowly, he filled her up, then pulled back only to press into her heat. “You’re incredible, Cassy,” he murmured as he thrust himself deeply in and out of her. Reaching around, one hand teased her nipple while the other teased that sensitive bud that needed his attention. She was so turned on, the dual stimulation drove her over the edge faster than she’d thought possible. Her climax went on and on as he pounded into her. She wanted to beg him to stop, but she was already climbing that cliff again so she could only whimper and beg him to continue, to go faster. Harder!
Nasir watched as his body moved in and out of hers. He wanted this to last, to prolong this feeling. She was so tight, so hot and wet for him and it had nothing to do with the shower behind him. It was all her.
When he felt her body climax again, he couldn’t hold back his own orgasm. She was too perfect and her inner muscles clenched him tightly, bringing him right along with her.
Afterwards, he stood there, holding her, the water pounding down on them as he felt her body slowly stop trembling. “Are you okay?” he finally asked, afraid he might have been too r
ough this time.
He pulled out of her body slowly, holding her tenderly. When she turned around, her arms wrapped around his neck, he held her close. He’d never liked when a woman touched him after sex, but Cassy was the exception. He couldn’t let her go. When she moved, his arms tightened around her. He wanted to hold her against him, to feel her heartbeat against his own.
Weeks ago, he’d left her warm body and cursed the obligations that had taken him away from the warmth of her body. But he wasn’t going to do that again.
“Let me dry you off,” he whispered into her ear.
He loosened his hold, but only so that he could lift her into his arms and carry her over to a stool so that he could dry her with a white, fluffy towel. “You’re so beautiful,” he said as he rubbed the towel over her legs, smoothing the drops of water away. He loved the way she blushed, her soft skin turning pink all the way down to her lovely, full breasts.
“I’m ordinary,” she countered, tucking her wet hair behind her ear.
He shook his head. “You are not ordinary in any way, Cassy,” he argued, kissing the inside of her thigh. She pulled away, but he smiled. “I know, you’re tender from last night as well as this morning. And I’m sorry about that.” He looked up at her, the heat still in his eyes but she could tell that it was banked at the moment. Her heart melted just a bit more because of his gentle touch and understanding.
Darn it, she was falling in love with this man! After being an absolute jerk, he’d been sweet and gentle, telling her that she meant something to him. It wasn’t…
She stiffened and he looked up at her. It wasn’t love on his part, she reminded herself firmly. But was she in love with him?
Impossible! She hadn’t known him long enough to be in love with him. One has to know a person, truly know who they are and how they thought, to love someone.
It was just desire, she told herself. Simple lust.
“What time is it?” she asked, trying to distract him from the question in his eyes.
“About seven, I suppose,” he replied, moving the towel up her legs.
Seven o’clock? Cassy jumped. “Seven in the morning?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
She almost raced out of the room, grabbing the towel in his hands and covering her nakedness with it. “Yes! I need to get to work! I have an important deposition to help with this afternoon and I haven’t submitted my portion of the questions.” She grabbed her clothes and started pulling them on, frantically trying to figure out how to get back home so she could get fresh clothes and still make it into the office on time. She grabbed her watch, not sure what to do.
“Cassy, slow down. You need to eat breakfast.”
She shook her head carefully, refusing to acknowledge the nausea that was threatening again. “I’ll grab something from the café in my building when I get there. I still need to run home and change clothes.”
“You don’t need to do that. I had an assistant get you something to wear.”
He walked over to a closet and pulled out a beautiful, sage green suit. Her fingers froze, still gripping the pantyhose, as she stared at the stunning business suit.
It wasn’t something she would normally wear, preferring black or navy for her work outfits. But this was a soft green that would be perfect for an ultra-conservative law firm. It wasn’t exactly a suit though. It was a sheath dress with a bolero jacket pulling the whole look together.
“Will this suffice?” he asked, a dark eyebrow lifting as he stared down at her with barely suppressed amusement.
She started to shake her head. The suit was obviously expensive and beautifully designed but…it was too expensive! This suit was way out of her budget. “I can’t accept that,” she said.
He looked at the suit, then at her. “Why not? It would look perfect with your eyes.”
He was right and she was shocked that he’d even thought something like that, much less acted on it. “It’s lovely. But it’s too expensive.”
Nasir would have laughed if he hadn’t realized she was serious. Taking a different tack, he tried again. “I would feel honored if you would wear this today and think of me,” he said softly, watching her face carefully. He knew the exact moment she changed her mind. Her lips slowly curled upwards, her eyes softened, and he felt a sense of victory and anticipation.
“For you,” she agreed and stood up. “Thank you,” she stood on her toes so she could kiss him. “It really is a beautiful suit.”
“You will make it lovely,” he argued. He pulled back and glanced at his watch. “What time do you usually arrive at work?” he asked.
Cassy pushed her fingers through her hair, not sure what to do with it. She didn’t have her normal styling tools with her. “I try to get into the office at seven,” she told him, bracing for him to say that was too early. Even Cassy knew that it was too early. Normal people didn’t work eighteen to twenty hour days, she thought. Then something occurred to her.
“Where’s my ring?” she asked, looking around.
Nasir reached into his pocket and pulled something out. “That other ring was fake, my dear. This one,” he lifted her hand and slid a beautiful diamond ring onto her finger, “is not.”
Cassy stared at the ring, stunned by its beauty. For a long moment, she just stared at the ring, her heart pounding. Surely he wasn’t…he didn’t mean…this ring couldn’t represent what she thought it represented!
“I want no misunderstandings when you leave me this time, Cassandra,” he continued, his voice firm as his fingers moved over her hand, closing her own fingers over the ring. “I want you to marry me. I don’t know who this other man is, but leave him. You can’t respond to me the way you do and not feel something for me. Not you.”
She stared at him, her dark eyes lifting slowly up to meet his determined gaze. “You…you want to marry me?” she whispered.
“More than I’d ever thought possible,” he told her. “And if you’d read that note, you would have read that I wanted to discuss a future with you, Cassandra.”
Unfortunately, her stomach growled at that moment and he sighed. “Breakfast. You need food. I, uh, distracted you last night, didn’t I?” He smiled smugly. “Why don’t you dress and meet me in the dining room? We’ll eat breakfast together and, throughout the day, you can think about my proposal.”
She dressed quickly in the beautiful suit, amazed at how it changed her figure. Her other suits were thick and bulky, the material stiff so that it didn’t cling to any part of her figure. She’d done that intentionally, wanting her work to be taken seriously.
But this suit…it was stunning! It didn’t cling to her curves, but it smoothed over them. Her breasts were still flattened by the sports bra she pulled on, but this suit was much more flattering. It enhanced instead of smothered. It warmed her pale skin so it looked creamy.
For a long moment, she stared at her figure in the mirror, her fingers sliding down over her still-flat stomach.
“I didn’t know,” she whispered to her reflection.
With a sigh of pleasure, she turned away, slipping her feet into the black shoes she’d worn yesterday. They weren’t as elegant as the suit, but they’d work well enough.
When she stepped out of the bedroom, Cassy felt…different. A smile curved at the corners of her lips and she searched out Nasir, eager to see his reaction to her figure in this suit.
“You look lovely,” he said as soon as he saw her.
“Thank you,” she whispered, feeling pretty, but still self-conscious.
He held out a chair at the polished table for her. Whoever was cooking loved cheese, she thought, looking around as her stomach growled slightly.
At that same moment, a servant appeared with a silver pot of steaming coffee and…Cassy shook her head, her hand flying to cover her mouth. “Bathroom!” she gasped.
Nasir stared at her for a stunned moment, but seeing the frantic look in her eyes, he pointed towards a door.
Cassy stared, the
n hurried forward, racing for the door. But it wasn’t a bathroom.
“This way, ma’am,” the servant exclaimed, quickly setting the coffee pot aside on a beautifully polished side board and led the way down the hallway. She opened a door and Cassy threw herself at the toilet. She didn’t have anything in her stomach so she didn’t throw up. But the heaving was painful and humiliating. She wanted to order someone to close the door, to give her some privacy, but her stomach wouldn’t give her a moment to ask.
At some point, she felt gentle hands pulling her hair back. At some level, Cassy knew that it was Nasir standing next to her, but she was too miserable to acknowledge him.
Finally, after several minutes of misery, her stomach relaxed enough for her to take a breath. A warm, wet cloth was handed to her and she took it gratefully, wiping her mouth before stumbling to her feet.
Thankfully, Nasir’s strong arms held her against him. Cassy thought about pulling away, but she felt too weak to speak at the moment. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to need any words. His arms held her close while one hand moved soothingly down her back and Cassy simply absorbed the feeling of being cherished.
“You’re pregnant,” he said, breaking the silence.
Cassy tensed for a moment, then sighed and relaxed against him. “Yes.”
He pulled away, but kept his arms around her. “Is it my child?” he asked.
Cassy nodded, hiding her face in his chest. “There is no other man,” she admitted.
“Could you explain the engagement ring you were wearing yesterday?”
Cassy’s hand slid from his shoulder to his chest, the real diamond sparkling in the overhead light from the bathroom. “Fake diamond,” she finally admitted. “And fake engagement. There is no other man. I discovered I was pregnant several weeks ago and…” she shrugged. “My law firm is very conservative, Nasir. They won’t outright fire me for being pregnant and unmarried, but they will slow down my career, and make my life miserable.”
He sighed and pulled her in once again so that her cheek was resting against his chest. “This is my fault,” he groaned. “I forgot protection that first night.”
Unexpectedly Expecting the Sheik's Baby (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 6) Page 15
