Giselle glared at him, but she stepped back slightly, just out of arm’s reach. “You’re avoiding the issue.”
He laughed again, shaking his head and she was amazed that he was completely unconcerned about his nudity. Or his arousal! “How can you be aroused?” she demanded.
Jaffri looked down at his lap, then back up at her. “You’re close by, Giselle.”
“I’m close by often, and you don’t get…” she started to wave her hand towards his erection but the pillow slipped so she simply tilted her head towards that hardening part of his body.
He chuckled again. “Honey, you’re naked.”
“I’m behind a pillow!” she replied with exasperation.
“Yeah, and you look incredibly sexy like that.”
Rolling her eyes, she tried to get him to focus back on the issue. “You’re avoiding the subject.”
In one swift move – she had no idea how a man as large as Jaffri could move like that – he had her in his arms, the pillow tossed away as he swung her up into his arms. “The issue is that I love you. You love me. We’re getting married. Any objections?”
She grabbed onto his shoulders, trying hard to fight the sudden wave of nausea as well as the way her head was spinning. But once her stomach calmed down and she regained control of her head, she looked up at him. “You love me?”
“Yes, you silly woman. I love you.” He gently laid her down on the bed, looming over her as his eyes drank in the view of her body. “I love your breasts,” and he lowered his head to kiss each peak. “I love your intelligence,” he continued and kissed her lips. “I love your legs,” and he pulled her knees apart, sliding his hand between them. She was already wet and ready for him, but he didn’t push those magical fingers inside of her. Not yet. “And I love your stubbornness, even if it is pointless at the moment.”
Giselle let her fingers slide through his short hair, staring up at his incredible blue eyes. “You love me?”
He lowered his body so that they were touching once more, pulling her leg higher so that her hips were cradling his. “I love you,” he replied, understanding that she needed to hear those words. “I love you.” His hand smoothed over her still-flat stomach. “Now tell me that you love me.”
She laughed, trying to pull his hand away since the light touch of his fingers was tickling her waist. “I love you.”
“And you’re going to marry me.”
She beamed. “Once you get rid of your other fiancée, yes, I will marry you.”
He threw back his head laughing, but then pulled her into his arms, nibbling on her neck. “I suspect that Mila has another man in her sights anyway. So it might not be that difficult to back out of the engagement.”
She stifled a giggle when his lips tickled her neck. “What do you mean?” she asked, trying to be serious, but the man was already making love to her, even though their conversation wasn’t completely over.
“Doesn’t matter,” he told her, capturing her hands and pulling them over her head since she was still trying to hold his own hands away from exploring her curves. “At this point, nothing really matters other than you agreeing, unconditionally, to becoming my wife.”
“Ditch the engagement, and I’m all yours,” she promised, disobeying him at once.
“You’re not paying attention,” he replied, his hand smoothing over her stomach. In his mind, he was picturing her growing huge and beautiful with their child. Pulling his eyes away, he looked up at her. “You’re already mine.”
She shifted against him. “You’re doing an awful lot of talking.”
He lifted a dark eyebrow at her challenge. “Are you complaining?” he asked. Without waiting for a response, he rolled over and filled her up, pressing deeply into her heat. He was just about to move when she stopped him.
“What’s wrong, honey?” he growled, trying to not move, but failing miserably because she just felt too good.
But when he moved his eyes from her breasts to her face, he knew that something was wrong. “Honey?”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. He shifted against her but she once again shook her head. “Stop!”
“I can’t, love. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m pregnant!” she replied with an urgent whisper.
He chuckled and started moving again. “I know.”
She couldn’t hold back this time, and punched his arm. But there was no force to her punch. It was really just a jab. Not even that, actually. Especially since she was arching into his thrusts, lifting her hips up to meet him every time. When she exploded this time, she could only hold onto the man she loved, relishing this kind of intimacy with Jaffri.
Chapter 11
She stared at the note, wondering what she should do about it. Another note. Another summons. What did he want from her?! Giselle couldn’t just go running to his office every time he wanted to talk to her! It was interfering with her work and people were starting to talk. He might have proposed, but as far as the rest of the world was concerned, Prince Jaffri Lin Tarseem was still officially engaged to Princess Mila Al Sidoon. Giselle didn’t want to be caught up in that confusion.
Just this morning, Stephen asked why she was walking down the hallway from the private quarters and, when she came up with what she thought was a good lie, his eyes told her that he didn’t believe her for a moment.
Rubbing her forehead, she stared at the bold scrawl, wondering what to do. It was the middle of the day and she had so many details to resolve, she couldn’t possibly get everything accomplished in time. Especially since Jaffri had told her in no uncertain terms that she needed to finish up by six or earlier this evening. That was impossible, she thought. She could be here until nine or ten o’clock tonight and she still wouldn’t have everything finished.
Her phone rang and she glared at it, knowing that it was Jaffri. Even though the caller identification didn’t reveal Jaffri’s name and extension, but she knew it was him.
“Hello?” she answered.
“You’re trying to decide how to avoid me, aren’t you?” Jaffri asked.
Giselle smiled despite herself. “Yes. I don’t want to be seen with you.”
“Ouch!” he replied, but with a chuckle. She pictured him sitting behind the huge desk in his office, leaning back in that massive leather chair with his feet propped up on the corner of his desk. “So I’m the guy you are ashamed to bring home to your parents, huh?”
Giselle had to laugh at his quip. “Yes. You are.”
“Why would that be?”
Leaning back in her own chair, she smothered a burst of laughter. “Perhaps because while I introduce you to my parents, you’d be leering at me the whole time.”
“Hmmm…you’re probably right on that. What are you wearing today?”
She burst out laughing, unable to stop herself. The sound startled a co-worker walking. Quickly smothering her reaction, she leaned forward, propping her elbows up on her desk. “I’m not telling you.”
“I’m going to find out anyway. You might as well tell me.”
She rolled her eyes, but was still smiling like an idiot. “I have to go. I have a lot of work to do.”
“First tell me what you’re wearing.”
Giselle shook her head. “I’m hanging up now.”
“Giselle!” he growled a warning, but she still ended the call.
Turning away from the phone, she tried to focus on work. It was difficult, but she finally managed to polish up several different theme ideas, eager to show them to Queen Katherine. That thought brought Princess Mila to mind and Giselle wondered if the other woman was just as confused about this whole mess as Giselle was. Jaffri didn’t seem to be overly concerned about the situation, but…
An alarm went off on her computer, indicating that she had a meeting in a few minutes. Gathering up her files, she hurried down the hallway, stopping by Stephen’s office to update him on a few items and then moved down the hallway towards the conference room. She was
just about to enter when she stopped, her feet frozen in place as she saw Princess Mila in the arms of…. Giselle blinked twice, trying to focus on what she was seeing.
Princess Mila was kissing…huh?! Was that really…!
“Oh!” Queen Katherine had just come around the corner and stopped right behind Giselle. Both of them stared as Princess Mila continued to kiss Prince Tavon, both of them completely oblivious to everything other than each other.
“Well, that explains a lot,” Queen Katherine whispered in satisfaction.
Giselle jerked out of her shock and pulled the door closed as quietly as she could. Turning around, she faced the queen awkwardly, not really sure what to say.
Princess Sada came around the corner and looked up when she realized that the conference room door was closed and the other participants of their scheduled meeting were simply standing outside the room. “Are we still having the meeting?” she asked.
Queen Katherine beamed mischievously. “We’re giving Mila a moment,” she explained.
Giselle looked down at the floor, trying desperately hard not to laugh. But at that precise moment, Jaffri came around the corner as well, stopping when he spotted the three women standing outside of the conference room. “What’s going on?” he demanded, his eyes slicing over to her as he waited for an explanation.
“We’re…uh…giving Princess Mila a moment,” she finally replied, then heard the queen…snicker? Yes, the incredibly elegant, always refined Queen of Altair actually snickered! That seemed outrageous, but when Giselle peeked over at the lovely woman, sure enough, she was covering her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her laughter.
Jaffri made an impatient sound, but since Giselle wouldn’t look up at him, she didn’t see him move around her until he literally pulled her into his arms as he leaned around her to open the conference room door.
A moment later, he nodded and glanced down at her, laughter in his eyes as well now. “Well, that does explain a lot,” he commented loudly, not releasing Giselle as he grinned at a startled Princess Mila and his furious brother as they broke off their passionate kiss. Mila frantically adjusted her clothing which had obviously been messed up at the hands of Prince Tavon.
Turning back to his mother, he said, “Looks like there’s more than one wedding to be planned.”
Queen Katherine’s eyes were wide as she stared at his arm around Giselle, who wasn’t fighting the embrace, even though her cheeks were pink with embarrassment.
“I would hope so,” she replied back.
Princess Sada wasn’t as diplomatic. She punched the air victoriously with a whispered, “Yes!” but quickly regained her royal demeanor, smoothing out her lovely features and clasping her hands in front of her, the picture of serenity and cool composure.
Jaffri turned around, still holding Giselle against him, as he looked at his sister. “You knew about this?” he demanded.
Sada delicately shrugged her shoulders. “I saw you and Giselle kissing in the hallway over a week ago. Also, a friend of mine from school had seen Tavon with Mila while they were in Washington about a month ago and then again in Paris last week. So yes, I was aware of the situation.”
Jaffri sighed, unconsciously rubbing Giselle’s back as he tried to soothe both her and himself. “And you didn’t bother to mention this to anyone?”
Her eyes narrowed. “What would be the point? Her father wasn’t aware of what was happening, so he still would have tried to manipulate the situation to his benefit,” she explained. “I knew something had to happen which is why I came up with the plan yesterday to demonstrate to the world that Mila wasn’t interested in you.”
Tavon walked over to the conference room door and slammed it closed, leaving four startled sets of eyes to stare at the closed door in surprise.
“Well,” Queen Katherine stated with a smile, “I suppose that settles the issue quite nicely.”
Sada shook her head. “No, not really. We still need to change the perceptions of the people. They are expecting a wedding after that ridiculous and ill-conceived blessing from Mila’s father a few days ago in the briefing room.” She turned and opened another door, this conference room empty. “How about if we move in here and start going over the details?”
Queen Katherine agreed, but Jaffri kept Giselle attached to his side. “I have something to discuss with Giselle. I’ll bring her back in a few minutes.”
With that, he took her hand and tugged her down the hallway. Giselle had no idea why he was dragging her away, but she looked back at the queen, silently sending an apology to the other meeting attendees.
When Jaffri pulled her into his office and closed that door, she was fully prepared to explain that he would never be allowed to drag her around the palace in that manner. She was furious since too many of the palace staff had paused in their tasks to stare wide-eyed at the two of them as they made their way through the office hallways. Rumors would be everywhere about their relationship and she’d be the office joke!
“Jaffri, you can’t…” Whatever admonishment she’d been about to deliver was cut short as he interrupted her with a kiss. Not just a kiss either. He pushed her back against the door and lifted her up so that their bodies were aligned. The man even pushed her skirt up around her waist, then tugged at her knees until she wrapped her legs around his waist! How outrageous! And once she could catch her breath, Giselle was determined to give him a piece of her mind!
In the meantime, she grabbed onto his shoulders, shocked by how quickly he could shift her focus from anger to intense desire with just a touch. And boy, did this man know how to touch her! She loved how he ran his hands up and down her thighs, groaning when he discovered the lace at the top of her stockings.
“I needed to see you like this,” he growled, shifting his weight slightly.
She laughed but pushed against his chest, relieved when he allowed her to stand up. “You’re incorrigible,” she announced, sliding her skirt back down over her hips. She quickly stepped out of his reach when he started to lift her skirt back up. “No! You can’t do that here.”
Giselle backed up several steps, but he smiled as he moved closer. “I can’t?”
“Shouldn’t,” she corrected quickly. “Did you really just pull me away from a meeting with your mother in order to try and seduce me?”
“Try?” he asked, his voice teasing.
She laughed too, but shook her head again. “Why did you pull me away?”
He stopped and the stunned look on his normally completely confident expression was humorous. It took him several moments to switch out of seduction mode and remember why he’d dragged her to his office.
Snapping his fingers, Jaffri turned back to his desk. Opening one of the drawers, he pulled out a small box, then turned to Giselle. “Come here, honey,” he coaxed. Then watched as she warily approached his desk.
“What is that?” she asked. But she knew! It was a small black box. What else could it be? She’d agreed to marry him, but she wasn’t ready for a ring! A ring was a public announcement. He already had one public announcement to deal with. She didn’t want to be the other issue people started gossiping about.
“You know exactly what it is,” he replied, taking her hand and pulling her the rest of the way. She’d thought he would give her the box right there, but instead, he sat down in that huge, leather chair, pulled her onto his lap then wrapped his arms around her waist. “You agreed to marry me last night,” he said, kissing her shoulder, then her neck.
“I agreed to marry you with the stipulation that you needed to extricate yourself from your other engagement.”
He took her hand and uncurled her fingers. “I never agreed to that engagement, so it’s up to Mila and her father to disabuse the rest of the world about the issue.” He opened the black box and Giselle gasped, shocked at the size and beauty of the ring nestled there. “My priority is you, Giselle. It has been since the first moment I saw you dancing, wiggling your adorable butt in the hallway.” He sl
ipped the platinum band onto her finger, the four carat diamond sparkling in the sunlight coming in from the windows.
She turned her hand, amazed at the shifting light reflecting off the facets of the gem. For just a chunk of carbon, diamonds could be amazingly beautiful. “It’s lovely,” she said, fighting back the emotions that were threatening to make her cry. “I’m sorry, I’m usually not this emotional,” she murmured and then buried her face in the warmth of his neck.
Jaffri held her, feeling pretty chocked up himself. Seeing his ring on her finger was the most profound moment of his life. He’d given women diamonds before, but never a ring and never had they meant anything to him. This time, it was different. This time, the message in that ring was clear. Giselle was his woman, soon to be his wife. And the world would know pretty quickly that she carried his child. Damn, he’d never considered being a father would be so…amazing! But now he knew. Now he understood.
His arms tightened around her tiny waist and he pressed his cheek against her soft hair. He couldn’t wait to make everything official. Hell, he wanted to pick her up and take her away, make it official right now. He knew that he couldn’t do that. His family, his title, and his responsibilities wouldn’t allow that. But damn, he wanted everyone to know that she was his woman, officially.
“You’re pregnant, honey. You’re allowed to be emotional.”
She lifted her head and stared up at him. “Are you sure?”
He laughed, loving the idea. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure. But there’s an excellent way to be certain.”
“What’s that?”
He lifted a dark eyebrow. “A pregnancy test.”
She sighed. “I knew you were going to say that.”
His arms tightened around her when he felt her tremble. “Why does that make you nervous?”
“Because I’m not sure I’m ready to know the truth.”
He didn’t like where that was going. “You don’t want to have kids?”
The Desert Prince's Bride (The Sheiks of Altair Book 2) Page 14