Pregnant With the Sheik's Heir (The Abbot Sisters Book 2)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “That food isn’t all for me.”

  Rayne jumped, wondering if someone would be joining them. “Are you married?” she gasped, sitting up straight as she glared at him. “Is your wife joining you for breakfast? Did you kiss me last night when you had a wife waiting for you?”

  He laughed, shaking his head. “No, my dear. I am not married. How could I be married when you will soon become my wife?”

  Immediately, her anger transformed into horror as she stared across the table at him. He looked completely serious!

  “Stop saying that!” she ordered, and rubbed her forehead as she sat back, ignoring the intense relief at his assurance that he wasn’t married. And even if she was relieved, it was simply because he’d kissed her last night. Furthermore, her sharp stab of pain had nothing to do with Kular. She’d just…Rayne wasn’t sure about anything right now. She was hungry, needed caffeine in the worst way, and was painfully tired.

  “Why? It is true.”

  She rubbed a hand over her face, and glanced up at the sun, which had shifted so that part of her arm was in the light now.

  “Come sit over here,” he ordered, pulling out the chair next to him, which was completely shaded.

  “No,” she demurred. “I’m fine over here.”

  That annoying eyebrow quirked again and she wondered what he would do if she shaved them off.

  “Your skin is too tender, Rayne. You need to get out of the sun.”

  She did, but there was no way she would move to the same side of the table where he was sitting. “I’m fine,” she stated again, more firmly this time.

  He frowned at her and she almost laughed. “That isn’t as effective with those sunglasses on,” she teased, feeling a bit of her control coming back. Yeah, she’d have a sunburn because of her stubbornness, but which was worse? Pink, ugly, painful skin or…?

  He stood up and came around to her side of the table! “What are you doing?” she gasped, hurriedly wrapping her arms around his neck as he scooped her into his arms. But he simply placed her into the seat with the shade.

  “There,” he snapped, then moved to the chair he’d just taken her from and sat down. “You’re safe from me touching you and you won’t burn now.”

  Rayne looked around, relieved that it was too early for the restaurant to be full. “Good grief, you’re such a cave-man,” she grumbled, and pulled her napkin onto her lap. More because she needed something to do with her hands, because her body was tingling again after being so close to him.

  The waitress arrived with coffee for both of them and Rayne poured him a cup first, then some for herself. She took a long, fortifying sip of the coffee, closing her eyes as the caffeine hit her system.

  When she opened her eyes again, she discovered that he was watching her with an odd look on his harsh features.

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “You are a very sensual person,” he commented, lifting his cup and taking a sip. “I like it. It’s erotic to watch you enjoy wine or coffee.” He grinned as he set the cup back onto the saucer. “I am eager to see what you are like with other sensual pleasures.”

  She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “You’re never going to see me during…sensual pleasures,” she finished awkwardly.

  “Ah, a challenge! I always enjoy a challenge.” And he grinned with an evil, determined expression in his eyes.

  Oh no, this wasn’t good! Not good at all! “I’m not challenging you Kular. I’m stating facts.”

  “We shall see.” The waitress arrived with breakfast, quickly placing the plates onto the table, then disappearing just as efficiently.

  “What would you like to eat?” he asked, taking an extra plate and putting several pancakes and two of the eggs on it, then lifting his eyes to wait for her response.

  She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m not hungry.”

  He laughed and the sound was sexy and thrilling. “Liar,” he teased, added some sausage and bacon to the plate, then set it in front of her. He took a second plate and filled it for himself. Even after piling both plates high, there was still some food left on the original serving platters.

  “Eat,” he ordered, gesturing with his fork. “You’re going to need your energy today.”

  “Why?” she asked, refusing to pick up her fork even though her mouth watered. Oh, it smelled amazing and she hadn’t had bacon in…years! In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had bacon. She and her sisters scrimped and saved every penny and they tended to survive on beans, fruits, and vegetables. They weren’t vegetarians, just…painfully frugal. None of them wanted to ever end up in a homeless shelter again.

  “Because you mentioned doing something with your sisters and friend today, then you are meeting me afterward. We will go dancing tonight.”

  “I don’t dance,” she told him succinctly.

  He reached over and poured syrup on her pancakes, then his own. “Then I’ll get tickets to one of the shows. We’ll see a performance, and you can tell me more about yourself.”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “I’m not going with you tonight, Kular. You’re not listening to me.”

  “Of course I am. You’re just being stubborn because you are afraid of what will happen between us. But I keep explaining that we need to be honest if we’re going to have a strong marriage. Which we will.”

  He really was quite charming, she thought with a reluctant smile. And goodness, he was good for her ego. Granted, he was a con artist, but still…having a man being this attentive was rather pleasant.

  Not to mention, there was an intensity about him that appealed to her. As much as she loved relying on logic to guide her actions, there was a bit of insanity to their conversations that intrigued her now. “Ah. So we’re back to that marriage thing again, are we?”

  “We never left ‘that marriage thing,’” he replied. “Very soon, you will agree to my proposal.” His eyes lit upon her hand. “You need a ring.”

  She stiffened, shaking her head. “I don’t need a ring, Kular,” she told him firmly. “Do not get me a ring!”

  He gestured to her plate. “Eat. This is delicious.”

  Rayne was too hungry to resist and really, there was too much food for one person. So in the interests of not wasting food, she put her coffee cup down on the table and lifted her knife and fork.

  “Oh, these are really good!” she sighed, closing her eyes as the sweet flavors flooded her mouth. “And maple syrup! Good grief, I haven’t had maple syrup in…well, I’ve never had maple syrup, but I remember my mother getting maple flavoring for cookies one year.” Rayne took another bite, closing her eyes to savor the sweetness. “She loved to bake and around the holidays, we’d always make an insane number of cookies. She’d get the ingredients while we were at school, then all four of us would bake as soon as we walked into the apartment after school and we wouldn’t stop until my mom had to leave for work at night.” She smiled at the memories, stabbing another bite of the pancake. “By the time Christmas break rolled around, me and my sisters would be so sick of cookies, we begged her to bring the cookies into her salon and hand them out to her clients.”

  “What kinds of cookies did you make?” he asked, pouring her a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

  She took a sip, enjoying the tartness of the juice after the sweetness of the pancakes. “Oh, we’d start with the traditional sugar cookies and chocolate chip. But then we’d try out more exotic recipes, such as chocolate fudge for a break from cookies, which we made from marshmallows. The first few years we made fudge, my mother would complain that me and my sisters ate too many of the marshmallows before the fudge was finished. Finally, she got wise to our ways and would buy extra bags of marshmallows so we weren’t even slightly interested in the finished product when it was done.”

  For the rest of the meal, they talked about their childhoods, and growing up without parents. Kular’s parents had been killed around the same age as Rayne’s mother, so they had a great dea
l in common there. She could sense his anger, even after all these years, over the senseless deaths of his parents and she commiserated, still furious with the idiot who had gotten drunk and taken the life of her precious mother.

  Rayne didn’t go into detail about the year after her mother’s death, the terror of being illegally evicted from their apartment, all of their clothing and furniture unceremoniously dumped onto the curb during a storm. She didn’t tell him about her friends watching from their windows, the humiliation that forced them to transfer to another school. Nor did she mention the fear of that first night in the homeless shelter, the way she and her sisters had clung to each other instead of sleeping, terrified that someone would steal their small stash of belongings that had become even more precious to them since it was all they had left in the world. The hunger of that night and the following day when they had no money, no idea how to find food and the relief when they discovered that the homeless shelter provided a meager breakfast and hot dinner every night, sponsored by the local churches.

  When the meal was over, Rayne looked at the empty plate. “I can’t believe I ate so much food!”

  “You were hungry,” he stated as he stood up and took her hand in his, leading her out of the dining room. “What time will you be back from this excursion with your sisters?” he asked.

  Unconsciously, she leaned into him, feeling his arm wrap around her shoulders and, for some odd reason, it felt natural to simply give in and accept the warm security of his embrace. They strolled through the busy lobby to the elevators where she turned and…he took her hand, pulling her into a small area away from the other hotel guests.

  “What time will you be finished?” he repeated, turning so that her back was against the wall and he braced a hand on either side of her head, his body and his scent surrounding her.

  The comfortable sensations she’d felt a moment ago were obliterated, replaced with an intense awareness of his closeness. Plus, she knew that he was going to kiss her and…did she want him to? “What are you doing?” she asked, ignoring his question.

  “I’m going to kiss you as soon as you answer my question.”

  She held her breath, painfully aware of the inch of space between their bodies and his mouth…so close and yet, she didn’t have the courage to lift up onto her toes and kiss him.

  “Um…I don’t think you should kiss me,” she told him, still staring at his lips.

  “That’s not an option, Rayne,” he murmured, lowering his head so that he could nuzzle her neck. “When can I see you tonight?”

  “We can’t,” she sighed, tilting her head back to afford him better access. She wasn’t aware of the movement, nor was she aware of her hands sliding up his waist to rest lightly on his shoulders.

  “We must,” he countered, then nipped her earlobe in punishment. “Do I need to speak with Josh Starke?”

  Rayne stiffened, shocked that Kular knew who Josh was. “What did you say?” she demanded, pushing at his shoulders, relieved when he pulled back.

  He looked directly into her eyes when he said, “I asked if I should speak with Starke about when you’ll be free tonight. I want to see you, Rayne. And if you won’t give me a time, then I have to resort to other ways of obtaining that information.”

  “You can’t!” she hissed, ducking under his arm. The only reason she got away with it was because Kular wasn’t expecting it. But he turned to glare at her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back into the alcove.

  “I will if you don’t tell me when you’ll be finished with your sisters tonight. I want to see you.”

  She huffed a bit, irritated with his dictatorial manner. “What if I don’t want to see you?”

  He ran a finger along her cheek. “Is that the truth?” he asked softly.

  She opened her mouth to tell him that it was the truth, but the lie wouldn’t form.

  “Exactly,” he said. “You and I both know where this is heading, Rayne.” He kissed her tenderly. “I’m in suite nine oh nine. Call me when you know what your schedule is.” And with that, he took her hand, leading her back to the elevators. “We’ll have dinner tonight and, since you don’t like dancing, and I’m not a fan of night clubs, we’ll see a performance. What types of shows do you enjoy?”

  Rayne had never been to anything more sophisticated than a movie theater, so she had no answer for him. “Um…I’m sure that anything would be wonderful.” That was the truth, actually. The theater? What did one wear to the theater? She’d have to ask Pepper, but…if she asked one of her sisters, they would know she had plans! Would they question her about going out on a date with a stranger? Looking up at Kular, she knew that he didn’t feel like a stranger to her any longer. They’d spent only a couple of hours in each other’s company, and yet, he now felt…special. Special to her!

  How had that happened? How had he turned her resistance around so that she was truly looking forward to spending time with him?

  It made no sense, and yet, it made perfect sense, she realized.

  With a shake of her head, she stepped out of the elevator and headed for her suite, praying that her sisters were still asleep.

  But before she could unlock the door, Kular grabbed her arm and spun her around, kissing her before she could object. And for some illogical reason, she realized a part of her didn’t want to resist. In fact, she lifted her face, expecting his kiss. There was no hesitation as she fully participated, thrilling to the feel of his hands against her back, in her hair as they melded their bodies together. When he teased her lips, her mouth opened, deepening the kiss. She was unaware of her hands sliding up his chest into his hair, nor was she aware of her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling his head down to hers.

  When he lifted his mouth, Rayne whimpered a protest and it was her body that shifted against his, enjoying the friction.

  “If we don’t stop, I’m going to carry you away to my bedroom and we’ll finish this in a much more satisfying manner,” he warned huskily.

  That raspy-sounding threat shattered Rayne’s lust-induced haze. She registered the fact that her fingers were still in his hair, that her body was pressed against the hard, muscular planes of his and…and that he wasn’t pressing her against the wall this time! Nope, this was all her!

  “Good grief!” she gasped and pulled away, quickly releasing his hair and smoothing down her own. When she looked at her khaki shorts and thin, red tee shirt, she gasped at the evidence of her arousal pushing against the thin material. She wrapped her arms around her chest, covering her breasts in a way that caused him to laugh.

  “It’s too late, Rayne. I felt your body tremble against mine,” he whispered, leaning closer and for the life of her, Rayne couldn’t pull away! In fact, she wanted to throw herself back into his arms and ignore the warnings in her head.

  “I have to go,” she muttered through lips that were still tingling.

  “Until tonight,” he replied, stepping back with an easy smile.

  She blinked up at him, trying to remember if she’d agreed to meet him tonight. But she wasn’t up to coherent thought yet, so she turned and slipped into the suite. Pressing her back against the door, she closed her eyes and inhaled, trying to calm her nerves as best she could.

  “You know,” Sloane began in a deceptively casual voice, startling Rayne’s eyes open, “this is the second time in less than eight hours that I’ve seen you sneak in here, looking like you’ve just been ravished.”

  Stuttering, Rayne pushed away from the door, smoothing her hand down over her stomach in a guilty manner. “I just…went downstairs for a cup of coffee,” she explained, which had been her original intention. “I didn’t want to wake anyone up.”

  Sloane’s lips pressed together, and her gaze moved lower. Rayne glanced down at herself, wondering what her sister saw that she’d missed. That’s when she realized that her tee shirt was askew, twisted around to the side. “Um…”

  Rayne quickly straightened her clothes and tried to come up with a logical e
xplanation. “I was just…”

  “Save it,” Sloane snapped, turning away. “Breakfast is here.”

  Rayne followed at a slower pace, still trying to come up with an excuse. Not to mention, how was she supposed to eat another breakfast? She’d already eaten a larger meal than she normally would. But if she didn’t eat, would Sloane suspect something? Did she already suspect…?

  Good grief, this secretive love affair thing was difficult to handle!

  Rayne froze, the thought echoing between her ears. “Love?” she whispered aloud, then looked around, startled. “I’m not in love!” It was absolutely ridiculous to say that. Lust, she mentally chided. “Yes, lust.”

  Lust didn’t make sense, but it wasn’t as insane as assuming she was in love with a man she didn’t really know. Love took time. It was an emotion that grew over weeks and months of knowing someone. It evolved and morphed after conversations and time spent together.

  “Come on Rayne!” Pepper called out, bouncing over to the breakfast that had been set up buffet style on the beautifully polished side table.

  Rayne looked up and her gaze clashed with Josh’s. He was holding the newspaper with one hand and a cup of coffee with the other, but his eyes! Josh’s green eyes were narrowed, watching her as if he was trying to figure something out.

  And when Josh tried to figure something out, he usually succeeded.

  Rayne jerked her shoulders back and pasted on a smile, then walked as calmly as possible into the dining room. She took a plate and selected a bit of fruit and scrambled eggs, then sat down at one of the empty chairs. “Good morning, everyone,” she greeted the table.

  Pepper beamed as she stabbed a grape. “Good morning! We’re going to the gardens today! I love gardens!”

  Sloane rolled her eyes. “Pepper, you love everything,” she teased with a smile.

  Pepper laughed and shrugged. The banter continued, while Rayne nibbled on fruit and Josh watched her like a hawk. She’d always thought he was a sweet man, but for the first time, she understood what he was like in business. And it was scary!