Prince's Triplet Babies

by Sophia Lynn

  He gave her a long and serious look as he tossed her wallet back on the table.

  “I wouldn't have sent him to the police,” he said softly. “Not for something like that. I just wanted to scare him a little and make him at least think twice before he did something like that again.”

  She watched him through narrow eyes. He looked sincere enough, but anyone could say something like that after all chance of retribution went out the window.

  “I wanted to make sure that you were not in on it as well, and now I suppose that I know that as well I can.”

  “Oh, thank you for your gracious decision,” she said sarcastically. “I don't suppose that I might be permitted to leave now that you have delivered your judgment, my lord?”

  Instead of looking offended, he smiled, and she felt that little flutter again. God, had it really been that long since she had met someone cute? This was ridiculous. He had literally kidnapped her off the street.

  “It is not 'my lord' unless you are being particularly sarcastic,” he said calmly. “It is Sheikh Askari Al Hajar, first among the lords of Hazn, the great and the magnificent who rules over the land from the mountains to the sea. In most situations, Sheikh Askari will do.”

  It sounded like a joke at first, but he delivered the name and title with perfect seriousness, and she could see nobility and wealth in his every line.

  “Am I supposed to be impressed?” she asked after a moment, even though a small and reluctant part of her was. “I'm American.”

  He did laugh at her then, shaking his head. When he wasn't shouting at her or slamming things or trying to scare a young boy, he was youthful, almost boyish in his laughter.

  “I will say that you are from a country of people who go out of their way to avoid being impressed,” he said. “All right. I believe that you have nothing to do with the boy from before, and I have no quarrel against you. You are free to go.”

  She let go of a breath that she hadn't been aware that she was holding. With a grumble, Erin reached down to sweep her things into her purse before standing up. Now all she had to do was to get to the door without doing anything to make the situation worse, but Sheikh Askari or whoever he was was not budging. She waited for a moment to see if he would move out of her way, but as it was becoming more and more obvious that he wasn't going to, she straightened her spine and went to walk past him.

  “You're a very beautiful woman,” he said, just as she was going to step around him.

  The statement was so unexpected that she missed her step and turned to face him.

  “No, I'm not,” she said with a frown. “Why the heck would you say that?”

  “Because it is true. I suppose the men of Hazn have always been partial to fiery women with red hair, but there is something about you that would make you gleam whether you had hair down to your hips or were shaved bald.”

  “I think I would look a bit like a goblin if I were shaved bald,” she said, shaking her head. “At this point, I think you are just blind...”

  She knew that she should continue towards the door. It was just a few steps away, and this man was apparently insane. Who shook a woman's purse out over the table and then told her how beautiful he thought she was? Still, Erin felt as if she were pinned in place. A part of it was the fact that she simply did not want to leave him, to be away from his lean form and handsome face.

  Erin knew that that part was foolish to say the least, and she turned to go again.

  “There is nothing wrong with my eyesight,” he said calmly, “and perhaps you would like it if I proved it to you.”

  His words were so strange that she started to turn to him to ask what he meant, but then his hand was on her shoulder, more gentle than he had been the last time he touched her. Erin usually hated it when strangers touched her, but the spark of electricity that jumped between them froze her in her tracks.

  She had known that he was a large man, but up close he was imposing, and she felt as small and helpless as a hare as he leaned in.

  Stop this, her mind cried. You don't know who he is, you don't know what he wants, damn you, you aren't in Iowa anymore! This is dangerous!

  That was what her mind said, but her heart said something entirely different.

  That's him. That's the one I want.

  The first touch of his lips to hers was almost gentle, almost tender. She could feel her entire body buzz with pleasure, and then his free hand came down around the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. The kiss deepened, his tongue brushing against her lower lip again and again until almost helplessly, she opened her mouth for him.

  How can a person taste so very good?

  There was a flavor to him that made her heart beat, something warm and male and human, and it awoke a need inside her that had been dormant for perhaps her entire life. Her hands rose up, she thought to push him away, but then they only drew him closer, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

  She heard a rough noise echo through his body, as if he were purring, and she knew that he was warming, wanting more of her. Erin could feel his hand sweep up to brush her hair out of his way, to tilt her face up so that he could kiss her more thoroughly.

  When Askari moved to pull her deeper into the apartment, however, she broke away. Now there was nothing between her and the door, and Erin took advantage of that. She sprinted for the door, wrestled it open, and then pelted down the hallway. She didn't bother with the elevator, instead diving into the stairwell and sprinting down the many flights of stairs to the bottom.

  Halfway down, she waited with bated breath to listen for footsteps, but there were none. She was alone in the stairwell. For a moment, relief at being alone warred with disappointment. Erin shook her head as she descended the rest of the stairs in a more sedate speed.

  What the hell were you thinking anyway, you idiot? That was going to lead to terrible things. He’s a man who lives on another planet.

  The words were correct, but as she made her way to work, for a single moment, she couldn't help wishing that it wasn't true. Joe's was a tiny basement diner, close, cramped, and crowded with people who wanted nothing more than their greasy food and fast service.

  The manager glared at her ferociously, and that likely meant that she would be getting an earful later, but for now, she could simply lose herself in the work, trying to forget all about the man that had kissed her so thoroughly and so well.

  She tried to tell herself over and over again that it didn't mean anything, but somehow, Erin couldn't stop herself from looking up with every chime of the doorbell. It was never Sheikh Askari, and every time it wasn't, she felt an unexpected little stab of pain over her heart.

  Chapter Three

  Askari told himself that thinking about the girl was pointless. If she had wanted to stay, she would have stayed. Indeed, there had been princesses and starlets that would have given their own left legs to do exactly that, to allow themselves to be kissed by the wealthy and powerful sheikh of Hazn.

  Instead, she had fled as if the very hounds of hell were on her heels. His first instinct had been to chase her down, but when Askari realized what he was doing, he halted. Instead, he had let her duck into the stairwell and returned to his own room, bemused by his own behavior.

  Erin had been different from the other women he had kissed. He had always found himself drawn to women of the world, women who matched him in wealth and society connections. They knew how to play the game, and they knew when to kiss and when to back away, when something was a game and when it was a little more serious.

  However, Askari had to admit to himself that over the last year or so, that game had become more than a little dull. Perhaps it was because he was simply growing older, but he suspected that it had something to do with the fact that his parents had died just a few short years ago. Perhaps he was finally growing up, finally seeing how empty things could be.

  Yes, surely that was why he had found himself locked in an embrace with a random little no one from
New York. He told himself that he would think no more of it, but when he considered Erin's green eyes and slightly parted pink lips in his mind, he was not sure at all whether he could keep that promise.

  He was still thinking about the strange and lovely Erin when his phone rang.

  “Good afternoon, Sheikh Askari, I am calling with your daily report.”

  Askari sighed.

  “Basaam, we have known each other for almost twenty years. Could you possibly just call me Askari?”

  “That would hardly be proper during conventional working hours, Sheikh Askari,” came the dignified reply, but Askari could hear the hint of laughter in his friend's voice. “Now may I be permitted to give you my report?”

  “If you must.”

  Askari listened to the report with half an ear, or at least he did until close to the end.

  “Wait, what was that last one again?”

  “Fayez Al Fadlan, Minister of the Interior, is again questioning your right to rule. He says that a man who is so careless with the dynasty, taking foolish risks without an heir, cannot possibly bring the country of Hazn into the future.”

  “Especially not when his idea of the future looks so very much like the antique past,” Askari growled. “Thank heavens he is just a fringe group.”

  He expected to hear light-hearted agreement from his friend, but there was a telling silence on the other end of the line.

  “What is it?”

  He could practically hear Basaam fighting with his own dutiful nature, the faithful assistant versus the man that had been his friend for years. Finally, however, the friend won out.

  “He is not the only one who thinks this way,” Basaam said finally. “Every day that goes by, there are more and more people who are getting nervous because there is no one ready to succeed you if things go dreadfully wrong.”

  Askari made a face.

  “You can't really expect me to believe that people are worried? I am not even thirty-five yet. I assume I will have decades yet...”

  “And your parents, rest their souls, were not all that much older when they died,” Basaam pointed out. “The great and the good are not always spared the vagaries of life, my friend, and sometimes, everyone feels a little better with a clear line of succession.”

  “Not you too?”

  “Unfortunately, yes, me too in this case. I would never tell you your business. You are the sheikh, and your word is law. However, I do understand why people are nervous. Al Fadlan is a terrible reactionary man who wants to see women back in confinement and wants to close our borders to absolutely everyone else in the world, but he is gaining a following on this. He has his own agenda, and I only wish that he did not have this particular stick to beat you with.”

  Askari rubbed his hand over his eyes. This was an argument that he was sick to death of, but it never seemed to go away.

  “All right, Basaam. Thank you for the report, I will speak to you later.”

  “Of course, Sheikh Askari.”

  When his friend hung up, Askari couldn't stop himself from pacing back and forth. Lapis, his roan stallion, grew fidgety when he was anxious as well, and Askari could have smiled at that.

  He did not consider himself a man who was overly concerned with sentiment, but there was very much a part of him that balked at the idea of being put to stud on some likely looking young woman to produce heirs. If he were honest with himself, he wanted a marriage like the one his parents had, one that was warm and loving, a place where they cared for each other. If he were pushed into marriage early, he would never find it.

  Suddenly it occurred to him that he did not need to be married to produce an heir. The sheikhs of Hazn had always recognized their children, no matter the status of their mothers, and a grain of an idea started to form in his head.

  For some reason, the image of the red-haired Erin struck his mind, and once there, it would not leave.

  Askari smiled just thinking about her, and then smiled wider thinking of what she would say when he presented his madcap idea to her. Likely she would simply slap him on the face and leave, but... but perhaps there was a chance that she wouldn't.

  Either way, it promised to be a fascinating last day in New York.

  ***

  She was working the morning shift at Joe's that day, and the early morning walk was barely enough to wake her up.

  Tips were horrid last night, she thought disconsolately. If today's not better, I don't know how I am going to make rent.

  Erin was beginning to wonder if it was time to get out of New York. Moving cost money, but apparently, in the Big Apple, standing still did as well, and she wasn't getting any richer waiting tables. What she really needed was a different job, but Joe's kept her so busy that job hunting was nearly impossible. By the end of the day, she was so exhausted that it was all she could do to crawl into her bed in the apartment she shared with four other women and try to get some sleep.

  No, this is ridiculous. I need to get out. It's time to see about other jobs, and it might be time to see about other cities. Maybe somewhere warm. Somewhere exotic.

  For some reason, her thoughts drifted to Sheikh Askari again and the startling kiss from the night before. If she hadn't experienced it herself, she would have thought that it was incredibly unlikely. Rich men who ruled over wealthy countries weren't interested in waitresses, and at the very least, they weren't interested in waitresses who were as dull and plain as she was. It didn't change the fact that she had lain on her mattress last night looking through pictures of Hazn on her phone. The country, made wealthy in the last thirty years with reservoirs of oil, was a beautiful mix of desert and mountain, liberally scattered with lush green oases. It seemed like a blend between modern and traditional, and its liberal policies had made it an attractive crossroads for people from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

  Erin sighed. Maybe her next job would take her far away from the United States, finally letting her see some of the places that she had always dreamed about. However, whatever her future might hold, today was another normal day at Joe's, or at least it was until she put her coat away and walked onto the floor.

  This early in the morning, there were only a few people in the crowded dining room, but the man seated at the far booth stood out. He cradled a cup of their coffee in his hand, looking out the window, and for a moment, Erin was certain that it was just a random coincidence, that he was some stranger. Then, as if he could sense her somehow, the man looked up, and when she saw his face, the dark of his eyes and the slight smile on his sensual mouth, she knew exactly who it was.

  Okay, she told herself. This could just be a coincidence. A random coincidence. Don't act like a fangirl just because he's here.

  Another part her said that she didn't believe in coincidences, and that if the sheikh of Hazn was here, that likely meant something.

  Regardless of what it meant, the manager was giving her a dirty look for lingering in the doorway, and Erin took a deep breath. It was a truth of her life that no matter what was going on with her or in her head, people needed their coffee, and she made her way out onto the floor.

  Despite Erin's resolve to be as practical and as professional as she could be, however, there was a moment where she wished that the uniform fit a little better, made her look a little less matronly. She was curvy, and the uniform had the unfortunate tendency to make her look more than a little tank-bodied.

  "Hi," she said, walking up to Askari. "How are you doing today?"

  "Waiting for you," he said, his smile warm and welcoming. "Come sit down."

  She bit her lip, glancing towards the kitchen. It sounded like the manager was scolding the cook for something, but that wouldn't last. Erin started to say something about needing to stay on her feet, but then Askari's hand covered hers.

  "Please, I must insist," he said.

  She had heard that some people had a tone of command around them when they spoke, but she was not sure that she had ever understood was a real thin
g before this. When Askari spoke, there was a natural command about him, a dominant quality that rang bells throughout her and made her shiver. She almost dropped into the booth, but she hesitated.

  "Look, I know that yesterday was a..."

  "Sit down, Erin."

  This time the tone of command was even clearer, and without thinking of it at all, she dropped into the booth across from him. She knew that her cheeks were pink, and she bit her lip a little. What was it about this man that made her so apt to obey him?

  "Good," he said with a smile. "I have words for you, and I do not intend to deliver them while you are standing there with your order pad."

  "I'm on the clock right now," Erin muttered. "I don't suppose that this could have waited until later?"

  To her surprise, he laughed, low and amused.

  "I will say this about the matter. There are men who run countries who are afraid to keep me waiting. The fact that you think you can do it is so ridiculous it is funny."

  It reminded her of who she was dealing with. Erin had looked him up the night before. It hadn't been some trick or some game as she was half-convinced it was. Askari was the real thing, and now he sat, larger than life, in her place of work.

  "All right," she said, giving in. "What's going on? Do you have more questions about whether I am a thief or not?"

  His eyes sparkled, and she wondered why she found it so appealing. She had always been a woman who was prone to being independent to a fault. However, one glance at this man and she felt as if she just wanted to fall into his arms. Erin told herself that she needed to be careful. Nothing good could come of being this enamored with a man she had just met.

  "As a matter of fact, I have a proposition to offer you."

  Despite herself, Erin laughed a little.

  "So your English is fluent, but I have to say that you might want to work on that one. These days, no one says proposition anymore unless sex is involved."

  "As a matter of fact, it is.

  If she had been holding something, she would have dropped it. If she had been drinking something, she would have choked on it. Instead, Erin simply stared at him, feeling as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her face. Well, not all of it. There were some that seemed to have found its way to the core of her and was heating there in a way that was most distracting.