That was odd, because the woman he knew from a year and half ago hadn’t been able to keep a secret. He remembered one time she’d gotten off the phone and had been so excited. She was practically vibrating from the conversation. They’d been lying by the pool, naked of course because he loved turning to see her completely naked, seeing her rose tipped breasts and the small tuft of dark hair at the apex of her thighs. Damn! His body hardened just thinking about the way she’d looked all naked and beautiful. He’d never allowed her to be completely in the sunshine. Her pale skin couldn’t handle Altair’s strong sun, but in the shade? Yeah, she’d been gloriously naked in the shade.
But that particular afternoon, it had taken him all of two minutes to get her to tell him her secret. She simply wasn’t one to hide anything. She was open and honest. Refreshingly so.
So, why was she lying now? Not quite a lie, he corrected himself. But she wasn’t telling him the whole truth.
“Come stay at the palace while you are filming.”
Kate immediately shook her head, tightening the belt on her robe. “No. I’m comfortable here at the hotel.”
“Because you’re closer to your lover here?”
Kate bristled. Aha! Another half-truth was coming.
“Yes. We are happy here. We don’t need your…hospitality, but thank you for the offer. So if you were worried about my safety, you’ve seen me, you know that I’m fine. Now, I have to get to the film site in a few minutes. So, you need to leave.”
She stepped around him, but he swung her around so that her back was against the wall. He pressed his thigh between her knees, lifting her up to her toes. He heard her gasp of surprise and the flare of desire in those blue orbs. Interesting, he thought. Another clue.
“This man can’t be much of a lover,” he commented, his eyes moving along the edge of her robe, which revealed the thin tee shirt underneath. “Hmmm…” his finger ran along the edge of her top, causing Kate to gasp and her nipples to pucker. “And not a very thorough one either, if you’re still this turned on in the morning.”
He laughed when she blushed, her memory flashing back to the many mornings he’d made love to her in the early morning sunshine. At night, their passion had been instantaneous, hot and heavy. But after hours of making love throughout the night, their mornings had been more of a slow burn, a sizzle of desire that built until it exploded.
“Stop it!” she ordered, but her tone was breathless, losing some authority in the process.
“When did you start wearing tee-shirts to sleep in?”
She gasped when his finger slid lower, teasing the space between her breasts. He could clearly see she wasn’t wearing a bra which made Kate feel more vulnerable than ever.
“I wear them every night. Not everyone is as…” she wouldn’t finish that statement, afraid of what he might assume.
“Voracious of a lover?” he purred. He shook his head as if that were sad. “Pity. I know that when I get you in my bed again, it will be a long time before I let you out.”
She shifted, but when the friction of their bodies caused a lightning strike that sizzled through her body, she froze, remaining as still as possible. “We won’t ever be in bed together again, Talal. The days of me being a pushover are gone. Over!”
He shifted again and she closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she fought to control her intensifying desire. It didn’t work, but maybe she could hide it from him.
“Not over, apparently, if you are reacting this strongly to just this small amount of stimulation.”
“I’m not stimulated,” she gasped. “I’m outraged that you would force yourself on me when I have been clear I don’t want your attentions.”
He wasn’t buying it. He knew her body and her reactions too well. “Because you have another lover.”
She glared up at him, hoping he wouldn’t see how much she wanted to melt into his arms. “Because I have another man in my life. And he’s special.”
“How special?” He demanded, feeling fury hit him like a white, hot poker.
Her chin tilted up defiantly. “Uniquely special. I love him. I know that’s a foreign concept for you, but I love him with all my heart.”
“I don’t believe you,” he snapped.
She shrugged. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. He’s the kind of man that I will love forever. The moment he entered my life, I knew he was the one.”
He released her, but his hands flattened against the wall behind her head. “You felt that way about me once.”
She shook her head even as she straightened her robe with shaking hands. “No, Talal. Eighteen months ago, you abused my trust and broke my heart. What I felt for you was lust and attraction, but I never allowed it to blossom into love. Not this kind of love. Not the powerful, never-ending kind of feelings I have for him.”
Talal watched her and realized that she wasn’t lying. What she felt for this man was real. At least, in her mind, it was real. He wanted to meet this other man and see if he felt the same way. Because if anyone hurt Kate, he would…well, he wasn’t sure what he would do. He just knew that he wanted her, that the idea of this other man touching her and making her smile or laugh…
He couldn’t handle it.
“Bring him to dinner tonight.”
Kate’s eyes widened with shock. “I’m sorry?”
“At the palace. I want to meet him.”
Kate laughed. “Not happening.”
“Then prepare for me to be in your life, Kate.”
She choked back a retort as he pulled away. “Why in the world would you threaten something like that, knowing that I am in love with someone else?”
He considered her words for a long moment and Kate wondered if he would admit that he wanted to irritate her. But after searching her face, he murmured, “I think there’s more to this story than you have admitted.”
She bit her lower lip, shocked that he was so perceptive. Yes, he’d always been able to discern her moods before, but this was a completely different issue. This wasn’t about her being embarrassed to try a new sexual position. This was her son’s privacy at risk! This was her heart at risk!
“No. I’m not hiding anything, Talal. You need to accept that I’ve moved on with my life and you’re not in it.”
He laughed softly. “Now why does that feel more like a challenge?”
“Talal, just go and leave me alone!”
In response, he pulled her into his arms. Before she could react, he kissed her, his lips moving over hers while his hands dove into her hair to tip her head back, deepening the kiss. Kate tried to resist, but she was lost. So completely lost, she was shaking as he devoured her, slanting his mouth across hers over and over again, showing her without words that the desire, the passion that they’d shared so many years ago, was still there, still present and just as powerful. Maybe more so now.
When he lifted his head, there was a gleam of triumph in his eyes. “I’ll send a driver to pick you two up for dinner tonight,” he told her as he slowly released her, his hands lingering on her hips to steady her as her eyes fluttered open and she came back to the present. “What time do you finish filming tonight?”
She blinked, trying to catch up with the conversation. Filming? Tonight? What was he talking about?
“Um…” she pushed her hair back out of her eyes, trying to make sense of what he was saying. “No. No dinner. We’re not coming to the palace.”
He shrugged one of those massive shoulders. Goodness, how she missed his shoulders. Not just in the throes of passion, but also just when they were talking. He’d pull her onto his lap and she’d rest her head on his shoulder, as his arms wound around her waist as they discussed one subject or another.
But not anymore, she reminded herself.
She suddenly drew all of the dots, made the connections to eighteen months ago. “Your job, your title, that was why you kept disappearing, wasn’t it?”
She saw the surprise in his eyes. “You really didn�
�t know who I was the last time we were together, did you?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not very politically oriented. A shocker, I know since so many actors and actresses pick a political cause to sponsor. But no, I didn’t know who you were eighteen months ago, nor was I expecting to meet you last night.” She stepped out of his arms, her mind listening for sounds of Joan returning with Jaffri. Kate hoped that Joan would know to stay out of sight. They’d discussed keeping Jaffri out of the public’s eye and protecting him from strangers. Joan was an intelligent woman and most likely understood, but still...
“Interesting,” he commented.
“You have to go,” she insisted, trying to be assertive, but she was exhausted, frustrated, and starting to panic now, thinking about Jaffri in the bedroom and needing to eat his breakfast. If he started to get hungry, he wasn’t quiet about his needs.
“Agree to dinner tonight, and I’ll let you get to work. I know you have a seven o’clock call.”
“How do you know what time I’m supposed to be on the set?” she demanded, then shook her head. “Never mind, doesn’t matter. I’m not meeting you for dinner. Get out.”
“Then I think I’ll just stick around and have a cup of coffee,” he decided innocently, and started towards the breakfast table.
“No! You have to leave,” she glanced furtively at the bedroom door.
“Why? Is he in the shower?”
“He’s getting dressed! You have to get out of here.” When he stood his ground, being a stubborn brute, she sighed, rubbing her forehead as a headache started to form behind her eyes. “Fine! I’ll have dinner with you tonight! Satisfied?”
He chuckled as he bent lower to kiss her. It was a quick, hard caress, but still just as devastating. “Not yet, my dear. But I do intend to be. Very soon.”
Kate didn’t like it, but she didn’t have the time to figure out a good comeback. “Fine. Just leave.”
“What time do you finish tonight?” he asked, but at least he was moving towards the doorway.
“I don’t know. I’ll have my assistant call your assistant.”
He chuckled softly even as he shook his head. “I’ll get the information myself.”
A moment later, he was gone.
Kate leaned against the door and stared up at the ceiling, wondering how she was going to get through this. She couldn’t leave because of the filming schedule. But she couldn’t stay here. Not in this hotel and definitely not in Altair.
Joan came out of the bedroom, with Jaffri. “Is he gone?” she asked.
Kate breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed away from the door. “Yes. Sorry about that, but thank you for not coming out.”
Joan laughed. “You warned me that you didn’t want others to see him. I wasn’t aware that the sheik would be here though!”
Kate was surprised that her nanny knew who Talal was, but then again, not everyone in the world was as oblivious to international events and people as she was.
“Yes, well,” she sank down into the dining room chair, “I suppose I should have expected it.” She glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. “I have to hurry. Are you okay with Jaffri for the day? Do you need anything?”
Joan laughed. “We’ll be fine! Go and do your thing! Jaffri and I are heading to the pool today and then the botanical gardens.”
Kate paused, envious that her son would be seeing things for the first time without her. “The gardens?”
“Yes,” and Joan immediately understood the issue. “Don’t worry about that,” she soothed. “Jaffri won’t remember any of it. This is only a way to keep his brain synapses forming. In a few years, you can take him to the gardens in Los Angeles or some other city, and he’ll be just as amazed as he will be today.”
Rationally, Kate knew that her nanny was right. Jaffri was nine months old. He couldn’t even remember the previous day. But the idea of him experiencing something and not sharing in that experience with him broke her heart.
She remembered that she needed to act, she needed to get out into the world and have her own interests. This was why she’d taken the role. She checked the clock and she nodded in agreement. “Right. Next time.”
Hurrying into the bedroom, she reminded herself that she had far more freedom than many parents who had to work every day. At least she had the financial resources to keep Jaffri with her while she travelled. There were pros and cons to every situation, she thought as she slipped into the shower.
Ten minutes later, wearing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, she kissed Jaffri’s chubby cheek as Joan helped him wave bye-bye and then hurried out the door.
All day long, she thought about Jaffri and Talal, how similar they were. Until this moment, she’d never even considered telling Talal about Jaffri. She hadn’t known how to contact him, so it hadn’t ever been an issue. She missed her son and she’d only been away from him for a matter of hours, the guilt over keeping Jaffri’ existence from Talal began to eat at her.
He had a right to know that their brief affair had resulted in a child. And then there was the inheritance issue.
That thought had her stumble and the director called a cut. Normally, Kate prided herself on focusing on her work, on putting forth her best effort every single day and leaving her personal problems outside of work.
But the realization that her son might be…could be…
Jim stalked up to her, script in hand.
“What the hell! Where are you?” He snapped his fingers in front of her face and she jerked backwards. “Earth to Kate! What’s going on inside that pretty, empty little head of yours?”
Kate shot a poisonous glare at him. “Do not patronize me. I made a mistake.”
Jim pulled back, surprised by her vehemence. Most actresses just took the abuse. But Kate…she was a rare breed.
“Well…” he fumbled, not sure what to do when a woman stood up to him. “Get it together,” he grumbled and walked back to his chair. “Take five people!” he called out to the cast and crew. “Maybe then Kate will have her head back in the game.”
Kate ignored him and stomped off the set. “Just a moment,” she whispered to the makeup artist and hair stylist, needing to think. She walked back behind the trailers where she had relative peace and stared up at the blue sky.
Her son could be a sheik? Was that title passed down from father to son or was it earned? She hadn’t considered this aspect of Jaffri’s ancestry. When Talal had been with her before, she’d thought of him as just a man. A powerful man, but not a…ruler. Not royalty. Was a sheik royal? Or was it just an honorary title? She knew that “sheik” literally meant someone with wisdom, but was there more?
She covered her eyes for a moment, trying to absorb the ramifications. Jaffri…she’d lose her son! She’d lose her little boy if Talal ever found out that he had a son. Her first instinct was to call Joan and tell her to get Jaffri out of the country as fast as possible, to hide him away until she could figure out what to do. But that wasn’t fair to Talal. He had a son. He had an heir. He had a right to know.
And what about Jaffri? He had a right to know his father too.
Kate took several deep breaths and leaned forward, bracing her hands on her knees while she inhaled the hot, dry air. She had to keep it together, she told herself. This was a lot to take in, but she was strong and smart, she could figure this out.
Morals, ethics, motherly love. All factors in whatever decision she made about telling Talal. And Jaffri’s best interests needed to be considered. She couldn’t just smother her son with love. She needed to think of what would help him become smarter, stronger, better prepared to handle whatever life offered him.
Another thought struck her. What if someone discovered Jaffri’s lineage and came after him? What if someone tried to hurt her son? To assassinate him?
“Are you okay, ma’am?”
Kate looked up, startled and trying to fight back her sudden panic as she took in the two bulky men standing behind her. “Um…who are
you?” she asked timidly, backing up and frantically glancing over her shoulder, looking for someone who might be able to help if he had nefarious purposes.
“I was sent here by Sheik Lin Tarseem, ma’am,” he explained, holding his hands out, palms up in a gesture meant to reassure. But in Kate’s frantic state, she wasn’t sure if anything could reassure her.
“Why?”
He smiled slightly, but his face had been abused too many times so the expression didn’t reassure her. “He wanted to ensure that you were safe, ma’am. I won’t harm you, but if you need something, I’m here to make sure that you get it.”
Kate heard the words, but she wasn’t really sure why he said them. “Sheik Taseem?” she asked, still trying to make sense of everything.
The man opened his mouth to explain, but hesitated. “I believe you used his first name in the past,” he explained delicately.
Kate laughed, the sound coming out a bit hysterical because she was so overwhelmed. But it was just a bit funny that this man was too afraid to use Talal’s first name. “Got it,” she finally replied when her laughter subsided.
One of the crewmembers, clipboard in hand, appeared by her side. “Kate, you’re needed on the set,” the young man explained.
“Thank you,” she said, hoping both of them took that as the gratitude that she meant to be conveyed because she was mentally incapable of doing much more than that.
She straightened up and smoothed down her slacks, hoping she hadn’t ruined her wardrobe for the scene. She didn’t want to delay the filming any longer than necessary. Kate shouldn’t have taken this role, she should have just been happy and content back in Wyoming on her small ranch with Jaffri.
What a coward she was!
Pushing away from the trailer, she walked back to the set, breathing deeply and trying to figure out what to do.
As she picked her way through the heavy cables and around all of the equipment needed for the scene, Kate knew that she needed to focus on work right now. Get through the day, then she’d figure things out tonight. She needed time and space to think everything through.
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