Beauty and the Sheikh
Page 17
She gave a small nod and climbed inside. Once they were at the palace, she would arrange transport out of Raljahar.
Rafiq climbed in a moment later and slid up the window between the backseat and the driver.
“I hate you for doing this, Rafiq.”
“Understandable. I hate myself for letting you go.”
His confession killed the furious words she had loaded and ready to fire. She watched him slide his mirrored sunglasses up onto his head and caught her breath.
Rafiq’s eyes were bloodshot, dark circles lingering beneath. There was an anguish in them that she knew mirrored her own.
“I tried to sleep,” he muttered savagely. “I tried to let you go, but I knew you were right. I kept envisioning the car crashing. The plane exploding—”
“Well, that’s awfully morbid.”
His laugh cracked. “The point is, you were right, Holly.” He moved to sit beside her. “It doesn’t matter if I marry you or not. I can't keep you safe from everything. I can't control the events that transpire in life—I can barely control myself when you're around. But I do want you around."
Her heart slammed against her ribcage. “What are you saying?”
“I am saying I love you and that you’re the only woman on this planet I want as my wife. I will take the risks if you will, and ultimately it is your choice. I know I’m about five hours too late—”
“You’re not too late.” Holly flung herself across to his seat and buried her face against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I didn’t want to leave you. I hated that I was.”
“Then don’t. Stay in Raljahar.” He cupped her face gently and pressed his lips against hers. “Marry me and be the mother of my children.”
“Yes. Oh yes, Rafiq.” This time, when the tears fell she knew they were for the right reason. “I love you so much.”
He brushed his lips over hers again. “And I love you.”
She hesitated. “But if I stay, I have one stipulation.”
His brows came together, worry flickering in his eyes. “Anything. What is it?”
“I have a cat named Butterball. She’s entirely too fat and prone to bladder stones, but I’ve had her since I was fourteen and I love her—”
“She’ll be here within forty-eight hours, habiba.”
“Thank you.” She grinned and slid her hands over his solid chest beneath his robe, the relief and joy so overwhelming she was shocked to feel the familiar stirrings of hunger. “And maybe we should get started on that mother-of-your-children part immediately.”
Rafiq groaned. “I love the way you think.”
So did she. She met his mouth in a fiery kiss that sealed their passion and promised their future.
One year later
Holly adjusted her son in her arms and watched as her husband swam another lap in the pool. A few minutes later he climbed out, approaching her where she sat in the wicker chair.
A sigh fled past her lips as he blotted the droplets of water from his upper body.
“How is my son?” he asked, crouching down to drawn a finger down the curve of the baby’s cheek.
Holly glanced down at their child and smiled. “Sleeping now, it would seem.”
Yaasir’s thick lashes fell on his pink chubby cheeks. Each breath he drew in raised his little belly.
“I did not think I could love anyone else as much as I love you, Holly,” Rafiq’s confession was husky. “But my heart grows larger with our family, it seems.”
“I like the sound of that.” She smiled, watching him through her lashes.
His gaze reflected the love in her eyes and her heart did a little flip. “I’ve missed you, habiba.”
She knew what he meant. It had been several weeks since they’d last made love.
Holly’s pulse quickened as she stared up at her husband from beneath her lashes. “We have several hours before Andrew arrives to meet his nephew,” she said softly.
Her brother had done remarkably well after his time in rehab. Hadn’t gambled since and had moved to Raljahar to work for Rafiq.
“Perhaps we should let Yaasir sleep in his room and have a bit of time for ourselves,” she continued.
Rafiq looked at her, his eyes alight with heat and uncertainty. “It is not too soon?”
Her cheeks warmed. “The doctor said I am fine…and I’m up for it if you are.”
Rafiq gave a quiet laugh and helped her to her feet. “Ah, habiba, I am most definitely up for it, as you say.”
They left Yaasir with his nanny in the nursery and then returned to their room. Holly savored every moment as Rafiq proceeded to remind her just how much he loved her.
~ The End ~
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The Billionaire’s Baby Bargain
With his body still burning with the need to touch her, Andrés gave a slight lift of his shoulder and gestured for her to step out.
“Sí, I will take you home.”
When she didn’t move, Andrés moved around her, stepped out and then took her arm to pull her from the limo.
“What are you doing?” her voice sharpened with alarm and she struggled to keep up as he guided her to the plane. “Andrés?”
“Taking you home,” he said flatly, hoping to avoid any confrontation, but knowing he was being idealistic.
“On a plane? I live ten minutes from the restaurant!” She tugged at her arm and dug her feet into the ground. “If you think for one moment I’m getting on that plane, then you’re obviously nuts.”
Andrés stopped and turned on his heel to face her, gripping both her elbows and putting his face next to hers.
“Basta!! You will get on that plane, Chloe, if I have to carry you onto it,” he said resolutely. There was no room to be gentle or let her try to talk her way out of this. If he gave even an inch, he had no way of guaranteeing the safety of his child.
She grew so pale he almost hoped she’d faint. Then he could simply scoop her up and carry her onto the plane without incident. But then she shook her head, her eyes sparking with fury.
“I don’t care how much money you have, you can’t just do whatever you want.” She tried to jerk free, but he tightened his grip.
“You know that I can, Chloe.”
“I’ll scream,” she threatened as the panic settled into her eyes now.
“And who do you think will come to your aid? Everyone around you is employed by me,” he reminded her. “Do you really think they would go against my wishes to help you? Besides, they’ve been informed that you are reluctant to come with me, but are depressed and at risk of hurting yourself.”
“They’ll never believe that!”
“Won’t they?”
She stared at him for a moment, dismay still bright in her gaze. He watched as her lips began to tremble and her expression shifted into one of helplessness. For a moment, he hesitated, but then he reminded himself he was doing this for the wellbeing of his child. A child whom he would protect at any cost. It had nothing to do with how he felt about Chloe. He clenched his jaw. There was very little he felt for her beyond lust and anger.
But he knew that was a lie by the way his stomach clenched. Shoving aside the possibility of anything more he might feel for her, he muttered, “Make a decision, Chloe. Will I carry you, or will you walk willingly?”
She pulled from his grasp, her mouth tight. “I’ll walk.”
&
nbsp; He allowed her to step past him, her steps almost wooden as she climbed the stairs to enter the fuselage of the plane.
It was only when she was belted into the seat across from him and the plane taxied down the runway did she finally turn to look at him.
“Why are you doing this, Andrés? What do you want from me?”
The tension left his body now that she was safely on his plane and they were airborne. “I have already told you.”
“You can’t be serious about marrying me,” she cried with exasperation.
“I’m quite serious.” From the moment he’d seen her again, realized how much he wanted her still, he’d concluded marriage was the most sensible solution.
Twin flames of color flared in her cheek. “Well I won’t do it.”
“Fine. Then you will be my mistress,” he called her bluff and offered a casual shrug. “Either position will have you lying beneath me in my bed. It, of course, is your choice, Chloe, I simply thought you would prefer the idea of marital bliss.”
“Well, I choose neither, and if you think I would ever consider sleeping with you again, you’re completely delusional.”
Andrés gave a soft chuckle at the image she made. Her shoulders quaked and her eyes flashed fire, but even truly livid with anger, Chloe was difficult to take seriously. In her just-off- the-farm style dress and braided hair, she was simply a combination of sexy and adorable.
With the plane having leveled off he had the urge to pull her onto his lap and kiss away the rigid scowl that marred her face. The blood in his body moved south and his amusement vanished, his smile faded. Dammit. What was wrong with him? Would he ever stop wanting her with this mindless ferocity?
It didn’t matter. He would have her regardless. And the sooner she accepted it, the better.
“Let me be clear, Chloe. You will be with me so I can keep an eye on both you and my child that you carry.” He unfastened his belt and came to sit in the seat next to her. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek and slid his thumb into the crease of her lips. “And if you think that I will be content to spend my nights without you in my bed, then you, cariño, are the one who is delusional.”
Her head moved in denial, even as awareness flickered in her gaze and he felt her exhale a ragged hot breath on the pad of his thumb.
“I won’t,” she whispered.
He didn’t reply, just lowered his head to silence any more feeble protests. She struggled to break away from his kiss, but he followed her lips with his own, piercing his tongue into her mouth and claiming her.
She fought for only a moment, before letting out a groan of frustration and leaning into him, returning the kiss with a heat he recognized all too well. With a growl of triumph, he unfastened her seatbelt and pulled her onto his lap.
He’d meant to maintain control. To distance himself from a kiss that was simply to prove her how much she wanted him. How compatible they were on this level. But tasting her, feeling the press of Chloe’s curves against his hardness, put his control on a volatile foundation.
Available books by Shelli
Trust and Dare
Foreign Affair
Negligee Behavior
Seattle Steam Series
Dangerous Grounds
Tempting Adam
Seducing Allie
Chances Are Series
Anybody but Justin
Luck Be Delanie
Protecting Phoebe
Holding Out For A Hero Series
Going Down
Command and Control
Flash Point
Savage Series
Savage Hunger
About the Author
Shelli is a New York Times Bestselling Author who read her first romance novel when she snatched it off her mother’s bookshelf at the age of eleven. One taste and she was forever hooked. It wasn’t until many years later that she decided to pursue writing stories of her own. By then she acknowledged the voices in her head didn’t make her crazy, they made her a writer.
Shelli currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her daughter where she writes various genres of romance. She’s a compulsive volunteer, and has been known to spontaneously burst into song.
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
The Billionaire’s Baby Bargain
Available books by Shelli
About the Author