He squeezed her hand gently to reassure her of his pride in her for being so brave when it must be quite stressful for her as well as for her mother to be in a strange new land.
“Your father will sleep for about an hour, so I have time to go with her, Your Highness,” Alex said, answering his question. “But if you need me to remain here, Simone can travel alone.”
She spoke stiffly, and he wondered if she were feeling anger or fear. Either would be understandable.
“I would like you to come and see me in my office before you return to my father,” he replied.
“Very well, Your Highness.”
Still she refused to look at him, and before they stepped into the heat of noontime, he paused, letting go of Simone’s hand so he could lean in and say, for her ears only,
“I will not let you retreat, habibti.”
Then he crouched beside the child and said, “I hope you have a happy day at school, little one.”
The child smiled and nodded, and he rose, and watched them get into the limousine. He went back to his office, where Malik had set up the first afternoon conference call. He walked in as they came online, and in the midst of the discussion, he remembered having told Alexandra to come and see him. A knock on the door told him she had arrived. He excused himself for a moment from the conversation and walked to the door which Malik had open before he could get to it. He stepped out to meet her, and closed the door behind him. Taking her elbow, he walked her across the hall to the small empty conference room and gestured for her to enter. When she did, he closed the door behind him and stood with his back to it.
“I am sorry that we cannot speak now, but I am in the middle of a meeting. However, I did want to see you before you went back to work, to tell you that you will be relieved for dinner, which you will share with me, in my suite.”
“Your Highness…” she began, but he interrupted her.
“Please do not wear your scrubs to dinner,” he added, a smile ghosting over his lips, though his tone remained serious. “And do not bring Simone. Malik will be with her until you return.”
“But…” He could see she was struggling to object, to find a reason to refuse.
“My father can be…abrupt,” he commented, “but his reason for this morning’s drilling matches mine for the dinner invitation.”
Alexandra’s eyes widened, as though she couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“Are you saying that your father has an interest in your desire to get to know me better?” Her tone was as disbelieving as her stare, and Amir chuckled.
“We can discuss all your questions at dinner,” he said. “Wear something pretty.”
Moving suddenly, he pulled her to him, and leaned in to her ear. “When I want something, I pursue it relentlessly until I get it,” he whispered. “And I want you, Alexandra.”
Then he kissed her cheeks tenderly, knowing if he touched her mouth he would miss the rest of his meeting.
“See you at dinner time,” he said, and escorted her out, watching her walk away with a tightness in his chest.
It took him a few moments to gather his thoughts, and then he returned to the meeting, made his excuses and concluded the discussion. Before the next scheduled call, he gave Malik instructions regarding his dinner plans, and sent him off to see to them. Then he worked steadily for the rest of the afternoon, and an hour before dinner, he was striding back to his suite in the opposite wing. He wondered, as he showered and changed, what Alexandra would wear for their first private dinner engagement. He hoped she would wear a dress…he wanted to see those legs of hers uncovered by a uniform or jeans. A discreet knock heralded Malik’s arrival, escorting Alexandra and holding Simone’s hand.
“Say good evening to Prince Amir, Simone,” her mother enjoined her, avoiding his gaze as he took in her simple, white calf-length summer dress and high-heeled thongs.
Simone did not avoid his gaze, but looked him square in the eyes and asked, “Are you a prince?”
Amir smiled. “I am, little one. And you are a little princess.”
She returned his smile, and continued her questions. “Do you have a crown?”
“Not with me, no,” he answered, grinning now.
He crouched beside her and said, “I have another kind of headdress, though, that you might like. I’ll show it to you another day.”
“Promise?” she asked solemnly.
“I promise,” he replied, and gave in to the urge to hug her.
His arms were gentle around her, and when she hugged his neck, he breathed deeply, inhaling her sweet baby scent. Standing with her in his arms, he was rewarded with a squeal of delight before he put her down again.
“Enjoy your dinner with Mr. Faisal,” he said, smiling as she took his assistant’s hand again.
“Is he your friend?” she wanted to know, and Amir looked over at the man who had been more than friend to him.
“Yes, he is, little one,” he told her.
Malik bent and whispered in her ear, and she giggled and said “Okay,” before turning to her mother.
“Mommy, can I go see the horseys with Mr. Fice after dinner?”
Malik hastened to explain. “I promised her I would let her visit the stables if she would come with me now. I think our prince would like his dinner.”
This last comment was made with a sly twinkle in his eye as he glanced at Amir, though the words were addressed to Alexandra.
“Thank you, Malik. Will it be okay for him to take her after she has eaten? She will be perfectly safe. Malik will protect her.” Amir turned his eyes to the woman who had yet to speak to him, and waited.
“Of course, Your Highness,” she said quietly, and they both watched Malik lead the little girl out of the room.
“Please, come with me,” he said, and led her out to the glassed-in balcony where he often had his meals.
She followed him silently, and sat where he indicated, and Amir felt her resistance beating against him. She was very aware of her place in his household, and he wanted her to forget it, and to think only of him and what he wanted to explore with her.
“Alexandra,” he began when she was seated, “look at me.”
His tone was commanding, leaving her no room to disobey, and when she did, he continued.
“I know that you feel the spark that has ignited between us. I want you to tell me your concerns. Tell me why you are not doing as so many of your countrywomen would already have done, had they been in your place, and shared what we have done. Why do you still resist?”
He saw a flame light in her eyes and his body hardened. He had no idea what he had said to upset her, but he waited eagerly for her response. Anything to break the ice she had encased herself in was more than welcome. He could turn her fury into a different kind of heat.
“How am I to answer the man who has just insulted all the women in my country? And how do I answer without fear of losing my job?”
Her cheeks were suffused with angry color, and Amir found himself fighting to stay on his side of the table which had been laid for two. Her full lips were trembling slightly, and he wanted to taste them again, and to slip his tongue between them to taste hers.
“I need you to care for my father, Alexandra. I will not lightly discharge you. You may speak freely,” he reassured her.
Her response was immediate. “It is inappropriate for employees to interact with their employers in any other than a professional capacity,” she said primly, almost as though she were reciting from a manual for employee conduct. She looked him in the eye for a second, then looked away and added, “Any contact of a personal or sexual nature may be construed as harassment when initiated by either party.”
He chuckled, and she glared at him. “Is that part of the manual for the nursing home in which you worked before coming here, Alexandra? Because you should know, I don’t care for rules that make little sense out of context.” He sighed. “What do you feel, Alexandra, when you are with me, whether we are alone,
as now, or in company?”
She hesitated, and then forged ahead. “Confused,” she admitted.
“Is that all, habibti?”
She shook her head, and Amir had mercy on her. He stood up, and was about to pull her out of her seat when a discreet knock heralded the arrival of dinner. Swearing silently, he moved to accommodate the servers who came in at his command, and set the food on chafing dishes on the sideboard. He dismissed them when they hovered to serve him.
“I will call for you when we are through,” he told them, and waited until the door was closed again behind them before going to pull her out of her chair.
“Do you regret the kiss we shared, Alexandra?” he asked. “I do not. I enjoyed it. And I want to do it again and again with you.”
He could tell that he had caught her off balance with his candor, and he watched as her eyes heated with arousal and embarrassment.
“Don’t be shy with me, habibti,” he whispered, pulling her into his arms. “Tell me if you regret our kiss.”
He tilted her chin so she was forced to look him in the eye, and when she whispered “No”, he pressed his lips to hers softly, not asking for more. It was an affirmation of their shared attraction, and a promise of more and better kisses.
“Come, let us eat while the food is hot,” he said. “There will be time enough for talking after dinner.”
He settled her into her seat again, and when she said, “Thank you, Your Highness,” he bent and kissed the lobe of her ear, whispering,
“Call me Amir when we are alone with each other, habibti.”
He loved the pretty blush that spread across her cheeks as he sat across from her and asked what she would like to try. He had never felt more anticipation surging in his blood than now, as he forced himself to chew and swallow. He knew he could have the woman sitting across from him, if he would just be patient.
Chapter 8
Alex didn’t know where to look as they ate. The prince — she didn’t know if she could ever call him Amir — talked about his parents, and she learned that they had loved each other deeply. It explained why he was not willing to marry for political reasons, and she admired his decision to hold out for love. But he also told her that he would be forced to marry when his father died. Their law required the king to be married within a year of his accession to the throne. With such a time crunch, why was he pursuing her, when she was sure he had a bevy of beautiful and talented women waiting to claim him as their prize?
She was relieved that he didn’t ask her any questions she didn’t want to answer. He seemed content to believe that he knew enough about her to trust her, and she cringed at the thought of the part of her story she had omitted, the part that she had allowed him to believe was true that wasn’t.
“A penny for your thoughts,” he said, breaking into her guilty musings.
She cleared her throat, giving herself time to choose which thought to share. “I was just wondering why you aren’t with some beautiful Arabian princess,” she offered him, at last. It was no more than the truth, though it was less than all she had been thinking.
He stirred his coffee, not taking his gaze from her face as he answered. “You speak to me here,” he said, placing his wide palm over his heart. “I know it sounds like romantic foolishness, but I can find no other way to explain how I am drawn to your spirit. And you are so beautiful, my body cannot resist you.”
She had to drag her jaw up as her mouth had slid open in disbelief. She closed it, not knowing what to say to him, or how to express her skepticism. She knew she was not ugly by any means, but the way he said those last words made her wonder what he thought he saw. She knew what she saw when she looked at him, though, and she chose to speak of that, to shift his attention away from whatever mirage he was seeing.
“I would have to say that you are the beautiful one,” she said, stopping short of calling his name. “And you have been nothing but kind to my daughter and me. I had expected that you would be more…” she struggled to find the right word, “more arrogant and bossy.”
He laughed. “There is a time for being arrogant and bossy,” he said, “and I am sure you would be pleased with my performance when I have to be.”
She laughed with him, relaxing a little, which she knew was what he wanted.
“Will you give us a chance to find out if there is more to this than a temporary attraction, Alexandra?”
She nodded, unable to speak because her throat was crowding with emotion. She had never been courted by anyone. Simon had been her friend, nothing more, and though there must have been a spark, fueled no doubt by alcohol and loneliness, their one-night-stand had been a fluke. And since his death, she had avoided the guys who showed even a passing interest in her. She hadn’t been ready to figure out how she felt about men, and hadn’t had the time, once Simone was born. And though she thought she knew what sort of man she wanted, she had no frame of reference for a prince.
“Tell me, then, habibti”, he urged her, reaching for her hand. “Say the words.”
“Yes, Your…” she stumbled, and she knew he was waiting for her to say his name. “Yes, I will give us a chance.”
“Why won’t you say my name, Alexandra?” he wondered, standing and walking around to her side.
“I..it just seems inappropriate,” she whispered into the front of his shirt.
He tipped her head up, and brushed her lips tenderly, and whispered back. “If we’re to be friends, and more, it is more than just appropriate, habibti, it is mandatory. Now, tell me again, and do it right this time!”
She remembered her words a few moments before when she had told him that she had expected him to be arrogant. She heard that now as he demanded that she comply with his wishes. She could not help a slow smile, which he noticed.
“What is amusing?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
“You’re being arrogant and bossy now,” she replied, and watched his eyes heat up.
“If you’re going to tease me, sweet, you will need to use my name,” he murmured, and kissed her.
She had never been kissed like that before. It was at once demanding and soothing, passionate and tender. His tongue teased hers, tangled with it, and she felt as though he must be tasting the flavor of her desire. He changed the angle of his kiss, deepening it, and pulling her into his hardening body. If what she could feel against her belly was any indication, he was a big man all over. But maybe it wouldn’t get that far. After all, they were just exploring to see if it was more than a passing fancy.
“It offends me when the woman I am trying to seduce drifts off into her own world. It says I am not doing a good job at all. Is that what you are trying to tell me, Alexandra? Am I not engaging enough for you?”
Alex looked up at him and wondered if he was really angry with her. The way he said it, it did sound rather like she was insulting him by being distracted as he was kissing her.
“N…no, not at all,” she protested guiltily. “I was just…” She hesitated.
“Just…?” he prompted her, a teasing smile on his face as he nipped her chin, then kissed it.
“Just noticing how big you are,” she admitted, feeling her face heat at the look in his eyes.
“And why do you think that is so?” he wondered, nipping her earlobes.
She hissed, but managed to joke, “Good genes?” She knew he wasn’t asking about the size of his body.
He laughed, and she relaxed completely. He really wasn’t angry. She had never felt so at ease in a man’s company before, and she marveled that she was so with this man, who was so far out of her league, and yet who seemed to be so into her. She wondered if it was because she had a child. She knew some guys seemed to like the idea of a woman who could bear them children, and she knew he liked her daughter.
“What are you thinking about now, habibti?” he asked, nipping her bottom lip sharply.
“I am still wondering why me,” she answered honestly, “and wondering if it’s because I can bear
children.”
He pulled away from her to regard her thoughtfully before responding.
“You think I want you so that you can have my babies?” His tone was one of scandalized outrage. “Do I seem to be that crass to you, Alexandra?”
Oh Lord, now she really had insulted him. But Alex could only be who she was, and she had always been plain spoken.
“Appearances can be deceiving, Your…” she hesitated over his name again.
He swooped down and kissed her, a hard, punishing but thrilling kiss. “Say my name,” he demanded, kissing her again.
“Amir,” she moaned when he released her lips for a moment.
“Good. Now say it again,” he ordered, and when she complied, he kissed her thoroughly, pulling her body into his, and wrapping his arms around her, and she felt his desire for her in the hardness that pressed against her.
“I will show you that I want you for you, not for your role as a mother, or your skill as a nurse. I will show you that you are worth far more than you seem to think you are, and that any man, even a prince, would be blessed if you wanted him, too.”
His earnest words, coupled with the heat of his body against hers, and his warm breath in her ear as he whispered to her, stirred her beyond all reason, and she felt something inside her loosen. She would have collapsed if he hadn’t been holding her. She slid her arms around his waist and held on, soaking in the strength and heat of him. She could stay right where she was forever, but she knew time was going, and even if the prince wanted to seduce her, there was no time. She had to get back to her patient.
SHEIKH'S SURPRISE BABY: A Sheikh Romance Page 97