by Leslie North
Nina put her had back against the plush headrest and closed her eyes.
“Feeling better?” Matek’s hand on hers was warm and comforting, and she heard the concern in his voice. He had been so good about the morning sickness. When she’d run to the bathroom, she’d come out to find him waiting with a warm towel and a small bottle of ginger ale and crackers.
“Much better,” she said. Now that her stomach wasn’t surging up into her throat, there was plenty of space for a weird, conflicting energy. Gratitude swathed her like a warm blanket over her shoulders. But that gratitude was lined with dismay. It didn’t feel good, being so out of control. Nina usually cared for other people. She got tissues and bottles of water and settled sick stomachs. Now, on a dime, she’d become the one who needed help.
And she hadn’t exactly earned it, had she? Nina hadn’t done anything to capture Matek’s attention for good. His interest mostly had to do with the baby, given the timing of his proposal. She hadn’t done anything to earn lifelong affection from him, only a lifelong connection. The two things weren’t the same.
Matek sat forward in his seat. “Your face is pale—do you need help to the bathroom?”
“No, no.” She put on a smile. This had all seemed so simple back in the garden. Of course she would marry him. Of course she would go back to his home country with him. The ring on her finger would make everything easier. Only it didn’t feel easier. She was as unsteady as the first time she’d tried to ice skate. The entire world had seemed to slip out from underneath her. “I’m okay. Just hoping my stomach stays settled.” And that Matek wouldn’t be tired of their engagement by the time the plane landed. And that everything in Damarah would pan out. And that the baby would be all right. And, and, and…
“Have another cracker.” He tapped her wrist gently with his fingertips, and she realized she was still holding onto it, her grip about to crush it to pieces. She snapped in half and popped another piece into her mouth. That was better. It was amazing, what being constantly nauseated could do to a person. Nina should have been able to think of the saltines herself.
Well, Matek had thought of it, and she shouldn’t be surprised. His entire job was problem-solving. If he’d been totally helpless about her morning sickness it would not have been a good sign for the future.
The pilot announced their final descent. Nina peered out the window, desperate for a glimpse of her new—if temporary—home. Would her familiarity with Hamari’s customs be enough to get by here? Matek’s family loomed large in her imagination. Her future in-laws. Oh, god. How is that even possible? The city below looked familiar, with its mix of traditional and modern structures. She knew the Middle East. She’d spent more than a few years here, and she’d been a diplomat’s daughter. It would be enough to get her through. The plane dropped, her stomach lurched, and Matek took her hand. She ate another saltine.
And then they were bumping onto the runway and barreling toward the terminal. Nina squinted out the window. “Is that press?”
Matek leaned in close so he could see. The warmth of him steadied her, and she wished for an overheated second that they were alone on the plane so she could undo the buttons of his shirt one by one and strip it off him. She wished they were back in the air, which was absurd. The airplane turbulence had turned her stomach. But up there, she’d only had to focus on getting to the bathroom on time and eating saltines. It was clear from the crowd on the runway that they’d have a lot more to deal with on the ground.
“That’s press,” he said. “My parents’ palace frequently leaks information about when royal flights are going to land. And even if they didn’t, they almost always have a person here waiting.”
“I guess it’s the same in Hamari,” she said, her voice shaking. The wind outside picked up, and the plane slowed down. The reporters had gathered behind a velvet cordon. Three black SUVs waited beyond them; she and Matek would have to go past the cordon to get to the SUVs. “People always wait for Chakir, too. And Kishon.” She’d walked in front of a thousand cordons just like this one, but it had been different. Much different. Nina was a nobody as far as the press in Hamari were concerned, and there was an unspoken agreement between the royal family and the press that children shouldn’t be hounded. As long as she had Ryan’s hand in hers, they weren’t very interested. “It’s only that today they’re waiting for you,” she said brightly.
“They’re waiting for us.” He pulled her in close, and the tension in Nina’s shoulder eased up. “But you don’t have to worry. I’ll be right there with you every step of the way.”
“I’m not worried,” she said quickly. The last thing Nina wanted was for Matek to think that being pregnant was making her...vulnerable. Weak. Even if it was. “It’ll be great.”
Their first step off the plane was not great. The blast of heat in Nina’s face turned her stomach. She took a half-step back, but there was Matek, coming down the stairs behind her. He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her down onto the tarmac.
They moved toward the first SUV at a brisk pace, Matek raising a hand to the reporters. The breeze caught two words at the right moment, and they hit Nina’s ear like a tiny pop—"her ring.”
The camera flashes intensified, and Matek’s hand pressed more firmly into her back. “There it goes,” he said into her ear.
“There what goes?”
“The engagement news.”
He was right. By the time the SUV pulled up at the palace’s private entrance half an hour later, it was all over the internet. No one from the royal family had responded. Matek put his phone back into his pocket and looked into Nina’s eyes. “Are you ready?”
The palace itself shone in the sun, white sandstone in a sprawling low complex with huge windows and dark wood doors. It was smaller than the palace in Hamari but no less intimidating. More, even. All that gleaming glass made her think of accidentally smudging it.
No. “Yes.” She stepped out into the sun.
“Sheikh Matek.” A single maid waited for them inside the palace doors. For all the frenzy at the airport and online—obviously Matek’s family knew he was coming—it was a subdued greeting, to say the least.
“Ms. Salib.” Matek gave the woman a crisp nod. “This is my fiancée, Nina Frank.”
Ms. Salib inclined her head, giving Nina a warm but fleeting smile. “Welcome to the palace.”
“Thank you very much.”
There was a beat of empty silence, then Ms. Salib turned away from them. “Your father and brother are waiting in the dining room. This way.”
“I know the way,” said Matek, a hint of amusement in his voice. “I’ve been here once or twice.”
“I’m going there, too,” answered Ms. Salib, and they all went through the winding hallways, past guards at seemingly random turns. Alcoves set into the walls held artwork or pottery, some in gilded frames, others on glass stands that made Nina nervous to get too close. Every inch smelled lightly floral, like they’d just breezed in from the garden. The trim up by the ceilings was decorated in gold foil. She wished, momentarily, that she had a ladder to really look at the details. At some point, it became clear they’d moved into the public area of the palace. The plush carpet under Nina’s feet made her feel slightly off-balance.
Ms. Salib opened a pair of double doors. Noise poured out—the noise of a party in full swing. The metallic clink of silver against china. The rise and fall of laughter. A child screeching? Music playing in the background, slightly too loud.
Matek didn’t seem perturbed by this in the least, but Nina hesitated. “Is this...the dinner for us?” He’d mentioned a welcome dinner on the plane, when she had a long enough stretch outside of the bathroom. But this gathering had definitely started some time ago.
“Yes, I think so,” answered Matek. “Time to make our grand entrance.”
They stepped through the doors. Nina took as deep a breath as she could and put a calm smile on. It was the same expression she wore whenever they went
out in public with members of the royal family.
Not a single person noticed.
The room was controlled chaos, with people packing the tables, children running through, and waiters dancing amid all of it, trays expertly balanced on their shoulders. A quick glance at the plates confirmed that dinner was at least half over.
“Matek.”
The voice boomed out from somewhere near the back of the room, and a hush fell over everyone except one small child whose screech came to an end a beat too late. An older man with Matek’s dark eyes and a similar build—though he wasn’t nearly as muscular—stood up.
“You made it,” he said.
“Yes, Father,” answered Matek, his voice clear and strong. “You’ve started without us.” Judging by his expression, Matek wasn’t surprised at all.
Matek’s father laughed, but the smile on his face didn’t quite reach his eyes. “My guests were hungry. I couldn’t make them wait.” He crossed the room. In his wake, conversations started back up, but less raucous than before. Everyone’s eyes bored into her like red-hot lasers. Another man who looked similar to Matek, and only a bit older, jogged up at the last moment.
“Welcome home, son.” Matek’s father shook his hand, holding himself slightly away. “I take it this is your fiancée. We learned her name from the press announcement.”
“My apologies,” said Matek. “I didn’t have time to send the news ahead. It all happened very quickly. Nina, this is my father, Armon.” She offered her hand, and he shook it with a subtle incline of his head. “And this is my brother, Jaleel.”
Jaleel had a drink in his hand and sipped it carefully, looking at them over the rim of the glass. “We expected you back yesterday. Have you had a chance to meet with the security team?”
“Circumstances changed.” Matek gave them a tight-lipped smile that revealed nothing. So this was where he’d gotten his ability to keep everyone at arm’s length. “And no. We came directly here from the plane.”
“Come sit,” said Armon, and he led them back to the head table, an elegantly carved piece of furniture near the back wall of the dining room. They sat, all in a row, and Armon peppered Matek with questions. One after the other, like a drip from a faucet. Not personal questions, no—they all had to do with the birthday party.
Nina took a warm roll from a basket offered by a waiter and ate it slowly, letting the room settle around her—settle into gossip. She could hear what they were saying. Who is this woman? Employed in the palace. What does she think she’s doing here? Fiancée?
But those comments didn’t bother her.
It was Matek, sitting beside his father and seeming to hold himself a world away from the rest of his family—and from her. He was a good man. He worked so hard, and he cared so much about making sure the people around him were safe. And yet an invisible barrier twined between all of them, separating each brother from the other, and both from their father. Nina shivered.
She knew well enough what it was like to be in a family that kept each other at a distance. If that was the status quo, did she really have any standing to change it?
Yes. She resisted the urge to drop her hand to her belly. That news hadn’t reached Damarah yet. But for her own sake and the baby’s, she was going to be proactive. Matek’s family cared about him. They must. And she’d find a way to help them show it.
Nina straightened up in her chair and focused all her concentration on the conversation beside her. She would start right now. She had no time to lose.
6
Matek kept his eyes on Nina, who was changing for bed in front of the mirror over the darkly polished dresser in his bedroom. She was stunning. It didn’t matter that her face was slightly pale from the morning sickness—his heart did cartwheels at the sight of her stripping off the wrap dress she’d worn for her palace introduction.
Why had his family been so cold? Couldn’t they have at least put on a show for her? God knew they did it well enough for diplomats and high-ranking members of the court. But Matek’s own fiancée didn’t warrant anything more than a few handshakes and distracted questions while they ate. While he ate, anyway. Nina hadn’t had much. Maybe he should have something sent up from the kitchen. But the rapturous way she’d eaten the saltines on the plane made him think something more along those lines would work better.
She pulled a nightgown over her head, the material bordering on sheer, and winked at him in the mirror. Those big blue eyes sent another shockwave of desire through him. He’d wanted her from the moment he’d first seen her at Kishon’s palace. He’d wanted to go way outside the bounds of propriety and flirt with her then and there, moments after she’d walked out of what was probably her interview for the nanny position.
“What’s on your mind, Matek? You don’t look thrilled.” Nina leaned back against the dresser and balanced one foot on the other. “I hope it’s not me.” There was a jokey note to her voice, but he heard a sincerity underneath.
“No, it’s not you.” He got up from the bed and went to her. The lines of her body, the nightgown—he loved looking at her, relished the warm tingle just the thought of her sent swirling through his limbs. He wanted to bottle the sensation and keep it forever. He slipped a hand easily around her hips and leaned into the sweet floral scent of her. “You were perfect tonight. It’s my family that needs a refresher course in manners.”
Nina put her arms around his neck and gave some of her weight over to him. “Really? I thought they were all so friendly and forward.”
He laughed, the tension in the pit of his gut untwisting further at her nearness. “You’re too kind.”
“Maybe they were nervous to meet me.” Her breath was hot on his neck, her voice an invitation in his ear. “I was nervous to meet them.”
“I just didn’t think—” He was having trouble thinking now, what with the slip and slide of the nightgown against her skin. The edges of her panties underneath his hand emphasized her curves, their intimacy. What would it feel like, this nightgown, without the panties? He found himself desperate to know. “I didn’t think our professional disagreements would make things quite so awkward.”
“Professional disagreements?” She stroked her fingertips down the back of his neck. “About what?”
“The way they rule.” He let out a resigned laugh. “I’ve tried to hint to them that being so loose and friendly—”
Nina snorted against his shoulder.
“—with other countries is perhaps not the best idea.” he said, his own anger dissolving. “They need to be more serious about their security. It’s why I’m back here for the birthday party.”
“And to reconnect with them?” she prompted.
No, he hadn’t considered any reconnecting. “More to allow you the chance to connect with them. However they feel about me and the disagreements we’ve had, it’s not license to keep you at arm’s length. Or pretend you’re not there. You deserve to be accepted. You’re a lovely person.”
She had pressed her face into his neck, and he felt her cheeks react in a smile. “Thank you, Matek. That’s—” The fullness in her voice surprised him. “That’s very kind of you.”
“It’s true.” Nina held him tighter, her arms locked around his neck, and gave a small sniff. Matek pulled back. “You’re not crying over their reception of you, are you?”
“No, I’m not crying.” She blinked quickly. “Everything’s going to be fine.” She rubbed at his back. “I hope you know that.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to make me feel better?”
“So what if I am?” she said coyly. The genuine care in her eyes heated him from the inside out.
Every breath got hotter, and then she was in his hands, in his space. Matek wanted more. When he leaned in for a kiss, Nina parted her lips for him, licked along his lower lip, and gave a sigh that turned into a moan.
Pure, fiery desire licked up the base of his spine. He lifted her onto the table and tugged her panties down. He had already f
orgotten them by the time they hit the floor. The kiss was deep, fierce, and passionate, and Matek surged against the boundaries of his clothes. Her breath sounded in his ear, rushed and ragged, and he pressed her knees apart with his hand. Nina arched back, and he caught her neck with his hand. She was sweet. She was kind. And she cared for him. The two of them faced off against the world, and the world was shoving hard into their space.
Not tonight.
He ran his fingertips up the inside of her thigh and found her wet and waiting. He balanced the caress with kisses down the side of her neck. Matek drank in Nina’s skin. This—this was how she’d ended up pregnant, this overpowering want want want that thudded with every beat of his heart. They hadn’t had sex since before she’d found out about the baby. He’d tried to convince himself it was better that way. It wasn’t.
“Matek, Matek.” She whispered his name in time with his thumb as he circled her clit, coaxing more wetness from her. He played at her entrance with two of his fingers. Nina wriggled against him. “I want more,” she gasped, sliding down so that she enveloped his fingers. “I want you. Please, give me more.”
He carried her to the bed, perched her on the edge, and dropped to his knees. “No,” Nina said fiercely. “No.” She took his shirt in her fists and pulled him up, kissed him again. When she pulled back, her eyes were dark. “I need—”
“I know what you need,” he growled. He relished her gasp when he stripped his shirt over his head, and again when he took her nightgown off. Nina scrambled backward, her hands harsh on his shoulders, and he yanked down his briefs and kicked them off. Their mouths met in another crash of teeth and lips and tongues, and beneath him Nina offered herself up.
There was nothing to hold him back now.