Unknown Royal Baby

Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

F OR THE REST of the day Isam battled a headache. He got them less frequently now but occasionally, when the flood of memory returned, pain came with it.

Pain because he was still healing? Or because the memories were bittersweet?

But he couldn’t wish them away. The memory of that last morning, his father’s ebullience at the prospect of his short vacation and at Isam’s news that his initiative for Nur could begin soon... That was priceless.

Isam rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his shoulders as he sat back from the desk. He knew the real reason for his pain—guilt lingering beneath his grief.

Because he’d lost his family and hadn’t been able to save them. Everyone, the doctors and his father, assured him he couldn’t have done any more for Nur, yet the burden of guilt would always lie heavy.

Now his father was gone too.

Isam had been told he’d done everything conceivable to save his father and the pilot. There’d even been amazement that, despite the severity of his injuries, he’d managed to drag them free before the chopper exploded. Yet that didn’t ease his guilt.

How could he alone have survived? Why him?

He felt as though he’d let them down.

An image of earnest brown eyes swam before him, dragging his thoughts from the past.

‘I’ll do my best not to let you down.’

He shook his head. As if Avril would ever let him down!

Technically he hadn’t known her long. Their working relationship had lasted less than a year and they’d only been reunited a short time. But he knew, as surely as he knew the view from this window, that he could rely on her.

Employing her had been a masterstroke. She’d handled every task assigned her and far more with competence and integrity. She’d so impressed that he’d wondered, during that week they’d worked side by side in London, why she’d settled for an assistant’s job, working remotely rather than aspiring to a more high-flying corporate job. He could imagine her managing her own enterprise.

He hadn’t realised then that she’d curtailed her career to care for her aunt. That made him respect her more.

Now she was to be his wife.

His pulse quickened, excitement stirring. And not because of her sterling work qualities.

He wanted her with a blood-deep hunger that defied all past experience. Wanted her body and her rare smiles. Wanted the excitement that had shone in her eyes when she spoke of having adventures. Adventures that he, with his privilege, took for granted.

And he wanted her tenderness. He saw the way she looked at their baby and felt almost jealous.

The few times they’d been intimate were emblazoned on his brain and his body, leaving him needy.

With Avril everything seemed magnified. Every sensation, every feeling.

Was it because, since the crash, he was starting out afresh? That previous relationships seemed faded and insignificant? Or was it, as he suspected, more to do with Avril herself? Something about the intense spark between them? A spark he had no name for.

Then there was the fact she was the mother of his child. Emotion blindsided him whenever he dwelt on the miracle of Maryam’s birth and the debt he owed her mother.

He’d changed Avril’s life and was asking her to take on even more. He knew she was up to the challenge. It wouldn’t always be easy, especially in the beginning. She’d have to face down the doubters.

Isam resolved to do everything he could to ease her way, to influence those who could make her life easy or difficult. He’d strive to arm her with the skills and knowledge she needed. That had to be his priority.

He glanced at the computer and the stack of paperwork on his desk, awaiting his attention.

Never had he ended the day without completing his work. Yet he shut down the computer.

He needed to be with Avril. His surge of memory this morning had interrupted their time together so they hadn’t finished their discussion before his secretary came to chivvy him to his first meeting.

His blood coursed heavily in his arteries.

Are you sure it’s a discussion you want?

‘Isam!’

Avril put down the book on Zahdari customs and culture, staring at the tall figure who’d let himself into the sitting room.

Her heart stuttered then accelerated so fast she felt light-headed as she rose from the sofa.

His jaw was shadowed and his thick hair slightly rumpled as if he’d run his hands through it. Even his scars looked rakish, accentuating rather than detracting from his charisma. His dark suit emphasised his straight shoulders and long legs. His tie had disappeared and his white shirt was open at the throat.

An invitation to touch, whispered a subversive voice.

‘Who did you expect when you invited me in?’

‘I thought you were a maid. From what your secretary said, I assumed you’d be working well into the evening.’

Avril watched him flex his fingers as if trying to ease tension.

Could it be the same tension she felt? It had drawn her to her feet, heart hammering as adrenaline pumped in her blood and heat pooled low.

Don’t be stupid. He’s here to discuss something pragmatic.

Maybe the full schedule of appointments she’d acquired today to meet dressmakers and various experts who would supposedly turn her into someone fit to be royal.

‘I should be working.’ His voice sounded strained. ‘But I needed to see you.’

‘Is something wrong?’ When he shook his head she continued. ‘You wanted to talk about another public appearance?’

‘No. We do need to talk.’ His voice was harsh and she watched him swallow, tracking the jerky movement of his throat and feeling something like triumph. ‘But later.’

Avril waited but he seemed in no hurry to explain, merely stood there, watching her.

Isam moved from the door and the gleam in his deep-set eyes made her nape prickle.

Another step and another, slow, almost languid, yet there was a decisiveness in the set of his jaw and something in the flare of his nostrils that rooted her to the spot, excitement igniting. Her breathing shallowed and she felt the laboured lift of each quick breath as he closed the space between them.

Her heart had bled for him this morning as she’d witnessed his grief and joy at remembering his father on that last day.

This man had the ability to wring her heart but it was too late to retreat. For she’d already surrendered hers.

She’d feared that would make her weak but now, watching his absolute focus as he closed in on her, like a man drawn by a power he couldn’t resist, she felt strong. Excited. Thrilled.

As if, for the first time, she was truly seen . Not as an employee or a complication. Not as someone he was duty-bound to acknowledge. Nor as the bride he felt obliged to claim.

As a person in her own right. A woman he couldn’t relegate to a neat pigeonhole. A woman who got under his skin the way he’d burrowed under hers.

‘Why are you here, Isam?’

She had a fair idea but she had to be sure. Her experience with men was limited.

Because no other man ever tempted you. No one else made you feel this way.

‘I couldn’t stay away.’ He stopped before her and she angled her chin to hold his gaze. ‘I’ve been trying to hold myself back and give you space and a chance to rest. Each day it’s more difficult. And after last night...’ He shook his head. ‘I want you, Avril. I can’t concentrate, can’t work. I need to be with you.’

It was there in the tension honing his striking features. In the glitter of his eyes and the set of his shoulders. Avril felt it too, the ponderous beat of her heart and the melting between her legs.

‘You want to have sex with me.’

Tiny vertical lines appeared in the centre of his forehead. ‘Not just that but yes. Definitely, yes.’

If anything had been needed to banish last night’s fear that he’d brought her to climax simply to make her more amenable, it was the sight of Isam now.

Avril’s mouth curled into a smile that felt sultry with invitation. ‘Yes.’

He blinked, pupils flaring dark in that sizzling stare, and for a moment there was utter stillness. Then his mouth curved in one of those devastating smiles that had always gone straight to her heart.

‘Avril.’

Her name sounded like relief and joy. Acknowledgement and invocation. No one had ever turned her name into something so glorious.

His name formed on her lips but before she could speak he wrapped his arms about her, drawing her up against him and claiming her mouth.

His strong body and his embrace held her securely as her knees weakened. The taste of him, the urgency, undid her. The perfection of their kiss snapped the last ties of her self-control that had already been loosened by the realisation she loved him. How could she hold back?

She slid her arms up between them to lock her hands behind his neck, holding him to her as he dipped her back. There was a feeling of weightlessness, as if the world spun away, but she had no fear of falling from Isam’s arms.

This was where she belonged.

Avril kissed him back with an enthusiasm born of old fears and new hope. She was ardent and clumsy. Far from minding, his low growl hummed with approval. And was that possessiveness? Her heart leapt.

‘The nanny?’ he murmured against her lips.

‘Gone for the night.’

Isam lifted one hand to cup her jaw, the weight of those long fingers branding sensitive skin. Fire trailed from her throat to her breasts, her nipples budding. Even the scratch of skin against bra felt arousing.

‘The baby?’

Avril turned her head, catching his thumb between her teeth and biting down. His gaze heated and she felt the fire in her breasts arrow straight to her pelvis.

‘Asleep,’ she mumbled against his thumb. He tasted better than anything she knew. ‘I just put her down.’

His chest expanded hugely, pushing against her swollen breasts as he drew a deep breath. ‘I need you, Avril.’

She speared her fingers up to clasp his skull. Even the sensation of thick hair against her hands was an erotic assault, making her quiver with need. Her breathing was almost a pant as desperation rose.

‘I need you too.’

There, she’d said it. Instead of weakening her, the admission felt like triumph. Because whatever she’d feared, there was no mistaking Isam’s hunger for her. It didn’t take the impressive arousal hard against her belly for her to realise he was on the edge of control.

Isam straightened, one arm around her waist and another around her buttocks, lifting her clean off the floor. The proof of his strength only turned her on more.

Their mouths met again, not so neatly this time, clashing a little in their desperation. But Avril wouldn’t change a thing. She preferred raw and real to any practised seduction.

Their first night together had been wonderful. But this was on a new level. Despite his strength she felt tremors running through his big frame as if he struggled against a force too powerful to withstand.

‘Need a bed.’

His muffled words fell into her mouth, another aphrodisiac, and she feared she couldn’t take much more.

‘Why not here?’

Avril felt his body jolt. His mouth lifted just enough that he could hold her gaze. She stared straight back then deliberately arched, pressing her aching breasts against his chest.

He whispered something that might have been a prayer or a plea and then he was moving, striding across the room until her back met the wall. He held her there, pressing her with the weight of his tall frame.

His arm around her waist slid free so he could cup her breast. Her eyes shuttered as she pushed into his palm, at the same time registering the thrust of his thigh between hers. Instantly her legs parted, allowing him to wedge himself against her so she was caught between him and the wall.

Sensations bombarded, inciting a voluptuous shudder.

‘Isam. I need—’

‘Yes. Me too.’

Avril opened her eyes and drew her hands around to his face. Tenderly she traced the web of scars that ran into his hairline, her heart overflowing at the idea he might have died.

She stroked lower, hearing the scrape of her fingers on his scratchy jaw over the pounding of her heart. She spread her fingers to cup his jaw as she met his eyes and emotion filled her. ‘Can we? Here?’

There’d never been a sexier sound than Isam saying, ‘We can and will,’ in a baritone growl that reverberated through her chest and right down into her feminine core.

Relief soared as together they tackled his belt and zip. Seconds later her hand closed around firm male flesh and her internal muscles clenched needily.

Callused hands skimmed up her legs, pushing her dress to her hips. A second later knuckles brushed her splayed thighs and fingers hooked around her underwear. One tug brought the sound of tearing fabric and her eyes rounded. Avril wondered if it was possible to climax just from anticipation.

Did Isam read her thoughts? Obviously he read her body because that tiny knowing smile reeked of male smugness.

In answer she slid her hand the length of his erection.

She would have laughed as his smile disappeared and he swallowed abruptly. But there was no joking now, only a compulsion to mate. As if she’d die if she couldn’t have him.

‘Avril.’ The single word held all the longing that filled her.

‘Yes, now.’

He touched her again and she tilted her pelvis, hungry for the contact of slick flesh against clever fingers.

Isam eased her hand away from him then lifted her leg, hooking it around his hip. Eager, she raised the other with his help and locked her ankles, encircling him. She was wide open to him, and unbearably excited.

Gently he lifted her higher against the wall and when she slid down a little there he was, waiting for her, probing soft flesh.

Even that felt almost too excruciatingly arousing. She needed him, all of him.

Hands on his shoulders, she bore down just as he thrust up. A lightning flash of silver heat. A precarious moment of stunned disbelief as their bodies met in perfect harmony. The nagging hollowness filled with proud virility. Hardness melded with softness, need with need.

They hung together, suspended on the edge of perfection. Then, as if their twin bodies responded with exact synchronicity, they moved together. Friction deepened perfection. Sensation heightened to awe. Until it became too much and pure joy consumed them.

Avril lost herself in the grey eyes of the man who’d stolen her heart.

It felt as if she glimpsed paradise.

‘We do have things to discuss, Avril.’

They were fully dressed again though she knew she must look rumpled. She felt rumpled, her dress creased, her body quivering with sensual after-shocks and her brain dazed with delight.

How she wished they’d moved straight to the bedroom after that exciting coupling. The last thing she wanted was to talk about the world beyond these rooms and all the daunting responsibilities she faced.

Sated as she was, Avril hadn’t been ready to end their sexual encounter. She wanted to lie naked in his arms with the freedom to explore his superb body. Perhaps tempt him into another erotic venture. He’d opened the doors to a world of sensual fulfilment and she had so much catching up to do.

In contrast Isam, sitting beside her on the sofa, looked as vibrantly handsome and centred as when he’d walked in. As if he’d strolled into her sitting room for a business discussion.

She resented that. He’d swept her away on a tide of passion and she wanted to linger there. In that blissed-out place she could pretend, for a little while, that she was precious to him, that what they shared meant something.

She suppressed a sigh. It did mean something. That he was still attracted to her physically.

Avril’s mouth tightened. Since they were going to marry that was a good thing. Even if he wasn’t emotionally engaged, they’d have a satisfying sex life.

She ignored the voice screaming silently that it wasn’t enough. It had to be enough, for her sake and Maryam’s. Avril would care for her daughter as her parents hadn’t cared for her. Even if it meant—

‘Did you hear what I said, Avril?’

‘Sorry. I wasn’t really concentrating.’

She looked across and met his surprised stare.

Obviously he was used to holding his audience’s attention. One of the prerogatives of being royal.

But as she remembered him this morning, grieving and vulnerable, her indignation disintegrated.

Avril wondered if his determination to accept and raise Maryam had roots in his feelings for Nur. He’d lost the people closest to him. Now he was determined not to lose the tiny girl who was his only family.

Her heart turned over, as she thought of the lengths he was going to for Maryam’s sake, courting scandal and bringing in an unsuitable wife.

It wasn’t Isam’s fault he didn’t love Avril. He was doing his best. And from what he’d told her about the situation with Hafiz and his own recovery, doing it under incredibly difficult circumstances.

Her voice softened. ‘What is it, Isam? What did you want to talk about? Is it my next public appearance?’ She repressed a shiver of trepidation.

‘That’s important, but for now we need to agree on something more urgent.’ He covered her hand with his. ‘More personal. I want us to live together, now. I see no point waiting to marry.’

‘Live together?’

The smile forming on his face faded. ‘Why not? After last night and tonight, I know you’re as eager for intimacy as I am.’ Before she could respond he went on. ‘I see the shadows under your eyes, Avril. If we spend the nights together I can help share the burden of looking after Maryam.’

‘You want to help look after the baby, hands on?’ She recalled that he’d helped care for his sister but despite his assistance last night he surprised her. ‘Surely you’re already carrying enough of a burden with your official responsibilities?’

His fingers firmed around hers and the hint of a frown carved his forehead. ‘I want a real relationship with my daughter, not just to see her for half an hour between meetings. My family is as important to me as my country.’

His family. He meant Maryam, not her. Avril forced down a sigh, refusing to wallow in self-pity. She was grateful he felt such a strong bond with their daughter.

‘I’m not arguing, Isam. I’m just surprised. I was thinking of potential scandal. I imagined people wouldn’t approve if we were—’

‘Sharing a bed?’ His chuckle ignited a flare of feminine arousal that made her shift on the seat. ‘I’m sure people assume that’s exactly what we’re already doing. They’d be surprised to know I haven’t been regularly bedding the beautiful mother of our child.’ His level stare told her he was serious. ‘As to scandal, we’ve already done that. An affair and a baby born outside marriage.’

It was as she’d suspected. ‘Will that play into Hafiz’s hands?’

Isam raised his eyebrows and she glimpsed hauteur in his proud, uncompromising features. An arrogance that startled her, reminding her he was the hereditary Sheikh, born to power. A man used to succeeding and winning what he wanted, no matter what the odds.

‘Don’t worry, Avril, I have his measure. He won’t succeed. You and I have had an...unconventional relationship so far but that doesn’t matter. People are pleased about our baby and delighted at our upcoming marriage.’

Because they wanted their sheikh to provide an heir. Not because they approved his choice of bride.

He was sparing her feelings but she suspected there must be a lot of negativity about her, despite her proven fertility. Her lips twisted, because that was her real value in this equation. Her ability to provide an heir to the throne.

Warm fingers curled under her chin, raising it so their eyes met. She saw warmth there and something that made the tightness within her unfurl. ‘There’s nothing for you to worry about, Avril. I promise.’ He paused and for a moment she almost thought he looked nervous. But Isam didn’t do nervous. He was the most confident, capable man she’d met. ‘You still haven’t answered me.’

‘What was the question?’

He leaned in. ‘Us. Living together. Now.’

Avril licked suddenly dry lips and saw his eyes track the movement. Heat bloomed across her flesh as his eyelids grew heavy in a look of sultry expectation that opened up an emptiness in her pelvis. Her breath was a shuddery sigh. He only had to look at her that way and she turned to mush.

She feared the power he had over her, the strength of her own yearning. The desperate desire to blurt out a yes .

But why hold back? She wanted intimacy, wanted to build a family with him and Maryam. Wanted Isam.

‘Yes.’

Her mouth was still forming the word when he leaned across and scooped her up onto his lap. ‘Excellent.’ Then he smiled and the devil was in his eyes. He rose, holding her effortlessly against his chest. ‘Come and tell me what side of the bed you’d like to sleep on.’

But as he carried her to the bedroom she knew it wasn’t sleep on his mind. Anticipation fired her blood.