The Desert Prince's Bride (The Sheiks of Altair Book 2) Read online

She sat up straighter on his lap. “Yes! Of course I want children! I love kids and would love to have a baby with you.”

  “So, what’s the problem?” he asked, relaxing now. She wanted kids and the lust that surged through him with her words was shocking. He even moved his hand over her stomach, as if he could somehow protect his child.

  “The problem is,” she told him, leaning in to kiss his cheek but he shifted so that she got his lips instead. Pulling away, she stared at him, forgetting what she’d been about to say.

  “The problem?” he prompted, but he loved distracting her, so he slid his hand back under her skirt.

  She gasped and grabbed his wrist, trying to pull his hand away. Unfortunately, his strength allowed him to proceed as if her hand wasn’t even there. “The problem…” she stated, and jumped up off his lap so that he couldn’t keep distracting her. “The problem is that you are still officially engaged to Princess Mila.” She smoothed her skirt down over her legs once again and backed up. Taking a deep breath, she picked her notebook and pen up from the floor where she’d dropped them. “Until you are out of that engagement, then we are not officially engaged.” With those words, she unlatched the gold chain from her neck, slipped the beautiful diamond off her finger and threaded the chain through the ring before securing it back around her neck. When she looked down, the ring was still visible, so she buttoned a few more buttons on her silk blouse, hiding the chain as well as the ring.

  Ignoring his scowl, she walked over to the door and opened it. “I’ll get you the details on your mother’s schedule so that you’ll be in the loop from my end,” she told him, saying it loudly enough so that the staff outside of his office could hear her. Hopefully, that might stop the latest rumors that had been flying around. With a nod, she walked out of his office with as much dignity as possible, praying that they would simply assume that he’d pulled her into his office to discuss an issue with his mom’s schedule.

  Initially, Jaffri was furious with her for hiding his ring. Hell, for even taking it off. But when she hung it on the chain and let the ring fall between her breasts, he accepted that her actions were pretty…well…hot! He loved knowing that his ring was hidden between her beautiful breasts. In fact, he was looking forward to seeing that diamond ring sparkle between those lovely globes tonight. In detail!

  “Hell!” he muttered, realizing that his body was obviously hard and ready for more than just watching her perky butt as she sauntered down the hallway. He knew what she was doing, trying to stop the rumors about their relationship. And he might have done something annoying to disabuse the rest of the staff that their meeting moments ago was merely about his mother’s schedule. But when she turned and taunted him with a look over his shoulder, he purposely let his eyes fall to her gorgeous derriere. That’s when he noticed that her blouse was untucked in the back and he threw back his head, laughing. Oh yeah, she might be trying to avoid letting everyone know about their relationship, but she’d just announced it loud and clear to everyone!

  Two weeks later, Giselle was in a full panic. The press had initially started wondering about when Princess Mila would marry their beloved Prince Jaffri. But when no announcement came, and Princess Mila was seen travelling around the country with Princess Sada and her mother, the Queen, and then hosted the same tours over in Sidoon, the speculation changed. They wondered what was going on. It didn’t help that any question about an official wedding announcement was met with a surprised expression from the communications director, and the conversation was adeptly brought back to women’s issues. After five days, the press stopped asking about the wedding. After ten days, the press had completely embraced the princesses’ and queen’s latest agenda, focusing all of their energy on reporting the similarities and differences between the two countries along with a plan to close the gap on women’s issues.

  But Giselle kept her head down, ignoring any curious glances from the staff. She’d ignored every summons to Jaffri’s office during working hours, but he wouldn’t let her hide out at night. He’d finally convinced her to meet him at a different location, a beautiful apartment that she hadn’t questioned…only because he wouldn’t answer her questions. For some reason, he was being secretive about what was happening on his side of the palace.

  Unfortunately, her morning sickness was getting worse, although she’d successfully hidden that evidence from Jaffri, not wanting him to worry. It helped that he left their bed very early in the morning and she hurried back to her own apartment every morning as well.

  It was a strange world in which she existed at the moment. She slept in his arms every night, but they worked in the same building during the day, trying not to acknowledge their other reality in any way. Even during meetings in which he passed by, he barely looked in her direction.

  By the fourteenth day, she knew that something was up. Something big and whatever it was terrified her. And yet, every time Jaffri tried to talk to her about it, she shook her head and changed the subject.

  Two days later, Jaffri stood in front of a very nervous, very pale-looking Giselle. His military uniform, complete with full regalia, looked magnificent, highlighting his broad shoulders and lean hips. Queen Katherine, in conjunction with Princess Mila and Princess Sada, had chosen a blue dress for the occasion for Giselle to wear. All three women were standing back, smiling broadly. Giselle noticed that Prince Tavon was standing close as well, looking just as magnificent in his military uniform, but his eyes were focused on Mila. Apparently, no one else in the room existed for him. When Mila looked over, blushing when she caught his eye, Giselle knew that the same could be said about Princess Mila for Prince Tavon. Goodness, the arguments she’d overheard between those two. Had they finally worked things out?

  Giselle wasn’t sure. But what was happening today…the uniform, the special dress, the imminent announcement…Giselle’s heart pounded as she realized what was happening. This was it, she thought. She could never walk away from this man. She loved Jaffri. Completely and overwhelmingly, she loved him.

  Her mind stopped scrambling and she looked up into his blue eyes. Everything made sense now. Everything was…right. Wonderful, actually.

  She felt something tug around her neck and gasped when Jaffri pulled the gold chain, revealing her diamond engagement ring, still warm from her body.

  “This is in the wrong place,” he said softly, leaning forward to unlatch the clasp behind her back. Once the ring was off, he handed the chain to his sister, then turned to focus on Giselle. “You’re mine now, Princess Giselle,” he told her softly.

  She couldn’t stop the blush, or the rush of warmth that settled in her heart with his words. “And you’re mine,” she whispered back, looking up into his wonderful blue eyes.

  His hand settled on her stomach. They hadn’t told anyone about her pregnancy, but his gesture shouted the news that a baby was on the way. In the back of her mind, Giselle heard his mother gasp in surprise, but then heard his father chuckle knowingly. Apparently, it hadn’t been such a secret after all, she thought.

  “Ready to meet your people?” he asked, taking her hand.

  “I think so,” she replied, both nervous and excited to finally be allowed to show her love for Jaffri.

  He squeezed her fingers, conveying his strength. A moment later, servants opened the door to the balcony of the palace as Jaffri guided her out. The crowd was massive and, when they spotted the engaged couple, the roar was almost deafening. Mila, Sada, Sheik Talal, Queen Katherine and, finally, Prince Tavon, stepped out behind them. Giselle glanced behind her and saw Mila move slightly towards Tavon. Out of the corner of her eye, she witnessed Tavon touch Mila’s fingers. With a smile, she turned back to the crowd.

  She and Jaffri would be married the following day and would then spend two full weeks on his yacht in blissful isolation. Just the two of them, a bed, and glorious ocean distancing them from everyone and everything.

  Excerpt from The Desert Prince’s Proposal

  Tavon’s St
ory….

  (This is an excerpt – but not the beginning of the story. I just really liked writing this scene and thought you would enjoy it as well.)

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  Mila thought quickly. “Sarah,” she announced, then waited tensely, wondering if he would believe her.

  That deep, sexy chuckle sent a shiver of sharp awareness down her spine. “No, that’s a lie.” He loosened his hands, but only to spin her around to face him.

  She glared up at him, finally getting a proper look at the man. He wasn’t traditionally handsome but there was an intensity about him that was….forbidding? Attractive? Interesting? She preferred interesting to the other two descriptions. Interesting seemed pleasantly benign. Although…no one would ever describe this man as pleasant. Or benign!

  High cheekbones, hard jawline, and eyes that promised…something she couldn’t define. Not happiness or gentleness. She doubted that the man even knew how to spell those words. But…yes, there was something in his features, in his surprisingly blue eyes, that made her…aware. Hyper aware.

  Of him? Of him as a man?

  Yes. She was intensely aware of him as a strong, unrelentingly intense male. Raw, powerful masculinity shouted at her that he would never play the fool.

  Since he was holding her still, Mila couldn’t get away. Not with his hands around her wrists and his hips pressing her against the metal fence behind her. She could also feel his muscles, his hard chest and…more! Good grief…a lot more!

  “What’s a beautiful woman like you doing trying to subdue a big guy like me?” he asked, but it seemed as if he were asking the question to himself and not really expecting an answer from her. So she tried to jerk her hands free.

  “Not so fast, pretty one,” he teased, taking her hands and easily pulling them behind her, holding them with one hand while he arrogantly lifted her sunglasses. “Yeah, just as I suspected.” And he started to shake his head.

  Mila was shaking with fury, which doubled when he seemed disappointed after looking into her eyes. “What’s wrong now?”

  “Your eyes,” he commented, still shaking his head.

  She reared back slightly, wanting to slam her knee into his groin. Obviously, he’d been anticipating that move because his hips pressed more firmly against her stomach, so she couldn’t quite reach. Smart man, she thought. The best she could do was kick the back of his knees with her heel, but that would take a bit more finesse than she had at the moment. If he would stop touching her…then maybe she could get a bit of force behind her anger. Right now, she felt like a…well, like a silly piece of fluff.

  She wasn’t fluff! Even worse, she didn’t like men who caused her to feel like fluff. She was a strong, independent woman who was making significant strides in her country towards making women’s lives better! How dare this man make her feel…silly!

  But staring up at him, feeling the powerful strength pulsing in his body, Mila knew that there was no way she could overpower him. No, getting away from him would require delicate finesse and creative subterfuge instead of brute force.

  Determined to win this battle of wills, she relaxed her body ever so slightly, trying to convey a different tact. “Listen, we got off on the wrong foot,” she began, trying to smile and bring all of her negotiating skills to bear on this obnoxious man. “Why don’t you release me and we can start over?”

  He laughed, and Mila was floored at how incredible his laugh was. He didn’t just chuckle with an irritating sound. No, his laugh was full bodied, rich and…sexy as hell!

  When his laughter died down again, he looked down at her, his look admiring, which also made her uncomfortable. “Your eyes are incredible, do you know that?”

  She blinked owlishly. He liked her eyes? But…he’d just implied that her eyes weren’t any good. He’d shaken his head when he’d taken off her sunglasses! She glared up at him. “What game are you playing, mister?”

  “Ah, Sarah, you’re such an interestingly feisty woman,” he purred, his stance almost casual except that he was still holding her wrists. “And I don’t play games. At least, not games I can’t win.”

  She shrugged, not mollified by his pretty speech. This stranger was still holding her hands behind her back, keeping her in place. And he’d been following her. Never a good sign in a man.

  Considering her options…brute force was out since he was significantly stronger, and he’d already eliminated the few dirty moves she knew how to use effectively…that left trickery. “Okay, so you’re a wimp. What does that have to do with me?”

  That brought forth another chuckle, a deep, sexy sound that she liked way more than she should.

  “Why do you think I’m a wimp?”

  Mila tilted her head to the right slightly, shrugging one shoulder. “Because you only play games you can win. Never challenged, are you? That’s a shame. I’ve found that winning in life is best when confronted by a worthy adversary. Makes the triumph that much sweeter.”

  He chuckled, lowering his head until their lips were almost touching. “Are you saying that you’d like me as an adversary?”

  She pulled back, but because of their positions, pulling her head back meant that her hips were pressed more intimately into his groin. And she could feel every inch of him! A bit breathless, she shook her head. “No. I don’t think you’d be a strong enough adversary.”

  His grin widened. “I think I’d like the challenge, though.”

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