The Sheik's Love Child (11 page)

“Yes, I suppose so.” She started to bend down and pick up her clothes, but he stopped her.

“And I’m not done yet,” he said as he spun her around and lifted her into his arms. “I want more of you. And this time, we’re going to take it slow,” he said as he carried her into the bedroom, laying her down on the silk sheets.

She started to say something, but he stopped her in the most expedient way. He covered her mouth with his own, then followed with his body. “No arguments tonight, Danielle,” he said roughly.

At that moment, she couldn’t speak, much less argue with him. So for this one time, she wouldn’t deny his command.

Chapter 9

Dani rolled over and felt for Kalil. But her hands only found empty space. Since it was such an odd occurrence after the night they had shared, it woke her up fully.

“Good morning,” Alea said and Dani was startled into sitting up. Thankfully, she grabbed the sheet in time to save herself additional embarrassment. “I’ve brought your robe,” she said in a sing-song voice. “And there is coffee on the terrace.”

Alea disappeared into the bathroom after depositing a beautiful, pink silk robe on the end of Dani’s bed.

Dani had just belted the robe around her waist when Kalil walked into her room. Alea’s smile disappeared instantly and she slipped out of the room quickly.

Dani looked across the room at the angry Kalil and wished she too could disappear. For some reason, Kalil looked ready to commit murder.

“Is something on your mind?” she asked, wondering where the sensitive, caring lover of the night before had disappeared to.

“Do you have something to tell me?” he said and placed her calendar on the desk near the bed.

It took Dani a moment to realize what he was holding but the realization came and she became angry. “Are you snooping through my personal belongings?”

“It was open on the desk last night. I noticed it this morning and glanced at your calendar, wondering what I was keeping you from this week.”

“And? Did you find anything interesting?” she said and walked over to the desk to snatch her calendar away from his prying eyes.

“I noticed that you have several lunches with friends scheduled. Which I am sincerely sorry you have to miss.”

Dani sighed and pushed her brown hair off her face and behind her shoulders. “Kalil, I don’t understand why I have to miss them. We had sex once,” she started to say.

Kalil’s eyes snapped to hers. “It was more than once that night,” he said and his voice had lost some of the anger. But his eyes were still intense as they looked down at her. “And you’ve been keeping something from me. When are you going to tell me?”

Dani looked confused. “What are you talking about?” she demanded and opened her calendar to the current month. “There’s nothing here but lunch appointments and my to do list which isn’t very interesting since it is filled with simple crafts I was planning on doing over the summer.”

“I wasn’t looking at the crafts.” Kalil snapped the page backwards one month. “I was noticing the check marks beside the first week in May,” he said, pointing to the blue check marks on five days at the beginning of the month. “Do those indicate what I think they mean?” he demanded.

Dani looked down at the dates on which she’d marked her last period. Her face instantly turned red and she nodded her head, unable to look back up at him. It was such an intimate subject she just couldn’t talk to him about her monthly cycles. “Yes. But what of it?” she said.

Then all the blood left her face. She looked down at her calendar, then snapped the pages to the current month. “No!” she gasped. She counted the weeks again. Then a third time just to be sure. “It can’t be!” she said, her legs giving out on her as she fell onto the edge of the bed.

Kalil looked at her and knew that she hadn’t been keeping the truth of her tardy period from him. She was either the ultimate actress or she honestly hadn’t known. He preferred to assume the latter since he didn’t want to think she was able to lie so convincingly. “Danielle, I think you had better see a doctor.”

She looked up at his handsome face and shook her head. “It can’t be!” she said.

Kalil wiped the errant tear that escaped from her eyes. “It can be,” he countered.

“But it was only one night.”

“It only takes one time.”

“No! I have friends. It is so hard for them to get pregnant. It took Carrie and Tim over a year to get pregnant. It just isn’t possible!”

Kalil sighed and shook his head. “Danielle, it is not only possible, but probable that you are now more than six weeks pregnant. If that is the case, we need to be married immediately.”

Dani was too overwhelmed by the idea that she was now two weeks late on her period. For someone who was regular to the point of clockwork, that idea terrified her. Adding marriage to the equation only boggled her mind. “Married?”

“Yes, that was what this whole exercise was about, if you’ll remember.”

“No! It was to prove that I wasn’t pregnant.”

“And if you were, we needed to get married immediately so as to avoid any possible questions about the legitimacy of our child. I don’t want anyone to denigrate our son.”

Dani wanted to say that it could be a daughter, but that might make this whole situation too real. Acknowledgement was not yet within her grasp yet.

“And if you weren’t pregnant before, I think there was a definite possibility that it occurred last night.”

“Last night? That was never supposed to happen!”

Kalil stood up and stepped back from her. “I know that is what you thought but you have to admit that what we share is incredible.”

“But for how long? This isn’t fair. You’ve already said any marriage between us would have to be temporary.”

“Unfortunately, that is true. My people would never accept you. We have very good relations with Great Britain but I will be expected to marry a woman of Basir. It will solidify my country.”

“And what of me? What will happen once you’ve removed me from your life?”

“Don’t say things like that. You can always be a part of our son’s life. And afterwards, we can still be together.”

“While you’re married to another woman?” I don’t think so!” she said, stepping out of his arms. “What kind of a husband would that make you? And what would that make me?” Dani shook her head, pushing her hair out of her face and wondering how she was going to deal with all the emotions hitting her. There was absolute joy that she was probably pregnant. And definitely excitement at the idea of sharing this life with Kalil. But mixed with all that was the humiliation and anger that she wasn’t good enough for a man like Kalil. And he wanted her to become his mistress? Did he really think she was that kind of a woman?

“It won’t be like that,” he assured her.

“What would it be like?” she demanded. “Would I get certain days of the week and your wife will get others? Will she work the charity circuit but I get all the state dinners? And what of our child? Will she,” Dani said, emphasizing the use of the feminine pronoun, “be assured of ruling the country as the first born and if so, will she be able to have much respect for men since her father wouldn’t’ even acknowledge her mother?”

“I think you’re becoming too emotional. Why don’t you rest for a little while and we’ll continue this conversation later?” he suggested but since he was moving towards the doors, his whole demeanor emanating his anger at her words, there was no question as to whether it was a suggestion or an order. “We’ll talk later.”

Dani glared at the closed door. “Don’t count on it,” she said out loud.

Chapter 10

Dani waited, listening to the silence. Finally, there was no noise. It was time. She threw the covers off the bed then smoothed them over the extra pillows to make it look like she was still sleeping. It was a childish trick but she hoped it would hold off the search for a little while longer.

She squinted at her watch in the dim light from the moon and worried that she wouldn’t make it. She had to. Her whole future was at stake here. And that of her unborn child’s. She put a hand on her stomach and wondered for the hundredth time if she was doing the right thing. It was Kalil’s baby as well as hers.

Biting her lip, she pushed those thoughts aside. She would get back to London, find a lawyer and figure out what her options were. She didn’t want to stay here and become Kalil’s temporary wife. That road led to him gaining more legal rights and she would lose her child. Already, she’d been swallowed up in the palace, not really understanding what her role was or how she could live in this kind of limbo.

Opening the French door that led to the patio, she carefully closed it behind her, carrying her small bag of supplies on her shoulder. She was leaving only with what she’d brought with her. She wore her jeans and tee shirt, wishing she had a sweater as well when the night air from the desert touched her skin. It was cool, but surely it wouldn’t kill her.

The water in her large bag jiggled and she considered leaving it behind since it was weighing her down, but she decided against it. She suspected that it was only a few miles’ walk to the city but just the idea of walking through the dessert might make her thirsty enough to regret leaving it behind. There were crackers and small loaves of bread she’d filched from her breakfast and lunch so she felt like she had enough supplies to last her for the next few hours, enough time to get her to the city and reach the British embassy.

Walking carefully through the gardens, she kept to the bushes in an effort to hide from any eyes she might not know about. There were also cameras, but Alea had assured her that none were on the inside of this small courtyard. They were all over the palace though but she’d found most of them during her walks today and hoped she could avoid detection.

Glancing at her watch again, she knew she’d have to speed up in order to meet the delivery trucks. She’d noticed them yesterday morning and, although they wouldn’t get her out of the palace since they were searched by security, she was praying they would act as a distraction and allow her to be able to slip outside. The trucks didn’t head back into the city anyway. They obviously moved on to their next route which was not in the direction she wanted to go.

It seemed like hours but was probably only five minutes before she reached the cement wall that enclosed the courtyard. Carefully stepping on the thick branches of an old, sturdy tree, she pulled herself over the barrier. Once she was on the top, she looked around, feeling as if she would be caught at any moment. But when nothing happened, she slung her leg over the side and looked around. She was in another courtyard, this one just as beautifully landscaped as the one she’d just left. From what she remembered this afternoon as she’d stared out over the palace from a high window, there were two other courtyards she’d have to make her way through before she reached the kitchens.

Dani quickened her pace, hearing her breathing in the darkness as panic started to settle in. It also seemed as if the night were getting darker and colder. How could this be in the desert? She knew it got cold but this was really chilly. Glancing up, she saw that the moon was still as bright in the sky as it had been a few minutes ago. Maybe it was just her imagination. She pushed herself through the next courtyard and pulled herself over the last wall, dropping softly onto the grass on the other side. This was the kitchen area. It was relatively quiet at this time of the night with only a few people moving about. But no one seemed to notice her as she crouched along the white wall.

Keeping to the shadows, she made her way to the nearest truck and waited, counting the number of people working and trying to figure out who was doing what. Feeling like a prisoner trying to escape, which she basically was, she made her way through to the back of a truck.

Climbing inside, she sat down to catch her breath. Suddenly, the truck started moving. Dani peered out the back of the truck and saw that the kitchens were receding quickly. She was leaving the palace? This had been too easy!

Dani sat back and chewed nervously on her lip. Weren’t they going to search the truck as it left? They had yesterday, but maybe it’s different for the early morning deliveries? Maybe that was the case, she thought hopefully. She’d only watched the trucks that had come and gone during the day but maybe there was a different process for nighttime trucks. The security was set up to keep people from coming in, after all. It wasn’t to keep people from going out. Everyone was free to come and go as they pleased, except for her, of course.

She heard the voice of what she assumed was the driver as the truck slowed down. She had no idea what they were saying or who the man was talking to but she prayed that nothing was suspected.

But why would anyone suspect anything? Kalil had ignored her for the whole day. He hadn’t even shown up for dinner as Alea had informed her was his plan. She’d later found out that he’d been delayed but had ignored his summons to his office later in the evening. Dani wasn’t sure if Alea had relayed the response to his message but neither did she care.

Now as she stared out at the night through the flap in the truck’s empty cargo area, she wondered if she could really be so lucky as to get away this quickly. It was probably about one o’clock in the morning by now. She had been expecting to have to work her way through the gates over the next few hours.