The Sheik's Secret Twins (5 page)

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.  “Good morning,” he said, as his hands slipped inside the robe.  “You look beautiful, as always.”

She laughed up at him and shook her head. “You’re not getting out of answering my question.  Why did you look so concerned when you first walked
in here?
  Is something wrong?”

He sighed and pulled her over to the bed.  “My father just called.  I have to get home quickly,” he explained, but he didn’t seem to be in any kind of hurry.  He
sat down on the edge
of the bed
and held the ties of her robe in both hands, pulling gently. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting dressed?” she asked, her body already reacting to the look in his eyes.  He wasn’t even glancing at his watch, preferring to watch the white, terry cloth fabric as he pulled the edges slowly
apart
. 

He shook his head slightly, his eyes intent as he looked at her naked body, still pink from the heat of the shower. 
“I should be right here.  Wondering what’s underneath this robe,” he countered.

She
pulled
the edges close
d
, refusing to let him pull the robe
off
.  “You already know what’s underneath,” she laughed.  “You saw enough of me last night.  If your father needs you, why aren’t you rushing to his side?”

“
My father can wait a while. 
I have a very short memory
when it comes to your body
.  I think I need a refresher.”

She chuckled and tried to step back.  “You have a photographic memory.”

He wouldn’t let her move back but instead, yanked her forward, catching her in his arms and tumbling over her onto the bed so he was looking down at her.  “I like how you think you can outmaneuver me,” he said a moment before he took her ear lobe with his teeth.  “It always amuses me.”

She laughed and tried to wiggle away.  “
Well
, that’s what I’m here for.  Just for your entertainment.”

He stilled and pulled away,
suddenly
looking
at
her seriously. “Don’t say that,
”
he said sternly. 

“Say what?”
She’d never seen him look at her like that, as if he were worried and angry at the same time. 

“You’re not just my entertainment,” h
e replied, his eyes serious. 

She reached up and touched his cheek.  “I know.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to belittle what we have together.”

He watched her for a moment before turning his face into her hand, kissing her palm.  “
Don’t
forget it,” he growled before pulling her close, becoming serious for a whole different reason. 

That was the last time she saw him in person. 

Three days later, Siri was s
itting in their tiny apartment
when
Linda arrived back from the grocery store, her eyes wide with concern. 
She placed the groceries on the kitchen table and looked over at Siri, one hand hiding something behind her. 

“What’s up?” Siri asked as Linda walked into the apartment and sat down across from her.  “You look worried about something.”

“Did you know where Malik is from?”

Siri shrugged and glanced down at her economics book. 
“He’s mentioned traveling to several countries lately, but he told me he’s originally from Duban.”

Linda cringed and
crossed her legs, obviously about to say something horrible and not sure how to convey the message
.  “Do you know anything else about him?”

Siri closed her economics book and started to become worried.  “I know that he hates broccoli and asparagus, loves the opera and ballet and rides horses extremely well.  Other than that, most of my knowledge is about the
conversations we’ve had on
various subjects.”  She watched Linda’s eyes, concern growing.  “Has something happened to him?  Is he okay?  Please tell me he’s not hurt.”

“He’s not,” Linda assured her quickly.  “It’s nothing like that.”
  She looked out the window briefly before bringing her gaze back to the floor, unable to look Siri in the eyes.  “At least, I haven’t heard anything like that.”

Siri relaxed and leaned back against the worn cushions.  “Whew!  You were starting to worry me.  I couldn’t figure out what
might be so concerning about Malik.  Has something happened in Duban?”

Linda looked at the newspaper, then back up at Siri.  “You could say that,” she said and handed the paper to Siri
with the headli
nes on the front page, pointing to
the lead story so Siri could easily see the issue
. 

Siri glanced down, not sure what she might read.  But the picture was bad enough.  On the front page was a picture of the royal family of Duban, with Malik in the middle.  If that wasn’t bad enough, the woman with the beautiful smile and long, flowing black hair, gazing up at him with adoring eyes, was enough to make Siri feel sick. 

“Crown Prince Malik Bin Saqqaf, Sheik of Duban married yesterday in a formal ceremony.”  The article went on to give the woman’s name and describe the ceremony, explain why everyone should care about this marriage, but all Siri could see was Malik’s handsome face, looking stern, almost angry, as he stared out from the picture while surrounded by his family and new bride. 

“I need to go,” Siri said and hurried into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. 
She couldn’t face Linda after reading the article.  She couldn’t face anyone.  By the time she’d read the last word that described the elaborate ceremony and the exciting engagement, the surprise to the whole world that
the crown prince was engaged without anyone in the world knowing, she was numb, unable to process anything else in her
own sphere
. 

She didn’t cry.  Not for several days.  She couldn’t cry, couldn’t believe that he’d actually done this to her.  He’d betrayed her.  He’d cheated on her, he’d lied to her and married only days after spending the night with her! 

A full week went by and Siri barely came out of her room.  She drank coffee and had toast when Linda forced it on her.  She went to her classes but didn’t hear anything.  She walked around campus, but barely knew what was going on. 

Living on coffee most of the time, she didn’t even care that her grades had fallen or that she had lost so much weight that her clothes could barely stay on her figure.  She’d been thin before, but now she could only be described as gaunt.  She didn’t even realize that her friends were discussing how best to help her, because none of their suggestions even broke through the pain filled haze she was living in. 

It took over a month before Siri felt well enough to talk to Linda about Malik and even then, she’d barely got
ten out a few words before she broke
down in tears.
  Linda was the epitome of patience, but even she couldn’t help her friend through this kind of betrayal.
  Letters came addressed to her in Malik’s handwriting, but Siri returned them all, rejecting any explanation he might have.  Nothing he said could justify what he’d done to her. 

She wasn’t sure how she would have felt if he’d told her about his engagement before she’d become intimate. Would she have understood?  Surely she wouldn’t have felt so….abused, so completely….she couldn’t really put a name to what she was feeling.  Her pain seemed to be beyond anything she’d felt before. 

Siri had dated men in the past, had even thought she’d cared about them.  But never had she considered becoming intimate with any of them, nor had she given her heart and her soul
so
completely as she’d done with Malik.  She’d trusted him with her heart, with the most intimate part of her and he’d stomped on that trust, on her love. 

Not that she’d actually told him how she’d felt.  And thank goodness for that, she thought one day on the way to one of her classes. 

And then the brutal part happened.  Two months after that last weekend, Siri found herself in the bathroom throwing up, her whole body wracked with the pain of emptying an already empty stomach.  A few hours later, she felt fine and went to class, but when the same thing happened the following day, she had to question what was really happening. 

A pregnancy test confirmed her fears.  And a month later, a sonogram confirmed twins. 

Siri had sent a letter to Malik but wasn’t sure how to address the letter.  The news that she was pregnant was hard to write, but she was as plain as possible
, not elaborating but just stating the news
.  She
gave him
the facts, about her due date, the twins, she didn’t know the gender but that the babies
were healthy
so far
. 
She outlined the plan the doctor had given her for the pregnancy, how she would have additional appointments to ensure that the babies were delivered successfully and healthy and anything else she could relate about the pregnancy while leaving out anything personal. 

When the letter arrived back, she crushed it in her fist, scared out of her mind at idea of facing parenthood as a single mother. 
In the back of her mind, she realized that she’d still held out the hope that he would come to her and tell her that the marriage to another woman wasn’t real, that he loved her and would push the other woman aside so they could be married themselves and raise their babies together. 

The rejection of that letter was yet another slap in the face to her hopes and dreams and Siri hated Malik even more for that. 

Going back to her parents after that last semester had been horrible but both her mother and father were delighted that they were going to be grandparents.  They helped her finish school and start her business, encouraging her the whole way.  When the twins were born, they were right there helping her through every moment and she loved them for all of their support. 

She’d gotten through it, Siri thought, looking around at her office, now papered with the pictures Jacob and Sam had made during preschool art classes.  She’d started her business out of her parent’s house, starting out only as an online distribution website for educational toys.  As success came, she expanded to a store in one of the suburbs, and then two, and now she had five stores, plus her online business had more than doubled over the past year with internet sales skyrocketing. 

She could work from home when the boys were sick and, since she was the boss, it was easier for her to be at their programs, to celebrate the small and the large events of their lives.  As hard as it had been initially, she was finally at a place where she felt secure, and that she had things somewhat under control.

And now
life hits her with another whammy! 

Why was he divorcing?  And did she even care?  After that first month, he hadn’t tried to get in touch with her.  She’d read about two years ago that his father had died and he’d taken full control of the country.  It seemed strange that the man she’d laughed with and made love to throughout all hours of the night, who was the secret father of her children was actually ruler of one of the wealthiest countries in the world. 

“Joe needs you on the floor,” her assistant said, poking her head into Siri’s office.  “Something about a sale to Hong Kong.”

Siri blinked and came back to the present.  She didn’t have time to deal with this now.  Malik was far away dealing with his problems and she had to deal with her own. 
Wherever
he was, whatever he was doing, she couldn’t let it interfere with the raising of her boys and, besides lots of hugs and kisses, her business was the core of that care.  She couldn’t let them down.

Standing up, she took a moment to straighten the files on her desk,
then
went down to the warehouse floor to figure out what the problem was. 

Malik watched as Siri moved about the warehouse.  She was grace and elegance and she’d actually become more beautiful over the past four years.  He couldn’t count the number of hours he’d spent fantasizing about being with her again.  The past four years had been the hardest of his life but he was now free to
pursue
the woman he was meant to be with. 

He was fascinated by the way she moved about.  She was so efficient and professional.  The woman he’d known had been intelligent and witty, but also shy around other people. 
This woman approached the employees with confidence and a smile.  Although he couldn’t hear her words, with each person, she treated them with respect and it seemed as if she was encouraging them while speaking with each one. 

She was stronger, he thought as she carried a clip board around, checking in with her employees and asking questions, always leaving them with a smile to show that she respected them and appreciated their work and their time.  He’d expect nothing less of her, he just wished he’d been around to watch the transformation. 

Once again, he cursed the forces that had required his marriage, specifically his father who had destroyed treaties that had ended badly with violence. 
He understood why his father had done that, and might even agree with him, but he hadn’t liked the resolution to the hostilities, which had been his marriage to the daughter of a tribal leader, one that would unite their two families and ensure peace. 
His marriage had been a necessity, one that he’d carried out as an obligation, but there had been no love between him and his wife.  They’d both made a half hearted effort to make the relationship work, but between the politics and the
regional
fighting, the separations and….well, lots of things, their marriage had been bound to fail from the beginning.