The Sheik's Baby Surprise (15 page)

Back out in the elegant living room, she blinked at the sight in front of her.  Jina wasn’t sure what was going on so she rubbed her forehead, trying to understand.  Gone was the beautifully decorated room and in its place, a nursery had exploded with toys and every conceivable baby contraption ever invented.  She looked around, confused.  “Where did all of this come from?”

Malik glanced at the room, but his eyes were drawn right back to his daughter and the woman who had mysteriously walked out of his life a year ago.  “I had one of my guards go out and pick up a few items.”

Jina looked at the floor that was now covered with toys, a large, soft blanket, a baby swing, high chair, stroller…as if she could take Lika out now!   

The danger was higher now!  There would be no casual strolls through the park today or any day in the near or distant future! 

“We have to go,” she said, unable to look at Malik.  She cuddled Lika closer, smelling her daughter’s sweet, baby scent to reassure herself that Lika was still okay.

Malik crossed his arms over his chest.  “You’re not leaving, Jina.  I don’t understand why you left but we’re going to solve this.  You were too tired last night to make any sense, but do you think you could sit down and explain things now?”

Jina looked around at the beautiful penthouse, the ambiance destroyed by the baby paraphernalia.  “No.  It isn’t safe.  Not for you or for Lika.”  She sent him a pleading look.  “Please, Malik.  Just go back to Sarkit and pretend that you don’t know about Lika.”

He almost laughed at her plea.  “Would you be able to leave her?”  He moved closer, noticed the rapid pulse at the base of her slender neck.  “Would you leave Lika with me and promise never to see her again?  Never ask about her?  Never know what she’s doing or see her smiles?”

“No,” Jina replied furiously. 

Malik nodded.  “Good.  Then don’t ask me to do that.  I know about her.  I’ve spent the last several hours with her.  I can’t leave my child.”

Jina’s eyes teared up because the danger was so very strong.  “You have to.”

“I won’t.  You’re going to talk to my head of security.  I’m going to hire a nanny and we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

Jina pulled Lika closer.  “NO!  No nanny!  You don’t know how deep this goes.”

Malik sighed and rubbed a hand over his neck.  “Be realistic, Jina.  You can’t take care of Lika all the time.  Even now, your arm is getting tired of holding her.”

Jina looked down at Lika who was happily gnawing on the colored, plastic donut.  “I’m fine,” she argued.

Malik rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that she was probably still too tired right now.  “How about this.  Why don’t you go take a shower, which might help you feel better?  I’ll have some coffee ready for you…”

“No coffee,” she told him. 

His eyes narrowed.  “You love coffee,” he argued. 

She shook her head, feeling her cheeks turn red once again.  “Malik, please…just…no coffee.”

And in that instant, his narrowed eyes dropped to her breasts, the heat zinging throughout her whole body with that gaze.  “Ah,” was all he said for a long moment - a moment when his eyes didn’t leave her breasts and she felt her nipples harden in reaction.  She shifted Lika so that she was in front of her instead of on her hip and Malik chuckled, a soft, sexy sound that made her body ache.  She remembered that laugh!  Oh goodness, he’d made that sound when they were in bed together and he did something she liked! 

She took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind.  “A shower would be wonderful though.”

“Do you trust me to watch Lika while you shower?”  He moved closer.  “Or I could watch you.”

Jina gasped at that offer.  And boy, she wished she could take him up on it!  She missed him so much!  All she wanted was to throw herself into his arms and feel his strength and power.  She remembered so many nights in his arms and he’d never left her wanting. 

With trembling arms, she offered their daughter to him. 

Malik reached out and took hold of Lika and, thankfully, he had a good grip on her because the back of his hand slid against her breast.  Her eyes slashed up to his as her body reacted.  Had he done that on purpose?  Looking at his features, she was pretty sure that the innocent expression on his face was feigned.  Malik was never innocent! 

“I’m going to shower,” she told him and crossed her arms over her chest, trying once again to hide her reaction.  “Alone,” she asserted firmly, just in case he got any naughty ideas.  Which he always did. 

She heard him chuckle as she walked away which only proved her point about his innocence.  Non-existent!

She went back to the bathroom attached to the room she’d slept in, vaguely noticing that the bed was already remade even though she hadn’t seen any of the staff.  But she was too eager for a shower to think about where the staff might be hiding.  She quickly stripped off her clothes and stepped into the warm shower, reveling in how wonderful it felt to be clean once again.  And well rested!  Oh goodness, the world seemed like a completely different place after a good night’s sleep! 

She used the scented shower gel all over her body, hoping that it would help her skin soften after months of neglect.  She lathered her hair twice with the hotel’s shampoo.  Not because her hair was especially dirty, but more because the shampoo just smelled so amazing and the lather was soft.  After conditioning her hair and rinsing once more in the warm spray, she turned off the water and dried her body with the soft, fluffy towels.  When she stepped out of the shower, she saw her clothes on the floor and sighed.  Goodness, she really didn’t want to put those back on! 

But she picked them up off the floor and stepped out into the bedroom, prepared to just wear these clothes until she could get back home and grab something different.  She wondered if she could fit back into her skinny jeans.  Had she lost enough of the pregnancy weight?  She hadn’t had the courage to even try them on.  Nor did she look in the mirror without clothes on.  She was just too afraid of what she might see.  Her body had changed so much during pregnancy.  Would she look the same?  Had her figure come back?  The look in Malik’s eyes suggested that it was possible, but what did he know?

As soon as she stepped into the bedroom, she stopped in her tracks.  Laying on the bed was a pair of beautiful black slacks and a burgundy cashmere sweater.  She reached out and touched the sweater, feeling the incredible softness.  It was also a cardigan, so she could nurse more easily.  Oh my, she thought with relish as she investigated the pile of luxurious clothing.  There was even sexy underwear!  She couldn’t wear the bra, her current, hated maternity bra a necessity for nursing, but goodness, she would love to feel the lace panties against her skin. 

Could she do it?  Could she wear these clothes, even knowing that she couldn’t stay with Malik?  She looked down at the ancient, stretched out tee-shirt and the stained sweat pants.  Yes.  She could definitely wear these clothes!  Now that she had an alternative, there was no way she was going to let Malik see her in those horrible clothes again.  A woman had pride, she thought! 

Tossing the old ones into the garbage can, she eagerly slipped the slacks on, praying that they would fit her.  When she slid the zipper up and buttoned the waist, she felt a hundred percent better!  And the burgundy sweater slid over her skin like a soft caress.  Oh my, she thought and ran her hands over the material one more time. 

There were even shoes, a cute pair of two-inch heels that gave her a bit more confidence. 

She found a hair dryer and styled her hair, realizing that she desperately needed a trim.  She hadn’t been to a hairdresser in…well, since before she’d met Malik!  Goodness, her hair was a mess.  She pulled it into a bun but didn’t have the pins to hold it there.  It would just have to fall around her shoulders like a tangled mess, she realized. 

She had makeup, but it was in her purse which was out in the living room.  At least, she hoped it was in the living room.  Last night was a bit of a blur and she wasn’t sure what was going on right now. 

So, fresh faced and freshly cleaned, she stepped back out into the living room feeling much more human. 

“What have you done with my daughter!” she cried out when she saw her daughter hanging from Malik’s hands.  “Don’t you dare get close to her baby skin with those scissors!” she yelled just as Malik’s guard was about to…well, she had no idea what he was about to do. 

She took in the guard, looking stunned with the scissors frozen halfway in the air, Malik holding Lika up with both hands, and Lika dangling in the air, her tiny legs wiggling and a smile on her face as if all of this was simply a happy moment in her life. 

“She needs a new diaper.  We’re just going to get the diaper off of her,” Malik explained, then nodded to Aaron again to go ahead with the scissors. 

“Stop!” she called out again.  Once more, everyone froze.  Well, everyone except Lika who had no idea what a dangerous situation she was in at the moment.  “Explain why you need scissors to get a diaper off.  And what in the world is that pink stuff?”

Malik and Aaron both looked at Lika’s chubby tummy, then back to her.  “That’s duct tape.”

She shook her head and closed her eyes.  “Duct tape is silver.  That’s pink!  Duct tape is not pink!”  She then opened her eyes and glared at the two men, not daring to look at her daughter again. 

Aaron grimaced.  “Well, ma’am, we ran out of the other kind.  When we called down for more, the hotel didn’t have the silver kind but one of the maids had this so they sent that up for us.”

Jina’s mouth fell open and she tried to work through what they were telling her.  But it just didn’t make any sense.  “Let me see if I understand this correctly.”  She paused, her hand moving to her forehead as she sorted through everything they’d just told her.  “Lika needed a new diaper and, instead of just using the convenient tabs on the side of the diaper, you’ve duct taped the diaper together.  And you’ve used so much duct tape that…” she paused because the hilarity of the situation was just too much for her to go on with a straight face, “that you had to request more from the hotel staff and they sent up the craft type of duct tape.”  She looked at her daughter who was still grinning and wiggling.  “And you have to cut the diapers off with scissors.”

Malik pulled Lika closer.  “It was scissors or a knife,” he explained, then muttered a curse when he saw Jina’s eyes widen in horror.  “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that part.” 

Aaron knew when to retreat and he did so quickly, leaving the scissors on the table.   Malik saw the man depart and shook his head.  “Now who is the coward?” he muttered under his breath. 

Facing Jina, he held out his hand.  “I’d at least like you to acknowledge that I figured out how to change her diaper.  I understood how nervous you were about getting in a nanny so the only alternative was to do it myself.  And you got more sleep, right?”

She wasn’t sure if she should laugh or be angry with him.  Instead, she walked over to him and took her daughter out of his arms.  “Duct tape?  Really?”  She then walked over to the table where the changing mat was laying along with bags of diapers that were lined up against the wall.  She had no idea how long he was planning to stay here in this penthouse suite but he was fully prepared with diapers for the next millennium. 

She tore the pink duct tape away…or at least she tried to tear it away.  The diaper tore but it didn’t come apart.  The stupid diaper had so many layers, so much stuffing!  The stupid thing didn’t look like it had this much inside of it! 

“Good grief!” she groaned.  After several more minutes of trying to get the obnoxious diaper off, she glared at him as she grabbed the scissors, ignoring his chuckle as she cut the stupid thing off.

She grabbed another diaper and made short work of putting the dry diaper on.  “Tabs!” she showed him, lifting the small tabs on each side of the diaper.  When the diaper was secure, she efficiently stuffed Lika’s legs back into the onesie and lifted her up into her arms.  “Tabs, Malik,” and smacked the scissors against his chest before walking away to sit down on the extremely comfortable sofa. 

Malik stared at the scissors, then at Jina.  “That’s not fair,” he told her, walking over to the sofa to stand over her.  “Those tabs weren’t on the other diapers.” 

She laughed, shaking her head.  “That’s the story you’re going with?” she asked, lifting Lika up for a kiss. 

Malik glared down at her, irritated that she wasn’t intimidated.  “Absolutely.  And there’s no evidence to prove otherwise,” he stated with finality, putting the scissors on a high shelf where Lika couldn’t reach them accidentally. 

“We need to talk,” he told her firmly. 

Jina felt like a completely different woman now that she’d slept for more than four hours, was showered and in beautiful clothes.  And she admitted that a break from taking care of Lika had done her a world of good.  She loved her daughter with all of her heart, but having some time alone, even just enough time to take a long, leisurely shower where she didn’t have to race to take care of Lika, had made her feel human again. 

She kissed Lika’s tummy, causing the tiny girl to giggle.  “What would you like to talk about?” she asked and kissed her tummy again.  Jina was unaware of Malik watching the two of them, stunned by the sweet sound of his daughter giggling.  He’d taken care of her all morning and afternoon but he hadn’t heard her make that sound.