The Sheik's Baby Surprise (6 page)

She laughed at that, unable to hide her amusement once again.  “I’m sure there are very few people you allow to call you by your given name.”

“That’s true.”  He thought for a moment before he said, “What if I told you that there are about five people who would call me worse?  And to my face?”  He saw the surprise in her eyes.  “And what’s more, four of them are men I highly respect and they still try and take me down whenever they have the chance.”  When she looked at him doubtfully, he continued, “Okay, so they don’t physically fight with me anymore.  But there were days when it was all our headmaster could do to keep us from killing each other.  It was only one blond haired brat that stopped all of it.  And she still tries to interfere in our lives.”  He shifted slightly.  “One night, she was so scared from a horror movie that she snuck into with us that she made me sleep on the floor underneath the window, just to make sure that the monsters wouldn’t get in.”

“No way,” Jina replied, not believing him for a moment. 

“Believe it,” he assured her.  “And I think I had to sleep there for several nights.”

Jina shook her head.  He was teasing her but it was working.  She leaned back against the soft leather seat. 

“It’s true,” he told her.  “In fact, she’s the only reason I don’t have more broken bones.”

“What do you mean?”

He leaned back and took her hand, playing with her fingers as he examined her nails.  They were smooth and short.  A worker’s hands, he thought.  “Scarlett was a five year old little tyrant who arrived at the boarding school.  All of us basically hated each other but there were five of us that took that hatred to a new level.  For about a year, there wasn’t a day that passed when one or all five of us were throwing punches.  I think I lived with a broken rib, not always the same one, for about six months of that year.”  He thought back to those days, shaking his head.  “When that little tyrant showed up, all she had to do was put a hand on our arm or our shoulder and,” he shrugged, not really understanding it either.  “Well, we just stopped.”  He looked at her.  “Now those men and Scarlett are my best friends.  And besides you, they are the only ones that are allowed to call me by my first name.”

“That’s a sweet story,” she said, not really believing him but thinking it was kind of him to try and make her feel more comfortable.  “Where are we going?”

“To my hotel.  I will order a bottle of wine and tempt you with one of the chef’s amazing desserts.”

The trembling increased and her eyes widened in fear and…yes…desire.  Curiosity.  “I don’t want anything,” she told him, wary of being alone with him. 

“Fine, you’ll have a cup of coffee with me and we’ll talk.  I’ll let you ask me anything you want to know about me as a person and then you’ll feel more comfortable.”

She shook her head.  “I doubt I’ll feel comfortable with you alone in your hotel.”

He shrugged his shoulder.  “Then we will go to your apartment.”  He didn’t wait for her to respond before he picked up a phone and issued a command in a language she didn’t understand.  A moment later, before Jina could even reply to his change of plans, the limousine was turning and heading out of Manhattan. 

“We can’t go to my apartment!” she gasped out, sitting up a bit straighter because they were dangerously close to her building.

He simply smiled slightly, not responding.  Before she could form a coherent argument, the limousine was gliding smoothly to a halt in front of her building and Malik was getting out.  He turned and offered his hand.

Jina stared at that hand, knowing she should be polite and accept his help but she also remembered the heat that seeped into her body every time she touched this man.  Even inadvertent touches made her senses become inflamed. 

In the end, she put her hand in his, but only for a moment.  She couldn’t endure much more. 

She warily led him up the stairs and was painfully conscious of him right behind her.  She was wearing only the black cocktail dress and it felt strange to know that he was right behind her, looking at her bottom.

She was hugely relieved when she reached her floor and she could move to the side.  But the look in his eyes told her that he knew exactly what was going on inside her head. 

“Are you laughing at me?” she demanded as soon as her door was unlocked.  But she stood in the doorway, glaring up at him. 

He chuckled softly and pressed her against the doorframe.  “Laughing?  No.  Enjoying your…shyness?” He lifted a finger, running it along her neck.  “Yes.  I am enjoying your shy nervousness.”

“I’m neither shy nor nervous,” she lied, trying to appear sophisticated and unconcerned with having this large man inside her personal space. 

His eyes moved over her features, noting the color that appeared.  “Yes, you are.  But I like it.  You are refreshing.” 

Jina’s lips curled into a grimace.  “Refreshing.  I’m not sure I like that adjective but,” she shrugged, knowing there wasn’t anything she could do.  “I’m not shy though.  I speak with people all day long.  People I’ve never met before and I’m not bothered by introducing myself.”

He gently pulled her down the short, dark hallway to her kitchen.  “You’re shy with me.  And I like it.  Because I know that you’re nervous about being alone with me.”

She wasn’t going to argue with him on that point.  But nor was she going to correct him.  She wasn’t nervous.  That was such a tame description for what she was feeling.  She was terrified.  She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest and her skin felt almost tingly and he wasn’t even touching her at the moment.

He stepped back and saw the colorfully wrapped box sitting in her tote bag.  “Are these the shoes that someone delivered to you?” he asked, lifting the box out of her bag.  He pulled the box out and separated the tissue paper, lifting one perfect shoe out of the box and examining it.  “They look lovely.”  His eyes moved to hers.  “Why won’t you wear them?”

She pursed her lips.  “Because they are outrageously expensive.  You’ll have to take them back.  I can’t accept a gift like that.”

He shrugged one massive shoulder.  “I don’t know how much they cost, but someone must have noticed how beautiful your legs are and wanted to give you a present to display them.” 

Jina looked at his fingers as they smoothed over the lines of the shoe.  Even the red sole looked sensuous as his long fingers moved along the edge.  Pulling her eyes away, she grabbed the tea kettle and turned to face the sink, away from that man’s hands that she could so easily picture running along her body. 

She couldn’t believe how off-balance she felt, simply because this particular man was in her apartment and looking at a shoe. 

She set the teapot down on a burner, then turned on the heat before turning back to face him.  She felt somewhat back in control, but she should have just pushed him out of her apartment.  Because this man was too large, too tall and too everything.  He dwarfed her apartment, somehow even making the air seem more intense.  That wasn’t possible, was it?  Air was air.  It couldn’t change forms simply because one man was in close proximity. 

Very close proximity! 

“What are you doing?” she demanded, suddenly realizing that he’d moved closer to her.  She leaned against the countertop, trying to keep a couple of inches between them.  Bad mistake!  He lifted her up, his hands on her waist and easily set her down on the countertop. 

He didn’t respond to her question with words.  His fingers slid down her leg and Jina said a silent thank you that she’d remembered to shave her legs this morning.  Then he slipped her strappy sandal off of her foot, replacing it with the Louboutin pump. 

“Perfect,” he said, his head tilting back and forth as he looked at her leg.  He then reached out and plucked the other shoe out of the box, repeating the process with her other foot. 

That wouldn’t have been such a problem, but the diabolical man somehow positioned himself between her legs, not giving her any space to close her knees primly together as she wanted to do.  When he finished putting the shoe on her foot, he turned around, forcing her legs further apart, shocking her with his audacity and blatantly sexual moves. 

“Now, what were you saying about not being nervous?” he asked a moment before his mouth covered her own.  There was no chance to respond, not because he was kissing her but because he was really kissing her!  Responding to his question was the furthest thing from her mind as his tongue invaded her mouth, teasing her and exploring her taste.  When his teeth captured her lower lip, she gasped at the erotic feeling before he released it, kissing her again. 

His hands were moving over her waist, sliding up and down her cocktail dress covered legs and hips.  What she wasn’t aware of was that he was sliding the material higher with each swish of his hands.  Of course, she was fully aware when his hands grabbed hold of her hips and pulled her forward, causing her heat to cradle that hardness.  But she couldn’t be still.  Not in this position.  She didn’t care that her skirt was up around her hips now or that his erection was pressing against her, making her body ache in places she’d never even known existed.  All she knew, as she tilted her hips to get better contact, was that she wanted this man and she needed to shift against him.  Unable to stop herself, she shifted again and again, moving so slightly in a desperate need to ease the ache that was centered low in her body. 

The whistle on the tea kettle startled both of them.  Jina looked up into his dark eyes, her mind not really understanding what he was doing to her.  Or how he could do it so easily! 

She pushed at his shoulders, relieved when he allowed her to push him back.  Jumping down off of the countertop, she grabbed the tea kettle, lifting it off of the burner and turning off the heat.  Her fingers were shaking when she reached up and took down two cups.  When a strong hand took them out of her fingers, she sighed with relief.  She suspected she’d drop them anyway.  She was too rattled from the way he’d kissed her.  And too shocked at how she’d responded!  Good grief, the man knew how to kiss!

“Tea,” she said softly and pulled down the tin that held all of her flavored teas.  “What kind of tea would you like?” she asked.

“Any kind of tea is fine,” he replied, watching her carefully.  “Are you okay?”

Jina spun around to face him then leaned back.  She hadn’t been aware that he was so close.  Again!  She needed some space after that kiss!

Her eyes dropped to her hands, unable to maintain eye contact.  “No.  I don’t think I’m fine.”

“Talk to me Jina.  Did I hurt you in some way?”

She shook her head.  “Hurt me?  No.  You didn’t hurt me in any way.  But I have to ask why are you here?”  She looked at his immaculate suit that probably cost as much as her entire year’s rent money.  “You’re a sheik, Malik.  What are you doing here?  With me?  It can’t be simply because you enjoy our conversations because we haven’t really talked about anything.  So that really only leaves one reason.  You want to have sex.”

He was more than a little stunned by her directness, but he should have been prepared.  “Yes,” he replied honestly.  “I want you.  I’ve never denied that.”

She lowered her lashes.  “Yes, but you see, I don’t…I can’t…” she finally looked up into his eyes.  “I can’t be your mistress.  And that’s really all I could possibly be to you.” 

Malik didn’t reply.  He’d never really considered what the women in his life might think of his intentions.  He’d never really thought about getting married, never having met a woman that he could stand talking with outside of the bedroom.  Well, besides Scarlett, but she didn’t really count.  She wasn’t a woman.  He almost rolled his eyes.  Of course, Scarlett was a woman but she was…well, she was like a kid sister. 

He focused his dark eyes on her blue ones. “I’m going to make love to you, Jina.  That’s inevitable.”

She sighed, trying to figure out why that bothered her so much.  Her stomach tightened with anticipation, but there was something wrong about his absolute conviction. 

“Malik,” she forced his name out, “If you were just another man, this conversation would be different.”

“How?” he demanded, not liking the idea of any other man touching her as he was going to touch her. 

“If you were just an ordinary man, and there was this intense attraction between us, then I would risk an affair with you.”

“At least you’re willing to admit that there is an attraction,” he replied, irritated still. 

She smiled briefly.  “Yes.  I’ll admit that much.  But it can’t go anywhere.  And I have too much pride, too much at stake with my career, to risk just entering into an affair with a man like you.  When I make love with a man, it is because I’m in love with him.”

Malik understood her words.  He didn’t like what she was telling him, but he respected her even more because of her sentiments.  “And have you ever been in love with a man?” he asked, his hands coming to pull the pins from her hair, massaging the scalp gently as he watched her eyes close with pleasure. 

“No.  I’ve never been in love with another man, Malik.”

For some reason, her assurance helped ease the tension in his shoulders.  This woman was a virgin, he realized.  Yes, she might be lying to him.  And this whole conversation might be a ruse to get him more interested in her.  Women were diabolical creatures with amazing imaginations to get what they want.  And many women wanted his ring on their finger and access to all of his wealth and the power that would be translated from him to his wife.