The Sheikh's Secret Baby. Sharon Kendrick
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Название: The Sheikh's Secret Baby
Автор: Sharon Kendrick
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: Mills & Boon Modern
isbn: 9781474087476
isbn:
He gave a short laugh. ‘Go back to Razrastan? Are you really that naïve, Jazz? Do you think that, having found my child, I will now exit myself from his life?’ Ruthlessly, he found himself taking pleasure from her lip-biting response to his words. And why shouldn’t he enjoy her distress? She hadn’t given his feelings a second thought when she’d kept his progeny hidden from him, had she? ‘I will return later to take you to dinner. Somewhere neutral away from here, where we can consider our options. I will have one of my people book somewhere suitable.’
‘No. I can’t. That isn’t going to work,’ she protested. ‘I’m not leaving Darius while I go out for dinner with you!’
‘Why not?’ he demanded. ‘Do you think I’m going to have him spirited away while you’re out?’
She met his gaze with a fierce challenge on her face—a look he had never seen her use before. ‘I wouldn’t put it past you.’
He inclined his head in unwilling admiration. ‘You are wise indeed not to underestimate my determination,’ he conceded. ‘But you still haven’t explained your refusal to dine with me.’
‘Because I don’t have a local babysitter, not yet,’ she babbled. ‘And I’m not leaving Darius with a stranger!’
His lips twisted. ‘You think I would compromise childcare, Jazz? He is a royal Prince of Razrastan—and he will be cared for by the finest professional money can buy.’
‘No.’
‘No?’ he verified incredulously.
‘I’m not leaving him with a stranger,’ she repeated stubbornly.
A pulse flickered at his temple as he trained his gaze on the minuscule kitchen which could just be glimpsed over her shoulder. ‘You expect me to eat dinner here?’
‘I don’t particularly care whether you eat or not, since food is the last thing on my mind,’ she returned. ‘But since you are determined to have this meeting, I dare say I can rustle up something for supper.’
There was a moment of tense silence before, slowly, he nodded his head. ‘Very well. I will return at eight.’ He paused. ‘In the meantime, my bodyguards will be stationed around the property, so if you’re contemplating making some dramatic break for freedom, I urge you think again.’
Jasmine stared at him, feeling as if she was being backed into a corner. Was that how he intended her to feel? As if he had all the power and she had none? Because that was true, wasn’t it? She looked at him. ‘Bodyguards?’ she echoed. ‘Are you out of your mind? We’ve been living here perfectly safely for the last six months. This is rural Oxfordshire. We don’t need bodyguards.’
‘On the contrary, you most certainly do. You may have lived that way in the past, Jazz, but those days are over. This child has pure Al Haidar blood pulsing through his veins and will be treated accordingly.’ He slanted her a warning look. ‘I will see you later. Just make sure you are ready to receive me.’
His final request was like a throwback to the past and she wondered how she was supposed to do that. Was he hinting that he’d like her to be waiting for him wearing some tiny scrap of silk-satin lingerie the way she’d done in the past—showing as much flesh as possible without actually being naked? She studied his hard face. Unlikely. At this precise moment, his expression betrayed nothing but contempt. His bearing was both regal and imperious as he turned and walked out of the front door, closing it softly behind him. Jasmine could hear the purr of a powerful car engine as it started to move and now that the shock of seeing him again had begun to wear off, she began to tremble.
Unwanted tears stung her eyes, but she brushed them away as she tried to centre herself and make sense of what had just happened and to wonder how it had all come to this.
She heard Darius beginning to wake again and determination flooded through her in a hot rush as she recognised that she needed to have her wits about her when dealing with a man as powerful as Zuhal.
But most of all she needed to be strong.
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