The Sheikh's Secret Son. Maggie Cox

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СКАЧАТЬ same vicinity as her. Was there, in fact, a record for such a thing?

      To stave off her distress, she blurted out, ‘When I get home you don’t have to come in with me. I can manage perfectly well using my walking aids.’

      The man beside her turned slowly to survey her. ‘Save your breath, Darcy, and listen to me. No matter how much you try to reassure me, I make no apologies for insisting that I accompany you. It would be remiss of me to take you home after your accident and then not come in with you to ensure you have everything you need and are safe.’

      Now her heart beat hard for a different reason. He was going to meet their son for the very first time. What would he say? What would he do?

      Sami was a sensitive little boy and was likely to be overwhelmed by the intimidating sight of Zafir unless she prepared him first. For all her quick thinking and bravado, how on earth was she going to deal with that?

CHAPTER THREE

      DARCY HAD BOTH feared and longed for Zafir to meet his son, and it was hard to believe that at long last it was going to happen. Yet when the car pulled up outside the modest townhouse in the leafy London suburb where she lived, her fear about their meeting felt as if it might choke her.

      She couldn’t attest to being sure of him at all. What if he demanded custody of Sami in order to punish her because she hadn’t told him about the pregnancy straight away? He was a powerful man with access to the best lawyers in the world. What was to stop him from suing her?

      Moistening her dried lips, she nervously met his inscrutable dark gaze. ‘You don’t have to carry me into the house,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m happy to go in the wheelchair.’

      ‘Good.’

      For a few seconds he seemed amused, but she knew she shouldn’t be fooled by some imagined sense of his warmth towards her. Not when he was so sure she’d wronged him.

      The faithful Rashid remained waiting outside the car at a signal from his boss, and he watched and waited as His Highness helped her into the wheelchair. Steering her towards the front door, Zafir reached up to ring the bell.

      Darcy felt sick to her stomach. It was only natural that she should anticipate the worst, she reasoned. This man was no longer her employer and one-time lover...he was now an unknown entity and a serious threat to all she held dear.

      Quickly delving into her jacket pocket, she produced her key just in time. ‘You don’t need to ring the bell. I have my key.’

      ‘Then give it to me and I’ll let us in. Will there be anybody here to help you while your ankle heals?’ His tanned brow furrowed, as if the notion that there might not be perturbed him.

      Dropping the key into his palm, she scarcely felt able to reply. But in the next instant he’d wheeled her into the carpeted hallway and the only sound that greeted her was the ticking of the grandfather clock...the clock that had once been her dad’s pride and joy. Other than that, the house was quiet.

      ‘Sami and I live with my mum, but I think she must have gone out.’

      Shutting the door behind them, he commented, ‘I take it that means you don’t have a husband?’

      Planting himself firmly in front of her, the handsome Arabian folded his arms across his chest, leaving her in no doubt that he meant business and was going to find out the truth of her situation by whatever means necessary.

      Gulping down an uneasy breath, she answered, ‘No.’ How could she tell him that she’d only ever wanted one man for her husband and that was him? ‘There’s no one in my life but Sami and my mother.’

      ‘I can’t pretend that I’m unhappy about that.’ His long-lashed black eyes focused on her intently. ‘It could potentially complicate things if you were in a relationship.’

      Knowing what he meant, she tightened her pale hands on the arms of the wheelchair. ‘As it no doubt will when you marry this woman you’re engaged to,’ she said pointedly, unconsciously lifting her chin. ‘If Sami goes to stay with you in the future I have to confess I’ll be uncomfortable with the idea when I don’t even know her. What’s she like?’

      ‘Her name is Farrida. She is from an important Zachariah family and her beauty and her intellect are much admired. We have known each other since we were children.’

      The aloof manner in which he described his bride-to-be didn’t tell Darcy very much about her at all—certainly not about the important things she wanted to know, such as her character and her values.

      ‘Is she a warm and friendly person?’ she pressed. ‘I suppose what I’m asking is, does she like children?’

      His giving his intended a name, as well as listing attributes she definitely couldn’t match, made the woman even more threatening to Darcy.

      ‘And do...?’ She hardly dared ask the next question. ‘Do you love her?’

      The glance Zafir returned to her was undeniably weary, as if the subject both bored and irritated him. ‘As to whether she likes children or not—she knows that she’s expected to produce heirs. This is not a love match. Arranged marriages are common practice amongst those with political power and wealth in my country. My family and hers typify that. Our destiny has always been to marry someone from a similar background.’

      ‘So what you’re saying is that you don’t have a choice about who you marry?’

      The smile he quirked was wry. ‘My mother, the Dowager Queen, would not insist if the woman did not please me.’

      ‘What do you mean by that?’

      Unfolding his arms, he sighed, and his sigh was tinged with impatience. ‘Surely you, of all women, must know what I mean? Have you so quickly forgotten how it was between us?’

      The startling reminder was like a scythe slashing through her innards, because it was clear he was setting his sights on someone far above her background. Whether he would marry the well-connected beauty he spoke of or not, the woman surely had to be a much better bet than she had ever been.

      She coughed to ease the tension that was cramping her throat. ‘Do you think you could get me some water? The kitchen’s just through that door.’

      With a concerned expression, her companion briefly exited the room. He reappeared a few moments later with her drink. Once again the beguiling cologne he wore stirred the air, conjuring up potent imagery of a very different land whose history stretched back to the dawn of time.

      ‘Do you need your medication?’ he asked gruffly. ‘I have it here.’

      He gave her the painkillers, along with the glass of water.

      ‘Thanks.’ Pressing the foil packet with trembling fingers, Darcy emptied a couple of capsules into her hand. Then she hurriedly swallowed them down with the drink, all the while aware that her one-time lover watched her avariciously, almost like a hawk about to bear down on his prey.

      ‘That’s better,’ she remarked, for no other reason than that it was something to break the silence that had fallen.

      ‘Even though we are СКАЧАТЬ