The Sheik's Pregnant Lover (Love By Accident) (11 page)

“Ms. Y
ork
?” a tall, pretty w
oman in a
crisp
navy blue uniform asked Sidra.

Sidra knew she’d been standing in the doorway, looking lost and alone.  She was grateful for the other woman’s welcome guidance. 
“Yes.  Where should I sit?
  Is there a seat out of the way where I can sit and not bother anyone?
”

“His highness has requested that you join him upstairs,” the uniformed woman explained.

Sidra
didn’t like that idea one little bit, but it made her feel better to at least know where the man was now.  She
looked behind her at the stairs.  “Why?”

The woman blinked and looked at Sidra strangely.  “I’m….” the woman stammered, obviously unused to people asking that question.  Apparently, when ‘his highness’ wanted one’s presence, one presented oneself.  Another rule Debra forgot to mention.  Or maybe she had and Sidra just hadn’t remembered.  “
S
orry
,” Sidra mumbled, hiding her amusement at the woman’s stunned expression
. 
“
Just use those stairs?” she asked, feeling like a recalcitrant child. 

The navy blue woman looked relieved that she didn’t have to answer Sidra’s question and stepped to the side. 
“Yes.  John will meet you at the top level.”

Sidra nodded and tucked her bag full of notes onto her shoulder.  “Thank you.  I’ll check in with….him..” she said awkwardly, not sure she could ever call Rashid ‘his highness’
,
“but is there a place I could work when I’m through?”

The woman smiled.  “Of course
.  I’ll make sure there is a table for you as soon as you’re finished
.”  She waved up the stairs, as if Sidra really shouldn’t keep the great man waiting.
“Take off is in approximately five minutes.”

Sidra absorbed that information
as she stood in the middle of the entryway, completely stunned by what was happening.  This wasn’t real, she told herself.  She wasn’t really here, she wasn’t exhausted and she wasn’t flying halfway across the globe with a man she’d met three weeks ago.  No, this was all a dream and she was really in her bed, snuggled under her down comforter waiting for the sun to come up.

She was startled out of her mental arguments when a
man
came stumbling
down the stairs
from
the upper deck and looked around frantically.  Sidra noticed the moment his eyes spotted her and he rushed over to her.  “Are you
Ms.
Sidra Y
ork
?” he asked, slightly out of breath
and looking extremely frazzled
.

Sidra looked back at the man, wondering why he appeared to be so nervous.  “Yes.  Why?”

The man visibly relaxed.  “If you would follow me, His Highness has been waiting for you to arrive so we can take off.  This way?”

Sidra simply stood there, wondering when her dream was going to wake her up and she should shower and….

“Ma’am?” he prompted
anxiously
when Sidra simply stood there, probably with her mouth hanging open in stunned silence. 

She blinked at the man, ordered her feet to move forward, but she was stuck, her feet plastered firmly on the floor.  She even noticed the others
around her
that had
previously
been rushing
about their business
, all were now finding seats and locking their seat belts into place
, some even looking at her expectantly
. 

The man’s anxiety once again increased and he moved forward so that he could quietly say in her ear, “I apologize for the rush, ma’am, but His Highness has been asking about you for the past thirty minutes.  We’re scheduled to take off but if you’re not upstairs and in a seat where he can see you, then he will delay our departure.  That will throw off several meetings that are all tightly scheduled for the day and could cause several
international
issues.”

Sidra snapped out of her stupefaction and shook her head.  “Well, I wouldn’t want to be the cause of
any international
issues.  Lead the way,” she said, but her voice was almost a whisper.  She was terrified of seeing
Rashid again.  But because of Debra’s
warning
yesterday, she couldn’t turn back.  The only course was to go forward and figure out how to deal with a cheating
, heartless
bastard of a man. 

Be professional, she told herself
as she carefully took each step to the upper deck
.  She might have been emotionally invested in their short relationship, but Rashid
had
had other idea
s
.  She had to put that behind her and move forward.  This was a wonderful opportunity and she
needed
to grab the bull by the horns and do a bang up job of decorating this man’s home.  She c
ould create an environment for
him that he’d love!  She just had to be professional about everything. 

She followed the
gopher Rashid had sent to hunt her down
, hearing the plane’s engines rev up outside and she climbed the stairs with knees that were barely able to hold her weight. 

The upper deck was filled with people sitting at a conference room table but as soon as she arrived, Rashid nodded and the whole area was vacated within moments.  She stood there staring at Rashid, her eyes taking in his magnificent form in an immaculate suit and red, silk tie. 

Rashid looked her up and down, noting the dark circles and the loose clothing.  She hadn’t been eating or sleeping, he thought.  That
indicated
she was miserable about something so at least he was in good company. 
Good!  He didn’t like her being miserable, but at least it showed that she felt something for him and was just as miserable as he had been since they’d departed. 

He should feel better knowing that she was upset about something but in reality, he felt angry and wanted to take her into his arms and make it all better for her.  He wanted to protect her and tell her that everything would be okay, and he would make it okay. 
And then he would lift her into his arms and make love to her until neither one of them could move again. 

“Coffee?” he asked, ignoring all the things he wanted to say to her.  Primarily to demand who the bastard was that she’d been talking to last Friday night.  Did she love him?  Was their time in England just a weekend fling that she’d already dismissed in her mind?

Sidra looked over at the table filled with various breakfast materials but the thought of food turned her stomach.  “No thank you.”

Another beautiful woman appeared in a doorway and cleared her throat.  “Your Highness, we’re ready to take off.  The pilot is waiting on your permission.”

Rashid nodded, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Sidra.  He indicated she should find a chair and fasten her seat belt.  He did the same, but inside, he was fuming that anyone else had dared to touch this lovely, forlorn looking woman. 

Sidra walked through the conference room to the chairs set against one of the walls.  They appeared to be the only ones with seat belts so she’d have to sit next to the man.  With as much dignity as she could come up with, she took her seat, but pointed her knees and shoulders away from the man buckling his seat belt next to her. 

He lifted a phone and said something, then quickly hung up.  A moment later, the
enormous
plane moved down the runway and
a few minutes
after that, they were airborne.  Sidra
didn’t
have a problem with flying, but she was still stunned by the fact that Rashid wasn’t her lowly born horse trainer but was really a king.  Or a sheik or something like that.  He was not
‘
hers
’
either. 

“How have you been?” Rashid asked, breaking the silence.

Sidra jumped at the sound of his deep voice, but then got herself under control.  “I’ve been fine.  Thank you very much.  And you?”  Professional, she reminded herself. 
She could do this, just one moment at a time. 

He shrugged, his eyes drinking in her soft skin along with the gauntness about her cheeks. 
“Except for being furious with you?  Fine.”

Gone were all of her professional thoughts with that opening salvo. 
She swung back to glare at him.  “Furious with me?  What did I do?”

His blue eyes darkened with his anger. 
“You left that weekend and didn’t tell me where to reach you.”

She snorted, a very unladylike sound and she regretted it immediately.  “As if you would care!”  She turned back away from him, then sighed.  “That was unprofessional of me.  I apologize.  Would you care to see the preliminary plans I’ve drawn up?”

He considered her
overly thin
face and the dark circles under her eyes. “I’d like you to eat something.”

Sidra looked over at the food.  There was colorful fruit and pastries and something inside of
chafing
dishes that smelled delicious, but she shook her head.  “I’ll have something later,” she promised, hoping that her stomach would settle down now that the initial confrontation with Rashid had happened. 

The massive plane was leveling off slightly and a bell chimed in the distance.  “Have some coffee or tea.  It looks like you haven’t slept at all.”

She sighed and smoothed her hair back nervously.  She was prepared for angry Rashid but this kind Rashid wasn’t helping her with her equilibrium.  “Coffee would be nice.”

“What time did you finish working last
night
?” he asked as he stood up
to get
her a cup of coffee, pouring the hot liquid into a delicate china cup. 

She bent down to look through the papers in her briefcase, not wanting to look at him and remember how tall and powerful he was underneath those tailored clothes.  She didn’t want to think about all those moments she’d been allowed to touch him, to revel in the strength of his body and how feminine he made her feel when he held her in his arms. 
“My boss and I went over the plans you left until late.”

He handed her the cup and stood over her, his blue eyes assessing her carefully.  “How late?”

She took the cup but as soon as she smelled the brew she had to push it away, almost spilling it on her hand as the smell started to make her gag.  “Please, I can’t handle this right now,” she gasped and handed it back to him. 

Rashid looked down at her as he held the cup away.  “Are you okay?” he asked.
  Her face was pale and even her lips had turned white.  He was immediately concerned and bent down low to look into her eyes. 

Sidra took a deep breath, grateful that there wasn’t the scent of coffee to invade her nostrils.  She felt marginally better, but still wasn’t ready for the coffee once again. 
“Yes. 
I’m sorry, I’m perfectly fine. 
Just no coffee.  Please, can you push it away?”

Rashid put the cup back onto the table with the other food, then came back to stand in front of her. 
“What time did you get to sleep last night?” he demanded.

Sidra took a deep breath and relaxed, forcing her body to stop reacting so oddly.  She ignored Rashid’s question in an effort to calm down and close her eyes.

“Answer me!” he growled, bending low and placing a hand on either side of her chair.  His face was at her eye level and she gasped with the closeness, her fingers curling into fists so she didn’t reach up and touch him as she so desperately wanted to.  Three weeks ago, she felt as if she could touch him in any way she wanted.  He even encouraged her that last morning and she’d reveled in the freedom to explore the hard planes of his body.  But she didn’t have that pleasure now and she had to pull back, be careful about what she wanted.  This man was off limits to her now. 

Angrily, she glared back at him.  “I don’t have to answer to you!  I’m here in a professional capacity to decorate your dam house!  Not to bow and scrape like all those other people…” she was just getting more riled up
with his arrogant attitude. 

Rashid didn’t hesitate any longer.  He grabbed her hands, pulled her up out of her chair, straight into his arms.  He covered her mouth with his a moment before he knew she was going to start arguing but he didn’t care any longer.  He’d been thinking about holding her for so many nights, and days, and he wasn’t waiting any longer. 

Sidra gasped at the contact, her mind spiraling back to the creek, her body remembering all that they’d done and how it felt to be back in his arms.  But it was better now.  The electricity of his touch making her shudder with a need that she’d tried so hard to suppress, but it had always been right below the surface.  Now, with his mouth kissing her, his tongue moving in and out of her mouth just like she wanted him to do to her body, she couldn’t deny that need any longer.  It roared to life, making her feel like she was coming a
part at the seams and her hands
that had been clenched by her side so she wouldn’t touch him, grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and pulled him closer, her body needing to be closer to him that she’d ever felt possible.