The Sheik's Secret Twins (12 page)

Siri pulled herself together.  “You can talk all you want.  But you’re not taking my sons from me.”

“They’re my sons as well,” he countered.

“And you apparently have their whole future planned out for them.  Well, one at least.  The other we can toss to the side,” she said angrily and stormed into her kitchen, pressing the button to make the coffee.  “Oh, no!
” she interjected after a moment’s pause.  “
We
can’t toss him out, can we? An
heir and a spare, isn’t that the phrase?”

“
Don’t
be ridiculous.  I don’t consider either of them in that way and you know it.”

“Momma, what’s a spare?” Sam asked as he climbed up into his chair
, looking at Malik as if he were an esteemed stranger.  He’d helped with his frogs so in Sam’s opinion, the tall man couldn’t be all bad, the toddler surmised
.

Jacob was right behind him and both looked up at her with curiosity
, waiting for a response
. 

Siri sighed and shook her head.  “We were just
arguing
about politics, honey.  Are you hungry?” she asked and took the
large, expensive looking
bag that Malik had brought in with him and set
it
on the counter while they
calmed down from their argument.  The s
mells emanating from the bag were
actually making her mouth water and she re
alized she was incredibly hungry
. 
S
he refused to attribute her hunger to having sex with Malik the night before
though
. 
She wouldn’t give him credit for anything!  Except turning her life upside down again!

Malik turned back to the boys, his eyes hungrily watching each of them and Siri instantly knew what he was trying to do.  “This is Jacob,” she explained, pointing to her little guy on the right.  “You can tell him by the little freckles here on his ear,” she said and tickled Jacob behind his ear
, smiling when he
giggled
and tried to stop her by lifting his shoulder.  “And this is Samuel,
”
she said, moving to the other side of the table.  “You can tell him apart by the wiggle in his nose,” she teased, “and by the darker eyes.  He has slightly darker hair as well.” 

Turning to Malik she said, “They’re fraternal twins but they’re so alike that they are almost identical.  And they already like tricking people who can’t tell them apart as well.  Right boys?” she asked and winked at them as they grinned up at her. 

“Guys,” she said, pulling their attention away from the bags in front of them, “Remember how I told you that your daddy was a very busy man?”  When she received a nod from both, she
went
on, “Well, he’s really sorry and he’s here now.”  She turned to Malik and took a deep breath.  “This is your father, guys.”

The boys didn’t react at all.  They continued to stare up at him, their blank faces not really showing anything at all.  Siri glanced at Malik, who was staring right back at them, with an identical expression on his face as well. 

“So?” she said, just to break the silence.  “Are you guys okay with us sharing our lives with your dad?  He’s come an awfully long way just to meet you.”

Sam was the first to speak.  “Momma says we can’t go around naked.”  He turned to Malik as if seeking confirmation.  “But you were naked last night.  Does that mean you’ll let me go naked too?”

Of all the things she’d thought they might say when they first met their father, Siri could honestly say that question was the absolute last thing she would have guessed that he would ask.  Her mouth fell open and she stared, wondering what the best way to answer her son was under this situation. 

Malik, bless his heart, spoke up and gave the answer that made her heart melt just a little bit towards him.  “If your mom says that we can’t go around naked, then we can’t do that.”

Sam’s crestfallen face only lasted for a moment before he perked up and thought up his next question.  “Are you going to come to school with us today?  Momma always comes to school and gives us a hug and a kiss before we can go play.  She makes us,” he replied with a grimace on his cute little face. 

Siri bent over his head and gave him a big, loud smooch.  “And don’t you forget it!” she said and tickled his tummy.
  “But we’re not going to school today.  You’re going to spend some time with your dad.”

She looked up and glanced at Malik, then pulled her eyes quickly away, afraid of the way he was looking at her right now.  She couldn’t tell if he was admiring the way she treated the boys, or if he was just amused by her teasing. 

“What did you bring for breakfast?” she asked, trying to distract him. 

He continued looking down at her for a moment, then he pushed himself away from the counter and picked up the bags.  “I actually have no idea.  I told the chef to make something for kids and adults.”

Siri grimaced and peered into the bags.  “What do you think, guys?  Do we trust him?  He’s not used to being a dad.  He might have really gone off the mark here.”

She almost laughed when they both looked into the bag, bumping their heads in their eagerness to find out what was inside. 

Malik chuckled and
carefully
took the bag away, pulling out several boxes with an elaborate label on the front.  “Let’s see how badly I did on my first try.”  He opened one box and raised his eyebrows, then handed it to Siri.  “This is probably for you.”  He pulled out another one and looked at the contents and smiled slightly.  “I think this is probably a good meal for a cute kid,” he said and glanced at Sam and Jacob, both eager with wide eyes, the anticipation making their little bodies wiggle in excitement. 

He handed the box to Jacob who took it with a distracted “thank you!” before he peered inside.  “Cool!” he exclaimed and grinned over at Sam who was leaning as far over the table as possible so he could see inside the box.  “
Its
pancakes in the shape of different kinds of animals!” he exclaimed. 

Sam looked up at Malik, his eyes pleading for something just as interesting.  Malik pulled out the next box and peered inside.  “Yep, this is another one for a kid,” he said and handed the box to Sam. 

“Awesome!” Sam
said as he happily clapped his hands over his own box of animal shaped pancakes.  The last box he kept for himself, not even bothering to look inside as he turned to Siri, winking at her amused expression as her sons dug into the pancakes without even bothering to wait for the syrup.  “They’re made of tofu and I think the chef even put a bit of flax seed in them,” Malik whispered in her ear, then nibbled slightly, sending shivers throughout her whole body.  She jumped and almost lost her own box
which contained
a perfectly cooked
omelet
with gooey cheese and lots of grilled vegetables.  “By the way, we’re not through with that original discussion from last night,” he said and sat down at the table between the boys, but not before he chuckled over the blush that pinkened her cheeks. 

The three males sat at the table, her sons asking Malik questions about where he was from, what it was like in Duban, why he lived there instead of here, would they ever be able to visit Duban and would the people there like them if they came.  The questions were amazing and she couldn’t believe how much knowledge her sons had acquired about desert life and the various parts of the world. 

When they’d
eaten all
they
could of their pancake animals, the three of them wandered outside and Malik introduced them to the body guards, explaining what they were doing and how they should always be in sight of their guards.  This was an area Siri hadn’t anticipated, and wasn’t really ready for.  But since he hadn’t spoken to her about it before, she wasn’t sure how she could deal with it.  She’d been alone with her boys for so long, making all the decisions, never having to consult with anyone, this was a new area for her.

It occurred to her that Malik had given her a huge compliment.  He was accepting these two boys as his own with only her word that they were his offspring.  She knew others in his country would need a DNA test to prove paternity, but Malik had just accepted her word.  Malik took the boys to the playground down the street and they were both eager to show him all the things they could do.  She followed, watching in amazement as they played and talked with their new father, getting to know him and finding out everything they could about him. 

They had simple sandwiches for lunch and Malik continued to answer their questions, but Siri could tell that the boys were winding down.  Normally, they were okay for about an hour after
their
lunch, but because they hadn’t slept well last night
due to the frog debacle
, they were more fatigued that usual.  A part of her wanted to keep them awake, using them as a buffer against being along with Malik, but since their eyes were slowly closing as they sat at the table, trying hard to finish their lunch, Siri knew that she needed to put them down for their
afternoon
nap. 

Malik carried Jacob while Siri pulled Sam up out of his chair
and followed behind
.  They laid the boys down on their beds and Siri pulled a blanket up over each of them, kissing them and lowering the
room’s
blinds to
dim the bright, afternoon sunshine that was streaming through the bedroom windows
. 

Chapter
6

She found Malik back out in the living room, looking at their pictures on the wall
once again
.  “
They’re
great kids, Siri.  You’ve done an amazing job with them.”

She sat down on the sofa, her heart racing in fear of what he was
going to say next.  “Thank you”,
she whispered. 

“
Marry me,” he said when he turned around to look at her. 

Siri jumped and looked up at him.  “Excuse me?”

“I want to marry you.”

She was already shaking her head.  “No.”

“Why not?” 

“Because….” She shook her head and looked away. 
Discussions of marriage definitely hadn’t been in her plan for the day.  In fact, marriage to Malik had been banished from her imagination when he’d married that other woman. 
“Malik, this
fatherhood thing
is all new to you and I
sincerely
understand that you need an heir, but let’s not
jump into a relationship that won’t work
.  There’s time to figure out
how to deal with the kids and their future
.  You’ve known about the boys for less than a day.”

“And now that I know about them, they need to be raised in Duban.”

She swung around, hearing the words she’d been expecting
and fearing
.  “No.  They need to be raised right here.  In their home where they can have a normal life.”

He shook his head.  “Siri, that’s just not possible.  They’re princes.”

That declaration startled her and she didn’t want to acknowledge the truth of that.  “They are little boys who like building things
and exploring their world, discovering new animals and seeing what mischief they can create
.”

He shook his head, refusing to let her stick her head in the sand when it came to their heritage. 
“They are royal princes who will have responsibilities.  Some they will like and others they won’t like.”

“And I won’t let you determine their future when
they are only three years old.”

“Their futures were determined at conception, Siri.  And regardless of what you want, they need to be raised in the palace where they can be kept safe.  It doesn’t matter if you like it or not, I have enemies that will try to harm them.  They aren’t safe here.  This house alone is too small to protect them adequately.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, facing him with defiance and frustration. 
“I’m not leaving here,” she stated emphatically.

He sighed and took a step closer
, obviously striving for patience in the face of her rejection
. 
“How a
bout if we compromise initially?
  Let me get them into a more secure house, one that can be guarded better, with a perimeter that isn’t bordering on four other peoples’ homes.  The neighbors here are going to start getting suspicious when they see armed guards…”

Her eyes widened and she looked outside, trying to see through the bushes to find the men in her yard. 
“Those men are armed?” she interrupted, horrified at the idea of guns or weapons being near her sons.  “We can’t have guns in the house, Malik!”

Malik refrained from rolling his eyes, but just barely.  “Of course they are armed, Siri.  They can’t stop bad guys from stealing our kids with a BB gun.”

Siri curled her arms around her
self
, staring at the pictures on the wall of her tiny little guys.