The Sheik's Secret Twins (13 page)

“
Ignore the idea of the weapons Siri.  If we can get the boys out of this small house, you won’t see the guns or any of the other weapons. 
After you drop off the boys at school tomorrow, we can take a look at houses in the area.  You can decide on whichever house suits your needs the best.
  I won’t try and influence you at all.  Once my guards survey the possibilities, they’ll let us know the options so the final decision will all be yours.
”

She thought about that for a moment.  She could at least go through the motions, couldn’t she?  And at least tomorrow she’d be with a realtor, someone who could ease the tension between her and Malik. With the boys sleeping, she really could use a break from being alone with him right about now. 
Even arguing with him was wearing her down and she was already exhausted so he was really getting to her. 

She gave in without much grace.  She was still resentful of even having to compromise and it seemed as if Malik was getting his way once again.  She couldn’t come up with an alternative that would keep her boys safe though. 

“Fine.
  I drop the kids off normally about nine o’clock.  I don’t need to get into the office early and I make my own hours.”

He smiled, his admiration for her business acumen coming through with his gaze. 
“It’s nice being the boss,” he said, his voice husky and deep.  He leaned forward, invading her space a bit more.  “I’m really proud of your success, Siri.  I looked into your company and you’ve created a great idea with the educational toys. 
You have an i
mpressive marketing strategy
too
.”

She wished his praise didn’t matter.  But hearing him say something like that, it made her heart flutter. 
“I had to be successful.  I ha
d those two guys to look after,” she said, nodding in the general direction of Jacob and Sam’s still quiet bedroom. 

“You could have worked for another company.  You didn’t need to take the risk of starting off on your own.  I always thought there was something special about you.”

If she was so special, why had he married someone else?  Why hadn’t she been special enough for him four years ago?  Those questions rose up to choke her and she turned away from him.  “Well, it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

There was a long silence and she refused to turn around and look at him to determine what he was thinking or feeling. 
“What’s wrong, Siri?”

“Nothing.  Don’t you have some work to do?  The boys won’t be awake for another hour.  You can go do…whatever it is that you do.”

He didn’t respond immediately and she wondered if she’d hurt his feelings.  But
that
was ridiculous.  Malik didn’t have feelings to hurt.  He was superman with a palace to prove it. 

“Will you let me take all of you out for dinner?” he asked behind her. 

She could almost feel the heat of his body as he stepped closer to her.  She wanted so badly to just lean back and feel his strength against her, for him to wrap his arms around her and hold her close, to tell her that he hadn’t wanted to marry that other woman.  That she was the only one he’d ever cared about.  She didn’t even hope that he loved her, just that she had meant something to him. 
Something
other than simply
a convenient lay when he was in town. 

But he had married another woman.  He’d married her only days after holding her in his arms and making love to her until she cried out with her pleasure.  She’d needed his touch so much back then and it had been pure hell learning to live without that
feeling
after his betrayal. 

She couldn’t do that again.  She had to be strong and hold firm about not becoming physical with him. 

Okay, not being physical
with him
again
.  She couldn’t let last night happen again. 

“Yes.  That would be nice.  The boys would love a dinner night out.”

“Will you be more comfortable in a specific restaurant?”

She shrugged her shoulders and looked away.  “Anything will be fine,” she stated.  
Anything
that would keep her from being alone with him, she thought. 

“I’ll pick you guys up at six o’clock then?”

“I’d better meet you somewhere because I have the car seats set up in my car.”

“Fine.  I’ll meet you back here at six o’clock then.”

He walked to the door and put his hand to the knob.  “Thank you for today,” he said before he strode out of her house.  She watched through the front window as he walked to the limousine, his guards falling in around him as soon as he stepped outside of the house.  She was amazed that she’d never seen that before, but now that she thought about it, they hadn’t ventured out very often after the first few
dates.  She’d met him at his place, or they’d travel somewhere to be alone.  It had been a very isolated relationship. 

Chapter
7

Siri was nervous about a dinner out with Malik but not because she was afraid she would be alone with him.  She was more anxious about bringing her boys to dinner.  She wasn’t sure he knew how little boys behaved out in public. 
And if they had to wait for their dinner?
  It would be all over. 

Malik was used to fancy dinners, expensive restaurants,
five
star chefs with a multi-course meal.  Her boys were already hungry by the time he arrived on her doorstep to pick them up, even though she’d given them a snack only a half hour ago.

“Where are we going?” Jacob asked as they climbed into their car seats that had been installed in the limousine. 

Samuel strapped himself in, but his toddler hands weren’t quite up to the task of snapping the clasp of the unfamiliar buckle.  “I hope it has something good.  Momma always takes us to Blue Bird,” he quipped, referring to the family friendly restaurant that served great burgers and corn dogs, not exactly the healthiest meal, but it was a fun night out and they only went there occasionally. 

“
How about Jungle Jim’s for dinner?” he asked and was rewarded by dual
shriek’s
of delight and excitement. 

Siri breathed a sigh of relief,
then
blushed when he caught her.  She had to look away when he raised one eyebrow, as if to say, “Did you doubt me?”  Which she had and she’d been caught. 

The car seats were facing backwards which left the entire forward facing seat for her and Malik.  She was glad actually, because that allowed her to make sure there was enough room separating her from Malik on the drive, and she pushed herself all the way over to the opposite side, daring him to sit closer. 

Thankfully, he respected her need for space and didn’t push it, but even having two feet of space between them seemed too close. 

The drive to the restaurant was short and the boys were eager to get out and see all the crazy animals inside.  The restaurant really was an incredible spectacle, with trees and
parrots that would reply to the kids, even if the response didn’t make much sense.  There was also a large fish tank against one wall and Malik had arranged for their table to be r
ight in the middle of that wall.  T
he boys were enthralled to be that close to the fish and sharks
and eagerly pointed to the various species swimming around
. 

Siri let the boys have the chairs that looked straight onto the fish tank, which meant that she and Malik were sitting next to each other on the opposite side.  Normally, that wasn’t a problem, but with him so close, he even put his arm across the back of her chair.  She tried leaning forward, but her back grew tired since she slouched most of the time while working. 

The waitress
quickly
arrived and took their orders.  Because there was so much to look at with the fish floating by, it was the easiest dinner out she’d ever had.  The food even arrived quickly, although Siri
wasn’t sure if the boys realized what they were eating since their eyes were watching the fish in front of them instead of on their plates.

“When you get to be older, I’ll take both of you snorkeling and scuba diving.”

“
W
hat’s that?” Jacob asked.

“It’s when you get to swim in the ocean and the fish swim right by you. 
It feels like you can reach out and
touch
them, but you really shouldn’t touch anything underwater.  Your hands might have something on them that could harm you.  Besides, some of them might bite you back
,” he explained
with a wink
. 

Their eyes grew round with the wonder of that kind of possibility. 

“Do they swim?” he asked softly, watching Siri pick at her salad. 

She nodded and put her fork down, too tense to eat anything with him leaning close and almost whispering in her ear.  “I’ve had them in lessons last winter so they are familiar with water.  They aren’t afraid of anything that I know of yet.”

He laughed softly and leaned closer. 
“Unlike you, right?”

She pulled away and looked up at him.  “I’m not afraid of the water,” she replied.

“No, but you’re afraid of me, aren’t you?”

“No!  Why would you say that?” she demanded and pushed her hair behind her ear, picking up her fork and forcing herself to take a bite despite the fact that her stomach was fluttering wildly. 

“Or maybe you’re afraid of what I make you feel. 
Interesting question either way, in my opinion.”

She shifted away from him slightly, wishing she could stop blushing.  “You think too much of yourself, Malik.”

“Do I?  So if I were to do this,” he said and let his hand drop to her back, his fingers sliding against the muscles lightly, “it wouldn’t bother you?” he asked.  His fingers touched a spot on her back that he knew always drove her crazy.  It was like an erogenous zone outside of the norm and she hated that he remembered how much she loved to be caressed on her back. 

“Don’t do that!” she snapped and sat up straight again. 

“Why?”

“Because we’re not doing that!”

“Ah, but we are, Siri.  We’re going to be doing this, and so much more!”

Siri’s stomach coiled into knots with his promise and she shuddered at the images that immediately popped into her mind.  She didn’t want to feel like this!  She wanted to be immune to him, to be able to
keep her distance but her whole body wanted to lean into his touch, to move her chair closer to his body and find warmth and comfort, as well as the excitement he always provided whenever he touched her.  Damn him!  She wanted her old life back before he re-entered her world and turned it upside down! 

The evening progressed much easier after that.  The only
awkward
moment was after she’d tucked the boys into bed, she was alone with Malik in the dimly lit hallway.  “Thank you for dinner,” she said nervously and moved back into her family room, turning on as many lights as possible to break the intimate feeling of the now quiet house. 

“You’re welcome,” he replied and pulled her into his arms. 

He kissed her thoroughly, but just when she was
shivering
with need, he stepped back and released her.  “Can you take the day off again tomorrow?  We need to look at some things together.”

She nodded her head, her hand shaking as she lifted it to her tingling mouth, trying to subtly wipe away the effect he had on her system when he kissed her. 
“Fine.
  Yes.  Tomorrow,” she said, hoping this meant he was leaving.

He walked to the door and
laid his hand on the doorknob.  “We’re not finished, Siri.  This is just the beginning.”

She was shaking her head, trying to deny it but he was already out the door before she could say anything to contradict his words 

As she sat alone in her little family room, she sank down into the sofa and curled up, staring at nothing as her mind frantically tried to figure out what to do about this whole situation.  But the emotional stress of the last few days finally caught up with her.  She tried, but failed to keep her eyes open and work out a solution.  As midnight approached, she was fast asleep on her sofa, still curled up and her dreams taking her to the place where she wouldn’t allow herself to go while awake; directly into Malik’s arms and making love to him until they were both too tired to move. 

Chapter
8

“Okay, so where are we going?  What was the big surprise today that we couldn’t talk about around the boys?”
Siri
asked as she walked out of the preschool area. 

She hid her eyes behind sunglasses, worried that he might see something she
didn’t want
him to know.  He was too perceptive of her moods lately. 

He stood less than a foot from her and looked down into her face, knowing that she was concerned about what was going to happen to her happy little family life.  He wouldn’t do it if it weren’t so important.  But the next step had to be done.