The Sheik's Secret Twins (18 page)

She heard the frustration come through the phone with his tone and tried to sit up, but the pillows were just too comfortable. 
“Maybe it’s the weather.”

“How are things going over where
you are
?” she asked, trying to sound more upbeat, but it was a huge effort to just form the words.
  All she wanted to do was close her eyes and fall asleep, not to be disturbed for about ten hours. 

“Things could be better,” he said with a deep sigh.  He thought about the petty squabbles his advisors were having about his wedding
to Siri and stifled his irritation since it wasn’t productive
.  Some wanted a huge affair that would take months to
coordinate;
others wanted a fast event that would show the world that they accepted his new wife
unequivocally
. 

Either way, the wedding was going to happen and they were all excited about welcoming Siri and the boys into their world and
helping them to assimilate into the Duban
culture.  It was just taking longer than
anticipated
to temper the
ir
excitement and get down to the details.  “There’s lots of arguing and ridiculous things to work out.  But we’ll get there.”

Something in his tone alerted her to a problem and she roused herself enough to ask,
“I thought you’d be back by now.  I hope things aren’t going poorly.  There’s no question about the boys, are there?”

He heard the worry in her tone and wanted to reassure her quickly. 
“None at all.
  Everyone is thrilled that an heir is already in place.
”  He chuckled as he said, “
They were worried about my virility, if you can believe it.”
 

Siri had to laugh at that and it felt good.  She’d been so tired and tense lately that even the smallest laugh felt wonderful. 
“I can attest to your….abilities, if they have any questions.”

He chuckled at her
teasing choice
of word
s, some of the tension leaving him as he heard her laughter once again
.  “I’d like you to be
testing my abilities right now.”

“What?  No little harem women hanging about to entertain you?’ she joked, but the idea of him having a harem was extremely painful.

“You’re my only harem woman.  And I can guarantee that you’ll be dressing up for me
in some sexy, skimpy outfit with lots of scarves that I’ll rip off that luscious body of yours.  You will definitely be
entertaining me when you get here.  I need lots and lots of
your special brand of
entertaining.”  He said it with that sexy, deep voice of his that never failed to make her stomach
do a
flip flop. 

“As long as I can entertain you my way.”

“Any way you want will be fine with me.”

“
Any
way?”

“Absolutely.”

“What if I want to watch television?”
she teased. 

“Then you’ll be watching television while I ravish your body!” he growled.

Siri laughed and then smothered another yawn. 

“
You’re
falling asleep on me.  Am I that uninteresting?” 

She couldn’t help but laugh again.  She loved the teasing, not used to this from him.  He was usually so stern and
officious unless he was playing with the boys.  But even then, he took all of their questions so seriously.  She really liked this new
side of
Malik. 
It made him much more human and approachable. 

“So when are you coming back?”

“As soon as I can come back and bring
the three of
you back here.  There are just a few more details that need to be worked out.”

All the tension came right back and she rolled over to stare out into the darkness of her bedroom windows. 
“Any details I need to be aware of?”

“Nothing really.  Just irritating arguments that don’t make any sense in the larger sense of this situation.”

Siri didn’t like being referred to as a “situation”.  She wanted to be the center of his life and to make him happy the way he always did
for her and the boys
as soon as he walked into a room.  Being referred to as a ‘situation’ sounded bad.

“Well, I’ll let you go so that you can resolve those situations,” she replied tartly.  Her fatigue was really starting to get to her.  “
Sorry
.  I’m just tired.  I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay.  Sleep well,” he replied
, smothering his frustration,
and hung up the phone.

Siri turned off her own phone then slid down into the soft, silky sheets, tears coming down her cheeks as she thought
about
all the things she really wanted to say to Malik
, but hadn’t had the courage
.  And none of those things had to do with television, situations, politics or arguments
with his advisors
, which were probably about her and what a promiscuous woman she was to have had children out of wedlock. 
She’d heard about these men and how they viewed women.  They were probably trying to think of some way to get the boys without the mom. 

She fell asleep vowing that she’d never let anyone take her children away from her. 

Chapter 10

Half a world away,
Malik
angrily
walked down the
long, ornate
hallway, not aware of any of the elaborate décor that surrounded him in the
magnificent
palace, or the ancient history of the
structure
.  All he cared about was getting back to Siri and the boys, of bringing them here so they could be a family without all the silly issues to deal with. 

Last night’s call to Siri had disturbed him and he worried that she was changing her mind about coming
to live with him
.  He had to marry her, he had to have her in his life.  There was no other woman who suited him like she did and he wouldn’t allow anything
more
to slow this
wedding
down. 
No more conversations about the best way to bring his family home and how she might or might not take any inadvertent slight if the ceremony went one way or another.  He was disgusted that he’d allowed the debates to go on this long when the woman he loved was too far away for him to care for and protect, much less understand. 
It was
past
time he put his foot down and
firmly
explained how this
wedding
was going to move forward. 
Better to leave them out of his marriage now since he wouldn’t allow any of their interference later on.  His personal life was no longer a topic for debate. 

Inside his council house, his advisors were already assembled, all of them excitedly discussing their ideas
for his wedding
.  But as soon as he walked in, silence descended. 

He sat down and glared at the men along each side of the table, ensuring that each of them understood his frustrations. 
“I spoke to Siri last
night
and this is what I’m going to do…” he said.  Not a single person argued with him and within an hour, all of them stood up to carry out their leader’s orders, eager to welcome their queen and future kings.  Not another argument, not even a suggestion.  When Malik spoke, they followed.  He’d led their country out of a potentially violent civil war with very little bloodshed, had united their tribes and had demonstrated that, through his leadership, their country could be a powerhouse in the world.  They would follow him through hell if he
requested
it
and now all of them wanted to be able to say that they had helped to bring his bride to their sheik’s home
. 

Five hours later, Malik was on his private plane, flying back to Siri and his sons, the only indication that he was concerned was the blank expression on his face.  The more serious the expression, the graver the
issues
he was facing.  Right now, with the thought of losing Siri, his face was a complete, blank mask. 

Siri laughed as Jacob climbed up on her lap and gave her a sloppy kiss.  “What was that for?” she asked,
pulling
him close for a hug.

He shrugged and snuggled into her lap, making himself comfortable. 
“You seemed sad.  Y
ou always give me a kiss when I
‘m sad so I gave one back!” he grinned up at her as if he’d worked through something miraculous.

And in a way, he had done exactly that.  He was sweet and wonderful and she’d been stomping around in a grumpy mood for the past two days.  She wanted Malik back, but not if he didn’t want them.  And they were a package deal.  No separation, no sporadic visits.  She wasn’t losing her kids! 

And if he wanted her, he’d better prove it because she wasn’t feeling it lately.  She was only feeling tired and exhausted and just plain old grumpy and mean. 

“Do you think daddy will be back today?” Sam asked, climbing up onto the other side of her lap, pushing his brother out of the way to make room for himself. 

“I don’t know honey.  We need to give daddy some time to work through the issues he has to face.  We can’t pressure him.”

Jacob sat up and looked out the window.  “He’s home!” he called out and
clumsily
scrambled off of her lap. 

Siri looked out the window,
wondering
what he’d seen that would make him jump up like that. 

Sure enough, Sam was quick to follow his brother and both little guys were out of the room like bullets!  They raced through the house and pulled open the front door.  Siri was right behind them, but she could barely catch her breath
for some reason
and
her
two guys were out the front door before she
could
stop them.  She was terrified that
, in their exuberance to see Malik,
they would run out in front of the vehicle and be hurt. 

But she should have known better.  As soon as she reached the front door, she looked out and the body guard who had been standing sentry by the front door was holding Sam under his right arm and Jacob under the left, both of whom were grinning from ear to ear as they watched the long, black car pull up
in front of the
house
. 

Siri bit her lip as Malik got out of the car.  She was worried that he would be angry with them for running out of the
house
but it was really her fault for not being fast enough with them.  And she hadn’t locked the front door like she normally did, even going so far as to have a lock installed on the top of the door just for this kind of instance.  They were fast and getting faster, so she had to ensure their safety. 

“It was my fault Malik,” she quickly intercepted him, trying to keep him from scolding the boys.

“What’s your fault?” he asked as he looked down at both boys who were at his feet, grabbing his leg on both sides and demanding that they be recognized as well.  “You’re home!” they both cried out, wiggling in an effort to be lifted into his arms.

Malik didn’t
hesitate
.  He bent down and lifted both into his strong arms, nuzzling each on their little necks until they were giggling bundles of movement and happiness.  “Have both of you been
minding
your manners?” he asked and nodded when they told him that they had been very good. 

Malik turned to the guard who had caught them and nodded.  In response,
the guard
bowed deeply and Siri was shocked to
see evidence
that Malik
really was
a king.  He’d said that her boys were princes, but she hadn’t made the leap that he was also royalty.  Good grief, she thought, she had so much to learn. 

Or maybe she didn’t. 
S
he looked back at him warily, bracing herself for whatever news he might be bringing. 
Was he here to tell her that he was heading back
alone
?  She had to be prepared for anything with this man.  She’d gone through
hell
the last time.  She wouldn’t be mentally unprepared again. 

“How are you?” he asked as he carried the boys into the house.

Malik looked at her carefully, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the fatigue that made her shoulders droop with exhaustion. 

“You look tired.  Did you not sleep well last night?” he asked gently as they entered the house.

“I am.”

“Are you eating okay?”

“Yes.”  She was actually irritated that he would ask something so ridiculous.  She was a grown woman.  What business
was
it of his if she ate well or decided on pizza morning, noon and night?  She bit her tongue though, not wanting his homecoming to be marred by her bad mood.