The Tycoon's Captured Heart (19 page)

The others immediately separated, giving him a pathway to get out of Brian’s diner. 

It took Daniel only ten minutes to get her back to her apartment.  He parked and then walked over to the passenger side door.  After opening it, he lifted her right back into his arms.  She was still trembling, but it wasn’t as bad as before. 

When they were in her apartment, her nose buried in his neck again, he sighed, relieved that she was in his arms and whole, but he was still angry with her.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t yell at her because…well, because. 

“You okay?” he asked, moving his hand up and down her back. 

“Yes.  It’s over, right?  He can’t come out and threaten any of us again, right?”

Daniel thought over the evidence she’d gathered on the man.  “Yeah.  I think it’s pretty safe to say that the man is going away for a while.  Drugs, weapons, tax evasion from all the money in his truck, extortion, kidnapping, attempted murder…”

Ella pressed herself closer to him.  “Don’t forget the traffic tickets,” she reminded him. 

Daniel laughed softly.  “Right.  We can’t forget those.”

He felt her warm breath sigh against his neck.  “I knew you would get there in time Daniel,” she told him. 

Her arms were relaxing, telling him that she was recovering.  “I’ll always be there for you, honey.”

“But you know what this means, right?”

She pulled back and looked at him.  “What does it mean, love?”

She leaned into him again.  “You don’t really mean that, do you?  It’s okay if you don’t love me.  I understand.”

Daniel laughed, not sure he was following this conversation well enough.  Of course, after the scare of seeing Ella’s beautiful neck with a knife to it, he wasn’t sure of anything at the moment.  He might never recover from seeing that! 

“You don’t love me, Daniel.  And that’s okay.”

He sighed and tightened his arms around her for a moment.  “I love you, Ella.  I love you so much that it hurts.  And if you ever do anything that stupid again, I’m going to lock you in a room where I know you’ll be protected forever.”

Ella laughed, feeling his words pierce right through to her own heart.  “I love you too,” she whispered and kissed his neck. 

“I love you, Ella.”

She looked up into his wonderful, blue eyes.  “I did all the moves exactly right, didn’t I?”

Daniel shuddered, thinking of his fear when she started to move, that knife so close to her skin, her neck…important arteries.  “You did everything right, Ella.”

“You know what this means, then.”

Daniel shook his head.  “That you’re going to marry me?”

She froze.  “Marry you?” she whispered.

Daniel reached into his pocket, not easy since she was sitting on his lap.  When his hand emerged, a diamond ring was pressed between his fingers.  “Marry me, Ella.  I want you for the rest of my life.  I want to grow old with you, but after today, that might be sooner than I’d thought.”

Ella couldn’t believe how beautiful the ring was!  “Daniel!  This isn’t…I wasn’t...”

He kissed her gently.  “Just say that you’ll be my wife.”

“Yes!” she gasped and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him against her as the tears slowly fell down her cheeks. 

“Oh!” she gushed when she pulled back and looked at the ring again.  “Does this mean you’re going to teach me to shoot a gun?” she asked hopefully.

Daniel groaned, kissing her so that she couldn’t ask any more questions. 

“This isn’t happening!” Ella breathed, looking out at the pews in the church.  “This simply is not happening!”

Sierra laughed, delighted with her future sister in law.  “Of course it is happening.  What did you expect?”

Ella paced back and forth in the small area closed off by the doors.  “I expected a small wedding.  A tiny wedding with Daniel and his family.”

Livia smiled, putting a gentle hand on her new friend’s arm.  “It’s all going to be okay.”

Ella stared at the beautiful woman with huge eyes.  “My brother-in-law is a duke!” she gasped.  “I figured out how to handle that!  But now I have to go out there and marry Daniel with a sheik and some of the wealthiest men in the world in the congregation?  I can’t!”

Scarlett stepped closer.  “We’re your family now, Ella.  Don’t think of the guys out there as scary.  Think of them as big brothers.”

Ella shook her head.  “Not happening.  Your husband alone terrifies me,” she told Scarlett. 

Scarlett laughed again.  “He’s a softy,” she assured Ella.  I have to go sit down now.  You look beautiful!  And Daniel is a great guy.  You’re very lucky to have him.”

Ella nodded, agreeing with the lovely woman, but still feeling nauseous. 

Livia was about to follow Scarlett, hesitating for a long moment.  “Look at all the kids,” she told Ella.  “They’re excited to have another wedding to attend.  Just focus on all the little bodies running around, trying to destroy your wedding.”

“They aren’t destroying anything!”  Ella assured her. 

Sasha herded her two boys into the church.  “You say that now, but wait until the kiss.”  A moment later, the dark haired beauty followed her two boys, sitting down next to her husband, Damon, who Ella knew worshiped Sasha. 

Jina poked her head out through the doors.  “We’re all set in here, whenever you are ready.”

Ella tried to smile, but the woman only winked before disappearing again.  “She doesn’t seem like a queen.  I can’t imagine the pressure she feels being married to a sheik.”

Sierra and Bea dismissed Jina and turned her away from the doors.  “Ella, this is your day.  We’re all here to celebrate your wedding.”

Ella took a deep breath.  “Right.  Wedding.  In front of…”

Sierra took Ella’s hands again.  “In front of Daniel,” she said softly. 

Daniel.  Ella’s heart melted once again.  “Daniel.”  A smile formed on her face and she relaxed.  “Daniel.  I love your brother, Sierra.”

Sierra laughed right along with Bea.  “I know.  And he loves you.”

“Let’s do this,” Ella said. 

Bea clapped her hands, excited to be a bride’s maid. 

Five minutes later, she stepped through the wooden doors and saw him.  Daniel.  He was looking right back at her and she smiled, unable to believe how handsome he was, how lucky she was to be marrying such an amazing man. 

She walked down the aisle, so excited, she could barely stand it.  When he took her hands in his, she forgot all of the other people who were standing behind them, witnessing this wedding.  It was just her and Daniel. 

“I love you,” she whispered, smiling up into his blue eyes. 

“I love you too, Ella,” he grumbled back, his fingers tightening on her hands. 

The following short stories give you a glimpse into the five siblings that will be featured in my next series.  For more information on the books in the series, see the Samara Royal Family Series page on ElizabethLennox.com.  The first two books in the series are available now for pre-order; an excerpt of book one, Pregnant with the Sheik’s Baby, follows these introduction stories.

Copyright 2016

ISBN13: 9781944078133

All rights reserved

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.  Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited unless you have the direct consent of the author. 

If you download this material in any format, either electronic or other, on a non-sanctioned site, please be warned that you and the website are in violation of copyright infringement.  Financial and punitive damages may be pursued in whichever legal venue is appropriate.

“Jiran, you need to come down here,” Ava said through the phone lines, warily keeping an eye on her three sons as she spoke.  Her husband, Sheik of Kilar, was going to have to deal with this mess.   She considered herself to be strong and independent, but when her three sons got into this kind of mischief, Jiran had to take over.  She couldn’t…it wasn’t…nope.  Jiran had to be here for this. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked.  “I have a meeting in a moment.”

Ava shook her head.  “No.  You don’t.  Come here now.  I’m in my office and…” she stopped, not sure how to explain what she was looking at.  “Well, just come here.  Fast.”

Ava put the phone down and continued to stare.  Three boys in seven years and they’d been the most wonderful, amazing and shocking years of her life.  Before she’d met Jiran, she’d honestly never thought that this kind of happiness could ever exist, but hers was proof that life could be one amazing adventure after another. 

Staring at her sons, all of whom were looking at her with…well, she couldn’t very easily tell what their eyes were telling her.  It was the color.  It was such a contrast. 

“What’s wrong, honey?” Jiran asked when he stepped into her office a few moments after their phone conversation. 

Ava looked up at her husband, amazed once again that this strong, powerful man could love her.  He’d given her a love so strong, so amazing, she was stunned some nights. 

This particular moment, she could definitely characterize as stunned, even horrified, surprise as well, although for a completely different reason. 

Jiran stood behind their three sons, hands on hips and trying hard to be patient.  “Well?  What’s going on, honey?”

Ava looked down at her boys.  Ramzi was seven years old this month, Turk was six and their little guy, Rais (who wasn’t little by any standard) was five.  All three of them were crazy smart and ready to take on their future roles with enthusiasm.  Which only made this moment more precious in her mind. 

She lifted her hand and silently commanded her children to turn around and face their father.  Reluctantly, they did so, but she could tell that their eyes were lowered in embarrassment.  It was one thing for their mother to see them…like this.  It was a different matter for their father to witness their childish antics. 

Jiran glanced as his watch then down at his children…then did a double take. 

He couldn’t take his eyes off of his three sons.  “Honey…why are my children….”  He stopped, not exactly sure what to say.  He looked at his boys, then at his wife, then back down at his children, still…stunned.  “Why do they look like Smurfs?”

Ava covered her mouth with her hand, trying very hard not to laugh.  This really wasn’t funny.  She had no idea what her sons had done this time to make their skin this color, but all three of them were blue.  Not just a tinge of blue, either.  Nope, they were a deep, startling, electric blue.  Even their fingers were blue!  There was a blue tinge to their dark hair and their lashes.  They were each wearing long sleeved shirts, but she suspected that their chests and stomachs were blue as well. 

At the mention of the cartoon characters, she nearly lost it.  She struggled to smother her laughter, to regain her composure sufficiently to respond to her husband’s question. 

It wasn’t working, but she cleared her throat and managed a short reply.  “Um…that’s a good question.  Ramzi, care to explain?”

The oldest and future Sheik of Kilar, Ramzi, shifted slightly as if he suspected he should be embarrassed, but then that innate pride kicked in and he lifted his chin and pulled himself up as tall as he could.  “I read a story about a way to change one’s skin color,” he started to explain.  His eyes glanced up nervously when his father’s arms crossed over his chest.  “Well, and I wanted to try it.”

Jiran nodded, then looked to his next son.  “And you, Turk?”

Turk shrugged his shoulders.  “I wanted to be like Ramzi,” he said with a confident voice.

Jiran looked towards his youngest.  “Rais?  You had to join in the party?”

Rais might be the youngest, but he had a solid dose of that inherent arrogance about him.  “I like it,” he claimed as only a five year old could.  He even added a grin at the end, not fully realizing the trouble he was in at the moment.  His white teeth were even brighter against the blue background of his face and lips and Ava wanted to burst out laughing. 

Ramzi shook his head.  “Rais went a bit overboard with the dye, Father.  Turk and I had stepped out of the bathroom and found him washing himself with the colored water.” 

Jiran looked down at his youngest and nodded.  “I think you won the competition.”   He looked back at his oldest.  “How did you do it?”

Ramzi pulled his shoulders back.  “We stole the chef’s food dye, put it in a bowl and…” he shrugged.  “It was pretty easy.” 

Jiran nodded his head.  He couldn’t look at Ava because he knew that he would start laughing.  He knew she wanted him to take this seriously but…

Hell, his children were blue!

His boys really were too young to have figured out how to do something like this, but he wasn’t willing to take their books away in order to stop their curiosity.  A punishment would be appropriate at this moment, but…what in the world did a parent do to punish their children for turning themselves blue?  This was definitely one of those moments when…well, when he’d like a manual! 

Seriously?  Blue?

“I see,” he finally said.  “Well, shouldn’t you be in class right now?”

The boys all sighed with relief. 

Ava wasn’t as relieved.  “Is that all you’re going to say?” she demanded.  She’d been an only child growing up so dealing with boys was a mystery.  But she wasn’t going to let this kind of incident go unpunished. 

Jiran almost laughed when he saw the amusement in her brown eyes.  She was just as stumped as he was and he knew exactly what she was doing.  She didn’t have any idea how to deal with her intelligent, curious children so she was dumping this on his shoulders. 

“What do you think should happen?” he asked her smoothly. 

Ava looked down at her three boys, still not sure what to do.  And then brilliance hit her.  “Isn’t it time for another formal picture?” she offered out.

Jiran looked at her with admiration.  He knew exactly what she was doing and, if they’d been alone, he would have pulled her into his arms and kissed her silly.  “I believe it is time.”  He looked down at his sons.  Ramzi was looking horrified, Turk was a bit confused, expecting a worse punishment and Rais was grinning from ear to ear, excited about having his picture taken while he was blue. 

Ava nodded her head.  “I’ll have the photographer here this afternoon.”

“Excellent,” he said and kissed his wife.  He then looked down at his three sons with a stern expression in his eyes.  “Off to school.  I’m sure your teachers are waiting for you.”

The three boys walked out, only Rais excited for the day. 

When they were alone again, Jiran turned to face Ava and was surprised when she angrily poked a finger in the middle of his chest.  “I want a girl!” she told him with finality. 

Jiran laughed and shook his head.  “I thought you were finished having children,” he pointed out.  “In fact, when Rais was born, you specifically told me that you weren’t giving me any more boys.”

“I’m not,” Ava asserted firmly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring up at him.  “I want a girl.  And we’re going to keep trying until you give me a girl,” she told him.

Jiran’s eyes flared with that lust that was never far from the surface when his wife was around.  “Is that so?” he asked and pushed her back against her desk.

Ava instantly knew what he was about to do and pushed at his shoulders.  “Not here, Jiran!  You’re not doing this to my desk again!”  But it was too late.  His hands were around her waist and her mind was already mush, anticipation surging through her as she thought about how wonderful it was to create a baby with this man. 

He laughed, a sexy sound that never failed to make her body react.  “Why not here?”

She slipped out from his arms and put several feet between them. “Because you made love to me on the desk in my other office years ago.  Remember?”

“I can’t forget,” he told her as he continued to stalk her, not letting her get too far.  “And it wasn’t just once.”

“Okay!” she held her hands out in front of her.  “Fine!  But all those times on my desk, they distracted me afterwards!  I had to keep trading out desks!”

“It didn’t work,” he replied, moving towards her once again.

She laughed at his lustful expression, her heart speeding up as the memories hit her, too strong to ignore.  “Because you kept making love to me on my new desk.”

“Yes.  Are you saying you didn’t like those activities?”

She opened her mouth to tell him no, but she’d never been able to lie to him.  “That’s not the point!” And she once again slipped to the side, avoiding his hands.  “Jiran, you have a meeting.  You told me that yourself.”

“It can wait.  My wife has given me an order.  I’m always happy to follow my wife’s instructions.”

Ava laughed and decided that she’d better run.  Unfortunately, or maybe it was a good thing, but she never even made it to the door of her office.  Within moments, she was on her new desk and Jiran was helping her to get that little girl.