‘It hasn’t changed,’ she said, dragging in some much-needed air. ‘You belong to Qalala and I belong here—well, as close as damn it when I move.’
‘Move?’ Tadj demanded. ‘Move where?’ Releasing her, and withdrawing, he swung her around. Horns locked, they glared at each other, until something changed in Tadj’s eyes. Had he finally accepted the gulf between them was too wide?
She should have known better. Lifting her, he carried her into the bathroom, where, stripping off, he switched on the shower. ‘I need an answer, Lucy.’
His eyes were black, and his body was magnificent. And she, unusually, was lost for words, so she shrugged. ‘I’m moving out of my bedsit,’ she managed finally. ‘It’s too small...’ She gasped as he backed her into the shower. Turning her to face the wall, he nudged her legs apart with his, and made sure that this was the very best shower she’d ever experienced.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MUCH LATER, WHEN they lay entwined on Tadj’s bed, Lucy turned her head to say, ‘Even after everything you’ve told me about the changes in the constitution of Qalala, I can’t marry you.’
‘Because?’ Tadj queried, his voice made husky by the exertions of love.
‘I can’t because I’m not equipped to be the wife of an emir.’
‘I beg to differ,’ he said, reaching for her. ‘I’d say you were extremely well equipped. And as for your use of the word can’t? It doesn’t suit you. I’ve never known you to give up so easily.’
‘You’ve never known me in love before,’ Lucy confessed. ‘I can’t agree to anything I think might hurt you.’
‘You’ll hurt me if you don’t marry me. Who else will I have to argue with?’
Swinging her beneath him before she could answer, he pinned her hands above her head in one big fist. Teasing her stubborn lips apart, he kissed her, and remained looming over her. ‘You’re everything to me,’ he said bluntly. ‘You don’t hurt me. You challenge me, and I need that. You opened my eyes to more possibilities for Qalala. The country needs you more than it needs my money.’
‘As I do,’ she said. ‘So stop offering me castles and country homes, when all I want is your heart.’
‘You’ve got it,’ Tadj said fiercely. ‘My people need love, and that’s what you give them.’
‘How do I do that?’
‘By being you. You make people happy. I’ve seen you in action, remember?’
‘At the party in the mountains?’
‘Everywhere. People trust you—as I do,’ Tadj admitted.
‘And is this how you intend to persuade me?’ she demanded as he rasped his stubble against her neck.
‘Yes.’ And showing no sign of remorse, let alone tiring, Tadj took her again.
Tightening her muscles around him, she evened things up, bringing him to a thundering climax within...um, maybe half an hour. A long time later when her limbs were so heavy with contentment she could barely move, Tadj asked her to marry him again.
‘I haven’t changed my mind. You’ve made a good case, bringing Qalala into the modern world, and raising our family together, but—’
‘But nothing,’ he said. ‘We belong together. And if you want me to prove it again...’
‘You’re not exhausted?’
‘Should I be?’ Binding her close in his arms, he said, ‘Now it’s your turn to listen to me. Neither of us has been idle while we’ve been apart, and I’ve made the choice of my bride.’
‘Do I have a say in this, or is that a command, Your Majesty?’
‘Well, it isn’t a humble request,’ Tadj admitted.
‘I imagine not,’ Lucy agreed dryly. ‘That would be so unlike you. But I do have one request.’
‘Name it.’
‘I get to organise my own wedding.’
‘Granted,’ he said, acting stern. ‘Though the royal ceremony—’
‘Will require expert input,’ she agreed. ‘That’s where you come in.’
‘Don’t tempt me. Oh, okay,’ Tadj conceded. ‘I’m tempted...’
There was quite a lengthy interlude before they got back to talking business. ‘Be warned, you’ll be taking on a lifetime of duty,’ he said.
‘Don’t forget love,’ Lucy added. ‘Right now my heart feels ready to explode.’
‘Indigestion?’ Tadj queried.
‘Love,’ Lucy said firmly, thinking how sexy Tadj looked when he narrowed his eyes like that. ‘Love,’ she repeated softly, knowing she would stand by this man through thick and thin.
‘I ask nothing more of you,’ he said.
‘Will you marry me for love?’ she asked softly.
‘Is that a proposal?’ Tadj asked, eyes glinting with amusement as he tipped his head to one side.
‘Could be...’
‘I have something for you,’ he said when he’d kissed her.
‘What a coincidence,’ Lucy replied. ‘I have something for you.’
‘Show me,’ Tadj insisted.
Slipping out of bed, she grabbed a throw, and, padding across the bedroom, she entered the stateroom where Tadj had left her bag.
‘What’s this?’ he asked when she returned and handed him an envelope.
‘Open it and see...’
Tadj stilled as he recognised the significance of the black and white image in his hand. ‘It’s your baby...our baby,’ Lucy explained.
‘And this is the only time you’ll ever see me cry,’ Tadj assured her.
‘Are you pleased?’ She came to join him on the bed.
‘You should have warned me,’ he said.
‘I don’t think anything can prepare you for that,’ Lucy murmured as she stared over his shoulder at the blurry image of their unborn child.
Tadj couldn’t tear his gaze away from it, but finally he looked up. ‘You’ve made me the happiest man on earth,’ he murmured. ‘I said I had something for you, but it seems worthless compared to this.’
Holding the fragile image to his hard-muscled chest, as if he couldn’t bear to part with it, he reached for a small velvet box in the drawer in the nightstand.
Guessing what it might be, Lucy protested, ‘But I really don’t need anythi
ng else, when I’ve got you, and our child.’
‘Which is a hell of a lot more than you must have expected when you walked into that café that day.’
Lucy’s heart overflowed with love as Tadj stole another glance at the black and white image. Placing it on the nightstand, he brought her into his arms. ‘I think we both got a lot more than we bargained for that day.’
And every day from now on, Lucy thought as Tadj teased her lips apart and kissed her again.
* * *
‘No. Absolutely not. I can’t accept this!’ Lucy protested many hours later, when they had showered and dressed, and Tadj’s arms were loosely linked around her waist as they stared out across the winter scene on the marina. He had just slipped the most amazing ring onto her finger.
‘You must,’ he insisted as she stared in disbelief at the fabulous lustrous blue sapphire with its circle of flashing diamonds. ‘If you don’t, the world will think the Qalalan sapphires aren’t good enough for my bride.’
‘What a line,’ she said. ‘If you think you can convince me.’
‘I can and I will,’ Tadj assured her.
The ring was very beautiful—stunning, in fact, Lucy mused as she stared into its rich blue heart. Qalalan sapphires were as blue as the ocean on a sunny day, and the diamonds around its blue depths sparkled like sunlight on the waves.
‘I really can’t,’ she insisted. ‘This ring is the centrepiece of the touring exhibition. We open on Valentine’s Day in London, remember?’
‘How clever of you to have this most amazing sapphire and diamond engagement ring as the highlight of the tour,’ Tadj commented straight-faced.
‘You don’t even sound surprised,’ Lucy noted with suspicion.
‘I’m not. Clever of my craftsmen to ask you to try it on, don’t you think?’
‘You—’
‘I intend to stay one step ahead of you,’ he informed her with a wicked grin.
‘I wish you joy of that.’
‘Something tells me I’m going to need it,’ Tadj agreed.
‘The ring stays with the exhibition,’ Lucy insisted. ‘And I won’t change my mind,’ she added as Tadj sank to underhand tactics when he rasped his sharp black stubble against her neck.