Page 58 of Unknown Royal Baby

‘Don’t worry, Avril, I have his measure. He won’t succeed. You and I have had an...unconventional relationship so far but that doesn’t matter. People are pleased about our baby and delighted at our upcoming marriage.’

Because they wanted their sheikh to provide an heir. Not because they approved his choice of bride.

He was sparing her feelings but she suspected there must be a lot of negativity about her, despite her proven fertility. Her lips twisted, because that was her real value in this equation. Her ability to provide an heir to the throne.

Warm fingers curled under her chin, raising it so their eyes met. She saw warmth there and something that made the tightness within her unfurl. ‘There’s nothing for you to worry about, Avril. I promise.’ He paused and for a moment she almost thought he looked nervous. But Isam didn’t do nervous. He was the most confident, capable man she’d met. ‘You still haven’t answered me.’

‘What was the question?’

He leaned in. ‘Us. Living together. Now.’

Avril licked suddenly dry lips and saw his eyes track the movement. Heat bloomed across her flesh as his eyelids grew heavy in a look of sultry expectation that opened up an emptiness in her pelvis. Her breath was a shuddery sigh. He only had to look at her that way and she turned to mush.

She feared the power he had over her, the strength of her own yearning. The desperate desire to blurt out ayes.

But why hold back? She wanted intimacy, wanted to build a family with him and Maryam. Wanted Isam.

‘Yes.’

Her mouth was still forming the word when he leaned across and scooped her up onto his lap. ‘Excellent.’ Then he smiled and the devil was in his eyes. He rose, holding her effortlessly against his chest. ‘Come and tell me what side of the bed you’d like to sleep on.’

But as he carried her to the bedroom she knew it wasn’t sleep on his mind. Anticipation fired her blood.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AVRILHURRIEDTOput on her make-up. She’d been distracted, playing with Maryam.

At six months, her little girl was such fun, babbling happily and blowing bubbles. She could roll over now, reaching for her toys, and sit up with only a little assistance.

Isam, an adoring father, insisted she was gifted. Avril was just happy Maryam was thriving. Seeing her with her father confirmed Avril was doing the right thing.

So why did the fact the wedding was mere weeks away create a chill deep inside?

Avril ignored the sensation, telling herself it was nerves before another royal event. They still made her edgy. She knew Isam took a risk, marrying her, an outsider who had little to recommend her as Queen. As a result she worked hard to learn everything necessary to take her place at his side.

The last two months had been a roller coaster. Intimacy with Isam was even better than before, and there were times when she felt the connection strong between them. She often accompanied him to official events and it was getting less fraught each time.

She muddled through with his help and that of Hana Bishara. It transpired that Hana was a retired language teacher and she’d become Avril’s tutor and friend. Through her Avril now knew a number of women, regularly meeting them for coffee afternoons. Gradually the sense of isolation began to ease and she knew that in time, if she worked at it, she could make a niche for herself here.

Avril put down her mascara and pressed a hand to her churning stomach, turning from the mirror.

Did shewantto make a niche here?

In theory, yes. For Maryam. And for herself, since she would marry the man she loved. The man whose ardent passion turned their nights together into bliss.

Yet disquiet stirred. Despite her best efforts it was getting worse, not better.

On the threshold of the bedroom she paused and made herself focus on the beauty before her.

Isam had moved them into a different suite, one that had been his grandparents’. It was grand, as everything in the palace was, but something more too.

The walls of the bedroom were hand-painted to create a romantic bower. The wall behind the bed was a trellis of lush roses, so realistic it felt as if she could reach out and pluck one. The other walls depicted a beautiful spring garden and the rolling green hills of England.

His grandfather had presented it to his wife as a wedding gift, afraid his new bride might pine for her homeland. Isam thought Avril would like it too.

She did, enormously. But she couldn’t prevent a poignant ache, wondering how it would feel to be so loved by a husband that he’d create such a romantic place for her.

Avril frowned, guilt stirring.

---