Page 39 of The Innocent Carrying His Legacy

It was an easy enough task, especially when, over the course of the next few days, Ivy stopped being stubborn and challenging. She stopped fighting him, stopped protesting. Her no-nonsense armour was nowhere to be seen, letting the woman she was underneath bloom like a flower in the sun.

And what a woman she was. Warm and vital and interested. Caring and curious.

Like himself, she wasn’t much for lying around, and so he took her on a few gentle horseback rides along some of the mountain trails, showing her the pretty valleys and views that could be had from the higher outlooks. He taught her how to swim in the warm water of the hot springs and then, afterwards, taught her how to pleasure him even at the same time as he explored all the ways to pleasure her.

They had meals by candlelight on the terraces and by the pool, and once or twice in some of the prettier valleys near his residence, where they discussed various subjects, including how a marriage would work between them, how and where they would raise the child together.

Ivy had no trouble disagreeing with him on a few points, but it was soon clear that they both believed very strongly that the child needed both parents and a safe, secure base in which to grow up.

‘And what about me?’ Ivy asked as they sat by the pool one night, the braziers lit, sending flickering light over the waterfall that fell into it. ‘I need more to my life than raising a child. Not that that isn’t a vitally important job, but I need something else.’

Nazir glanced over the low table to where Ivy sat cross-legged on a cushion opposite him. Her hair was loose tonight, the way he preferred it, tumbling over her shoulders in a wild, gleaming fall of chestnut. All she wore was a light, diaphanous robe of deep red silk embroidered with gold that he’d ordered especially for her. It was a rich, beautiful fabric that made her pale skin glow and brought colour to her pretty face. The metallic thread made her eyes seem even more coppery in the light and, as an added bonus, it was a little transparent, allowing him to catch glimpses of the glory that was her naked body.

At first she’d been uncomfortable wearing it with nothing on underneath, but once he’d shown her how much it pleased him to see her wearing it, she’d relaxed, and now she didn’t even seem to think twice about it.

Looking at her and how beautiful and sensual she was, the robe curving over the slight roundness of her stomach where his child lay, made his possessiveness flex and tighten. As if he wanted to fight anyone who came near her, anyone who dared even look at her. And if anyone else ever touched her...

He forced himself to look away, struggling to get control of the hot thread of fury that wound through him at the thought.

She is dangerous to you. She makes you feel too much.

No, that was foolish. His control over his emotions was flawless.

Nazir picked up his wine glass and took a sip of the rich red wine, forcing his recalcitrant attention back to her question.

She did need more to her life and the more time he spent with her, the more that was obvious. He’d told her when they first met that her life so far had been a small one, and while he hadn’t meant it to be cruel, he still believed that.

She was exceedingly intelligent and interested and had a big-picture focus that the commander in him recognised as a valuable skill.

There were many organisation systems he had in place that he knew could use an overhaul and Ivy would be perfect for the job. Because in very many ways, she was a commander too. Hadn’t that been her role in the home she’d managed? It wasn’t an army, but it was people and, in the end, that was what an army was, just people operating within a system.

‘I agree,’ he said. ‘You do need something more. So what would you like to do?’

A tiny crease appeared between her brows as she picked up the tall glass full of the orange juice she liked. ‘You know, I hadn’t really thought. Back in England I didn’t have a lot of options and so I—’

‘You always had options,’ he interrupted gently. ‘You’re intelligent, interested, empathetic and full of energy. You would have been a huge asset to any employer or university or training institute.’ He paused, watching her face. ‘Why did you stay at the home? You could have gone anywhere, done anything. But you didn’t.’

She coloured, looking down at her glass as if finding its contents fascinating. ‘I had no experience at anything else but looking after the home. And I wanted to make sure everyone in it was looked after and cared for. And Connie lived nearby. And... I suppose it was all I knew.’

He could understand that, just as he understood that it wasn’t any of those things that had held her back, not this stubborn, determined woman. She’d crossed a desert, braved those rumours he’d put around about himself and all to fulfil her dying friend’s last wish. If she’d wanted to leave the home, she would have.

‘You didn’t want to do anything else? You didn’t have dreams of a better life? Of having more?’

‘No,’ she said quietly, not looking up. ‘It was easier not to. Easier to accept what I had than to hope for something I had no chance of getting.’

The way you’ve accepted your life and what you have. The way you keep telling yourself that you don’t want more.

No, this wasn’t the same. He’d been brought up to be a soldier, that was all he’d known, and he was happy with that. The need to protect and defend was part of him; it was in his blood. And so, after his father’s death, because he hadn’t been welcome back in the palace, he’d built himself an army so he could continue protecting and defending.

But you never thought beyond that, did you? You never thought there might be something else for you outside violence.

The thought was deeply disturbing and he didn’t want to think about it, so he focused on Ivy instead.

‘And what was it that you thought you had no chance of getting?’ he asked, even though he thought he knew the answer to that already.

Finally, she looked up from her juice, her gaze meeting his. ‘A family, Nazir.’

There was such honesty in her gaze, no armour, no evasions. This was the precious heart of her and she was showing it to him.

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