Page 30 of Sheikh's Virgin Love-Slave

Ravi pulled out his phone and dialed Adil. “Bring the car around, old friend; we have a stop to make.”

Adil chuckled on the other end. “I think I can guess where we’re headed, and can I just say, sir… it’s about time.”

***

There was probably a finite amount of time that someone should spend curled up in their pajamas, eating cookies, and watching Netflix on an endless loop. Cindi had a date that night, and Bridget was facing a long, lonely Friday night as a hermit with no one to hang out with. Maybe one day she would join a Mommy and Me group and have mom-friends or something, but for right now, Bridget was embracing her solitary lifestyle with the finest Canadian reality TV that Netflix had to offer her.

Seriously, who knew there were nine seasons of a show based around finding Canada’s worst driver? Weird…

When there was a knock on her door, she was reluctant to answer it. There was every chance it was her father again, seeking easy money or about to offer some other get-rich-quick scheme. This time, once she waddled off the couch, she was sure to look through the peephole. It was then that her heart lurched. Ravi was there, standing behind the door and looking as gorgeous as ever in a dark tux.

The roses in his hand and the teddy bear were a nice touch.

She frowned and considered pretending she wasn’t home, except the bear was a tipoff that he knew more than she thought he did. It was powder blue and made for a toddler, not some cutesy gift from a flower shop for a girlfriend.

How?

Curiosity and her aching heart got the better of her. She flung open the door and, despite all her resolve of the last few months, threw herself into Ravi’s embrace. The bear and bouquet pressed awkwardly against her back, but she didn’t care. It was home.

She had been back in the States for months, but only by being in Ravi’s arms could she finally feel at home.

“I missed you,” she said, in between choked sobs.

“May I come in?”

She nodded against his shoulder. “You have so much explaining to do. I just… I don’t have the strength to fight it anymore.”

Ravi patted her back the best he could before leading her into the apartment. He surveyed the surroundings and offered her a kind smile. “You have a nice place.”

“It’s kind of a wreck. My life’s been a mess ever since I realized…”

“That you were pregnant,” he supplied as he sat down next to her on the sofa after setting the gifts on the table. “How long have you known?”

“Not as long as you’d think. At first I thought morning sickness was a parasite from the Middle East. It took Cindi to figure it out and get me to a doctor to confirm it about three months ago.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“First: are you here because she let the cat out of the bag?” Bridget asked, not sure if she was glad her friend had done what she didn’t have the strength to, or upset at the betrayal of her secret. Maybe she was both. “And second: you need to tell me so much about you and Sabella that it’s not even funny.”

Jade eyes widened in what she thought was genuine confusion, but Ravi had been a gifted actor and liar back in Dubai. Even if he had roses and a bear, she couldn’t let her loneliness and hormone fluxes get the better of her. He’d broken her heart.

But he’s the baby’s father. Now that he knows, at least hear him out. How can you explain anything less to your son?

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s rich. You were kissing Sabella at the gala. That’s why I left. I saw you in the hallway and there was no way I could face you after that. It made me feel like some private joke between you, that American girl you were duping and laughing at the whole time in secret.”

Ravi grabbed both her hands in his own. “You don’t understand… You got it wrong. Sabella dragged me out there on pretense and then kissed me out of nowhere. It lasted about a split second and then I shoved her off of me. She’s been exiled from the palace and my life since then.”

“What?”

“Yes! She manipulated me to meet with her out there, and she was waiting for that moment to pounce.”

“The weird text from you. It was a number I didn’t recognize as yours but it said your caller ID on my cell so I assumed it was a spare phone. She set us up,” Bridget said, her voice wavering. “All this time, I was here punishing myself, feeling I was totally crazy for trusting you at all, and she set the whole thing up to break us apart.”

Ravi gathered her up into his arms, even if it took a bit longer to acclimate himself to her changed body, and kissed her lips. She missed this—that taste of cinnamon on his breath, that slight scrape of his five-o’clock-shadow against her chin, and the strength of his tongue in her mouth, dominating her own. The happier dreams she’d had, the memories of their intimate times, were pale projections next to the real thing. Only her sheikh could satiate her.

When they broke apart, she was panting. “I missed you.”

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