He took me to the oasis. He asked them to prepare the tent with scented candles and the foods I like. There must be more between us than physical attraction.
Finally, I decide to come clean. “It’s not just sex,” I say.
“No?” Sarcasm drips from his lips.
“If that’s the only thing I am to you, the woman who carries your child, the one you have around to satisfy your desires when you need it, then I’ll be no different from any other you’ve ever had. No matter what title you give me, I will continue to be a lover.”
His lack of response hurts me more than I thought possible.
“Let me go. It was a mistake to come here with you. I will no longer meddle in your affairs with Zarif.”
He doesn’t move. “You’re not just my lover. You’ll be the mother of my child, and my princess.”
“Yes, I’m aware of thepositionI will occupy.” Now I’m the one who’s pissed off. “Let me leave,” I beg again.
He steps away from the door, and I slip past him, placing my hand on the knob.
“You’ll be my world.”
I freeze in place, wondering if my mind is playing tricks. If I even heard that.
Slowly, I turn to face him, but I can’t speak, although I’m sure he can see the questions on my face.
“You’re already my world,” he repeats and comes closer. “Come back to our room. To my bed, my life,” he says, holding my face.
“I didn’t leave for good.”
“You’ve been gone for longer than I can bear. Your place is by my side.”
“You said at the oasis that you only cared about our child.”
“That’s not true. I care about everything that concerns you. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a control freak, Madeline. Subtlety is not one of my strong points, and I cannot apologize for the way I am.”
“I didn’t ask for an apology, but you have to understand that I’m no longer going to be receiving orders. I didn’t leave my parents to become a submissive wife, Kamal. Don’t suffocate me. I can’t bear it. I’m turning my whole life upside down because I love you. You have to do your part too, or we’ll never be a real couple.”
“I don’t want a submissive wife.”
“That’s not what it looks like.”
He runs both hands over his face. “I didn’t plan for us.”
“I didn’t plan on becoming a mother so young either. Still, I want you and our child.”
Something changes in his expression when he hears me say that. He surprises me by picking me up and pressing me against the door. “Say that again.” There’s nothing stoic about his face. I see a mixture of desire and need.
Seeing my man, my Sheikh, lowering his walls makes me surrender once and for all. “I love you. I don’t want to leave. Don’t push me away or lock me in a dome like a bird you visit when it suits you. You said you’ll make me your princess. Let that title be true. Make it real.”
He doesn’t reply, but he kisses me for so long that I get a little dizzy.
When he pulls back to look at me, he says, “Teach me how to compromise. I don’t want to lose you.”
Chapter 42
I watch Kamal parading through the main hall of the palace in all his arrogance, thinking he owns the world and having no clue about what I have planned for him.
By his side is the one he got pregnant and chose to become the future princess.
It won’t happen. He doesn’t deserve anything he has; I do. But merely because he was born legitimate, he occupies the position that should rightfully be mine.
