Wrapped In Pleasure - Brenda Jackson [132]
Just as well, she thought as she walked the long corridor to where the meeting was to take place. The fewer people who knew of her predicament the better. She intended to tell the sheikh everything, including the fact that she was in love with another man, and like she had told her father, the decision as to whether there would be a wedding later today would be his.
The room that had been selected for their meeting was usually kept private except for when her father entertained dignitaries from neighboring sheikhdoms. One of the features in the room was a huge fountain in the center of the room that had been sculpted in the shape of one of the Egyptian waterfalls.
She knocked on the closed door and a deep, husky voice speaking in her native tongue indicated she could enter. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her. She could not recall the last time she had been in this room, not since she was eight or nine. But just like all the rest of the rooms of the palace, it was richly decorated in colors of red and gold. Another thing she noticed was that the blinds hadn’t been opened, which gave the room a dark effect except for the few wall lanterns that were lit and shining brightly.
Her gaze swept the room and then she saw him. The sheikh’s back was to her as he stood staring at the huge waterfall. He was wearing royal sheikh attire complete with his native headdress.
Even with his back to her he emitted a power that she couldn’t help but feel. She knew this was a man who issued orders that were obeyed. He was also a man who over the past six years had taken an impoverished country and turned it into a thriving one.
She found herself clearing her throat and then saying in her native tongue, “I am here for our meeting, Your Highness.”
Instead of turning around to acknowledge her presence, he responded likewise in their native tongue. “You wanted to meet with me before the wedding, Princess Johari?”
She was slightly annoyed that he hadn’t turned to look at her, and wondered if the reason had anything to do with his disgust with her behavior in the States. If that was the case then he was about to become more annoyed with her. “Yes,” she said. “I need to advise you of some developments.”
“Such as?”
She paused for a second and then decided to just get it out. “While in the United States, I met someone. A man I fell in love with. And I think you should know that we were intimate and I could be having his child.”
That confession should turn him around, she thought, and when it didn’t, when he just continued to stand there silently with his back to her, she was puzzled. “Your Highness, did you hear what—”
“Do you know for certain that you are pregnant?”
She stared at his back, more confused than ever. He was asking the question as if a pregnancy was something he was anticipating happening. “No, but if you marry me tonight without knowing for sure then you could possibly claim someone else’s child.”
“Not necessarily. In fact, I know not.”
It was then that he slowly turned to face her. She frowned at the dark eyes staring back at her and when he reached up to remove his headpiece, her head began spinning and she thought she was going out of her mind. Her breath caught and the name she had held to her heart slipped from between her lips. “Monty!”
Rasheed stared across the room at the woman who had been in his dreams each night, the woman who was on his mind each day. The one and only woman who had captured his heart. She stood staring at him, speechless and as beautiful as he remembered.
“Monty, I don’t understand.