Crowned For The Sheikh's Baby

And Hannah had blushed even more. She had gone the colour of a beetroot or one of those dark ‘heritage’ tomatoes which room service kept always sending up whenever the Sheikh asked for a salad. Because she wasn’t used to being teased—and she certainly wasn’t used to being teased by a half-naked man, with an implied level of intimacy which was completely outside her comfort zone. Maybe that was why she’d blurted out the first stupid thing which had come into her head and said it with a fierceness which had seemed to take him by surprise.

‘I would never kill a spider. They have just as much right to be here as we do.’

There had been a pause. ‘Then I must be careful what I accuse you of in the future,’ had been the Sheikh’s slow and thoughtful response.

Even now Hannah’s cheeks went pink when she remembered it. Did he say things like that just to get a rise out of her? Sometimes she suspected he did—until she forced herself to remember the reality of her situation. As if someone like Kulal Al Diya would have the inclination to tease the lowliest of hotel workers when she knew for a fact that a famous American singer with an instantly recognisable name had called him yesterday afternoon. Hannah had almost dropped the phone when she’d answered it. Briefly, she’d thought about how much this particular woman’s autograph would raise if you auctioned it on the Internet—before handing the phone over to the black-eyed desert King. The Sheikh had shut the door of his bedroom to take the call in private...and Hannah had been unprepared for the sudden rush of envy she had experienced.

And that was when she’d started wondering what it would be like to have a man like Kulal Al Diya as your lover. Imagining what it would be like to wake up in those powerful arms while his black eyes raked over you. Or how it would feel to have those long fingers slowly stroking skin which was growing heated even as she thought about it.

Just stop it, Hannah. Had that cheesy film she’d watched on her day off kick-started such crazy fantasies? Or was it because she’d been sitting there with nothing but a bumper carton of popcorn for company, surrounded by couples who were making out? With an impatient click of her lips, Hannah straightened an embroidered silk cushion. For some people, this would have been the job from heaven but it was rapidly turning into the job from hell—and all because she couldn’t stop obsessing about a hotel guest in a totally unprofessional way. Had she chosen someone completely out of reach because that was safe?

Or was it talking to her sister the other night which had made Hannah feel more of a loser in love than usual? Tamsyn had sent a photo of herself about to go out for the evening, her red hair cascading down her back like a fiery waterfall, her big green eyes fringed with spectacular black lashes. And hadn’t Hannah felt a little resentful—wondering how it was that, despite Tamsyn’s dire financial situation and lack of regular employment, she could still manage to look like a film star and go out and have a good time?

‘Are you ever going to serve that coffee, Hannah? Or are you just going to stand there muttering to yourself all morning?’

The richly accented voice breaking into her thoughts made Hannah jump and she turned to see the Sheikh sauntering into the room, with all the unleashed power of a hand-reared leopard. She watched as he sat down. It had taken a bit of adjustment to get used to his western taste in clothing because she hadn’t realised that sheikhs wore jeans...especially not spray-on faded ones which made him look like a poster star for the brand. Her fingers tightened around the coffee cup, but not nearly as much as her breasts were tightening beneath the snug fit of her uniform dress. Had she been talking out loud?

Was he aware she’d been having stupid fantasies about him?

Of course he wasn’t—he might be a famously good negotiator, but he wasn’t that clever!

‘Certainly, Your Royal Highness,’ she said efficiently as she carried the cup over to his desk, where he was looking at some exotic-looking map. He liked looking at maps, and on one memorable occasion had pointed out a mountain range on the north-eastern side of his country, describing the snowy peaks in a way which had made Hannah feel all dreamy. He’d told her about Mount Taljan, which was the highest and most beautiful mountain in all of Zahristan, casually mentioning that he’d scaled it when he was just seventeen years old.

He looked up as she put the cup down in front of him, his black eyes raking over her like glowing coals and, as usual, she was momentarily flustered by the intensity of that gaze.

‘Is...is there anything else I can get you, Your Royal Highness?’ she questioned politely.

Kulal leaned back in his chair to study her, knowing if he did so for long enough then her cheeks would inevitably take on that rosy hue he found so entrancing. And then she would squirm with embarrassment until he put her out of her misery and dismissed her. His lips curved into a reflective smile. He knew she was attracted to him—which came as no great surprise; what was surprising was her total lack of attempt to capture his interest, especially given her rare proximity to his royal presence. In his own country, the majority of his personal servants were male and, in the west, few women would have been given the unfettered access which Hannah had been granted.

Yet there had been no change to her outward appearance, which would have been usual. No subtle lick of lipstick, or an application of mascara to make those extraordinary aquamarine eyes look even bigger. Nor copious amounts of perfume applied to wrist or cleavage, intended to beguile his nostrils with the scent of her femininity. His eyes narrowed. And wasn’t her lack of artifice refreshing—coupled with a naivety which was rarely found in the world he inhabited?

He dropped a sugar cube into his coffee, and then a second before taking a sip. ‘Excellent,’ he murmured.

Hannah beamed with satisfaction. ‘I trust everything else is to your satisfaction, Your Royal Highness?’

He glowered. ‘Why do the staff here keep saying that same thing over and over again?’

She wriggled her shoulders a little awkwardly. ‘It’s the Granchester’s promise, Your Royal Highness. They like us to reinforce the group’s core message.’

‘Well, I’ve got the core message loud and clear so don’t bother saying it to me again, understand?’

She pursed her lips together. ‘Yes, Your Royal Highness.’

Kulal took another sip of coffee. He’d been awake until the early hours, fine-tuning the announcement which he planned to make to the world very soon—a dramatic development about cheaper solar power, which would inevitably stir up envy among his competitors. His time here on Sardinia was almost over and tomorrow he would return to Zahristan and the inevitable affairs of state which had been piling up in his absence. But before that happened, there was the little matter of an invitation to a party on the other side of the island, a party he could have easily given a miss, were it not being thrown by one of his oldest friends.

He stifled a sigh because he was in no mood for entertainment and not just because he could do with a good night’s sleep. Parties were predictable and tedious. The same boring small-talk and disingenuous asides. And the more elevated your status, the more predictable they became. He scowled, for his recent break-up would only exacerbate the rush to pair him off with someone new. People spent far too much time contemplating his marital status and it was none of their damned business. Sometimes he thought he should put the world straight by openly stating his intention to defer marriage for as long as possible, but why fuel speculation?

He thought about the women who would doubtless be in attendance because his friend Salvatore believed that a vacancy in a man’s bed should be filled as quickly as possible. And Salvatore had connections to some of the most desirable women in the world. The kind of women most men drooled about, with their gym-honed bodies and diamonds which some adoring daddy had probably bestowed on them for their eighteenth birthday. Women who would slip him little pieces of paper with their cell phone number written above a line of kisses.

Kulal yawned, because the idea of being hit on was failing to heat his blood and he allowed his gaze to return to the chambermaid who was self-consciously straightening cushions. As she straightened up, her cheeks automatically flared when she noticed her gaze on him and he could not resist a slow smile. When was the last time he’d seen a woman blush like that?

‘You don’t say very much, do you?’ he observed.

‘My role here is to attend to your needs, Your Royal Highness, not to converse,’ she said primly.

‘You’re English?’

She surveyed him with a suspicious blinking of her eyes. ‘I am, Your Royal Highness.’

‘So what brings you to Sardinia?’

She hesitated, as if she was surprised he was asking. She should be, he thought wryly—because he was pretty surprised himself.

‘I usually work for the Granchester in London,’ she explained falteringly. ‘Which is one of the finest hotels—’

‘Yes. There’s no need for any more corporate-speak,’ he said sardonically. ‘I know the chain well. And the owner, as it happens.’

Her eyes widened. ‘You know Zac Constantinides?’ she questioned breathlessly.

‘I do. I’m currently doing some business with his cousin—Xan. He was here at the conference earlier in the week. You didn’t realise? No. You probably didn’t. He likes to keep a low profile.’ His mouth twisted into a wry smile. ‘He’s lucky he’s able to.’

Hannah frowned. Xan Constantinides. The name rang a bell. Had her sister mentioned it, or had she imagined that? ‘Yes, Your Royal Highness,’ she said, which was her default answer when she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

‘Continue with your story,’ he instructed. ‘About how you came to be working here.’

Hannah hesitated, because she didn’t realise she was actually telling him a story. And why was he so interested in her all of a sudden? Was he planning to make a complaint—telling Madame Martin she’d been muttering to herself and flinging her duster at imaginary cobwebs? Or that she’d been stalking him, hanging around the place when she was supposed to have gone home in order to see him emerging half-naked from the shower? Hannah bit back a smile. No. Nobody would believe that. She strongly suspected that another reason why she’d been chosen for this job was because she was exactly the kind of person who wouldn’t ogle the royal guest, despite the fact that nobody could deny his drop-dead gorgeousness.

She realised he was still fixing her with that carelessly questioning look and so she shrugged. ‘They’ve been short-staffed here,’ she explained. ‘I’m not quite sure why. They needed someone to fly out here and join the chambermaid staff, and I was the one they picked.’

‘Because?’

She shrugged. ‘I suppose because I’m considered very reliable.’

His mouth curved into a smile. ‘Reliable?’

‘That’s right.’

‘You don’t sound too happy about it.’

Hannah never knew what made her come out with it. What made her blurt out the truth to him, of all people—but she did. ‘I’m not,’ she admitted, with a slight rush of heat. ‘Especially as I’m also known as steady and sensible.’ She thought about the things people always said about her.

‘Good old Hannah.’

‘You want someone to fill in on New Year’s Eve? Ask Hannah. She’ll have nothing better to do.’

‘But surely these are positive things?’ the Sheikh was saying.

‘I’m sure they are,’ she answered stiffly. ‘But they’re not really what someone my age wants to be known for, are they? They’re the sort of traits which are better suited to a woman of middle age.’