Breaking the Sheikh's Rules

Iseult tipped back her head and Nadim pressed a kiss against her cheek. ‘Where did you disappear off to this afternoon?’

Iseult savoured the moment, turning around in Nadim’s arms so she could look up into his eyes. ‘I had to go into town to see Dr Nadirah.’

Immediately Iseult felt tension come into Nadim’s body. His arms tightened. ‘Is there something wrong?’

She smiled and shook her head, and took his hand and placed it on her still-flat belly. And then she said, with a distinct wobble in her voice, ‘Nothing. But about eight months from now we may well be suffering from periodic bouts of sleep-deprivation and a serious over load of love and joy…’

Nadim just looked down at her for a long, intense moment, and she saw everything in his expression. The poignant loss of his first baby, the residue of guilt, the fear of history repeating itself…

She put a hand to his jaw, caressing it. ‘We deserve this, Nadim. You deserve this. And everything is going to be fine. I promise.’

He pulled her up against him and kissed her so passionately that some approaching staff did a quick detour in the other direction. With Iseult’s feet still dangling off the ground, Nadim finally stopped kissing her and threw back his head. He laughed out loud. A shout of pure joy.

And Iseult was right. Everything was fine.