She swallowed, unable to fully accept the enormity of what he’d done. ‘We should’ve talked about this. Your people will hate me for driving you to this.’
He leaned forwards, brushed his lips over hers. ‘They will not. They will throw themselves wholeheartedly at their new King.’
She frowned. ‘Their new King?’
He nodded. ‘Malak will take my place. The council has already met with him. They’re preparing his coronation speech as we speak.’
The progress he’d made without her having any inkling staggered her. She dropped to the sofa, her hand going to her hea
d. ‘Zufar...’
He was with her before she’d finished saying his name. He dropped down onto his haunches, his hands settling on her thighs. ‘Whether you accept me or not, I will not retake my throne. That is now in my past. I aim to dedicate myself to the future.’
A desperate sob broke free. ‘Your future is here with your people.’
‘No, my future is with you, by your side, the only position I will accept.’
‘But you’ll lose everything, Zufar. Your title, your—’
‘The only title I wish to assume is that of husband. Lover. Father. If you’ll have me.’
‘I can’t believe—’
‘Believe it, little one. For so long I’ve lived in misery and bitterness. You shone a light into my life where there was only darkness. When I realised my feelings for you had deepened I fought it. I believed, based on what I’d witnessed from my father, that loving you would make me weak. But I watched you loving everyone you came into contact with, watched them fall under your spell and grow stronger because of it.’ He reached for her hand, bringing it up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. ‘I’m a stronger person today than I was yesterday and that is because of you. How can I resist craving more of that? More of you?’
‘Oh, Zufar, you have no idea how much that means to me.’
‘I have a fair idea. I want to be a father to our children. I want to grow old with you.’ His jaw tightened for a second. ‘But before that I want to strike a new bargain with you.’
‘A bargain,’ she echoed faintly.
‘Yes. If you’ll have me, if you’ll stay my wife, I promise a lifetime of loving you.’
She gasped, then launched herself at him. His arms immediately folded around her, wrapping her tight against him as she fell off the sofa and into his embrace. She didn’t care that they both knelt on the carpet. And she definitely didn’t care that she was sobbing.
‘Is that a yes?’ he demanded, his mouth dropping tiny kisses against hers.
‘It’s a yes. It’s an absolute definite yes. But on one condition.’
He tensed slightly, leaning back to look down into her face. Then he gave one of those very regal nods she adored so much. ‘Whatever it is, I agree.’
‘Promise me you’ll never make such life-altering decisions without discussing it with me first?’
‘Niesha, you stepped up to be my Queen when I demanded it. It was my turn to return the favour. Rumadah needs her Queen.’
Her happiness dimmed a little. ‘Are you sure, Zufar? Absolutely, irrevocably sure? Is there a cooling-off period for abdication? Can we take it back?’
‘Hush, little one,’ he said, then dropped a longer kiss on her lips. ‘There’s no going back. There is only going forwards.’ One warm, bold hand splayed on her stomach, gently cradling their baby. ‘Besides, this project is going to be a full-time one, I suspect.’
She sighed. ‘You will be a great father, Zufar, but I don’t want you to be just a father. Our coming together may have been a little unorthodox, but without you I would never have found my family, or claimed my birthright. You’ve helped me in ways that you can never imagine. I don’t want you to give up your life here for me, and I came back to tell you just that—that I’ll stay in Khalia and be your Queen if that is the only way to hold onto you. I selfishly want a lifetime with you too. But if you think you’ll be happy in Rumadah with me, then I want more for you.’
‘It shall be as you wish.’
She shook her head. ‘You don’t understand. I don’t want you to just be my husband. I want you to be my King.’
Shock flared through his eyes. ‘Niesha, you don’t have to.’
‘I want to. Just as you wanted me by your side as your Queen, I want you by mine as my husband and my King. That’s another non-negotiable condition.’