The Sheik's Siren

Her heart melted.  The surge of love she felt for this man was overwhelming, bringing back all of the memories that she’d savored over the past year without him.  He was…magnificent.  Shanta wasn’t crying.  She wasn’t even cranky.  She was fascinated as she got used to the newest person in her life.  Her father.  Wow!  Shanta now had a daddy!

And Faye still loved him!  With all of her heart, she loved this man!

“Yes!” she whispered.  Faye hadn’t meant to speak the word out loud.  Nor had she meant for Zantar to hear her.  But as soon as she spoke the word, he spun around, his eyebrows lifted in inquiry.

“Yes?”

Faye watched as he wiggled his finger with Shanta’s tiny fist holding it.  Nodding, she said even louder, “Yes!” Faye walked into the room, feeling confident if a bit terrified of the future.  With this man?  Yes.  Only with Zantar.

“Yes…what?” he asked, needing clarification.

“I just remembered why I fell in love with you,” she whispered, then lifted up onto her toes to kiss him.   It was just a brief brush of her lips against his, then she pulled away, but Faye could see the heat in his eyes.  Confusion too!

“Yes, you’ll marry me this afternoon?”

Faye laughed.  “A half hour ago, you acted as if I didn’t have a choice.”

He sighed, his shoulders tight.  “You have a choice, Faye.”

“I choose you,” she whispered.

Faye heard the growl in his voice and laughed.  “I want to hold you,” he announced.  “But I’m also pretty amazed with my daughter.  I don’t think I’m willing to give her up just yet.”

Faye smiled, her heart aching with love for Zantar.  “She’s pretty cute, isn’t she?”  She looked down at Shanta’s adorable expression, smiling at her and Faye tickled her tummy.

“Both of you are beautiful.”

Faye looked up at him now.  “I still love you, Zantar.  That never died.”

He groaned, then bent again to kiss her.  This time, it was a bit longer.

“I’m going to introduce you to the nanny,” he warned her.  “We need to talk.”

She nodded, then pulled back.  “Okay.  Let’s talk.”

Zantar called out and, instantly, an older, very confident-looking woman stepped into the room.  Zantar handed Shanta off to the woman who smiled and cooed, obviously very proficient at holding infants. “Faye, this is Medira.  She has cared for the children of four other royal families.  She understands the protocols and has a master’s degree in early childhood development.”

Faye watched as the older woman cradled Shanta in her arms, smiling down at the girl. Shanta wasn’t sure about this newest person, but she didn’t scream out in protest.  Faye wanted to argue that it was too many new things for the infant.  But the woman didn’t take Shanta away.  In fact, she simply walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, whispering “secrets” to the little girl.

Medira looked up at Faye and smiled.  “I would be honored to care for your daughter for however long you need.  If you’d like just a thirty-minute break, I can stay right here.  We’ll just get to know each other while you are within hearing distance.  But you can rush over if Shanta needs you, if that is okay with you?”

The woman spoke with a British accent, but Faye suspected that the woman spoke several languages since she’d spoken to Shanta in Arabic.

Plus, her suggestion eased the nervousness inside of Faye.

“Thank you!” she said, relieved that Shanta wouldn’t be carried away to some mysterious and far-away nursery.

“This way,” Zantar said, taking Faye’s hands to lead her into another room, this one fitted out with only four chairs around a low, polished table.  The walls were filled with shelves of books and there was a bar in one corner.  This was a man’s library, she thought with amusement as she sat down in one of the chairs.

But before she could relax, Zantar took her hands and pulled her up, right into his arms.  He kissed her then, a soul-searching, mind-drenching, passion-inducing kiss that made her toes curl with desire.

“Will you say it again?” he asked.

Faye was startled by his question.  He waited, wondering if she’d admit it.  He could see the answer in her eyes though.

“Yes,” she finally replied.  “I still love you.”  She sighed, leaning her head against his chest.  “I never stopped loving you.”

He lowered his head, one hand lifting her head so that he could kiss her lightly but his other arm tightened around her waist.  “Don’t ever leave me, Faye!” he growled.

“Why?  Because…?”

“Because…” he paused, sighing and laying his forehead against hers.  “Because I missed you too much.”  He growled.  “Because you make my world…brighter.”

Faye smiled, enchanted by this gruff, powerful man as he avoided telling her that he loved her.  She wasn’t letting him off the hook though.  She needed to hear the words.  After the last year, she needed the assurance that his feelings for her were stronger than mere caring.  “So…that means that you…?”

She paused, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

“I feel…very…strongly for you, Faye.”

She laughed, shaking her head.  “Zantar, I need…”