The Sheikh Crowns His Virgin (Billionaires at the Altar 3)

‘What the hell—?’ Vivi began in shock when she saw them.

‘Bad timing, Vivi,’ Zoe interrupted sharply. ‘My husband loves me and I’ll see you at breakfast.’

Behind her Winnie laughed and tugged Vivi back. ‘Yes, breakfast promises to be fun, Raj...with Grandad grouching and Vivi giving you suspicious looks, but if Zoe trusts you, you have my trust too.’

‘You turncoat!’ Vivi gasped but Winnie was inexorably dragging her out of the room.

‘So, where were we?’ Zoe prompted as Raj deposited her on the bed and went straight across the room to lock the bedroom door in a sensible move that delighted her. ‘Ah, yes, you were saying that your love is like a fire.’

‘More of an eternal flame,’ Raj assured her poetically. ‘You’ve got me for life.’

‘Thank goodness for that. You see, I’m not a changeable woman,’ she murmured softly, eyes gliding possessively over his lean, powerful length. ‘I expect and demand for ever and ever, like in all the best fairy tales.’

‘Perfect,’ Raj murmured hoarsely, framing her flushed face with reverent hands as he stared down at her with unashamed adoration before claiming her pink pouting lips with passionate hunger.

And it was perfect for both of them as they left behind their doubts and fears and rejoiced in their newly discovered closeness and trust. Passion united them as much as love, every sense heightened for them both by the fear that they could have lost each other.

‘I love you so much,’ he breathed in a hoarse groan in the aftermath.

‘I love you too,’ she whispered, both arms wrapped possessively round him, a glorious sense of peaceful happiness powering her with a new surge of confidence.

EPILOGUE

EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER Zoe laughed as she watched her year-old son lurch like a tiny drunk across the floor to greet his father, because he had only begun walking for the first time the day before. Raj had been really disappointed to miss those very first steps because he had been in Moscow on business and the video Zoe had sent had only partially consoled him. Now, he swept the toddler up into his arms with noisy sounds of admiration so that Karim’s little face literally shone with his sense of achievement and his delight in his father’s appreciation.

Raj was a great father, keen that his son would grow up with few of the royal restrictions and traditions that had held him back during his often lonely childhood. Karim was encouraged to play with other children and he was fortunate that his many cousins on both sides of the family were regular visitors. Even King Tahir unbent in Karim’s energetic and sunny presence, but then the whole of Maraban was still reacting to Karim’s birth as though he were an absolute miracle. That level of interest was a big weight for one little boy to carry on his shoulders and Zoe did everything she could to ensure that his upbringing was as normal and as un-starry as she could make it, even though they lived in a royal palace. Karim also had a pair of grandfathers, who sought to outdo each other with the very lavishness of their gifts.

Zoe was blissfully happy in her marriage. Raj made every day they were together worth celebrating. He loved her as she had never dreamt she would ever be loved and he gave her amazing support with everything she did. He had even made an effort to strengthen his relationships with her occasionally challenging family and was now her grandfather’s favourite grandson-in-law, while Vivi had apologised for her initial doubts about Raj’s suitability as a husband and fully accepted him, so that Zoe could relax and mix freely with her sisters and their husbands.

Zoe’s fingers slid down to press gently against the very slight swelling beneath her sundress that signified that in a few months Karim would have company in the royal nursery. She had had an easy pregnancy and an easy birth with her son and was keen to have her children close together and complete their family while she was still in her twenties. Raj had wanted her to wait a little longer but she had persuaded him because Zoe adored babies and she hadn’t wanted to wait when there was no good medical reason to do so.

‘You look like a splash of sunlight when you wear yellow,’ Raj murmured huskily as Karim was borne off by his nanny for his bath and he intercepted his wife before she could follow them. ‘Our little Prince will manage without his parents for one bathtime.’

‘But—’ Zoe began.

‘My son has to share you with me,’ Raj pointed out, appraising her beautiful smiling face with all-male hunger. ‘And this evening when your sisters arrive to celebrate your birthday with you, it’ll be giggles and girl talk and I won’t get a look-in.’

‘Well, if you would just wait until bedtime that wouldn’t be the case,’ Zoe teased.

‘I waited for bedtime the last time!’ Raj groaned as he bent her back over one strong arm to engage in kissing a trail across her delicate collarbone that sent a highly responsive quiver through her slight body and flushed her cheeks. ‘And you didn’t come to bed until three in the morning!’

Zoe grinned. ‘That’ll teach you patience!’

‘I’m no good at waiting for you,’ Raj confessed, bundling her up into his arms with ease and heading for their bedroom. ‘I’m not any better at not missing you when I’m away and I’m even worse at getting by without you in my bed.’

‘You’ve only been away two days, but I missed you too,’ Zoe confided with a helpless sigh of contentment as he brought her down on the bed. A little ripple of positively wanton anticipation gripped her as he began to remove his business suit, revealing that long bronzed, lithe and powerful physique she adored.

‘I wonder if it’s normal to have sex as often as we do,’ she muttered abstractedly.

‘It’s a great healthy workout,’ Raj assured her with unholy amusement. ‘And wonderfully rewarding if done right.’

‘No wonder I love you,’ Zoe teased him back with dancing eyes. ‘You always do it right!’

‘But only with you.’ Raj groaned with pleasure as she skimmed her hands over him, and kissed her with a raw, passionate love that made further discussion impossible.