‘Oh, yes,’ Millie’s darkly dangerous Sapphire Sheikh confirmed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MILLIE AND KHALID’S arrival in Khalifa was a double celebration. Before their private jet had landed, Millie changed out of casual jeans and a lightweight top into a knee-length summer dress, garnished with a simple straw sun hat with ribbons streaming behind in the same blue as her eyes. Khalid had donned his regal royal robes of black and gold, with the crown-like agal holding his flowing headdress in place. They drove through streets lined with flags to herald a much-loved leader’s return, in an open-topped limousine to the cheers of his people who were also celebrating the discovery of yet another rich seam of sapphires in the Khalifan mines. It was a sign, the elders had said, Khalid confided in Millie, that their leader’s prospective bride would bring good fortune to their country.
‘I’ve never been so happy,’ Millie admitted. ‘You love me, and that’s enough,’ she said as Khalid raised her hands to his lips. Which was exactly what she’d said when Khalid had placed the fabulous sapphire engagement ring on her ring finger. But he’d insisted, saying the sapphire was the same colour as her eyes. It was a huge and flawless blue, surrounded by flashing diamonds that sparkled and glowed in the blaze of the sun.
‘Sapphires mean many things to many people,’ Khalid had told her, when she’d said it was too much, and all she needed was him. ‘To some they bring nothing but greed and grief, while to others, they foretell a lifetime of happiness ahead, and that is how it will be for you.’
She believed him, and knew that the wonderful ring was the start of their future together. The past could hold no more terrors for her. Their love had driven those shadows away.
‘And now for the intimacy of the desert,’ he said as the limousine turned into his private airstrip, ‘where I will be joining you tomorrow.’
‘The intimacy?’ Millie queried, thinking of the vastness of the place she had chosen to pledge her love.
‘Wherever we are, it’s just the two of us,’ he said.
The look in Khalid’s eyes as he escorted her up the steps of the aircraft before parting from her thrilled Millie more than she could say. The prospect of being married to him still seemed incredible. ‘How can I wait?’ she whispered as he turned to go.
‘I’ll make sure you’re well rewarded for your patience,’ he said.
* * *
This was going to be the perfect wedding with the perfect guests and the perfect bridegroom, Millie thought, tense with excitement as her friend Lucy helped to put the finishing touches to Millie’s flowing white lace gown, while Miss Francine made sure the diamond and sapphire tiara was safely secured in Millie’s hair. Khalid had only insisted on one thing in his bride, and that was that she leave her pencil ornament behind, and replace it with the priceless coronet for their marriage ceremony.
They were still laughing over his innovative wedding gift, which was a comprehensive tool kit, just to let Millie know that she might be a royal bride, but she could still be called upon to mend a boiler from time to time. And his gifts didn’t end there. There was a snowy-white pony waiting to greet her arrival in the desert, and when she joined her group of friends in the bridal tent, she found them cooing over a golden chest, studded with sapphires, which, when she opened it, was full of the most incredible jewels, as well as a stack of pencils. But the best thing of all was the news that Miss Francine’s laundry had been saved, and was well on its way to becoming a highly successful franchise.
Not totally the best thing, Millie thought as she stepped out of the tent to find Khalid waiting for her, mounted on Bakran. ‘You’re not supposed to see me,’ she exclaimed.
‘Too late,’ he informed her. ‘And as it’s your wedding day, I don’t know why you’re hesitating.’
‘I’m not,’ she said, seizing hold of his hand.
In seconds she was on the back of his fiery stallion, and, to cheers from her friends, they galloped across the desert to the shore of the oasis where the crowd of guests were waiting to welcome the Sheikh of Khalifa and his Queen.
EPILOGUE
Eight years, one engineering qualification,
four children, and a newborn baby later...
‘A PENCIL IN your hair?’ Khalid demanded as their oldest child, Luna, a gorgeous, bubbly tomboy, consulted her clipboard and frowned.
‘The entire palace air-con needs a complete refurb,’ Luna informed her father in a tone that exactly mimicked her mother’s.
‘And I know the very person to supervise these works,’ Khalid said as he drew Millie close.
‘I’m quite capable of supervising my own works,’ Luna assured him.
‘By pressing your brothers and sisters into work?’ Khalid suggested fondly. ‘Come on, time for bed.’
Millie helped him chivvy the children out of the family snug they had created in their magnificent palace in Khalifa. ‘It’s adult time now,’ he added with a glance in Millie’s direction.
Would she never get enough of this man? Millie wondered as she took in Khalid’s magnificent physique, shown off to best advantage in snug-fitting jeans and a close-fitting top. He’d had taught her everything about love and trust, and feeling safe—as well as the most incredible sex.
‘It’s a very important part of marriage,’ he told her when they had finished the bedtime stories and closed the door on their sleeping children.
‘I would never disagree,’ she said.
‘Yes, you would,’ Khalid argued dryly. Drawing her into his nearby study, he closed the door.
‘I would never argue about this,’ she whispered as he kissed her neck and backed her up against the wall. Dispensing with the clothes that stood in his way, he lifted her. ‘But can I remind you that we’re hosting a royal banquet in less than an hour.’
‘Then, you’ll have to be quick,’ he said.
‘With you?’
He shrugged. ‘I’ll make up for it,’ he promised. ‘Just concentrate and let me do the work.’
Okay, he was right. He hadn’t even touched her yet, and she was already hovering on the brink. ‘You’ve made me mad for you,’ she said.
‘Are you pregnant again?’ he queried. ‘That always makes you mad for sex.’
‘You make me mad for sex,’ she corrected him.
‘That too,’ he agreed.
‘Modesty would become you.’
‘But it wouldn’t satisfy you.’ And with that, he proceeded to tease her into an advance state of readiness. ‘So. Are you pregnant?’ he asked when she was quiet again.
‘We can only hope,’ Millie whispered.
‘And trust,’ Khalid added, ‘but as we don’t have much time, and I feel the need again, we’ll talk about this later.’
‘Yes, Your Majesty,’ Millie said, sharing his smile.
‘This is the only time I can ever get you to obey,’ Khalid complained as he positioned her for pleasure.
‘Be grateful for small mercies.’
‘Small?’
‘Okay, not small,’ she gasped as he took her in one firm thrust. And now it was impossible to speak at all.
She would never tire of this man and the family they were building. This was her life, her love, her everything. ‘You’re a very bad man,’ she scolded as Khalid began to move with real intent.
‘Yes, I am,’ he agreed. ‘Thank goodness I found such a bad woman to match me.’
* * * * *
If you enjoyed THE SHEIKH’S SHOCK CHILD by Susan Stephens why not explore these other stories in the ONE NIGHT WITH CONSEQUENCES miniseries?
PRINCESS’S PREGNANCY
by Natalie Anderson
CONSEQUENCE OF HIS REVENGE
by Dani Collins