Chapter 28
She tries to get off my lap, but I don’t allow it.
“You don’t mean that,” she says.
“Stop moving, Madeline. You’re turning me on.”
Her face flushes, and the temptation to start all over again is strong, but I don’t want to fuck in the car again, so I lift her gently.
“We did it again,” she says, looking embarrassed.
I know I came inside her. It’s like my rational side, which has always been in control with other partners, simply disappears when it comes to the woman by my side.
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Yes. I only realized it when I was coming. I never fuck without a condom, if that’s what you’re worried about, but I wasn’t thinking about anything but the feeling of you around me.
” I grab a tissue box from the car console between the front seats, but when I turn to clean her up, she tries to close her legs.
I maintain my hand on her knees to keep them apart and dry her carefully.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Why not? It was my cum leaking from your pussy. It’s only fair that I clean it up.”
“You’re the most foul-mouthed Sheikh in the world,” she says, in a mix of shyness and laughter. Then she covers her face with both hands.
“I don’t mince words.”
She looks at me. “I know. That’s why you needed me as your assistant in the first place, but you didn’t take me on the trip to Germany.”
“I thought we both needed some time apart.”
“Why?”
“I promised not to touch you when we got back to England. I wouldn’t have been able to keep that promise if you were by my side.”
She leans back in the seat and closes her eyes.
“Why did you come today, Madeline?”
“I was feeling lonely and wanted to have some fun. Still, I only came because Zarif insisted so much,” she says.
I feel my jaw tighten. “I don’t want you near him.”
“Why not? He’s your brother.”
“Can you do as I’m asking?”
“Not if the reason behind the request is that you don’t trust me. I’ve had a few boyfriends, and I’ve never cheated. Even though we’re not really together, how could you think I’d get involved with your brother?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But I think you thought it. Otherwise you wouldn’t be making this kind of recommendation.”
Although my nature is combative, I decide to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Do you want to stay in Ibiza or go back to London?”
“Zarif booked a hotel room for me.”
My mood worsens again. “No. We either go back to London, or we stay at the house I have here.”
“I want to stay here. I can go back to London tomorrow, boss,” she teases. “I have one more day off.”
Even though I’m pissed that she came to meet Zarif at his fucking party, her banter makes me smile, and I bring her back onto my lap. “When do you plan on going to the doctor?”
Madeline sighs and hides her face in my chest. “As soon as we get back to England. I’m afraid of the results.”
For the first time, I try to put myself in her shoes. I am a Sheikh and need heirs. I knew that sooner or later I would marry and start a family, but I have no idea what Madeline wants for the future.
“What if I’m pregnant?”
“Then we’ll get married.”
“We’re not in the Middle Ages. I could have taken the morning-after pill.”
“That goes against what I believe.”
“Against my beliefs too, but wouldn’t that be better than subjecting yourself to a loveless marriage?”
“We have plenty of physical attraction. There are couples who get married with much less than that in their dynamic.”
“I never pictured myself in a marriage of convenience,” she says, getting off my lap and taking the seat next to me.
“It’s not uncommon for men in my position.”
“I imagine it isn’t, but I didn’t plan on getting married now.”
“No, but I’m thirty-five years old. At some point, it had to happen.”
She fastens her seatbelt and looks out the window. “Zoe said she would help me if I decided I didn’t want to get married.”
“Look at me, Madeline. This isn’t a casual conversation you can escape if you’re bored. It’s about our future.”
“I’m not bored; I’m scared. I didn’t have any plans to get married now, and I don’t know anything about your culture.”
I intertwine our hands. I decide to hold back for now since she looks overwhelmed.
“One thing at a time. Let’s enjoy our day in Ibiza tomorrow.
Sun and sea. Lots of sex. I’ll ask Adil to schedule an appointment with a trusted obstetrician when we get back to England.
The same one who took care of my sister when she came to London during her first pregnancy. ”
“Are your sisters married? I thought they were younger.”
“They are younger, but women in my country marry early. All three of them are mothers already.”
“You said you’d ask Adil to find a doctor. What will he think of that? After all, he’s your advisor.”
“Above all, he’s a good friend, like family to me. He won’t judge you—don’t worry about that. In fact, he’s been insisting that I get married.”
“Even if it’s to someone from a different religion? Even though I have no idea what’s expected of me?”
“We can adjust, Madeline. If we’re expecting a child, don’t you think that will be much more important than our differences?”
“You sound very calm for a self-confessed bachelor.”
“Because I believe in destiny. Everything happens when it’s meant to happen.”
“Even a loveless marriage? An unexpected baby?”
“Even that.”
She rests her head on my shoulder, and I send a text to the driver, who was outside with the bodyguards, to come and take us to my home.
Minutes later, I hear her steady breathing, and I know she’s fallen asleep.
Madeline is nervous about the changes that may happen in the near future. What she doesn’t know is that I already have everything planned out. I am not an ordinary man, and I can’t act like one. If the pregnancy is confirmed, the transition in our lives will happen much faster than she imagines.