Well, he might be a king and she might be a chambermaid, but he would only walk all over her if she let him. So don’t let him. She tilted her chin. ‘Why are you here, Kulal?’
His gaze was steady. ‘Don’t you think we have some business to discuss?’
‘I thought we’d said everything which needed saying.’
‘Please, Hannah.’
Was it hearing him say a word she suspected he didn’t use very often which made her relent? ‘You’d better come in,’ she said ungraciously, turning her back on him and retreating into the small room.
‘Thanks,’ he said and followed her inside.
‘Please don’t thank me, Kulal. It’s not something I particularly want to do,’ she said, watching as he closed the door. ‘I just didn’t want to have a difficult confrontation in the corridor, with the other staff listening. Though of course I’m no longer a member of staff,’ she added. ‘Since I’ve just been sacked—for which apparently I have you to thank.’ Some of her coolness began to evaporate. ‘Couldn’t you accept the fact I’d refused your insulting offer to buy my baby?’ she demanded, her voice rising as she thought of her blameless work record besmirched by an arrogant piece of manoeuvring by the Sheikh. ‘Did the King decide he had to try to get his own way, no matter what? Was that why you got straight on the phone to the owner of the Granchester, just because he happens to be a mate of yours? I can’t believe you actually rang Zac Constantinides to tell him you’d had sex with me—the woman in Human Resources was practically shaking with rage!’
‘I saw no alternative,’ Kulal answered calmly. ‘You made it clear your intention to continue working as a chambermaid and there was no way I could allow that to happen.’
‘Why not?’
‘Why not?’ Kulal glanced around the small room with a look of genuine consternation, taking in the cramped dimensions and the institutional red-and-white sign which pointed to the fire escape. ‘Because you are carrying my child! A child who will be a prince or princess of Zahristan. What were you thinking was going to happen, Hannah? That you would carry on making beds and cleaning up after guests until you became too cumbersome to continue? And then what? Perhaps you were planning to bring the royal heir back here and place him or her in a crib while you continued to service the rooms?’
She was grinding her teeth together like a little animal. ‘I would have managed,’ she said fiercely. ‘I have always managed in the past.’
In any other circumstances, Kulal might have coldly drawn her attention to the fact that she was only just about managing, but once again instinct told him to tread carefully because he could see the flicker of fear in her eyes, which she was desperately trying to hide. ‘When is the baby due?’ he questioned, trying to remember the word which Zac’s wife, Emma, had used. A word Kulal had said many times before, of course—but never in this particular context. ‘Are you...showing yet?’
This question seemed to annoy her. ‘Not yet. I’m only just over twelve weeks and I could have managed to keep it secret for a few weeks more, if you hadn’t blurted it out and...’ She stared at him and an exasperated sigh escaped her lips. ‘Why have you come here today, Kulal? To gloat?’
‘Of course it’s not to gloat,’ he said impatiently. ‘I am here because I want to help you.’
‘Funny way you have of showing it. I’ve already told you I’m not interested in your insulting offer and even if you’ve come here today to increase your price—my baby is not for sale!’
‘I haven’t. In fact, I’ve given the matter more deliberation. Perhaps I was a little hasty before.’
Her voice was bitter. ‘You don’t say?’
‘I should have considered all the options before I spoke.’ Kulal drew in a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to do was the right thing. The only thing he could do, no matter that it went against everything he’d ever wanted. He tried to smile, but his face felt like a piece of concrete, against which the movement of his mouth barely made an impression. He looked at the tiny woman with the belligerent expression. ‘I have decided I will marry you after all,’ he said heavily. ‘It will be a marriage of duty and of sacrifice on both our parts—for the sake of our baby.’
She was staring at him like someone waiting for the punchline. She narrowed her eyes. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’
‘Why would I joke about something as serious as offering to make you my Queen?’
‘I thought we’d already had this conversation. We both agreed that marriage between two people who don’t even like each other is a bad idea.’
It was not the reaction he was expecting and Kulal couldn’t quite believe it. He searched her face, wondering if it was a feigned response designed to make him push his case more strongly, but her consternation seemed genuine. Surely she was not opposed to a proposition which most women would have leapt at? He studied her more closely. The sharp pallor which had been in evidence when she had flown to Zahristan had given way to a healthy glow, against which her eyes sparkled like pale blue stars. The pregnancy had made her dark hair even more lustrous than before and it hung in gleaming waves around her shoulders. Perhaps it was time to take charge. To show her he had strength enough for both of them. And wouldn’t action be more effective than words—reminding her that they had a rare chemistry between them?
Closing the small space between them, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, recognising from her instinctive shiver of pleasure that sometimes a woman could crave a man’s touch, even if she didn’t want to. He ran his thumb down the side of her cheek, giving her time to move away, because no way would he be accused of coercion. But she didn’t move. She stayed right where she was and her mouth was trembling with unspoken invitation as he lowered his head towards hers.
Their lips collided—first hard, then soft.
A meeting and then a slow exploration.
He heard her moan and the sound was enough to fuel his rising need. Barely a whisper of breath passed from her mouth into his—but it contained a hunger which mirrored his own. His arms tightened and he could feel her breasts pressing into him, her nipples hardening like tiny bullets against his chest. And Kulal found himself driven on by an urgent hunger because never had a kiss tasted as sweet as this. As sweet as any battle victory, he thought longingly, as his tongue laced with hers. Was it because she was pregnant with his child, or because she was the only woman who had ever opposed him and that in itself was a huge turn-on?
‘Hannah,’ he husked out, aware of the rocky hardness between his thighs and longing to lose himself deep inside her. ‘Be my bride.’
Afterwards, he would curse himself for having spoken because his words shattered the erotic interlude—more than that, his momentary sexual hunger had given her all the power. Suddenly, the spell was broken and she pulled away from him, her eyes blazing. She swayed a little and automatically, he put out his hand to steady her, but she waved him away.
‘Are you out of your mind?’ she demanded, untidy locks of hair tumbling around her flushed cheeks. ‘Coming onto me like that when we’re supposed to be having a discussion about our baby?’
‘Are you trying to deny that you wanted me?’ he mocked.
She