The Sheikh's Pregnant Wife - Leslie North Page 0,33

down to press a kiss there, too. “I’ve already made arrangements. And I’ll be there. I want to be there.”

She shook her head, looking confused. “You want to be there more than at the palace? Why?”

“Because it’s important to you, and I want to give you that support.” Her face softened, and Yaseen ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek. His throat tightened. Emotion threatened to overwhelm him completely. He took a deep breath to dispel the ache from his heart. Kara reached up and put her hand over his, leaning her cheek into his palm more fully. “As the mother of my child, and as my wife, I’ll always be here for you. For them.” His need for her—and to be there for her—came on so fast and strong that he half-expected to look up and see it manifested in the sky as a cloud that covered everything in sight. But no—the sky remained a clear blue. Yaseen cleared his throat. “I’m also willing to be your test audience if you want to give your speech another run-through.”

Her face lit up, pleasingly pink, and to his surprise she nodded. Kara brushed her lips against the inside of his palm. She turned away, her movement graceful. “Do you want to sit on the bench while I talk?”

“Let’s both sit. I know what you’ll look like when you’re up on stage.”

He led her to the bench, and Kara settled in next to him on the wide planks of wood with a grateful groan. “My feet are so sore. I’ve been pacing too long, trying to get it right. I think I’m just about there.”

Yaseen lifted her feet into his lap and tugged off both of her shoes, letting them fall to the garden grass with two whispered landings. “You do your speech. I’ll listen and try to take care of these feet of yours.”

She closed her eyes, a smile spreading over her face, and Yaseen took one of her feet in both hands and worked his fingers into her arch.

“Good afternoon,” Kara said. “My name is Kara Shaw, and I’m the project manager for an NGO called Community Connections. I’m here today to talk to you about some of our work in Raihan. As the wife of Sheikh Yaseen...” She opened her eyes for a moment and winked at him. “I have a unique perspective into the public-private partnership that exists in Raihan.”

Yaseen let her voice carry him away as he massaged her feet. He had never met a woman so intelligent or so passionate. He had never met anyone so intelligent or passionate. She belonged here with him, here in the garden, here by his side.

He wished he could stay in this moment for a hundred years. Or at least until night fell, or Kara got hungry, and he could carry her inside and cook her whatever her heart desired. And then he could take her to bed and sleep next to her all night, never stirring, never worrying about anything. But he’d take what he could get.

16

On the day of Kara’s speech, Yaseen took his place at the front row of the main auditorium of the conference center in Geneva. The glossy program in his hand read “International Symposium on Economic Development,” but he could only look at the first page, with its headshot of the keynote speaker—Kara. He stared at it for so long that when he finally caught himself, he worried someone might have noticed his misty-eyed gaze at the conference program…but no one was looking. For the first time in years, he’d been able to slip into the crowd—very nearly anonymous, except for the security team that followed him everywhere.

It felt more than a little strange.

Kara had been the center of attention all day—the one everyone wanted to talk to. Her maternity pantsuit fit her like a dream. It ought to, since he’d put the best seamstress in Raihan on retainer to custom make everything Kara needed. The pink shell she wore beneath the dove-gray suit had taunted him all morning and through the afternoon. He wanted to take it off her. No—he wanted to leave it on and watch the way her chest rose and fell beneath it whilst he made her pant. Her speech couldn’t come quickly enough.

He shifted in his seat, trying not to let his own dirty thoughts get the better of him. It was easy enough, watching Kara mingle on the stage with all the most important people at