Unexpectedly Expecting the Sheik's Baby - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,41

the water bubbling around them, his arms around her and her cheek resting against his broad shoulder.

It was heaven.

Chapter 5

Cassy rolled over, her eyes slowing opening. Another beautiful morning, another day in the arms of Nasir! She sighed happily.

Lifting her head out of the pillows, she looked around, eager to feel him against her. In fact, it was odd not to be curled up next to him already. For the past two mornings, she had woken up to him kissing her. And then….

She smiled and looked around, eager to see him again. Oh my, how her life and attitude had changed over the past seventy-two hours!

But when she reached out, her hand only found cold sheets. No warm, muscular man, ready to make love to her again.

She sat up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. It was still early so the sunshine hadn’t penetrated the hazy morning fog, but it was light enough to see that she was alone.

There were no sounds outside of the bedroom indicating that the guards were still there. And she couldn’t even sense if the other servants were still in the house.

It was strange, after getting used to so many others being around her all the time, to suddenly find herself alone.

Pulling the sheets up higher, she wondered what was going on. Where was Nasir? Why wasn’t he here?

And more importantly, if he’d had to leave, why hadn’t he woken her up to let her know?

Cassy slipped out of bed, a feeling of dread creeping up on her. Stepping into the shower, she tried to come up with a reasonable excuse as to why Nasir wasn’t here with her. But her mind spun in useless circles.

He wouldn’t do this to her, she told herself over and over again. But as she dressed, she pulled on her old suit, ignoring the beautiful clothes that he’d purchased for her. She felt better, more in control with her wool suit back on, even though she’d had to wear one of the lacy bras since Nasir had ruined her sports bra that first day. Rejecting all of the lovely clothes and the delicate underthings, she stepped out into the beautifully decorated hallway, no longer seeing the priceless art hanging on the walls or the beautiful furniture that seemed to have been designed and built specifically for this house.

Standing very still, she looked around. Nothing. No movement, no bustling servants preparing for the day.

Pausing, she listened for the sounds of a busy household, of an aide hurrying from one room to the next, trying to get Nasir’s attention on one matter or another.

Eerily, there were no guards. No aides. No one rushing around. No one even in the house, it seemed. Her stomach tightened with dread.

Walking down the elaborate staircase, she couldn’t believe the silence in the house. It had always been abnormally quiet, but there had been an energy in the air, a sense of urgency because there were so many guards, servants, and aides constantly interrupting Nasir, no matter what he might be doing.

There was no one here!

Correction, the housekeeper was here. When Cassy stepped through the doorway to the kitchen, the kind, older woman smiled at her. “Good morning, Ms. Flemming,” she called out as she poured Cassy a cup of coffee. “What would you like for breakfast?” she asked, handing Cassy the delicate cup.

Cassy looked around, not even able to sip the coffee because her stomach wouldn’t settle. Something was very wrong. “Um…is Nasir, I mean, His Highness around?” she asked, dreading the answer.

The woman shook her head. “Unfortunately, His Highness needed to leave on urgent business. But he asked that I cook you whatever you’d like before your flight.” The woman turned to the counter and picked up an elegant envelope and handed it to Cassy. “He left this note for you. I was ordered to give it to you immediately.”

Cassy almost fell into the chair, absently spilling some coffee onto the saucer. Was she dismissed? Was he finished with her? She stared at the note in her hand, not wanting to read it. Not wanting to see the words of dismissal. Even his bold scrawl on the outside of the envelope made her cringe with dread.

Cassy suspected that it would have been much worse if he’d been here to tell her himself. At least, with him gone, she could just head back home by herself, not worry about the pity in his eyes when he had to tell her that he was