IT WAS no good, Sophia admitted. Although she’d wanted to have a natural delivery, she’d had to give in, not so much because Dr Kumar and the obstetrician brought in by him from Mumbai had insisted that a planned C-section was the safest way to deliver the twins now that they were getting so big, but because of the very real fear she’d seen in Ash’s eyes.
He’d told her that it must be her choice but she’d seen how worried he was, and last night after the medical team had delivered its verdict, she’d woken up to find Ash pacing the floor of the bedroom they now shared, and he’d admitted to her how terrified he was that he might lose her.
‘Nasreen died because I didn’t care. I’m so afraid that I might lose you because I care so very much.’
He hadn’t added ‘as a punishment,’ but Sophia had known that was what he meant, and immediately she’d known that she couldn’t let him suffer the anxiety of her going through a natural birth.
So now here she was at the hospital, and Ash was pacing the floor nervously once again, as the medical personnel went about the business of preparing her for the delivery of their sons.
‘It really is the most sensible option,’ the obstetrician told her. ‘You’ve got over three weeks to go to your natural delivery date and the twins are so big already that I just would not be happy about that, for their sake, as well as your own.’
Sophia nodded her head, and reached for Ash’s hand as he came to stand at her side.
‘I love you so much,’ he whispered to her, and Sophia felt his hand tighten on hers as the operation began, and first one and then the second of their sons was lifted from Sophia’s body and handed to their parents.
For Sophia, seeing the look on Ash’s face as he held one and then the other of their babies before giving them to her to hold told her beyond the need for any words just how much love their sons would have from their father. They would bond and form a male trio that at times as the twins grew would exclude her, as a woman, but the bond that she and Ash shared would be so strong that it would hold them together for ever, through the birth of other children hopefully, during the growing up of those children and into those years when they would perhaps become grandparents. A bond of the truest kind of love, given from the heart of a man who’d had to overcome so much to be able to make that gift.
‘I promise you I will be the father you want for them, Sophia,’ Ash told her tenderly. ‘And the loving husband that you so deserve.’
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II B.V./S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
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First published in Great Britain 2012
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
THE PRICE OF ROYAL DUTY © Harlequin Books S.A. 2012
Special thanks and acknowledgement are given to Penny Jordan for her contribution to The Santina Crown series.
ISBN: 978-1-408-98197-9
53-0512
Harlequin (UK) policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the legal environmental regulations of the country of origin.
The
Santina Crown
The Sheikh’s Heir
Sharon Kendrick
‘Maybe you decided your night with me was so hot that you wanted a repeat of it. I wouldn’t blame you if you did.’
‘I try never to make the same mistake twice, Hassan. Any other suggestions?’
Dark clouds drifted into his mind. ‘Or our ill-judged liaison has left us with something other than regrets.’
She stared at him, because didn’t his words make what she was about to tell him even more difficult? ‘That’s the most cold-hearted description I’ve ever heard,’ she whispered.
Her lack of denial unsettled him but Hassan kept his nerve. ‘That’s because I am a cold-hearted man, Ella. Be in no doubt of that. And I haven’t come here to play guessing games. What is it that you want to say to me?’
‘That you’re right!’ She swallowed as she forced out the bitter truth. She looked into the narrowed black eyes and spoke in a low voice. ‘I’m having a baby, Hassan.’
About the Author
SHARON KENDRICK started story-telling at the age of eleven, and has never really stopped. She likes to write fast-paced, feel-good romances, with heroes who are so sexy they’ll make your toes curl! Born in west London, she now lives in the beautiful city of Winchester—where she can see the cathedral from her window (but only if she stands on tiptoe). She has two children, Celia and Patrick, and her passions include music, books, cooking and eating—and drifting off into wonderful daydreams while she works out new plots!
To Max Campbell, for ensuring that my iPhone
plays more than one Beatles song.
CHAPTER ONE
WOULD this damned party never end?
In the softly lit anteroom of his friend’s palace, Sheikh Hassan Al Abbas let out an irritated breath and turned to the man standing a few deferential paces away from him.
‘Do you think there’s any chance I could just slip away and leave them to get on with it, Benedict?’ he demanded, knowing only too well how his loyal English aide would respond.
There was a pause. ‘Your absence would
