The Sheikh’s Pregnant Nanny: Sheikhs of Hamari, #3

By Leslie North

To Matek, a fierce and hardened warrior, love is a weakness. Since childhood, he's been trained to be tough, fearless, and calculating. His life as a security specialist has no room for softness, and his heart certainly has no room for the sexy Nina Frank, his cousin's nanny. But when she tells him she's pregnant with his baby, his protective instincts go into overdrive, and his whole being suddenly feels soft and exposed. He doesn't like all this feeling stuff, but for some reason, his heart won't listen to reason.

 

For Nina, finding herself pregnant was shocking enough. But discovering Matek is a prince is even worse. She thought he was just a security specialist and a distant cousin of her employer. Now, however, everyone is welcoming her into the royal family. There's just one problem—Nina doesn't want to be part of the royals. To her, their lives are suffocating and Matek's obsession with security makes her feel like a prisoner. She longs for a normal, happy life with a man who adores her, and will give her the chance to create her own little family. Matek promises to be none of those things. Worse, Nina realizes she loves him. But she can't help but wonder if he'll ever allow his heart to see what he's secretly been longing for all along...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Relay Publishing
• Release date: Jun 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201512705

Book preview

1

Nina stared down into the very pink cocktail she balanced in her hand and for the first time in her adult life wondered exactly how much alcohol was in it. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what the ratio was of alcohol to the rest of the ingredients. Raspberry lemonade, coconut rum...something else was in a Pink Bikini, too. Who forgot the ingredients to their favorite drink? Nina did. That’s who. She wasn’t going to drink it. She’d only ordered it so a lack of a cocktail wouldn’t tip her hand.

A hand at the small of her back broke her out of her reverie, and she turned away from the bar and toward her date.

Her very, very forbidden date.

No, a nanny in the royal household was not supposed to be dating a fellow employee. Not at all. The rule wasn’t spelled out in any official document, but Nina had been around Kishon’s family long enough to know that they’d very much frown upon her becoming romantically involved with the man who was responsible for all their security. But Matek had approached her a few months ago at a bar at the center of the capital city when they were both off the clock, and...

She couldn’t help smiling at him, at his dark, dancing eyes and viciously cut chin. The way he looked at her made her feel like she’d actually taken a sip of the cocktail in her hand.

What’s on your mind? Matek’s voice reminded her of the coffee that a member of the staff brought to her suite every morning. Even growing up in a wealthy household in the US hadn’t prepared her for the coffee at the palace—it was that good. And nothing in her life had prepared her for the way Matek’s voice made her feel. It intoxicated her. Her heart beat faster when he spoke, like it was ready to take flight. Like they could duck away together at any moment and start a new life.

The new life I’ve started with you, she thought, feeling slightly dizzy. It came in waves, the knowledge that she was pregnant. With Matek’s baby. She should have told him when he picked her up for this date.

I was wondering when our table would be ready.

He hadn’t used his connections to get seated faster in this Michelin-starred restaurant all the way across the city from the palace. It was humming with patrons tonight. Matek shifted this way and that, putting his body at different angles. It was all so smooth, so careful, so coordinated. Here he was, thinking about security even now.

Even with a big grin on his face. For all that he was watching the other patrons at the bar, Matek seemed...loose. Something about the set of his shoulders had her off-balance. Or maybe it was just her nerves. He rubbed absently at the small of her back, slow circles that sent a tingling desire racing over her skin.

Are you as hungry as I am?

Yes, she said instantly, even as her stomach turned over. Hungry, yes. Nervous, yes. Nauseous? Maybe. She flexed her fingers one at a time around the cocktail glass. I can’t wait for them to call your name.

His gaze lingered on hers. Could he sense the news that weighed heavily on the tip of her tongue? She had to tell him tonight. He’d be gone in the morning. But news this earthshaking couldn’t just be blurted out in front of a bartender and a raucous group of men.

Come here, Matek said suddenly, pulling her even closer. There’s something different about you.

There’s something different about you, too. He rested his lips against her temple, his breath playing over her skin. You never smile this much. It’s weird.

He tried to force his mouth into something resembling his usual serious expression, but a light still flickered in his eyes. "I feel good, he said. I made it to the end of the contract."

You’re not sad to be leaving Hamari?

That did give him pause, and he pursed his perfect lips. I’ll miss my cousins, of course. And other people here. Matek brushed a kiss to her lips, and Nina’s body responded, her nipples peaking under her dress. Like you.

Yeah? Her pulse seemed so close to the surface. Right under her skin. Nina opened her mouth to say more, but a hostess appeared at Matek’s side. Their table was ready.

He hadn’t lost the thread when they sat down in a more subdued area of the restaurant. Yes, by the way, he said, leaning back in his chair. You’re the one I’m going to miss. He reached for her hand on top of the table and raised it to his lips, grinning at her over her knuckles. This playful side of Matek rarely came to the surface, and the heat and sparks in his eyes had her heart fluttering faster with every beat.

So while you’re missing me, she said, searching for a segue to the future plans they’d have to make together, what are your next plans? A vacation? Another contract with Kishon after that?

I’ve got a short-term project at home. He beamed at her, his smile positively lighting up the room. Then, who knows? I love this feeling. Possibilities. Anything could happen.

Anything could happen sounded like a man ready to leave his current life behind and not look back. He was planning to leave her, and Hamari, behind for good. She opened her mouth to tell him.

Good evening. A waiter in an all-black uniform, crisply pressed, stepped up to the table and launched into an explanation of the menu for the night. She caught words like prix fixe and tasting and exceptional. The drumbeat of the baby news drowned out the thought.

And then the waiter was sweeping two plates down in front of them. The first item on the list.

A plate of delicately constructed sushi, fish shining on the top of the rice. I can’t eat this, she heard herself say, and dragged her gaze up to meet Matek’s eyes. He held his chopsticks already.

You can’t? What’s wrong?

I’m pregnant.

Matek couldn’t hear anything but the sound of rushing air, like wind out on the desert or a breeze slipping over the windshield of an SUV. Nina had looked him right in the eye. She’d said I’m pregnant. The words rattled around in his brain in a jagged rhythm, like a distracted kid playing a triangle in music class. Pregnant, pregnant, pregnant. With his baby. Of course with his baby. They’d been together for a few months. They’d slept together many times.

His grip tightened around his fork, muscles tensing. What was the solution in this scenario? His heart thudded, beating somehow harder than normal, and he found himself scanning the restaurant for the available exits. But even getting outside wouldn’t change anything about what was happening. Wow, was this a shock to the system. It wiped his mind clean like a new computer, and he was struggling to boot up. Matek’s job was problem-solving on the fly and being able to react under pressure, yet here he was, frozen.

This—this wasn’t what he’d thought was going to happen. When Nina had slid into his car, he’d had a small epiphany. Maybe she could visit him in his home country. Maybe he wasn’t ready to leave this all behind, though he normally was ready to move on by the end of a contract. That was part of what he liked about being a sought-after security expert. Something new always waited for him. He always had a clean slate available.

But this wasn’t a job he could leave behind. The news she’d just given him changed everything—absolutely everything.

—found out, Nina said, and time hurried to catch up with him, dumping all her words into his mind in a garbled mess. She’d kept talking, and he had left his body in an attempt to choose a reaction, any reaction. Matek? Can you hear me?

I can hear you, he said instantly, looking into her blue eyes. She looked nervous. Nina bit at her full bottom lip with her perfect teeth, hands worrying at her napkin on the table. You’re pregnant.

I only just found out today. Nina’s eyes flicked down to the sushi plate in front of her. Where had the waiter gone? He’d been standing right there, and now he was nowhere to be seen. Hadn’t anyone else heard the announcement she’d made? The whole world should be reacting to this information, not just Matek.

He only had two suitcases. That wouldn’t be enough to get all of Nina’s things back with him, plus anything they bought for the baby. Matek’s gut fell off the edge of a cliff in painfully slow motion.

I only have two suitcases, he told her.

Nina laughed, the sound high and thin. She twisted the napkin harder in her hands. It was a wonder it didn’t tear. Two suitcases?

Matek took a deep breath. This situation was getting away from him. The suitcases—that didn’t matter, not in this moment. You only found out today, he repeated. What were you—did you have any thoughts about it? About what we should do?

We don’t have to make any firm decisions now. Nina picked up her water glass and took a big gulp. You don’t even have to stay here. When you’re back home, we can talk things over and figure out some way to co-parent. She made a face. I don’t know. School years here, or maybe somewhere else, and summers with you? Of course, when the baby is still a baby… I just— Her hand fluttered to her neck, and her cheeks went a darker shade of pink. "I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I can’t be on call for Hannah twenty-four seven if I have my own baby. I might have to go back to the States." Her blue eyes were wide and dark.

None of this was an option. Co-parenting from different countries? Matek wasn’t about to let her stay in Hamari without him, much less move to the States with his child. A fierce protectiveness bristled over his skin. How could he protect them if they weren’t with him? No. Absolutely not. But what would happen if they spent too much time in Damarah, his home country? He’d never belonged in his own family. There was no guarantee he’d belong in a family with Nina, either. If she wanted a family with him. Did she?

He straightened up. First things first. He had to get Nina out of here. She looked flushed, slightly sweaty, and that’s how he felt. He needed a quiet place to think. He stood up and offered his hand to her.

What are you doing? Where are we going? Her voice was high and panicked. In all the time she’d worked as a nanny in Kishon’s palace, he’d never seen her this nervous and scattered. It couldn’t be good for her.

We’re going home. He put his hand in hers and helped her to her feet. Matek caught their waiter by the elbow on the way out