She was turning to head out of the room when everything swayed, spinning around her and she stopped, sank into the bed and just sat there until everything was better. Food! She really needed food! She was so hungry she was faint with hunger. It wasn’t good to skip so many meals. She couldn’t even count how many meals she’d missed since she had no idea what day it was or even the time, much less which time zone she was in.
She stepped out of the room and that same guard was still standing outside the door. “Would you mind telling me where I might find some breakfast?” she asked, not sure if she should actually go outside the palace to get something to eat or if food would be provided. She might be here with Rashid, but she was fully aware of her status as an employee and nothing else.
Okay, so she had slept with the guy last night. More than slept with him, she cringed. Maybe she had a slightly altered status, but she didn’t like what that made her, so she resumed her acceptance of her role as employee or vendor, whichever was more appropriate.
At this point, with her stomach growling loudly, she didn’t even care about palace protocol or what her status was currently. If Rashid or this burly guard wouldn’t tell her where to find some place to eat, she’d just walk down the street and grab something out of the first place she saw. She was too hungry to be picky.
How far was it to get out of the palace? She had a vague recollection of very long hallways and several check points. Last night, no one had stopped Rashid, but since he was the head honcho, he probably had carte blanche to move about the palace wherever he desired. She definitely wouldn’t have that kind of access so it might be a long time before she found food. That wasn’t good, she thought as her stomach rumbled a protest. asldfjasljkf
The man nodded at her request and turned slightly. He said something into his watch and Sidra felt odd, wondering what kind of spy novel she’d fallen into. Since he was speaking in Arabic, she had no idea what he said, but he turned back to her and stood looking down at her.
She raised an eyebrow, wondering if he’d understood her. “Okay,” she replied awkwardly and looked around. The door to the suite was off to her left and she pointed to it. “I’m going to go out and find something to eat because I really can’t wait much longer.”
The man stepped in front of the door and shook his head.
“I’m not allowed to leave?” she asked, trying to understand his non-verbal messages. A body in front of the exit was definitely loud and clear but she wanted to understand the why.
The man shook his head just as a knock sounded on the door. He turned and opened the door, peering around before he nodded and allowed whoever was there to come in. He stood back and a large, linen covered tray was wheeled into the room by two uninformed servants.
There were about five different silver covered dishes but the most overwhelming scent was the coffee. She was about to say something, to ask that the coffee be removed but before she could utter a word, her entire world simply blacked out. Her last thought before she hit the floor was that the large man who hadn’t let her leave sure could move quickly.
Sidra woke up, unsure of how long she’d been out but people were yelling around her, she was being carried by strong arms and she heard Rashid’s voice somewhere. “Get the doctor” was all she could decipher as her head continued to spin.
“Please. I’m okay,” she whispered but no one seemed to be paying attention to her.
The man who had arrived last night bustled into the room, looking concerned. Before she had a chance to do anything, her arm was pricked by the needle. Sidra looked down, saw the needle and her mind blanked out once again.
By the time she woke up this time, the room was empty except for Rashid who was sitting beside her looking worried.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as she blinked in the bright sunlight.
“You fainted. Again.” Rashid took her hand in his and held it tightly. “The coffee the first time. Needle the second time.”
Her stomach churned at the thought of a needle poking her and she put her free hand to her forehead. “Needle?” she asked weakly.
“Yes. The doctor tried to get a blood sample last night, but you were too tired and weak from the plane trip. And then this morning when you fainted, he ordered a blood test immediately. When you saw the needle in your arm…”
“Stop!” she gasped and rolled over onto her side. “I really hate needles,” she said weakly.
“So I guess we’re going through natural childbirth instead of an epidural?” he suggested with amusement lacing his voice.
Sidra rolled onto her back once again and stared up at him. “What do you mean? I’m not having a baby and there’s no need for an epidural!” She shuddered at the idea of the enormously large needle that was used to administer an epidural directly into the spine.
Rashid’s mouth lifted on one side as he shook his head. “I’m afraid that you are pregnant. About three weeks ago, which technically makes you five weeks pregnant.”
Sidra gasped and shook her head. “No!”
“Yes.”
She pushed herself up so she was sitting on the bed versus lying down, unable to think clearly with him looming over her like that. She shoved her hand through her hair and shook her head once again, but the idea still wouldn’t make any sense. “How is that possible?”
He raised an eyebrow at her question but didn’t laugh. At least not outright. “We had sex three weeks ago. It was very nice, if I remember correctly.”
“Yes, but we used protection!”
“Obviously it didn't work quite as well as it should have.” Rashid knew he should be upset about the idea of having a baby but in truth, he was thrilled. He wanted this woman, and after the kiss on the plane and her words while sleeping, he knew that she felt exactly the same. They had a great deal to work out between the two of them, but he knew that he’d somehow get through to her.
Sidra’s mind went back to the moment she’d sheathed him with the condom, and how much she’d enjoyed the experience. When she looked at his eyes, she knew that he was remembering that moment as well. His eyes darkened slightly and she saw the sensuous change in his body. “That’s why you said…” she swallowed as the memories of the night before returned, “last night…we didn’t need protection…because you knew I was already pregnant.”