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But she’d thought she would have several days to compose herself. To figure out what she wanted to do, before she would have to inform Zane of her symptoms. For that reason, and of course the need to keep her condition a secret, she had kept the note deliberately vague and non-committal.
The very last thing she had expected was to see him so soon.
The fact that the sight of him—magnificent in his ceremonial robes—had brought back memories of the last time she’d seen him, naked in her bed, wasn’t helping with her composure.
‘Thank you for agreeing to see me,’ she said, not sure what the protocol was as the all-too-familiar flush crept up to her hairline.
His eyes narrowed and then his gaze darted to the door behind them. ‘Ravi, leave us,’ he said. ‘I do not wish to be disturbed.’
If he thought the order odd, the chief advisor didn’t say so, he merely bowed deeply and then left the room. Leaving them alone in the office.
Cat felt the intensity of Zane’s gaze over every inch of her skin. Even in the ankle-length robe she felt exposed, nervous, more than a little terrified of what his reaction would be when she revealed the reason she had asked to see him. She took a deep breath, trying to gather the courage she needed, when he spoke.
‘Have you menstruated yet?’ His gaze was locked on hers, intense as always but also unreadable. The nerves began to strangler her.
‘No, I... I haven’t,’ she managed. ‘I... That’s why I asked to see you.’
What was that tiny flicker of reaction on his face? Surprise? Irritation? Concern? Why was it so hard for her to tell what he was thinking?
He nodded, then indicated the deep leather couch that stood under the office’s arched windows. ‘Sit down, Catherine, before you fall down,’ he said, his voice strained, but not unkind.
She perched on the seat, surprised when he settled beside her and lifted her clutched hands out of her lap. He ran his thumb over her knuckles; the spurt of longing shocked her so much she tried to tug her hand back.
But he held on, then lifted his gaze. ‘You have been chewing your nails,’ he observed. ‘What are you so nervous about?’
‘I think...’ She swallowed past the swell of emotion. What was he going to say and do? ‘I think I may need to take a pregnancy test after all,’ she finally got out.
He didn’t drop her hand, as she had sort of expected. He didn’t look angry or annoyed or even frustrated; his expression remained carefully neutral. But his fingers tightened reflexively on hers. The sure solid touch was somehow reassuring.
He seemed to absorb the news. Then he nodded. ‘Have you had any other symptoms?’ he asked, his tone surprisingly calm, she thought, seeing as her own throat felt as if it were burning.
‘I’ve been sick a couple of times now, and my breasts have been swollen and oversensitive.’
His gaze dipped to her chest. ‘Yes, I see your point.’
The flush fired across her collarbone.
He’d licked and suckled and played with her breasts that night at the oasis until he’d driven her wild with passion. So the idea she should be embarrassed by his observation now was absurd. But still it was a struggle to get the words out, while he sat next to her, exuding the raw sex appeal that had always captivated her.
‘I thought I was about to start my period,’ she said. ‘But it’s been thirty-eight days now. And I’ve never been that late before.’ The babble of information finally stopped, the embarrassment crippling her, which was even more ludicrous.
His brows lowered fractionally, but it looked more like a frown of concentration than annoyance.
‘How bad is the nausea?’ he asked.
‘Not too bad.’ She huffed out a breath, finally managing to get up the strength to tug her fingers out of his. ‘I’m so sorry, Zane. I know you didn’t want this to happen.’
‘Catherine, don’t start apologising again.’ He held up his hand. The wry smile boosting her confidence. At least he didn’t seem to be angry. That had to be good, didn’t it? ‘First we will establish if there is a child.’
‘Then what?’ she forced herself to ask as he stood.
He captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and stroked the sensitive underside. ‘Then we will consider the options open to us,’ he said.
But as he let go of her face and strode to the door to get Ravi to call for the palace doctor to attend them, her heart ricocheted against her chest wall in hard, heavy thuds, like a bomb waiting to explode.
What options was he talking about?
* * *
