PREGNANT BY THE SHEIKH – Olivia Gates
The Billionaires of Black Castle , Book 3
Harlequin Desire #2363
ISBN: 978-0-373-73376-7
March 2015
Contemporary Series Romance

New York City and the Kingdom of Zafrana – Present Day

To save Zafrana from financial ruin, Princess Jenan Aal Ghamdi is engaged to neighboring Saraya's King Hassan Aal Ghaanem despite the fact that not only are they not in love, but there is a huge age difference. Jen did get her fiancée to concede to hold the engagement party in New York City, where she lives, but on the night of the party she feels trapped, until she catches a mysterious man watching her. Drawn to him, she learns that he is billionaire Sheikh Numair Al Aswad, and that he's there to propose a way out for her country's financial situation. His only request is that Jen bear his child. Is she going from one fire into another if she agrees?

Numair has a secret agenda to get back at Jen's fiancé, and stealing her is at the top of his plans. He agrees to rid Zafrana of its debt, and if she gets pregnant, he will marry Jen. Love doesn't play a part in their agreement because his next agenda item is to destroy her ex-fiancé and reclaim his rightful place as the king of Saraya. No one realizes that the long lost heir (Numair) is still alive after a brutal attack that killed his father, and presumably him, many years ago. Numair's sensuality pulls Jen into his arms—and kisses lead to more. It doesn't take long before they're trying for that baby. Jen is falling for Numair and is an open book, but he refuses to reveal his deep dark secrets to her, including his agenda.

As one of the children kidnapped and interred at Black Castle, Numair has deep seated wounds that leave him unable to forgive and forget. He has foggy memories of that attack on him and his father, including the man he believes responsible: Jen's fiancé. Stealing Jen will be one step in his plot for revenge and to regain control of Saraya. Is she really just a pawn, or does Numair care for her? Why go so far as to have a baby with her? All he knows is that the beautiful Jen is a woman who intrigues his very soul and he wants to claim her as his. They work diligently on the baby making process, but their closeness has her wanting to know more about the man who will be the father of her child. Can he open up—or will he turn his back on her once she has his child?

Jen has always felt like the outsider in her own country due to the lack of closeness with her father. She went to college in the United States and built a career, but in the end she could not turn her back on her father or the financial woes Zafrana was in. Getting involved with the attractive and sensual Numair is more tolerable than marrying a man in his sixties, though she feels somewhat like a chattel in Numair's quest for dominance. How will she react when she learns she is just a pawn in his plan to gain control of Saraya? While she might not have been in love with Hassan, she is good friends with his son, Najeeb. Would she betray a friendship to bed a rival?

As the title suggests, it doesn't take long for Jen to get pregnant in PREGNANT BY THE SHEIKH. Her initial attraction to Numair soon gives way to misgivings. Is she doing the right thing? The man has secrets that he doesn't share with her and she wonders if this would be how their relationship will always be. Can she live like this? Learn the eventual truth—and how love overcomes barriers for Jen and Numair in the sizzling PREGNANT BY THE SHEIKH.

Patti Fischer