Chapter 5
Looking around, Arianna tried to figure out what was going on. Memories were always slow to come back to her when she first woke up, but when she felt the bed move behind her, everything flooded back to her.
“You’re awake,” Rhys commented. “About time. We have a busy day today,” he told her as he carried her into the bathroom.
Arianna was still confused, still processing everything from the night before. And still trying to hide herself from his dark eyes, but since he hadn’t given her a chance to grab any clothes, it was a futile effort.
Thankfully, he was in a hurry and they showered quickly, but Arianna couldn’t help but be relieved when he wrapped her up in a huge, fluffy towel.
“You need food,” he announced as he wrapped another around his waist, using a third one to dry his hair.
She stood there, clutching the damp towel, still not sure what to do. “I need clothes, first,” she told him. “And coffee.”
He smiled down at her, kissing her nose. “I think all of your needs can be accommodated.”
Thankfully, he simply took her hand and led her out of the bathroom. “Clothes,” he said, waving to a new pair of jeans, her boots…had they been polished? And coffee!
“Oh, blessed coffee,” she breathed, tucking the towel in more tightly above her breasts as she rushed over to the cart containing steaming hot coffee. Pouring herself a cup, she eagerly took a sip, then closed her eyes as the caffeine sank into her system. “Oh, that’s good!” She reached for another cup and poured him some. “How do you take your coffee?” she asked, peering over her shoulder only to find him standing right behind her.
“Black is good,” he reached around her with one hand while his other held her close. “And you’re cute when coffee is nearby.” With a kiss on her bare shoulder, he stepped back. “But if you don’t get dressed quickly, we won’t make much progress today.”
She turned, her fingers still clutching the towel even though the dampness was a bit chilly. “Why?”
He turned around, tossing his own towels onto the bed. “Because if you continue to stand around in only a towel, I will consider it an invitation to get back into that bed and make love to you again.” His fingers curled into a fist around the loose ends of her towel and started tugging, his eyes heating up as she watched him. “And you know what happens when I start,” he warned.
She smiled but quickly backed up, only slightly relieved when his hand released the towel. “You don’t really stop,” she pointed out, thinking about how many times he’d made love to her last night. By all rights, she should be exhausted. But instead, Arianna was invigorated, feeling more alive than she ever had in her life!
“Exactly.” He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer but careful not to jostle her coffee. “So, are you going to get dressed?”
Arianna bit her lip, not sure what she really wanted to do. Her thoughts wandered back to last night, the way she felt every time he touched her. Maybe they could….
“Excellent decision!” he growled, pulling her even closer.
A moment before he began that wonderful teasing of her neck, she remembered the guards outside. “We can’t!” she gasped, pulling out of his arms. Carefully, she set the coffee cup down on the cart and moved around him. “We have to get out of here!”
He watched her, confused but not overly concerned. “We do?” He watched Arianna grab her jeans, and felt his body react when he noticed the bra and underwear she was about to put on. It was red with little yellow flowers and he wanted to watch. But watching would only result in taking the pieces off again and… “Why must we get out of here?”
She clutched her clothes and the towel, knowing exactly where his mind was going. It was pretty obvious when she glanced down at his…well, down.
“We’ve been in here all night! I should have left last night after dinner but…”
“But we didn’t have dinner until around midnight and you were exhausted.” He came closer but she backed away.
“Yes, exactly. So, if we stay in this bedroom all day today, your guards are going to know what we’re doing. We can’t…”
Once again, he laughed, shaking his head as he moved closer. Taking her hands in his, he watched with fascination as the towel dropped to the floor. “I hate to break it to you, Arianna, but my guards already know what happened last night.”
“No!” she gasped, and tried to pull her hands away so that at least her clothes could hide her nudity. “They can’t know! If we get out of here quickly, we could just tell them that I fell asleep while we discussed the next step in the investigation.”
He shook his head, trying not to laugh at her naiveté. She looked sincerely upset at the possibility that others would speculate about their actions in private so he tried to look serious, but she was just too adorable. “Arianna, my guards don’t speculate on my private activities. If you are that worried, I will speak to them.”
She looked into his dark eyes and knew that he was teasing her. “You’re horrible,” she grumbled and turned away from him. Quickly, needing to hide herself from his too-knowing gaze, she pulled on her underwear, then her jeans and snapped her bra into place. Somewhat covered, she tugged a tee shirt over her head. She heard his chuckles, but ignored him since he was walking away. She did stop and stare, but figured she could be forgiven for that since…well, because Rhys had a great butt! Amazing butt! Wow, the muscles on his legs and his butt were…stare-worthy!
“If you keep staring at me, Arianna, I’m going to take you up on the invitation!”
She gasped, frowning at him but the man hadn’t even turned around! “How did you…?”
“I felt your eyes, habib.”
She was his “lover”? Well, after last night, Arianna supposed that she was. But for how long?
She grabbed her makeup bag that had somehow arrived along with her jeans and newly polished boots, and walked into the bathroom. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she wondered how Rhys could ever think she was attractive. Her hair was still wet and going in every direction, her skin pale, and her lips barely visible. With determination, she grabbed concealer, powder, mascara, and lipstick, using each to add more color to her pale features, which were made worse by the lack of sleep last night. They shouldn’t be that pale, she thought. They should be flushed with color since her blood had definitely been pumping all night.
Five minutes later, she looked at her reflection, feeling a bit more satisfied. Her hair dryer was nowhere to be found, so she brushed it back into a ponytail, tying all of it high up on her head. That would have to suffice for today since she didn’t have an alternative.
“You look beautiful,” Rhys said, coming up behind her. Thankfully, he was fully dressed now, back in his black tee shirt that stretched across his arms and shoulders. The black cargo pants were identical to the ones he wore the day before. Every time she saw him like this, he took her breath away. It amazed her that one man could look so gorgeous, both in and out of his clothes.
“You’re not too bad yourself,” she quipped.
Turning her around, he lifted her up onto the marble countertop. “Arianna, today I want you to be extra careful.”
She shivered, but this time it was out of fear, the tone of his voice and the hard look in his dark eyes were stern and unyielding. “Why? What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, his hands gripping her upper arms. “My men have been hearing mutters from some of the workers at the site we’re visiting today. They’re nervous. And nervous isn’t a good thing.”
That was interesting news. “How have your men heard anything?”
“I spoke to my security team before you woke up. Last night, my men gained some information from the prisoners. There’s something seriously wrong at the site we visited yesterday but there might be more information at the place we’re going today.”
“Um…what’s going on? What have they discovered?”
“Yesterday, things were odd and even you couldn’t help but notice the bizarre comments. Every rig employee at that site spewed the exact same words in the same order.”
“I know. I was confused at first, but when I realized that you understood as well, I didn’t say anything.”
He smiled briefly, but his serious expression returned quickly. “I’m glad you followed my lead. Thank you for trusting me. And yes, it was odd. But I wanted to hear what they had to say without interruption, without challenging them.”
She trusted him? It was a startling thought, but as she looked up into his eyes, she realized that she really did trust him. After less than two weeks in his company, she trusted this man. It might be foolish, and after her humiliation months ago she shouldn’t trust him at all, but she wanted to follow her heart and her instincts. “Why? They weren’t making any sense!”
He nodded. “They were in their own way. Someone coached them, Arianna. Someone is working behind the scenes and all of the workers were sending me a message, loud and clear. They knew exactly what they were doing. And I got the message.”
Her eyes widened as she finally understood what had happened yesterday. She knew as well, but hearing it like that, it sounded even more ominous. “We talked briefly about that yesterday in the car on the way back here. It wasn’t just that they were saying the same thing, they were using the exact same words.”
“Yes. The look in each of their eyes also conveyed a message.”
“So…what now?” she asked, her hands resting unconsciously on his forearms. “What can you do to get them to tell you the truth?”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “First of all, I’m sorry that your father was hurt in order for me to grasp that something malicious was happening,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her arms tightening around his waist and she rested her cheek against his chest. As they stood there, not moving, Arianna listened to his heart, the solid sound against her ear making her realize that life continued.
“I’m sorry for trying to slap you,” she told him. Almost immediately, she heard the rumbling laughter and smiled.
“I’m not. If you hadn’t come here to ask for my help,” he pulled back, looking into her eyes, “then I would have had to travel to Virginia. This is much more convenient. Also, I wouldn’t have discovered that someone is hurting my people, stealing money from my country, and double crossing me.”
Arianna laughed, unable to contain her bubble of happiness. “You’re welcome?” she offered, teasing him. “Although, next time, I hope there are easier ways to discover someone’s illegal activities.”
He sighed, tugging her ponytail slightly. “I agree. But in the meantime, we have a criminal to catch. Are you ready?” he asked, stepping back to survey her features.
She took a deep breath, and nodded. “I’m ready.”
He started to turn away, but took her hand. “Promise me that you won’t go off on your own today, okay? As I said, my men are hearing strange chatter. I want you safe, understand?”
“Yes. I’ll stay by your side, Rhys.”
He looked at her for a moment and must have seen something in her eyes that followed through on her affirmation. “Good. Let’s go find out who hurt your father.”