Chapter 1
Six Months Later…
The stone bench was cold. Hard. Almost painful as the minutes ticked by, the waiting felt interminable.
Arianna looked around, trying to calm down and focus. Her determination to confront this man, this horrible person who thought…
She stopped, taking several deep breaths as she tried, again, to calm her anger because she needed his help. She’d tried to do this on her own, not wanting to be within five hundred feet of the man ever again, but that wasn’t to be. The past several days had shown her that cooperation came at a price, a price she couldn’t afford.
But oh, the anger felt good. Rejuvenating even! For too long, she’d avoided the man, but no longer, she needed his help and…
The stranger sitting across from her smiled, another person waiting on a different stone bench, obviously trying to reassure her. Or maybe he was making a pass at her. Arianna wasn’t sure, nor did it really matter. She pulled her eyes away from the stranger and looked back down at her knees, hoping they would stop trembling when the time arrived for action.
An action she seriously didn’t want to take, but at this point, she had no alternative.
Her angry gaze moved up to the dais, looking at the powerful man as he benevolently listened to yet another person who had been waiting for hours just to speak with the illustrious jerk. Her wavering determination solidified as she watched all of the people here and the irritating reverence they showed him. Granted, the man had been doing this for hours but…well, there was just something about him, the blank expression in his eyes perhaps or maybe the long fingers that were resting against the arm of the gilded chair. She didn’t know him well enough…okay, so she’d only had a few “dates” with the guy…and their interactions really shouldn’t be considered dates as much as just meetings. But she knew that blank expression too well. Six months ago, she’d experienced those blank stares, the mental challenge of trying to determine if she was boring him or amusing him during their meals. Until that one night…that one kiss….there had been nothing “blank” at that point. The shocking heat in that kiss, the sizzling, the strange need it had produced inside of her…had he felt it too? Or had he…?
Shaking her head as she tried to stop the ridiculous need to define what the man had experienced. She’d been visiting with her father and…. That was in the past and, obviously, it hadn’t meant as much to him as it had to her or he would have…Arianna stopped, not sure what he should have done. He was ruler of Triar, a fabulously powerful country, they’d had dinner twice and that kiss on their third evening together.
That third night. That kiss. His laughter.
Arianna sighed, shaking her head. They weren’t lovers…and she ignored the sensual shiver at the mere idea of being the lover to a man like the one on the dais. Just a glance reminded her of his power, his strength. The heart-stopping…something…that he generated inside of her.
Taking a breath, she banished the memories. They were simply acquaintances who had kissed.
Looking back up at the man, she sensed that he was impatient with the current conversation. To a casual observer, he appeared to be listening intently to whatever the speaker was saying, but…somehow, she knew that he was frustrated and bored.
Turning away, Arianna looked up at the ceiling, ignoring the amazing painting that some artist had painstakingly created for that space. Her anger and resentment over this man and her reaction to him, to that one, shocking kiss, was making her crazy. For the past several months, months of silence on her part, she’d told herself that she was over him. Repeatedly reminded herself that she’d only imagined her feelings for the man.
Even during the dark hours of the night when she’d been staring up at the ceiling, thinking about what it would be like to have his hands…
She blinked and shook her head again, taking a deep, cleansing breath.
Rhys Sabad del Isolm, Sheik of Triar, was simply another guy she’d dated and things hadn’t worked out.
But the truth was…she hated him! She hated his blank expression and the crazy sensations she felt throughout her body when she looked up at him. She hated the power he wielded, the power he held over her – even now! She hated that he acted as if he owned the world but…!
Okay, so maybe he did own the world – or at least a very large chunk of it, but His Highness Rhys Sabad del Isolm …he was her last hope and letting thoughts of anger and resentment flit through her mind wasn’t going to put her in the right frame of mind to ask him for help. And yeah, she truly needed his help. The past few days, trying to find her missing father on her own had proven that she couldn’t do this by herself. Arianna accepted that she needed the power of his office, his title or…whatever…to get the people “in the know” to take her seriously.
Once again, Arianna mentally lectured herself on patiently presenting her case to the man and…politely asking him for his assistance.
And ignoring the gut clenching desire to kiss him again. Forgetting all of those dreams where he’d made love to her or she’d made love to him, touching him, exploring…
Closing her eyes, she fisted her hands at her side, reminding herself that she was over this guy! So completely over him!
Although, as she looked around at the intimidating marble and stone receiving room, Arianna acknowledged that her courage was failing fast.
“Fifty-four!” a voice bellowed.
Arianna jerked, glancing down at the piece of paper she’d left on the marble bench beside her. Fifty-four was her number! It was her turn?
Oh my! She wasn’t ready. Not even close. In an abstract way, Arianna completely acknowledged that three dates and one kiss should not have affected her this much. But they had. And that was the issue. Or maybe the issue was that they hadn’t affected him in the same way. Shaking her head, she once again stopped her mind from trying to muddle through a problem that she’d spent way too many hours trying to resolve.
Nervously, she glanced up at the throne, relieved when the tall, terrifyingly handsome man in question appeared to be speaking with an aide. Quickly, she shook her head and waved to the man sitting on the stone bench next to her, holding the next number. “Go ahead,” she told him and grabbed his number, handing him the piece of paper with number fifty-four on it. Arianna needed just a few more moments to regroup before she faced the Rhys again. Uh…His Highness or…whatever she was supposed to call him.
The stranger looked at the piece of paper, then back up at her as if she were crazy, but it took him only moments before he jumped up and hurried to the dais.
Arianna jumped up herself, but moved in the opposite direction. She had to get a grip! This was too important. Glancing at her cell phone, she saw messages from her friends, Hayden and Natalie and…while she was looking, another text message popped up, this one from Kate…no, she was actually Katia! Good grief, that was a story she’d like to hear more about. Kate…Katie…had left a month ago to confront her father.
The three women weren’t here in Triar, they were safely back in Virginia, a world away from this place and her desperate search for her missing father.
If it weren’t for those three women, she wasn’t sure how she could have dealt with the past six months and her humiliation at the hands of Rhys. Oh, if only she could go back in time and stop herself before that kiss! She’d made such a fool of herself! Natalie, Hayden, and Kate…uh…Katia, hadn’t judged her in any way.
But then her father’s phone calls had stopped! No texts. No phone calls. No e-mails. After three days, Arianna knew that something was very wrong.
Arianna and her father were very close, they texted at least once a day, her father checking in with her or sending her a joke. Often, he’d e-mail her about his day and ask her about what she was working on. Because of the time differences, Arianna knew that she could wake up each morning to either a text or e-mail from her father and she was careful to do the same.
Then nothing. For over a week, there hadn’t been any communications at all! In a panic, she’d flown here to Triar and tried to find him, but no one would tell her anything! Every time she asked about her father’s whereabouts, or his actions last week or where he might be…the world clammed up. One of the security guards at the oil rigs site where her father spent a great deal of time actually told her to leave the area!
She pressed the power button on her cell phone, turning it off. She couldn’t answer her friends’ inquiries about her well-being because…well, Arianna was pretty sure that her actions over the next few minutes would put her in the “not well” category. Facing the man who had kissed her so passionately and then laughed uproariously, a humiliating fact which she was just going to have to deal with, was not going to make this into a skippedy-do-dah day.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and reminded herself about why she was here. She also reminded herself that it was silly to have been affected so intensely by one kiss. One simple kiss. One amazing, mind-blowing, incredible kiss.
“Stop it!” she whispered and turned around, trying to focus.
She just hoped that…well, looking up at the man, his dark hair and those dark, forbidding eyes…she hoped that she’d find…maybe if he could just…Arianna, sighed, not sure what she wanted to find. An absence of humiliation?
Sighing, she sat down on the hard, stone bench, staring at her fingers. Arianna wasn’t here to relive that kiss. No way! She wanted her father back and she couldn’t do it on her own. No one would talk to her and…and she was scared. Frightened for her father’s welfare.
She had to do this. She had to talk to Rhys and get him to put his title behind her investigation. Maybe he could call someone, someone in his government who would take her seriously and force others to answer her questions. Because right now, not even the police would help her, telling her that she was worrying for no reason, that her father was probably just on vacation.
Arianna knew that wasn’t the situation. Her father wouldn’t just up and go on vacation without telling her. Something bad had happened and she had to find him!
Standing up, she paced back and forth several more times as she mentally banished images from the last time she was with Rhys, the way she’d reacted to his kiss had been completely out of character. She’d never moaned like that before, she’d never…cried out when a man touched her.
Taking yet another deep breath, she closed her eyes, pressing her lips together. That was all in the past! She was more in control now. She wouldn’t fall for his seduction this time around. Nope, she understood that she was simply an amusing distraction for him.
Arianna looked up and suddenly realized that there was only silence in the large room when, before, there had been a low, constant hum of nervous conversation. Looking around, she found herself alone in the huge, elaborately decorated room. The silence almost echoed against the marble walls and Arianna swallowed, painfully aware of her isolation. Where had everyone gone? Everyone had disappeared!
She didn’t want to be alone with him! The last time they’d been alone…well, she didn’t want to go there! She couldn’t handle his amusement at her expense again. Not like that!
Panic seized her and she hurried back to the receiving room. Where was…?
There he was, looking tall and gorgeous and amazing! He stood in the center of the empty room watching her. Alone.
“Welcome back,” he greeted. His deep voice was even sexier than she remembered.
Arianna looked behind her, around to her right and left, desperately searching for someone, anyone, to buffer this man’s impact on her senses. Just his look was making her warm and…gooey feeling.
“Something is troubling you, zahrat saghira,” he observed softly.
Arianna’s shoulders stiffened, horrified to be addressed in that manner. And by him? Oh no! “I’m not little and I’m not a flower,” she replied tersely, her hands fisting by her sides as anger flowed through her.
Yes, she knew her anger was just a defense mechanism, but whatever worked, she told herself.
The man walked closer, his robes flowing around his body and she gasped when he was less than a foot away. Maybe he was right – maybe she was little, but only in a relative sense. Compared to this behemoth, she was small. Tiny! His height and breadth made her feel small and, somehow, fragile and feminine when she usually thought of herself as strong and confident.
Blinking up at him, she shrugged one shoulder slightly, dismissing his silent assertion. “Got it. I’m small compared to you,” she admitted.
The man chuckled and Arianna felt a shiver of awareness at that sound. It was deep and masculine, and yet, still gentle somehow. His hand reached out, running a finger down her cheek. “You are still beautiful, like a flower. I think zahrat saghira suits you perfectly.”
She gasped at the irritating heat his touch created on her skin, shocked by the sudden and insane desire to turn her cheek into his touch, to feel the warmth of his hand. When she realized where her mind had gone, she pulled back and straightened her shoulders. He was so close! So close she could…the trembling hit her once again, more intense this time.
But she couldn’t waste this opportunity. She was alone with the man. Not nearly as vulnerable as before because this time, she wasn’t here on a social agenda. Arianna had a mission and she needed his help.
The silence bothered her though. The lack of noise, lack of others, increased her nervousness. “Where is everyone?” she asked, glancing around even as she tried to figure out how to ask him for help.
“Open court is over,” he explained gently.
She heard the concern in his voice and rebelled against it. The softness in that deep voice was not enticing, she silently asserted. It was…she refused to define it at this particular moment. All she knew was that this man had laughed at her…and, unfortunately, he was her only resource for finding her father.
And then his words hit her, their meaning shocking her right to her core. “Over?”
“You are the last one, little flower,” he told her, moving forward. “Would you like to talk? Obviously, there was something you wanted to say to me or you wouldn’t have shown up so early in the morning.” He took her hand and led her over to the cushioned chairs. No hard marble benches for the Sheik, she thought with resentment as she tried to fight the trembling that enveloped her whole body now.
She realized that this was the perfect opportunity to ask him for assistance but, for some reason, she hesitated.
Standing up, she moved away from the bench, needing to be taller than Rhys. Unfortunately, he stood as well, once again towering over her. Arianna glared up at him, terrified, but determined. And determined to not make a fool of herself again.
“Please…!”
“Please what, Arianna?”
Oh, she was fed up with this…this toying! “What do you want?”
“You. But you already know that, which is why you have avoided me for the past several months.”
His statement made absolutely no sense after their last interlude. “No!” she snapped, her back teeth clenching so hard, she might crack a tooth.
“And you want me.”
That statement, spoken so simply, caused her to step backward, as if she could escape the intensity of the desire she saw in his eyes. It had been there before, but…
“I don’t.”
He silently dismissed her denial. “Regardless of your fears, tell me what’s wrong.”
She clenched her hands into fists by her side, her anger…or was it panic…almost a physical thing between them. “You always think you are bigger and stronger, more capable…”
“Arianna, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to assume you are here only to see me in order to resume a relationship…”
He was right, Arianna realized. While she was focused on her reaction to him as a man, her father was still missing. She had to find him and she needed this man to give the order to his police officers.
“I need your help, Your Highness,” she blurted, glaring up at him despite the trembling in her knees and the horrible pounding of her heart against her ribs.
Okay, that wasn’t nearly as eloquent as she’d hoped. The words she’d practiced over the past several days were forgotten as she stared up at him, trying to remember the hurt and pain. She’d counted on that humiliation to give her the strength to ignore this silly trembling and remain professional now. But all of that assertiveness she’d gained during her working career was gone. At the moment, all she felt was a silly, feminine bubble as he stood there looking down at her.
“You…need help?” he asked, his tone prompting her for more information. “Help with what? And why so formal? I think we moved beyond formalities during your last visit,” he commented.
But when she glanced up into his eyes, she realized…was that amusement lurking in those dark depths?
Her eyes widened and her anger intensified, memories of the way he’d laughed at her the last time hitting her hard.
With a surge of anger, she whipped around, throwing her hands up in the air. “You’re laughing at me?” She gasped. “Again?!” Turning to face him once more, she couldn’t believe the fury that hit her all at once. “I ask for help and you mock me?”
He moved closer and she backed up, so he stopped. “Mocking you is such a harsh term, and was never my intention, Arianna. Perhaps if you explained, I might…”
Her knees were turning to jello in response to that sensuous look in his eyes. She had to stop it, to stop him from…whatever it was that happened whenever she got close to him. “My father has disappeared!” she blurted out. Seeing the surprise in his eyes, she continued, feeling better now that he didn’t look like he wanted to carry her off to his bed. “He’s been gone for over a week and I can’t get anyone to tell me anything! Your whole police force is corrupt and won’t help me.” The anger was back in full force and she squared her shoulders. “My father is one of your top engineers and worked closely with you and your team to build up your oil production infrastructure. I think someone kidnapped him, and you stand here laughing at me!”
Suddenly, all of her hurt feelings from their last time together filled her throat, choking her, and she lifted her hand, furious with him. Before her hand could move even an inch, her wrist was captured and, moments later, she was wrapped up by a strong arm, the two of them surrounded by guards and she was completely immobilized.
Struggling against the shockingly muscular arms, she tried to free herself, to escape. The warm breath against her cheek tried to sooth her, as did his words. “Calm yourself, little flower.”
She wasn’t calm. She was angry. Furious!
And even worse, she looked like a fool! She’d tried to slap the Sheik of Triar, literally, one of the most powerful men in the world and she was going to prison! Failure was a bitter taste in her mouth as she realized the full extent of what she’d just done.
With a surge of anger mixed with a flood panic, Arianna burst into tears. It wasn’t just this moment, it was the past week, the worry about her father, the frustrations with police and guards and other oil rig personnel telling her that her father was fine when she knew that he wasn’t. All of the stress just tumbled out when his strength surrounded her. She couldn’t stop the outburst any more than she could control the emotions welling up inside of her.
But instead of handcuffs slapped onto her wrists, she felt herself being held gently. Those strong arms that had been holding her securely were now wrapping around her, lifting her up and carrying her over to one of the benches. She didn’t care. Her enemy of moments before was now her comforter and she sobbed out all of her tension, her fears and frustrations. The strain of the past few days was too much for her to bear and she curled up in her enemy’s arms, her hands fisting the material of his robes while Arianna used him for warmth and security in a world that had offered none only moments before.
A part of her mind heard him reassure the guards, but Arianna didn’t care. The guards argued, but this man’s commands were absolute so the guards reluctantly retreated. Her arms tightened around his neck and she felt the pressure of his own around her back, pulling her closer. Trying to reassure her.
The soothing sounds only increased her tears, the sobs coming in great gulps of grief and anger. Arianna had no idea how long she sat in this man’s lap and cried, but eventually, the tears subsided.
When they finally stopped, she was exhausted. And it occurred to her that the man was still holding her gently in his arms…after she’d tried to smack him!
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, feeling drained. And now that the emotions had finally left her, she knew that what she’d done was wrong. Violence and anger never solved anything, she told herself. Logic and reasoning were better weapons.
Standing up, she extended her hands.
“What’s this?” he asked, standing next to her and taking both of her hands into his own, folding them on top of each other.
She blinked back a fresh wave of tears, but they weren’t a true threat. She was too wiped out from the last bout of emotion. With resignation, she turned her head away, unwilling to look into the face of her failure. “You need to arrest me.”
He chuckled and, strangely, the sound created that horrible trembling in her body once again. But this time, the trembling was different. It wasn’t from nerves or anger…this time it was…
No, she banished the possibility of being attracted to him from her mind. Regardless of her horrible anger and remorse, this man was her only hope in finding her father. It was humiliating to feel anything other than anger towards this man.
He turned, tucking her hand onto his arm as he led her out of the receiving room. “I’m not arresting you,” he told her.
She tried to pull her hand away, not liking the way it made her feel to be so close to this man. “But...you must!”
He looked down at her and those dark eyes showed his amusement. “I must?”
She was flustered by his response. And her own! “Yes! I tried to slap you!” They were walking down a long hallway, the two of them surrounded by big, bulky guards.
“You did not slap me,” he asserted, as they turned left down yet another long corridor.
She pulled back, stopping their momentum to look up at him. “Yes! I did! You have to arrest me.”
He laughed but backed up. “Arianna, you would never survive prison,” he said softly, his strong fingers moving the strawberry blond curls out of her eyes. “Your tender skin would be shredded, blistered, and ruined. This lovely hair would be infested with vermin, tangled into knots, and used as a weapon against you.” His eyes moved down over her lush figure draped in the blue silk dress. “And your lovely body would be in jeopardy from the other prisoners.” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think that I will allow you to go to jail.”
She inhaled sharply, feeling strange with those dark eyes looking at her in that manner. “But…”
“We shall eat,” he announced, interrupting her again. “And you will explain your antipathy towards me and why you avoided my phone calls for the past several months. I will strive to change your mind. And we will work this out and find your father.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he lifted a hand to stop the words. “Not in that order.”
She gritted her teeth, not sure what to say in the face of such arrogance. “I appreciate your…” she struggled to find the right word, the right tone to use. On the one hand, the memories of their last time together made her angry with him for so many reasons. But at this moment, she was frantic. And with that, she accepted that she’d have to moderate her tone for what she needed from him. She couldn’t continue to snipe at him when she desperately needed his help. Modifying her tone, she struggled to remain calm. “I appreciate your generosity in not arresting me for my lapse in patience when I tried to slap you, Your Highness,” she started off, relishing the flash of irritation she saw in his eyes, but focused on the more important issue. “And thank you. I’m truly frantic about my father. I can’t do it alone, which is why I came here, hoping that you might offer some assistance. And I appreciate you not throwing me in jail.”
He laughed once again as the guards opened a set of ornate doors in front of him, several of them glowering down into her amber eyes. “I daresay that my guards agree with me. They are eager to lock you up,” he agreed, his head nodding towards a pair of big, bulky, angry guards that seemed tense, fully prepared to shoot her at the slightest provocation.
Arianna glanced in that direction as well, not surprised to find both guards glaring at her with righteous fury. “Umm…oh.” Arianna wasn’t sure what to say. They all looked frightening! She stopped and took a step towards the two that seemed the most menacing, ready for them to take action.
When she looked up at him again, she could see that he was trying hard not to laugh at her. Again!
“Don’t you dare!” she gasped.
Rhys had held back for as long as possible, but her soft lips and those to-die-for golden eyes were daring him to laugh. He couldn’t hold it back.
What was it about this woman? The last time they’d been together, she’d been like a breath of fresh air in his life. From the first moment he’d seen her, he’d been entranced, amazed at her easy smile and her ability to see life with eyes that weren’t cynical. There was no subterfuge with Arianna. Everything she was feeling was right there on her face or in her gorgeous eyes. When he’d kissed her, she’d responded with desire and lust, sounds that had made him feel more masculine and powerful than he would have thought possible.
And then she’d left, departed the country before he even knew that he’d hurt her feelings somehow. For the past six months, she’d ignored his phone calls and rejected the flowers he’d sent.
Now she was back and, this time, he wasn’t going to mess things up. This time, he was going to understand her, to figure out what made her tick, what caused her to smile and, most importantly, what it would take to get her into his bed and keep her there.
Just thinking about having her in his bed, naked, those hot, sexy sounds she made when he kissed her…hell, his body was fully aroused just thinking back to those incredible sounds, as well as the way she’d felt in his arms. For the first time, he had a woman who wasn’t faking anything, every reaction was honest and sincere.
“You’re not going to hurt me,” he asserted firmly as he took the chair on the opposite side of the table from her.
She looked over at him, not sure what was going on. Tilting her head slightly, she glared at him across the table. “So, let me get this straight. I cry on your shoulder, ask for help and then try to slap you. Now you’re going to feed me?” She paused and looked at him for a long moment. “You’re crazy, right? That would make sense. You’re out of your mind. A nutcase.”
He chuckled again, but nodded towards the waiting servants, silently telling them to bring in the food. “Tell me why you think your father is missing.”
She bowed her head as the reality of her life came crashing down around her. For the past few minutes, she’d been distracted from her worries, but now…it was all there. The panic, the worry, the imaginings of what her father might be going through…!
Sitting stiffly across from him, she looked into his dark eyes, trying to fight the shame that was hitting her as she accepted the enormity of her failure to get even the smallest piece of information over the past few days. “I haven’t heard from him in over a week.”
He watched her, realizing that her simple statement was significant. “I’m assuming that’s unusual,” he commented.
“Yes. We text or e-mail each other at least once a day. And once a week, we call each other to catch up.”
“Ah, so your phone does work,” he noted and Arianna couldn’t stop the blush at his reference to his repeated calls after she’d left last time.
There was a long silence as she fought, and won, the battle of controlling her anger and humiliation. When she was ready, she looked up, startled to see that he was patiently waiting for her to regain her composure.
“When was the last time you heard from him?”
Blinking rapidly, she looked away, not wanting to notice the man’s hard jawline or the interesting shadows caused by the day-old scruff of his beard.
She started speaking quickly, hoping that she would get through the explanation without breaking down again if she told him quickly enough. As she spoke, the words flowed more easily. There was no laughter in his eyes now. And thankfully, no pity either. To her novice viewing, his expression seemed…concerned? Interested?
She wasn’t sure.
“During my last conversation with him, over 10 days ago, he talked about working on one of your oil rigs, trying to repair a leak. The repairs were going okay, but the pipes never should have broken. I’d talked to him just the night before and…he mentioned something wasn’t right on the rig, but I dismissed it. The next day, I didn’t hear from him. I didn’t think anything of it, just thought that he was working hard to repair the rig. But when I didn’t hear from him again the following day, I knew that something was wrong,” she stopped, blinking rapidly as her thoughts traveled back to that last conversation. She’d been laughing at something her father had said, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what that was. She hated that she hadn’t been paying enough attention to really focus on her father! “He’s not answering his phone, which has never, ever happened when I called him.”
Shaking her head slightly, she took a deep breath. For another long moment, she stared down at her plate. When she looked up at him again, her eyes were hard. Firm. “You’d recently fired your oil minister and brought in a new man, then ordered him to lower costs. The only way to do that was to scrimp on lower quality equipment. The result was that the metal splintered under the extra pressure caused by the deeper drilling.” She looked up at the ceiling now, unable to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. “My father warned his supervisors that the lower quality piping wouldn’t hold. He tried to stop production until better, stronger rigging could be brought to the site. When that failed, he went up his chain of command, but everyone ignored his warnings.” Looking across the table, she glared at him, ignoring the compassion and understanding in his eyes. It was fake, she told herself. “He went higher, despite repeated threats to his job, and sent messages directly to you, informing you that the metal wasn’t up to the task of containing the pressure.”
“He warned me personally?” Rhys asked, surprised.
She looked at him, absently taking in the splendor around them. The gilt walls and the silk covered chairs, the crystal glasses and sterling silver on the table…it was all very impressive, and only reinforced her opinion that Rhys might be the reason her father wasn’t here now.
She lifted her chin slightly, clenching her hands together under the table so she wouldn’t launch herself at him as her anger and resentment flared to life again. “No, I don’t suppose you are available to the people who actually work on your oil rigs. The faulty piping was ordered from your office. Someone in your administrative circle got word from you that the expenses were too high and profits were shrinking. My father told me all of this on the phone, but after that, I haven’t heard from him. Not a word.”
Rhys watched the woman while he rapidly assimilated what she was telling him. Although he didn’t doubt her story, the data he’d received from his oil minister during the last briefing didn’t mesh up with her information. She was correct about the new oil minister, though. He’d hired a new executive because too many issues were cropping up, accidents that shouldn’t have happened, causing morale to drop, creating a high turnover rate. The problems were slowing down now and he’d received good reports from his new oil minister. But there were no indications that anyone had been hurt recently. And thankfully no deaths on an oilrig. Not in the past two years. And even two years ago, the man who had died had suffered from a heart attack. Truly a tragic incident, but the man had been two hundred pounds overweight and a chain smoker.
The possibility that something sinister was happening on one of his oil rigs infuriated him. Especially if a person had gone missing. And it was especially egregious that no one had informed him. Working on an oilrig was inherently dangerous, but he’d mandated that strict safety precautions were put in place and adhered to. Accidents still happened, but they should be included with the monthly briefings and, so far, all the reported accidents had been minor. No oil rigs breakage had been included.
“My father is a good, honest man, who loves working on oil rigs.” She smiled slightly as she thought fondly of her larger-than-life father. “He loves the mystery of finding oil underground, but even more than that, he loves figuring out new ways to harness the oil, to make the machinery run better, cleaner. More efficiently. Since he’s started reporting on the quarterly information, you’ve been in meetings with him and know him. He’s a mechanical engineer to his core and is always tinkering, searching for new solutions to fixing oil rigs.”
Rhys listened and his mind was startled by some of her words. “You don’t have to tell me that, Arianna. You know that I respect your father, and consider him to be one of the best engineers on the rigs. I agree with you. He is honest and efficient. If he found something wrong, he would have reported it up the chain, but I haven’t heard from him in months. Because of his expertise, I haven’t needed to meet with him in person. He’s just that good.”
Her eyes widened and he noticed her dark lashes for the first time. He hadn’t realized how long they were because they were overwhelmed by the color of her eyes, a special golden color that seemed strange and yet, worked with her blonde hair and creamy complexion.
She leaned forward slightly, and his eyes moved from her long, dark lashes to the delicate bone structure of her shoulders and arms.
“So you agree. Something strange is happening.”
Her words pulled his attention back to her issue and Rhys nodded. He was struck by the hope in her eyes. Gone was the anger as she realized a connection with him through her father. “Yes, your father is a good man and he wouldn’t just disappear like this,” he replied and spooned food onto her plate since she hadn’t served herself yet. “My security team will start investigating immediately. Once they have some leads, you and I will head out and discover his location.”
“I’m really not hungry,” she told him, obviously wanting to push the food away and discuss her father. Although there was a flash of something…strange…in those intriguing eyes and he almost chuckled at her confusion. She wanted his help to find her father, but she didn’t want him personally involved. The conundrum was there and she wasn’t sure which way to go, retain her anger, or ask about his knowledge of her father.
“You will eat so that you can keep your energy up.”
He watched as her lips pressed together and wanted to pull her back onto his lap and kiss those lips. “Look, I know you’re trying to be nice, but I really need to get back out and search for my father.” She started to stand but he lifted an eyebrow.
“You will stay and eat while my team gathers information, Arianna. My head of security, Gregor has already been informed of the problem and is looking for leads.”
She huffed a bit, but shook her head. “I sincerely appreciate your assistance. It’s why I came here today so…”
“Why didn’t you just call my private number?” he asked, motioning his fork towards her plate. “If you don’t eat something, I will tell my men to stop. I doubt you’ve eaten anything at all today and, from those dark circles under your eyes, you haven’t slept well in several nights.”
She stared at him for a long moment, but he noticed the moment that she agreed that he was right. Sitting back down, she picked up her fork, but she was still too anxious to eat, and simply moved the food around.
“I should have been able to do this on my own. If the police would just do their jobs and investigate instead of stonewalling me, then I wouldn’t need your help.” Arianna glared across the table at him, uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. “Do you always personally oversee the investigations into the crimes committed in your kingdom?” she asked, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her tone because she truly was grateful. She just…well, she didn’t want him personally involved!
When he simply winked across the table at her, she huffed a bit, irritated with his dismissal of her question.
He waved his fork towards her food. “You don’t strike me as an incompetent woman. So, I agree with you that someone is hindering your efforts. They won’t be as obstructive when I start asking the questions.” He poured her a glass of wine. “And don’t think of your efforts as a failure. Obviously, something is going on.”
She snorted her disagreement and he chuckled. “Your father told me a story about some math competition that you entered into in…” he paused to think for a moment, “second grade? You were six or seven years old?”
Her mouth fell open slightly, immediately remembering that contest. “Third grade and I was eight,” she corrected, staring at him in astonishment. “He told you about that? How?”
He stared pointedly at her fork, silent until she rolled her eyes and lifted the utensil. Only when she’d picked up the fork did he continue with the memory. “I told you. I met your father a couple of years ago and ever since, with every meeting, he would tell everyone stories about you. When he first started working for the Triar government, there were several problems on the oil lines and I would go out to investigate. There were too many accidents in that time period and oil production was falling during a period when all other data indicated that it should be increasing.”
She looked down at the food on her plate and took a tentative bite, astonished by the burst of flavors that exploded on her tongue. “Oh my, this is delicious!” she gasped.
“Exactly. I have an excellent chef.” He took another bite and waited until she’d eaten more before he continued. “Anyway, one day he and I were walking the lines, discussing various issues. He was smart and proactive and I quickly learned to trust his advice. On this particular day, you must have done something and your father was proud of you. He even had a picture of you in his wallet and pulled it out anytime someone asked about you, although the one I saw had you in braids. Also, braces, I believe,” he teased. “The reality of you in a beautiful dress several months ago was decidedly different.”
Arianna blushed, thinking back to her school days and the pain of having braces, the awkwardness of being smarter than most of the boys in school. It made for some lonely times on the playground and not a lot of invitations to the high school dances. “I was pretty awkward in my teen years.”
“Your father believed in you and confidently stated that you showed amazing potential even then.” He took another bite and stared at her plate again.
Arianna took another bite of the spicy beef dish, wanting to hear more about his conversations with her father, willing Rhys to talk. She desperately wanted to hear about her father, to feel as if she could somehow connect with him even though she knew that they should be out there looking for him right now instead of sitting in a beautiful dining room eating. She was so worried about him! “What did he tell you about that math competition?”
The man laughed and topped off his glass of wine, then waited until she’d taken a sip of her own before he continued.
“He said that you’d been practicing for weeks before the competition. The morning of the event, you refused to eat because you were too excited, determined to win. Apparently, there was some boy that taunted you during the last math test because you earned a higher grade. He’d accused you of being a ‘stupid girl’ or something along those lines. Your father’s eyes lit up when he told everyone that you beat the boy in the first round of the competition.”
Arianna remembered that morning and still thought fondly of that sweet victory. She huffed a bit, thinking back to that afternoon on the playground, irritated all over again by the incident that was now ancient history. “He said I was ugly and pretty girls weren’t good at math.”
Rhys’ eyebrows lifted, but he only shook his head. “Anyway, your father said that you got to school early, practicing your multiplication tables all the way to the school. He sat through the whole competition until it was only you, another girl, and one other boy. Towards the end, the boy was knocked out of the race and it was just you and another girl. The two of you forced the event to last a half hour longer than usual because neither of you made a mistake. The teachers were pulling their students out of the auditorium, needing to get back on schedule, but you and the other girl just kept going.”
Arianna smiled at the memory. “Yeah. She was a worthy opponent.”
“Are you still friends with her?” he asked curiously.
Arianna laughed, horrified at the possibility. “Absolutely not! Jenny Peterson hated me before the math contest and, since I won, she hated me even more after. She used to throw peanuts at me in the lunch room.”
“And you eventually stopped her?”
Arianna shook her head. “No. My friend got hit in the head with one of the peanuts and punched Jenny in the nose. I got in trouble for that too. My teacher said that I provoked the fight.”
His dark eyebrows went up. “And did you?”
Arianna shook her head, irritated even now by the memory. “I was completely innocent.”
“Then why did the teacher blame you?”
Arianna was unaware of the smug smile that spread over her lips as triumph lit up her eyes. “Because just that morning, I’d corrected one of the problems the teacher had written up on the board. She was irritated with me and more than ready to get back at me for embarrassing her.”
“Sounds like a petty dictator,” he replied, completely dismissing the teacher.
Arianna looked at him, his words reminding her that her father was still missing while the two of them sat in here chatting away. Kettle, meet Pot, she silently thought. Then she remembered that he’d told her that he had his security team looking into leads and felt horrible for her petty thoughts.
“Yes, well,” she put her fork down and folded her hands in her lap. “Thank you very much for the meal. Are you going to call someone to help me find my father? Or do you have something else on the agenda to slow me down?”
He laughed softly and sipped his wine. “Perhaps a bit of torture?”
Unwillingly, her eyes widened. But his chuckle told her that he was teasing her and she relaxed.
“You will stay here with me in the palace while we investigate your father’s disappearance. As I mentioned, I have my security team looking into what happened and I believe they have some leads,” he announced with a nod at his guards. And with those words, he nodded to another waiter who cleared the dishes away. Arianna noticed that he’d eaten a large portion of the food and her eyes were once again drawn to his broad shoulders. He really was nicely built.
That’s when his words hit her. He might have said it earlier, but she was just now starting to believe him. And the relief that surged through her overrode his comment about her staying here in the palace. “You’re really going to help?” she gasped. With his nod, she threw herself into his arms. “Thank you!”