Chapter 4
Four days after her father was found, Arianna had just finished packing up her suitcase when the knock on her door sounded. Opening it, she found Rhys standing in the doorway in another pair of black cargo pants and a black tee shirt, looking so amazing and so wonderful. She realized suddenly how much she’d missed him. And even that scared her.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, his eyes flicking behind her to the bed where her suitcase was laid out.
“I’m packing,” she replied shortly, pressing cold fingers to her cheeks so he wouldn’t see that she had been crying.
He pushed into her room and glared at the bed, his hands fisted on his hips. When he turned back to her, his eyes immediately changed from angry to concerned as he took in the obvious evidence of her tears. “You’ve been crying. Aren’t you happy to have your father back? And he’s recovering so well! I was told he was to be released today and I’ve arranged for nurses to help him at home.”
Arianna was startled by his assumption that she was sad about her father. Her father? No. She hadn’t thought about her father since…well, the doctor had told them yesterday that he would be released. His health was improving dramatically and his neighbors were ready to care for him, bringing him many of his favorite foods, spoiling him rotten.
Arianna was no longer needed here.
“I’m going home. I’m going to lose my job if I don’t…”
He lifted a hand to stop her words. “I will speak to Viktor Chenko and tell him that you need more time here.”
She was shaking her head even before he finished that sentence. “No, Rhys. My father is home, safe, and better, thanks to you. Now, I have to go.”
Moving closer, he gently gripped her upper arms. “There’s more to your father’s disappearance and you know it. I need your help here.” He watched her carefully. “Why are you really leaving?” he demanded, his eyes searching hers for the truth. “Is it because you are afraid of what we might find?”
She shook her head again. “No.” Not even close, she added silently as she looked up into his face, trying to memorize his features.
He waited for her to continue, but when she remained stubbornly silent, he laughed. “Okay, then it must be because you are either afraid of what happened before, or…” he moved closer, his hands siding down her arms to her hands, “you are trying to protect me.” Immediately, he recognized the truth in her eyes. “Ah. So that’s it. You think if you leave, I will stop investigating the inconsistencies in the reports and I will be safe.”
How could he guess it on the very first try? Was the man a mind reader? “Rhys. I need to leave.” She looked at his massive chest, remembering that first day and how he’d held her in his arms. It had been the first time she’d felt secure in a long time.
He squeezed her fingers ever so slightly. “You need to stay and help me discover what is going on at the oil sites,” he countered. “Even if you leave, I will still continue with the investigation. I must find out what happened. There is more to this issue than what happened to your father, Arianna. I think that’s just the tip of the iceberg and,” he moved closer, pulling her hands so that her arms were wrapped around his waist, “I think we make a pretty good team investigating together.”
Arianna wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to feel this way, she was too afraid of getting hurt again. But he was so incredibly close and smelled incredibly good – a hard combination to resist! “Rhys…”
Lowering his head, his lips tickled the skin just under her ear. “Don’t say no, Arianna. I need you. In so many ways,” his lips moved to her neck, his teeth skimming along skin that hadn’t ever felt quite so sensitive before. “I can’t even list out how many ways I need you.”
She took in a deep breath, but that wasn’t a good idea. She wasn’t aware of her hands gripping his black tee shirt, but he was. Encouraged it even. Hell, he wanted to rip his shirt off and feel her soft hands against his chest.
“Touch me, Arianna,” he groaned, taking her hand and shifting it from his shoulder to his chest.
“I shouldn’t,” she whispered, but lost the battle to resist the urge to touch him, to let her fingers explore. The way he was holding her, touching her…she could barely pull in a whole breath. She wanted more, but something niggled at the back of her mind, telling her to leave.
“You should,” he countered. “You really should.” And with those words, he shifted slightly, pulling her hips more firmly against his. Arianna gasped, surprised both by the sudden movement as well as his knee pressing between her legs. “You should do a whole lot more, Arianna. Let me make love to you.”
Holding her breath, afraid to move, she stared up at him. “You would want to? With me?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“Yes! Aljahim, yes!” He moved his mouth to her ear, nipping at her earlobe. “Will you let me show you what it could be like?”
She shivered, thinking that she already knew what it would be like. Amazing! Mind Blowing!
But then she’d eventually have to leave, go home to her lonely apartment, to her job where she’d run into Hayden every day, and witness her friend’s happiness. Natalie was already gone, living in Spain with her new husband, so at least she would only have to witness her bubbling excitement over her new life and her wonderful son for short periods of time. It would only be herself and Katia. Then she realized that Katia was off with her husband, traveling with him on business as well.
It would be a painfully lonely life, she thought.
No. Pulling out of his arms, she took several steps away from him. “Thank you,” she said, and blinked. Laughing, she admitted, “I’m not sure if I’m thanking you for the offer of sex or if I’m grateful that you allowed me to pull away.” She pushed her hair back behind her ears, flustered and trying to think clearly. “I don’t think that having sex would be a good idea.”
“Why is that?” he asked, leaning a muscular shoulder against the granite column. The position made her mouth fall open slightly as she took in the bulging muscles on his arms. Goodness, even his forearms were amazing!
Shaking her head, she took a few more steps back, suspecting that she was losing her mind when she started to think that a man’s forearms were enticing.
“Sex would only complicate things.”
“So, don’t make it complicated,” he replied, as if that were the most obvious answer.
She sighed, mimicking his stance. “To me, sex is complicated. It confuses things, muddies a relationship.”
A dark eyebrow went up with her words and she was suddenly defensive. There was amusement in his eyes now and she didn’t like it. “I’d wager that you haven’t had much experience in that area, have you?”
Arianna’s spine stiffened. “I’m not a virgin.”
He chuckled softly. “I didn’t assume that you were. But…”
“I’ve had sex!”
He moved closer, his hand gently cupping her cheek. “How many times? How many partners?”
She pressed her lips together, ignoring his amused expression. “Okay, so not many.”
“How many?”
She didn’t want to admit it, but maybe if she told him, he would understand why sex just wasn’t a casual thing for her. “Well, just one partner.”
“And how long did your relationship with this one partner last?” he asked, his voice softening.
“Six months,” she stated, hoping that he wouldn’t ask the next question.
He did.
“How long were you sexually active with this man?” he asked, taking her hands, lacing their fingers together.
Darn it! “One night,” she told him honestly. “But in my defense, that is exactly why I don’t want to create tension between us. It would be better to just…remain friends.”
“We’re not friends, Arianna.”
Her eyes widened with that assertion. “I think you’re a very nice man!” Other than that time he’d laughed after kissing her. She realized that she needed to let that go, he’d kissed her many times over the past two weeks and he’d never laughed. Not once.
“And you’re a beautiful woman. Men and women can’t be friends. It just isn’t possible.”
Her eyes narrowed. “It is if the two people in question want to remain friends.”
He tugged at her hands. “I want to be friends, Arianna.” She sighed with relief, but that relief was short lived. “And I want to be your lover. What do I have to do to convince you that we can be both?”
She shivered again, wishing that he wasn’t holding her hands so he wouldn’t know how much his words were affecting her. “Friends. Just friends, Rhys. But I need to leave. I need to go home.”
“No. You don’t need to leave. You’re leaving because you think you’re protecting me. But…” he lowered his head again, this time kissing her lips. When he lifted his head, her lips burned with his touch.
“But?” she prompted, her stomach tightening with all of the possible ways he might end that sentence.
“But…if we end up as lovers, then I want more from you.”
“What ‘more’?” she asked, still nervous and not really sure how this conversation had derailed so dramatically.
He smiled slightly. “More. More of everything.”
She wasn’t letting him get away such an ambiguous answer. If there was one thing she’d learned as a business manager, it was to get all of the terms of an agreement stated clearly up front. “I want it defined. I’m not sure how much ‘more’ I can give you, seeing as how we live thousands of miles apart.”
He shrugged and her eyes were drawn back to those impossibly broad shoulders.
“Maybe we should fix that issue as well.”
A knock on the door stopped her from asking him to clarify that statement. A fraction of a second after the knock, the door opened and a man’s head popped into the room. “I apologize for the interruption, Your Highness, but everything is in place.”
“Thank you,” Rhys replied, and turned back to Arianna. His eyes skimmed over her tailored slacks and cream blouse. “You’ll need to change. We’re heading back out to another rig site today.”
“I am not,” she told him, taking several steps back and crossing her arms over her stomach. “See? I can be just as stubborn as you.”
He laughed, shaking his head before looking down at her. “Think so?” he asked.
She held her breath, no longer sure that she should be playing this game. With Hayden, Katia, and Natalie? Yeah, she could win as often as they did. The four of them were like sisters and, in a battle of stubbornness, each of them knew one another’s’ strengths and weaknesses. But Rhys?
Arianna suspected that the man might not have any weaknesses.
Was she backing down? Was she going to do the sensible thing?
Nope! “Yeah. I think so.”
He laughed again, but this time, he only took her hand and tugged her towards her suitcase. “Admit it, you want to know what’s going on as much as I do. And if you leave, you’ll never have the answers.”
Arianna stared up at him and, like so many times before, she wondered if he was talking about the mystery or the tension between them.
With a spark of triumph, he released her hands. “I’ll have someone come and unpack your clothes, but in the meantime, change into a pair of jeans. Something sturdy. Also, wear the softer boots I bought you. I don’t want you hurt and the rig site we’re visiting today is a bigger mess than I’d thought.”
He stood there for a long moment, just staring down at her.
She turned and looked at him, waiting. When he continued to watch, she sighed. “You’re not going to give me any privacy to change, are you?”
He shrugged. “Why not just get used to me seeing you naked?” He leaned down to challenge her. “I know I’ll enjoy it.” He saw the flare of heat in her eyes and smiled. “You might enjoy it as well. Admit it.”
With a huff, she closed her eyes, and turned away from the obnoxious man. Grabbing a pair of well-worn jeans, she stomped into the bathroom. “Ugh!” she growled, ignoring his husky laugh as she slammed the door.
Once in the bathroom, she looked at her image in the mirror, startled by the person staring right back at her. Who was this woman with the flushed cheeks and the eyes that seemed to have an inner fire? Surely it wasn’t her! A year ago, she’d been a timid human resources worker, laboring in a windowless office in the bowels of Chenko Industries. The day she’d been tasked with bringing out business manager resumes to Hayden’s garden nursery had been the best day of her life. In twenty-four hours, she’d gone from working in a closet-sized, dowdy office to working in a sunshine filled dining room converted into her office. In the springtime, she opened the windows to let the fresh air inside. And during almost every lunch break, she sat in the sunshine and talked with her friend and boss. Hayden was a delight and loved plants. She also loved being pregnant, thriving under the loving care of a man Arianna would have bet big money had never shown any compassion to a single human being. A year ago, word around the office was that Viktor Chenko didn’t have a heart.
Now, he was so besotted with his wife, it was almost funny to watch them together. Or, it would be funny if Arianna wasn’t so jealous of the happiness that couple shared with each other. It was beautiful to watch.
In addition, she had met Natalie and her adorable son Alejandro, Natalie was even teaching her Spanish. And Katia…the woman was vivacious, endearing, and generous to a fault. Arianna had gone from a life of working twelve and fourteen hours a day with no time for anything else, to being surrounded by friends, loving her job, and…well, living! She’d learned to live over the last year!
Until news of her father’s disappearance derailed her.
Could she find what Natalie and Hayden had discovered?
Her mind flashed to Rhys. But that wasn’t to be. She’d found her father. Why was she even hesitating about getting back to her own life? To real life?
That thought raised a disturbing question.
Arianna stared down at the glossy marble floor. Was she acting like a fool?
The knock on the door broke through her rambling thoughts. “Arianna? Are you okay?”
Quickly, she pulled her jeans on and zipped them up. Gathering her hair on top of her head, she secured it with a band, added a touch more lipstick, then nodded her approval. “Just go with it,” she told her image in the mirror.
Pulling the door open, she stepped back when she found Rhys still waiting for her, laid back in one of the chairs. “I’m ready,” she announced.
He stood up slowly, his eyes moving over her legs. “Yes, you are,” he told her. Was that appreciation in his voice? Or was he still playing her? But to what end?
Confusion had her glancing away, reaching for her purse. “Where are we going today?” she asked. Deciding that the only way to find out what was going on, both with Rhys as well as what happened with her father, was to play along for a bit longer. She’d call her friends again tonight, maybe get a conference call going so she could talk to all of them once more and, hopefully, get their impressions on what was happening. Surely, between the four of them, they could figure out a solid plan of action.
With that in mind, she followed Rhys out of the palace. There were double the number of guards today and all of them were more heavily armed than last week. It was both intimidating and comforting, she thought as she ducked into the back seat of the SUV.
“You never mentioned where we’re going today,” she said as soon as he was sitting next to her. She tried to shift away from him, but he only put a hand on her knee, silently telling her that he wouldn’t allow her to shift away.
“We shouldn’t sit like this,” she commented, trying to make her voice sound firm and not breathy. But the heat of him, the way her whole body was tingling with awareness…making her voice sound firm was pretty difficult.
“Why not?”
“Because we are trying to remain friends, right?
“Wrong. You are trying to remain friends. I don’t believe men and women can be friends. And I want you as a lover, Arianna.” He slid his hand between her knees and she gasped. “If you were completely honest with yourself, you’d admit that you want more than just a simple friendship as well.”
He was right, but she couldn’t find what she wanted with this man.
She suddenly realized that, not only was the SUV flying down the highway, but there was a helicopter hovering overhead. “Is the extra security because of last week’s attack?” she asked, then thought about how stupid the question was. “Sorry, that was pointless, of course the extra security was because of last week. Why would I even ask such a…”
His hand on her knee tightened and she stopped speaking, realizing that he was trying to reassure her. Unfortunately, his gesture backfired, making her hyperaware of him as a man and his hand resting so casually on her knee. His tanned fingers against her denim clad knee seemed…intimate somehow.
She looked out the side window closest to her, not really seeing the landscape as it swept by outside the vehicle. Not that there was a whole lot to see. The desert was an amazing place, but there were long stretches of sameness. A building off in the distance caught her attention and she leaned forward. “What’s that?” she asked.
He glanced to where she was pointing. “That’s a glass factory.”
“Huh!” she said, staring at the large building with several cars parked around it. It wasn’t just a big box though. There were colorful sculptures surrounding the building and on top. “How do they protect the sculptures from the sand?”
“The building is filled with artists that rotate throughout the year. They each produce a sculpture for the entrance, or several smaller ones, that are then sold or were consigned by a developer. The outdoor sculptures were originally untreated but, you’re right, the constant sand blasting damaged them and, over time, they were broken. This is just one of several factories in which we’re experimenting with ways to preserve glass structures, make them more durable.” He winked down at her. “If there’s one thing that we have a great deal of, it is oil and sand. Oil will eventually disappear or will no longer be a commodity that can be sold. I’m encouraging my people to diversify, to find other ways in which to make their living so that, when solar or other renewable resources replace oil, they are still able to make a living.”
She leaned back against the soft leather. “That’s amazing,” she gushed. “And from what I can see, the sculptures are beautiful.”
“They are. I have several pieces in the palace, some are out in courtyards. I will show them to you tonight. I commissioned them specifically for the various places in the palace in the hopes that they would be displayed well enough to garner attention from others.”
She looked at him again. “You’re acting as a patron of the arts, in a way.”
“Exactly.”
“Just like in medieval times.”
He laughed softly. “In many ways, my country functions under a medieval mindset. They perceive me almost as a deity. I’ve tried to contradict that perception, showing them that I’m just a man, but they are set in their ways, preferring to think of me as more powerful than an ordinary person.”
“Why do they do that?”
He shrugged slightly. “Because many of them were in desperate circumstances forty or fifty years ago. When my father took control of the country, he turned things around. In their minds, he was more of a god-like figure. They needed to believe in something, so they believed in him.”
“But their religion…?”
“Their religion helps a great deal, but it only reinforces what they believe, it doesn’t detract from it.”
“So you’re…”
“Only human, Arianna. Just a man. But I understand the psychology behind what they are thinking and why they do certain things.”
She thought about that while he spoke on the phone for several minutes. By the time he finished his phone call, they arrived at the rig site, the guards spreading out in what looked to be an unorganized grouping, but she suspected that it was a very strategic placement of guards. The show of force was impressive, causing the workers to turn and stare in awe.
Once again, as Rhys came into view, cheers rang out. The workers clapped and jumped, once again celebrating his survival from the attack last week.
Always the politician, Rhys lifted his hand in the air, accepting their jubilation but not reveling in it. He turned and extended his hand to her and Arianna realized what he was doing. By showing her respect, he was demanding that others show her respect.
After their conversation in the SUV, she now understood his actions and why he did them. So instead of being stubborn and showing him that she could exit the vehicle on her own, she laid her hand in his, ignoring the trembling that his touch caused, and allowed him to help her out.
The cheers seemed to increase when she looked around, all of the workers excited to see her. But why? What benefit could she possible present to these workers?
“They like you,” he said, whispering softly into her ear. At the same time, his fingers tightened around hers and she warmed to his touch, feeling a connection that she hadn’t felt yesterday and definitely not the day before.
“I don’t understand why,” she murmured as she walked beside him. “My claim to fame is that I didn’t get shot last week.”
Rhys looked down at her, startled by that declaration. She honestly had no idea how courageous she’d acted the other day. He glanced over at his lead guard, the man who had stayed behind to defend her and shared a look of amazement.
Turning back to her, he squeezed her hand. “You did a great deal more than that, Arianna. And everyone knows it today.”
She blinked, startled by his comment. “How in the world do they know what happened last week?”
He laughed. “Because we told them.”
The project manager rushed up to him at that point, distracting him so Arianna didn’t have time to react.
“It is wonderful to see you, Your Highness!” the man gushed, sweating profusely even as the guards stopped him from approaching. They maintained a very firm perimeter around himself and Arianna. The strategy had been discussed last night when he told his guards that he would be returning to the site today. They’d worked up a solid plan to keep Arianna safe from further attacks.
“I’m pleased to be seen,” Rhys replied easily.
“Did you have additional questions for me or my engineer?” The manager asked.
Rhys noticed that the man was literally wringing his canvas hat in his hands, twisting the cotton material around and around.
Looking into the man’s beady eyes, he shook his head. “No. No more questions for either of you. I’m here today to look around, talk with the workers, and basically, just be seen after last week’s attack. Any concerns with my plan?” he asked.
He felt Arianna move closer to him, almost as if she were trying to soothe his temper somehow. Rhys would have laughed, maybe even put his arm around her shoulders to reassure her. But he maintained eye contact with the man, conveying his displeasure in the most basic way.
His guards were still interrogating the men who had been captured last week, getting more information out of them. Gone was the possibility that the attack had been politically motivated. All of the attackers were pointing fingers at this man, but none could offer proof of who paid them. Until that was established, Rhys was standing by, waiting for his guards to get more information. There were a few too many inconsistencies to accuse this man just yet. And this man didn’t seem like the type to orchestrate the complex assault. There was no doubt in Rhys’ mind that the project manager was involved, but he definitely wasn’t the one in charge.
They would figure this out, he vowed. This man would pay for the danger in which he’d put Arianna. He would pay dearly!
“Yes, Your Highness,” the man replied and bowed, stepping backwards awkwardly. Rhys watched without concern as the man moved precariously close to the edge of the walkway. They were on the staging platform where the site offices were located, but the sand dunes dropped downward, the slope of the earth curving from the wind and gravity where the rigs had been set up. There should be railings along the edge of this platform, protecting the employees from exactly what was about to happen. In fact, Rhys had seen several safety violations last week.
Rhys watched the man, calculating the exact moment that the stupid manager would fall because of the hazardous work site. He even felt Arianna’s fingers slowly tighten as she waited as well. Thankfully, she didn’t say a word, just watched and waited. Seconds later, the man tripped over a valve that hadn’t been properly stored in either the recycling bin if it was broken or a storage unit if it was waiting to be used on the rig. The man tumbled off the platform into the dirt and sand, falling backwards down the slope.
Rhys heard several of the workers laugh, but none of his guards would dare to break discipline by showing their amusement over the incident.
The man quickly recovered, brushing off his filthy slacks and glaring at his workers, all of whom turned to get back to work. Rhys watched as the man’s face turned an even brighter shade of red as he bowed again and backed up, this time turning around to walk away instead of stepping backwards and possibly humiliating himself further.
“Get back to work!” he yelled at the men, most of whom were already diligently working their tasks.
Rhys wanted to snap at the man that he was the only person not getting his job done, but he kept silent, knowing that patience was the best option until he had all of the facts.
For the rest of the afternoon, he walked around the site and sent the manager and engineer back to their offices while he spoke to the various workers.
“What do you think of the rig operations?” he asked of the first man.
The worker bowed deeply, then stood and replied, “This is an effective, productive operation.” He couldn’t look Rhys in the eye.
Rhys glanced down at Arianna and noted by her slight frown that she’d perceived the same thing.
“Very good,” he said to the worker. “Carry on and thank you for your diligence.”
The man looked up, startled, but Rhys only nodded to him. The man bowed again and turned back to his project, using what looked like a giant wrench to twist a valve that seemed to be leaking.
Together, they spoke to almost every worker on the site and every single one of them said the exact same words. Curiouser and curiouser, Rhys thought.
Arianna walked with Rhys all day, listening and observing. But what was more disconcerting was how he would look at her after every conversation, almost as if he were trying to silently communicate with her. The look he was giving her said that something was very wrong and Arianna had to agree, but she followed his lead.
Every single man on the work site said basically the same exact words. In fact, a few of the workers struggled to pronounce the words properly! Obviously, the workers had been coached to say that if asked.
Why wasn’t he saying something? Why didn’t he challenge the workers? At least ask them questions, force them to define exactly why each worker thought the work site was efficient, productive, and effective!
But he remained silent. They spoke to every worker on the site, or at least, they spoke to every worker that they could find. Which is to say that it was entirely possible that some of the workers were not visible. Had some of the more outspoken employees been hidden away? It would be easy to tell them to just take the day off in anticipation of a royal visit so Rhys couldn’t question them.
“A very effective and…” the man with oil and desert dust smeared over his face stammered and looked away, obviously trying to remember the rest of his speech. “Right!” he snapped, inhaling sharply as he straightened his spine. “And productive operation,” he finally got out. Then the man smiled, revealing a few missing teeth, but seemed neither unashamed nor even aware of the dental issues.
Rhys reached out and took the man’s hand, shaking it firmly, unconcerned about the dirt and grease. “Thank you for your time,” he said and the man beamed, almost appearing as if he might faint from the honor of shaking his leader’s hand.
“It’s an honor, Your Highness,” the man muttered, and glanced to his right. Immediately, the man pulled his hand away and turned back to work on adjusting a lever. He looked over his shoulder at Rhys, then back to the right.
Arianna started to glance to the right but Rhys squeezed her elbow in warning. “Right,” she whispered. “Sorry.”
“I understand completely, sir,” Rhys told the man, placing a gentle hand on the man’s stooped shoulders. The man turned his dirt-stained face back to Rhys and smiled, nodding as if they’d shared a secret. “I get it.”
With that, Rhys moved on and Arianna’s respect for Rhys and his leadership capabilities increased tenfold. She’d watched as Rhys told the man, without words, that the issue was understood. The message every single person working around this rig was trying to convey had been absorbed.
She smothered a smile, pushing her sunglasses higher on her nose. If Rhys was going to be secretive, then he obviously had a reason. Arianna wasn’t going to put him in danger today!
The silent messages sent back and forth were loud and clear. Something was truly wrong. And Rhys had gotten the workers to band together, understanding and concern written all over his features. Well, she saw the concern. Arianna seriously hoped that the engineer and project manager didn’t see what he was hiding.
Rhys could have just walked away, accepted the data given to him by the engineers because profits were higher. But he’d sensed a bigger, more menacing issue and looked into it. The man had the weight of his country, sometimes the world, on his shoulders. And yet, he was here, looking into what was probably a minor problem in the larger world order.
He was here. He cared! She was so amazed and in awe, she could barely breathe for a moment. No man she’d ever met had gone out of his way like this. And for who? Men who worked on an oilrig. Rhys understood. He grasped that every human life mattered. Yes, there was a bigger picture here. But he could have assigned someone to investigate.
Mentally shaking her head, she stared straight ahead, trying to follow his lead. She knew with absolute certainty that he would discuss the issue once they were away from here, away from where his concerns would jeopardize the safety of the workers.
Amazing!
She looked up at him, thinking he was more than just a tall, handsome man with muscles. He was truly a leader, a leader for everyone, not just the important people who could manipulate the politics. He cared for even the average worker.
So, by the time they stepped into the cool air of the SUV, she was shaking with her awareness of him as a man. As a good, amazing, incredible man. Arianna only waited until the door was closed before she jumped into his arms.
And that was the end for her. She felt his strong arms close around her as he lifted her onto his lap and kissed her. Thoroughly! His hands dove into her hair, pulling the hair band out so that his fingers could tangle in the now messy ponytail and pull her head backwards, giving him additional access to her mouth so that his tongue could slide inside. When she felt his tongue, Arianna melted against him, her own mating with his in a silent rhythm that captured every cell of her focus. Gone was the incredible heat of the desert sun, the frustration over hours of talking with people who gave the exact same answer.
Melting against him, she shifted, needing to feel more of him. She’d felt his touch all day long, felt the way her body clamored for more. Now she had more and…it wasn’t enough. Shifting, she kissed him back, giving him all of her pent-up frustration, her longing, and her need for his touch.
But after several minutes of this, she pulled away, her breathing heavy. Staring at him, she couldn’t stop the trembling, the intense awareness of this man.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, unaware of how her fingers still fisted against his tee shirt.
“Arianna, I’ve wanted to do that ever since we left your suite this morning,” he growled. His hands slid underneath her tee shirt that had somehow come untucked from the waistband of her jeans. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how that had happened, but she still shivered when she felt his strong hand stroke the skin along her spine. “I refrained, trying to focus on the more pertinent issue. But you kept silent all day, hearing the same thing I heard and fully understood, didn’t you?
Huh? He wasn’t making sense! Or maybe that kiss had simply sizzled all of her brain cells. “Yes, but…”
He sighed, his hands moving up and down her back and waist. “You’re right. Something is very wrong. There’s no way that all of those men could say the exact same thing to me without being coached.” He lowered his head, teasing the skin along her neck, just like he’d done this morning, but this time, it felt a bit more…intentional somehow. “The trick is to figure out who coached them and catch everyone off-guard.”
She groaned, trying to capture his hands so that she could question him further. Grabbing his wrists, she pulled them away from her back. “So, what’s the plan? What are you going to…?” She knew that he was allowing her to control his hands. He could overpower her resistance easily but he gave her that power. For the moment, at least.
He laughed softly, giving her barely a moment’s warning before his hands snuck up under the front of her tee shirt. “My current plan is to get you back to the palace. A shower to wash off the dust and,” he leaned forward, his thumbs finding her nipple at the same time that his teeth found that spot on her neck. “Make love to you tonight.”
Arianna heard the words but they barely made sense. Not with his hands and his mouth doing that to her body. “Oh dear heaven!” she gasped, completely in agreement with his plans. If he hadn’t been touching her like this, or maybe if he hadn’t been touching her all day long, she might have been able to resist him. His hands, the way he was kissing her, felt amazing and she couldn’t hold back.
And then he stopped!
Arianna opened her eyes, looking into his heated gaze. “Why did you stop?” she gasped, her body unable to still as she tried to come down from his touch.
His husky laugh made her want to punch him, especially since it was so similar to the last time several months ago after he’d kissed her. “Because we’re about to have company.”
She pulled back and listened, looking around. Sure enough, a helicopter sounded overhead and a fraction of a second later, the front doors to the SUV opened up and his bodyguards stepped in.
Arianna jerked away from him, almost flying off of his lap even as her face heated up. “You could have warned me a bit sooner,” she grumbled and moved over to the other side of the backseat, as far away from him as she could get as she tried to get her cheeks to cool off, not wanting the guards to know what was going on inside the SUV while they were outside in the heat.
“Why would I do that?” he teased, then tucked his fingers into the waistband of her jeans, pulling her right back against his side.
She opened her mouth to give him a blistering reply, but at that exact moment, one of his hands moved underneath her hair, his fingers lightly brushing against the skin of her neck and…all thoughts, all arguments and any blistering comment she might have come up with disappeared from her mind. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak as his fingers brushed back and forth against her neck.
His fingers continued to tease and torment her during the entire ride back to the palace. When he finally pulled his hand away, it was only so that he could exit the SUV, but then he extended his hand for her and she glared at it, then up at him.
“You’re cheating again,” she accused softly. But did she really mind?
He moved closer so that his broad shoulders were blocking the view from anyone who might be on the portico or looking out from the windows of the palace. “I’m not cheating, Arianna. I want to touch you,” he told her, blatant heat in his eyes. “And as soon as you step out of this vehicle, I’m going to take you to my room and make love to you. Any arguments?” he asked.
She opened her mouth to say something, but no words would form. He wasn’t beating around the bush today. There was no seduction, no changes in his plan. He’d said what he was going to do and she was one hundred percent on board with those plans.
After today, the way he’d touched her and the constant electrifying feel of him all day long, she knew that resisting him was wrong. What he made her feel, it was right. It was thrilling.
She didn’t even think about the humiliation she’d felt months ago after he kissed her. That was all gone now as she looked into his eyes. She saw the desire. It was just as intense as her own, so no fear that she might make a fool of herself.
Making love with him would be bad in the long term. She was going to be hurt when she left Triar. She knew that making love with someone was more than a casual thing to her. Making love was a commitment, but Rhys wasn’t offering her a commitment. He wasn’t offering her anything other than a night in his arms.
An incredible night, she corrected.
So, was she going to take the coward’s way out and turn down his offer? She’d flown thousands of miles to find her father and that had taken a great deal of courage. Facing this man to ask him for help had taken even more courage.
Arianna looked up into his dark eyes. No, she wasn’t going to lose her courage now, she thought. Rhys wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. He was wonderful, intelligent, compassionate and…as he sat there waiting, his hand extended, she realized that he was patient. If she said no, they would walk into the palace, have a delicious meal together, and he would kiss her goodnight.
“No. No arguments,” she finally answered. He was right. She wanted him. They had been leading up to this from the moment he’d pulled her into his arms that first day. Now it was time to find out what they’d been teasing around all this time.
The SUV came to a stop in the underground parking garage and she stared at Rhys for a long moment.
As soon as they stopped, he stepped out and she put her trembling hand into his. With careful precision, Arianna stepped out of the vehicle. If she’d been more aware of the others, she might have been embarrassed. The way they were looking at each other, even an idiot would know what was in their immediate future. But she wasn’t aware of anyone other than Rhys as he led her through the halls of the palace.
This time, he didn’t stop at the doorway to her suite, but continued on. He didn’t even stop when he approached an elaborately decorated set of double doors. The guards standing outside of that room practically screamed the confirmation that this was his suite. His bedroom. His bed.
She vaguely heard the doors close behind them, but her whole focus was on Rhys, on the way he held her hand. His own fingers were firm as he led her deeper into the suite, but he wasn’t pulling. Not this time. Nope, she was going willingly, even though her heart was pounding so hard, she felt a bit faint. Or maybe that was just because she knew what was about to happen and she was excited, thrilled that this was finally happening.
“I’ve dreamed of you making love to me for so many nights,” she admitted, startled by her words.
“Care to tell me what I did to you during those dreams?” he asked as he closed the door to his bedroom.
She stared at the enormous bed, wondering if it had been specially made. But then she realized where her mind was going and that it made no difference if the bed was custom or off the shelf. Or showroom. Or warehouse. Good grief, where did a sheik buy a bed?
“Um…well…” He turned her so that she was facing him. Arianna stared at his chest. “Well, you were naked.”
He laughed softly, bending to kiss her neck. She closed her eyes as his lips tickled her skin, sending shivers racing throughout her body. “Yeah, you did that too,” she whispered.
“And this?” he asked, biting her earlobe gently.
“Yeah. That too.”
His hands slid up underneath her tee shirt. “And this?”
She nodded, biting her lip as she closed her eyes, her mind unable to function.
“I can see that you’re not entirely focused on what happened in your dreams, my dear,” he observed and then pulled her tee shirt up and over her head, dumping it onto the floor beside her. Leading her over to the bed, he sat down and pulled her between his knees. “I can guarantee that I’ve been wondering what color bra and underwear you’ve been wearing. Ever since I stepped into your bedroom this morning, it has been on my mind.”
Arianna laughed, but inhaled sharply when his hands cupped her breasts, his thumb flicking against her nipple again and again, the pink lace of her bra making the action even more intense.
“You’re a bit obsessed with my underwear, Rhys,” she admonished.
“You’re right.” He leaned forward, taking her nipple into his mouth, causing her to gasp as the intense heat shot spikes of need from that nipple right down to her core. Arching her back, she clasped her hands against his head as he tormented her breast.
“Yes!” she gasped, her hips unconsciously wiggling.
He was fully aware of her movements though and slid his hands down to her bottom, cupping her butt before sliding around to the waistband of her jeans. Within moments, he’d pulled them off, tossing her boots and socks behind him as he twisted so that she was lying on the bed in only her red lace bra and underwear.
“Gorgeous,” he breathed as he stood up and stripped off his own clothes.
Arianna’s stomach tightened with…anxiety? Need? Excitement? She wasn’t sure, but pushed herself up onto her elbows to watch him undress.
“Pull the strap of your bra away,” he ordered as he peeled the black tee shirt up over his head.
She did as he commanded, but her mind was on the skin he was revealing. His abs were tight and hard, showing off a six-pack that looked like the images shown in magazines…but better! The light coating of hair on his chest made her want to run her fingers through it, then trail her fingers down lower to where the line of hair disappeared.
“Just like that,” he groaned.
She looked up at him, having forgotten that one breast was now revealed. “You’re amazing,” she whispered, wanting to touch him. She got up onto her knees and slowly approached, her hands reaching out to touch him. She was tentative at first, but when she heard his groan, she knew that he liked the way she was touching him and her fingers grew bold. Sliding along his skin, she explored every inch of that chest that had enticed her since the beginning. “You’re so hard.”
“Definitely,” he told her, taking her hand and guiding her fingers to his erection that was still hidden by his cargo pants. “Touch me, Arianna.”
She was fascinated by the bulge in those pants, nervous and wary, but so curious she wasn’t about to stop. Her fingers moved up and down that hard ridge, wanting to feel more of him. When her fingers slipped under the waistband of his pants, she heard the hiss of his breath and smiled, feeling so powerful.
The buckle was difficult, but she eventually got it undone, almost laughing when he tried to do it for her. “No, this is my turn,” she told him.
Slowly, she unzipped, fully aware of what she might find. But when his erection was free, she was amazed. Nothing had prepared her for this. He was beautiful, strong and long, his erection thick and hard, more than ready for her touch. She couldn’t hold back, needing to touch him, wanting to wrap her fingers around that part of him. She’d never done this before, never even wanted to, but with Rhys, she felt bold and feminine, powerful!
“No!” he growled and took her hands away.
“But…!”
“Later,” he promised and toed out of his own boots, then stripped off his pants. That took less than a moment, it seemed, and then he was back with her, pulling her into his arms as he kissed her. This was no tentative, seductive kiss. This was ravenous! This was powerful and thrilling, and she lost her breath as he picked her up and laid her on her back. With one hand, he pinned her hands up above her head as his mouth moved over hers again and again.
When he finally lifted his mouth, she drew in gulping gasps of air. Unrelenting, he moved down her body, teasing that spot on her neck before moving to her breasts. With one breast revealed, he pulled that nipple into his mouth, his tongue moving back and forth across the tip. Arianna groaned as she shifted underneath him, but he wasn’t letting up and he wasn’t releasing her hands.
“Please!” she sobbed, her head moving back and forth.
“Please what?” he asked, moving to the other breast. His teeth pulled the material away, but because the strap was still on her shoulder, the move only puffed up her breast more, inviting him to torment that peak. Which he did!
She wrapped her legs around him, lifting her hips up to his, unconsciously inviting him to finish this, to give her the release she needed so desperately. She moved against him, tempting him but he was fully focused on her nipple.
“Rhys!” she screamed, frustration building as he continued to tease her breasts.
Lifting his head, she felt him press his erection against her body. “You need something, Arianna?”
Opening her eyes, she pleaded with him. “Yes. You know…”
“Say it,” he ordered, his knees pressing her legs wider so that he could settle against her more firmly.
“You know what I want,” she growled, tugging at her wrists.
“Yes. I know. But I want you to say it. I want you to tell me, in detail, what you want.”
The blush that stained her cheeks caused him to chuckle. “Don’t make me do that, please,” she sobbed, turning her head away.
“This time, you don’t have to tell me, but...” he lowered his head and took her nipple, sucking on it until she screamed again, “I want you to learn to tell me what you want. I want to hear the words.”
She shook her head, wanting to smack him, but she couldn’t pull her hands away. He grabbed a condom and, finally releasing her wrists, he rolled it down his erection. But the moment he was fully covered, he moved back, staring down at her body. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this, Arianna. You’ve driven me crazy over the past few days.”
“I haven’t done anything to tease you!” she gasped, but he only grabbed her arms and kept her legs wide, open for his viewing.
“You just have to walk into a room and I want to make love to you.”
She didn’t believe him, but his words were nice to hear. “Rhys, please!” she begged, not wanting to talk. She needed…him! She knew that he could give her the release she needed so desperately. Or at least she hoped he could!
When she felt the pressure, she sighed, trying to relax her muscles. But he was bigger than she was expecting. Pulling her hands away from his, she gripped his shoulders as she shifted, accepting him into her body.
“Arianna, relax,” he soothed. He pulled all the way out, and stretched her gently as he pressed back into her heat. Back and forth, going a bit deeper with each thrust. But he never hurt her, only shifting into her until she held her breath and then he backed out. Over and over, he stretched her tissues gently until, finally, he was fully embedded in her heat.
“Don’t move!” she begged, wrapping her legs around him. “Just give me a moment, please don’t move!”
He held still, but she closed her eyes and shifted her hips until she was sure she could handle all of him. When she opened her eyes, looking up at him, she realized that sweat had broken out on his forehead with the strain of keeping perfectly still.
“Are you okay now?” he asked.
She tested her body, smiling when he groaned, then nodded her head. “Yes. All ready,” she reported.
“Excellent!” he groaned and started moving. In and out, causing waves of pleasure to pour over her body with every thrust. Her eyes widened with the first thrust and she tried to hide her surprise, but he caught it and smiled grimly, moving in and out of her heat with increasing speed. “Talk to me, Arianna. Tell me when you’re close.”
She shook her head, pressing back against him. “Too much,” she whispered, and tried to slide away from him. The building pressure was more than a little scary, but he wouldn’t let her hide from it. Grabbing her arms, he pulled them back over her head. “Just go with it,” he told her, moving and shifting with every thrust.
Arianna tried very hard to focus, but when he pressed into her like that…yeah, just like that! She couldn’t focus on anything but the intensity, the building, amazing, blinding pressure!
When he moved against her one more time, everything seemed to shimmer and hover, then an explosion of pleasure hit her with more intensity than she’d ever thought possible. Arianna wasn’t even aware of her scream as her body splintered apart, throbbing with the incredible beauty of her orgasm. And it kept going. His thrusts continued, harder and faster as he neared his own climax. She was right there with him, as soon as one orgasm stopped, another began building. The second wasn’t as intense, but when she heard his groan of release, her own body exploded again, throbbing around his erection over and over as the pulsating waves of happiness burst into sunshine.
It took a long time to come down, but when her body finally stopped shimmering, she slowly uncurled her arms from around Rhys’ neck. Opening her eyes, she realized that he was sweetly kissing her neck, her jaw, her eyes…
“You okay?” he asked.
Arianna looked around, trying to orient herself. “Um…” she blinked up at him.
He laughed softly, shifting now that her arms had loosened. “You seem pretty okay,” he commented, rolling to the side and taking care of the condom with a tissue. He then turned back to her, pulling her against his side.
She laughed even as he teased her back. “I’ve…uh…never…” she stammered, trying to figure out how to tell him how unusual that experience had been for her.
“You’ve never climaxed during sex before,” he finished, filling in the gaps.
She could feel her face heating up and lowered her head so that her hair hid the pink color. “Well, when you put it bluntly like that, no.”
He pulled her higher against his body, more so that she was draped against him. “I’m glad that I was your first competent lover,” and he kissed her – another one of those toe curling kisses that made her head spin.
“And now you need to eat something.”
Eat? After what she’d just experienced, food was the last thing on her mind. Doing it again? Oh yeah! That was definitely on her mind. She looked down at him, shaking her head as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “I’m not really hungry.”
He lifted dark eyebrows at her. “Really? You barely ate anything for lunch and it is already,” he looked at his watch, “close to eight o’clock.”
Arianna stared at him for a long time, trying to assimilate the fact that they’d been in bed for more than two hours. “It is not!” she gasped, thinking that she was a hussy to be lingering in bed for that long.
His husky chuckle, not to mention, the way he trailed a hand down her back, caught her attention. Sitting up, she looked around, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she looked for her clothes.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked softly, sitting up as well so that he could press kisses along the nape of her neck.
Arianna peered at him over her shoulder. “I can’t be here! I can’t be in this room with you any longer.”
“Why not?”
She slipped out of bed, grabbing his tee shirt and using it as a shield to cover her nakedness. Except that he wasn’t allowing any form of shyness. Nor was he ready to relinquish her from his bed. With a strong arm, he reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her right back onto the bed. As he loomed over her, he asked, “Why can’t you be here overnight?”
She stared up at him, shocked that he could be so obtuse. “Because your staff will know that I was in here!”
He waited, but she didn’t continue. “And?”
“And…!” she repeated, as if he should already know the answer, “they might know what is going on between us.”
Rhys stared at her for a long time, but when he finally realized that she was absolutely serious, he threw back his head laughing. She tried to wiggle away, but his hold wasn’t letting her get away from him.
When he finally had his amusement under control, he rolled back over, his knees pressing her legs apart, so that he was exactly where he wanted to be. He looked down, noticed that her nipples were taut, indicating that she didn’t mind this position either.
“Well, if it is any consolation, my staff do not gossip about anything that I do.” He could tell that his assurance wasn’t helping. “Besides, I’m pretty sure that they all know exactly what’s going on. We’ve been behind closed doors for hours now.” He bent to nibble on her neck, exactly in the spot that caused her to wiggle and laugh.
It worked like a charm, so he moved to other interesting places that he’d discovered earlier in the evening.
She pushed at his shoulders, trying to stop his decent. “Yes, but we’ve been behind closed doors before and this hasn’t happened. So they can’t know for sure.”
Rhys didn’t say anything. If his guards hadn’t figured out why they were in his suite for the past several hours already, her screams a few minutes ago would have given them an easy clue.
“What would you like for dinner?” he asked, thinking that he’d like her. Again. All night.
Arianna wiggled slightly until she realized that she’d shifted their positions so that his renewed erection was exactly where she wanted him to be.
“Um…how about…” she shifted again, her eyes lighting up as she felt him at her opening. Arching backwards, she tried to…
“Arianna!” he growled, pulling back.
“Yes?” she asked, breathless and they’d really only been talking for a few minutes. But already, she was ready for round two. Not just ready, but eager for him to work his magic.
“You can’t do that,” he told her, trying to pull back, thinking she was too tender for another round.
“Why?”
“Because I just…”
She moved again, shifting against him and he felt dizzy from the control it took to keep himself from pushing into her warm heat.
Clenching his jaw, Rhys took control of the situation by giving her control. Rolling over onto his back, he brought her with him. “Okay, you want more.” He slapped a condom in her hand and pulled her knees so that she was straddling him.
He watched as she looked down at his chest, licking her lips, and he felt his erection start to throb. The only reason he tried to relax his hands and not pull her hips forward so he could bury himself inside of her was that he suspected she had absolutely no idea what she was doing to him. That cute, sexy tongue that she kept using as she surveyed his body was more than he could take though.
“You have to hurry, love,” he warned her, his hands sliding up and down her thighs.
But she was having trouble opening up the foil and those delicious pink folds distracted him. His hands couldn’t seem to stay away and he moved to her inner thighs, his fingers sliding into her already wet heat. When his thumbs began their teasing, her fingers fumbled even more with the condom until she gave up completely, just holding onto his wrists. He suspected that she had no idea she was directing his actions, showing him how and where to touch her. He loved it though! It was amazingly hot, seeing her orchestrate her own pleasure like this.
“Arianna!” he groaned, thinking she looked hotter at this particular moment than she had at any time in the past.
“Just…give me a minute,” she gasped, and had to brace herself, her hands splayed out on his chest when his fingers slid inside of her. Teased her. “You’re not helping,” she warned.
“I wasn’t trying to help. You’re the one that needs to hurry.” His eyes watched as his fingers slid in and out of her pink folds, then up at her face, watching her reaction. “As far as I’m concerned, I could do this all day long.”
She tried! Arianna made a feeble attempt to pull away, to once again fiddle with that condom so that she could… “Oh!” When he did that with his fingers, it was hard to remember what she was trying to do. He did it again. And again!
“You can’t…I can’t…Rhys!” she shuddered, leaning her body forward so that his fingers were moving where she needed them to be. “Yes. Just like that,” she whispered, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensations of his fingers against her like that. She wasn’t sure, but she was…and then…
She did! Oh, the amazing feeling of his fingers made her explode. Wave after wave of that intense pleasure hit her as his fingers continued. When she couldn’t take anymore, she grabbed his wrist, pulling his fingers away and breathed heavily.
Without warning, the condom was plucked from her lax fingers and he rolled it over his erection. He lifted her up, poised her right there at the tip and then… “Yes!” she breathed as he filled her up. She was ready for him this time, needing less adjustment time than the first round.
When he showed her how to move, she was a quick learner and easily picked up the pace. Even though she’d just experienced a beautiful climax moments ago, her body was already climbing that precarious hill once again, the pressure building faster this time.
And when it came, she wasn’t sure what was happening. It was building again and she opened her eyes, silently begging him to help her. Thankfully, he understood and showed her how to move, shifting her hips with his hands to give her maximum pleasure.
It took only a few strokes until they both found release, holding onto each other as their bodies throbbed with the waves of pleasure. And when it was all over, Arianna tumbled blissfully against his chest, completely wiped out. She felt his arms close around her, almost as if he were trying to protect her somehow.
“Thank you,” she whispered to him. She knew that he heard her since he squeezed her gently, but she wasn’t able to say much more since she fell into a deep sleep, secure in his arms.