Chapter 8
Arianna stared at the envelope, not wanting to touch it. Somehow, she knew that, whatever was inside that benign looking envelope, it would hurt her. Perhaps not physically, but everything she’d started to dream about, all of her silly hopes for a future with Rhys would disappear as soon as she opened it.
Whatever was inside, it was evil!
The phone rang and she jerked, startled by the abrupt sound. Looking down, she saw that her phone was showing the number of a blocked caller.
“Don’t answer it,” she whispered to herself.
Soon, the cell phone stopped ringing and she breathed a sigh of relief. But as soon as her phone stopped distracting her, all of her attention focused back on that envelope.
“Take it to Rhys,” she thought. “Trust him!”
But she couldn’t.
Instead, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.
“What’s up?” Hayden asked on the second ring. “Are you back in town? Everything okay? Your dad still recovering? You sounded pretty stressed the last time we talked.”
Arianna pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to cry. She wasn’t a crier, she reminded herself. “I’m fine. Not back yet. My dad’s doing well,” she finally got out.
There was a short pause before Hayden continued. “You’re not fine. What’s wrong? What’s been happening?”
Arianna laughed softly, shaking her head as she walked away from the envelope. “I need some advice,” she told her friend and boss.
“Shoot. Tell me your problem.”
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she glanced back over at the envelope. “Here goes,” she started out, taking a deep breath. “I came to Triar because my father disappeared,” she began.
“We know this, I saw on the news that you’re a big hit and your father is safe. So, what’s the problem?”
Arianna laughed, knowing that her friend didn’t believe her. “Sheik Rhys Sabad del Isolm, Sheik of Triar helped me find him,” she announced, gripping the cell phone tightly. “When I first heard about my father’s disappearance, I was in a panic. I came here looking for him and almost got Rhys killed in the process.” She stopped and took a deep breath, needing the break to get through this explanation. Thankfully, Hayden understood and mumbled some soft words until Arianna pulled herself together. Again. “Remember several months ago when I came back from a visit with my father?”
“Yeah. You were sad, but didn’t tell us what was going on.”
Arianna blinked, fighting the tears. “Yeah, well,” she couldn’t admit even now what had happened. “Everything had sort of snowballed now and, well, I’ve been here searching for the people who hurt my father.”
Hayden understood. “And now you’re in love with Rhys, right?”
Arianna breathed a sigh of stunned…relief. Yes, she was in love with Rhys. It seemed so crazy, but that’s what it was in a nutshell. Arianna had flown halfway around the world, sure that Rhys was a bad guy who had hurt her father, only to turn around and realize what an incredible human being he was. Hayden had been in dire circumstances before meeting her husband and had come out the winner. Hayden understood. Natalie and Katia would understand as well. All three of them had been confronted with situations in which they found themselves challenged and had struggled.
Looking at the envelope, she realized that she was in a similar situation. “Nailed it on the first try,” she teased, blinking back tears.
“Okay, so what changed your agenda? Didn’t think he was lovable, right?”
Arianna laughed, but it was a bit watery. “How did you know?”
“Well, I’ve kind of been there, if you’ll remember,” Hayden commented.
Arianna laughed softly, remembering Hayden’s tumultuous beginnings with her husband, Viktor. “Think you’ve figured me all out, huh?” Arianna hesitated, not sure how much she wanted to admit anything to Hayden.
“That bad, huh?” she laughed. “He makes your knees go weak, right? When he touches you, even the casual touches that you’ve experienced over the past several days, it makes you all hot and jumpy?”
“Well…” Arianna rubbed her forehead. “It just can’t last! What am I still doing here?!” she finally blurted out, exasperated with her confusion. “I should have left as soon as my father went home from the hospital!” She blew out a breath. “And yet, every time he touches me, I feel like my body is going to explode!” She stood up and paced the confines of her room. “And there are times when he looks at me and…” she huffed, not sure what to say, how to explain it to Hayden.
“You get all excited too, right?” she replied, laughing softly. “So… you really love him, huh?”
Arianna could picture her friend out in her potting shed, the phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder as she dug through the pots, planting things. Hayden was always planting something if she wasn’t with her husband or her daughter. It was just what she did. Hayden was never happier than when she was with her plants or her family.
“I have to come home,” Arianna squeaked out. “But…”
“Yeah,” she replied with a chuckle. “You know, that silly, can’t-stop-grinning feeling that you get when you meet a man that really makes you feel good?”
Arianna’s mouth opened and closed. “It doesn’t make a difference,” she asserted firmly. “I still need to come back to my life.” She ignored that she felt exactly that way every morning when she woke up, eager to join him for breakfast. And in the evening after their long days, when she pulled on whatever beautiful dress had mysteriously arrived in her room, Arianna loved the way his eyes lit up as she stepped into the salon for pre-dinner drinks with him.
But after having known Hayden for a little over a year, her friend now knew her quite well. Hayden wasn’t letting Arianna avoid anything. “Love will do that to ya. Congratulations!”
Arianna shook her head again. “You don’t understand. This is all just a break from reality. It isn’t going to last.”
Hayden laughed. “Have you told him how you feel?”
Arianna turned her head to peer at the envelope. “Six months ago, I had dinner with Rhys. After our first kiss, he laughed, Hayden.” Arianna looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know why and I’m actually afraid to ask him for an explanation now. What if he’s still laughing at me?” Even as she said the words, she knew that they were false. She trusted Rhys and yeah, she loved him. But she was scared about that last time, which was absolutely ridiculous, given that he hadn’t laughed at her over the past week and a half.
“I doubt you would let anyone laugh at you, Ari. You’re too strong, and too practical.” Arianna heard something fall onto the floor and assumed that Hayden had dropped her shovel. “Trust your instincts. You’re the cynical one of our group, Ari. If you think something is wrong here, then go with your gut. If you’ve fallen for the guy, then your heart already knows that he’s good. It’s your head that is scared of what your heart is telling you.”
Arianna changed the subject at that point, not wanting to reveal too much more. Another five minutes and she rung off with her friend, promising to call back very soon when they could conference in Natalie and Katia.
Was she cynical enough to not believe that she could find the same happiness as her friends? Or was she fooling herself and this was just another fling for Rhys?
Walking over to the envelope, she stared at it. Not sure if she should open it or ignore it. What could possibly be inside? It had been slipped under her door while she was showering and…
“Arianna? Are you ready?”
Arianna spun around, startled by his sudden appearance.
Rhys moved closer, his eyes narrowing when he took in Arianna’s robe and her wet hair. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, moving further into the room. His hands gently held her upper arms as he looked into her worried eyes.
Her conversation with Hayden kept filtering into her mind. Should she blurt out her feelings and hope that he felt the same? Could she trust him with her heart, even after…?
Clenching her hands together so as to keep herself from touching him, she glanced over at the envelope. “That was slipped under my door while I was in the shower.”
Rhys looked over at the envelope laying innocently on the table, a bad feeling hitting him at the sight. Releasing her, he walked over to the desk and tore the seal. It took him about five seconds to read through the note, but when he grasped the crux of the message, he cursed under his breath.
“What is it?” she asked.
His eyes snapped to hers. “You haven’t looked at this?”
“No,” she replied shaking her head forcefully. “I’m ashamed to admit it, but I was afraid to open it.”
He shoved the paper back inside, not wanting Arianna to read it. It would only upset her. “I’ll take care of it,” he assured her and turned around. In the next instant, she was right there in front of him, blocking his way.
“No! You’re not getting out of here until you tell me what was in that envelope.”
Under other circumstances, he would have chuckled at her attempt to block him. She really didn’t grasp how little she was compared to his height and brawn.
Or maybe she just trusted him too much. Arianna knew that he would never hurt her. That realization soothed him and he looked carefully down into her pretty, golden eyes. “You know I could lift you up and get around you, right?” he teased, his hand reaching out to cradle her cheek gently. It had been only a few hours since he’d left her bed, but still, that was too long.
She rested her hand against his, pressing the palm against her cheek to more fully feel his touch. “Rhys, you’ve been very open and honest about this whole situation from the beginning. When I came here and asked for your help, you immediately changed your plans and we were off, trying to figure out what was going on.” She stared up at him, willing him to understand what she was telling him. “Please,” she whispered, “don’t shut me out now.” When he still hesitated, she continued. “I trusted you with whatever is in that envelope. Now you have to…” she hesitated as the truth hit her. For a long moment, she looked up into his dark eyes, her heart pounding hard against her ribs. When her mind finally caught up with her heart, her smile broke out, a brilliant, shining ray of happiness that was reflected in her entire being.
She felt his intake of breath even before she moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his lean waist as she pressed her face to his chest. “Rhys, I trusted you with that envelope. I’m trusting you with my heart. Don’t shut me out. Please. Trust me as much as I love you.”
When his arms tightened around her, she knew in that moment that she’d won! He loved her. Probably not as much or as deeply as she loved him, but he was here! He was with her and he wasn’t walking away!
“It’s about time!” he growled, pulling her into his arms. “I love you, Arianna. I love you so much! You’re the kind of brave, loyal, amazingly kind, and generous woman I’ve been looking for but never thought to find!” He buried his face in her wet hair. “I knew from our first kiss that you were the woman I wanted for the rest of my life!”
Pulling back, she looked up at him. “Rhys, please, don’t lie now.”
He chuckled softly. “Why do you think I’m lying?”
She lowered her head slightly. “You laughed. After that first kiss that night so many months ago, you laughed.”
Rhys understood what she was saying and sighed, mentally berating himself for being such a fool. Tightening his arms around her, he held her close. “I laughed because Adjar, my Chief of Staff had warned me that I’d feel lightning when I’d found the right woman.” He rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. “I felt it that night and…” he sighed. “I felt it and messed up. I’m sorry, Arianna. I didn’t explain. At the time, I was too stunned that he was right.” Looking down into her golden eyes. “I felt the lightning that night. It was shocking. You electrified me from that first kiss, Arianna.”
She laughed, stunned by what he was telling her. She felt wetness on her cheek, suddenly realizing that she was crying. “I’m sorry!” she laughed, wiping her tears on the back of her hand so she wouldn’t leave spots on his immaculate shirt.
He pulled back, his thumbs gently brushing her tears away. “Why are you sorry?”
“For everything! For running away that first time. For not trusting you. For not believing in you.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You had no reason to trust me and every reason not to. We didn’t even know each other that first time and I moved too fast. But keep in mind, if I hadn’t been completely enamored of you from that first moment, I wouldn’t have laughed and I wouldn’t have hurt you so badly.” He kissed the top of her head. “Believe me, I don’t blame you one little bit! Just the opposite. I’m grateful that you were strong enough to face me, to challenge me, and tell me what a jerk I had been.” He pulled her close, his cheek resting against the top of her head. “If it weren’t for you, those people would still be putting employees in jeopardy, they would still be stealing from me and my people, and,” she felt him lift the envelope up, obviously glaring at it, “they would still think they can get away with threatening you.” He pulled back and looked down into her beautiful eyes. “This has to stop. Will you trust me for a few more hours?”
She thought about that for about half a second. “Yes, if you’ll tell me what’s going on.”
He kissed her gently. “They tried to bribe you. This is a check for two million dollars. They directed you to deposit it into an offshore account to hide it from both me as well as your government. It explains that the money is only yours if you agree to steer me away from the investigation.”
She laughed. “How in the world would I steer you away from anything?” she asked, thinking the condition was ludicrous. “You’re not the kind of man anyone can steer.”
He shook his head. “No, Arianna. That’s not entirely true. If there’s anyone in the world who could change my mind and distract me, it would be you.”
Arianna liked the sound of that. “So, I could…” she stepped out of his arms and ran a finger over the edge of her robe, then watched his eyes follow the trail of her fingers.
His eyes heated and he growled, his body tensing as she slowed her finger. “Don’t stop, Arianna. What are you proposing?”
She laughed, feeling liberated and exhilarated. “I’m proposing,” she stepped closer, lifting up onto her toes, “that you go and find out who was trying to bribe me into keeping quiet and putting others in danger. And hurry back, okay? I will ensure that you are adequately distracted.” She beamed up at him.
His eyes flicked down to her robe, then back up again. “You don’t want to come with me?”
She grinned. “Of course I want to come with you. But I won’t. I trust you to be careful. If I’m with you, I’ll only slow you down and distract you.” She hugged him. “I don’t want you distracted in any way.” Pulling out of his arms again, she took a deep breath. “Go. Go do whatever it is that you need to do and hurry back to me. I want to hear everything.”
He stepped out of her arms and was about to turn away, but he stopped. “You’re not going to change into anything, right?” he demanded. “I want you in that robe when I get back, okay?”
Arianna laughed, tightening the belt around her waist. “I’ll wear the robe. Just for you.”
His eyes flicked down to her breasts and Arianna knew that her nipples were hard and aching for him. She also knew that he could see the indentations of her nipples pressing against the silk.
She laughed softly when he groaned and started to turn away. But at that sound, he whipped around and grabbed her around the waist. “Ah, so you think it is funny that you can torment me like this?”
Arianna’s hands automatically grabbed onto his shoulders. Sighing with happiness, she inched closer, trying to get more of him. “I don’t think it is funny, Rhys. I love the fact that you want me like this,” she told him softly. Then Arianna leaned in and kissed him gently, her tongue tracing along his mouth. “I love that you are so strong and powerful, that you have a strength about you that I can’t even fathom and yet, you want me. I want you so much that it makes my stomach clench with need, my body tremble with awareness, and…” she shifted against his growing erection, “…I want you to hurry back because now we’re both half frantic.” She kissed him again. “I didn’t even like you. I didn’t trust you or know you, and yet, you could touch me or kiss me and I was a mass of quivering desire.”
Rhys listened and leaned into her body’s ministrations. But when he understood that she wasn’t taking her kisses beyond the teasing touches, he shook his head, weaving his fingers into her hair to pull her head back and kiss her like they both wanted. His mouth explored, his tongue invaded, and his whole body made love to hers.
When he finally set her down on the floor, they were both desperate and wanting. “Go,” she urged. “Go find out who is doing this to us. And stop them.”
His hands squeezed the soft skin along her waist then he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. She knew that he didn’t even care that his body showed his obvious arousal. The man was earthy, blatant, and he was turned on.
And she’d done that to him! Oh sweet heaven, she’d done that!