One Night With the Sheik (Friends Forever Book 4)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  This world she’d dropped herself into was too confusing! There were nuances that she didn’t understand, motives that she couldn’t fathom. Not for the first time, she longed for the simpler days when her most complicated issue was establishing a retirement plan for the workers at Hayden’s garden center.

  And then she looked up at Rhys, his strong jawline as he spoke to someone on his cell phone. She only understood a few of the words, but she fully grasped the intensity, the anger behind those words. Once again, she shivered, aware of the power this man wielded.

  And once again, she was surprised when he recognized her reaction and looked down at her, his dark eyebrows lifting in silent question. This time, he hadn’t even been touching her, and yet, he’d still noticed her reaction.

  Forcing a smile, she shook her head and continued walking beside him out of the shopping center. The desert sun hit her like a wave of heat when they walked through the doors and she blinked. Immediately, a pair of sunglasses were handed to her and she smiled gratefully at the guard who was carrying her bags.

  Chapter 3

  “Are you okay?”

  Arianna looked up at Rhys’ face, the hard lines gentled by his concern.

  Was she okay? She was about to step out to the last place her father had been seen, the place where the security guards had basically ejected her. And he was asking her if she was okay?

  No, that wasn’t the adjective she would use to describe how she was feeling at this particular moment. But she could fake it. She could pretend to be fine, pulled together, and determined, just as she’d been doing ever since she’d stopped hearing from her father. She’d fake it until he was found, safe and sound.

  “Yes. I’m fine,” she lied.

  Rhys reached out, his fingers tucking her hair behind her ear. “No. You’re not okay.” He paused, looking at her and she tried to brighten her expression, to force her features into some sort of relaxed expression which could convey that she was fine. “You’re trying to hide your feelings, but you’re not okay.” He took her hand, lifting her fingers to his lips. “I’ll help you get through this, okay?”

  At that particular moment, the coldness that had stabbed through her heart when she’d stopped getting messages from her father eased slightly. It wasn’t gone. Arianna doubted that anything could completely dissipate that frigid feeling. But…for some reason, she could breathe just a bit easier now. His hand warmed her fingers, some of the tension in her shoulders eased up as well.

  “I’ll be fine,” she repeated. And in that moment, for the first time in a long time, she knew that she really would be fine.

  He looked into her eyes for another long moment and nodded. Opening the door, he stepped out of the SUV and looked around, sliding a pair of sunglasses on. She had no idea what he was doing, but one of his guards nodded, and he turned to extend his hand to her.

  Arianna stared at that hand. It was dangerous to take it, to put her hand into his. The symbolism was profound. She felt as if putting her hand into his, accepting his help, meant that she trusted him.

  She didn’t! There was no way she could trust this man again! She’d trusted him months ago and it had taken a long time to mentally reenergize her confidence.

  But nor could she completely ignore the gesture. Toughening her resolve, she took the offered hand, ignoring any sort of false symbolism it might represent and stepped out of the vehicle.

  Once again, the intense heat shocked her. Every time, Arianna was surprised by how heavy the desert sun could feel on her skin. It was almost as if a wave was pressing down on her, making it hard to walk. Forcing her feet to move, she took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it. Breathing deeply only pulled the one hundred and thirty degree air into her lungs, making her feel roasted from the inside too.

  “You get used to it,” Rhys assured her with a soft chuckle.

  Releasing his hand, she stepped back from him, nodding as if she believed him. Arianna knew that he was lying. There was absolutely no way she would get used to this kind of heat. She was from Virginia and it got hot and muggy there during July and August. Walking out into that kind of humidity was akin to trying to walk through a wet blanket. She’d lived there for years but never…not a single time, did she ever “get used to it” as Rhys had so kindly told her.

  “I doubt it,” she finally replied.

  The steel-toed boots were heavy, weighing her down even more than the heat. And she wasn’t used to the rough material of the cargo pants. They felt…odd against her skin. She preferred silks and linen, but after working with Hayden in the garden sales office, she’d learned to wear jeans. Heels and business suits weren’t practical when working around dirt and compost.

  He laughed, pulling her closer. “Trust me, the heat starts to become a way of life.”

  “In what way?” she asked, sliding her own sunglasses higher on her nose.

  He held her hand as he led her around several areas that seemed to be construction storage areas. “Residents know to run errands during the early morning hours when it is cooler. There’s a chill in the air overnight which lasts until about nine o’clock most mornings.”

  “I’m not sure that’s long enough for me to accomplish everything.”

  “On the upside,” he said, then startled her when he lifted her by the waist to keep her from having to walk over a stack of metal parts, “there aren’t any mosquitos. I’ve been to your Virginia,” he shook his head and cringed. “That place was a swamp before and it should have remained a swamp!”

  She laughed, unable to stop herself. “Virginia is gorgeous!”

  “Yes, during certain times of the year. But during your summers, the swarm of mosquitos is horrendous!”

  Arianna couldn’t argue with him there. “Yeah, mosquitoes are a problem and they get me pretty badly every summer, but at least we don’t have scorpions.”

  He said something to a guard and a moment later, a reusable bottle of water was handed to her. “Here. Drink. Always keep hydrated.”

  Arianna gratefully took the bottle and flipped the top. Downing a great deal of the cold water helped and she smiled up at him. “Thank you,” she replied, feeling like she needed to say something. It was a kind gesture, especially since she’d forgotten everything she’d learned, which included keeping a full water bottle handy at all times. “I researched tips for surviving in the desert before coming here. But…” she shrugged slightly, “I haven’t been using those tips, I guess.”

  “It is a way of life. If you aren’t born in a desert environment, it is hard to get into the mindset of how to deal with the heat. Many tourists come here and have problems.”

  “Your Highness!” a man shouted, obviously excited by the presence of someone so illustrious on the rig site. Immediately, Rhys’ guards stopped the man from rushing forward. The man looked to the guards, then to Rhys and back again, not understanding why he couldn’t move forward. “But…”

  “Let him come,” Rhys called out.

  The guards allowed the man to come closer, but two of them held his arms, more than ready to handle any sort of threat.

  For the first time in his life, Rhys was distracted from his mission and it was all due to this beauty by his side. As the rig engineer approached, Arianna’s nervousness increased. He could feel her tension, but the most obvious sign was how she moved closer to him. Not touching, but close enough that if he shifted, their arms would touch.

  Rhys understood her movement, even if she were still trying to deny it. She trusted him. She might not want to trust him. Once they’d found her father, he would figure out how to get her to acknowledge what was going on between them, and figure out why she’d left so abruptly several months ago. He’d been completely infatuated with her and thought she was feeling it too. What the hell had happened?

  He’d find out. They’d talk. Soon.

  If he could hold out that long, he thought.

  Which only made him more determined to find out exactly what had hap
pened to her father. He couldn’t let this go. The issue was too important. Looking down at her pretty features lit up by the heat of the sun, he corrected himself, Arianna was too important.

  The engineer bowed and Rhys almost laughed at Arianna’s startled look. He turned, his eyes glancing down at her and he lifted an eyebrow, silently telling her, “Yes, this is how others address me.” The engineer’s subservience was in direct contrast to how she treated him. And yet, even with his silent admonition, he still heard her soft chuckle.

  No respect, he thought. And for some reason, her lack of respect didn’t bother him. In fact…

  With a sigh, Rhys turned back to the engineer who was practically groveling at his feet. The man’s face was dirty and he was perhaps fifty pounds overweight. There was nothing in the daily reports to indicate that this man was a problem. But immediately, Rhys didn’t trust him.

  “How are things on the rig today?” Rhys asked, trying to put the man at ease. It was always easier to get information from someone who felt to be part of a team.

  The engineer smiled, furtively glancing between Rhys and Arianna. For some reason, Rhys didn’t want the rotund man’s eyes on Arianna. There was something…skeevy about the man. He thought back to the various reports, the daily production levels, the evaluations, and such that he’d read, trying to determine what it was about the suspiciously nervous engineer that he didn’t like.

  Rhys and Arianna followed as the engineer took everyone on a tour of the area. The shorter man seemed to know his stuff, Rhys thought, acting as if all the equipment and the operational terms were new to him. “So, all of this equipment is to be replaced by the parts back there?” Rhys asked, pointing his thumb towards the pile of parts that he’d lifted Arianna over just moments before.

  The man’s eyes darted to the disorganized pile. “Yes, Your Highness. There have been several breaks in the coupling over the past several months.” Once again, his eyes darted to Arianna and Rhys felt like punching the guy. “We have to maintain the safety of the rig.” The engineer rubbed one hand against his elbow. “The men who work on the rig are good men, Your Highness,” he explained. “I don’t want any accidents.” Another rub. The man’s pudgy hands seemed to be sweating, which was abnormal in the desert. It was too dry out here, the heat evaporated moisture before it could form.

  Rhys moved forward, looking towards the messy site where broken and boxed equipment was piled up. The boxed equipment was new and should be stacked neatly on shelves and inventoried monthly. Not mixed into the pile of dirty, obviously broken or worn out equipment. He took it all in, making mental notes and trying to bite his tongue before he snapped at the stupid man for his obvious ineptitude.

  Arianna listened, trying to understand everything. Her father had been the engineer in the family, loving the science behind the stress tests of metals and how the steel interacts with solvents versus other factors, including sand and heat. Being the engineer on an oilrig was a dream job for him. Arianna had never understood his love of being on a rig, but he’d held off on going after this particular job until after she’d left for college.

  So she understood some of the issues the two men were discussing because she’d listened to her father’s excited conversations about rigs and finding oil, extracting the oil, and all of the steps in between. Oddly, some of the numbers the engineer spouted didn’t make sense with what she’d heard her father discussing over the phone with her. She wished she’d paid more attention to what he had said, but she’d been distracted, starting her new job with Hayden and eager to see her father, not talk to him over the phone.

  The two men were using terms such as “drill string”, “guy-lines”, torque, tubing, casing and pull-rods. She’d heard her father using these terms, but….

  Looking around, she realized that something was odd, but kept her mouth shut, wanting to listen and learn. She’d come to this site before, but no one had been willing to talk to her. In fact, she’d been told to get off the rig and go home, but in not as nice terms.

  Rhys had quite a bit more clout and she was perfectly happy to have him throw it around.

  “Sounds good. Thank you for your time,” he said, shaking the engineer’s hand. “Send the Rig Manager over. I'd like to speak with him as well.”

  Arianna watched, amazed as the project manager for the rig approached. He looked exactly as she’d pictured him after speaking with him over the phone. The man was almost bald, but had that comb-over thing going, and the ends didn’t quite reach the other side of his head, so he’d used some sort of oily pomade to slick it down. The shirt he was wearing was a button down, but that’s about the only indicator that this man was a professional. He should have been wearing the same overalls as the other rig workers. But the man obviously thought he was above the muck and dirt of a rig. Arianna knew from talking with her father that rig work was messy and sweaty, hard work that took a toll on professional clothing. This man appeared to be an imbecile because he wore stained khakis instead of appropriate coveralls. And shockingly, those pants defied the laws of gravity since his belly protruded about five inches over his belt. Even the buttons on his shirt strained to keep all of that girth inside. Whereas the engineer was about fifty pounds overweight, this man was somehow carrying an extra hundred pounds. And not well!

  “What can I do for you, Your Highness?” he asked, sauntering up to Rhys as if he were in charge, an arrogance that didn’t bode well. Technically, he was the boss of the rig. But not when the owner of the rig was around. Arianna could tell that Rhys was disgusted with the sauntering, smug man, even though his expression didn’t change in any way.

  Arianna listened carefully and realized that Rhys was asking almost the same questions to the project manager as he had to the engineer. But at least the engineer knew what was going on and had ready answers, even if the answers didn’t make much sense. This man seemed to have no clue how to run a pumping rig. Even she could tell that he was using the wrong terminology.

  But Rhys only nodded easily as if everything the man said made sense.

  Arianna stood back, her temper firing up as she listened to the idiot spew seemingly random terminology. Some of his statements even contradicted something he’d explained a moment before, but the idiot had no clue what he was saying!

  “Thank you very much for your time,” Rhys said, ending the conversation and shaking the man’s hand as if something new and amazing had just been conveyed.

  Arianna stood there, fuming as the two men shook hands, acting as if they’d been good buddies for years. She started to open her mouth to say something, to point out the contradicting statements, but Rhys flashed a warning look in her direction, silently telling her to remain silent.

  Swinging around, she didn’t wait for him to catch up with her. She simply walked ahead of him, assuming that he was finished with his investigation and was heading back to his cozy palace where he would be finished with her.

  Arianna ducked into the back of the SUV, once again fully prepared to do this all on her own. So when he got in behind her and the driver slammed the door shut, she was shocked when Rhys exclaimed in disgust, “What a crock of shit!”

  Turning, unaware of her mouth falling open in surprise, she stared at him. “Excuse me?” she asked not sure if she understood what he meant.

  He waved his hand towards the rig site, shaking his head. “That idiot didn’t know the first thing about running a rig. First of all, he kept referring to the site as a drilling rig. Anyone who has worked on a rig for even a week knows the difference between a drilling rig and a production rig. That idiot…oomph!”

  Arianna had heard the first part of his sentence, and launched herself across the seat towards him, landing in his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “Thank you!” she sighed, hugging him and kissing his neck. Her exuberance was just…natural to her. She and her father had been very affectionate people but the swerving of the SUV caught her attention and she swung around. Thankful
ly, Rhys’ arms held her close when, suddenly, she realized that the bodyguards had swerved off of the road and were ready to tackle her out of the car, thinking that she’d just attacked their ruler.

  “Kl shay' ealaa ma yuram,” he called out, assuring his guards that he wasn’t in danger.

  “Oh!” Arianna gasped, trying to slide off of his lap, realizing that she’d caused the stir within the vehicle. But Rhys held her in place. With a wave of his hand, the guards turned around and resumed the drive, but their look loudly demonstrated their reluctance to continue, thinking she was still a threat.

  “Um…” she tried once again to slide off his lap, but his hands were holding her in place.

  “You recognized that he was talking gibberish, yes?” he asked her.

  She tried to focus on what he was saying, but those large hands were still touching her, holding her on his lap. She tried to wiggle away, but he gave her a look that told her to remain still.

  “I shouldn’t...”

  “Tell me what you heard,” he commanded.

  Arianna glanced out the window briefly, but his hand slid along her thigh and she gasped, grabbing his wrist. Looking at him, she felt the heat, the sizzling desire low in her belly and tried to ignore it. But she’d never felt this way before and it was hard. Harder still to hide her reaction.

  “Talk to me, Arianna,” he said softly, his fingers tightening slightly on her thigh. She gasped, sitting up a bit straighter and licked her lips.

  Arianna understood that he wasn’t going to relent until she explained her concerns about the manager and engineer. Her fingers tightened on his wrist, lifting his hand. Only then could she take a breath and focus. “He didn’t know what depth the drill had already gone, what kind of torque or pressure was building on the rig, how many gallons were pumping…” his hands moved higher and she stared at him, unable to form words any longer. She could feel his warm hands through the canvas of her pants, her nipples tightening as awareness hit her hard and fast.