Page 44 of Hiding in the Sheik's Arms

“Exactly,” Joran replied, lifting his glass of wine and taking a sip. “So far, she hasn’t accepted any campaign donations from corporations, but she’s about fifteen points behind in the polls. She’s going to lose against King.” He set the wine glass on the table just as Raj walked in with Marianna. They sat down as well.

“That’s probably why King is here in Lativa. He doesn’t consider Fitzimmons a threat. So he doesn’t have to campaign as hard. He can almost coast until the election in the fall.”

“He’s disgusting,” Marianna quipped, starting to pour herself a glass of wine. Raj deftly plucked the bottle of wine from her grasp, ignoring their sister’s sigh of frustration, and handed the wine to the servant hovering nearby.

Undeterred, Marianna looked over at Tasha. “So, are you going to release the videos?”

Tasha looked at Khal. “What do you think I should do?”

He shrugged. “It’s up to you. No matter what, I’ll support you.

“You could release them anonymously,” Joran suggested. “In fact,” he looked around at his brothers, “I suspect that we could hire a publicity company to release the videos. And we have a bunch of reporters who are always keen on a good scoop. I’m sure that they’d love to rock the current election cycle with such a juicy story.”

Marianna turned to Tasha. “Are the videos really that blatant?”

Tasha nodded, sipping her wine and leaning slightly as the waiters brought in the first course of the meal. “They show Nathan talking about some pretty bad stuff. And all of his conversations can be traced back to illegal activity.”

Marianna’s eyebrows furrowed. “Then I think it’s not just a question of if, but when, you release the videos. The public has a right to know.”

Tasha stared at her soup, those words ringing in her ears.

Raj’s next comment startled her. Very softly, he asked, “Didn’t you want to make the world a better place, Tasha?”

That was it. Those were the words she needed to hear, and she hadn’t even realized that she was waiting for them.

Lifting her head, she looked over at Khal. “You’re right. That’s exactly what I want to do. I want to make things better.” She squeezed her husband’s hand. “I wouldn’t have had the courage to release the videos without you.” She looked at theothers. “All of you.” She smiled and felt a bit teary. “Thank you. Your support is invaluable.”

They all lifted their wine glasses in the air, except for Marianna, who raised her water glass. “Thank you, Tasha,” Raj replied. “It’s because of you that we’re all here tonight. You’ve brought us together as a family. We owe you…”

“Everything,” Joran finished.

Tasha blinked back tears and smiled around the table. “Thank you!” she whispered, overwhelmed with emotions. A year ago, she hadn’t felt anything. Now, she couldn’t seem to stop feeling. Love, gratitude, affection, and…yes, even irritation and anger. She looked over at Khal, loving him more now than she’d ever thought possible.

Chapter 41

“Good afternoon, Senator King,” Khal greeted the man.

Nathan preened as he nodded towards the taller man. He knew not to bow to Sheik Al-Sintra, but it was hard to avoid. Even after years of meeting royalty and world leaders, Sheik Al-Sintra was an intimidating figure of a man.

“Your Highness,” Nathan replied, puffing up his chest with importance. Not many people were granted a private discussion with Khal. “I’m honored that you would take time out of your busy day to meet with me.”

“Of course. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you ever since I heard about you from my assistant. Your request for time with me was intriguing, coming out of the blue.”

Nathan eyed the chairs behind them, but remained standing. He knew better than to sit unless sitting was offered. Royalty had different rules. But the mention of his assistant was the precise opening that he’d been looking for.

“Speaking of your assistant, I was wondering if I could see her. I suspect that your assistant and my lovely fiancée might be one and the same.”

The large man’s dark eyebrow lifted at that and Nathan launched into the speech he’d perfected on the plane. “Tasha O’Connor and I had an argument about a year ago. She’d been badly hurt and she wanted to find a place to heal and recover.” He adjusted the knot of his tie. “I was more than happy to offer my country home to her, which is where I thought she’d gone.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Women. They are so flighty, am I right?”

Khal shoved his hands into his pockets. “I haven’t found Tasha to be flighty in any way. She’s always come across as intelligent, observant, and determined to do the right thing at all times.”

Nathan tried not to show his irritation, but this conversation wasn’t going the way he was expecting it to flow. “Well, Tasha was badly hurt by someone who was trying to get to me.”

“Why is that?” Khal asked.

Since that wasn’t the question Nathan was expecting, it threw him off. “Why was someone trying to get to me?” He chuckled. “Well, because I piss a lot of people off.”

“Yes, I can imagine,” Khal replied flatly, eyeing Nathan dubiously.

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