Page 17 of The Forbidden Sheik
Laith agreed. “You’re right.” He thought hard for a moment, rubbing his chin the way he’d seen his father do. Angela rubbed her chin as well, because it made her cousin look very smart. Of course, since Laith and Angela were rubbing their chins, Rafi had to do the same. And since his three older, wiser cousins were doing it, Zayn lifted his hand to rub his chin, but he liked rubbing his nose more.
“Why don’t we go back to the school room?” Angela suggested. She pointed to Laith and Rafi. “You two can ask to use the restroom, and sneak away and search out the throne room. It should be easy to do since Uncle Khal rarely uses it.” She turned to Zayn, confused as to why he was rubbing his nose, but ignored it to ask, “If there’s nothing there, will you help me sneak out and search the ballroom?”
Zayn immediately jumped with excitement. “Yes!” he whispered, clapping his hands with delight at being included.
“Good!” Laith said with a nod that was incredibly similar to his father’s stern expression. “We have a plan. Let’s go!”
The four hurried to the door to their aunt’s private apartment.
Out in the hallway, the children’s bodyguards were eavesdropping, so when the Tiny Titans’ little footsteps were heard, the guards scattered, clearing the area so that when the little ones peeked out, the coast was clear.
One of the guards texted the specially created group chat with the suggestion that the children needed to learn how to sneak around more effectively. But the message earned only eye rolls. The guards didn’t want these four kids to be stealthier. They all knew what had happened to the previous set of guards, who had “lost” the kids only days before. No way would the new set of guards teach these kids how to escape their security detail more effectively!
Chapter 19
“Good morning,” Marianna greeted Amit nervously as she stepped out of the bedroom where she’d spent a restless night tossing and turning. She hoped that she didn’t look as worn out as she felt.
“Good morning,” Amit replied, setting the tablet down. She suspected he’d been reading the international news and wondered what was happening in the world. Most mornings, she surveyed the top news articles from several different countries, then dug down into the stories that had been buried. Usually, those were the topics that government officials didn’t want their populace to know about.
It was one of the reasons that social media was such a hot topic. There were numerous social media influencers who reported on stories that local authorities didn’t want brought to the public’s attention.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Starving, actually,” she agreed eagerly. She’d found another pair of leggings, this pair in navy blue with a pale, blue sweater to go with it waiting for her when she arose. She didn’t have anything with which to pull her hair up, so she’d left it cascading down her back.
“What would you like for breakfast?” he asked, pouring her a cup of coffee. “I don’t know how you take your coffee,” he continued, pushing a tray filled with cream, sugar, and sweetener closer to her.
“Black is fine,” she told him, sitting down in the chair opposite him and accepting the steaming mug. She blew gently on it, feeling oddly self-conscious this morning. The sunshine filling the breakfast area felt very intimate for some reason.
Or maybe she was just feeling self-conscious because she’d spent the night thinking about him touching her, making love to her, doing all of those delicious-sounding things that she’d read about in books over the years.
Hiding behind her coffee cup, she glanced down at the empty plate. “What do you normally like for breakfast?”
He shrugged. “I usually just ask the chef to make something for me. I like surprises in the morning.”
Marianna nodded slowly, horrified at the idea.
“And you?”
She shrugged and sipped her coffee. “I usually have oatmeal, chia seeds, and whatever fruit is available.” When he lifted a quizzical eyebrow, she expanded, “I was only sixteen when Mother died. It was a painful time to lose her.” She grimaced and sighed. “I suppose there really isn’t a good time to lose one’s parent.” She spun her coffee mug slightly. “I guess I became a bit obsessed about health and fitness afterwards.”
“It’s paid off,” he replied, his eyes moving over her figure. “You’re clearly a very…healthy…woman.”
Marianna wasn’t sure if she should be flattered by his comment or offended.
He must have read her expression because he added, “That’s a compliment, by the way.”
Marianna relaxed, and sipped her coffee again. She even managed a soft chuckle. “Thank you.”
“How did your mother pass away?”
“She died from cancer.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been awful for you.”
“It was,” she replied. “It was doubly hard because I didn’t really know anything about my father except that he wasn’t from France. He would pop in every once in a while to inspect me, but I didn’t ever have a chance to know him.” She looked down slightly, then continued, “I had always thought that I was a French citizen. So when my mother’s lawyer informed me that my oldest brother, half-brother, was now my guardian, I was furious.” She bit her lip. “I admit I was a bit of a brat when I first met my brothers.”
He chuckled. “I think that’s allowed, since your entire life changed overnight.” He offered a crooked smile. “I doubt Khal was overly sensitive to your emotional needs at the time.”
