Page 24 of Forty Days and One Knight
Sighing, Tahira nodded. "Thank you, Zareb. I am fine. Please do not allow that nurse to return. I would prefer someone else."
"Understood, Your Highness." The man ducked back out into the hallway and shut the door.
Rolling on her back, Tahira stared at Darius, who was now leaning against the wall next to the window. "I am sorry."
His brow furrowed. "Sorry? For what?"
"For behaving like a bitch."
He snorted and chuckled. "You had every right to tell her off. I was pretty shocked by her forwardness myself."
He ran his hand through his longish hair. Her parents would probably want him to get it trimmed for an official engagement photo, but she kind of liked it this way. He was incredibly handsome and could easily grace the cover of one of the novels Devon's wife wrote. After finding out Kristen Anders-Sawyer was a romance author, Tahira had purchased one of her books. She loved the woman's style, and after finishing that first one, she'd quickly downloaded and devoured the rest of them. Kristen's debut series had been ... tamer—Tahira guessed that was the right word to use—than her Seductive Sensations series, which had the BDSM lifestyle as a backdrop in the story lines. Even though she'd been a twenty-five-year-old virgin before her assault, Tahira was far from naïve. She loved reading romance novels—going through ten to fifteen in a month—in every genre except for dark erotica; she’d tried reading it once but had found she didn’t care for it.
A thought occurred to her. She'd once overheard Brody Evans and Marco DeAngelis discussing a club the Sawyer brothers had founded that was apparently on the same property as their security business. She'd been surprised when she realized it was a BDSM club they'd been talking about as she eavesdropped on their conversation at her family's beach estate. But then she'd realized the original TS team members were very much like the alpha heroes written by her favorite authors like Kristen, Cherise Sinclair, Avery Gale, Lexi Blake, Kallypso Masters, and more. She could easily picture the former SEALs as Doms. Now, she wondered if any of the members of the Omega team were in the lifestyle—specifically Darius.
"Princess, are you all right?"
She hadn’t realized she’d zoned out for a moment. Lifting her gaze from her lap, she looked at him. She didn’t correct his use of “Princess” in private because, for the first time in her life, it sounded more like an endearment than a title to her. It was probably just wishful thinking on her part, but she liked to think it was true. His soft, moss-colored eyes stared at her in concern, and she gave him a small smile. "Yes, I am, but I would very much like to be discharged and spend the rest of my recovery at the beach house. Could you please find my doctor and ask if that is possible?"
The corners of his mouth ticked upward. "Sure, I think we can arrange that. Anything else?”
“No, thank you.”
She watched as he strode to the door, opened it, and turned the corner into the hallway. Part of her was sorry she'd interrupted his sleep in the middle of the night, but she was also grateful he'd come quickly. He hadn't asked for the details of her nightmare. Instead, he'd held her hand and then her body when she'd asked him to. As soon as his arm had wrapped around her waist, she'd felt safe enough to fall back into slumber, knowing he would watch over her. But the more she got to know her hero, and relied on him to keep her safe, the more she wondered who was going to protect her heart from falling in love with the man.
Tahira wished she could read Darius’s aura better, but the colors surrounding him were mixed, and the ones that stood out the most said he was guarding himself. The real Darius was hiding behind a mask—not an evil one, but one that kept the rest of the world at bay. Would he ever let down the walls he’d erected around himself? And if he did, was Tahira ready to discover who he really was?
21
“Gentlemen, please have a seat." King Rajeemh gestured to a sitting area as Ian, Devon, and Darius walked into his large office in the Clearwater Beach estate. "Can Semira get you something to drink? Coffee, tea, or something else?"
Darius followed his bosses’ leads and requested a coffee from the woman wearing a black skirt and crisp, white, button-down shirt, standing next to a table laden with anything they might be in the mood for. He then sat on a couch next to Devon, while Ian took an upholstered wingback chair, opposite the leather one the king was sitting in. The only other people in the room were Amar, who was standing behind and to the left of the king's chair, and the king's chief of staff, Sebak Fahim, who was sitting on a loveseat across from the couch. His Majesty waited as the drinks were served and a platter of finger sandwiches and pieces of fruit was set on the coffee table between them.
It had taken a little more than an hour to make all the arrangements for Tahira to be released from the hospital. Dr. Moreau would be making a house call tomorrow to check up on his patient. He'd also strongly suggested to Darius that Tahira speak with a psychologist experienced with sexual assault victims. When Darius had mentioned Dr. Trudy Dunbar, Moreau had agreed she’d be a good choice. Darius would call Dunbar's office after this meeting and make an appointment.
When they’d first arrived at the estate a short time ago, Queen Azira had whisked her daughter up to the younger woman's bedroom, insisting she get more rest. The bags under Tahira’s eyes had belied her attempts to convince everyone she wasn't tired.
The server glanced around and then addressed her employer. "Is there anything else I can get for you, Your Majesty?"
The king gave her a kind smile. "No, Semira, thank you. That will be all. I will call for you if we require anything else. Please make certain Princess Tahira is settled in her room."
"Of course, Sire." She bowed slightly at the waist, then left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
Once she was gone, Rajeemh glanced up at the head of his security. "Amar, please sit and tell me where you are in the investigation."
The man took a seat next to the chief of staff. "While I've held off on interviewing Princess Tahira until she was released from the hospital, I have spoken with Lahana and Nala. Neither recall ever having seen the men who kidnapped them in Jamaica before, and they did not see those same men at all once they awakened in Argentina. They could not give anything further than what we’d learned from the few witnesses at the park. Their memories of the actual abduction are blurred, most likely due to a combination of fear, shock, and whatever they were drugged with. On that matter, the drug used to sedate them was out of their systems by the time the blood tests were done at the hospital, as expected.”
Lahana and Nala had been treated and released from the same private wing at the hospital where Tahira had been. They'd boarded a private jet to return to their families in Timasur yesterday morning, hours before their cousin had arrived on US soil. Lahana would receive all the help she needed to get past her sexual assault as Tahira would.
“As far as we can tell,” Amar continued, “the kidnappers were not on the cruise—all other guests and staff were accounted for before they left port. Ian sent Jake and Nick to the ship to recover the women's belongings, and they didn’t find any clues as to who may have abducted the women. Farid, Daillo, and my other men assigned to the princess did not notice anyone suspicious paying attention to the women. Any attempts by other male guests to interact with the women were discouraged by Farid and Daillo, and there were no altercations as a result."
Darius noticed that whenever Amar mentioned Farid and Daillo, the king frowned but didn't say anything. Since Farid was his nephew, it was probably Daillo he disapproved of. Darius made a mental note to find out more about the man who had joined the cousins on their cruise.
"The Jamaican police are doing their best to try to identify the kidnappers, however the trail has grown cold. They are still trying to track down the final three jets that left the private airport during the timeframe we believe the women were flown off the island. If any further information comes to light, I will let you know immediately."
The king acknowledged him with a nod before his attention turned to the man sitting directly across the coffee table from him. “Ian, my friend, once again, I must thank you, Devon, Darius, and the rest of your employees for rescuing Tahira and her cousins."
"No thanks necessary, Your Majesty,” Ian responded. "I'm just glad Darius was in the right place at the right time."
