The Sheik's Mysterious Mistress Page 0,12
out anything, I’ll convey the information to you as well.”
The two men bowed themselves out of Hassan’s office and he took a moment to consider his approach. He needed to be careful and see what she might know. He had to be gentle and understand how her mind worked so he could get around her defenses, but he would definitely get around them. He didn’t understand why, but this woman with her gregarious nature, her superior intelligence and her soft, innocent eyes that echoed in his heart had become important to him. He might not like that fact, but it was his reality and he had learned to listen to these feelings. She was very important to him and he meant to protect her, even if it meant protecting her from herself.
Ten minutes later, he was striding into the kitchen. He heard several pans drop and startled gasps but he ignored them, intent on finding his prey.
He found her in the corner and, as he approached, he enjoyed the gentle swaying of her hips that instantly made his body react. He would have groaned if it wasn’t such an enjoyable sight.
“What are you making?” he asked as he watched the knife move expertly through some sort of green vegetable.
Dana gasped and dropped her knife, looking around and finding the man who had been on her mind for the past thirty minutes. “What are you doing in the kitchen?” she asked, horrified that he’d caught her after the tough days he’d had recently. He definitely didn’t need her problems, no matter how broad those magnificent shoulders were.
Her hand automatically went up to her hair, wondering if the fight with those men had disturbed her appearance. She probably looked like a mess. She certainly felt like it, she thought with resignation.
He watched her carefully, looking for signs that she’d been hurt but when she appeared to be okay, no bruises or scrapes and her eyes looked more worried about him than anything else, he relaxed slightly. “I heard you had a bit of a scuffle today.”
She blinked in surprise. “How did you hear about that?”
He shrugged and came closer, stealing a piece of cucumber. “It’s my kingdom. You’d be surprised at what I find out.”
She laughed and shook her head, her body still in fight mode but she tried to pretend otherwise. “No I wouldn’t. I type up your security briefings so I know exactly what’s going on. And I don’t know how your mind doesn’t explode with the pressure.” She tried to distract him from his question. It was a lame effort since the man never forgot anything and was only distracted if he wanted to be, and in those cases, he only allowed the person to think he was distracted until he came around to the problem again, from a different angle and with a different tactic.
He chuckled at both her worried expression and the relief he was feeling now that he could see that she genuinely wasn’t hurt. “What are you cooking?”
She nervously looked behind her at the table. “I was making stir fry,” she explained. “I’m sorry to be invading your chef’s space like this. I just thought that your kitchen might be more equipped than my own.” She bit her lower lip, hoping to stop the trembling she knew was coming as he looked down at her. She’d never been a good liar and this was no exception, especially with those dark, sexy eyes looking down at her as if he knew what color underwear she was wearing.
Hassan nodded and watched her pretty white teeth bite down on her lip. A lip he’d like to be biting, he thought. And tasting. And doing a whole lot more with. Regardless, it was a big indicator that she was lying to him. Her eyes were telling him the same message. “Mind if I help?” he asked and walked over to the wall of knives and picked one for himself.
She was astonished that he actually wanted to assist her in food preparation. “Um…okay,” she thought quickly, trying to figure out how to get him away. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to help her, but Hassan being this close, and this strong and sturdy and confident and….well, just magnificent, she was afraid she might break down and tell him everything and ask him for help. Which would be foolish and selfish.
He waved his hand towards one of the other helpers in the kitchen and immediately a young man raced