The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,22

his frown lessening slightly.

“I suppose. Why?”

Lily grinned and stood.

“Because it’s about time I showed you what I can cook. Ready to experience some American cuisine?”

He winced.

“I’m afraid we don’t have any freeze-dried noodles in this house.”

She laughed.

“Oh, come now, I have some skills I haven’t shown you yet. Come on!”

With that, he followed her out and back through the library, leaving the topic of half brothers and forced exile behind them for the time being.

Chapter Ten

Over the next few days, Atnan and Lily spent a good amount of time exploring the library. Atnan took her to a few other rooms, all in the east wing, none of which were anywhere near as exciting as the library. Lily brought up the rest of the palace on a regular basis.

“Please, Atnan? We’ve combed through everything there is to see here. I want to see the other half already!”

Atnan frowned over his lunch. Lily had made them classic American burgers, and he’d been forced to admit that it was delicious. Why was she ruining his appetite with such questions?

“The west wing is even more dilapidated than this one. It could be dangerous walking through there.”

Lily rolled her eyes. Over the course of the past few days, she had grown comfortable enough with him to let down her walls and be herself. Atnan had opened up a bit as well, though she could still sense something hidden beneath the surface. She hadn’t brought up the subject of his brother again, and he had seemed relieved about that.

He stared her down, trying to will her into seeing reason. When she crossed her arms and stared back at him without blinking, he finally sighed, relenting.

“Fine, but you need to walk carefully. It’s not a place in which to act recklessly.”

“You sound like my father. If this is the only playground we have, why don’t we live a little?”

“Because it’s not a playground. It’s more like an abandoned construction site with plenty of sharp objects that can easily be tripped over. I don’t think a trip to the hospital is the way we want to end this escapade, do you?”

Lily waved a hand at him, dismissing the concern.

“You’re being a worrywart. You, who never got to read fiction out in the open, need to learn how to have an adventure. It’s a hobby worth exploring, anyway.”

He pressed his lips together as though he were biting back a retort, and Lily lifted an eyebrow, just waiting for it. When he remained silent, she grinned, picked up their empty plates, and placed them in the sink to wash later. They had worked quite well together over the past few days as they’d prepared and bonded over meals and cleaning up together. There was something so perfectly domestic about it all.

Except for the whole rotting-palace, trapped-with-nowhere-to-go part.

Lily walked up to the kitchen entrance and turned to Atnan with impatience written on her face.

“Well?”

He sat for a moment longer. What was it about that wing that had him so reluctant? Lily had a sense that she was going to unwrap another part of him, perhaps a part he wanted to stay covered. Why else would he be so hesitant when he had been so open about everything else?

He stood and walked past her, and Lily fell into step with him, the two of them walking in silence as they reached the entryway and then took a hallway in the opposite direction.

Lily’s stomach fluttered with excitement. Her sense of adventure had heightened tenfold since meeting Atnan, and sometimes she wondered if the spirit of his mother hadn’t somehow influenced this. Lily had found herself regularly wishing that the woman were still alive. She would have loved to have known her.

The rug beneath their feet grew noticeably more tattered, and Atnan grumbled as he looked at Lily’s bare toes.

“Even more dangerous without shoes. Your feet could get cut.”

“Would you stop grumbling and mumbling? I used to camp as a kid and went out in the woods barefoot all the time. This has nothing on a prickly forest floor.”

“Except for shards of broken glass and metal,” he said flatly.

Lily had no response to that piece of logic.

Still, a part of her felt warmed by the fact that he clearly cared for her well-being. When was the last time anyone had fussed over her safety, ever? Lily couldn’t think of one. Her parents had been tough and stoic, and they had always expected her to act the same. If she fell, she was told to