He opened his mouth to reply, but the kitchen buzzer went off, indicating that something had finished cooking in the small kitchen. “I’ll be right back,” he told her, standing up and going through the glass doors to investigate.
Calista sat there, staring at the water and wondering why she’d revealed so much to Goran. Rubbing her forehead, she shook her head. He probably didn’t care.
But…the expression in his eyes…he’d looked as if…he might care? Just a little?
Calista walked along the stone patio and dried off, grabbing the cover-up that had arrived with the rest of her clothes.
No, this time with him, isolated from the world…these crazy, special few days together wasn’t the real world. Goran had been distant and distracted before they’d been kidnapped. He hadn’t had time for her back then. She was fooling herself to think that he might care for her now.
Besides, after seeing how Astir loved Rachel, the way they doted on each other, cared for each other deeply and discovered small ways to show their love for each other every day…Calista wanted that from her husband. She didn’t want a marriage that was simply a business transaction or political merger.
That had been another reason why she’d wanted to break off her engagement. She’d wanted what her brother had with Rachel.
Goran came out of the cabana carrying two plates and set them down on the table. But before Calista could even look at what he’d prepared, Goran took her hands and pulled her out of the chair, right into his arms. She thudded against his hard chest with a soft sound that was instantly absorbed by his mouth.
He was kissing her? Calista was shocked for perhaps half a second. Then the reality of this moment caught up with her and she lost herself in the beauty of that kiss. It was magical and, coming on the heels of their very personal conversation and thoughts of the way Astir and Rachel treated each other, she let herself become swept up in the kiss.
Opening her mouth, she leaned into him, exploring him with her mouth and her hands, loving the way he cradled her against him.
But that kiss was over too soon and he pulled back, looking down at her. “You’re worth it,” he said softly, his deep voice gruff and sounding sincere.
Calista licked her lips, slowly pulling out of his arms. “Thank you,” she whispered, wishing that her voice sounded more confident.
“Let’s eat,” he said, stepping back and gesturing to the plates filled with food.
Calista looked down at the table, her eyes widening at the amount of food he’d prepared. The fish she’d selected was…cooked! It was a bit black around the edges, but the bulk of the fish looked edible! There was also a salad and toasted bread. It wasn’t an elaborate meal, but it actually smelled…good!
“You…cooked this?” she asked, sitting down and spreading the linen napkin over her lap.
“Of course I cooked it,” he replied, sitting down as well and picking up his fork. But he didn’t take a bite. Instead, he waited until she’d sampled the fish. “What do you think?” he asked.
Calista braced herself for something horrible. But as the garlic and wine marinade hit her taste buds, she had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised! “This is actually…good!” she gasped, taking another bite. “You got this recipe off of the internet and just…cooked it?”
He took a bite of the fish himself, nodding. “Of course I cooked it,” he repeated. “I had to watch a few other videos. I wasn’t exactly sure how to turn on the oven,” he confessed, an exasperated expression on his rough features. “But once that was figured out, it was easy enough. The sauce isn’t very elaborate. I just used oil, vinegar, white wine and garlic with a few herbs but…”
“Wait a minute, where did you get those ingredients?” she demanded.
He looked sheepish for a moment, but he rallied quickly. “I called someone in the resort kitchen to deliver some additional ingredients. They left them in a basket beside the door.” When she started to argue that he’d cheated, he held up his hand. “Seriously, there was no way I could make anything with just the ingredients that you bought from the market. And since you’ll have to reciprocate tomorrow night, and I’m choosing the ingredients, then let me get away with this small issue so that you’ll have a chance tomorrow as well.”
Calista hadn’t thought of that, so instead of berating him for cheating, she stabbed another bite of the fish and continued eating. He merely grinned, then dug into his food as well.
“Just find them!” Ned snapped. “And find them fast! The location I gave you should have been secure enough that no one could have escaped!”
Petro Zinhaden silently stepped into the tent, almost snorting when he overheard the conversation. He didn’t know the details, but had heard through his own sources that the Sheik of Skyla was potentially missing along with Princess Calista del Taran. Petro hadn’t known why the sheik had disappeared until now.
So…Ned, the idiot, had kidnapped a world leader of a powerful country. Interesting. Stupid, but interesting.
Why the hell would the man take such a monumental risk? And did he have a plan B now that the sheik was no longer missing?
“They have to still be in the country. I have people stationed at the airport and they haven’t left. The man is trained in survival methods. He’s probably hunkered down somewhere with that bitch, waiting for a rescue team to get to him. Find the man before his people do or we’re all in trouble!”
When Ned ended the call with an irritated snap, his nemesis, Petro, didn’t bother to leave the worksite tent. Ned turned around and spotted Petro standing in the “entry”, he couldn’t hide the startled look in his eyes. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Petro shrugged and moved forward. “Just letting you know that…”
“Hey boss,” Scott Roland interrupted. Both men turned, scowling at the shorter man. Of the three men that Neville had put in charge here, Scott was the least threatening. The man was a weeny, Petro thought. Probably a bit pathetic to boot. The guy drank most of the time and only ventured towards the drilling operations occasionally to boss a few people around and pretend that he added value to the growing mess that was this drilling effort.
Boy, when old man Neville had hired these idiots, he’d probably thought he’d gotten the cream of the crop of the underworld. Obviously not!