Free Ricardo (The Santiago Brothers Book Three) by K. Victoria Chase

it was some sort of rescue attempt.”
    “Rescue attempt?”
    “He believed I had knowledge of your kidnapping and that’s why I was so eager to have you.”
    “But you didn’t know. Why would he think you’d know?”
    Ric remained silent, wondering the exact same thing. Perhaps his lack of objection to Hassan’s earlier claim that he hadn’t had a woman in quite a while wasn’t as convincing a reason as Ric had hoped it would be. Abdul heard Hassan’s command: he’d receive the woman after a few days. What’s his hurry?
    He doesn’t treat the women kindly.
    Faruq’s words sickened him. Had he mistreated Mel? Ric offered his hand to her and she accepted it. When she was on her feet, she attempted to pull away but he held her hand fast. Her curious eyes met his. “Did he hurt you?” he whispered softly. Hakeem cleared his throat and left the tent. Mel’s appalled stare didn’t dissuade him from asking her again. “I know it’s a personal thing to ask, but I’ve heard he can be…brutal.”
    “No, he didn’t,” she said, her voice faint.
    She avoided eye contact, but her hand now clutched his. She’s hiding something. “You can tell me.” Her eyes snapped to his. “Whatever happened…you can tell me.”
    A strange mixture of emotions crossed her features. Confusion, pain, uncertainty. All of them quickly emerged and with the shadow in her eyes, faded almost as swiftly. “I’m fine . He didn’t hurt me.”
    “Okay.” He believed she wasn’t telling the whole truth.
    “Why did you kiss me?”
    Ric cocked an eyebrow. “I needed to be kissing you to show them how preoccupied I am with quenching my thirst.”
    “Your thirst?”
    He smirked. “The men think it’s been a long time since…”
    “Got it.” She tugged her hand from his and sat back down at the table to busy herself with her breakfast. “I think I want to eat some more food.”
    Ric resisted smiling at her. She wouldn’t have seen it anyway because she was working hard to keep her gaze on her plate. “You’re quite a kisser.”
    She choked on whatever piece of fruit she was eating. Ric rushed to assist her, but she held her hands up for him to stop. She drained the water from her bottle until it was half-empty, beat her chest with her fist, and released a few deep coughs. “I’m fine,” she said in a raspy voice.
    “Hakeem!” Hakeem entered the tent. “Thanks for waiting. Stay with Mel.” Ric snatched a headscarf from the back of one of the chairs and wrapped it around his head.
    “What are you going to do?” Hakeem asked.
    Ric finished securing the scarf. “I’m going to see the sheik. Abdul is accusing me of being an American spy.” He eyed Mel, whose concern for him was clearly visible on her face. “Now I know Abdul is targeting me. It probably has something to do with you, and we need to know why.” A pair of dark shades was on the table and Ric slipped them on. “Keep her here, Hakeem. Use force if you have to.”

 
     
     
Chapter Five
     
     
    He wasn’t going to be able to forget it. In fact, he wasn’t going to be able to get it out of his mind in the foreseeable future. The kisses he shared with Mel were fantastic. Her excited gasp almost made him forget why he started the kiss, and her eagerness nearly undid his restraint. His chest was still in pain as, his heart had in vain to break through, although it nearly succeeded.
    Leave it alone, Ric.
    Yet, there was something about the way her lips molded to his that told him forgetting about the dark beauty in his tent wasn’t going to be easy. Her entire body had trembled beneath his; her hands pushed into his pectorals as if she tried to force him away, but there wasn’t any real show of resistance behind the action. Instead, when he had opened her mouth, the sigh that had escaped her lips was one of pleasure, not disgust. The sound had tightened every muscle in his abdomen, and Abdul’s squeaky voice had faded beneath the pounding of the blood