and I took over and expanded it globally.’
Rahim nodded thoughtfully. ‘Along with its reputation. You should be proud.’
Alarming warmth flowed through her at the compliment. ‘I am. But it hasn’t been easy. Sadly, as long as men think they’re in charge, it’ll be an uphill battle.’
His laugh sent a rumble of sensation down her body. His eyes gleamed with an intense light. ‘You’ll find that I’m not averse to a woman taking charge when the situation calls for it.’
‘You don’t find it an affront to your manhood?’
‘My manhood is secure and robust enough to welcome the challenges of the fairer sex,’ he drawled, his voice deep and mesmerising. ‘I relish it, in fact. But that is not to say I don’t assert control when it’s needed.’
‘Control? Over your women?’
Another smile. This one carnal and lethal. ‘Are we straying into personal sexual territory, Allegra?’
Heat rose up her neck and stung her face, but she didn’t glance away. ‘Just verifying that we’re talking about the same thing here.’
His smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed. ‘What do you think I mean?’
She tried to shrug but the motion was too heavy. ‘Physical force against women...’
‘Is abhorrent to me and a crime in my kingdom,’ he inserted thickly. ‘One I fully endorse completely and utterly. Let there be no misunderstanding about that.’
The force behind his words caused her to swallow. ‘I... Of course. To be honest, I’m not sure how this conversation took a left turn.’
He jaw flexed as he banked the chopper towards the west. ‘Psych 101 would suggest a degree of Freudianism. Would I be right?’
Alarm sparked through her at how close he was skating to truths she didn’t want to uncover. ‘You haven’t known me long enough to make that inference.’
‘Time has no meaning when it comes to instinct. You’re passionate about the work you do. That all-encompassing passion had to stem from somewhere.’
‘We all have pasts that shape us, Your Highness,’ she responded stiltedly, not wanting to recall the volatile quagmire she and her siblings had lived in before her parents’ final showdown had ended everything.
‘I agree. Tell me that shaping didn’t involve anything physical and I’ll drop the subject.’
Her eyes widened as she stared at him and noted the naked intensity in his eyes.
Mouth dry, she shook her head. ‘No, I wasn’t physically abused.’
He exhaled and gave a grim nod.
They flew in silence for a few more minutes, during which time Allegra dragged her mind from the painful past to the present. Below her, more evidence of Dar-Aman’s devastated infrastructure sprawled in derelict abandonment. But among it, several new buildings were springing up, evidence of the rebirth Rahim had mentioned.
It didn’t stop her from mourning the majestic loss, though.
He glanced at her as she sighed.
‘You mentioned your grandfather, but not your parents. Are they involved in the charity too?’ Rahim’s voice piped through her headphones.
Her heart lurched at the mention of her parents. ‘I thought you were going to drop the subject?’ she demanded.
Rahim’s mouth twisted in a curiously empathetic ghost of a smile. ‘Easy, habibi. I will let it be if you wish me to.’
The unexpected statement of understanding loosened something inside her. Coupled with all the roiling emotions churning through her, she wasn’t surprised when she found herself confessing, ‘My parents died when I was six.’
He gave another nod but didn’t spout the inane sympathies most people did on the rare occasion she talked about her parents.
‘I guess that’s one unfortunate thing we have in common.’
Allegra frowned. ‘I thought... Didn’t your father pass away only six months ago?’
Rahim’s jaw tightened, his impassive eyes focused on the horizon ahead. ‘He did, but in many ways he was dead long before he drew his last breath.’
She wanted to ask what he meant. Then deny that they had anything in common. But Allegra was reeling from the overwhelming realisation of just how much she’d bared herself to Rahim Al-Hadi in so short a time. And none of those revelations had got her closer to completing the task her grandfather had set her.
She was grappling with a way to tackle the subject when they soared over a steep hill.
‘What’s that?’ She indicated the construction site beneath her.
‘The new racing track to be completed by the end of the year. We host our first top-tier race here next spring.’
Allegra struggled to keep her emotions in check. ‘Did I read somewhere that you were a racer?’ she bit out.
‘Only on amateur circuits. The situation of my birth precludes me from placing myself in such a dangerous profession,’ he replied with a shrug of acceptance and regret.
‘But you own supercars, don’t you?’
He nodded, then glanced at her with a slight frown. ‘Several. What’s your point? And don’t tell me there isn’t one, because I hear an ocean of judgement in your voice. Are you going to accuse me of not caring about my people again?’
‘Do you?’ She searched his face, wondering why his answer meant so much to her.
‘Of course,’ he replied, his voice deep and unwavering. ‘I don’t believe in throwing money at a problem until I know the root cause of it.’
‘From where I’m standing the root cause of your country’s problems is very easy to see. You may be doing something now, but it begs the question why no one outside of your precious palace has cared enough until now. If they had, your kingdom wouldn’t be in this state.’
A grunt of disbelief echoed through her headphone, followed a deathly silence where she only heard the echo of her own voice. A quick glance behind her showed degrees of horror on the faces of the bodyguards before they quickly averted their gazes.
God, what had she done?
Clenching her fists in her lap, she tried to scramble for something to mitigate the bomb she’d just thrown in her own way.
Chagrined, she took several deep breaths. Rahim Al-Hadi got under her skin with an ease that was frightening. And yet she knew she’d stepped over the line. Way over the line. ‘Your Highness...’
‘You’ve said enough for now, Miss Di Sione. While I do not wish to bore you with the protocols of my country, I need to warn you that further insults aimed at me will result in your arrest, or worse. So perhaps you
