‘Only if those who seek to unjustly benefit from it choose to stand in its way. It usually takes someone fearless enough who believes in doing the right thing for true change to happen.’
He nodded. ‘I agree.’
‘You do?’
He took his eyes off the controls to glance at her. ‘You seem surprised, Allegra. Why wouldn’t I agree with such a sound assessment?’
Allegra swallowed the automatic response that rose to her lips. ‘Not a lot of people welcome the views of women, especially when it comes to matters of state.’
‘Then it’s a blessing that I’m not one of them, is it not?’ he said with a smile.
She stared at him, wondering if he was toying with her or cunning enough to think he would get away with voicing such barefaced lies. Especially after the speech he’d made about his dislike of subterfuge.
‘Your Highness...’
‘Rahim,’ he invited softly.
Allegra glanced pointedly at the bodyguards seated behind them.
‘It’s fine. They cannot overhear us unless you raise your voice. Besides, I like the way you say my name,’ he said softly.
She gasped, her face heating up as his gaze raked her body, then settled on her mouth. ‘I don’t think this is appropriate,’ she blurted out before she could stop herself.
A sinfully wicked smile curved his lips. ‘Then I’ll spare your sensibilities and direct my conversation to more appropriate topics. Tell me about yourself.’
‘Why?’ she asked in surprise, all sense of diplomacy gone.
‘I’m hoping it’ll be a much better way to pass the time since other subjects trigger an almost...volatile reaction from you?’
She inhaled sharply at his acute reading of her emotions. Contrary to thinking she was making a decent pass at remaining neutral where Dar-Aman was concerned, Rahim had seen right through her.
And he wanted to change the subject. Her continued disappointment with a man she knew better than to hope was even remotely redeemable deepened. She shook her head. ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to you about the reason for my visit,’ she pressed.
‘I’d prefer to wait until I can give you my full, undivided attention. You deserve that. Until then, tell me how you came to start your foundation.’
Effectively stymied, she looked down at the desolate but indescribably beautiful landscape beneath her, momentarily dragged down memory lane.
The memories of her mother had grown hazy over the years, but a few precious conversations had remained vivid in her mind, popping up when she least expected them.
First and always, be your own person. Then your voice will be heard. Don’t be like me, Allegra...
Anna Di Sione had delivered that particular out-of-the-blue warning as a six-year-old Allegra draped herself in her mother’s pearls, content that this was a singular pleasure that she wouldn’t have to compete with her siblings for. It had been one of the precious moments she’d spent with her mother that had been theirs alone.
‘I took a gap year after high school, did the whole volunteering while touring the world thing. I suppose in a way I was finding myself.’ She shrugged, uncomfortable about revealing an important part of what had forged her path in life. When she risked a glance at him, he returned her gaze with nothing but cordial interest. ‘Anyway, I found out very quickly that some of the basic things I’d taken for granted were considered impossible luxuries or even forbidden to women in some countries. When I returned home, I discussed it with my grandfather. He started the foundation the year before I graduated from college 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