He and Sean made their way across the sand. Following in Charlie’s wake, no one really took notice of them.

“I think that dude is drooling,” Sean pointed out. “You were totally right. They don’t even check the women. What is he thinking?”

“He’s thinking he wants to get laid.” He’d made a quick study of Kamdar. He was known for inviting beautiful women onto his boat. He would find one, likely from watching the shoreline like a Peeping Tom pervert, and then send his men out to bring her to him. But men getting on the boat would likely go through rigorous checks.

The king’s errand boy was, in fact, drooling. He had gotten out of the boat to push it back toward the water, but he’d stopped the minute he’d gotten sight of Charlie.

“So you’re coming from that big yacht out there? Wow, that’s really impressive.” Charlie sounded so sweet and slightly dumb as she pointed out to the mega yacht. So very different from the way she sounded when she was giving him hell. Oddly, he thought she was way sexier when she was mouthing off.

“Yes,” the man replied, his chest puffing out. “This is the boat of my king. It is one of the largest yachts in the world. It is almost one hundred meters in length and has everything you could want. So much luxury. King Kashmir is the greatest king in the world.”

Charlie laughed, a giggly sound. She would make such a naughty schoolgirl. Just put a little skirt on her, put that hair up in pigtails, and he could go to town. “He must be really rich.”

“So very rich. I am very close to the king. Perhaps you would enjoy seeing the boat, meeting him? I could arrange this.”

Yeah, Ian could just bet what that would cost Charlie. The man had stepped up to her, almost touching her. Luckily her husband was here to back her sweet ass up.

He put his arm around his girl as his brother eased behind the man, shoving his SIG in the fucker’s back.

The driver’s eyes widened, but he didn’t scream. “I view the girl as I would a sister. I was only trying to make sure she was safe. So many bad elements around here, you know.”

Yeah, Ian wasn’t buying that, but he was impressed with the man’s calm demeanor. It looked like the king trained his employees properly. “Look, buddy, here’s what’s going to go down. You’re going to float us out to your king, and we’re going to have a nice long talk with him about the fact that his freaking intelligence department is full of idiots.”

The man shook his head. “I do not know what you are talking about, sir. I work for a Hollywood star. Very big star. Sleeps with many women. Likely has many diseases. You do not want to go there. Very bad. That boat is a floating venereal disease.”

Ian nearly rolled his eyes. “Look, I know that’s not George Clooney out there, so let’s drop the BS. That’s the king of Loa Mali and there are CIA operatives and MI6 agents watching him from the fort. If he wants to find out why, you’ll have to take us all there. I like to tell heads of state how fucked they are in person.”

“You’re a bloody bastard, Taggart.” Damon Knight was not impressed with his maneuver, that was for sure. His voice had turned rough and angry in Ian’s ear. “If you fuck this up, our deal’s off. Do you understand me?”

Ian pulled his earpiece out. He didn’t need to hear from the peanut gallery. He shoved it into his pocket though he really wanted to toss it away. He might need the damn thing later. “Yep, they’re pissed as shit at me right now, but I think your king and I can come to some solution without having to involve those busybodies.”

Sean winced a little. He couldn’t pull his earphone out yet. It looked like he was getting the brunt of their frustration. “They’re on their way, brother. Or at least they’re going to try to get down here before we can leave.”

“See, if we don’t head out now, your poor king’s party is going to be swarming with nosy assholes. Does he really want that? We’re kind of the good guys here.” He nodded to Sean who shoved the SIG back in his pocket and let the guy go. “See, that was just to get your attention. Let your boss know that we’ll surrender our weapons when we get to the boat. We just want to talk. He’s in danger from several fronts. If he talks to us, it can be a quiet chat. If he waits for them, well, the government gets involved and that can be a shit storm.”

There was a crackle as the radio in the boat came to life. “Bring them, Taral. You might want to hurry. I am watching the fort and they are certainly right about the level of activity up there. And, Taral, don’t leave the woman behind. I am so looking forward to meeting her.”

The king of Loa Mali would find out that Ian could pull off royal balls just as fast as he could common ones. He helped Charlie into the boat and hopped in after her. Sean and Taral shoved the boat back into the surf. Sean leapt in and Taral hauled himself up with a practiced hand. Now that he had his boss’s permission, it seemed he was all smiles.

“Welcome on board. My king wishes to see you. Thank you so much for coming with us and for not shooting me in the kidneys. I have heard this is very painful."

He turned on the motor and started to ease the boat around.

Sean pulled his earpiece out and pocketed it. “Brother, Ten was just explaining all the ways he’s going to roast your ass. He seems to be very creative when it comes to hot pokers. You should watch your backside. I don’t think he intends to use any lubricant, if you know what I mean. He’s also pissed about the monkeys. According to Simon, they’re as sexually aggressive as Ten himself.”

Charlie smiled slightly. “It sounds like they have as much discrimination as Ten, too.”

Ian turned back, looking at the beach. It was still calm and peaceful. Once Damon and the others realized there was no way to stop him, they would slow down and try to keep their eyes on the ship. He didn’t give a shit that the Agency would be pissed. This was his op. His wife was at risk, his people, and he wouldn’t let Ten or anyone else tell him how to handle it. He needed this man to trust him, and he wouldn’t get that by lying. He had one shot and one shot only at getting King Kash on his side.

Charlie was standing at the front of the boat, her hair whipping behind her. He moved in. Since he’d realized that he was being a stubborn prick, he wanted to touch her all the time, wanted to be close. He didn’t fight the urge. Not anymore. She was his. If she didn’t like the fact that his hands were always on her, then she shouldn’t have chosen him.

When he wrapped his arms around her, she immediately leaned back, her body fitting into his.

“Ian, do you think he’s watching?” She had to raise her voice to combat the sounds of the speedboat as it hit the waves, bringing them closer and closer to the yacht.

Nelson. She wanted to know if Nelson was watching her, probably getting ready to jack off at the sight of her. God, he was going to kill the fucker for making her feel self-conscious. She should always feel safe, always secure knowing that her husband would take care of her. He cuddled her close. God, how had he lived without this feeling? “Don’t worry about it. I’m going to handle him.”

He would have to because he knew damn well Nelson was watching. Now he knew they were here. It would force his hand, and Ian had to be ready. Nelson would come at him and he would come hard. The minute he could, he was going to make sure Charlie was someplace safe. They would talk to the king and then he would hide her away with Sean.

Then he could be the bait.

Her hands came up, covering his, holding him close. “I know you will, Master.”

This time she was trusting him with her life, with her sister’s life. With everything that was important to her. She wasn’t running away from him or trying to control things. She’d trusted him, the way he would trust her when it came to the Russian mob. She was smart and her instincts were good. He would lean on her, but he so needed her to lean on him.

He put his mouth right by her ear. “Do you know how much I love you?”

It was so easy to say now. He loved her with everything he had.

He felt her smile against his cheek. “As much as I love you. God, Ian, I love you so much.”

“And you look ungodly hot in that suit.” He squeezed her tight as the boat pulled up to the yacht.

A group of well-armed security men were waiting above on the lower deck as Taral expertly parked the speedboat. It was tiny compared to the massive yacht. He had the faintest moment of worry in his brain, but Sean was at his back. Sean knew what to do. He turned back to his brother and a long look passed between them. He kissed the top of his wife’s head.

Sean nodded, obviously understanding that Charlie came first. Her life was more important than Ian’s. Sean slapped his brother in a show of affection. They had learned a lot. The brotherly bond they shared now included their wives and children and those precious beings came before everything else.

“Surrender your weapons!” a large guard with a semiautomatic weapon ordered in heavily accented English.

Ian moved Charlie behind him. If they were going to have a heavy finger on the trigger, they would have to go through him, but he doubted they would open fire.

He would never have put his wife in the man’s way if he thought for a second Kamdar would hurt her. No, the king of Loa Mali had a thing for women. All of them. He’d enacted laws against domestic violence that would make the West look misogynistic. He encouraged the women of his country to go to college, to seek high-level jobs.

The king had a reputation as a lover, not a fighter. He routinely ditched his security detail in favor of chasing after a woman.