Man of Passion Read Online Free Page A

and everything you need. You're going, okay?"
    Instantly, Ben saw a shining, joyous light come to her large, widening eyes.
    "Oh, thank you, Father!" Ari leaped off the chair, came around the coffee table and threw her arms around his neck, giving him a fierce hug.
    "Ari…don't get carried away," he ordered brusquely, untangling his daughter's arms from around his neck. "You're not a little kid anymore," he muttered. "You're a young woman…."
    Laughing delightedly, Ari sat there, one leg beneath her on the couch as she felt a thrill of freedom flow through her. He was going to let her go to Manaus ! Suddenly she was scared. She'd lived with fear all her life, so this was just a new kind to her. It felt delicious in comparison to her other fears, however. Soaring giddily on the news, she said, "Father, are you saying I'm too old to give you a hug every now and then?" He had always been uncomfortable with touching and holding, and Ari never understood why. Her mother had been such a toucher and hugger in comparison, but Ari had never seen her parents kiss or even hold hands out in public. Yet she knew to this day that her dad still loved her mother fiercely. Her photos were everywhere in his condominium and on his desk at the Pentagon. Ari knew he kept a color photo of her mother in his wallet, too.
    "You're growing into a young woman," he said bluntly. "You and I have to adjust to that." He hoped by using Morgan's words that he could help Ari feel a little more confident about herself. A little more sure . Ben had never seen such a flighty, uncertain person as Ari. He blamed it on the unexpected death of Janis and then her mother. Despite their age difference, Ari and Janis had been very close. And Ari had almost given up on living after Janis died. She was just a shadow, no, a mouse who ducked and dodged her way through life, running to the safety of her dream world.
    Trying to quiet her spontaneous outburst, because she knew her father disapproved of effusive emotional displays—touching him with her hand or, heaven forbid, hugging him around the neck—Ari asked, "Is all of that for me?"
    "Yes." Ben held up the packet. "I talked to an old friend of mine today. He knows someone—a guide down in Manaus —who is going to help you." Ben did not mention that Rafe Antonio would also act as her bodyguard, because he knew Ari would instantly rebel. Let his daughter think she was on her own. He placed a color fax in her hands. "This is a photo of Rafe Antonio. He's a forest ranger near Manaus . He's got a camp three hours east of there on the Amazon River . I've hired him to help you hunt for your orchids. You can stay at his camp, which is near one of the Indian villages he takes care of."
    Awed and stunned by her father's help, Ari held the paper in her hands. The man in the photo wore a short-sleeved khaki shirt with some kind of emblem on the sleeve. He was standing languidly on what appeared to be a very old, beat-up houseboat. She could see a wide, muddy river behind him. The Amazon? She hoped so. He was so tall and athletic looking as he rested his elbow on top of the wooden pilot house. His face was square, his skin a golden color, his hair short and jet-black. His eyes were filled with laughter, and the wide smile showing his even white teeth made her smile in turn. He looked like an adventurer. Ari's heart began skipping wildly. Rafe was terribly good-looking, in her opinion. Was he married? Did he have a lot of kids? Ari thought so. He looked married.
    "He has a kind face, Father."
    Ben snorted. "You're just like your mother, Ari, thinking you can look at someone's face and know him."
    "Sure you can." She saw her father frown in disapproval. Lately, she'd been getting awfully mouthy around him. Normally she kept such thoughts to herself. Ever since the desire to go to the Amazon had taken hold of her soul and heart, she couldn't keep the words, her true feelings, from spilling from her lips. Cringing inwardly, she saw