Captive- Veiled Desires (12 page)

After her experience in the desert, she would never attempt another escape.  She would know that she was safest when she was by his side. And until he released her, that’s where she would stay.

He tugged the reins of his camel and led it on foot through the dunes, following her trail. He didn’t feel like riding it. Not when she was stumbling through the sands like that.

Enough, Nora. Enough…

He spotted her collapsing to the floor of the flat plains. She had turned back to look at the dunes. Had she seen him?

Get up, Nora.
His eyes strained for any signs of movement. But she had pulled herself into a tight ball and lay still. He wasn’t sure if she was hiding from him or…

He gave her a minute then two. But when she still wouldn’t rise up, he couldn’t risk it. It didn’t matter anymore if she had seen him. He couldn’t let her die.

His heart pounded as he hoisted himself onto the saddle of his camel. Had he left her too long in the heat? It was hotter than usual. The air was completely devoid of any moisture. A small gust of wind twirled sand around him. He covered his face with his
pakol
and raced towards her, hoping he wasn’t too late.

He leaped off his camel and rushed to her side. He pulled her head onto his lap and she fell limply into him.

“Nora?” 

She didn’t respond. His heart beat rapidly as he quickly checked her condition. She was suffering from heat exhaustion as he had suspected. He tipped a little salt into his canteen and then held it up to her mouth. She sputtered it out, coughing and choking incessantly.

“I know it’s disgusting, Nora. But you need to drink it,” he whispered. “You need to replace the electrolytes you’ve lost in the heat.”

Thankfully, she clasped the bottle with shaky hands and returned it to her mouth. She gulped the water down her throat.

“Easy,” he whispered.

She coughed again, handing the bottle back to him. She fluttered her eyes open and stared at him briefly.

“No,” she uttered after a short while.

She had recognized him. His jaw stiffened. She didn’t want him. She’d rather die in this wilderness than have him rescue her.

“No,” she sobbed. “No!”

His eyes grew cold. He didn’t care what she thought of him. He was taking her back with him.

“Please, Adam,” she croaked. “Leave me here. Let me die if I have to. But please, don’t take me back.”

His anger raged inside him. He picked her up and carried her to his camel.

“Adam…,” she begged.

Another gust of wind blew about him and he immediately turned his head towards the sky. Why hadn’t he noticed those low ominous clouds before? He had been too occupied with Nora to have taken heed of the warnings.

A cloud of dust was brewing in the horizon. If they were caught in these flat plains in the path of that storm, they wouldn’t be alive to see the next sunrise.

He climbed onto the camel with her and tugged her close to his chest with one arm. He held onto the reins with the other, gently tapping the sides of the camel to rise.

“Adam?” she asked.

“Not now, Nora. There’s a furious sand storm coming our way. If I don’t get us out of here, you may just get your wish. We’ll both be dead.”

“Yaah!” he barked at the camel as he bolted it towards the dunes. There were no mountains for miles. The dunes would either save them or kill them. Either way, he’d have to take his chances.

“Jake, it’s Amy,” she said with a tremble into the phone.

“Amy, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Jake, I think Nora got robbed.”

“What do you mean she got robbed?”

“What do I mean? I mean she got robbed!” she almost snapped back.  She ran a hand over her hair, trying to calm herself down. “Her apartment is a mess. Someone’s certainly been here, Jake.”

“Have you checked if there isn’t anyone there now?” he panicked.

“No,” she assured him. “There isn’t anyone here. I checked.”

He let out a breath of relief. “Are you sure she didn’t leave it in that state before she left?”

“No!” she let out with preposterous disbelief. “You know how meticulous and tidy Nora is. There is no way she would have left her apartment in such a messy state.”

“Yeah, you’re right. She can be so obsessively clean. So what’s missing?”

She turned about the apartment. “I… I can’t say. Nothing obvious.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure,” she barked with irritation. “The T.V’s still here. So are her computer and her entertainment set. There’s nothing missing!”

“Amy, you can’t have someone rob a place and then not take anything. There must be something missing.”

“They may have got disturbed. Perhaps, they ran off without taking anything.” She searched desperately with her eyes, trying to make sense of the chaos in the otherwise normally immaculate apartment.

“Perhaps…” he muttered thoughtfully.

“I’m not sure if I should call the cops. What would I tell them? There’s nothing missing but someone did break in.”

“Yeah… they could just have been squatters, needing a place to sleep for the night. But it is strange that they didn’t bother taking anything.”

“It is strange,” she said, shaking her head with bafflement, until she caught sight of the missing hard-drive in Nora’s desk. “Jake, Nora’s hard-drive’s gone. Her screen is here though.”

“Is that the only thing missing?” His voice grew anxious.

“I believe so,” she said, running through the apartment and checking through her cupboards and closets. “Why do you think they did that?”

He grew quiet for a brief while and Amy almost thought she had lost him.

“Jake?”

“Was Nora working on an important story before she left?”

“I… no,” she stammered. “She was far too excited about her trip. As far as I know, she had finished all her assignments with the
Chicago Herald.
”

“Amy, I want you to leave her apartment now,” he ordered.

“But I haven’t found anything I could use as consent. I might stumble on something as I tidy up.”

“No!” he almost shouted into the phone. “Don’t touch anything. They might be back and they would know you were there.”

“Who?”

Jake gulped. “I’ll be at your apartment at six this evening. We could talk then. Meanwhile, get out of Nora’s apartment.”

“But Jake-”

“Listen, I’m worried, okay. So for my sake, just get out of there.”

She bit her lips, thinking rapidly. “Alright, I’m going. I’ll see you later then.”

She hung up, looking about her. She was going to leave, but not before getting what she had come for. A written consent.

Adam raced the camel over one of the larger dunes. He could feel the wind tug at his
perahaan
. He turned around only to realize that the storm was gathering larger and stronger.

He slid hastily off the back of the camel on the leeward side of the dune and then sat the animal down on its legs.

“Adam,” Nora mumbled weakly. “What should I do?”

“You listen,” he ordered as he tied the reins to one of the knees of the camel. “You hear me?”

She nodded her head.

He opened his king size sleeping bag, his eyes all the while attentive to the impending tempest coming their way. “Get in!”

She looked at the bag hesitantly and then hopped in.

He tugged her along with the bag against the camel and then slid in beside her. “Duck your head!” he said as he rolled over her. He pulled the cords, fastening the top of the bag, allowing only just enough air for them to breathe.

The wind was already howling outside, pelting sand against the bag.

He looked down at her, frozen beneath him.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s uncomfortable. But this was all I could do under the circumstances,” he said.

She lowered her eyes. “How long will it last?”

He slid to her side, trying to give her as much room as possible. “An hour or two, if we’re lucky. Otherwise, they can last the night, even up to days. Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that, or we’ll certainly be doomed then.”

She shivered slightly and he looked over at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Do you need more water?”

“No, I am fine. The sands hammering against the bag are a little unpleasant though.”

He pulled her close to him, shielding her body with his. “Is that better?”

She bit her lips. “Yes, thank you.”

The warmth of his body heated her all over. And despite her common sense, she relished the touch of his skin against hers, moistening the epicenter of her womanhood.

He is just trying to keep us alive
, she reminded herself.
This means nothing.

She glanced up at his jaw, her eyes tracing his lips. Something was urging her to take them. To feel them with her own lips.

Don’t be silly, Nora
.
You were trying to flee from him only a while ago. What are you doing?!

She closed her eyes, a sudden numbness flowing through her. All she wanted was to sleep. And under the arms of the man who held her captive, was where she wanted to be.

HAPTER 10

The storm had lasted more than two hours and the air inside the sleeping bag was getting more hot and stifling. He swore quietly. It seemed the tempest would last well into the morning.

Nora whimpered and he glanced down at her. He could barely see her in the dark.

“Nora, are you okay?” he asked. “Do you want me to move?”

But she didn’t reply, letting out a small shivering sob instead.

“Nora?”

He mustered courage to touch her face. She was damp with sweat.

“Damn,” he swore again.

He reached for his cell phone in his pocket and turned the torch on. He immediately noticed she was drenched in sweat. Her body felt hot from her fever. She was more exhausted from the day’s heat than he had initially thought. He tugged at the cord of her
tunbaan
and she clasped his hand, trying to stop him.

“No,” she muttered, protesting in her feverish state.

“I need to take your clothes off, Nora,” he said. “We’ve got to cool your body temperature down, or you might get a heat stroke.”

She let go, and he quickly pulled her pants off her. His hands sweated slightly as he gathered the hems of her dress. This was not how he wanted to see his wife naked for the first time.

He lifted her dress over her head and her breasts fell loose before him. He gulped nervously. She was beautiful in every way.

Hell, Adam
, he breathed hoarsely.
Now is not the time
.

He pulled off his clothes, reminding himself that he was only getting naked so he could prevent his clothes from chafing against her skin. But the instant his torso touched her breasts, he froze, his body hardening to the feel of hers.

“Adam,” she mumbled.

He shook himself out of his trance and grabbed his canteen. He took the end of his
pakol
and dampened it.  He dabbed it on her forehead, letting it rest there for a while. Her body felt like it was on fire.

He let her have another drink of water and then soaked his
pakol
again. He reached for his phone and switched the lights out. He had to wipe down her body. But he didn’t think he had the strength of doing it with the lights on; to watch his hands slide over her naked flesh, wishing that this damned
pakol
wasn’t in his way.

He slid his hand over her neck, running the soaked cloth down her side and to her hips. He let his hand linger there for a while before lifting it up to wipe her mid-riff. He slowly moved his hands up her, to her chest and between her breasts.

He swallowed, his cock growing hard and straining against her core. His fingers grazed against her breasts and he stopped, wanting to feel her more. He wished he could knead them in his hands, to take her nipple into his mouth and suck it, to run his tongue over her areola.

His breath grew harsh and rapid, rasping against her lips.

“Adam…,” she murmured again and she lifted herself up to taste his lips.

He clasped her hips to brace himself against her as he gladly pressed his mouth against hers. Like a mad man, he nipped at her lips, opening them wider so he could reach into her mouth with his tongue.

She moaned as she played with his tongue. His cock throbbed and ached, pressing deeply against her clitoris. The sound of her voice awakened the animal inside him, wanting to ravage every inch of her.

He traced the ends of her mouth and kissed down to her neck, biting and nipping at her flesh.

“Gary…” she whimpered. “I missed you so much.”

He froze, his body tensing at the mere mention of the other man’s name. If she had been conscious while she had said it, he was more than likely to strangle her. But she was delirious from her fever, he reasoned. And his heart grew heavy at the thought. In her moment of weakness and despair, she sought the love of another man. Did she still love him?

He sighed as he slid off her. He reached over her head to widen the opening of his sleeping bag. The camel stunk, but its odor brought along with it a breath of fresh air. He needed it too, now more than ever considering how hot and hard he had got from wanting her. Nora murmured. She obviously was also relishing the feel of the cool air against her skin. She had stopped crying, and he checked her temperature on her forehead just to be sure she had cooled down.

She was going to be fine, he assessed. His fingers traced the outline of her face, tucking the loose tendrils of her hair behind her ears.

No matter what, she was his wife now. And he was her protector, whether she agreed to it or not.

She turned, moving into his arms. Her breasts were locked into his chest and her legs entwined with his. He loved the feel of her body against his. It felt so right- as if it was where it belonged.

She nestled her head in the crook of his neck and he gladly wound his arm around her, tugging her close to him. He closed his eyes. He was okay with this. She would one day be his. But for now, just having her like this was fine.

Outside, the wind continued to squall, the storm burying them further into the sand.

Amy clutched the document tightly in her hand, her tears running down her face. Another train whizzed past her and she didn’t care to find out if it was hers. Around her, people shuffled to get on board, getting on with their lives.

She looked down at the paper, encased in its clear plastic sleeve. It was Nora’s will. And she had assigned her as her sole beneficiary.

“Nora…” She bit her lower lip, trying to stifle a sob from escaping her.

She had found the document in a box beneath Nora’s bed. It was where she had always kept her valuables- amongst them childhood paintings, her mother’s old photographs, and other memories she wanted to hold on forever. To another, it would have seemed a box of old junk. For Nora, they were more precious than all her assets put together.

When Amy pulled the box from beneath her bed, she never imagined that Nora had prepared a will. As she read through it, a chill ran up her, making it even more real that her best friend was gone, and most likely was dead.

She shook her head, determined now more than ever that she was going to find her. At least, she must know what happened to her. She wouldn’t let Nora vanish like she never existed.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the number to the Office of Overseas Citizens Service. And the moment she was put through to an operator, she asked to be directed to Travis Mulholland. Surely, he couldn’t deny now that Amy was an important part of Nora’s life. Not if he didn’t want to be involved in a case of deceased estates with contesting beneficiaries like Nora’s father.

“Yes, Travis Mulholland,” she told the operator. “He is my case worker. He asked me to call back if I had further details on a missing friend traveling overseas.”

The operator put her on hold for what seemed an endless amount of time. She impatiently rolled her eyes, tired of listening to the looping Beethoven classic.

“Miss Jacobsen?” The operator came back on line. “There is no Travis Mulholland working at the Office of Overseas Citizens Service. I’m sorry. But perhaps you could cite the case number and I will see if I can put you through to the correct officer.”

Amy tensed. “Has Travis Mulholland resigned? I only spoke to him a few days ago.”

“No, Miss Jacobsen. There never has been anyone by such a name working here. There is though a Trevor Mills. Is it possible you were mistaken?”

“No, no,” she said, shaking her head with complete bafflement. “It was definitely Travis Mulholland.”

“Miss Jacobsen-”

But Amy disconnected the call quickly, an unexplainable fear chilling her to her core. Who was Travis Mulholland then?

The night grew uncomfortably cold.  Nora snuggled up further into Adam, and he wrapped his arms around her, caressing her back while he slept. Their bodies remained melded together until daylight streamed through the opening of the sleeping bag. The camel brayed, awakening her from her sleep. Nora shifted, stretching out the discomfort in her back.

The man beside her, grunted, and she immediately tensed, glancing at him.

Adam?
She recalled how he had come for her in desert. She had been severely exhausted to remember anything else after he had given her a drink of his water. She looked about her, trying to recollect the events of the past night. There was a storm, she remembered. And they had taken cover in his giant sleeping bag. She noticed the pile of blankets and his backpack piled one atop another by his head, pitching the sleeping bag up like a tent. The man was certainly a wiz in emergencies.

Her breasts grazed his chest and a chill ran up her. She was as naked as he was. The only signs of her chastity remaining intact were the thin pair of undies they were still wearing. Rather than covering herself up, she was far too engrossed with the mystery of this man. There had been nothing to stop him from claiming her. Instead, he had thrown himself over her so she would not feel the pain of the sands pelting against her body. Who was he?

She traced his face with her eyes, running it slowly down his body. They rested on his torso. It was strong and masculine. She hadn’t been wrong about him the first time she had seen him at that pier at Dal Lake. Even then she had wanted to touch him, to feel the flesh of his muscles beneath her fingers.

She reached out, moving her fingers lightly over his skin, feeling the contours of his body. He groaned, moving slightly. A fringe fell over his forehead, and she brushed it back from his face. Her hands lingered on his brow, her thumb caressing his temples.

Adam flung his eyes open, catching her in the midst of her caress. She withdrew her hand quickly, covering her breasts.

“How are you feeling now?” he murmured sleepily.

“I’m better, thanks.” She moved away, biting her lips. Her dress was way on his side of the makeshift tent. That meant she would have to reach over him, breasts and all, to get it. She could kick herself for not having the sense to clothe herself before he had woken up.