Love in Paradise (3 page)

Directly across from her room was a slim glass table, and on it sat a pair of three inch platform heels. She examined them and realized that they were precisely her size. Onur had done his research. He knew who she was, he knew where she had come from, and he even knew her shoe size. Against the cold stone floor, her feet were freezing, but she put the heels back on the table and walked away.

Over the course of the next forty-five minutes she explored a small section of the house and even managed to find an exterior door. Though she did not manage to circle the entire perimeter, she did establish that this was in fact a completely different island from the one she had originated from. She had in fact lost track of time standing on a rocky beach, staring at the horizon, wondering when or even if she might return home. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the young security guard approaching her from behind.

“Miss Kitaev,” the guard said. She turned around to meet his gaze. “Mr. Onur is waiting for you. It would be in both of our best interests that we don’t keep him waiting longer than we have to.”

Nika silently followed the guard for a moment before speaking up. “You’re American, aren’t you?” She said, her eyes lighting up a little.

“West Seattle, born and raised,” He replied.

“Can you tell me what happened on Sian Island?”

“Men came with guns and you woke up here.”

“Funny.”

Momentarily, they were standing in a large dining area which was, like the rest of the house, quite modern. The ceiling was once again composed of sky lights, but at this point night had descended, and the room was lit by square lamps lining the walls. In the center of the room stood a long glass table, lined with metal chairs, and at the end of the table stood Onur Aslan.

“Welcome,” He said. “To my dining room.”

“We’ll be eating in here?” Nika asked curiously.

“Of course not, this table,” He gestured to the monstrosity in the center of the room. “Much too large. We need not yell at each other during dinner.”

Nika briskly walked toward Onur, taking in his new attire. He had changed into a new outfit which simply consisted of a black button up shirt, the top two buttons open, and a pair of gray slacks.

“Maybe,” Nika said to him as she approached. “It would be better this way, maybe I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

“This may be true indeed, but on my island, your choices are limited, Dominika Kaitev.”

He was right of course, he held the key to her future, here on this little island. While she was here, she decided to ask the one question that had been bugging her since she arrived on the island.

“What happened on Sian Island?”

He motioned for her to follow him and as they reached a door, he opened it to reveal a large swimming area with a poolside table. The table was already set for two with the customary candle burning at the center.

Onur walked to the left side of the small rounded table and slid the chair out. “Sit, please.” Once again his words were more of a command though phrased as a request. She sat down immediately and pulled the chair in. Onur sat at the other side of the table.

“Despite the peaceful aesthetics, Sian Island has a bit of a hand in the drug trade.” Onur explained. “It seems that some of the nations in East Africa are tired of their citizens being exposed. Naturally if they were simply importing marijuana no one would have said a word, but when the drugs get a bit harder, people tend to get angry. Politics.”

Nika shifted in her chair and looked straight at Onur. “Why am I here?”

“I told you, I have arranged for your passage back to the mainland.”

“Why me?”

“Can you think of a good reason why not you?”

“If you think I’m going to sleep with you just because you brought me here--”

“Is that not what you want?”

“Excuse me?”

Onur, contrary to expectation, did not bat an eye. “You are a travel agent, you arrange romantic excursions for others, yet you are not married yourself. Could it be that you are living vicariously through your clients?”

Nika had known Onur for less than twelve hours, and he already knew her better than she knew herself. For the first time since she was seventeen, she was feeling vulnerable and exposed.

“Tell me something,” Onur said to her as a waiter brought two plates of food to the table. “That I do not know about you.”

Nika thought for a moment and then said, “Every week, since I was born, my father made a video recording of my face until I was eighteen. He made a time lapse video and put it on the internet.”

“That...is intriguing...” Onur said.

“What is this?” Nika indicated the plate of food that had been delivered to her.

“Iskender kebap.” The rest of the poolside dinner was eaten in silence as the evening turned to night time. Finally, Onur wiped his hands on a cloth napkin and said, “Come, we will swim.”
 

Chapter 4

The Swim

Contrary to what she had expected, Onur had provided Nika with a simple, most, one piece bathing suit. Though they had resolved to go for a swim, there was not much of that going on. Rather they found themselves sitting on the concrete pool steps at the shallow end, up to their chests in clear blue water. Nika had expected Onur to make an advance of some sort, but instead he kept his distance, carefully watching her. He had made suggestions, naturally, but it almost seemed as if she would be forced to make the first move -- if she ever did.

“Are you not tired of living vicariously?” Onur inquired. “Is it not time that you...indulged in your own fantasy?”

Nika laughed, almost mockingly. “And what do you think my fantasy is?” She asked, still laughing.
 

“You tell me.”

“My ‘fantasy’ certainly doesn’t involve anyone that would...would kidnap me!” She nearly spit the words out, much to Onur’s amusement.
 
“Why did you have me drugged?”

Onur shrugged. “It would have been inconvenient for my men to have a hysterical woman on their boat. Imagine if you had capsized it.”

“I never would have done that!”

Onur looked at her with a sideways glance.

“Okay, I might have done that, but I was hysterical! What about those soldiers your men killed?”

Onur shrugged once again. “Those men killed countless innocents when they made land. In this game, no one is truly innocent, not even myself. But, you are alive, are you not?”

“I suppose I should be grateful.”

“If you like.”

In the few moments that they remained silent, Nika realized just how loud the silence in a pool area could actually be. Every movement, every clearing of the throat, and every splash echoed ten times over. Even talking in this place seemed like a public affair, even though the room was clearly closed off from the rest of the house.

“What is it that you do, Mr. Aslan?” Nika asked him. At this point she was genuinely interested.

“Quite simply Miss Kitaev, I do business.”

“Amusing.”

“Contrary to what you might have believed of those in my position, we do not all conduct...shall we say...illegal activities.
 
I, whether you choose to believe it or not, fought my way to this position. While I did things that might be considered immoral, I did not step outside the boundaries of any law, save for transactions completed on foreign soil.”

“And your empire,” Nika said. “Built with family funding?”

Onur shook his head. “While I was born to a wealthy woman, she conceived with a...less than desirable man. Love counts for little when lineage is at stake, as my father found out. My mother was...disgraced, and I was placed in an orphanage. What I have here, I have built with my own two hands, and should I bear children, I will not dictate who it is that they can love. Love is, without a doubt, the building blocks on which our existence is settled. Without love, we are nothing.”

These words from Onur Aslan seemed to be sincere. The noise of the pool seemed to resign itself to the utter silence that fell across the room. Nika, though she had been kidnapped and drugged, began to understand this man, Onur Aslan. He was not a cold, corporate shark, he was a man, and a man who had been forced to work for his position.

This gave him a unique advantage and perspective on life. Instead of being told what he should expect and who he should include in his life, he had been given the chance to form his own opinions, which was something that many in his position would never have the chance to experience. All at once, Nika felt the walls coming down. It was an amazing and rapid change, but with this man, she felt as if she could be herself, and she felt herself moving closer to him. As she moved toward him in the pool, she would have expected him to do the same, but he stared intently at her, waiting for her to make the first move.

“Why am I doing this?” She said aloud.

“In two days,” Onur said. “You will be gone from this place. You will be on a plane to Agatti and the to Mumbai. In two days, this place will be a distant memory. So, for two days, why not live your dream with someone who loves the same way you do?”

Onur was right, and Nika recognized it. She had too long been sitting on the sidelines, watching others fall in love and experience the romance that she could only dream of. Here she was, in this place, with this man, and as she thought about it more and more, she realized that the was here, in the position she’d dreamed of all her life.

Sure it wasn’t ideal, and maybe the abduction wasn’t high on her list of fantasies (or was it?), but the fact remained that she was here, and what a fool she would be not to take advantage of this! At least that was what she kept telling herself. Whether or not it was true was anyone’s guess. Maybe it was the romantic setting, maybe it was the wine they had had at dinner, or maybe it was the fact that she was alone on a remote island with him, but she was incredibly attracted to this man.

Moments after these thoughts passed through her mind, she found herself in his arms. It was an embrace that she would never forget, and during those moments she felt more safe and secure than she had ever felt in her life. As their lips met and pressed together, and entirely new world was opened to her. She had kissed plenty of boys, and men, but it was nothing like this. Could these be the ‘sparks’ that people so loved to talk about?

They drew closer together, their bodies becoming one in the massive pool, kissing and embracing until Onur suggested they move their activities to a better venue. Nika, originally hesitant, fully let down her guard and allowed herself to indulge -- something she had not done since high school. For more than forty-eight hours, the two of them existed in a state of erotic bliss, their bodies intertwined and becoming one.

Nika prayed it would never end, but it did. At some point Nika fell asleep, and when she awoke, she was once again in the bedroom -- alone. Her dress was folded neatly over a chair in the corner of the room, and her luggage from the hotel was placed beside it. Both her carry on bag and her full suitcase were present, something she did not expect. As she pulled the bags onto the bed to inspect the contents, the guard from two nights ago arrived to inform Nika that Onur had successfully arranged for her to leave the island, but Onur himself made no appearance.

Chapter 5

Taking Flight

Nika finished examining her luggage, satisfied that everything was in order. She carried both bags out of the room and came to a stop at the table in the hallway. The platform heels that Onur had left for her two days ago were still there. What she originally dismissed as a power play now seemed to be a sign of affection, but it was not enough. Nothing would be enough. What happened here on this island would simply have to stay here.

As she walked down the hallway, encountering no one, she recalled the events of the week. For the first time in her life she had experienced true affection. For once she did not have to fake it, and she had felt no compulsion to please her partner. It had simply...happened. In spite of that, absolutely nothing else could happen here. Nika was a practical and realistic woman. There was a world that she needed to get back to, and she was determined to escape the island chain. Perhaps next time she would try something a bit more domestic.

She continued walking through the house, surprised that she did not encounter Onur. Even as she reached the front door, the only person she ran into was the guard from West Seattle. He quietly led her around the exterior of the house to a waiting golf cart that would carry them to Onur’s private airstrip. Not to Nika’s surprise, the boy from the taxi service sat in the behind the wheel, but his usual cheerful demeanor was absent today. Nika sat in the back of the cart, and the guard from West Seattle took a seat up front.

The cart proceeded down a dirt road for about ten minutes before it reached the private airstrip. It was about as Nina could have expected, a cement strip with a bit of a parking lot. A hangar stood to the left, open, and the private jet was being fueled on the runway.

Once again, Onur was nowhere to be seen. Though her heart sank a bit, Nika was secretly grateful. If she had to see him, then she might, might just feel bad for leaving him behind. Perhaps if she could imagine he didn’t care, it would not be so hard to leave. It was a long shot, but if she didn’t have to see his face, it would be that much easier.