The Sheik's Beautiful Intruder (The Friendship Series) (17 page)

When she stepped out of the tunnel, she looked up and was pulling a cobweb from her hair when she felt that familiar trembling start up again.  This wasn’t the “scary” trembling.  This was the “Nazar” trembling.  The anticipation, eager-to-see-him trembling. 

Turning, she looked up and saw Nazar standing a few feet away from her, looking like he wasn’t sure if he should strangle her or kiss her.  To circumvent the first, and promote the second… and also because seeing him reassured her that he was okay, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him around his lean waist.  “You’re okay!” she gasped, so relieved she almost started crying. 

He heard the worry in her voice and held her close for a moment, but then looked down at her.  “Hey, what’s wrong?  Why were you trying to escape the palace again?”

She wiped the tears from her cheeks, feeling a little silly now that he was here and no bullet wounds were gushing any vital bodily fluid.  “Escape?”  She laughed and hugged him close again.  “Why in the world would you think I was trying to escape?”

“The tunnel?” he prompted, looking behind her as Mico and Abiye stepped out. 

Nikki looked behind her again, then smiled up into his handsome face.  “I wasn’t trying to escape.  Just the opposite in fact.”

When his only response was to raise those black eyebrows again, she sighed and leaned her cheek against his chest.  “You’re okay then?  No danger?”

Nazar stilled and put his hands on her back.  “Why would you think I was in danger?” he asked, thinking about the Russian mafia bosses that had just left his office, threatening to tear up his entire kingdom if he didn’t pull out on the deal with his friend.  Nazar had stood firm, knowing that Interpol had been waiting for these two men to step out from under their rocks.  Nazar didn’t need to wait for Interpol though. He’d simply taken things into his own hands.  Interpol could just wait to get their hands on those two goons. 

“I’m fine.  Why would you be worried?”

She looked at him and instantly her eyes narrowed.  “What happened?” she demanded. 

Nazar chuckled, thrilled that she could already read him so easily.  Not that he wanted her to be aware of all of his secrets, but the fact that she suspected something was amiss meant that she was more in tune with him than she wanted to admit.  He took her hand and led her back down the hallway.  “Why don’t you tell me what you were doing, and I’ll tell you what happened in my last meeting?”

She watched him carefully, wondering if she should believe him.  And then it hit her.  She did trust him!  She trusted him completely. 

Nikki wasn’t aware that she’d stopped, but Nazar stepped in front of her, nodding to his body guards, indicating that he wanted some privacy.  “Talk to me, Nicole.  Tell me what you were just thinking.” 

“I trust you,” she whispered with a big dose of relief and a small shot of horror and fear coming through. 

His hand came up to cradle her face.  “I know you trust me.  Is there anything else?”

Looking into his eyes, she suddenly realized that trust came with belief that he wouldn’t hurt her.  Would he?  She sighed and shook her head. 

“Nothing that would make any difference,” she replied, trying to keep her chin from trembling.  She didn’t want him to know what was going on inside her head.  “What was your meeting about?” she asked, suddenly remembering her morning and how terrified she’d been for his safety. 

As soon as the words were out, she noticed the way his eyes changed.  It wasn’t so much that they moved or shifted as much as they just…closed.  The window, the expressions she could normally see in his eyes were no longer there.  They were simply blank.  That alone told her more than she suspected he would admit to her. 

Nazar pulled her closer again, his hand coming up to caress her cheek gently.  “I had meetings all morning.  Which one did you want to hear about?” he asked. 

She stepped closer, looking up into his eyes more carefully.  She remembered their conversation about “tells” and how he could automatically tell when she was lying or bluffing, or just anything he wanted to know about her.  “Nazar, tell me about the meeting that you don’t want to tell me about.”  When she saw the surprise in his eyes, she knew she’d hit upon something important.  “I knew it!  I knew that you were in danger!  What happened?” she demanded, stepping right up to him and placing her hands on his chest, as if she needed to feel him, to know that he was okay.

Nazar was so surprised, he was silent for a long moment.  “Why do you think I was in any kind of danger?  My guards were with me at all times.”

She considered that for a moment, still watching him closely.  Then shook her head.  “No.  Something happened this morning.”

He took her hand and started walking again, sorting through everything in his mind.  “I’ll make a deal with you.  You tell me why you thought I was in a dangerous situation and I’ll tell you about all my meetings.”

She stopped him simply by stopping herself.  “Nazar, I can’t really explain why I knew you were in danger.”

He definitely didn’t like what she was implying.  “Are you saying that someone mentioned something about my meetings this morning?”  His hands were gripping hers.  Not painfully, but enough so that she recognized his anger. 

She shook her head to reassure him.  His staff was shockingly loyal to him.  No one ever told her anything he didn’t want her to know.  Much to her chagrin. 

“No.  No one said a word and you should know better than to imply such a thing.  Your guards are admirably devoted to you.”  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw all four guards exchange a look among themselves but she brought her focus right back to Nazar.  “I can’t tell you because…well,” she looked down at his chest, searching for words that might make sense.  “Well, because I just knew.” She bit her lip, worried that he’d think she was crazy.  “I just sensed it.”  She looked back up into his handsome face.  “Are you saying that something truly did happen?  Was I just imagining the feeling?”

Nazar smiled and bent down low to kiss her tenderly.  “You weren’t imagining anything.”  His hand came up to touch her cheek gently.  “And after this, you’re going to have to admit that you love me,” he told her with victory in those fascinating eyes of his. 

Nikki pulled back, horrified by what he was saying.  Her heart was racing, her mind was flustered and she opened her mouth to deny it, but nothing came out.  She started to shake her head, but he chuckled and took her hand, moving them down the hallway again.  She’d admitted it to herself, but admitting it to him would leave her vulnerable.  More vulnerable than she wanted to be. 

Nazar wasn’t going to allow her any reprieve.  “You sensed that something was wrong with me and yet, you still don’t accept that there’s a connection between us?”

“A connection?” she whispered. 

“Yes.  Something that goes beyond a reasonable thought.  Something that makes you feel connected to me even though we’re in different rooms.  Something that tells you when I might be in danger.”  He looked down at her.  “I feel that towards you,” he finally said.

She looked back up at him, startled by his words as well as the implication behind them.  He cupped her cheek gently as he said, “Yes.  I love you.  I’ve loved you for a while now.  I’ve just been waiting for you to learn to trust me.”

She shook her head.  “I don’t trust you.  Not one little bit,” she denied, but deep down inside, she knew she was lying again.  “I don’t!” she asserted, more to herself than to him. 

“I had two men in my office who were threatening to kill me if I didn’t stop interfering with their market manipulation scheme,” he told her, interrupting her denials. 

She stopped and looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear.  “Who were they?”

“A couple of messengers with the Russian mafia.  They were the ones behind the scheme that was raising the oil prices and shifting the markets.”  He touched her hair, running his fingers through the soft tresses.  “I don’t allow anyone to mess with my country’s oil revenues,” he told her firmly. 

She knew about mafia tactics.  Or at least, she knew what the movies had told her and they were vicious.  “That means you’re in danger!” she stated, fear loud and clear in her voice even as her hands gripped his arms, clutching at his shirt to get him to listen to her. 

Nazar chuckled at her vehemence.  “But you don’t love me, right?”

She ignored his teasing and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tight.  “Those men won’t stop until you’re dead or you’ve given them what they want,” she said with emotion clogging her voice.  “Please don’t mess with them.”

He pulled back, but kept her close by wrapping his own arms around her shoulders.  “Nikki, you don’t seem to grasp a very important concept here.”

“What’s that?  That you’re too arrogant to think that those men can hurt you?  They won’t stop!  They can’t be bought and they take pride in hurting people in creative ways.”

He chuckled softly.  “And they are right now in a prison cell.”

She was stunned by that announcement.  “What do you mean?  How were you able to put them in a prison cell?”

“They threatened me.”

She rolled her eyes again.  “They threaten everyone.  And from what I’ve read, they don’t make idle threats.”

He smiled at her naiveté.  “Nikki, I don’t allow anyone to threaten me.”

She huffed a bit.  “But they’ll just walk away and come back when you aren’t watching.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes.  “We aren’t in the United States any longer.  Your rules don’t apply here.  I don’t need to even allow a trial for these two men.  And the ones who sent him?  They’ll be extradited, brought up on charges of threatening me, not to mention manipulating the markets.  Even as we speak, my security forces are rounding them up and putting them on a plane to be transported back here.  All with the blessing of Interpol, by the way.”

She blinked and tried to absorb everything he was telling her.  “So they aren’t running around plotting to kill or maim you?”

He laughed.  “No.  They won’t ever see the light of day again.  They will be in a prison for the rest of their lives for threatening me.  That’s treason.  And even their fellow prisoners won’t help them escape.”

She smiled, a feeling of intense relief flowing over her.  “So there isn’t a threat any longer?”

“No threat.” He laughed. 

Nikki couldn’t believe the relief that surged through her.  “Thank goodness!” she said and wrapped her arms around him, enjoying the feeling of his strong arms holding her firmly.  “I was so worried.”

“So….you were trying to escape?”  Nazar was trying to understand her, but when he’d heard what she was doing, and the implication, he’d stormed out of the meeting, leaving several very high ranking members of his cabinet looking confused and worried. 

She pressed her face against his chest.  “No.  No escape.  I’m here for as long as you want me,” she said, trying to hide her tears at all she was giving up in order to be with him.  Including her heart. 

Nazar stiffened, not sure if she meant what she was saying.  “And what if I want you here forever?” he asked softly, his hands sliding up and down her back, feeling her body freeze. 

Nikki looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear.  “What are you saying, Nazar?” she whispered.

Nazar sighed and looked around.  “We can’t have this conversation in the middle of the hallway,” he snapped.  “Come with me.”  He took her hand and led her into one of the many rooms she’d already investigated.  This one was a lovely, elaborate room that would look perfect in any European government center.  It looked exactly like all the pictures where the officials had their pictures taken, complete with gilded finials on top of maroon walls and gold, brocade chairs that looked stiff and uncomfortable.  Chairs that made one sit up straight. 

He led her over to one of the uncomfortable looking sofas and, with a hand on each of her upper arms, sat her down on the sofa.  But he didn’t sit next to her.  Instead, he paced back and forth, his hand rubbing over his face as if he were trying to figure something out.  “Nikki, I know you don’t trust me.  So I’m going to tell you what’s going on.” 

Nikki put up her hand to stop him, not wanting him to believe she didn’t trust him now.  She was terrified of what she felt, but it wasn’t distrust.  And she had a sense of acceptance for what she now felt, a fatalistic, would-be-unhappier-without-him attitude.  “I don’t…”

“Hear me out,” he stopped her, and kept on pacing.  “Your friend is a reporter.  We already know that.  When she stumbled upon my best friend in a nightclub, she somehow found a paper that I had given to Rocco, which she obviously didn’t understand and obviously sent to you for help in trying to understand.”  He took a deep breath and rubbed his neck as if to alleviate some of the tension gathering in his shoulders. “Anyway, the words you read were my part of a plan to take down a scheme built up over the last several years by the Russian mafia.  Essentially, it manipulated oil prices so they could then go in and reap higher profits.  As soon as Rocco and I discovered what was going on, we developed a plan to stop them.  But your friend figured it out, or at least a part of it.  Rocco had to keep her safe, but that meant she was trapped in his house in the Pennsylvania mountains.”  He looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction to his comment.  “She’s safe and sound, but…” and he wasn’t sure how she would react to this news, “Rocco has already set a date.”

Nikki stared up at him blankly.  “A date?  A date for what?  Are you two getting together?”

Nazar sighed, not sure if she would be excited or sad that her friend was getting married.  “A date for his wedding.”  He waited.  “He’s marrying Brianna.”

Nikki absorbed that information, not sure what to say or how she felt about it.  And then it struck her.  Brianna was getting married?  She’d finally fell in love?  “How wonderful!” Nikki said and threw herself into Nazar’s arms, laughing and wiggling, too excited to be still.

Nazar held her close, enjoying her softness but grinding his teeth as that softness roused his body.  It was always like this with Nikki.  There wasn’t a time when he thought about her that he didn’t think about her sweet smile or her lush body and his own reacted.  She didn’t even need to be close.