The Sheik's Beautiful Intruder (The Friendship Series) (6 page)

He moved his arms slightly, his hands sliding up on her arm.  “I think you do,” he countered.  “I know that I do.”

“You can’t!” she gasped when he straightened up and he took her hands, placing them against the wall in front of her.  “I’m an annoyance to you.  I get on your nerves and make you angry!  You can’t want me when I do all that to you!”  She desperately tried to think of other reasons why he shouldn’t want her, but all she could feel was his heat seeping through her body, making her weak, making her want him right back. 

“I do.”  He kissed her neck, her shoulders and the small part of her back where the black tee-shirt gaped ever so slightly.  “I really do want you.  Exactly like this.”

She shook her head, wanting to pull her hands off of the wall but then his hands smoothed down her sides, causing her to gasp with the almost painful pleasure.  He wasn’t holding her now with anything except desire.  “Tell me what you like,” he said softly, nipping at her neck, then soothing the spot with his lips.  “I want to know everything about you.”

“I don’t want this,” she said, shaking her head as if to deny that he was actually doing this to her. 

“So you’re a liar,” he said, chuckling softly.  “I think I could grow to like that about you.”

She started to pull her hands off of the wall.  “Put them back, Nikki,” he said with absolute authority that was backed up when his hands slid around her sides and halted just under her breasts. 

When she hesitated, his thumbs rubbed a millimeter higher, barely touching her but giving her the message that, if she chose to put her hands where he wanted them, he would touch her exactly where her body wanted him to touch. 

“That’s my beauty,” he encouraged when her hands went right back against the wall. 

Her head fell backwards and she gasped when she felt his hands on her breasts.  “Don’t stop,” she begged, closing her eyes and reveling in the amazing heat that was stealing through her body.  “Please don’t stop.”  She gasped when his thumb flicked against the sensitive bud, hardening it even more.  “Do that again,” she whimpered. 

When his thumb flicked against her nipple again, she cried out, pressing her back against his chest, her bottom against his hips and needing so much more.  She tried to shake her head, to make the feelings stop but she was at his mercy, needing so much more but not really understanding what that was.  “No,” she whispered, but still her body turned ever so slightly, silently begging his hand to touch her in that exact spot again.  But then she realized what she was doing and she tried to turn away.  “You can’t do this to me,” she said even while she turned her body so that he could.

“Ah, but I can,” he countered.  “And what’s more, you want me to.” 

She shook her head and spun around, her eyes wide with the fear that was creeping higher, obliterating the desire that had captured her.  “Nazar…”

“Don’t say a word!” he growled and punctuated that command by covering her mouth with his.  After a long, soul drugging kiss that left Nikki weak in the knees, Nazar lifted his head and stepped back, leaving her leaning against the wall.  “You and I both know I could take you over to my bed and you wouldn’t utter a single protest,” he said with almost cruel finality.  “But I don’t want any recriminations or cries of unfair pressure on my part.  I want you to come to my bed willingly, to be begging me to make love to you.  And I want to know that, in the morning when I wake up, you’re still in my bed, curled up next to me because you can’t break the connection between our bodies.”  He wasn’t saying the words with anger, but with a deep, absolute conviction that his desires would come to pass. 

“I won’t,” she countered, blinking back tears because at this moment, she thought she might actually want just that.  He’d spun her body up, making her so desperate for his touch she’d do practically anything for him, beg him to continue. 

His hand reached up, gently pushing a brown curl out of her eyes.  “I see you are still afraid of what we make each other feel.”

She stiffened, hating that word.  “I’m not afraid,” she said with false derision.  “I’m not afraid of you or anything.”

He considered her words carefully, wondering what had caused her to be so afraid of sex.  “Have you been hurt before?” he asked gently. 

Her chin went up and images of tears, hunger and shame washed over her.  She, Rachel and Brianna had gotten through all of it, and she wouldn’t be beaten down by this man.  “Just leave it Nazar.  I have to find my friend.”  She pushed out of his arms, shocked by the fact that he allowed it as well as how weak her knees were. 

She started to walk away but he stopped her by once again grabbing her arm.  “What else are you afraid of?” he asked her softly.  The grip on her wrist wasn’t painful, but she’d just learned the hard way not to fool herself into thinking he wasn’t perfectly in control of the situation. 

She glanced worriedly down at his grip, then back up into his eyes and he sighed, seeing the terror right there in those beautiful blue eyes. 

“Sit down, relax, have something to eat,” he told her, leading her over towards a dining area.  As soon as he pressed a button, a stream of servants poured in through a door that hadn’t been visible a moment ago, setting plates, delicate glasses and a variety of delicious smelling foods on the table.  One person even had an elaborate bouquet of flowers in a variety of colors that he placed to the side of their plates. 

“I don’t want anything to eat,” she said, although her eyes were watching the servants’ movements with interest. 

He laughed softly and pulled out a chair for her.  “There you go with those lies again,” he teased.  “If you’re not hungry, why don’t you just join me?  I’ll eat, you can have a glass of wine or something cold to drink.”  He waited for a moment, seeing the indecision in her eyes.  “We can also discuss the reasons why you’re so sure that I’ve done something to hide your friend away from you.”

With that promise, she nodded her head and took the seat he was still holding for her.  A waiter appeared and poured her a glass of white wine and some cold water.  Nikki was so thirsty, she drank the entire glass of water without stopping, setting it down carefully once she was finished.  She didn’t look up into Nazar’s eyes, too afraid of seeing amusement there because of her thirst. 

When the waiter had re-filled her glass and disappeared once more, Nazar unfolded the napkin and spooned some sort of rice or grain dish onto his plate, placing a juicy meat mixture on top of it.  “Would you like some?” he asked, then spooned some onto her plate without waiting for her to respond. 

Nikki couldn’t resist the temptation any longer.  She suddenly realized that she hadn’t eaten anything in the last twenty-four hours and she was famished.  “Oh my,” she gasped when she bit into the succulent meat.  “This is delicious.  What is it?”

Nazar started to say something but then shook his head.  “Don’t ask.  Just enjoy the food and tell me what’s going on with your friend.”

She stared across the table at him, not sure what to believe anymore.  But as she looked at him, she was reminded of the e-mail Brianna had sent her.  Either this man, or someone in his government was involved.  She just knew it. “Brianna has just disappeared.  I don’t know why or what she was chasing but she’s gone.  We were supposed to meet last Saturday for our weekly run and she didn’t show up.”

“Maybe something came up and she just forgot to cancel.”

Nikki was already shaking her head.  “Bri wouldn’t do that.”

He shrugged and accepted her word.  “Okay, so why do you think I’m involved?”

She considered lying to him, hiding the real reason.  But something told her that only absolute honesty would convince him to reveal what he knew.  “Because of an e-mail I received from her before she went missing.  It had the Yafar crest on the corner.  So I know you’re involved somehow.  And since you were in Washington, D.C. at the same time she disappeared, the coincidence was too much to ignore.”

Nazar’s dark eyebrows went lower.  “Show me this message,” he commanded.

Nikki took another sip of wine.  “I can’t.  It’s on my cell phone and, unless you’re going to let me out of here, I can’t get it from my hotel room.”

“Where are you staying?” he asked her, his finger already pressing a button on the table. 

She told him the name of her hotel but shook her head.  “I’m not giving you the key, Nazar.  And you’re not getting my cell phone either.”

“You think I’m going to steal your cell phone?’ he asked, almost chuckling. 

“I don’t think you care about my cell phone but I don’t trust you not to wipe out the picture.”

He laughed at that.  He didn’t respond to her accusation, but turned to the man who stepped into the dining area, giving the man some sort of order in Arabic so she didn’t understand. 

“What was that all about?” she asked as she took another bite of the delicious meat. 

“I told my guards to retrieve your personal items and bring them here to the palace,” he stated simply. 

Nikki felt like her food was going to choke her.  “You what?  But you don’t even know what room I’m in.”

He waved that issue aside and spooned another dish onto her plate, this one filled with feta cheese and nuts.  “Well, until your things are brought to you, tell me about yourself.  You were going to tell me something you’re afraid of.” He reached over and re-filled her wine glass. 

“I’m not afraid of anything,” she replied, picking up her wine glass and smiling across the table at him.  “And I’m definitely not afraid of you.”

He rolled his eyes and handed her a plate filled with stuffed grape leaves.  “You’re terrified of me,” he contradicted.  “Or more specifically, you’re terrified of what I make you feel.  Which is why you run away from me every time I make you feel too much.  Just like the last time we saw each other.”

Her hands started shaking when she recalled the way he’d made her feel that afternoon in the ballroom.  It had been incredible and he’d just proven that the chemistry hadn’t been a fluke. 

“Horses,” she said, almost out of the blue.

“Horses?” he repeated.  “What about them?”

She shrugged delicately and picked up her fork, shifting the food around on her plate so she didn’t have to look at him.  “You asked what I was afraid of and I told you.”

“Horses?” he said it again, still not sure he believed her. 

She lowered her lashes, unable to hold his gaze and still not really sure why she’d admitted something like that to Nazar.  She was supposed to be strong and yet she’d just admitted to him a weakness.  Not smart, she berated herself mentally. 

“You’re afraid of horses?”

She lifted her fork, taking a taste of the warm, nutty dish.  “Why is that so hard to believe?” she asked and took a delicate bite of the stuffed grape leaves.

He chuckled softly, amazed that she would reveal something like that about herself.  Of course, he’d asked, but he hadn’t thought she would actually tell him. 

“Why would you be afraid of horses?”

She shrugged delicately and took a sip of her wine.  “Because they’re big, mysterious animals with large hooves and people die falling off of them.”

He acknowledged her comment but countered with, “People die in car crashes every day.  But you still get into cars on a daily basis.”

“Yes, but I know how to drive a car, how to control the vehicle.”  She set her wine glass down carefully on the linen covered table.  “I don’t like horses because I can’t control them.”

He smiled slightly.  “And you like having control, don’t you?”

She almost gasped with the heated look in his eyes.  “I don’t need control in all things.”

His smile grew wider, more dangerous.  “Good.  Because I prefer having control in bed.  And you already know that I don’t relinquish control very easily.”

She knew he was talking about sex and she couldn’t stop the blush that turned her cheeks pink.  “Let’s not talk about that, please.” 

“Why not?” he asked, more curious than amused.  “Why does the topic of sex bother you so much?”

She hated how she started shaking just at the words.  “It’s simply not appropriate.”

“Of course it’s appropriate.  Since you will be in my bed – very soon I might add – I should understand your aversion to sex.”

“I don’t have an aversion to sex, per se.”

“You just don’t want to have sex with me.”

“Exactly.”

“Because you don’t like it?”

She opened her mouth to disagree, then thought better of it.  It would be better if she disagreed with him, but for some reason, the harsh words just wouldn’t come out. 

He saw the conflict in her eyes.  “So you enjoyed being in my arms, but you think you’re not going to enjoy what comes next, eh?”

“Correct,” she admitted, then realized what he’d just asked and shook her head.  “No.  I mean…,” she groaned, “I didn’t enjoy…the way you held me,” she replied awkwardly, blinking to keep her focus on her food.  “But you’re correct that I’m not going to let it happen again.”

“You don’t like sex?”

Her body was as tense as a strung bow.  “Look, I don’t want to talk about it.  It isn’t going to happen.  So there’s no need to harp on it.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, my beauty,” he said with that deep, husky voice that just turned her bones to melted butter.  “We are going to have sex.  Again and again.  I know I will enjoy that experience with you too much to eliminate it from my future.”

Her eyes widened at that admission.  She couldn’t believe he’d said that.  “Well…” she wasn’t exactly sure what to say. Her words were constricted in her throat and her mouth was as dry as a desert.  “We can’t.”

“Why can’t we?” he prompted. 

“Because…” she searched her brain, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation.  “Because you did something horrible to my friend,” she exclaimed with victory.  “And I can’t fall into bed with you until she is found.”

He considered that carefully. 

“Who is covering your classes, Nicole?” he asked, changing the subject completely.  He already knew of her occupation as well as many other things.  His security team had done an extensive background check on her but he wanted to hear everything from her, to get her perspective on her life and why she did certain things.