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.”