“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.
She blinked, surprised by his question as well as by the use of her full name. Wasn’t he going to challenge her accusation? Wasn’t he going to deny that he’d done something to Brianna? “Why don’t you deny it?” she asked, more curious than angry all of a sudden.
“Would you believe me if I denied even seeing your friend?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the point? Perhaps I have a plan to get you into my bed and it requires you thinking I’m a villain.”
She laughed despite the seriousness of the subject. “That sounds very nefarious.”
He looked at her curiously. “You have an excellent vocabulary. I guess that comes with being an English teacher.”
She quickly looked down and twisted the stem of her wine glass. “I try to set a good example for my students.”
He raised an eyebrow at her telling body language. “You don’t look like the picture on your press pass. It is similar, but not the same person. I’m assuming that your friend, Brianna Stewart, is the reporter and you used her press credentials to get close to me?”
She couldn’t believe he’d deduced the truth so easily but then again, it wasn’t such a hard leap. “Right on the first guess,” she told him.
“That begs the question, why do you think she is missing?”
“As I mentioned, she didn’t show up for our usual Saturday morning run last weekend. And she’s not answering her phone, she didn’t call to cancel, she hasn’t checked in with me in over a week.”
“Perhaps she’s just busy.”
Nikki had already heard this tale from the police. “She wouldn’t do that. We grew up together. We’ve been through a lot. We are closer than sisters and she wouldn’t do anything to make me worry unnecessarily.”
He nodded his head, accepting her statement. “When was the last time you heard from her?” he asked.
Nikki looked up, startled by his question. The lack of a sexual innuendo told her that he wasn’t joking. It sounded like he was really going to help her. But why would he do that? Why would he even care? He didn’t know Brianna and probably had many more issues with a higher priority on his mind.