Looking at all of the lovely colors, her fingers slid over the dresses, feeling the exquisite fabrics and loving all of them. She couldn’t believe all the colors and creative designs, thinking she might have died and gone to heaven.
And then reality hit her. There was no way these clothes were meant for her. They were lovely, but she wouldn’t be here long enough to wear any of them. She found a pair of slacks that didn’t look too expensive, as well as a plain shirt that fit her perfectly. She glanced longingly at the other outfits, but firmly closed the closet door on the beautiful clothes. She was here for only a few days. The owner of these clothes would want them back as soon as Nikki vacated the room.
Which brought another issue to mind. Whose room was this? It was amazingly lovely, but obviously someone lived here, otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many clothes in the closet.
She shrugged her shoulders and moved to the door, wondering what she could do while she waited for…well, for whatever was going to happen next. Maybe she could find Nazar and ask him…Ugh! She had no idea what to ask him! She couldn’t figure out what was going on here. This was crazy! Why was she in the palace? Why was she stashed in someone’s room? And what was going on with Brianna?
For some bizarre reason, she believed Nazar when he’d told her that Bri was okay. Why Nikki believed him now, she had no idea. There was just something in his eyes that radiated his honesty.
She thought about the press conference and his reaction to her question. Could the market manipulations and Bri’s disappearance be completely unrelated? It was such a huge coincidence. And how could Nazar have found her friend so quickly? What did he know? What wasn’t he telling her?
Her head fell onto her hands as the entire situation really started to overwhelm her. She couldn’t believe what a mess her life had become. Just a few days ago, she’d been working at school, teaching classes and running tedious errands like a normal person. Now she was trapped in a palace in a foreign country, avoiding the relentless, aching need one tall, strong man created within her and trying to figure out how to ride a horse.
A horse!
Goodness, Rachel and Brianna would laugh themselves silly if they could see her on a horse!
Oh, what had she gotten into?!
Chapter 6
“Relax more!” Nazar called out from the opposite side of the ring.
Nikki gripped the reins and refused to glare at him. “I am relaxed,” she mumbled, trying to convince Nella to turn to the right. This was only her second lesson but her legs made it feel like it was her tenth.
A whistle behind her caused the horse to turn and Nikki wanted to scream out because Nella was following Nazar’s orders and not her commands! “Darn it!” she mumbled, furious with him. She just couldn’t look at him, not able to face the smirk in his eyes.
“Nicole, why are you so tense?” he asked, taking Nella’s reins under the horse’s chin. “You have to move with the horse. You’re so stiff, she’s not sure what you’re telling her.
Nikki had a few things she wanted to tell him, but she kept her mouth shut.
“Take her back through the barrels,” he commanded.
With a groan of resignation, she turned Nella around, bracing herself for another round through the barrels. The horse was still walking because Nazar wouldn’t let her go any faster. Not that Nikki knew how to get the horse to go faster! Nella simply plodded away while Nikki struggled to get the enormous animal to turn right or left. Maybe it was better that Nella remained at a walk, but that didn’t help her with her goal of a stupid posting trot.
“Relax! Move your hips!” he called.
Nikki hadn’t realized how far away she was until she heard his voice in the distance. She immediately turned Nella around, heading back towards the other end of the ring. She wasn’t going to admit that she didn’t like being too far away from Nazar. And even if that were the issue, it was only because she was learning something new and was still terrified. Not that she liked being near him. That wasn’t it at all!
“Your hips should roll more. It helps Nella to walk easier.”
She turned to the right, heading through the middle of the ring instead of coming closer to him. “Roll my hips! Relax. Walk easier!” she grumbled, turning away so he couldn’t even see her mouth moving as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. “How in the world does one roll hips? What does that even mean?”
And suddenly he was right beside her! She just about jumped out of her skin when he moved closer on Midas. “It means, you need to move with the horse like this,” he said with a glint in his eyes. He didn’t have to raise his voice in any way since he was so close. “Your hips follow the rhythm of the horse’s movements,” he said and showed her. His shoulders were basically still while his hips took on all the movement. Nikki stared at him for several minutes, amazed at how he appeared to be melded to the horse. They were one.
He turned Midas around again and walked back to her. “Like this,” he said and lifted her off of Nella, plunking her down right in front of him. She gasped when she felt his strong arms around her, stunned by the sudden heat surrounding her as his arms wrapped around her waist. “Just relax,” he said, his forearm coming to rest against her stomach, pushing her back against his chest while his other hand held onto the reins.
Nikki knew with absolute certainty that this position was not conducive to any kind of relaxation. He bent his head lower, his voice deep and husky in her ear. “Why are you so tense?” he asked. The hand that was around her waist moved even lower. “Just pretend like you’re having sex. Think of being on top and moving, shifting with your lover for maximum pleasure.”
With those words, an image popped into her mind and she was grateful he was behind her and couldn’t see her pink cheeks.
And then things got much worse!
“Here,” he said low and seductively in her ear, his hand pressing her hips against his, “feel the way I’m moving.” Oh, she definitely felt it. “Move your hips with mine, Nicole. Just sway with the rhythm.”
For about five seconds, she wasn’t able to do anything but move the same way, her hips shifting, angling ever so slightly against his. She honestly did feel Midas’ movements more, adjusting her hips ever so slightly so that she was moving better with him. But the feeling was so erotic, she gasped and looked over her shoulder at Nazar.