Nikki’s mouth fell open. “Paris?”
He nodded his head as he held her hand again. “Would you prefer Milan?” he suggested.
She quickly shook her head. “I would prefer neither!” She jerked her hand out of his. “Look, I’m truly sorry for invading your privacy. Since we’ll be seeing each other tomorrow night, I need to head home. I have lesson plans to work through and a million papers to grade.”
His eyes widened. “You’re a teacher?” he asked.
She crossed her arms over her chest, irritated the he looked so astonished. “Yes. High school English. And my students just turned in their essays on Byron’s poetry and I need to review them all tonight so the students will have their grades by tomorrow.”
“Why such a rush?”
She took a deep breath, grateful for the safe subject. “Poetry is difficult to understand and even more difficult to appreciate. So getting the kids feedback on their perception of the poems is important.” She wasn’t lying now. She worked hard to get the papers graded as quickly as possible and encourage any of her students who had grasped the concepts behind any poetry assignment as well as help the students who didn’t absorb as much from the sometimes difficult wording. “Poetry is important in our society,” she enthused. “It helps a person view the world from a different perspective, but even more importantly, it can show a person that others are going through the same issues they might be currently experiencing.”
Nazar agreed with her. “And Byron might be portraying their romantic angst, showing them that the same issues were being faced two hundred years ago.”
She smiled, the first time all weekend, thrilled that he really understood! “Exactly!”
“She walks in beauty like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies/ And all that’s best of dark and bright/ Meet in her aspect and her eyes/ Thus mellowed to that tender light/ Which heaven to gaudy day denies.”
Nikki barely breathed, her mind so suffused with awe at this man, this tall, arrogant, obnoxious and terrifying man, quoting “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron. “Oh my,” she whispered, not wanting to break the silence after his quote.
“Dinner tomorrow. Come here at seven.” With that, he bent low and gently kissed her lips.
Nikki walked towards the doorway, but she wasn’t sure if her feet were actually touching the floor. And it stayed like that throughout the rest of the day and into the night, a silly grin on her face as she remembered Nazar quoting poetry for her.
Chapter 4
Nikki couldn’t believe she was actually in Yafar. What was she doing here? One moment, she was pacing the confines of her tiny house, the next she was calling her boss and asking for some time off. In the middle of the semester, no less! Teachers, or at least the good ones, simply didn’t abandon their classrooms and go off chasing down tentative leads that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Except Nikki just knew that this man had information about Brianna’s disappearance. He was either involved or he knew someone who was involved. She had no evidence to bring to any official authority, nor did she know who she would even bring that evidence to even if she had it. The State Department? Not that she had anything against that organization but she seriously doubted that they would take any action that would jeopardize the newly negotiated monumental change in politics between the United States government and Yafar. They were allies. Strong allies! The recent meetings between that arrogant sheik dude and the president only strengthened that relationship.
In the eyes of the government, one woman, no matter how important she was to Nikki, would not be worth damaging that new relationship in any way. Nope, Nikki knew she was on her own. Both literally and figuratively – and legally as well since she wasn’t even supposed to be here.
There were no two ways about it; if she got caught, Nikki knew she was in a world of trouble.
She looked around, astonished by the intense heat that was beating down on her. She really needed a hat. And sunscreen. Oh, and some water! She hadn’t planned this whole thing out very well, but she was almost inside the palace. She could do this! She just had to stay in stealth mode and be very, very careful.
Nikki’s heart beat frantically and she ducked down behind the stone wall, closing her eyes in the desperate hope that she hadn’t been caught. Biting her lips, she held her breath, hoping that no sound would give her away.
If she could just get through this garden area, she might finally get inside. Her plan was to find a locker room or a work area, put on someone else’s clothes and try walking the halls until she found a prison area, or maybe heard one of the other workers gossiping about a stranger in one of the guest rooms. The language barrier might be a problem, but she wasn’t going to worry about that until she had to. Just one step at a time, she told herself carefully.
Nazar saw the shining head duck down and stood frozen in place, too stunned to accept what his eyes were seeing. When nothing moved, he did actually doubt his eyes but something inside of him told him that she was here. He actually smiled but it wasn’t a smile of delight. It was one of absolute victory. The woman who had been haunting his dreams for the past several nights, disturbing his sleep and making his body hard with the aching need to possess her…was here!
No wonder his security team couldn’t turn up her whereabouts anywhere. She wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She was here, in his palace compound.
He stood there watching the spot and sure enough, with growing amusement and a strong desire to spank her adorable butt he saw her bright head pop up to see if she’d escaped discovery. How could she have put her life in such danger? He wasn’t sure if he should have pride in her extraordinary skill in getting this far, or fury because she had no idea what could happen to her!
But right now, he was more amused at her trying to hide from him than anything else. Or was that just anger? He wasn’t really sure and, where this woman was concerned, it might be both.
When she stuck her head up again, he almost laughed out loud. But she ducked down again, as if she could hide from the numerous guards that were surrounding the area.
“No such luck, my beauty,” he mumbled under his breath. His eyes sharpened as someone to the left started yelling, guns drawn. His body guards had somehow alerted the palace guards of her presence and everyone was running in her direction, ready to take her down and imprison her.