by Leslie North
“I’ll start the discharge paperwork,” the doctor finally said, head bowed in defeat.
Sonya was already shaking her head, not wanting to be around the big guy. He terrified her in ways that seemed…naughty! “I’m fine on my own. I don’t need a caretaker.”
The man came forward, glaring at the woman lying pale and wary in the hospital bed. “You almost fell onto the floor moments ago. What makes you think your next attempt will be any more successful?”
She bit her lip, looking around as she forced her mind to function. She had to think, needed to come up with a way to get out of being released into this man’s care. “I’ll admit, my muscles are a bit weak at the moment. But all I need to do is fly home and my mother will take care of me.”
He shook his head. “Your mother is in Europe with her new husband on her honeymoon.”
She blinked, startled and even more terrified of the power this man wielded. “How in the world do you know that?”
He moved closer. “I make it my business to know everything possible about anything that affects my family or my brother. Friend, or enemy.”
That last part sounded ominous. She stared up at him, afraid to move. Afraid to even swallow. “And you’re not sure which I am,” she stated, clearly understanding the situation now.
His gaze honed in on her nervousness. “Until I am sure, you will be a guest of the Safir Government. I’ll ensure your recovery and safety.”
So…who was going to keep her safe from this guy? Wisely, she didn’t ask that question.
A short half hour later, she was discharged from the hospital, her ragged clothes already gone after being cut off of her body when she’d been rushed to the emergency room. So Sonya had the almost unbearable indignity of dressing in hospital scrubs. Still no underwear! Really, would it be so hard for someone to come up with something for her to wear underneath these stupid hospital clothes? Seriously! This was…awkward!
The big man stood behind her as she was pushed out of the hospital in a wheelchair. She felt silly and would prefer to walk, but she didn’t want to risk testing her muscles again too afraid of the potential consequences.
The orderly pushing her wheelchair stopped outside the hospital doors, directly in front of an enormous black SUV. She’d just put her hands on the arms of the wheelchair when strong arms lifted her up and out. “Woah!” she gasped, grabbing onto broad shoulders and trying very hard not to pass out again.
The man lifted her as if she weighed nothing, depositing her into the soft leather seat of the back of the SUV. “Thank you,” she whispered, her lashes coming down to hide her eyes. She might be thankful for his assistance and for traveling in style, but her gratitude was tempered by the reason for which she was being transported. He didn’t trust her. With every moment in this man’s company, her stomach tightened in fear. Was she about to be swallowed up by a powerful government? Never to be seen again? She’d read mysteries where people were lost, hidden away. Was this to be her reality?
“My pleasure,” the big man said, sliding his hands slowly out from underneath her. Sonya tried not to react, but a gasp of surprise escaped anyway.
Only when he was no longer touching her would she allow her muscles to relax slightly. He stepped back and closed the door, watching her the whole time. Had those dark eyes glanced at her breasts? Had he noticed the way they were puckered? It was only fear, she told herself. Her body was reacting to his distrust and her worry over what would happen to her. Thankfully, he stepped back, giving her space, room to breathe. The heavy door slammed shut and she relaxed against the soft leather of the seat, her fingers uncurling while she tried to figure out her next move.
Unfortunately, her relief was short-lived. The man simply walked around to the other side and stepped into the seat next to hers.
If he’d been an ordinary-sized man, this would not be a problem. But because the stupid jerk had the widest shoulders she’d ever seen in her life, she felt crowded. Awkward. She moved her knees so they were pointing in the opposite direction but the obnoxious man just chuckled, letting her know that he was aware of her nervousness, as the SUV pulled smoothly away from the hospital.
There were sirens as they traveled quickly throughout the city and Sonya was amazed to see the police had even cordoned off the traffic, making the ride from the hospital to the palace take mere minutes instead of the normal half hour. All the traffic lights were ignored and the gates to the palace were opened wide as soldiers stood guard, weapons ready.
Sonya swallowed painfully, suddenly aware of the true power this man wielded. He wasn’t just a large, intimidating man. He really was a genuine, real-life prince of a very powerful country.
Of all the places she could have chosen to vacation while her mother went off on her honeymoon, Safir had been the wrong choice, she thought, unaware of the way her knee bounced up and down nervously.
“I should have chosen Great Britain,” she mumbled as she watched the gates to the palace clang shut once again.
“Why didn’t you?” the deep voice next to her ask.
She turned her head and was startled to find him closer than she’d expected. So close, she could see the small band of yellow surrounding the brown iris in his eyes. Fascinating, she thought. There was a slight shadow along his chiseled jaw, indicating that he was one of those men who needed to shave twice a day to maintain a smooth, polished look.
Not that this man appeared to want that smooth look. He seemed perfectly content with the shadow. It made him look more menacing. More evil. And incredibly, sexier than ever!
“Adventure,” she blurted out, too distracted by her discoveries to censor her response.
A dark eyebrow went up with that one word. “You came to Safir for adventure?” His eyes strayed to her lips, those eyes darkening somehow.
She turned away, wishing her cheeks would stop heating up. She only hoped that the darkness inside the vehicle would hide her blush.
She focused her attention on her nails, stupidly noticing that she needed a nail file. “Yes. My mother was going off on her honeymoon and I wanted to experience a bit of an adventure myself. I was thinking of visiting Great Britain, but…” she shrugged. “I wanted to do something more adventurous. More exotic.”
“And Safir suited that purpose,” he stated.
She suspected he was laughing at her again, but nothing in his facial features indicated that. It was just a sense.
She didn’t like it.
The vehicle stopped and she turned away, determined to step out of the SUV on her own. She definitely didn’t want his strong arms around her again. She didn’t like the way her senses went a bit crazy when he touched her. The man didn’t trust her so why would she like his touch so much? It didn’t make any sense!
Nor did she want to figure it out. The man was a menace, better kept at a distance until she could figure out how to get herself out of this pickle.
She was just about to step onto the stone entryway when he was looming over her again. “Wait!” she called out, lifting her hand into the air to stop him. But did he listen to her?
Absolutely not! He simply disregarded her command and swooped her up into his arms, carrying her through the elaborate palace doorway, bypassing all of the security measures.
“Don’t you need me to go through all of the metal detectors?” she asked with sarcasm.
“Nope. I know you’re barely wearing anything other than thin cotton,” he told her, his eyes looking straight ahead.
She knew that too. And he probably knew it because he was holding her like this. She sighed, wishing she had her suitcase. At least then she would have some clothes she could change into besides these silly scrubs which were about as flattering as a potato sack.
Not that she wanted to look attractive. She didn’t! Definitely not! She wasn’t trying to impress this man at all.
“I need to go back to my hotel and get my bags,” she told him, thinking about her makeup. She just wanted to look nic
e. For herself. Not for him. He wouldn’t even notice, she thought with resentment.
“Your bags have been retrieved.” He climbed a wide staircase with an elaborate, medieval-looking chandelier over the center. “And if there is anything you need, you just have to ask.”
“I want to go home,” she stated clearly, glaring up at him to see how he would react.
“No,” he replied evenly as he climbed the stairs. He wasn’t even breathing hard. Darn it.
She wiggled in anger, but his arms simply tightened around her. Not hurting but she was certain she couldn’t break his hold. “No? Just no? No explanation? Nothing? Just no?”
“My response should not cause confusion.”
She huffed a bit. “Isn’t this a bit like kidnapping?”
“No.” He opened a door at the end of a long hallway with guards stationed at each end and she was fairly sure that there were cameras in both obvious and not-so obvious places.
She tried stepping out of his arms as he carried her over to the enormous bed. “I can walk,” she told him, not wanting him to place her on that bed. She felt too vulnerable already.
Again, he ignored her and kept on walking. With one hand, he pulled the covers away then deposited her on the bed, pulling the covers back over her legs. “I’ll make sure that food is delivered to you soon.”
“I’m not hungry. I need…”
He ignored her argument and glanced at his watch. “A half hour. I have a meeting but I’ll be back in thirty minutes. We’ll continue our conversation then.”
Without another word, he turned around and walked out, leaving her glaring at his back. He was pretty sure that if the adorable vixen had a knife, she would have thrown it at his back. Well, not his back. She was cute, but she wasn’t a killer. She might have thrown it at the wall beside him, just to make a point.
As he walked down the hallway to his next meeting, he asked the question: if he was sure she wasn’t a killer, then why was he keeping her here in the palace? And the converse question was just as confusing. If he still suspected her of being dangerous, then why had he put her in one of the rooms close to his private quarters? Why not in the guest wing where she couldn’t do any harm?
Since he didn’t have the answers to either of those questions, he kept on moving.
An hour later, he walked back into the room, not bothering to knock. He heard something fall on the floor and picked up his pace, panic replacing his eagerness to see the lovely woman. “Sonya?” he called out when she wasn’t in the bed where he’d put her. “Where are you?”
He heard a sound by the window and rushed over there, worried that she’d hurt herself since he’d left her alone.
The sight he found was so far from what he was expecting that he came to a screeching halt, looking down at the delicate-looking woman lying on the floor, her chest heaving as if she were trying to catch her breath. “What the hell are you doing down there on the floor?” he demanded, bending down and picking her up again.
Sonya wished that she hadn’t taken that last stroll across the wide room. She was trying to use her muscles more so that she could get her strength back. But she shouldn’t have pushed so hard after being in a bed for more than two weeks. For the past hour, she’d been walking around the room, using the heavy furniture to keep herself upright. Unfortunately, she’d obviously gone too far during this last “stroll.”
“I was trying to walk. I was told to walk around as much as possible,” she explained, out of breath and feeling damp from her exertions.
“You have to take things slowly,” he grumbled, putting her back into the bed and pulling the covers back over her.
She let out an irritated huff. “I’m tired of taking it easy,” she said and kicked the covers off of her legs. “Too hot,” she complained when his handsome features tightened in concern. “I have to get back in shape.”
Jual stepped to the end of the bed, glowering at her as he crossed his arms over his chest. If her “shape” got any better, his body just might explode from lust.
Hiding that lust behind a façade of anger, he shook his head. “You’re going to recover, but you’ll do it slowly. I’m sure that Sheik Najid wouldn’t want you to injure yourself while trying to recover after saving him from that bullet.”
She pushed stray hairs off of her face. “Yeah, well, he’s already thanked me. Now I just need to get my life back.”
“My assistant has already contacted your employer. They aren’t expecting you back to work for the next month.”
Sonya groaned. “A month?! I can’t stay here by myself for a month! I can’t…
Jual crossed his arms over his chest, trying to keep his fingers from touching the sexy spitfire. “You will rest and recover slowly. I’ll have a doctor come by later this evening to make sure that you haven’t injured yourself further by attempting to push yourself too hard.”
She sighed and let her head fall back on the pillows. “I need someone to play cards with. Do you have any minions who like playing cards?”
Jual chuckled. He’d heard about her card playing in the hospital. All of the nurses and doctors had tried to beat her at some game called UNO. Over the past week, she’d won a bag of M&Ms, several pencils and pens and the doctor’s stethoscope, all of which were given back. Well, except for the bag of chocolate candies. She’d eaten those with relish, from what the doctor relayed.
“You need to eat dinner.”
“Not hungry,” she argued. “I need a shower.”
He looked down at her, at the sweat stains on her loose clothing. “I’ll help you bathe. Then dinner. And after dinner, we’ll play cards and talk.”
Sonya was already shaking her head at the idea of him helping her into the shower. “Um…no…I’m fine!” she said but he ignored her, again, and simply walked over to her, lifted her into his arms. She squeaked out her protest, but it was either put her arms around his neck again or tumble to the floor. She didn’t think he would really let her fall, but she was tired of hurting, so she wasn’t taking any chances.
“You’ll take a bath,” he announced. “I cleared that with the doctors today as well.”
Sonya shook her head. “Please, if you could just…leave me here, I’ll be fine.”
He ignored her protests and carried her into the very large, extremely luxurious bathroom. “Take off your clothes, Sonya,” he told her as he set her down on a chair. He didn’t pay any attention to her, turning to face an enormous tub. The tub was actually a small pool, she thought as her arms curled around her stomach defensively. Yeah, the tub wasn’t just a tub, but she wasn’t judging. Forget the tub, she needed to focus on getting rid of the enormous man.
But she still watched in fascination when he leaned over and turned on the warm water. Steam immediately rose from the tub as it quickly filled up. He added bath salts that filled the steamy air with the scent of lavender, and Sonya almost groaned with anticipation. Just the thought of sinking her body into that enormous tub made her muscles quiver with anticipation.
He checked the temperature of the water again, added something that caused bubbles to rise quickly and then turned to face her. “You’re not ready,” he said, looking at her sitting on the chair, still in her sweaty scrubs from the hospital.
Sonya blinked, looking up at the enormous man in confusion. “You want me to undress and get in?”
Hadn’t he commanded her to do just that? “Yes.” And he waited. He wasn’t used to people ignoring his commands. When he spoke, people knew to act. Instantly. No hesitation.
She shook her head, her eyes revealing her defiance. “I can’t undress with you in the room.”
Not a twitch on his rough features to indicate any reaction. Just patience. “You won’t be able to climb into the water on your own. You’ll need my help.”
Sonya couldn’t believe what he was saying. “I’m not getting naked in front of you.”
Those hard-looking lips twitched slightly and she saw something enter his dark
eyes. Something that made her stomach muscles tighten with a different kind of anticipation. And awareness.
“You will be naked in front of me Sonya. And it would be better if you just accepted that.”
Had she heard him correctly? Was he actually ordering her to get used to being naked around this man? Her eyes skimmed over his shoulders, those muscles that were straining against the material of his shirt and she almost laughed. “I can do this on my own, Jual…or Your Highness…or whatever I’m supposed to call you.” She glared back at him, that defiance and stubbornness shining brightly in her eyes, daring him to force her to strip in front of him.
He shook his head, almost laughing at how adorable she looked as she glared up at him. She was such a tiny thing, so full of energy even when she was trying desperately hard to be still. The beautiful woman probably didn’t even know that her foot was tapping or her fingers were twitching. She was just a cute, sexy bundle of energy and stubbornness. His mind instantly thought about how he could shift all of that energy towards more…sensual activities and his body hardened, the possibilities forming images in his mind that wouldn’t go away easily.
One step at a time, he reminded himself. Figure out if she was a part of the assassination attempt, then get her into his bed.
“You’re going to hurt yourself. I won’t allow that.” He moved to stand over her, trying to intimidate her with his size. “Just take off your clothes and let me help you into the water.”
Sonya almost laughed again but he was…he was so big! And all of that muscular maleness was only a few inches from her body. She refused to look at his groin. No, that wouldn’t be lady-like, she told herself firmly. Even though that part of him, that very interesting and fascinating male part of him was so close, straight in front of her, in fact. “No. I would love to get into that bath, but there is no way I’m going to do it with you standing here watching me.”
With a sigh that spoke volumes, he said, “How about if I leave and you can strip down? But don’t get into the water without me.”
She immediately shook her head. “No. I’ll strip down and climb into the water all on my own.”