When she glanced away, Malik let out a slow sigh.
“Would you hate me if I told you I didn’t?”
Elle snapped back toward him, green eyes wide.
“Why? Aren’t you worried…? I mean, what do we do? Should I be worried about my job? Should I be worried if someone finds out? You probably have safety but I don’t. In the end, I’m still a nobody from Issaquah, and you’re a Sheikh from Dubai.”
Malik took a step forward, his jaw tight with mild self-restraint, “See, that’s what I don’t care about. Do you know how many people in my life constantly remind me and use me for my title? My status? Everyone, Elle. Everyone I’ve ever met has only been interested in me because I have what I have… But you…? You and Avani…” he broke off, thick brows furrowing together.
Avani…?
And then Elle remembered. She knew Malik had been hurting, she knew the pain he was feeling, because she recognized it intimately.
She remembered how Avani had a baby the day Elle had arrived for her first day, remembered Malik’s biting comment on the event instead of appearing happy for the woman. And it all clicked into place.
“You love her, don’t you?”
Malik turned a rueful smile up at her, and he let out a soft laugh.
“She’s not unlike you, you know. She was headstrong, always kept me in check. But she fell in love with some other bloke, and I was too late to tell her how I felt. That day when you walked in, I had been counting down the hours, hoping that she wouldn’t show up—that she would stay far away because all she could ever talk about was how happy she was for having this baby, and I could only hate myself for hating it.”
Suddenly he let out a short laugh.
“Then you walk in, wearing this awful two piece get-up and all I can think to myself is, my god there is no rest for me at all is there? You just waltzed in… and I liked you instantly.”
Elle shook her head slowly, not making a certain connection, “Hold on… then why didn’t you…?”
He filled in the words for her.
“Tell you that I was your boss? That I was the bloody Sheikh of Dubai? Because when you saw me you had no clue who I was and I couldn’t remember the last time someone talked to me like a normal person. So yes, I lied to you, I tricked you…”
He stopped for a moment, and she could feel a twinge of something begin in her heart that she hadn’t felt since before Alex left her.
“But that was because I didn’t want you to lie and trick me.”
Elle stared at him, stunned speechless as her mind traced his words and focused on the earnest gleam of his eyes.
In the pale sunlight of this dreary day, he still looked radiant, despite the wrinkled clothes and the bit of stubble growing over his jaw. How could someone so powerful look so vulnerable?
Slowly, Elle took a step closer, before nodding softly at him. Gingerly, she reached a hand out to catch his between her fingers.
It was odd, because she wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing, but she could feel his pulse against her fingertips and it was racing just as hard as hers was. Linking their fingers, Elle blinked back up at Malik before giving him a shaky smile.
“No more lies and tricks?”
She asked meekly and Malik returned her smile just as he took another step closer. Pressing his forehead against hers, Malik sighed and Elle could feel a bit of relief ease the tension burrowing in her shoulders.
“No more lies and tricks.”
Chapter 13
It had taken the rest of the day to wait for someone to come help them. After finally reaching Alliana, the woman had asked them to turn on the GPS function in the car and use what little gas they had left to emit a signal—which was ridiculous to Elle, but she just went with it.
Hours later and several conversations later between Elle and Malik that allowed them to share more about one another, a team of Malik’s guard arrived.
To Elle’s dismay, Malik resumed his guise as the Sheikh, keeping firmly away from her and even addressing her formally in front of the caravan. The performance nearly broke at Elle’s heart but one single glance of sincere apology from Malik managed to convince her to stay strong.
They rode off and made their way back to their city, where for the large remainder of the drive was spent with Malik making many phone calls to apologize for his absence during their client’s meeting. Elle almost felt sorry for him, but when he glanced at her and she gave him a little smirk, he could only smirk back before continuing his slew of apologies.
They managed to stop at a motel in order to wash up and dress in clean clothes before continuing their journey back.
The entire ride back, Elle couldn’t help but worry about what else would come.
Would she be pursuing a secret relationship with the Sheikh? Would that even work out?
There was still so much she didn’t know, but she was willing to see how far they could be able to go—so long as they were together, and Elle supposed that wasn’t so bad.
Chapter 14
It was ten at night by the time they made it back to the main building, and Elle was incredibly glad to see Priya and Alliana again—even if they weren’t all that enthused with seeing her. Still Alliana expressed some appreciation that they didn’t die, so that was that.
Priya, on the other hand, had glared at her viciously the moment they had approached and the strange hostility from the woman did not go unnoticed by Malik either.
Malik had pulled away from Elle, approaching the petite woman with soothing phrases spoken in rapid Arabic. That entire time, Priya kept a hard stare over Elle, as if she were trying to kill her with a single gaze and Elle honestly felt her stomach waver at the hard attention.
To her relief, Priya broke away from the conversation with Malik, fixing him a look of shame before she disappeared into the illustrious building.
“Is everything alright?”
Elle murmured as they made their way inside.
“Its fine,” Malik replied just as quietly.
“I’ll explain later.”
Yet there was something in his voice that made Elle feel more than concerned. She kept her thoughts to herself, because that was not the time nor the place.
Soon, Elle was being escorted down toward a car, just an hour after they had arrived. Malik followed her to the doors where he spoke in swift Arabic to the men of his guard.
He looked back at her one more time.
“These men will take you home, Miss Roberts. If you encounter any issues, please be sure to call us. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
Elle nodded, allowing herself to trust Malik’s promise before disappearing behind sleek metal doors and the growl of expensive engines.
Just minutes later, Elle was at her apartment, exhausted beyond belief but glad that her Uncle was already asleep. It was almost 11:30 at night by the time Elle managed to collapse into her bed, her eyes flitting shut moments later.
Chapter 15
A strange buzzing woke her not long after Elle drifted off. Grogginess turned her limbs to jelly and when she managed to pull herself up and reach for the source of the buzzing—it was the phone Priya had purchased for her—Elle was surprised to find Malik’s name on the surface.
Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, Elle pressed the green ‘answer’ button on the touchscreen before lifting the phone to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Elle, it’s me.” She heard and felt her heart jump to her throat. Of course it would be him. Still it was strange for him to call, even stranger to call at this hour.
“Malik, is everything alright?”
“It’s fine.” He replied shortly, and it was then that Elle noticed that his voice was lacking his usual emotion. He sounded flat… strange.
“Come outside.”
“Wait—what? Where are you?” She whispered, already shifting off her mattress.
“Just come outside.” He said and t
hen she heard a couple of beeps signifying the call had ended.
Frowning, Elle stood up and grabbed a nearby bathrobe, placing her phone inside the pocket just in case she needed to call her Uncle.
She wobbled her way toward the door, feeling her body already protest loudly to every movement—specifically between her legs. When she reached the door, she felt a strange chill begin from her spine to the rest of her body.
The feeling to hide nearly choked her for a moment and she could only stare at the door ahead of her in surprise. Shaking her head, Elle reached for the door and opened it.
Malik was standing just outside her door and Elle gasped in surprise. His body was dressed in a black cotton shirt and jeans, looking nothing like the mogul she had worked for several weeks now.
He stared at her with a simple appraisal, glancing at her body before meeting her gaze head on.
“Malik, what’s going on?” Elle whispered, taking a step outside and closing the door behind her.
There was a chill in the air and it made her wrap her arms around her body.
“Come with me,” he said instead, reaching a palm toward her.
“Hold on, can you at least answer the question?” She asked, feeling so strangely distrustful of him.
Her eyes trailed over his face, he didn’t look any different… except his eyes stared at her without any of the warmth he had given her before.
“I’ll answer your questions later, but you have to come with me. Now.”
He took a step closer, no longer waiting for her to take his hand. When he grabbed her, his grip was tight and cold, Elle nearly wrenched herself away from him.
“What’s the matter with you?” She asked, feeling panic begin to spread through her chilled skin.
Malik gave her a forceful tug, urging her down the stairs of the apartment without another word.
“Malik, what is it, you’re starting to freak me out.”
He remained silent even after they reached the ground floor. When they approached his car, Elle felt a continuous tug of worry when she noticed the vehicle looked like any other, nothing like his expensive station wagons or mercedes benz.
He opened the passenger door before nearly shoving her in and Elle let out a small yelp when he slammed the door shut. She had no idea what was going on… and frankly it was starting to scare her.
When he slid into the driver’s seat, he wasted no time pulling the car out of park and slamming his foot into the gas. The car jolted forward, throwing Elle hard against her seat.
Frightened, Elle stayed quiet, sending panicked glances to the silent man now driving them away. Elle finally decided to try to speak to him again, maybe get some kind of response.
“…Zayn?”
“Do not call me that,” Malik snapped bitingly.
“You will never call me that.”
Alarmed and frightened, Elle became mute, sitting half-frozen in her seat. She had no idea what was going on or what was happening… something wasn’t right.
Reaching into her pocket, Elle dragged her fingers toward the ‘silent’ trigger in her phone.
Once she was sure it would make no noise, Elle shifted her body against the chair away from Malik.
“What are you doing?” He asked abruptly and Elle stiffened.
“I’m…I’m tired.” She lied shakily.
“I’m sure you’ll explain when I wake up.”
This seemed to satisfy him because he didn’t ask any more questions. Elle carefully pulled her phone out, and lowered the backlight down to a faint dimness. She hoped he didn’t notice and waited a long moment in case he did.
When there was nothing but the faint growl of the engine between them, Elle pressed in her passcode with her thumb, swiftly searching for her contacts before finding Alliana’s number.
If he wouldn’t give her answers, maybe the woman will.
The Sheikh is taking me somewhere. I don’t know where. What’s going on?
She didn’t wait long for a response.
Where are you?
Elle glanced out the window, noticing how they were now turning into the highway.
I think he’s taking me north… we just got on the highway.
Suddenly she got another message, this time it was from Priya.
What car are you in?
This confused Elle, but she glanced around, her eyes finding the make of the care in the little symbol on the dashboard.
It’s a Ford. I think.
Minutes later, Elle received another message.
Don’t do anything stupid.
What the hell did that mean?
Wracking her brain and feeling abandoned, Elle just sat back, hoping for answers sooner rather than later.
Chapter 16
“Wake up.” She heard, and Elle was suddenly being pulled out from her seat.
Blinking away spots, the smell of pine and earth surrounded her, and when she put her feet outside she felt cold earth between her toes.
It was practically pitch dark if not for the lights of the car. Elle groaned softly, her body protesting the hard movements from Malik’s manhandling.
“Wha…? Where are we? Malik?”
Elle murmured but wasn’t answered before she was being lead away from the car and toward a dark structure up ahead. She didn’t remember falling asleep. What’s worse was how terribly cold it was.
Before long, Elle was shivering hard in Malik’s grip. He led her toward the structure and after her feet stumbled over one of the wooden planks of the stairs did she realize they were in a cabin.
“What is this place, Malik?” Elle asked, feeling sleep disappear once her body realized this wasn’t a regular place.
“Why are we here?”
“Silence.” He ordered swiftly just as he opened the door and shoved her inside.
Elle let out a cry, falling to her knees. The door slid shut hard and Elle was surrounded by darkness. Shaking and frightened, Elle tried to gather her bearings, searching frantically for something to grip on.
A flare of light to her right made her gasp and recoil. When she looked she noticed that a strong fire began to burn within a fireplace, and just feet away stood Malik’s towering figure.
“Take off your clothes.”
He ordered coldly, his eyes dragging down over her figure with intent. Elle was taken aback.
“What?”
She gasped, unsure that she heard him right.
“Your clothes, woman. Take them off.”
He insisted.
Elle pushed herself up to her feet, arms tightening around her chest as she stared at him in fear.
“Why—what are you doing? Please, just talk to me.”
“I have no reason to say anything to you, and you have no right to address me in that way.” He hissed, taking an advancing step toward her.
Elle took a step back, fear choking her chest.
“I am the Sheikh, and when I order you to remove your clothes, you will obey me.”
“What’s the matter with you? Why are you behaving like this?”
Malik took another step toward her, his hand shooting out to grab her around her robe. Elle let out a scream when he yanked her toward the fireplace, tripping her over the rug.
Her back collided roughly with the ground, forcing her breath out of her chest. Malik loomed over her and through the color of the flames she could see the intent burn like lust in his eyes.
“You speak to me like I am supposed to care, silly woman.”
Tears burned in her eyes as she tried to push him away.
“Zayn, stop, please! Please.”
Something slapped against her cheek, forcing her head in the other direction. Pain exploded through her head, made white stars shoot around her vision as her world tipped.
She could feel his hands yanking at the fabric of her bathrobe, and she tried weakly to push him off.
“I thought I told you to never call me that.” He snarled against her neck, and she could feel his
mouth on her skin, biting and sucking roughly without holding back.
A sharp groan of pain escaped her throat, her hand began to reach for something—anything—to get him off.
To her immense relief, she found the slim handle of an iron poker, and without another thought Elle swung it hard against Malik’s head. It collided roughly, and he broke away with a shout.
She was on her feet just a moment later, swinging the poker wildly at this man even as she tried to hold back sobs of fear and torment.
“Stay away from me!”
“You stupid bitch!” Malik snarled, lunging for her.
Elle swung the poker again, the tip slashing against Malik’s cheek and ripping a dark wound down his face. He let out another shout, sounding wild in his anger.
“I will show you what happens when you disobey me!”
Suddenly, his body doubled over, and Elle gasped. Muscles rippled and expanded, his body becoming large and immense. The change made Elle stare in horror, watching in shock as the man—now beast—writhed, face elongating into a snout with fangs and long tongue. Elle let out a high pitched scream when the creature faced her with violent eyes.
“You will never escape!”
It spoke, rough and animalistic and Elle felt her body backpedal for her life.
“Malik, no!!” Elle shrieked.
“ELLE!!”
The door behind her slammed open. Elle whirled around, eyes wide when she saw a far too familiar face.
Malik stood at the doorway, gasping and staring at her with wild concern. Mind spinning, Elle nearly collapsed.
Malik…? What?
“Elle, get away from him!” Malik shouted, rushing further inside the cabin toward her. Elle lifted her hands, not wanting him to approach her.
Instead, Elle darted toward the farthest wall, wanting to avoid both this beast and the man whose face she had believed had transformed.
The beast let out a low rumble, like a laugh before shifting down to its four paws. A bear… Elle thought vacantly as she stared in shock, body shaking in fright.
Romance: Auctioned To The Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Romance Standalone (Wild Shifters Book 1) Page 14