by P. G. Van
I was running each knob in a certain sequence remembering every sequence in my mind when Nick tried to step away. “I’m going to go get the journals for you.”
My objection to him leaving was lost with the sound of a loud clanking noise, and I turned to look at Nick who stood frozen to his spot. We watched as the heavy double doors that looked like the wall behind the chest closed in front of us.
“Nick, let’s get out of here.” I ran to him as he watched the doors close enveloping us in the small space with only the light from the cell phone.
“Baby, you cracked open the lock… it’s as if Rajaram left the clues for you and only you.”
“Nick, are we stuck here? What did I do?” I wrapped my arms around him feeling the walls close in on us.
“Sameera, look you opened another door, and I’m pretty sure these doors will open when we close the ones that are open.” He pointed to the other end of the room.
“Nick, close these doors and let’s go back. I’m not getting a good feeling about this.”
“Don’t you want to know what is past those doors?” Nick teased.
“It’s not funny. It’s late at night, and I’m not going where there’s no light.”
“Sweetheart, this construction is stronger than anything we have built in modern times. Think of this as the basement,” Nick persisted holding his hand out to me.
“It could be dangerous, Nick.”
“Do you really believe there could be anything dangerous inside the palace walls?”
“No, but it’s dark down there.”
“Baby, stop making excuses. I know you want to go, too. You have your phone, and I have mine, and we can call Mitch if we need to.” Nick laughed
“True.” I gingerly stepped toward him keeping an eye on the spider webs. Nick just waved his way through the webs, and I followed him down a spiral staircase.
“I should have guessed when I saw the blueprints of the palace. I bet this staircase sits right behind the large chest built into the wall.”
“Interesting, when do you think this was built?” I asked, following him into what seemed like a small landing area next to the staircase. The landing area had a counter and shelf for storage all built in stone.
Nick inspected the wall running his hand over the creases as if looking for an opening. He shone the light from his phone on the wall.
“Nick, maybe this is it. Let’s go back.” I knew it was a futile effort to pull Nick away from anything halfway, but I had to try.
Nick didn’t respond but continued to inspect the wall, and just when I was about to say something, he pulled on something like a latch on the floor and pushed open a door that was part of the wall.
He turned to look up at me, a glorious smile pasted on his face. “Let’s go, baby.”
I went back down the few steps I had taken to go back upstairs. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll hold the door open for you while you go explore.”
He laughed shaking his head. He held his phone over his head as he walked through the stone-walled pathway. The pathway seemed to be endless with stones lining the floor along the walls and ceiling.
“Nick, be careful,” I pleaded.
“I’m having fun, you can come join me.”
“I’m fine here, and you have five minutes to explore, and I am…” My words were lost in a gasp that escaped me when I saw Nick trip over something. I watched in horror as his body crashed into the wall and then hit the floor.
“Nick,” I cried out, running to him as he lay on the ground. I dropped to my knees on the floor next to him and put my arms around him.
“Sameera,” he groaned, and I let out sigh of relief.
“Nick, are you okay?” I cried, running my hands over his body checking for injuries.
“I’m fine, love. Just wasn’t paying attention.” He chuckled sitting up to pull me into his arms.
“Nick, let’s go back. This is enough fun for one day.”
Nick got up and pulled me to him as we walked back to the opening in the wall that was now closed making it look like a wall with no opening. I stood holding the phone as Nick looked for a latch to open the door. We spent another fifteen minutes looking for an opening, and Nick finally let out a sigh.
“Call Mitch, Sameera. I don’t think there is an opening from this side.”
“Oh no, what did I do?” I gasped.
“Baby, I was the one who wanted to go, what did you do?” Nick said checking the floor.
“I let the door close… Nick, I have no signal here… what are we going to do?” My heart sank.
“Sweetheart, don’t worry. This is an escape tunnel, so there will be an exit from here.” Nick stood up to comfort me.
“How do we get out of here?” I asked flashing the light down the what seemed like an endless tunnel.
“My guess would be a mile-long walk and an exit.”
“Let’s go,” I urged.
The walk along the tunnel was a slow one as we had to watch our every step. Fifteen minutes into the walk, Nick’s phone that was running low on battery turned off.”
“Nick, it’s not a good idea to keep walking. We’ll need to save the battery.”
“We can’t just wait here.”
“Nick, I’m scared.” I put my arms around him.
“Baby, I’m sorry I’m putting you through this.”
“No… Nick, I’d rather be here with you than away from you.” I sobbed. “My life is yours. I want to be with you.”
“Baby, let’s keep walking and stop when the phone battery hits ten percent.”
I nodded, tightening my arms around him. “Don’t let me go.”
“Never, love. Never.”
Chapter 17
I wish I could bring Jasleen to the rose garden. It may seem to be all darkness in the beginning, but the beautiful scent will caress her beauty and fill her beautiful heart with happiness. The hardship will pay off, my love. You and I will be together for eternity even if we don’t feel each other’s warmth every moment.
I woke up with a jolt when I smelled the roses, and I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or if it was real. My cheek was resting on Nick’s warm chest as we sat cuddled on the cold stone floor in the dark pathway—the pathway we were stuck in with no way to go back or not knowing how to move forward.
“Nick,” I said tightening my hold on him.
He pulled me closer to him and planted a kiss on the back of my head. “Good morning, love. What an adventure and wait, we are still stuck in the adventure.”
I slowly sat up and looked around in the darkness feeling the dry stains of my tears on my cheek. “What time is it?”
“It was a few minutes past three when your phone died on us, and I think we slept for a couple of hours, so it must be early morning… got big plans this morning?” He laughed.
“Nick, not funny. You do realize we are still stuck here?”
“Yes, but my gut says we are not in trouble. We just need time to figure out what to do.”
“It was very irresponsible of us to come down the path, and it was stupid of me to let that door close,” I grumbled.
“Sweetheart, we talked about that and agreed not to harp about it.”
“Yes, but I feel like kicking myself.”
“You should kick me, too.” He laughed brushing his lips on mine.
“I love you, Nick. I love you so much.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Baby, what would I do without you,” he mumbled against my lips.
“Get us out of here,” I pleaded, burying my face into his neck.
“I want to hold you like this for a bit longer, baby. You smell so good.” He groaned into my skin.
I pulled back smiling at him. “Do you smell the roses, too?”
“I smell your sweetness.” He nuzzled my cheek.
“Nick, how far away is the rose garden from the palace?” I asked pulling away from him.
“A mile or maybe less… are those the flow
ers from the garden I’m smelling?”
“Yes, Rajaram had something in his journal about the rose garden… could this be leading to the rose garden?” I asked, standing up to orient myself.
“This path should lead to an exit location, but it doesn’t make sense that it would be the rose garden considering it is so close to the palace.” Nick stood up wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Let’s go explore… I’m going with you, don’t let my hand go.” I dug my fingertips into the side of his palm.
Nick planted a kiss on my forehead. “Can you walk?”
“Yes, I can,” I said taking a step forward in the dark with one hand in his and the other on the rock wall.
“There will most likely be some light if we wait for the sun to rise,” Nick said softly.
“I know, but let’s keep walking. There’s no point in trying to pry open that door.”
“Let’s go.”
Nick and I cautiously walked in the dark, every minute seemed to be longer than it was, and our heartbeats were louder than any other sound. The air inside the tunnel was muddy with bursts of fresh air filled with the smell of flowers from time to time.
“Nick, do you smell the flowers?”
“Yes, we are right underneath the gardens.”
“I smell the fresh air from time to time. Could there be an opening?” I looked around in the darkness.
“We should keep moving.”
After what seemed like a long time, Nick stopped. “The air is fresh here, and do you hear that?”
“Hear what?” All I could hear was the blood rushing through my veins.
“That’s the sound of rain… the sound of rain on metal,” Nick stated and looked around in the darkness.
“I feel a cool draft of air, Nick.”
“Yes… come here. I am going to lift you, and I want you to feel for an opening.”
“I’ll hop on your back.” I laughed, turning him around.
Nick lifted me up, and I ran my hand on the roof of the tunnel. I felt the cold and rough under my fingertips. “No opening here, Nick.”
“Sameera, move your hand slowly on the surface. You are looking for something smoother than the concrete surface.”
“Like what?”
“Metallic surface rather than a wooden one.”
I spent a long time running my hands on the ceiling of the tunnel but felt nothing.
“There’s got to be an opening here, somewhere.” Nick placed me back on the floor.
My feet felt weak when he placed me back on the floor, and I leaned against the wall still holding on to him. My legs gave way, and in spite of holding on to Nick, I fell on the wall pulling him with me.
“Sameera.” I felt his warm breath in my ear as he held me with one arm while the other supported his body away from the wall. “Baby, you are running low on oxygen, I need…”
His voice trailed off, but I felt his hand move on the wall inches from me. “This is it, this is the opening.”
He gently pulled me away from the wall and made me wrap my arms around him from behind. I felt his hands move on the wall in front of him and a few minutes later, I heard a squeaking noise, and then a wave of cold but fresh air hit my face.
“Nick!”
“We have a way out, baby. Let’s go.”
We were still in darkness, and I followed Nick up a short flight of steps until he came to a halt. I held on to him as he moved in place in an attempt to open another door. As soon as the door opened a few inches, I saw the light. It was early morning, and the rain was coming down hard, and even the dull light made me squint my eyes.
“Nick, you got us out.” I hugged him from behind laughing.
Nick laughed victoriously pulling me to him. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Where are we?” I asked as he led me out into what looked like a thin hallway with skylights illuminating the place. Brick walls lined the hallway that seemed to be turning to the point where we could see.
“If my guess is correct, this is the structure in the garden used as the nursery,” Nick said looking up at the ceiling.
“How do we get out of here, I don’t see any doors.”
“We should have a way to get out just as we turn around the corner.”
I saw a metal door right as the words left Nick’s mouth. Nick had to wrestle with the latch a bit before it moved and opened the heavy metal door. The door opened to the outside, the rain, and the greenery.
“This is one interesting piece of construction. I knew something was off with the size of the nursery when we were here the other day.” Nick chuckled.
“Oh my, finally.” I pushed Nick aside and stepped into the rain without another thought and looked up at the sky letting the raindrops hit my face. “This feels so good.”
“Sameera, get out of the rain.” Nick laughed as he placed a brick to keep the door open.
“I’m not going back there, you can let that door close.” I laughed.
“We may be out in the open, but I see no way out unless we cut through this thick hedge.”
It was at that moment, I realized we were in a gap of a few feet between the wall of the structure and the high hedge that went around the building.
“Someone put in so much effort to plan an escape and the best part is, they could be here for days hiding in plain sight.”
“Yes, why would someone be so paranoid… what were they scared of?”
“Attacks maybe?” I ran my fingers through my wet hair looking at the metal fence that ran along the length and height of the thick hedge.
“The palace is pretty secure from the way the moat was built around it, but something about this escape route seems off to me.”
“I don’t care, I’m just glad we got out.” I laughed putting my arms around Nick pulling him into the rain.
Chapter 18
Nick stepped into the steady shower of water and pulled me closer to him. “I love to see you like this.”
“Soaking wet?” I laughed pecking his lips.
“Happy and steaming hot.” He slowly brushed his lips against mine.
I smiled against his lips taking in the tenderness of his kiss. I ran my fingers through his wet hair and clung to him as he devoured my mouth. I moaned when he pushed me back into the brick wall.
“Sweetheart, you make that sound one more time, I’m going to have to take you here.” The delectable growl in his voice inadvertently made me moan deeply.
As if that was his cue, he lifted one foot off the wet ground pushing me further into the brick wall. His hand cupped my cheek while the other hand dug into my bottom as his hardness threatened to rip through his shorts. The rain came down on us cooling the heat of the moment we shared as we savored one another.
“Baby, I want you… here,” he murmured letting my lips go and looking down at me through the rain.
“In the rain?” I teased pulling my body up to wrap my legs around his waist. He brought his hand to cup my breast squeezing it to make me let out heat from my inner depths. My practical mind told me we were out in the rain getting wetter by the second, but my heart wanted to be held by the love of my life, and my body wanted the man to destroy my desire.
Nick pulled away slightly to lift my nightshirt and pull my panties down. He rubbed the rough material of his shorts over my mound, his hardness feeling like a steel shaft.
“Nick, I need you. Now,” I pleaded unable to bear the growing need to be filled by him.
He hastily pulled open the button on the waistband of his shorts and pushed the zipper down. I let one arm drop off his shoulder to take my hand to the promising throb that never disappointed me.
He groaned when I wrapped my fingers around his steely, hot shaft. “Take me in, baby.”
I moaned in response to the shudder in his voice knowing I was the reason for taking him into the moment, and the intimacy in sharing the moment gave me endless happiness.
Nick patiently held on to me as I ran the t
ip of his hardness along my wet folds. The moment I centered the pink head over my pleasure cavity, he drove in. He rammed into me like he couldn’t help it, and I felt him hit the deepest point with every drive pushing me over the edge.
I called out his name and came undone in his arms as a surge of pleasure erupted from deep inside, and I came again when I felt him paint my inner walls with his warmth. I dug my fingers into his shoulders. My legs tightened around him, milking him with my inner muscles, and in reaction, he dug his teeth into the side of my neck making me lose myself.
“Baby,” he groaned, running his lips along my neck. “I have no control when I am around you.”
“I don’t want you to hold back. I want the man who shows me everything he’s got and not treat me like a delicate flower.”
“You are precious, my love.” He left a flurry of wet kisses along my jawline.
“Nick. You make my life beautiful one such moment at a time.”
“I want to be the one with you every moment.” He sucked in my skin between his teeth.
I hugged his head to my chest. “I want to be here forever, but we should figure out how to get back.”
“I’ll get us out… I want you one more time before we get out of here.”
I laughed, throwing my head back on the wall. “Just once?”
*****
“How in the world did you two end up here soaking wet?” Mitch growled, holding the large umbrella over us.
Nick triggered a signal with the homing device on his watch to send a stress signal to Mitch. It didn’t take long for Mitch to find us hidden behind the hedge and to find an opening in the hedge for us to get out.
“Long story, Mitch.”
“I should have known when your watch didn’t ping for a few hours this morning.” Mitch looked visibly shaken.
“Mitch, we have a lot of talking and exploring to do. How do we get back into the palace and to our room without raising any suspicion?” Nick asked holding me to him as we walked back to the palace.
“Is your bedroom locked from the inside?” Mitch asked, pulling out his phone.