The Sheik's Mysterious Mistress (Friends Forever) (5 page)

Despite herself, Dana was fascinated. She handed the pepper back to him. “Can you dice this up into small squares?”

“Of course.” He took it back and glared at the vegetable as if it were an alien. But he refused to back down from his confident declaration and she was amused despite the afternoon she’d just endured.

She watched him for a moment but had to laugh as he immediately started chopping it up, seeds, core and all. “Wait,” she said and came around to his side of the table to show him how it was done. “Here, you have to take the insides out. They aren’t edible.” She stepped to his side and took the now dissected pepper and showed him how to cut out the top and seeds and all the white parts inside.

“Why are they in there then?” he asked impatiently.

“That’s the secret to cooking I guess.” She shrugged and tried to scoot away since his nearness was making her nervous. A completely different nervousness from earlier today.

“Where are you going?” he asked softly and both his arms came around her as he took the pepper in one hand and the knife in the other. “Show me,” he said, his head bent low so that his deep voice was directly in her ear.

She shivered and looked up at him, noticed the waiting, expectant look and took a deep breath. Wrong idea, she thought as her head filled with his delicious, sexy scent and she had to concentrate hard to figure out what she was supposed to be doing. Pepper! Right, dicing the pepper, she reminded herself.

“Here, you have to do it like this,” she explained and sliced neat lines from the top to the bottom of the pepper, “then turn the slices and cut them up into squares,” showing him how to dice the vegetable.

“Like this?” he asked softly and took the knife and pepper out of her hands, his fingers sliding along her skin and causing another shiver to ripple along her arms and spine. He took it and almost expertly started dicing it up.

She stepped away quickly and nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly it,” she said, wishing she didn’t sound so breathless.

She moved back around to her side of the table and started cutting up the onions, moving quickly so she didn’t start tearing up. It would be just wonderful if, on top of her crazy hair and whatever else she looked like, she cried and smeared her makeup so she had black streaks coming down her face.

“Where did you learn to cook like this?” he asked and took another vegetable, chopping that up the same way.

Dana watched him, suspicious now that he was doing this so expertly. “My mother and I grew up cooking together. We loved experimenting with different types of foods and meals.” She watched him for several moments, then put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you? That whole ‘show me’ thing is just a plot to…” she wasn’t sure how to phrase it since it was probably just a mild flirtation on his part but in her mind, it had been so much more sensuous.

“Where is your mother?” he asked, and by the stunned look on her face, he already knew the answer. He wished he’d never asked the question because all the laughter was gone, replaced by a sadness that made him want to take her into his arms and kiss away whatever pain she was dealing with.

“My parents both died in a car accident while I was in college.” She said it quietly and picked up her knife, chopping up the celery into careful, even slices. She put all of her effort into not crying in front of Hassan.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly.

She shrugged and shook her head. “It was a drunk driver, a stupid kid who thought he could have a few beers and make it home. He’s fine, by the way. Off in college and having a good time. Probably still drinking and then getting into a car.”

“That’s horrible. It was murder, no matter how one looks at it and I’m truly sorry that this happened to you, Dana.”

She took some broccoli and started chopping it up, his sympathy truly did help. In others, it had been a burden, but hearing those words from Hassan made her feel better. Less alone, somehow. “It was a long time ago.” She missed her college friends, Sasha and Jenna who had been there for her every step of the way while she arranged the funeral and worked through all the details. It had been horrible but having them there, like sisters always willing to offer a shoulder to cry on, had been her saving grace.

She really needed both of them now, but she wouldn’t dare contact them for help.

He raised his eyebrow at that, knowing she was only twenty five so “in college” meant only a few years ago. “They would be proud of the woman you’ve turned out to be,” he said and grabbed a red pepper, chopping that up the same way as the green one.

“Thank you.”

She felt awkward after that and struggled for something to say. Instead, she focused on cooking which always soothed her. “Okay, so let’s put everything into the pan and grill it up.”

She tossed all the vegetables into the center of the pan and took it over to one of the burners. She’d already set the rice to boiling before she started the vegetables so that was almost done. With a bit of spices, a little oil and soy sauce, along with a secret ingredient she and her mother had worked on together, she tossed the vegetables around in the center of the pan, quick frying them all together until they were the perfect crunchiness.

Throughout all this, she had to keep pushing Hassan’s hand out of the way since he continuously tried to swipe the chopped vegetables or just get in her way. She thought about putting her hands on his waist or shoulders and moving him out of the way, but that was much too forward. She didn’t have the courage to touch him in that way. Which wasn’t to say that she didn’t want to. That was a no brainer!

When the meal was finally cooked, she placed it on a plate with a heaping serving for him. “Are you sure you want this for dinner? I’m sure whatever the chef is cooking for you would probably be better.”

“Come along,” he said and took the bottle of wine and glasses in one hand and his plate in the other. He led the way out of the kitchen, down one of the ornately decorated hallways and into a small sitting room she’d never seen before.

“What is this?” she asked and hesitated to sit in one of the luxurious looking chairs.

“This is my private sitting room. Relax,” he said and gestured for her to take a seat in one of the large, overstuffed chairs. “Let’s eat,” He sat down across from her and poured both of them a glass of white wine.

The meal was just as delicious as she remembered it but she was worried when he took his first bite, wondering how anything she could cook could possibly compete with something one of his Cordon Bleu trained chefs would prepare. But the surprised look on his face told her that he genuinely liked the meal and she relaxed into the velvet chair, taking a bite herself.

“This is incredibly good,” he said and took another bite.

“Thank you.”

He asked her about her parents and she told him funny stories about Christmases and Halloweens from her past. She then got him to open up about his parents and she felt sad that he seemed to have such a lonely childhood, filled with tutors and trainers, but not very many hugs and kisses while he grew up. He had funny stories to tell of some of the servants and before she knew it, she’d finished off most of her plate and he was completely done. He kept pouring her wine and she relaxed even more as she sank into the chair, slipping her shoes off and tucking her feet underneath her.

They talked until well into the night and Dana had never realized what a funny man Hassan could be. It was like he was a different person when he was outside of the office and as she looked across at him, after her third glass of wine, she thought she must really be falling hard for this guy.

With that thought came a horrifying realization. There was no way she could fall for Hassan. She was on the run and had to find a new place to hide out. Hassan was off limits.

Good grief, even if she wasn’t trying to hide away from people attempting to kill her, she still shouldn’t fall for a man like Hassan. He was a sheik! He ruled a country while she was a lowly secretary with no family and no ties to anyone who could help him.

She sat up straight and looked at her watch. “Goodness, it’s after ten o’clock. I really need to be going home. I work for a horrible man who won’t allow any slackers in his midst.”

He laughed at the joke but shook his head. “You can’t drive home tonight,” he said and took her glass of wine, setting it on the table beside her. He took her hand and pulled her out of the chair. “You’ll stay here tonight,” he said softly and put an arm around her shoulder. “I know your employer wouldn’t like you driving home after all the wine you’ve consumed.”

“I’ll catch a cab,” she argued. Even sleeping here in the palace was too close to Hassan. The idea just seemed too intimate. Besides, what would the others in the palace say tomorrow when they heard Hassan had been cooking with her in the kitchens, then they disappeared into his private domain only for her to have to spend the night in the palace? Not to mention she didn’t have any other clothes here to change into for tomorrow’s work day.

But he was already shaking his head, denying the possibility. “A cab wouldn’t be allowed into the compound. You’ll stay here.”

She thought frantically, really not wanting to stay here tonight. Her own bed would be much better. Much more appropriate. “Couldn’t one of your security guys drive me home?”

“They’re all asleep by now,” he lied. “You’ll sleep in one of the guest suites and I won’t hear any more arguments.”

“But how will I get a change of clothes for tomorrow?”

“I’ll have one of the guards head over to your house and pack you a bag,” he explained, completely refuting his claim that the guards were all asleep by this point in the evening.

Dana tried to concentrate, but his arm was around her waist and she was being led to the next room where a large, beautiful bed was waiting for her. “I don’t have anything to sleep in,” she said lamely.

Hassan instantly pictured her sleeping in the nude and his body was not impressed with the torture it was going through. “You’ll find everything you need in the bathroom. Just relax and get a good night’s sleep.”

He closed the door and Dana sighed as she sank down onto the soft bed. She was asleep before she could tell him she had a second thought.

Chapter 3

The following day, things were their usual crazy pace. She scurried to keep up with Hassan’s work schedule, completing all the issues as quickly and efficiently as possible while still following behind him so she could sit in on his meetings and take notes. She didn’t want him to think she was taking advantage of last night’s dinner conversation by slacking off now so she worked extra hard to make sure things were right and he was prepared for whatever meeting was coming up next before he even asked for the information.

By the end of the day, she was exhausted, but also terrified of going back to her apartment. Surely those guys had discovered where she lived by now. If they’d found her at the market, it was just a hop, skip and a jump to her apartment complex.

She was determined to head back there though, not wanting to be intimidated by men even though they were trying to kill her. She realized it was a silly thought since, if there was anyone she should be afraid if it was a group of guys with guns pointed at her. It was essential that she head home though so she could figure out her next step. She had to get onto her personal computer and figure out where she might go next. She also needed to draft up her letter of resignation, although what she could possibly say in that she had no idea.
“Thank you for the most exciting few weeks of my life but I have to move on because goons are trying to kill me.”
That just didn’t sound like the right note for her departure.

She also doubted Hassan would allow her to leave if he ever found out she was being chased by bad guys. She might be just an employee, but he was very protective, she’d discovered recently. She thought about how concerned he was after she’d gotten that phone call and smiled, pleased that he was willing to give her a shoulder to cry on, even if it was only because of a ridiculous spider story.

She shut down her computer and packed up, grabbing her purse and digging through the pockets to find her keys.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hassan demanded, hands on his hips as he glared at her through her doorway.

She looked confused and glanced down at her bag, wondering if she was taking something she shouldn’t. “I was going home for the night.”

He immediately shook his head and stepped closer, his face looking furious that she would dare something so insane. “No. You’re staying here.”

She was so surprised by his command that she stepped back. “Excuse me?”

He stepped into her office, refusing to back down. “You heard me. You’re staying here. After the battle in the marketplace yesterday, you’re not leaving until my men can track down what’s going on.” He leaned his hands on the desk and looked down at her. “You could save us all a lot of time if you’d just tell me what’s going on.”

She pushed her chair back slightly, needing the space. “Nothing is going on. How did you know about the guys yesterday?” She looked up at him warily, wondering what he knew and how he had found out. The marketplace was on the other side of town and she had typed up his security notes. The brawl in the marketplace hadn’t even rated a footnote.

His eyes accidentally glanced down at her breasts which were pushing against the fabric of her suit. He didn’t mean to, but in her nervousness, her breathing had intensified and her breasts were heaving, an issue he didn’t mind, but he wished it were for a different reason.