Trapped in His ocean

Chapter 5

It had been enough for her to know that she was finally going to fulfill a desire to travel to the nation that had enchanted her great-grandmother more than a century ago. "Perhaps I was thinking about something else at the time."

He said, "Maybe," in a manner that suggested he suspected she either hadn't bothered or she didn't give a damn what laws she might break in someone else's country as long as she got what she wanted. He said this in a tone that suggested he suspected she either hadn't bothered or she didn't care what laws she might break in someone else's country.

She clenched her teeth and wondered when exactly the yearning she'd seen in his eyes had vanished. Had it been in the stuffy and overheated surroundings of the police station, or when she'd revealed that she'd been preparing to acquire the coins? She tightened her teeth. Nevertheless, was it relevant what he thought of her? After today, she would most likely never see him again; more specifically, she would most likely never see him again after lunch. What did it matter to her?

Besides the fact that she did it.

Given my propensity to engage in random acts of stupidity, it surprises me that you would put yourself in danger by being seen with me.

He had the audacity to even laugh at the situation. "Oh, I know there's no chance of that happening," the speaker said.

Her hackles were raised more by the laughter than by the certainty, although the certainty was a very close second. "How is it that you can be so certain? You know very little about me. You have no idea what I might try next; you have no idea what I might do.

It is because of this that you were only issued a warning when you were released from the police station.

Her head jerked in the opposite direction. "What exactly are you trying to say with that?"

"I overheard them talking; there has been a rise in the number of reports of coin sellers, and the police are planning a crackdown," I heard them say. There was discussion about using you as an example to deter other tourists from engaging in the same kind of behavior. That would definitely get the attention of the international press: a pretty young tourist who is accused of trafficking in antiquities.

She exhaled loudly. She had the impression that she had gotten rather close, but she was blissfully unaware of how much closer she had gotten. They asked, "So why didn't they?"

"Because I told them that until tomorrow, when you leave on your trip, I will guarantee that you will behave well," you said. "Because I told them that." I gave them my word that they wouldn't give you any more difficulty as long as you were under my responsibility, and I kept my word.

What really is his duty? She came to an abrupt halt in her tracks. You said it to them, right? To hell with you, who do you think you are. I don't require someone to take responsibility for my well-being. I don't need a babysitter of any kind, least of all one that I've hardly even had the chance to talk to!'

He didn't look remorseful. However, she began to have suspicions that this man was not capable of feeling guilt. "I take it that you would have wanted to have been accused and to be wallowing in a Iranian prison cell right now?"

Well, no. That was also present. But nevertheless...

"No, I thought not," he responded, having deduced her response from the expression on her face. "Come," he murmured, grabbing her arm in his before she could object—before she could do anything, really—and encouraging her to move ahead once more along the bustling street. "Come," he said.

Because of his haughtiness, she despised him back then. Because he had an unshakeable conviction that what he was doing was appropriate.

And the fact that he was holding her too closely was something that she detested much more.

Way too near for comfort.

Every step they took created a friction that became more delicious by the second—more evocative—every brush of their clothes giving her another burst of the heat that came from being in close contact with him. She could feel him all the way down from her shoulders all the way down to her hips. Every step they took created a friction that became more delicious by the second—more evocative.

Her desire to be aroused fought against her fury, and she cursed him for having the power to both irritate and thrill her at the same time. How was it possible for his touch to want to make her lean into this man's strong body when he was the exact same man who had not only insulted her but also rather obviously questioned her honesty and believed himself to be some kind of babysitter?

What kind of an i***t did she think she was?

"So this is actually duty for you, going me to lunch," I said to him after we finished eating.

This time it was he who came to a stop, dragging her to a halt and turning her around to face him on the side of the pavement so that they wouldn't be in the way of anyone else. "I do my best to live up to the expectations placed on me." Before you meet up with your tour group in Tehran tomorrow morning, he whispered, "I will make sure you don't get into any trouble while you're there, and I will keep my promise," with a note of menace in his voice. His dark eyes were intent and focused intently upon hers. He paused, lifted a hand to her cheek, and ran the barest trace of his fingertips down the side of her face, a touch that was as gentle as it was electrifying. But who said that fulfilling obligations needs to come at the expense of having fun? Because I have a feeling that the time we spend together could be really enjoyable if you would only give it the chance to be.

The tremor began at her cheekbone, where his fingers touched her flesh, and traveled down the rest of her body till it rolled out of her curling toes. Its searing route left her without any mistake as to what he was offering her.

After that, he gave a shrug and withdrew his hand from the table. If you want me to stop at duty, though, all you have to do is speak the word. If you come to the conclusion that experiencing pleasure is not something you want, then I will maintain my promise to the police and make sure you do not get into any further trouble before you go on your trip. But I shall not seek you. I do not make it a practice to pursue ladies who do not want to be pursued.

Nicole squinted as a tram rumbled by and passengers strolled by uttering words in a dozen different languages. The unfamiliarity of the situation caused her to feel startled. It was hard enough for her to accept that she was standing in the oldest section of Tehran with the tingling sensation from his touch still present on her cheek, let alone having this conversation with this man.

"So," he asked as a follow-up question, "what's it to be, Nicole Pyne? Which would you rather do?'

Nicole had never been one to take chances in her life; she always made intelligent decisions, avoided danger, and avoided putting herself in dangerous situations. She had spent her entire life acting as a responsible adult.

Sensible.

And now look where her actions have gotten her!

With a guy who was an equally safe choice but who obviously did not value her and who did not turn out to be a safe choice at all.

The opportunities that this man presented made her heart race faster than usual. Since she had caught him staring at her in the Spice Market, things had been heating up between them ever since she admitted to herself that she had made that observation.

She was in Tehran, the exotic and colorful Tehran, but it was almost as if she were a million miles away from her old life. God, she was in Tehran. And it could have been a huge mistake to agree to spend the night in an unfamiliar country with a complete stranger. Perhaps it was a careless act.

On the other hand, perhaps it was time to take some risks. It was time for her to pay attention to the thrill that ran through her veins and take a walk on the wild side, just as her great-grandmother had been courageous enough to do more than 100 years earlier.

She took one look up at this man, with his golden skin and eyes as dark as a hot desert night, and knew that if she played it safe, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Her heartbeat was pounding loudly in her chest just being close to him. She looked up at him and realized that he had golden skin and eyes as dark as a hot desert night.

And her response came as unmistakably as the cries of the seabirds that were circling high above in the sky.

‘Pleasure.’

As he took her hand in his, his black eyes lit up with anger, and the corner of his mouth curled up in a smile of appreciation. "Then delight, it shall be," the inscription reads.

He smiled to himself as he led her towards a nearby restaurant that had windows overlooking the park. He knew that the glass frontage of the restaurant would be filled with colorful dishes, such as stuffed eggplants and peppers, casseroles of chicken and chickpeas and lamb, and rice that was spiced and fragrant, alongside which chicken and lamb roasted on vertical spits. He led her inside the restaurant and sat down next to her.