Falling In A Second

The Perfect Deal

Desmond had never rowed that fast or with so much force before but then again his life had never depended on how fast or hard he could row a boat.His hands hurt,he felt like they would fall off.He was exhausted,how he yearned for a warm bath, a bottle of chilled beer and a long sound sleep but none of those seemed possible anytime soon,he had just kidn*pped a person,the princess of Amassi kingdom no less,yes he was in deep shit.He didn't have the boss' diamond which means he was still highly indepted to him,if the boss didn't kill him,he will surely go to jail for life for k********g,Desmond didn't know which was worse.He kept looking across the vast water,the boat and the girl sleeping across from him,he hoped he would wake up and this will be a bad dream.But,no such luck.The girl was sleeping soundly on the boats bare floor with her head on a pile of cloths.Her reaction so far had been unusual now that he thought about it,she had no tried to scream or even fight back all tjeougj this ordeal,and who the hell sleeps so soundly when they're been kidn*pped? It almost felt like she wanted this,very odd.

By now they had arrived at the shore,he anchored the boat firmly but didn't get out neither did he wake her,he wanted to look at her,just to measure her up a little bit,see what he had to deal with,at least that's what he told himself.The girl looked so beautiful in her sleeveless gown that fitted her to perfection revealing all her curves,unlike the other women he had been with,this girl wore very little make up,looking at her made Desmond felt like Christmas morning.It made his heart skip a little and there was a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach.This was strange,he had never felt like this in his entire life.He had a strong urge to reach out and pull back a strnd of hair that had fallen loose and was shading the left side of her face.Just as he sent for his hand to do that,the girl coughed lightly,opened her eyes gently and stretched still lying.Desmond quickly pulled back his hand and pretended to be packing something's inside the back pack he carried around.

Nile stretched,got up and as she looked around her confused,the events of the morning came back to her slowly, she was been bethroth to Vinnie when all of a sudden like a miracle she had been taken hostage by a thief,a very handsome thief,she looked around at the beach,the water,the sand and the vast land that layed ahead,she smiled,she was no longer at the palace,no longer under anybody's control,she was free,free,finally.It was almost impossible to believe,she touched the water with her hands just to be sure she wasn't in one of her dreams.It was real,she was really free.

Desmond had no idea what was going on,first she was looking around confused as if trying to take everything in,Desmond expected her to take to her heels or in the least,scream but she had jumped out of the boat,carried a handful of sand and poured on her body and then carried water and poured on her head then she shouted at the top of her voice " am free,am free,am finally free" .

Desmond was still processing this strange reaction when she got up suddenly and turned to face him,she walked slowly and stood in front of him and said" you kidn*pped me".Desmond had no idea what to say to this,he wanted to threaten her,act as a mean,dangerous kidnapper,he was supposed to scare her,bind her and ......,well,he hadn't figured out what to do next,infact,he hadn't figured out how to handle this situation at all,his thoughts were interrupted" I demand that you just go your way and let me go mine,thank you"she said with both hands on her waist. Desmond walked closer to her until they were just a few steps apart,looked her in the eyes wearing what he intended to be a hard serious face and replied"you are in no position to make demands,in case you haven't noticed,you are my hostage so you do exactly what I say,you are under my control and if you think or do anything funny,you'll be sorry,do you understand?".She looked Desmond up and down with a serious face,trying to appear tough" I am not afraid of you Mr,in case you haven't noticed,there're a few people here,you try anything stupid,I'll scream the sky down and people will came here,so like I said,you let me walk away and I pretend like this never happened".If not for the fact that Desmond was trying to appear tough,he would have laughed at her audacity and courage.He knew she was not as unaffected by this as she pretended to be but the fact that she was trying to hide her fear and stand her ground really amazed him.She was nothing like all the women he had met,she was different and Desmond wished they had met under different circumstances.But for now,he had to figure out a way to get her away from the people,to somewhere isolated and hidden so he could plan what to do next,letting her go was out of the question.He took out his gun from his back pocket,pressed it to her waist with one hand,threw the other hand around her and said" smile and walk quietly,you make any move,you're dead". He had expected her to resist or sc eam,he had no idea what he would have done if she had done that but he was glad she obeyed quietly,maybe his voice and actions appeared scary and dangerous,he didn't like that but he had no choice.It was the only way.

They walked past the few people who were going about their business,he took her further into the heart of the nearby forest,he forced her to sit with her hands tied behind her back and her feet tied.He let her mouth loose,even if she screamed,no one could hear.He gathered dry wood,set a fire and took out bread and a can of sardine from his back pack,he took some to her" you better eat something,I don't want you starving to death,it won't be good for my plans". The look she gave him said was to kill but she opened her mouth and Desmond fed her,somehow,this simple act sent chills down his spine.What the hell was happening to him?.

Nile watched Desmond as he fed her,she almost forgot the circumstances surrounding their meeting,he was so delicate and caring and for a moment she felt like a child been tended by a loving ,gentle parent,she wandered what it would have been like if they had met in other circumstances.Nile didn't like the direction her thoughts were taking so she closed her mouth quickly in an attempt to let him know she didn't want anymore of the food,fortunately or rather unfortunately,her lips closed around his fingers that were still in her mouth and unconsciously,she sucked at his fingers,they both froze for what seemed like five minutes and the temperature around them seemed to increase drastically cos they suddenly felt hot,just this simple jesture sent Sparks through parts of her body she didn't even know were sensitive.When Nile became conscious again,she gently opened her mouth and Desmond snatched his fingers.She felt embarrassed and for some reason,maybe because of the way he was staring at her,she blushed.Nile didn't blush like this,never.What was happening to her? just a day with this man and she was already having crazy illusions about them,she would have to control her emotions if not he might mistake her for one of those club girls she read about in a novel.

Desmond snatched his fingers from her mouth as if they were burning,he didn't like the feelings she was stirring in him,he didn't like it one bit,he had to sort this whole situation out fast before things got out of hand.He had to contact Grand p and let him know how things turned out although he was sure that he had heard already of the princess' a*******n, Amassi was not a very big kingdom and news spread like wildfire especially if it had to do with the heiress to the throne.If he let the girl go she would rat him out and he would spend the rest of his life in jail and if he dared go back to the boss without his diamond,only God only knows what they'd do to him this time,as much as he felt terrible about k********g,he couldn't stay indepted to the boss any longer he'd surely kill him.What could he do?.His thoughts were interrupted when she said" I need a bath,it's evening already and I can't sleep like this".Desmond turned to face her, laughed mockingly and said imatating a maid's voice" oh your majesty,am really sorry,would you like me to make it a warm bath,what about bubbles and petals,would you like those too? maybe I could brush your hair and make you ready for bed", he stopped, looked straight at her" in case you haven't grasp what's happening yet princess,we're in the heart of a forest and you are a hostage,I've got bigger problems than your need for a bath,we all don't have the previlledge of been royalty so unless you have something really important to say,I'll suggest you shut up and let me think".Nile looked at him not affected at all and said" I can hear you just fine from hear you know,you don't need to shout or be such a grouch,jeez". Desmond just shook his head in frustration and went back to his thoughts,he had to get in contact with the boss first thing in the morning,it was the only way.

Nile was a good judge of character,at least that's what everyone around her had always told her,when it came to analysing human character,she could trust her instincts,they are hardly wrong.There was something about her abductor that she couldn't get her hands on,he had abducted her yes but when she had looked in his eyes the first time back in her bed Chambers,she had felt like looking into his soul,she could see kindness and regret as if he had no choice but to do what he did.Nile wished she was right,she had a lot of questions about him,how did someone who stirred up strong feelings in her be a criminal?,what was his story?,she had no idea,but one thing she was sure of was that he was not the hard hearted criminal he was pretending to be,she had read and watched movies about kidnappers,a real kidnapper would have manhandled her or worst,r***d her and what kind of criminal would so gently feed his hostage?.So what did he want from the palace and why did he abduct her?.She had to find out somehow.First,she had to create a friendly environment around them,she must try to get him to trust her,if she could strike a deal with him,she could live the life of adventure she had always dreamt of,travel to different places,meet people and try new things at least for a while before she goes back to the palace.She must be bold,courageous and stand her ground,her shoulders always lifted,after all she was a princess,she thought,she would show him that she was not just some spoiled brat.

Nile cleared her throat loudly to get her attention,he turned towards her with a look that said" what is it again?". Nile shook off the fear from his stern look and said anyway"I have a proposition for you,it would benefit both of us".He walked towards her smiling" you? proposition? ok,let's hear it".She lifted her shoulders and looked him in the eyes to boost her confidence"if you let me go,I give you my word,I will make sure no one hunts you down,I will persuade my father to let you be, it'll be like none of this happened".This time,Desmond laughed out loud,his laughter filled the air,with his deep voice,it was a rich sound and it made her heart skipped" that's what you call a proposition? so you expect me to just let you walk away and hope that your father and all those other people who saw my face would forgive and forget? do you think am stupid? and who said you were in any position to bargain?" he paused,looked at her" am going to sleep now,I suggest you do the same".Nile looked up to the sky smiling" it's beautiful,it's like magic".Desmond looked up too,Nile pointed" I meant the stars,they're magical". To her surprise,he nodded" yes,they're ". Nile continued" they looked so peaceful,so free and no matter how far up there they're,they still manage to light the earth,I envy them,just like the birds,no obligations,just free"Desmond sat on the ground beside her,looked up and drew a pattern with his finger" that's a unicorn carrying a bowl" he said looking at her,she burst out laughing and he laughed too" why would a unicorn be carrying a bowl,it doesn't make sense" Nile said still laughing." ok,your turn",Desmond said,Nile drew her pattern of the stars,he followed her fingers as they drew and said" it's a person", Nile,still looking up said" yes,it's my mum,no matter how I link the stars,it always forms her image,she died when I was 9",they looked at each other and their eyes locked,she had no idea why she suddenly felt so lonely and cold,from nowhere,tears filled her eyes.

She looked so sad Desmond almost took her in his arms,it was the perfect moment,bright sky full of stars,large fire on a cold night with gentle breeze,he tried hard to remind himself that the situation wasn't as perfect as the night and he shouldn't do anything he would regret.Desmond,still looking in her eyes said"am sorry,I know how it feels to lose a loved one".Nile said" did you lose someone too?.Desmond broke the gaze,stood up and said" you should get some sleep,we have a long day tomorrow".Nile nodded,she wouldn't press him,she wished though that they could sleep side by side with his arms around her,but he walked to the other side,sat down and stared at the fire.Nile yawned,leaned her head on the tree behind her,closed her eyes and thought of how good it felt just looking into his eyes.