Unconditional (5 page)

Bianca took her decision to leave with impatient nonchalance. Rinah expressed concern about leaving her in such an intoxicated stated, but Bianca assured her that they had already booked a room at the hotel for the night. She invited Rinah to stay and enjoy the party that would follow, if she dared. Rinah quietly declined and suffered a few moments of Bianca laughing at her prudishness. She was relieved to finally extricate herself from that ghastly scene.

As she made her way out of the club, she was approached by a burly man who shouted in her ear, to be heard above the noise of the music, that his sheik was requesting her presence at his table.

Rinah looked to where the man was pointing, and noted a Middle Eastern man, dressed in Western clothes, was observing them through hooded eyes and smiling lecherously at her. He was already surrounded by a group of giggling girls, who were fawning all over him. Three big, muscle-bound men, clearly his bodyguards, stood around him, observing the room.

Rinah shook her head fiercely, politely refused the invitation, and told the man who had approached her that she had to leave. He reluctantly accepted her response and lumbered back to his boss.

Rinah didn’t wait around to find out how the arrogant sheik took her rejection. She was now desperate to leave but was again intercepted before making her escape. She had made it to the hotel lobby before the bodyguard, now accompanied by another of his comrades, approached her again.

“Miss, the sheik humbly requests your presence at his table,” the guard said intently, making no attempt to disguise the fact that this time it was not a request, but a command. It was evident they were fully prepared to ensure her compliance.

“Well, your sheik could request all he wants—” Rinah began furiously before being interrupted by a mildly amused, husky voice.

“Gentlemen, you will have to excuse my wife. What she meant was that while she is honored by your sheik’s request, we’re going home to our sick babies. Aren’t we, darling?” he drawled.

Rinah turned and was astonished anew by the sheer impact of his dark, looming presence. With her gaze again glued to his, she was only marginally aware of the men exchanging a few more words with the overwhelming Dominic Stone. They obviously didn’t believe his story. His stance was one ready for battle and he stared emotionlessly back at them. She had no doubt that the deadly intent in his posture gave the muscle-bound men pause. He towered over both of them and seemed prepared to impose his will. Accepting that short of having a scuffle right there in the foyer, the men had no choice but to slink back to their boss to impart the news.

She mentally shook herself, determined to at least speak a coherent sentence this time and not be overwhelmed by the potent effect he had on her senses.

“Thank you for your timing, but I think I could have dealt with them without acquiring a husband and some sick babies.” She smiled to take the sting out of her words. She needn’t have bothered. His response showed he didn’t think highly of her gender.

“I have no doubt of the cunning of the female mind to get out of any situation. Please accept my apologies for interrupting your entertainment for the evening,” Dominic drawled. “Perhaps you wanted to be forcibly stripped and stretched naked on a bed, with others of your kind, for their sheik’s pleasure. I’m sorry to have interfered with such an experience,” he stated coldly, and arrogantly walked away.

Rinah took a few seconds to process what he’d said. When she did, she tried going after him to give him a piece of her mind. She knew she was probably wasting her time, but she was too exhausted to act rationally.

Her progress was impaired by her footwear. By the time she caught up with him, he was already at the hotel entrance and an attendant had just brought a gleaming black Porsche to a screeching halt, directly in front of him. She was rendered speechless again as she became mesmerized by the impressive, sleek beauty of the powerful vehicle.

He turned around. With an impatient twist of his hard mouth, he muttered “Get in.” He held the passenger door open for her.

She placed her hands on her waist and glared at him.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, daring her to disobey him. “No?” He smirked.

“Arrogant, much?” she muttered as she moved to comply. If anyone had asked, she had no idea what made her meekly get into the car.

He slammed the door behind her and with smooth elegance took the driver’s seat without uttering another word.

Rinah tried to convince herself that she had only acquiesced to his command to give him a piece of her mind. But she later had to admit, that it was attraction—undeniable, irrepressible and unapologetic attraction—that drove both of them. The atmosphere in the close confines of the vehicle was electric. With every mile of their enforced intimacy, it grew more intense. It was inexplicable and Rinah had no idea how one’s emotion could go from zero to sixty so fast! Their anger appeared to have fizzled to dust, only to be replaced with overwhelming lust.

Their mutual desire was palpable. It happened too swiftly and her mind couldn’t formulate a single thought, other than she wanted him. She was only slightly aware that her breathing was shallow and labored, as she desperately tried to feed her feeble brain much-needed air. She turned to drink him in again and again, doing nothing to hide the fact that she was scrutinizing him, devouring him with her eyes. She was cognizant of the message of fascination she was sending him, loud and clear. She couldn’t control her response this time, and strangely she didn’t seem to want to control it. Gone was her determination to not feed his ego. Instead she could only care about how soon she could feel his arms around her.

He returned her gaze with a smoldering one of his own, his eyes heated steel, filled with intent.

Rinah was giddy with happiness as his look made it exceedingly clear that their desire was definitely mutual. She had seen that look in men’s eyes before and had previously been repulsed by it, but not now. For the first time in her adult life, she welcomed the interest.

“Where are we going?” she whispered as the car passed the bridge that would have taken her back to the mainland.

“Does it matter?” he asked silkily, and she had to admit that it didn’t. Right then she didn’t care where they went, she just wanted to be with him.

The desire that gripped her rendered her weak, disoriented, and certainly incapable of voicing any objection to the path he had determined for them. Her clit throbbed and her nipples beaded to painful attention. She’d never in her life felt like this. It took all of her energy to get her brain to exercise some caution, some restraint.

“Yes, it does matter. I don’t know you and you don’t know me.”

“Knowing you any better isn’t going to change my mind about what I want.”

Hearing his callous response was like being doused with cold water. She knew right then that she was way in over her head. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she couldn’t keep a tremor from her voice. “Please take me home.”

“As you wish.”

His sardonic reply made her feel like a green teenager, not an intelligent woman with a law degree. He turned the car around and raced down the streets, now deserted at three a.m.

They crossed through the gates of Bianca’s house far too soon. As the vehicle came to a stop, he lithely climbed out, came around to her side, and opened the door. He held her hand and helped her from the car. At his gentle touch and molten gaze, Rinah thought her heart would leap out of her chest. All of her focus was on how attuned her body was to his. She swayed on unsteady legs toward him. He settled one hand low on her waist and pulled her gently into him. The roaring in her ears became louder and her tremors more violent. She held on to him with both hands.

“Rinah?” His voice, so close to her ear, reverberated throughout her.

Just the sound of her name on his lips, for the first time, made her core pulse more rapidly.

“Sweetheart, I want you to go in now.”

She didn’t move a muscle.

“This was not a good idea earlier and it’s still not a good idea.”

She listened to his cautionary words, but she couldn’t make herself leave him just yet. Her senses were reeling from the impact of his hard body against hers.

“I will pick you up later, around noon today. Would you like that?” he asked soothingly.

She could only nod her head, but her limbs refused to move.

“Come on, baby. Be a good girl and go in before I take you to my place. You’re not ready for me yet.” He stepped away from her but maintained his grip on her hand and walked her slowly up the steps to the entrance. The door was unlocked and opened easily under his applied pressure. He gently pushed her into the house.

“Good night, Rinah.”

“Good night, Dominic. Thank you for rescuing me.”

He smiled at her whispered response. “So you admit I did save you from a very unpleasant experience.”

“Good night, Dominic.” Her voice was now stronger. She was beginning to feel more like herself, not like the weak-willed woman she’d been impersonating moments ago. “And I don’t think I want to see you anymore. I leave for home tomorrow. So there’s no point to our meeting again.”

He chuckled as he turned and headed back to his car. There was no humor in his laughter. “Be ready by noon. Leave the little-girl act at home.”

“Just so you know, I hate arrogant men and I don’t respond well to commands.”

“Dream of me. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“So damn bossy!”

He ignored her, opened his car door, and climbed in. The car sat idling in the driveway until she finally closed the door and did as he said.

Her dreams were filled with him that night.

By noon, Rinah was happily browsing gift selections in a local souvenir store. She’d already selected an Androsian print dress for her mother and a shirt for her father. She was proud of the beautifully designed pieces. But she was distracted, thinking about Dominic. She had to admit that she was slightly apprehensive of the gauntlet she’d thrown down to him. Every time she thought of it, her heart would race uncontrollably with anticipation of his delicious reaction.

Hell yeah, this is a test. Will he pass
it?

She arrived back at Bianca’s late in the afternoon to a large basket of white roses and a card from Dominic. The message was both bold and succinct:
No warning next
time
.

Damn!
She quivered in anticipation and her panties were immediately wet.

Later in the evening, she and Bianca had dinner with Bianca’s parents and some of her relatives. As soon as the meal was over, they got ready to attend another party.

“Bianca, come in here!” Charles yelled as they came down the stairs. Her friend rolled her eyes at her father’s apparent attempt to sound stern. They crossed the foyer and entered the drawing room where her parents had retired after dinner. But the couple was no longer alone in the room.

Standing next to Charles, in a dark charcoal suit and black dress shirt, Dominic was the embodiment of dangerous elegance. The suit did nothing to mask the physical power of his imposing frame. He was as devastating to her senses as he’d been the night before.

His gaze immediately zoomed in on hers and held her captive. She was his willing prisoner, drowning under his blazing scrutiny.

“Dominic has brought to my attention that Rinah is a diplomat’s daughter and we’re taking tremendous risks with her safety. Last night she was almost kidnapped and detained against her will. And we would have known nothing about it until it was too late! What the hell were you thinking, Bianca? Do you have any idea what you could’ve cost this family?”

“Dad, it was nothing like that. Whoever heard of criminals like that in the Bahamas?”

Ignoring his daughter’s dismissive defense, Charles turned to Rinah. “Child, were you or were you not almost detained last night, if not for Dominic’s timely intervention?”

She glared at Dominic before turning to the older man. “Yes, some men came on to me. But—”

“There’s no but!” Bianca’s father was livid.

“You will not leave this house again without protection! Thank God Dominic is who he is and had the foresight to warn me of what’s going on. I would have wished my daughter would be so considerate! I’m grateful it’s only for one more day we have to worry about. If you insist on going to that party tonight, Dominic will escort you.”

“What?” Bianca exclaimed.

“Where is the party being held?” Dominic asked with stern authority, ignoring Bianca’s objection.

“This isn’t your kind of scene, Dominic!” Bianca muttered.

“Where?”

“It’s out in Westridge.”

“Where?”

“What? You want a goddamn map?”

“Watch your mouth, young lady!” Charles shouted, obviously horrified at his daughter’s rudeness to a man as powerful as Dominic.

“It’s all right, Charles. I only need the house number.”

“What for? Rinah won’t be in any danger at that party! There are only locals there. It’s at my friend Cora’s house. What could possibly happen to her there?”

“It’s not up for debate. If you want to attend, then I will take you.”

Bianca sucked her teeth. “You’re being damn ridiculous!”

Rinah knew she should have been more opposed to the turn of events, but she was still fighting to rein in her suddenly overactive libido. Her response to him was not only alarming, it was embarrassing as hell. Still, she didn’t want him thinking she was a pushover. No way would she be intimidated by him and allow him to dictate to her.

“I agree with Bianca. Last night was a one-off and nothing like that has ever happened to me. We lived for years in London without any such attempt.”

“How do you know? You were always under heavy security by men employed by your father,” Dominic pointed out.

“But that was in London! I’m in the Caribbean now. Nothing like that happens here!”

“Why were you under security before and not now?” Charles wanted to know.

Rinah remained stubbornly silent, but everyone continued looking at her, waiting. “I was being stalked a few years ago,” she reluctantly shared.