Where was he? She glanced over to the stage door; nothing. A wave of panic rose up in her. All the fearful thoughts she had had the night she first met him came back to her. What if really he was a crazed stalker?
Hannah felt the fear creeping up inside her. She knew she was thinking crazy, but couldn’t help herself. Here she was, in a city she had never been in, at a club she didn’t even know the name of, in front of a room full of men all speaking a language she didn’t understand. This was not good. She was on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack when she heard her name being called.
“Miss Green! Miss Green!”
Hannah turned her head to the stage door and saw Naasir’s smiling face standing at the open door.
She let out a huge breath and gave a final wave to the crowd before practically running off the stage and into the waiting limousine. She hopped in and Naasir closed the door behind her. It wasn’t until he started the car that Hannah realized she was alone in the back seat.
“That was wonderful, Miss Green! A wonderful performance!” Naasir smiled at her through the rear view mirror as he pulled out into the busy city traffic.
Hannah looked puzzled and was still breathing hard from her panic on stage. “Thank you, Naasir. But where is Sadiq? I thought he would be at the show? I mean, he was at the show, and then he wasn’t.”
Naasir nodded to her. “Yes, ma’am. He was. But he got called away on urgent business. He asked me to extend his apologies to you.”
“Oh,” Hannah said, cursing herself for overreacting. “Oh, okay, thank you.”
She sat back against the leather seat as Naasir drove back to the palace, chuckling at how worked up she’d just gotten. A stalker, a murderer, a human trafficker. She really needed to stop watching so much television.
Hannah closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. She felt good now that she was singing again. It had only been a week, but a week was a long time to go for her. Singing was her therapy. It was her medicine. It was the cure to everything that ailed her. She was glad she’d gotten to sing tonight and was looking forward to the next few weeks of performing. Even if she had to use the back door.
ELEVEN
Over the next few weeks, Sadiq and Hannah visited several other clubs around the capital of El-Shakanish, the city of Shimab and the outlying regions. Each time she performed, Hannah would enter through a back door and Sadiq would enter through the front. There were a few occasions when he stayed for the whole show, but most of the time he would be called away halfway through, for some business emergency or another. Finally, after four weeks of touring around the country, Hannah decided to confront Sadiq about his mysterious disappearances.
She broached the subject one evening, as they were in the back of the limousine, on the way to another one of her performances. “Sadiq,” she said, glancing at him, stunned again at how amazing he looked in his tuxedo.
“Yes, Hannah,” he said.
A shiver ran up her spine as he looked at her. Since her tour had started, their relationship had remained rather ambiguous. There had been times when he had put his arm around her in the limo, and others when he seemed to want nothing to do with her. Now was one of those times.
“I was just wondering what type of business you are always running off to during my performances.” There. I’ve said it. Hannah looked at him and held her breath.
Sadiq watched her as she waited nervously to see his reaction. God, she was gorgeous. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her when she was on stage, singing, moving so slowly in those dresses. And when they were alone in the limousine, the scent of her hair, the warmth of her breath, it was almost too much to bear.
He had to be careful. He knew that getting involved with Hannah would be playing with fire. He didn’t want a relationship. And yet, he was finding himself more and more attracted to her every day.
Hannah waited, hoping he would finally tell her what was really going on.
Sadiq opened his mouth and was about to speak when Naasir slammed on the brakes and the car screeched to a halt, sending Sadiq and Hannah flying forward.
“Oh no!” Naasir’s voice rang back from the front seat. “Are you all right? Sir, Miss?!”
“We’re fine, Naasir,” said Sadiq as he found his way back on the seat. He looked over at Hannah and realized that he had his arm wrapped tightly around her, holding her in place. She hadn’t been shaken or injured; in fact, not a hair on her head was out of place.
She looked at him and he looked at her and she knew; there was something he wasn’t telling her and he certainly wasn’t going to do it now. He had been so close to opening up to her, but Hannah knew the near crash had jolted him back to reality, and whatever courage he might have mustered was gone.
“I’m sorry, sir, the car in front of me, it just…”
“It’s okay Naasir. We’re fine. Are you okay?”
“Yes, sir. I’m fine. We’re moving again now. I’m so sorry, sir.”
“Naasir, it’s fine. Now please, just drive.” Sadiq pulled his arm away from Hannah, sat back against the seat and turned to face the window.
A few minutes later, the limo pulled up to the back door of the club and Naasir opened the door for Hannah. She stepped out without looking back at Sadiq. It wouldn’t have mattered. He never turned to face her either.
When she got on stage, Hannah looked out to discover that Sadiq hadn’t come in at all. On the ride home, she decided to ask Naasir what was really going on.
“I don’t want you to betray his confidence, of course,” she said. “I just feel like I deserve an explanation. I kind of feel like I was brought here under false pretenses.”
Naasir drove without looking back at her. “Miss Green,” he started. “Have you ever done something that your parents didn’t want you to do?”
Hannah furrowed her brow and looked at Naasir in the mirror. “Of course. Everybody does. Why?”
Naasir flashed a quick look at her and then focused back on the road. “Well, that is exactly what His Highness struggles with.”
Hannah sat back and thought about that. “Like, struggled with when he was a kid? Or struggles with now?”
“Both,” said Naasir.
Hannah sighed in exasperation. “Naasir, you’ve got to help me out here; I feel like he’s mad at me or something. I don’t understand.”
Naasir looked at her quickly again. “Miss Green, our culture is very different than yours.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. The whole back door thing.”
Naasir smiled. “Yes, but even more than that. Having a woman performer is culturally unacceptable to many, if not most people.”
Hannah looked out the window and thought about what Naasir was trying to say without actually saying it. Parents, breaking rules, unacceptable. Oh my God. “His parents don’t know I’m here, do they?”
Naasir shook his head.
“And he can’t tell them, can he?”
Naasir shook his head again.
Wow, Hannah thought. Their cultures really were different. It made sense now. Sadiq had never spoken about his parents, and she now thought she understood why. Perhaps they wouldn’t agree with what Sadiq was doing with Hannah. Perhaps they wouldn’t agree with his taste in western music, never mind western women.
Hannah had heard enough for one night. She realized that despite her feelings for Sadiq, whatever was happening between them could never go anywhere, as much as she secretly wanted it to. Their cultures were just too different. Besides, she couldn’t allow herself to be with a man that didn’t respect her enough to use the same door as her. Nope. She had to abandon any hope that something might happen between them. In that moment, Hannah made a promise to herself to dedicate the rest of her time in El-Shakanish to business and business only.
TWELVE
Over the next few weeks, Sadiq tried to distance himself from Hannah as much as possible. He had known he felt something for her the moment he first saw her perform. He had thought then t
hat it was just the sensual sound of her voice, but since bringing her to his country, and spending more and more time with her, he had come to realize that it was much more than that.
Sadiq hadn’t just come to love the sound of her voice; over the past few weeks, he had fallen in love with her smile, her laugh, the twinkle in her eyes in the evening light, and the way she crinkled her nose when she ate spicy foods. He loved listening to her breath when she fell asleep on the way back from shows. He loved the way her hand felt in his, her long slender fingers and smooth skin. And he loved the feel of her soft cheek underneath his lips.
There was more, so much more to this complex, beautiful woman. It wasn’t one thing, it was everything. In fact, he was pretty sure he might be falling for her, and that thought scared the hell out of him. Sadiq had never felt this way about anyone before. He had never been in a serious relationship, and he was pretty sure he just wasn’t cut out for that kind of thing. That was just one of the reasons there was such a big rift between him and his family.
Sadiq had learned that in order to protect himself, he would be safer to not get involved with anyone at all. That’s why he had earned the reputation for being a playboy. He hadn’t set out to be that way, he just didn’t want to commit to anyone. He didn’t feel like he could commit, and he was terrified of letting a woman down.
With Hannah, though, it was different. Even though he knew he shouldn’t get involved, couldn’t get involved, he wanted desperately to tell her how he felt. He was finding it increasingly hard spending time around her, so much so that for the last few weeks of Hannah’s tour, he didn’t go to any of her shows at all. He didn’t like it one bit, but he knew that that was how it had to be.
THIRTEEN
After her conversation with Naasir, Hannah had come to understand the growing distance between her and Sadiq a little better. She knew that no matter what Sadiq was thinking or doing, she needed to protect herself, too. She had no intention of letting herself get hurt again. She had been down that road with Harvey and she didn’t want to go there again.
Hannah was in her suite at the palace, picking out an outfit for one of her final performances, when Fatima entered her room.
“Miss Green,” she said as she walked up to help her get into her gown.
“Yes, Fatima?” she said.
“We must get moving. It’s a long ride to get to your show. This one is across the other side of the country, remember?”
Hannah looked at the clock on the wall and cursed under her breath. She had completely forgotten that they would be traveling nearly two hours to get to the club she was scheduled to perform at.
“Of course, you’re right. I forgot. Give me just a minute and I’ll be ready.” She smiled warmly as Fatima left the room.
Hannah looked in the mirror and ran her hands down her burgundy mermaid dress. “I might not have Chloe’s curves,” she said to herself. “But damn I make this dress look good.”
“Yes, you do,” Sadiq’s voice floated to her from across the doorway.
Hannah turned quickly and looked at Sadiq, embarrassed at what he had just overheard.
“Sadiq! I didn’t know you were here? I mean, of course you’re here, it’s your house…palace, I mean.” She was stammering and she knew it. Why was she so nervous? She had seen him a hundred times before. He looked just like he always did: damn good and extremely handsome.
Sadiq smiled, knowing he had her squirming. “I’ll be going to the show with you tonight, Hannah—if that’s okay with you, of course.”
Hannah shook her head. Why was he asking her permission? “That’s fine. I mean, of course that’s fine. It’s your show. Well, I mean, it’s my show. That’s not true… it’s—”
Sadiq walked over and took her hands in his. “Shh,” he said as he turned her around to face the mirror. He stood behind her and ran his hands up the back of her dress and under her hair. Hannah felt tiny electric shocks shoot through her body as his hands moved over her skin.
She looked at him in the mirror, standing tall and muscular behind her petite frame, silently teasing her with his thick, luscious lips and musky scent. “May I?” he asked as he reached over and grabbed the necklace lying on the dressing table.
Hannah nodded, unable to speak, paralyzed by his touch. She felt the heat rise in her stomach and move its way through her as he draped his arms across her chest and slid the necklace into place on her collarbone. He brought the chain around the back of her neck and expertly clasped it.
Oh, how he wanted to put his arms around her, pull her in close, feel the full length of her body against his. But he had already gone too far. And she had let him. He closed his eyes and breathed her hair in once more before stepping back.
“Ready?” he asked as he cleared his throat.
“Yes, yeah,” Hannah said shakily. Oh God, how am I going to make a two-hour limo ride with this guy? She smiled at him quickly as he escorted her out the door and through the palace to the waiting car.
Naasir smiled at Hannah as she approached him. “If you don’t mind me saying, Miss, you look especially lovely this evening.”
Hannah just smiled. Usually she would come back with some quip like “Yes, Naasir, I do look lovely.” Not tonight, though. She was too shaken by how close she had just come to giving in to her emotions.
Hannah and Sadiq made small talk as the car drove along through the desert landscape. They spoke about the few performances she had left, and how her experience had been in El-Shakanish, each of them doing their best to ignore how they were really feeling about Hannah’s imminent return to the States.
That evening’s performance was taking place in a small town in eastern El-Shakanish, at an underground club known as The White Rabbit. As usual, the limo pulled up to the back door of the club and Hannah stepped out. She turned to say goodbye to Sadiq and was surprised to find him getting out behind her.
“May I escort you in?” he asked as he placed his hand on the small of her back.
Hannah didn’t know what to say as her feelings welled up inside of her. Words escaped her and all she could do was nod.
Sadiq smiled, glad he was able to touch her again. His body yearned to feel hers, her hands, her neck, her skin. Even being able to touch her through her gown was enough. He just needed something. He knew being around her was dangerous, but he couldn’t help himself. His only fear was that she didn’t feel the same way. She hadn’t said a word indicating that she had feelings for him. He just had to wait and see.
FOURTEEN
Hannah’s performance at The White Rabbit ran over by an hour and Sadiq stayed for the whole thing. At the end, as Hannah came off to a roar of whoops and cheers, he walked to the stage and escorted her back to the limo.
“That was wonderful, Hannah! Probably your best show yet,” he said, meaning every word of it. She had sounded different that night, more soulful, like she was singing more from her heart than she ever had before.
Hannah thanked him and sat back in her seat. She felt like it was her best performance yet, too. And she knew why. She had been a bundle of emotion and nerves when she’d got on stage. She was feeling so many things that she couldn’t describe; the only way to express them was through song. When she’d started singing, all of her fears, worries, and anger had spilled out through the music.
“I think we might be best staying in town for the night since it’s such a long ride back,” Sadiq said.
After several hours traveling and performing, Hannah was spent, and readily agreed to his suggestion.
They drove around for a while looking for a decent place to stay, but could only find a small, basic hotel on the outskirts of town. Naasir pulled up to the main entrance and went in to ask about rooms, returning a moment later with a tight look on his face.
“Sir, they have only one room available. Shall I keep driving?”
Sadiq looked at Hannah. She thought about it a moment. She was so tired, all she wanted to do was get into a cool, air-co
nditioned room and fall asleep.
“No, it’s fine. We’ll let Hannah have the room,” Sadiq said.
“No, don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I’m sure there’s two beds. Why don’t you come up and you can sleep in there too?” For a moment, Hannah hoped the room only had one bed and that Sadiq would be forced to share with her. Stop it, she said to herself. You’re too tired to be entertaining those kinds of thoughts.
“But where will Naasir sleep?” she asked.
“He sleeps in the car. I think he enjoys the peace and quiet in the back of limo once in a while.” Sadiq smiled at Naasir as he opened the door and they got out.
A few minutes later, Hannah and Sadiq entered the hotel room. Hannah was a little disappointed that it was nothing like the luxurious accommodations she had been enjoying for the previous six weeks, but it didn’t seem to bother Sadiq. Hannah supposed that having grown up with the finest things, slumming it was probably an adventure for him.
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