by Cat Shinier
“That was really professional, Mr. Shalazar. Maybe you should consider a career in the medical profession. With your talent you would go places.”
And there is that big-boy grin again.
“I will consider it, but only if you are my only patient.” The ray of light goes on in his eyes again, and his smile is contagious.
Suddenly I start yawning. “What time is it, anyway?”
Shamar glances at his watch. A big Breitling.
“Midnight. Time to go to sleep.”
“But first I have to go to the bathroom.”
The tea has brought my bladder back to life. Shamar jumps up to help me get up and puts out his arms to pull me up. I get up slowly. The robe I have had on all this time opens and falls back on the bed. I am wearing a blue satin nightie with spaghetti straps. We are standing very close, and his presence enveloping me is warming. And immediately my nipples come alive and press through the thin material.
I am unable to hide my reaction to his standing so close to me. He smells so masculine it makes me swoon. My pupils widen immediately, and obviously he feels the same way about me, even though I am so unattractive this very moment.
“Can you walk there yourself?” he asks me quietly, his voice still hoarse.
I start shaking, but not because I feel weak. Rather because he is standing so close and because of the emotions that are rising up within me.
“Yes, I think so,” I answer and move by him in the direction of the bathroom. I pull the door closed and forget Shamar. The bathroom is even more magnificent than the one in my room. Everything is in blue and gold. There is a bathtub in a square base that looks like you could spend hours luxuriating in. There is enough room for two in the shower, and there are two wash basins in front of a huge mirror.
I am so happy that my stomach has calmed down, and I can relax on the toilet. As I wash my hands, I notice the tooth brush and tooth paste in a glass next to the wash basin. I grab it and start brushing my teeth and wash my face. I now feel somewhat refreshed. I dry my face, put the towel down again and head back into the bedroom.
* * *
Shamar is sitting there on the edge of the bed and gets up when I enter the room.
“Everything okay, Luna?”
He walks toward me with a worried look on his face.
“Yes, everything’s fine. I just freshened up a bit.”
I almost sound guilty because I took a moment longer. I glance away and stare at the floor.
“You should lie down now and sleep. You’ve been through a lot.”
He is standing right in front of me and holding my arms with his warm hands. Immediately the crackling energy is there between us and shivers run down my spine. “I will.”
A light pink hue rises up in my cheeks.
“Thank you so much for being here for me.” I look at him from below, with my head tilted back. Slowly his hands move from my arms over my shoulders and around my neck, and upwards and hold my face. His gaze locks into mine, I smell his breath, and I can feel him breathing faster. His eyes have a dark sparkle, and before I know it, his lips have covered mine. He kisses me gently and lovingly. It is overwhelming. It is an innocent and very tender kiss that ends the same second I lift my hands and place them on his hips. His lips are soft, and his short fuzzy beard tickles me. My world is starting to rotate.
My hands are still on his hips, and I open my eyes, which I had closed while we kissed. He kisses my lips again, tenderly. I am shaking and out of breath. Shamar’s breathing is also somewhat more labored.
“Thank you for the goodnight kiss.”
I love how close he is, and my voice starts sounding husky again.
He seems to be savoring our embrace and answers “I must thank you, Luna. Please forgive me, but I cannot stop wanting to touch you.”
My hands wander from his hips to his back while his embrace becomes tighter. I am overcome with a sense of well-being and sigh and put my cheek on his chest. I listen to the sound of the beat of his heart.
“I hope I can sleep now,” I sigh.
“Sweetheart, you will. I will leave you alone now so that you will find the peace and quiet you need.” He steps back a step, and there is a gap between us.
Again I feel like I am experiencing a loss that is almost physical. I turn around and go back to the bed. Shamar accompanies me and waits until I lie down, then he covers me. There is undeniable passion in his eyes.
“I will dream of you, my angel,” he says, while he gently strokes my cheeks.
“Sleep well, Shamar… And thank you so much for everything. Tomorrow I will move back to my room.”
Shamar switches on the light on the table.
“As I already said, I like taking care of you. And we’ll talk about your arrangements tomorrow. For now just try to get some sleep.”
As he leaves the room, he switches off the light on the ceiling. I am alone again, and so tired that I must sleep. So I switch off the little light by my bed and turn to my side. When I close my eyes, I see Shamar, as he was kneeling in front of me washing my face. His smile accompanies my thoughts as I fall asleep.
Chapter Six
When I wake up the sun is shining, and the room is already filled with sunlight. For a moment, I cannot place where I am, and then I remember everything. Feeling sick, the doctor, Shamar. This room is even bigger than the one I am staying in. To the left of me there are floor-length windows, with heavy curtains that are almost closed; there is a gap of about a foot that is open. I get up and push them aside to let the daylight in.
My window has a view of a small private pool that is one floor below me. The pool is surrounded by thick glass walls that are probably to protect from the cool wind that would be blowing at this height.
Several chaise loungers and sun umbrellas are scattered around the pool. This suite is situated much higher than my other room. Vaguely I remember a staircase Shamar carried me up before we entered this bedroom.
I turn around and see a desk with a large and very comfortable looking chair in front of it. There is a clock on the desk that has the shape of an airplane, but instead of propellers there is a clock face. It is exactly nine in the morning. Between the door to the outside and the desk there is a comfortable sofa and armchairs around a low table, which the doctor placed his bag on yesterday.
I hear the splashing of water and go back to the window where I see Shamar swimming laps in the pool. He is wearing black bathing trunks and from my perspective I have a panorama view of his body, which is muscular, yet slim. Wide shoulders end in a beautifully defined back – the view of his muscles makes my heart beat faster. His skin has the color of dark bronze gold. After Shamar has swum two more laps, and I get an unobstructed view of his backside as he climbs up a little ladder to leave the pool.
There is a black towel on one of the sun loungers next to the pool. He grabs it and starts drying off, and in doing so turns around so that I can get a good look at his front view. His chest is smooth, and his nipples are dark and tight, as if the water was really cold. Drops of water are dripping off his chest muscles, along his very flat stomach and downward. My gaze follows these drops of water. There is a thin line of hair that stretches from his navel into his shorts that end right above his hip bones. The drops of water are glittering on a six-pack that really must have been a lot of work for its owner.
His legs are muscular but not over-trained. What a view for an early morning. Shamar must be aware of the fact that I can see him. Could it be intentional? I step back so that he does not discover me right away, and at that very moment he glances up in my direction.
I hope that he doesn’t see me watching him so curiously, but he does not continue looking up in my direction for very long. He pulls the towel over his shoulders, slips on his black flip-flops and leaves the pool area. Unfortunately, this means that he also leaves my field of vision, so I decide to take a shower. I dart into the bathroom and into the shower, where I find the same miniature bottles o
f the skin care series that I used in my own bathroom. I even find the same hair brush that the hotel has provided in the generous overnight bag. I decide to take a long shower, and to wash and dry my hair before I dare to leave the room.
Almost three-quarters of an hour later I am the same Luna that I was 48 hours ago. My stomach feels completely settled. I have taken a shower and smell good, have had a good night’s sleep and feel like a million dollars. But one thing has changed. I cannot stop thinking of Shamar. Before that I could distract myself, but now, thanks to that kiss last night, I am no longer able to do that. The kiss was so sensuous and yet so innocent. What’s behind it? Was it impetuous or does it mean more?
There is only one way to solve that question. I have to see him. Too bad that I only have my nightgown and my bathrobe. Not exactly the kind of thing to wear if I want to see Shamar. I open the door to my bedroom and am in a huge hallway that has the shape of a half-circle, and there is a wide stair-case leading to the floor below. I am barefooted so I can move without making any sound except on the smooth surfaces and the stairs themselves, where my feet make a sort pitter-patter noise. When I arrive on the floor below, I see Matthew, the butler.
He is fixing a huge flower arrangement in the most gigantic living room I have ever seen, several times the size of my entire apartment at home. And when he hears me approaching he looks up and stops what he is doing.
“Good morning, Miss Buchholz,” he smiles. “How are you doing this morning? You look a lot better than yesterday evening.”
“Good morning, Mr. Matthew. So kind of you to ask. I am doing much better, thank you.” I admire his elegant aura.
I step closer and glide my hand over the polished wood of the chairs that are standing there in rank and file like soldiers around a table that has also been polished to a high sheen.
“Matthew, could you tell me where I can find Mr. Shalazar? I also desperately need some clothes, so I have to go to my room to fetch them.”
He shakes his head regretfully.
“Miss Buchholz, I am so sorry, but Mr. Shalazar left fifteen minutes ago. Would you like to call him or should I give him a message?”
Too bad, I think to myself, now Shamar is gone, and I am all alone with Matthew in this luxury bunker.
“No, thank you, Matthew. Did he say when he will be back?”
“No Miss Buchholz, unfortunately, he did not. But you can call him anytime. I can give you his cell phone number right now.”
That wouldn’t be the same as talking to him here, I think to myself – that is what I would have preferred to do. On the other hand, I don’t have to face Shamar in my bathrobe. I remember that I am not really wearing all that much and I rearrange the lace collar that is poking out of the bathrobe’s neckline.
“Matthew, can you tell me how I can get ahold of some of my clothes?”
Matthew smiles at me again.
“No problem at all Miss Buchholz. If you wait a moment, I can have your clothes brought to your room right this very instant.”
“Ahem, how’s that? My room is somewhere else completely, and I do not have a room key with me.”
“Everything has already been arranged, Miss Buchholz. Mr. Shalazar has given instructions that your baggage should be removed from your hotel room and brought to your new room. You have already been checked out of your old room. You don’t have to do anything.”
All that is a bit much for me. I pull a chair out and sit down. “Sha... um, Mr. Shalazar checked me out of my room and had someone bring all of my personal belongings to a new room?” I repeat what Matthew has just said as a question.
Matthew nods his head.
“Somebody has poked around my personal items?”
Matthew tries to calm me down. “Don’t worry, the person Mr. Shalazar commissioned to do that is absolutely trustworthy.”
“That is not the problem Matthew, I just don’t like it when strangers rummage around in my personal belongings.” Then I remember that Dr. Aziz was going to stop by again today. “Do you know when Dr. Aziz will be coming? He said that he was going to come by to see how I was doing this morning.”
“The doctor will come to see you whenever you would like him to, Miss Buchholz. Would you like me to call him?”
That’s probably a good idea. “Yes, please. That would be very nice of you Matthew. I will wait for him upstairs. Thank you.”
My stomach is grumbling. “Matthew, do you know where I could get some breakfast? I am really hungry.” Matthew’s face lights up again.
“I will have it prepared for you this instant. Is there anything specific you would like?”
Breakfast up here? Yes, there are things I would like but you probably cannot get them in the United Arab Emirates. But I give it a try. “I would love to have tea and croissants and farina,” I add quickly.
“Of course, Miss Buchholz. May I serve you the food after you have seen the doctor?”
What, no wrinkling of the forehead and ‘we don’t have that’?
“That would be really great, Matthew. Thank you. Then I’ll just go back to my room and wait.”
The doctor seems quite satisfied and even says it is okay for me to eat lightly today. And I’m supposed to drink a lot of fluids. I am not going to have a hard time doing either of those two things. The breakfast I have chosen seems light enough and very stomach-friendly. I am still wearing my bathrobe and head back up the stairs slowly to have breakfast. When I arrive in the room, I see that the table has been set. There are croissants and a bowl of hot farina. Both taste delicious. And because I did not tell Matthew what tea I prefer there is a huge selection of tea bags I can choose from. A strong Assam mixture is my favorite. I drink it with two spoons of brown sugar and a few drops of milk. Divine.
Matthew has joined me in my room again and is standing there quietly, as if he is waiting for me to tell him what else I would like.
Sitting there and not saying anything makes me uncomfortable. What am I supposed to talk to him about? It would probably be best if I asked him a question about himself. “Could I ask you something, Matthew?”
He moves closer and nods his head.
“What would you like to know, Miss Buchholz?”
I feel encouraged and ask, “Is Matthew your first name or your last name?”
He steps closer in order to be able to look straight at me as he answers. “Matthew is my first name, Miss Buchholz. My complete name is Matthew O’Brien.”
I cannot tell whether my question has been too forward, so I continue. “Matthew, if it is not indiscreet of me to ask I would love to know what made you come to the Emirates.”
And I can actually see a faint trace of a smile light up his face.
“I accompany Mr. Shalazar, Miss Buchholz.”
I spread some butter on my croissant. “Matthew, I have never talked to a butler and I really am terribly curious. Can I ask you something else?”
He nods and a huge smile spreads over his face. “I thought that the hotel employed you. If you accompany Mr. Shalazar – from where did you accompany him and why?”
“Well, Miss Buchholz, Mr. Shalazar generally lives in his house in Woodlands, which is near Houston in Texas. And when he travels for longer, I accompany him.”
“Do you know your way around here? I mean, all of this must be new to you, too?”
Matthew shakes his head, smiling. He’s actually quite extroverted. “No, I know my way around here very well. Mr. Shalazar bought this suite quite a while ago and resides here several times a year. Mr. Shalazar does not like the butler that the hotel provides him with, and he prefers me accompanying him during his travels.”
I finish up my breakfast and Matthew steps up closer. “Was everything to your liking, Miss Buchholz?”
I am not used to being served, but this breakfast was absolutely delicious, and I would like Matthew to know that. I thank him again and tell him how great the breakfast was. He tells me that in the meantime my things have been brought to my ro
om. I didn’t even notice, I think to myself. I thank him again and run up the wide staircase to my room. And it’s true. All of my things have been brought up here, and my clothes have been folded or are hanging on clothes hangers. They even brought the bouquet of flowers Shamar had delivered. It is standing on the table in front of the couch.
I quickly slip into a light blue beach dress and matching sandals. Then I walk back down to the lower floor. There is a door that leads out to the pool area behind the staircase. I push the door aside and walk outside. And despite being located so high up, it is neither cold nor windy, which is probably due to the glass walls that surround the outside area. The sun is shining from above and so I sit down on one of the loungers.
Due to it being situated so high up I feel like I am lying next to a pool way up in the sky. This is a thousand times better than the pool on the ground floor. It is nice and shady under the sun umbrella and yet I feel like warmth envelops me. At some point I fall asleep, and when I wake up again, I have company. Shamar has returned. He stands there, wearing a pair of black trousers and a polo shirt, and in his hand is a glass of coke.
“How are you feeling, Luna?” he asks, smiling at me.
I am unable to contain my joy at seeing him.
“Hi Shamar, thank you. I am feeling much better. I think I am completely better, thanks to you.”
“My pleasure.” He sits down on the lounger next to me with an almost shy smile. “That way I was able to get you close to me as fast as possible again.”
I remember my move. “But was it necessary to have me checked out of my room and have all of my things brought here? I don’t want to seem impolite, but I don’t like someone else making decisions for me and having strangers rummage around in my personal belongings.”
“Is anything missing? Or has something broken? Or is something not in order?” he asks me earnestly.
“Oh no, everything is just fine. But isn’t it sort of inappropriate? I also feel like I have been taken by surprise, and things are really moving fast, if you ask me.”
