Sure it wasn’t ideal, and maybe the abduction wasn’t high on her list of fantasies (or was it?), but the fact remained that she was here, and what a fool she would be not to take advantage of this! At least that was what she kept telling herself. Whether or not it was true was anyone’s guess. Maybe it was the romantic setting, maybe it was the wine they had had at dinner, or maybe it was the fact that she was alone on a remote island with him, but she was incredibly attracted to this man.
Moments after these thoughts passed through her mind, she found herself in his arms. It was an embrace that she would never forget, and during those moments she felt more safe and secure than she had ever felt in her life. As their lips met and pressed together, and entirely new world was opened to her. She had kissed plenty of boys, and men, but it was nothing like this. Could these be the ‘sparks’ that people so loved to talk about?
They drew closer together, their bodies becoming one in the massive pool, kissing and embracing until Onur suggested they move their activities to a better venue. Nika, originally hesitant, fully let down her guard and allowed herself to indulge -- something she had not done since high school. For more than forty-eight hours, the two of them existed in a state of erotic bliss, their bodies intertwined and becoming one.
Nika prayed it would never end, but it did. At some point Nika fell asleep, and when she awoke, she was once again in the bedroom -- alone. Her dress was folded neatly over a chair in the corner of the room, and her luggage from the hotel was placed beside it. Both her carry on bag and her full suitcase were present, something she did not expect. As she pulled the bags onto the bed to inspect the contents, the guard from two nights ago arrived to inform Nika that Onur had successfully arranged for her to leave the island, but Onur himself made no appearance.
Chapter 5
Taking Flight
Nika finished examining her luggage, satisfied that everything was in order. She carried both bags out of the room and came to a stop at the table in the hallway. The platform heels that Onur had left for her two days ago were still there. What she originally dismissed as a power play now seemed to be a sign of affection, but it was not enough. Nothing would be enough. What happened here on this island would simply have to stay here.
As she walked down the hallway, encountering no one, she recalled the events of the week. For the first time in her life she had experienced true affection. For once she did not have to fake it, and she had felt no compulsion to please her partner. It had simply...happened. In spite of that, absolutely nothing else could happen here. Nika was a practical and realistic woman. There was a world that she needed to get back to, and she was determined to escape the island chain. Perhaps next time she would try something a bit more domestic.
She continued walking through the house, surprised that she did not encounter Onur. Even as she reached the front door, the only person she ran into was the guard from West Seattle. He quietly led her around the exterior of the house to a waiting golf cart that would carry them to Onur’s private airstrip. Not to Nika’s surprise, the boy from the taxi service sat in the behind the wheel, but his usual cheerful demeanor was absent today. Nika sat in the back of the cart, and the guard from West Seattle took a seat up front.
The cart proceeded down a dirt road for about ten minutes before it reached the private airstrip. It was about as Nina could have expected, a cement strip with a bit of a parking lot. A hangar stood to the left, open, and the private jet was being fueled on the runway.
Once again, Onur was nowhere to be seen. Though her heart sank a bit, Nika was secretly grateful. If she had to see him, then she might, might just feel bad for leaving him behind. Perhaps if she could imagine he didn’t care, it would not be so hard to leave. It was a long shot, but if she didn’t have to see his face, it would be that much easier.
The sky was overcast, filled with gray clouds, as if it were signaling and end. Nika thought she saw lightning flashes here and there behind the imposing clouds but she couldn’t be sure. She walked briskly toward the jet, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. She reached the portable metal staircase leading to the open door, her foot on the bottom step when she saw him standing near the hangar.
He made no move to approach her, he simply watched. It was at this point that Nika understood she had a choice. She could either board the plane and be on her way, or she could take the other option. For now, she took option two, walking slowly toward the hangar. It was a fairly short walk but it seemed to take forever, and Nika’s feet moved as if they were immersed in mud. They met in the middle, though standing more than five feet away from one another.
“Without love, we are nothing.” Onur repeated.
Nika nodded. “I can’t stay with you.” As she turned and walked toward the plane, she thought she heard him say that he loved her.
* * *
Nika sorted through a pile of papers on her desk. She was looking for one specific set of documents, and when she failed to find it, she simply used her arm to clear the entire desk. She slammed both fists on the wooden surface and pressed page button on her PBX phone.
“Maria!” She said, rather irritably. “Where’s the damn Sian folder?”
Maria’s voice came through the speaker: “Nika, I’m your boss, want to tone it down a little?”
Nika took a deep breath. “I’m sorry...I’m sorry...I just need the--”
“It’s in the file cabinet beside the water cooler -- I’m not sure why you want to read it NOW of all times.” Maria replied.
Nika closed the line and walked out of her office. Sojourn was a basic travel agency, albeit with a slightly larger budget than most were privy to. In the main area there were six desks, each with one agent. They typically did not deal with clients face to face, in fact most interaction was done over the internet these days.
As she walked past each desk she could hear snippets of conversations. Each agent was helping someone plan a beautiful vacation or romantic getaway. A few weeks ago none of this would have bothered her, but now she could only concentrate on what she had left behind. When she reached the file cabinet she yanked the second drawer open, nearly pulling it off the track. She flipped through the file folders, all the way to S, and eventually “Sian Island.”
It had been filed away, the island no longer viable as a honeymoon destination. As she removed the folder from the cabinet she remembered the television reports on Sian Island. In the weeks following the attack, the United Nations had attempted to provide aid, but militia forces on the island resisted. Trust is a hard thing to regain, even if it is trust for a helping hand. Though it wasn’t a wasteland, Sian Island was no longer safe. It was a loss for the tourism industry, but it was even more of a loss for Nika -- in more ways than one.
She took the folder back to her office, stepping around a pile of papers and even a few office supplies sitting in a disheveled pile at the side of the desk. She sat down in her swivel chair and laid the folder on her desk. It was situated in a manila folder now, rather than the leather binder she had carried to Sian Island, but all of the paperwork was here.
Flipping through the papers, she found what she was looking for, but something else caught her attention. At the back of the packet were documents on persons of interest in or around Sian Island. Sojourn’s background checks left something to be desired, so the information available was, as always, extremely limited.
One of the papers conveniently contained the name Onurran Devran Demir. It amazed her that she hadn’t bothered to read this on the plane, but a moment later, she realized that it would have to wait a bit longer as the phone on her desk was making that dreaded ringing sound.
Nika opened the line. “Yeah?”
“Once again I’m still your boss, Nika, and you have a client.”
“Then patch the client through, Maria.”
“I’ll send them back to your office.”
“What? An actual meeting? Perfect, you know I’m a happy people person today!”
She slammed the line shut just in time to see Onur Aslan walk into her office. Nika stood up, her stomach dropping to her feet.
“Hello Miss,” Onur said. “I would like to arrange a trip, for myself, and one other, should she choose to come.”
“How...when...” Nika stammered.
“Well, it was simple. I flew into LAX, and I arranged for a driver who brought me to your place of work. A nice driver, a boy, from New York City...or so he claimed. If I did not know any better I would have believed he came on a work visa from Portugal.”
“Seriously? Wait, never mind that.”
“What do you say Miss Kitaev? Will you book this trip for me?”
“That depends,” Nika said, as she bit her lower lip. “Where would you ...and this other person want to go?”
Onur shrugged. “Wherever her heart desires I would think, because MY heart will follow her anywhere.”
Nika thought, but only for a moment before she pressed the intercom button one last time. “Maria. I quit.”
Love in Paradise Page 3
