The Sheik's Beautiful Intruder (The Friendship Series) by Elizabeth Lennox Page A

had the Yafar crest on the corner.  So I know you’re involved somehow.  And since you were in Washington, D.C. at the same time she disappeared, the coincidence was too much to ignore.”
    Nazar’s dark eyebrows went lower.  “Show me this message,” he commanded.
    Nikki took another sip of wine.  “I can’t.  It’s on my cell phone and, unless you’re going to let me out of here, I can’t get it from my hotel room.”
    “Where are you staying?” he asked her, his finger already pressing a button on the table. 
    She told him the name of her hotel but shook her head.  “I’m not giving you the key, Nazar.  And you’re not getting my cell phone either.”
    “You think I’m going to steal your cell phone?’ he asked, almost chuckling. 
    “I don’t think you care about my cell phone but I don’t trust you not to wipe out the picture.”
    He laughed at that.  He didn’t respond to her accusation, but turned to the man who stepped into the dining area, giving the man some sort of order in Arabic so she didn’t understand. 
    “What was that all about?” she asked as she took another bite of the delicious meat. 
    “I told my guards to retrieve your personal items and bring them here to the palace,” he stated simply. 
    Nikki felt like her food was going to choke her.  “You what?  But you don’t even know what room I’m in.”
    He waved that issue aside and spooned another dish onto her plate, this one filled with feta cheese and nuts.  “Well, until your things are brought to you, tell me about yourself.  You were going to tell me something you’re afraid of.” He reached over and re-filled her wine glass. 
    “I’m not afraid of anything,” she replied, picking up her wine glass and smiling across the table at him.  “And I’m definitely not afraid of you.”
    He rolled his eyes and handed her a plate filled with stuffed grape leaves.  “You’re terrified of me,” he contradicted.  “Or more specifically, you’re terrified of what I make you feel.  Which is why you run away from me every time I make you feel too much.  Just like the last time we saw each other.”
    Her hands started shaking when she recalled the way he’d made her feel that afternoon in the ballroom.  It had been incredible and he’d just proven that the chemistry hadn’t been a fluke. 
    “Horses,” she said, almost out of the blue.
    “Horses?” he repeated.  “What about them?”
    She shrugged delicately and picked up her fork, shifting the food around on her plate so she didn’t have to look at him.  “You asked what I was afraid of and I told you.”
    “Horses?” he said it again, still not sure he believed her. 
    She lowered her lashes, unable to hold his gaze and still not really sure why she’d admitted something like that to Nazar.  She was supposed to be strong and yet she’d just admitted to him a weakness.  Not smart, she berated herself mentally. 
    “You’re afraid of horses?”
    She lifted her fork, taking a taste of the warm, nutty dish.  “Why is that so hard to believe?” she asked and took a delicate bite of the stuffed grape leaves.
    He chuckled softly, amazed that she would reveal something like that about herself.  Of course, he’d asked, but he hadn’t thought she would actually tell him. 
    “Why would you be afraid of horses?”
    She shrugged delicately and took a sip of her wine.  “Because they’re big, mysterious animals with large hooves and people die falling off of them.”
    He acknowledged her comment but countered with, “People die in car crashes every day.  But you still get into cars on a daily basis.”
    “Yes, but I know how to drive a car, how to control the vehicle.”  She set her wine glass down carefully on the linen covered table.  “I don’t like horses because I can’t control them.”
    He smiled slightly.  “And you like having control, don’t you?”
    She almost gasped with the heated look in his eyes.  “I