The Sheik’s Captured Princess (The Samara Royal Family Series Book 4) (2 page)

That was a bad move. 

The man simply swung her around and plastered her against the wall.  His hands then grabbed her wrists and pulled them back,

This position was bad enough, but her glasses had fallen off and, even worse than that, the man’s wrist had rubbed against her face, pulling her mustache off. 

For a long, startled moment, neither of them said a word.  His dark eyes stared into her softer brown ones, Ciala’s heart rate picked up ten-fold.  Their look spoke volumes but his silence scared her even more.  The man was dangerous when riled, but her disguise, now laying on the cement floor and hanging from her face, appeared to have exponentially enraged him. 

She should run!  She should knock his arms while he was still surprised!  She should….

Unfortunately, the big guy was the first to recover.  His hand whipped her back around so that she was better imprisoned in his hold as his fingers whipped the rest of the mustache off. 

With her glasses and her mustache gone, she stared up at him with her soft, brown eyes exposed to his coal black gaze.  She wasn’t sure who was more startled, herself or the man.  A moment later, it was no contest as his hand reached down and ripped open her jacket.  She still wore a plaid shirt as well as a tee shirt underneath, but the man’s hand was quick to slide from her waist upwards. 

“No!” she gasped when his extremely large, extremely strong hand discovered her breast.  She tried to shift away but he was ready for her move and countered it.  His hand easily slid over to the other breast and she was shocked by the heat his touch shot through her body.  “Stop!” she ordered, grabbing his wrist and pulling in vain to try and dislodge his grip. 

She was relieved when his hand pulled away but not when it came up and pulled her hat off, toppling her wig as well.  The wig was tossed to the floor and her wavy brown locks tumbled from the pins that had been holding it all in place. 

“You’re a woman!” he growled furiously.

Not one to languish when abused, Ciala snapped out of her frightened state with a surge of anger. 

“Aren’t you a brilliant guy!” she snapped right back, still trying to dislodge his hand so that she could get free.  “Now that you’ve discovered that, think you could pull back?” she asked but it was more of a demand as her body twisted, trying to get his hands out of her hair and off of her chest. 

His hand moved but only to grab her face, his long fingers touching the soft skin.  “No stubble.  I should have realized sooner.”

Ciala was still pressed against the jail wall but she pushed him back.  Or tried to.  The man was like a mountain, unmoving and indifferent to her struggles.  “Okay, you beast.  Just let me go or I’m really going to report you!”

Jurar couldn’t believe this woman, couldn’t understand his body’s instant and intense fascination with the woman in his arms.  He was normally drawn to the soft, sexy ladies with elegant manners and a knack for sexual enticement. 

So why was his body suddenly rock hard and throbbing at the discovery that the small man was actually a very lush female with delicate skin and beautiful eyes, not to mention, bountiful curves that his hands were aching to explore further?  He felt her nipple pebble against his palm and he wanted to move against that succulent flesh, to tear open her flannel shirt and look at what his hands were only starting to understand was a very full breast. 

Her temper even turned him on!  He’d never experienced a woman so soft and lovely with a temper like this one! 

Now that he knew she was a woman, he noticed her soft, delicate skin.  Her lashes were too long for a man, but had been hidden behind those horrid glasses.  And her slender figure, previously thought to be a man’s too effeminate body, turned out to be much more alluring than he’d thought possible. 

Her words struck him as amusing, especially considering her current predicament.  “And who might you report me to, little one?” he asked, his body continuing to react to her softness.  Her skin was like cream, softer than anything he’d ever touched before.  And her hair!  It flowed like a waterfall down across her shoulder now that it was freed from the confinement of the ill-fitting wig. 

She was all woman and he was both disgusted with himself for not realizing it sooner and oddly fascinated with her.  This tiny woman had battled three rebels and almost taken down two of his men!  A woman!  Unheard of!

“Sir!’ one of the guards called out.  “You should see this.”

Jurar didn’t blink, not willing to take his eyes away from the shockingly beautiful woman that was nervously looking up at him.  Yes, she knew that she was in more trouble now.  He understood her position and he thrilled to her new awareness of him as a man. As he looked down at her, he could feel her trembling increase and his hand, touching her cheek, slid down slightly and his thumb rested against the pulse at the base of her throat.  “What is a beautiful woman like you doing here with a group of rebels?” he pondered softly. 

“I’m not with the rebels but my business is personal.  None of your business,” she snapped. Ciala didn’t know what this man was thinking, but she instinctively knew that she was in huge trouble.  And that funny feeling in her stomach increased as the look in the giant man’s eyes changed.  No longer was he only a threat because of the danger, he was a threat as a man. 

“Let me go,” she demanded again, but her words were more of a whisper as his fingers teased the sensitive skin of her neck, skin she’d never thought was very sensitive before. 

His eyes hardened and his hands remained on their goal.  “What are you doing here?  Are you working with the rebels?”

She shook her head.  “I don’t know anything about the rebels other than that they’re annoying gnats that will soon be crushed by the sheik.  Just give up and accept his rule,” she coaxed. 

The guard behind Jurar interrupted. “She’s some sort of reporter, sir,” the man explained.

Ciala’s eyes never left the giant man’s gaze, daring him, but praying that he wouldn’t accept her dare. 

She was startled when he stepped back from her.  “Take care of her,” Jurar said to the guard.  He then walked away, disappearing through the doorway of the jail cell. 

Ciala looked at the newest man standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.  He looked down at her arrogantly and she pulled her jacket back over her breasts.  Pulling her shoulders inward slightly, Ciala let him think he was stronger, increasing his perception that she was weak and scared, even as she moved surreptitiously into position. 

She turned her back to him, hoping he would think she was cowering.  Taking a deep breath, counting slowly, carefully to five.  She wanted to put him off his guard, to make him think she was giving in and was scared.  Yes, she was scared.  Terrified actually.  But she definitely wasn’t giving in! 

With a swift kick, she swung out, knocking the man out of the doorway.  This time, she didn’t hesitate.  She rushed out of the jail, through the doors.  Knowing that she wasn’t free of the stronger man, she quickly slammed the door closed before he could get up off of the cement floor, locking the guard inside.  Turning, she quickly assessed her options.  There were two hallways.  She had a fifty-fifty chance at freedom.  But she needed her bag!  She’d spent too much time and energy getting all of those interviews.  She couldn’t leave them! 

She took a moment, trying to decide what to do.  And then she realized what was happening!  Was she crazy?  She was standing in a jail house trying to get her bag back? 

Okay, so her freedom was definitely more important.  Taking the more sensible approach, she looked down both hallways, deciding on the left one and getting out of dodge.  Once she was safe again, she could figure out how to get her bag back.  But right now, she couldn’t be caught standing here wondering what to do.  She had to move!

Sprinting down the hallway, she saw the window with light shimmering through the dirty glass and went straight for it.  Even escaping without her work would be better than being trapped here with extremely large men that didn’t seem very ethical, especially when….  The man had touched her!  Good grief, no man had ever touched her like that before!  Her breast and neck still tingled from that touch and a part of her wanted to reach up and try to eliminate the aftereffects of his touch.  But getting away was more important.  She would have time to figure out what he’d done to her later. 

There was a window at the end of one hallway so she chose that route over the other that didn’t seem to have an obvious escape.  The window was her guiding point and she raced towards it, determined to get away as fast as possible before that enormous man did something else to unbalance her equilibrium.  She saw the light coming from the window, raced towards it and didn’t look to the right or left.  Everything inside of her told her to just run, get out of this building and find her way home. 

As it was, her brothers were going to be furious at her absence and that was just not a situation she was willing to endure.  Besides, her brothers were nothing compared to the man who had…that had…well, she wasn’t going to think about HIM!

For once today, luck was on her side.  She found the window and looked out, relieved that the window was on the first floor.  She tried to open the window only to realize that it was locked.  Duh, she thought with self-derision.  Of course the window would be locked! She was probably in a police station so it would be ridiculous if the window was unlocked. 

Taking one of the chairs beside the wall, she hefted it into her arms and threw it against the window with all of her strength.  The crash was significantly louder than what she’d anticipated, but she didn’t hesitate to jump through the window, ignoring the pain that slashed through her hand when her palm grazed the broken glass.  Dismissing the pain, she spared only a moment to glance behind her.

Sure enough, several men in the black uniforms were poking their heads out of the window.  When they realized what was happening, they came out and raced towards her.  Ciala saw the tall man, the dangerous looking one, step out as well but he didn’t race after her.  No, he just stood there and captured her eyes.  That look, the intensity in the dark depths, caused her to hesitate.  She wasn’t aware of her mouth falling open or the way her body started tingling again.  All she knew was that he was there.  He was watching her.  And she felt her limbs go weak while her heart raced frantically. 

But then a shout to her right distracted her and she realized that there were men coming at her from that direction as well.  Looking around, she knew that her only escape was over the wall.  She prayed that there wasn’t sharp glass at the top or razor wire, which would be worse. 

Going at it from a running start, she used all of her focus to perform the task of sprinting, leaping as high as possible and grasping the top before throwing her legs over the wall.  She shimmied over the top moments before the first man caught up to her.  By then it was only a matter of moments to jump down over the other side. 

Still breathing hard, she dusted off her clothes, cringing when she realized that her hand had just smeared blood on her jacket. 

No worries, she told herself as she pulled her jacket off and tied it around her waist. 

She was still in the city, she realized.  The city was good!  The city meant camouflage!  She could blend in, become part of the crowd.  As she listened, she heard the yells behind her, engines roaring to life and…oh yes!  A marketplace!  From the sounds of it, she was only a few blocks from the market.  Hot-footing it down the street, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the busy market bustling with people.  But there were also dangers, she thought with caution.  Her eyes quickly scanned the market and saw the police officers on their radios.  Obviously, a description of her had already been radioed out to the authorities.

Not a problem, she thought with relish, eager to outsmart the men who were quickly closing in.  Oh, she would love to see that odious man’s face when his officers informed them that she’d escaped.  She wiped the smile from her face though, remembering that being overly confident was a weakness.  She had to concentrate, to get out of the market and to safety as soon as she could. 

She noticed that the police officers were looking at their cell phones. Obviously, a picture of her had been sent out to the local law enforcement officers.  Not good, she thought.  But she wasn’t defeated!  Oh no, she had tricks up her sleeve! 

They thought they knew who she was?  Fine!  She’d change what she looked like!  Patting down her pockets, she found the hidden cache of money she always kept on herself.  At the first market vendor, she bought a scarf and immediately threw it over her head and shoulders.  Walking down another few stalls, she found a pair of sunglasses, smiled at the vendor and gave him the money before slipping the glasses high onto her face, hiding her eyes.  She got a tote bag from yet another vendor, a different flowered scarf, just in case she needed to change her look again, a hat and a different pair of shoes.  With those changes made, she was able to walk right in front of a pair of police officers without being stopped in any way.  It probably helped that she kept close to another group of laughing ladies, pretending to be a part of their group. 

It took her less than ten minutes to reach the other side of the market.  And only another fifteen to get back to the area where her truck was located.  She no longer had her key to the ignition, but that wasn’t going to be a problem.  It was just another time suck, she thought with rising anger.