The Rebel King

Rhia lay awake in the shadowy darkness, listening to the sounds the rain made in the night. For a time there had been the noises Nikolas made as he prepared for bed-footsteps and scufflings, the gush of water running through pipes, and doors opening and closing-but now there was only the rain, swooshing down the window glass, pattering on the balcony floor, rustling in the vines that covered the apartment building's outside walls.

It should have been a recipe for instant slumber, but instead she was wide awake, tense…restless. Not because the couch wasn't comfortable, but because it was. It was too comfortable, that was the problem. She couldn't let herself relax for fear she'd fall asleep. In spite of her arrogant claims, in her exhausted state she was afraid she might sleep soundly enough to allow Donovan to slip away from her. She hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said it had been a long day for her; she'd left the Lazlo Group's headquarters long before dawn that morning- only minutes, in fact, after verification of her target's location had come in around 2:00 a.m. Rhia didn't like delays. Once she had the information she needed, she moved and moved quickly. It was just her way.

She needed rest, and badly; she had a feeling it was going to take all her resources, mental and physical, to keep even one step ahead of Nikolas Donovan.

But she couldn't risk letting him escape while she slept. What she needed, she realized, was some kind of alarm.

She threw back the down comforter Nikolas had generously provided and rose from the couch. Ignoring the robe he'd also given her-nice of him, she thought with a wicked inner smile-she felt in the darkness for the belt she always wore on assignments like this one. Her fingers quickly located the pouch containing the items she needed- nail clippers and a small roll of nylon fishing line, nearly invisible, yet strong enough to land a thousand-pound marlin…so useful in so many ways.

By this time her eyes were well adjusted to the semi-darkness. Working without a flashlight and almost soundlessly, she tied a loop of the fishing line around the front door handle, then threaded it carefully around the leg of a small table nearby. It wouldn't go undetected in full light, but if Donovan decided to run, she doubted he'd be turning on any lamps. She did the same to the balcony doors and then, confident nobody was going to exit or enter the apartment without her knowing about it, Rhia lay down once again on the couch and pulled the comforter over herself with a satisfied sigh.

Nikolas, who had been monitoring this activity from the bedroom, heard the sigh and smiled to himself in the darkness. She hasn't lost her resourcefulness, he thought, as his mind flashed back yet again to his first encounter with her on that Paris hotel balcony. Or her sex appeal, his mind wryly added as his body responded predictably to the memory.

She was a worthy adversary. It was going to be fun outwitting her.

Rhia woke up shuddering with sexual arousal, her body scalded, pulses pounding. My God, what a dream. Was it… Nikolas? No-surely not. Somebody who reminds me of Nikolas, though, or-no, wait…I think I remember…

But it was too late, the dream was already slipping away. She remembered a balcony…maybe? Though hazy, it was all she could recall. That, and the same nagging sense of deja vu that had been bothering her all evening.

Exasperated, she once again threw back the comforter and rose, this time putting on the robe her reluctant host had left lying over the arm of the couch. It felt cool and slick on her skin, and smelled of aftershave and masculinity. Just what her overheated senses needed. Like using gasoline to douse a fire, she thought as she made her way through the shadowed room that was already becoming familiar to her.

The rain had stopped. In the quiet even her bare footsteps on the thin carpet seemed loud, but she made no effort to tiptoe. I hope I do wake him, she thought, cranky and jangled from her own interrupted sleep. Serve him right. Though just what it would serve him right for she didn't try to figure out.

In the kitchen she opened the refrigerator and stared hot-eyed into its depths. Where was that damn wine? Ah-yes. She reached for the bottle of rose, now barely a third full, and plucked out the stopper with an audible pop. She raised the bottle to her lips, tilted her head back and swigged down what was left of the wine in noisy unladylike gulps. With a violent shudder-she really did not care for wine-she set the empty bottle and stopper in the sink and made her way back to the couch, managing to stub her toe only once.

She was about to reach for the comforter once more when it occurred to her that perhaps she would be wise to use the WC before settling in. To do so, of course, meant she would have to pass Nikolas's door, which she'd noticed he'd left partly ajar. Figures, she thought. He trusts me about as much as I trust him.

It seemed to her rather like sneaking past the cage of a sleeping tiger-and this time she did tiptoe. Having just gotten her libido calmed down, the last thing she needed was a middle-of-the-night run-in with the man who for some reason appeared to be the cause of its recent rampage.

So, when a voice like the deep-chested growl of a tiger came rumbling out of the bedroom just as she was passing the half-open doorway on her return from the bathroom, it was a miracle she didn't jump right out of her skin.

'Trouble sleeping?'

With one hand braced against the wall for support and the other against her chest to keep the adrenaline surge from forcing her heart through her ribs. Rhia managed to make her voice sound almost normal. 'No trouble-I'm just…'

'A light sleeper-I know.' The voice was a velvety purr, fairly oozing sympathy. 'Are you sure you won't change your mind about the bed?' Light flared warm and golden, splashing across the caipeted floor.

Although she tried her best to stop them, her eyes darted like curious children to the door opening. In the rectangle of soft light from the lamp he'd just switched on. she could see Nikolas reclining gracefully on his side with his upper half raised, propped on one elbow. That same half, the only part of him she could see-sculpted muscles of chest, torso, shoulders and arms-wore nothing but smooth tawny skin with an appealing masculine patterning of ink-black hair. His face wore a knowing smile, and one eyebrow raised in deliberate challenge.

A challenge? That was all Rhia needed. It was a bucketful of cold water in the face, that eyebrow-a clarion call to battle. A slug of Jack Daniel's, neat.

Icy calm settled over her as she pushed the door wide open and leaned, with arms casually folded, against the door frame, her focus so narrow now, she barely noticed-or cared-that the lower half of that magnificent body was modestly covered by a blanket.

'No. I haven't changed my mind. The couch is quite comfortable.' Her sultry smile changed to a grimace. 'If you must know. I was having a rather unpleasant dream.' She paused before adding wickedly. 'You were in it.'

'Really!' She was ridiculously pleased at the genuine surprise in his voice.

'Yes-not all that hard to figure, really, considering you've been pretty much the whole focus of my existence for the past few days. Plus…' She hesitated, frowned, then reluctantly gave in. wondering whether she was going to regret putting these particular cards on the table. She let it out with an exasperated gust of breath. 'Plus, I've been trying all evening to think who you remind me of, dammit. Or where I've met you before. Because I'm sure I have, and it's driving me crazy-' She stopped and straightened up, eyes narrowing', his eyes had a suspicious sparkle in them, like someone with a bad poker face and a secret ace up his sleeve. 'Okay, wait. You know, don't you? We have met before, and you know where.'

His satisfied chuckle confirmed it. Inwardly grinding her teeth and wearing her most winning smile, she took a cajoling step toward him, her role as his captor and keeper temporarily put aside. 'Come on, you have to tell me. I can't believe I wouldn't have remembered you…'

'Hmm…flattering.' Nikolas murmured. His eyes had softened with laughter…and something else she couldn't name. His smile grew downright seductive. 'I won't tell you…but if you'll come here a minute, I'll give you a hint.'

'A hint?' She paused, thinking of the limerick again. She really did not trust that tiger-smile.

'Yes, luv, a hint. But you'll have to come closer than that.' He shifted, lying back on the pillows, and patted the blanket beside him. 'Come, come-what are you afraid of? Surely you don't think a future king would stoop to ravishing an unwilling lady.'

'From all I hear, Reginald would have.' Rhia said darkly.

'Ah. Yes. But I'm not Reginald. Nor a future king, either, actually, so that's not much help, is it?' His eyebrow rose, his mouth tilted wryly, and his voice deepened with an unmistakable note of mockery. 'Miss de Hayes, I never