Page 48 of Just a Bit Captivated

But not yet.

Not yet.

“Where to?” the driver asked in accented English.

Back to Zain.

Quashing the thought, Aiden shrugged with a lost smile.“Where do the tourists go?”

Chapter Seventeen

Aiden was enjoying the stunning view of the city from the observation deck near the top of the Burj Khalifa when one of the bodyguards approached him and handed him a phone.

Aiden stared at it blankly before realizing that there was a call active.

He brought the phone to his ear and walked away from the bodyguards.“Zain?” he said, because there was only one person who would speak to him on the phone in this country.

“Is everything fine?” Zain’s voice sounded kind of tense and abrupt.

Aiden pressed the phone closer to his ear, as if that would magically bring Zain closer.“Sure,” he said belatedly.“Don’t your bodyguards report to you?”

There was a small pause.

“They do.”

Aiden found himself smiling.“Aw, so you just wanted to hear my voice, right?”He knew he was projecting.If he had a phone, he would have called Zain hours ago, not two hours and twenty-odd minutes later. Not that he’d been keeping track of time or anything. Much.

Zain didn’t dignify that with a response, of course.“The bodyguards said you are at the Burj Khalifa. So cliche.”

“Hey, cliches exist for a reason! And being in Dubai and not visiting the tallest building in the world would be a missed opportunity, wouldn’t it? At least I’ll have something to tell my grandchildren!” Aiden imitated an old man’s voice,“When I was young like you, children, I saw the Burj Khalifa when I was a pleasure slave of the local sheikh—”

“You’re ridiculous,” Zain said, but was that a hint of a smile in his voice? “And I’m notthesheikh. I’m one of his sons.”

Aiden shrugged with a smile.“It’s my story, so I can exercise some creative freedom! I’m sure my imaginary future grandchildren would be less impressed if their grandpa were a pleasure slave ofamere sheikh.”

He fell silent, a feeling of disquiet twisting his gut as he imagined decadespassing, having children, then grandchildren, growing old until this misadventure—Zain—would be a distant memory, like something from a dream.

Aiden cleared his throat a few times, trying not to freak out about how much that possible future freaked him out.

“I have to go,” Zain said, his voice rather abrupt. He hung up.

Aiden returned the phone to the bodyguard, feeling a little numb on the inside. A little hollow.

He shook his head, trying to shake the feeling off.“Let’s go to the aquarium, guys,” he said with forced cheer.“It seemed really cool.”

The rest of the day passed in a bit of a haze. Aiden tried to distract himself with cool sights and landmarks, but everything failed to hold his attention, no matter how grand and awe-inspiring the architecture of this city was. The feeling of disquiet in the pit of his stomach grew with every hour until Aiden couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Call your boss, please,” Aiden requested at last. He was tired of sightseeing.

Liar, said the voice at the back of his mind.All you’re tired of is being away from the man who owns you. You’re pathetic.

Shut up. He felt cranky and far too hot. All he wanted was to get home, into his cool, air-conditioned room, and take a long shower. Nothing more.

“I can’t do that,” the bodyguard said, frowning.“We are not allowed to bother the sheikh unless it’s very urgent. He’s a busy man.”

“Don’t worry about it, call him. I’ll take the blame if he’s pissed.”

Looking doubtful, the bodyguard exchanged a few words with his partner.They both looked hesitant, as if it were unthinkable to bother their boss for such an insignificant reason.

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