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She wrenched herself free of him and started toward the elevator door. Once again, he caught up with her. "Eliana," he called out.
She halted at the door. The elevator could only be called by Kadeem who owned the solitary keycard. "Can you arrange for me to be taken back to the embassy?"
"We have to talk about this," he stated.
"There's nothing to say," she replied sharply.
"If I take you back, I can at least explain what happened," he said.
She lifted a skeptical brow. "That you smuggled me out of the embassy so you could bring me here?" she asked. "So you could do what you wanted with me?"
"Is that what you think?" he asked incredulously.
She shrugged. There was a cold, steely look in her eyes. "What other explanation is there?"
He stared at her, astonished that she could even think such a thing. For a moment, he was almost speechless at that response. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
Eliana nodded toward the elevator door. "Please, Kadeem. This has gone far enough."
He shook his head. "It hasn't, Eliana. Not as far as I'm concerned."
She frowned. "Nothing has changed."
He gazed at her. She leaned back against the wall. It was a defensive move which cut into his heart when he saw it.
He had to do something, he told himself. This might be his last chance to say what had been on his mind all day.
He moved closer to her and her eyes widened slightly. Did she think he was going to do something she wouldn't want him to do? That wasn't how things were between them, he told himself. Not any more.
When he spoke, it was with a deep voice filled with absolute conviction. His words were measured and decisive. "You might leave now, Ellie. But even if you do, you must know this. After tonight, I will do whatever it takes to claim you."
He moved a step closer to her and lowered his voice. "To own you. To make you mine. Nothing will stop me. You belong to me, now."
There was a long, heavy pause during which they gazed at one another. Her mouth opened, and she stared at him as if she couldn't believe what he'd just said. He saw her face flush red with emotion. Her gaze softened, moistening slightly. For a moment, he thought he'd won some kind of victory. Encouraged, he waited for her response.
But then he heard her heavy sigh.
He was sure she was going to reject what he'd said. Sure that she would tell him he was crazy to think that what had happened between them changed anything. But, instead, she just looked at him and said. "Please let me go, Kadeem."
A heavy weight sank into the pit of his stomach. He felt a sudden nausea. It had been a futile attempt, after all.
For now.
He hesitated a moment and then nodded. "The driver will take you back to the embassy, " he said slowly. "If that will be satisfactory."
He swiped the card across the panel to open the elevator. The doors slid open and Eliana stepped inside.
Kadeem gazed disbelievingly at her. Eliana looked blankly at him and then the doors closed. And she was gone.
CHAPTER NINE
Eliana arrived at the embassy to find it curiously quiet. She'd expected to be rushed back into the embassy building and up to the safety of her room.
But there was no-one around. There was no sudden bustle of activity on her arrival. The embassy lights were still on. It was as if she had never left.
She thanked Kadeem's driver and made her way into the embassy. Pausing in the hallway, she heard voices from the room on the right. The one she'd escaped from with Kadeem. Eliana recognized the voices. Her mother and father were talking. And the conversation didn't sound too friendly.
Eliana opened the door and went into the room. She paused at the open door. Her father and mother whirled around at the sound of her entrance.
