46. The Garden

{Naya}

"Anyone home?" I called when Portia and I entered the foyer of Zayn's massive estate.

Portia whistled. "You've got to be kidding me." Her voice echoed throughout the spacious entrance way. She squeaked in surprise when two butlers swept up her suitcase and our shopping bags.

"Um, Naya? Where are they going with my stuff?" She poked a thumb at the people shuffling off with the bags.

I took her by the shoulders and guided her forward. "They're putting them in your room. Now come with me. We need to find the guys."

Portia didn't like me rushing her through the mansion. She wanted to take her time to marvel at the architecture and priceless decor.

"If I had known Sin came from this kind of money, I wouldn't have wasted time dragging him to a crappy pizza parlor! How embarrassing."

I chuckled to myself. If only I could tell Portia that this lifestyle was just as foreign to Sinbad as it was for her.

Hoping that we would find someone out by the pool, I steered Portia outside to the series of courtyards bordering the property. As we approached the outdoor pool, I was relieved to see someone splashing around in it. A tanned figure undulated gracefully to the edge of the pool and hoisted themselves out of the water.

"Lord, have mercy," Portia said at the sight of water pearling down Sinbad's mostly naked body. Recognition flooded his eyes when he saw Portia and me standing a few feet away.

Portia's hands locked around my bicep in a death grip. "Naya, he's coming over here!"

I tried to tug my arm back. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Portia continued to squirm as Sinbad got closer. "Yes, but I haven't even gotten a chance to check my hair and fix my makeup. What do I say? Better yet, where do I look?"

Portia did have a point. At the moment Sinbad was wearing nothing but a Speedo. Even I was a little more distracted by his body parts than usual.

"Well it's too late for that now. Here he is."

I managed to shrug Portia off of me just as Sinbad approached. He didn't seem to be aware in the least of his near nakedness as he spread his arms and greeted us with a warm welcome.

"It's especially good to see you again, Portia," Sinbad said with one of his dashing smiles. It dawned on me that although he was a fairly happy-go-lucky individual, I hadn't seen Sinbad smile like this since he came to live with Zayn.

Portia maintained a very cool, slightly disinterested tone as she replied, "Hi, Sin. We didn't mean to interrupt your workout."

Sinbad pushed back some wet hair that had fallen into his eyes. I could have sworn I heard Portia whimper at the sight.

"Of course not! I was just finishing up."

I rolled my eyes. Clearly Sinbad couldn't tell that Portia was bluffing her disinterest in him. The poor pirate searched for something else to say to her.

"Portia, may I say that you look . . ."

She pretended to study her nails.

Sinbad blurted, "Better than you did last time I saw you. I mean, you were already beautiful before, but . . . ."

Portia gave me the Is he serious? look. She couldn't keep playing it so cool when he offered up compliments like that. I nudged her with my foot. Make up your own mind, already!

Sinbad chuckled at his own blunder. "But I suppose that distance makes the heart grow fonder."

Portia looked up and cleared her throat before saying, "That's really . . . sweet of you to say, Sin. You look–" She tried to not stare too hard at his wet, flawless body, "much more used to your environment than we last met."

The two of them went on awkwardly like this until I interrupted and suggested that Sinbad take Portia on a tour of the mansion.

"Wonderful idea, Naya! I'll get my shoes." He left us to find his pool slippers.

Portia whipped around and seized me again. "Don't you dare leave me alone with him!"

"Ready, Portia?"

My friend let go of me to face Sinbad. She swallowed hard. "Hey, aren't you going to put on a towel or something?"

I grabbed one from one of the bistro tables and handed it to Portia. "Here you go. You can dry him off. I'm going to see if I can find Uri. Sin, do you know where he is?"

"The kitchens I think. Tread cautiously, though. Mr. Naim will be upset if any part of tomorrow's surprise is ruined for you."

Before Portia could have a chance to grab my arm again, I skipped off in the direction of the mansion. I knew that she was probably losing her mind at the thought of rubbing Sinbad down like he was some kind of sports car, but I had no doubt that she would thank me for it later.

I traveled toward the kitchens without treading cautiously because I cared more about seeing Uri than I did about ruining any kind of surprise for myself, which I'm positive was a goodbye party anyway.

"Whoa there. Where are you going?" A firm grip took hold of my arm and swung me away from the door to the kitchens.

"Uri!" I was so happy that I could have kissed him, which, in fact, I did.

For a brief moment, Uri kissed me back. I felt that familiar heat rising up in me, but I wasn't worried. I knew how to control it better. I could kiss Uri for as long as I wanted to. The hard part now was just getting the time and the privacy to do so.

In between heavy breaths, I said, "Come with me. Portia's with Sinbad. Zayn is planning the surprise. We can be alone now."

A throaty rumble came from Uri as he kissed me one last time. "I'm so sorry, but I can't right now."

By now he had me arm's length, looking pitiful and apologetic. "You see, I'm in on the surprise too. Right now I'm helping the chef. And you can't be anywhere near here."

I groaned. "Not fair!"

Uri sympathized with me. "I know." He reached out and gently took my chin between his fingers, dragging his thumb over my bottom lip. "Trust me, I would much rather be with you."

I pouted. "This surprise better be good."

+++

{Portia}

Portia stood there, mortified that her best friend would leave her stranded with this sun god of a man. Did Naya really expect her to use the towel to dry him off?

And yet, here she was reaching up to pat his shoulders dry. To her disbelief, Sin didn't exaggerate the intimate contact. He simply carried on with their conversation.

"I think I will take you to see the garden first."

After Portia finished drying off Sin's top half, he took the towel from her, tied it around his waist and offered up his arm. Part of Portia was relieved that she would no longer be distracted by his Speedo. Part of her was disappointed at the loss of eye candy.

I guess staring at his rock hard abs will just have to do for now, Portia thought to herself as she took Sin's arm and allowed him to guide her further through the courtyards. She had never seen hedges this tall and statues so grand. But the best part about their little stroll wasn't the extravagant garden pieces. It was being in Sin's company. He was so different from the men that Portia was used to dating. Even though he had a damn near flawless body, there wasn't a single detectable ounce of arrogance about him.

Sin also possessed this subtle trace of cluelessness that his so-called brother, Uri, seemed to carry too. Maybe it ran in the family, but Uri's lack of understanding of modern culture had caused Portia to be more suspicious of him than she usually was with Naya's boyfriends. She did find it a bit ironic that the goofy, clueless quality that made Uri untrustworthy to her had the opposite effect coming from Sin. To her, he was simply endearing.

The longer Portia walked with Sin through the garden maze, the more she was thankful that Naya had left her alone with him. She was on the verge of asking him about that kiss they shared at the end of their roadtrip, when her attention was suddenly stolen by the sight around the corner.

The two of them had stumbled on a section in the garden where several animal handlers were attaching harnesses and decorations to three Indian elephants. Portia had to blink twice to convince herself that these were not just more statues in Mr. Naim's garden, but real elephants.

Sin gave an apologetic groan. "Oh no, I ruined one of the surprises. Pretend like you didn't see anything."

Portia giggled, giving Sin's arm a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, I promise not to tell Naya."

Sin looked genuinely relieved. "In that case, would you like to go for a ride?"

"Ride? As in you want me to ride one of those elephants?"

He released a hearty laugh. "Yes, why not? You will be in good hands. I've ridden elephants many times."

While Portia wrung her hands and tried to wrap her mind around the idea of riding an animal that large, Sin was already calling over the handlers and asking them to lend one of their elephants.

Soon the handlers were helping Portia and Sin get into a comfortable position on the back of a female. Portia took deep breaths, doing her best to keep her cool in front of Sin. Once they were all situated and Sin had taken hold of the reins, they were off.

"This is unbelievable," Portia whispered. "I knew elephants were tall, but I didn't realize that I would be this high off the ground!" She did her best to hold on as lightly as she could to Sin's waist. Even though she would rather be wrapping her arms around his entire torso and pressing her face against his bare back, she restrained herself.

They moved through the garden in silence upon the gentle giant for several minutes. Portia had forgotten about the view of the plant life surrounding them. She was much more focused on the ripples and muscular indentions in Sin's skin.

"Portia, I have a question for you," Sin said as he glanced over his shoulder. She quickly recovered from her trance and replaced her smitten stare with a cool attitude.

"What's up?"

Sin faced the front again so he could focus on steering the elephant. Portia could still catch glimpses of his jaw working as he formed his question.

"How can I say this . . . . Earlier at the pool with Naya, I told you that you looked beautiful, more beautiful than last time, and you . . . well, you didn't seem to be flattered. I'm wondering, did my words somehow offend you? Is it wrong to call women beautiful in your culture? It seems that I'm still learning these things."

Portia could feel her face growing hot with guilt. It seemed that Naya was trying to warn her not to play it so cool with Sin, but she hadn't realized how completely hopeless he was. Still, even now, Portia couldn't resist giving up her power over him. So she kept on playing hard to get.

"Beautiful is pretty high praise for someone who's not wearing any makeup and doesn't even have her hair done."

Portia caught the outline of Sin's jaw dropping. "But Portia, I meant every word."

She gave a skeptical sniff. "Oh I have no doubt about that. But think about it. What are you going to say to me tomorrow night when I'm all dressed up? You don't possibly believe that you can get away with calling me beautiful again, do you? That will read as most insincere."

Portia giggled to herself at the script for this impromptu alter ego. Sin, on the other hand, had fallen silent, deep in thought. A long pause passed between them. Portia was beginning to think that she had taken it too far when Sin came back with, "I would say that you looked divine." He managed to make eye contact with her on the last word.

Portia's facade slipped briefly before she replied, "And what about after that? What would you say if I overcame your expectations a second time?"

Sin brought the elephant to a slow halt. "In that case, I would say that I was speechless."

Without waiting for Portia's reply, he expertly dismounted the elephant's back. Then he reached out his arms to help her down. She didn't hesitate swinging her leg over like he instructed and sliding into his firm grip.

The exchange caused Sin's towel to slip to the ground, revealing his Speedo once again. Portia let out a small gasp as she slid down the elephant's side. Sin grunted when he caught her and she instinctively imprinted her hands into his pectoral muscles. They were pressed close together, Sin refusing to let her feet touch the ground and Portia hanging onto him like he was her only lifeline.

Portia couldn't admire Sin's tempting body because she was too lost in his dark brown eyes. Her hand took on a life on its own as it traveled up the man's strong jawline and traced his sideburns. Her fingers rest on the base of his chin.

Portia inhaled to prepare herself. Then she leaned forward.

Gravity suddenly took hold and yanked her to the ground, robbing her of the chance to get a taste of Sin's full lips.

"What just happened?"

From above, Sin unleashed a rather devious smile. "I think that we should wait until tomorrow night."

He let her go and picked his towel off the ground.

Portia sputtered, "Why?"

Tying his towel expertly around his waist, he replied, "It would be better to save a kiss for someone who makes me speechless as opposed to kissing someone who is simply beautiful. Otherwise, it wouldn't be very sincere, now would it?"