Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

MADELINE

"What's your plan?" Madeline asked, hating taking the role of some incapable female, but she was completely out of her element right now and feeling trapped. As much as it galled her, Noah was right. She wasn't safe staying here by herself.

As she'd been cleaning the two plates, she almost dropped one when she realized that all Travis had to do was find the right street, drop a little money, ooze a little charm, and ask where the American woman was living nearby. Someone would spill the beans without knowing they were putting her in danger. People around here were so open, so gentle and friendly, but money spoke, and Travis had a lot of money.

"We've got to get you out of here and quickly," Noah said simply, holding her hand. Honestly, she was glad he was holding it because it kept her from flailing around in a panic when her mind nose-dived down that abyss of what those horrible men would do to her if they found her. I mean, if they were willing to entomb her within the walls of the pyramid alive – obviously, there was no line that they wouldn't cross. "I think we are safe here tonight, but I wouldn't count on much longer. People will begin to ask questions and talk."

"True."

"Obviously, they'll do anything for enough money – hence your watch and your necklace…" he again pointed out grimly. "Not that I blame them, but I don't like either of us being on the receiving end of desperation selling out someone innocent."

"I guess I could try to get to New York and see if the apartment is available earlier than expected. I was going to try to save my last few paychecks and…"

"Or you could trust me."

That softly spoken statement caused Madeline to look at him. Her eyes met his, gentle yet firm, as Noah still held her hand. He had been there for her from the very first moment that she'd asked for help, without fail. He had stepped in as her protector, helped her get free, helped rescue her, and now he was asking her to trust him once more.

"I do trust you," she whispered painfully, afraid she was going to break down in tears once more. Being on the run, scared to make a move, or brutally exhausted was all taking its toll on her.

"How fast can you pack your things? You mentioned the apartment was furnished, so how many items are your personal effects?"

"Maybe a large suitcase," she shrugged nervously. "I've got clothing, a few baubles that I've bought, but the rest can be left. "

"Perfect."

"Perfect… for what ?"

Noah looked at her and hesitated. He gave her hand a slight squeeze, looking down at their joined hands before meeting her gaze again. His golden-brown eyes held hers, searching, almost as if he was trying to measure her as a person, too.

"You know I would never hurt you, right? I would never steer you wrong, and I'm trying to help," he uttered, looking concerned and a little nervous. "But this place I'm suggesting is not one where anyone would look for you. You would be safe, hidden, cared for, and it would enable you to get your feet under you without any issues except for one."

"That sounds perfect. What's the one issue?"

"We'll need a marriage license for real…"

Madeline's mouth dropped open as Noah continued in that deep drawl that melted over her like hot butter, combined with a soft smile that touched his lips.

"Because my Mama will have a lot of questions, and the airlines will insist on seeing some sort of proof when the ticket says my last name, not yours. Now, before you say anything, hear me out. Taking my name will hide you from Travis. I doubt they remember it. Travis or Ahmed will be looking for Dr. Madeline Smith – not M. Bennington – on a commercial flight to Memphis, Tennessee."

She sat there, stunned. What he suggested wasn't a guarantee, but it was sure more probable than anything she could come up with on the fly. They could go to a lawyer's office tomorrow morning, get a marriage license, and she could hop a flight to Tennessee – all before the carrier pulled out of port.

"I can take you to the airport, we can discuss what to do next when we aren't so pressured by time or in danger… and we can figure the whole marriage thing out too," he repeated, almost as if he needed to force himself to believe it.

"Your… mother? You want to send me to your mother? I'm a stranger, remember?"

"She's probably going to grill you more than some attorney cross-examining you, but her heart is in the right place," Noah smiled gently. "I promise… besides, we still aren't sure if an Egyptian marriage would hold up back home between two friends, remember? Trust me enough to have your back and protect you."

"I'm trying… it's just a lot."

"I know it is – but I don't know where else to send you where you'd be safe. Even when you get to New York, if Travis knows you are going there – you'll be in danger, but maybe Dr. Bennington wouldn't be? Or at least I hope that is the case… perhaps you look for another position somewhere else?"

"It's my dream job, Noah…"

"I'm just trying to help."

"This isn't helping," she said hoarsely, trying to keep from panicking. This job was supposed to be everything – a fresh start and a healthy paycheck. If she looked for another job, who knows where or what she would be doing, and it wasn't like this was real.

Even if she married him a second time deliberately to fool some people looking for documents so she could escape out of the country, she would still be alone and have to fend for herself. Noah admitted it already between the two of them – it wasn't a real marriage but a fake one to bail her out of a mess she was eyebrow deep within.

"I'd like to think you asked me to help you because you noticed something in me worth trusting – and I'm honored – but I need you to see that for a few moments longer," Noah began quietly, looking away. "I know this isn't ideal for you, but I really think it could keep you safe until things settle down. Give it a few months, get settled, and let things simmer down; then we can circle around to this again."

"What do you mean?"

"If you need out in a few months, we can file for an annulment or divorce so you can be free of me – but I hope that we can still call each other friends or get that coffee someday stateside."

While it hurt to hear someone just toss out the ‘divorce' word so easily, a part of her understood too. It was a desperate moment, a panicked grasp for help, and this was a terrorized woman on the run. She would do anything to get away safely – cut her hair, dye it, change clothing…

So why balk at officially changing her name?

"Coffee?" she whispered nervously, looking at him. "I thought you said dinner?" – only to see his face turn slightly, full of hope.

"Dinner then," Noah smiled faintly, nodding, as he squeezed her hand slightly in his. "I promise."

They shared a look, nodded, and went back to watching the television for a few moments before Madeline got up without a word. She pulled an empty suitcase out from a small closet nearby and started to gather her things together. This was such a strange, surreal feeling, despite the fact that she was already planning on doing this very thing in a few months – but under different constraints.

As she packed her clothing, a statue of Baat that she'd picked up, and gathered up her toiletries, her mind raced. She was fighting back a nervous anxiety because what if Travis and his goons showed up during the night? What if they caught them in the streets tomorrow? What if they were waiting at the airport for her? There were so many ‘what ifs' where something could go wrong, it was hard to believe something would end up working out in her favor.

… Only to hear a faint snore from nearby.

Blinking, Madeline looked over her shoulder to see Noah's form slumped on the couch – sound asleep. The man had stepped forward to help her without question, pushed himself to the limit, and had finally reached the end of his rope. He was exhausted, and honestly – she was too. If they were going to get out of any upcoming messes, she needed to be at the top of her game, and right now, she barely felt like she was clinging to the gameboard.

She dropped the pants she'd been folding into the suitcase and stood. Life could be a whole lot tougher to get through without friends – and having one who would give up everything to help you out?

Well, that was a gift beyond measure , she thought sagely. Moving slowly, trying to keep quiet, she moved to Noah's side and winced at the angle of his neck. He was going to be hurting tomorrow.

"Noah? Scoot over…" she whispered, nudging him and sat down. He grumbled incoherently for a moment before adjusting slightly and wrapping an arm around her waist. That single moment caused her to hesitate – along with the fact that he was now resting his head on her shoulder like a pillow.

Yes, she could think of a lot worse things in life – but she chose to focus on this unexpected blessing beside her instead. Gingerly, she touched his hair at his temple before tracing the shell of his ear and sat there silently. She held Noah for an unknown length of time, lost in her thoughts, before finally closing her eyes as she whispered softly to him.

"Good night…"

Madeline slowly awoke, feeling sublime. That was probably the best night of sleep she'd had despite all the weird dreams. She was cozy, warm, content, and not alone.

She had fallen asleep slumped beside Noah, who had been lying against her shoulder, but something had obviously changed. Now, lying down horizontally, she was still beside Noah but in a much different position.

Swallowing silently, she lifted her head a bit to see her shirt was pushed upward slightly, and Noah's cheek was lying on her bare midriff. The rest of her was covered decently, but there was a definite gap between her top and the waistband of her pants.

Noah looked so content, so peaceful, despite her mild panic at the innocent gesture. He couldn't know, nor did Madeline want to draw attention to it, and she froze as he rubbed his cheek against her stomach slightly. The man was cuddling her and resting his cheek on her belly.

Cuddling.

As he nuzzled her again, he let out a loud sigh of pleasure and snuggled a little deeper into the embrace, making her notice that his arm was under the small of her back. They just fit together like two puzzle pieces so easily that she hadn't noticed.

"Uh… Noah?" she whispered gingerly to wake him and let her head drop back to the pillow. Her neck was aching from straining to look at him, and there was no reason for it. She just needed to wake him up, make some embarrassed ex cuse, and get moving so they could figure out what they needed to do.

Her brain seized in awareness, stopping mid-thought, as a pair of lips kissed the skin near her belly button. Was she dreaming? Could she really be lying innocently in bed with a friend – a particularly gorgeous friend – who was suddenly deciding to kiss her abdomen softly while half-asleep?

Commencing swoon #6…

And then felt his tongue touch her belly button. If her brain had seized before, it just detonated. Noah, stranger, friend, and pseudo-husband just went from ‘ gorgeous' to ‘ molten' in one split second.

There were certain rules people had to abide by, and you could not mix the two. You were either friend-status, good-looking, gorgeous, or drop-dead sexy. Mixing two was a recipe for danger. But all four traits in one person, cuddled against you...

Nuclear meltdown.

"Mother of… seven, eight, nine, and ten!" Madeline exclaimed hoarsely, curling upward at the unbelievable sensation – only to hear his soft, husky, sleepy laugh.

"Are you ticklish?"

"Are you twisted?" she yelped, scrambling to get away from him just so she could think. Yanking her T-shirt downward to cover her midriff, she saw him crank up an eyebrow knowingly as he propped himself up on an elbow, smirking at her.

His hair was sticking up in places, there was a crease on his cheek, and somehow, during the night, they'd covered up with a throw … which was doing little to hide other things.

"Stop that!" she hissed, pointing at his waist.

"I can't help it," he chuckled nervously, his cheeks reddening slightly. "I mean, I could, but I think you would be even more upset with me."

"What were you doing?"

"Enjoying the best pillow I've had in months."

"My stomach is pillowy? Thanks a lot, mister."

"Your stomach is divine, and I could eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner off of it," he volunteered, grinning now as he sat up and rubbed his already-mussed-up hair. She could only stare at him before shaking her head and hurriedly tucking in her shirt instead – as if to make herself ‘safe' from Noah. "If this was my bunk on the ship, I'd never get anything done."

"Well, it's not…"

"I know."

"It's not mine either because it came with the apartment – and I'm leaving it today… remember?" she exclaimed, busying herself as she quickly zipped her suitcase shut. A piece of fabric snagged in the zipper, causing her to jerk it back and forth before freeing it.

Hearing Noah get up from the bed, the telltale creak of the bedsprings, she closed her eyes. You do not need to see some tempting, gorgeous man parading around your apartment when a relationship is the last thing you need, Madeline , she thought wildly. Get your head on straight, girl!

She heard the faucet turn on in the kitchen and sighed. Yeah, she needed a break and a shower. Getting to her feet, she didn't even look at Noah.

"I'll be back in a few. I'm getting a shower, so help yourself to whatever is in the fridge for breakfast."

"Will do…"

Madeline was already closing the bathroom door on his words, shutting him out. Yeah, she needed a break to process all of this because she felt overwhelmed. Sensory overload, she mused and turned on the water.

Stripping quickly, she threw her things on the sink and hopped under the spray. The hot water felt good on her aching muscles, and the smell of shampoo would certainly help make her feel better. None of this was an ideal situation, but if she was honest, she couldn't imagine things going any better than they had with Noah.

And she froze as she heard water and noticed a shadow beyond the curtain – only to hear the toilet flush.

"Are you kidding me?" she balked, yanking the curtain up to her chin as she peered around the corner with shampoo still in her hair. Sure enough, Noah was standing there guiltily with his finger holding the handle on the toilet. "You marched in here while I'm showering… to pee?"

"The door was unlocked," Noah said simply, shrugging.

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes. It was."

"I wouldn't have left it unlocked…"

"You did."

"I didn't – and you didn't have to come in here."

"I didn't peek at you."

"You can hold it!"

"What's the big deal? You couldn't see anything anyhow."

"The big deal is you had your ‘thing' out to go to the bathroom in the same room that I am currently showering in – which means I'm naked behind the curtain, and that's the big deal…"

"Madeline…"

"Don't ‘ Madeline' me. You don't go to the bathroom in front of people or in the same room as them. It's not decent nor polite to do something like that in front of a friend, stranger, or acquaintance."

"Actually, the ‘head' on the carrier has several ‘johns' in a row – so yeah, I really do something precisely like that in front of a great many strangers."

"We're not discussing this."

"You're right. There's nothing to discuss. Want me to wash your back?"

"NOOOO!!" she screeched, pointing with a wet hand at the door as shampoo loomed precariously on her forehead just above her eyebrow. "You need to get out of here, give me ten minutes, and keep that in your pants – and unhappy!"

Only to hear Noah burst out laughing as he grinned at her, shaking his head in obvious disbelief, before walking out of the bathroom. He paused at the doorway, making it a point to push the button in on the back of the handle, before shutting it.

"Privacy!" she yelled after him pointedly – only to hear him laugh again.