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G rabbing a towel, Tahira stepped out of the shower and dried herself off.

While she hadn’t been able to do her regular run on the treadmill after a warmup—she was still aching all over—she’d been able to walk slowly for three-quarters of an hour.

Her and Darius’s trek through the woods would’ve been much worse if she hadn’t been on a five-day-a-week exercise regimen for years.

However, she hardly remembered any of today’s session—except the man who’d run several miles on the treadmill beside her.

Darius was a beautiful specimen of a man.

Today was the first time she’d seen some of the tattoos that decorated his upper arms, shoulders, and chest. She’d known he had at least one on his left bicep, since she’d seen him in a short-sleeved shirt before, and the black design had extended just below it.

But she’d suspected that wasn’t the only one he had.

In the gym, his khaki-green tank top had revealed several others, and she’d longed to trace each one with her fingertips to catalog them in her mind.

Most men in Timasur didn’t tattoo their bodies, but on Darius, Tahira found the ink attractive.

With his broad shoulders, defined chest and back, narrow waist and hips, muscular legs and arms, a chiseled jaw, and expressive eyes, more than one woman had drooled after Darius in Tahira’s presence when he’d been her occasional bodyguard.

But it wasn’t until they’d returned from Argentina that the attention he drew from other women had bothered her, even if they just looked at him from afar.

At the hospital and coming and going to Dr. Dunbar’s office, there’d been several women silently flirting with him with their appreciative and hungry gazes.

Tahira was being na?ve and selfish. Darius was doing something incredibly nice to help her.

He wasn’t hers to keep ... she was only borrowing him.

She would have to give him up after their charade was over, and as each moment with him passed, she worried if she would be able to do that without having her heart ripped out.

Standing in front of the vanity mirror, Tahira frowned.

They would have to wait until her bruises could be completely covered by makeup before taking an engagement photo to be released to the press.

If anyone noticed even a hint of discoloration in the photo, there would be questions Tahira didn’t want to have answered.

She’d wanted to invite Darius to join her for dinner that evening, but then thought better of it—he’d gone home after their workout.

She was still rattled about the kiss they’d shared.

While she wanted to do it again, after her session with Dr. Dunbar, Tahira didn’t want to use Darius as a crutch.

She had to deal with her assault, not push it aside as if had never happened.

While kissing Darius had been an unforgettable experience, Tahira wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if he’d tried to do more than just that.

Would he have even wanted to do more? Or would that have taken them out of the friend-zone they seemed to be in.

“Friends” was a word Darius had used often since her rescue.

He’d also said he cared for her, but that’s what friends did, right?

Sighing, Tahira grabbed her favorite body lotion and massaged it into her skin.

She couldn’t bear to look at the bruises on her thighs and bypassed them with her hands.

After they faded and then disappeared, she was certain she would still always see them.

They were a vivid reminder of her rape, even though much of the assault was a jumble of bits and pieces in her mind.

She couldn’t recall the actual penetration, but it had happened, of that she was certain, even without Darius’s confirmation.

Snatching a silk robe from the hook on the back of the bathroom door, she pulled it on while walking into her spacious bedroom.

Her phone rang from where it sat on her nightstand.

Glancing at the screen, she was happy to see it was Nala.

She hadn’t spoken to either of her cousins since their rescue but had been playing phone tag and texting with Nala earlier in the day.

Lahana had not returned any of the calls or texts Tahira had sent.

Sitting on her bed, she answered the call. “Hello, cousin! How are you?”

“Thank goodness! I’m so glad to hear your voice! I’m okay, I guess. Jumping at sudden noises, and having trouble sleeping, but hopefully that will pass. How are you?” Nala sounded much younger than she had before their abduction.

“Bruised. Achy. Exhausted. But I will be okay. How is Lahana?”

“Oh, Tahira, I don’t know. She is very ... angry, I guess I would say. I told her I would never reveal what that man did to her, and she yelled at me, said it didn’t matter. Her mother said she has barely come out of her bedroom. They have been letting her rest.”

She was worried about Lahana. She’d been raped and had her virginity stolen from her just as viciously as Tahira. “She needs to speak to a counselor. I will make certain one is arranged for her. For you too. Talking with a trained professional will help you both heal from this.”

“What about you?” Nala hesitated. “I mean, wh-what happened when ...”

While she trusted her cousin, Tahira couldn’t bring herself to confide in anyone else.

Too many people already knew—Darius, Ian, Dr. Dunbar, and Dr. Moreau.

In her mind, that was more than she was comfortable with, even though she knew her secret was safe with them.

“I was rescued by Darius. He—he killed Secada before anything happened, then got me out of there.” She swallowed the bitter taste that lie left in her mouth.

“He found us a cave to shelter in for hours during the storm before the rest of his team found us. I have some bruises, but other than that, I am fine.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I am so glad he got to you in time.”

If only that were true.

“I heard congratulations are in order too. I can’t believe you are marrying Darius! I mean, you never mentioned him other than that he was one of your bodyguards in the States.”

She hated the lie that fell from her lips. “Well, we talked a lot during the times we were together. Then after he rescued me, I knew he was my knight in shining armor, as they say.”

“It is just like a fairy tale,” Nala responded, her voice suddenly filled with wonder. “That is so romantic.”

Tahira didn’t want to discuss her impending, bogus marriage with anyone right now. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was a little after three p.m. That meant it was just after seven in the evening in Timasur. “I should try Lahana’s phone again. Maybe she will talk to me.”

“I hope so. Tell her I’m here for her if she needs anything.”

“I will, cousin. And before I forget to tell you, I want you to know I am proud of you. You were very brave.”

A sob came over the line. “No—no I wasn’t. All I did was—was cry and cower.”

Tahira wished she was in the same room with the younger woman, so she could comfort her. “That does not matter. We all cried and cowered. But you survived, and you will recover from this a much stronger person. Of that I am certain, cousin. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Nala responded through her tears.

“I will see you soon. Let me call Lahana and try to talk to her.”

After disconnecting the call, she hit a speed dial button. After three rings the voice mail picked up. Having already left two messages, Tahira didn’t bother leaving a third. Instead, she sent a text. “I am here for you. Please call me so I can hear that you are okay. I love you.”

Setting the phone on the nightstand, Tahira brought her legs up and relaxed back on the bed.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a nap in the middle of the day before yesterday, but her ordeal had taken a toll on her body and psyche.

Between her session with Dr. Dunbar, the walk on the treadmill, and her conversation with Nala, the energy had drained from Tahira, and she couldn’t stay awake any longer.

Closing her eyes, she brought up an image of Darius in her mind, then floated off to sleep.