As Cold as Ice (Dangerous Stranger's Book 1) Complete

9

"How much it will take for us to reach the port?" He asked one person I didn't know the name of. "It will not take much of the skies remained clear we will reach in two days.

Later that night as he promised we were joined for a small celebration. Surprisingly he didn't look like his usual cold and intimidating self. He wasn't smiling but he did sit down and watched others as they happily sang and danced.

"Katherine, join us for a dance" James said as I took out another batch of pie. "I cannot dance James" I said. "so lady Katherine can take out 10 men with her sword but she cannot Dance?" James laughed.

"Is there is a challenge I am hearing good sir?" I asked matching his tone. "If you think so then it is a challenge madam" He said. "let's do this then" I said as I put down the pies for cooling down.

"Attention Lads Lady Katherine will be joining us for a dance" he said. Now if I could only able to remember all those lessons that old hag forced me to attained. "My lady match my step if you can" James said with a challenging voice.

You didn't provoke me James. The music played and he begin to stomp his foot on the wooden floor. I took off my shoes and picked up my dress a little to show my feet. And I started to match the step. "Not bad lady" James said. "You challenged me good sir" I said.

Then we locked our elbows and we danced together. I was actually laughing. I never thought that in an unknown place and in unknown ship I can actually find few good friends.

I never thought I would ever say this but I am very happy that I actually missed that ship. Otherwise I may never know James or the others who treated me not like an outsider but like a part of them. And for me it matters. It matters that in these bunch of strangers I actually found the persons I can rely on.

I excused myself from James after the dance. I looked at the place where Mr. Rodriguez was sitting but his place was vacant. I ask the person sitting next to him about him. He said that he walked towards his cabin. I take some pie as we already had dinner before and walked towards his cabin.

"Mr. Rodriguez?" I called. He didn't answer. I walked inside his cabin he was nowhere to be found. Then I saw another door on the left. How I didn't notice it before? I opened it slowly and found staircase. I kept the plate on his table before following the stirs up.

I saw his figure in the dark. He was leaning on the railing and was in deep thought. Mystery solved the Door leads to deck above the engine room and the main cabin. The more time I spent with Mr. Rodriguez the more mysterious he seem to become. And I never seem to come even an inch close to solve it. He is wrapped in layers and no matter what I can never able to uncover even single one of it. I guess I just leave him and his thoughts alone.

"Katherine I know you are there" He said making me halt my step. "Sir, I was just leaving" I said. "Stay" he said in a commanding tone. I don't have to look around to feel his presence near me.

Whenever he seems to be near my heart starts to beat fast and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on their own accord. His hand found mine and he took me towards the edge where he was standing.

"I come here when I want to think. It is a very peaceful place" he said. "And dangerous too one slip and it all ends" I thought. "Sir, why did you leave the celebration?" I asked. He looked at me and his other hand found my cheek caressing it softly.

"You looked so happy back there Katherine. I never saw you laugh before. But it is very beautiful" he said his tone wasn't cold as usual. He almost sounds soft, warm and vulnerable.

"Katherine when you said you can be tied down to anyone but me. I felt angry; it was another reason why I forced you to take this deal. You are really the best companion and a worker I ever had. You don't crack under pressure like most people. It makes you work better. In 7 hours you had translated the 20 pages which my best men's cannot do. When you were dancing down there I saw the reason you hate me so much.

I cannot be like them. I am harsh, cold and rude but it is what I need to be so no one can penetrate my defenses. So they think twice before ambushing me or before stealing from me. It is a very rough world where the place for innocence doesn't exist.

I cannot be compassionate, I cannot love, I cannot provide you warmth I am cold as ice. And I cannot change myself now for its too late now. I have been this way from as long as I can remember." He said in almost inaudible voice.

"Christen" I said and he looked shocked. "You called me Christen not Mr. Rodriguez" he said in amusement. "Yes, I did and it is just one time Sir, but I don't hate you. It's strange but I never hated you. I may fight you on occasions because we have different views on everything. I may have slapped you because you had kissed me without my consent but I never hated you. I may become angry time to time but it's my nature.

Like you I don't have place of love in my life I am too busy running away from people and from my family complaining about everything I come across. But then I stopped I changed. Instead of running away from my problems I decided to face them. And that is why I am standing In front of you today. So, yes I believe people can always change" I said looking into his eyes. "I am afraid I cannot" he said watching me intently.

I decided to change the topic. "So ?why Egypt suddenly?" I asked. "Aren't you are happy that we were going Egypt instead of any other continent? He asked. "I am but still" I said. He hands left my body and I suddenly felt cold without them. "It's not the first time I am going there. I am funding a digging there. It is hidden into an oasis. A pyramid as the Egyptian people calls them. Hidden inside it a treasure which I seek" he said. "So you are robbing them?" I asked.

"Quite opposite of that Miss. Davis I am paying them and they are helping me in a treasure hunt. So they are robbing themselves. Besides in this world Money means power and I don't want anyone else to be more powerful than me" he said backing to his old self again.

I know I have seen it too what little money can do. It means we can buy the comforts of the life. Hire the best in their field. Live in the richer houses. Travel to the unknown places.

Buy the things only the poor people can think of. But then I thought about my situation and it also proven another fact that it can be the reason of many dangers. It can make people greedy or lonely. Yes Money means power but sometimes the costs we have to pay are higher than we can ever pay.

"Yes Mr. Rodriguez Money means power but sometimes power is not one should look for" I said to myself. "Tomorrow I will teach you how you can shoot. If you want to learn that is" he said.

"Yes if you are willing to teach me I am willing to learn" I said as I looked at the starlit sky. "I never seen the sky as beautiful as this" I said. "They are more than just beauty they help us in navigation which is useful in finding our way through the unknown places. Like a desert or a sea." He said and that's how we spent rest of the night with him teaching me how to read the stars.