The horrendous flames were back again, but this time, much worse. The smoke that covered everything and everywhere was so dense it could as well have been black fog. Somewhere amidst the nightmarish destruction unfolding all around him, Nicholas Smith could make out the agonizing cries of Anna in pain, and another sweet sickening smell swirled with the acrid smoke encircling all around him.The smell of cooked human flesh! "Anna!" He screamed in terror, fighting for control over his paralyzed limbs amidst the dreadfulness devouring him whole. "Anna!" He yelled again, crawling towards the horrendous sound of her screams, which seemed to be death throes now. But then a deafening blast sounded, and an orangey-yellow fireball burst upwards and outwards from nowhere, cutting through the solid wall of smoke and stink and swallowing him into oblivion.**Nick jerked up from the chair on which he sat, letting out a strangled cry. The smoke, the heat, and much worse. . . The insufferable pai

One week later. . .Katie swung the panel doors open, and all eyes in the room turned on her as she walked in. Where was Nick? Slightly Clearing her throat, she slowly began to pick her way past the tangle of bodies present in the hall for the meeting that had been called all of a sudden. She was making her way to the front so she could have a better view of the stage when Christy Wagner rushed towards her dramatically. "Congratulations, Katie!" She said, giving Katherine a warm hug. Kate was bewildered. First of all, Christy was in the accounting department so they barely ever saw eye to eye, and secondly, even when they saw, the relationship between them was a little more than official. She wondered how Christy had gotten to know that something great enough to be congratulated about, had happened to her. But that wasn't what was bothering her most. What exactly was the incident, and how was it that Christy had come to know before her? "I knew that even if everyone else had fail

By now some of the other security guards had smelt a rat and were all rushing towards them already because they'd started attracting attention. Katherine was barely a few heartbeats from pouncing on Nicholas Smith when the security guard pulled her back by the collar. "Katie, when did you leave my side?! I've been looking for you all over!'' He said with affected concern and they both froze. Katie in bewilderment, the security guard to see who it was that spoke."You know this woman, sir?" He asked, turning to Nick now. "Yes. She's with me." Nick answered, going round the width of him so that he was now standing directly beside Kate.In a twinkling, his quick hand snaked itself around her waist and firmly pulled her body to his. Letting out a gasp in shock, Katie whipped her head to the side as soon as she felt his hand burn a sizzling hot path along the cool material of her dress. "Can you not play along just once!" He subtly hissed into her ear, his warm breath tickling the sensi

"Did I say our? I meant your hotel room." He said, smirking at the breath of relief she let out in that instant. "Unless you prefer we made it ours?" He teased, lowering his face to hers. Nick chuckled at the bright red color she turned in that instant. Easing the door open, he parted way for her to enter, before going in after her. The match had just begun by the time they'd arrived the massive stadium and Kate could already feel thrilled.Surprisingly, everywhere was already packed with mostly Emiratirs. A few foreigners poked out here and there too. Nick had somehow gotten them VIP seats with the most wonderful view of the pitch.No sooner had they taken their seats that the match kicked off with frenzied excitement. Katie kept a steady flow of comments the entire time, unable to hide her excitement. Meanwhile Nick remained silent, watching intently all the while."Which team do you think is doing better?''Katie tapped his hand gently, her excited face beaming with smiles. Turni

After moments of anticipation, Katherine was fully aware of where they were going before their plane touched down in Malè, the Maldives. But where exactly in the Maldives were they going? That part, to a great extent, remained a mystery as Nick refused to spill the beans no matter how deviously she coaxed. Eventually, Katie gave up, leaving the answers to her questions to be provided by time. A part of her was still having a hard time believing that everything she'd experienced in the last two days was real, and not just another sweet dream. The Maldives was such a ‘hot’ place to be. Recently, a friend of hers had returned from her ‘picture perfect’-as she'd described it, honeymoon in a special resort in the Maldives, and she'd said it was so romantic. Actually, now that she thought about it, her friend wasn't the only one. Everyone was talking about how great a vacation to the Maldives was. Much so that even she, curious for a personal experience of such a dreamy place, had p