"My jewels!" a woman screamed. "They're gone"

Within a few seconds hundreds of cellphone flashlights came on and the room resembled a rock concert as the orchestra continued to play. Lani realized she'd been so swept away by the dance with Eli she left her purse at the bar. Eli reached into his jacket for his phone. Security officers were trying to keep the crowd calm as people tried to find loved ones, demand answers and leave the room. It was chaos as people scurried to and fro. Lani could hear half a dozen languages just within earshot and none of them English. She started to make her way back to the bar until Eli reached out for her arm to stop her.

"Stay with me until we know what's going on," he instructed.

Lani didn't protest lest she raise suspicion. Then precisely five minutes from when the lights went out, they were back on. Every single crystal chandelier was once again shining to full capacity. Another woman screamed that her jewels were missing. Then another and another. The last of which was the Princess of Frov Skanaand. More chaos ensued as guests and security personnel rushed around the room.

Eli turned to look at Lani. His eyes spit fire at her and his mouth formed a tight line. He grabbed her by the wrist. "Where the hell is Xander?"

Lani tried to snatch her hand away, but he had her in a vice like grip. "How should I know? I was dancing with you."

Eli pulled her in close to him as if he was comforting her during the catastrophe. The tango continued to play in the background. "You told me," he said in her ear, "That Xander was not going to steal any jewels tonight. You lied to me."

"Why do you think Xander did it? I don't even see him in the room," Lani said. She didn't have to glance around. She knew exactly where Kristen and Xander were and they weren't in the ballroom. That is if everything was going according to plan. Plan B that is. With Plan A she would not have been in the room either. Eli had thrown a monkey wrench in all of that. "It could have been anyone here. The guards aren't letting anyone in or out of the room."

"He could have slipped out before anyone was aware that five dignitaries had been robbed."

"How do you know it was five?" Lani cast a skeptical look at Eli. Several women screamed that their jewels were stolen but only two of them including the Princess of Frov Skannarnd. were within sight. The princess was sitting in a chair and someone was fanning her as she clutched at her throat where her jewels used to be.

"Listen Lani if you Kristen and Xander are involved in this...My god, Lani do you know what the penalty would be?" He kept his voice low. There was so much commotion that no one was paying attention to them anyway. Lani noted he continued to accuse but didn't answer her question. How did Eli know that five royal women had been robbed Lani wondered. Then according to the next step in Plan B, the lights went out again.

The cell phone flashlights all came out in response like last time, but unlike last time when everyone was bewildered and anxious, this time people were angry. A German man walked by and Lani could tell he was cursing, simply by the inflection of his voice although she did not understand a word. "What the hell is this? " Eli said, but she could tell he was not talking to her but commenting on the situation that was playing out. He still held on to her arm.

"Eli, I need to go back to the bar. I left my bag over there."

"Alright," he said and they began to make their way through the darkened room. The cell phones helped, but the ballroom was gigantic and needed dozens of chandeliers to light it properly.

"If this is like the last one, the lights were out for five minutes. So they should come back on in 40 seconds," Eli said. They were still trying to navigate the churning crowd of confused people. At the exact time Eli predicted, the lights came back on.

There were more screams. "But these aren't mine," they heard a woman declare loudly.

"Let's go find out what the hell is going on," Eli said as he spotted Lani's bag on the bar and picked it up.

"Why don't you go. I'll stay here. You can fill me in later."

"Oh no you don't. I'm not letting you out of my sight for multiple reasons. One of which I think your partners are behind this," Eli said close to her ear.

"And what's the other reason."

"You'll find out later on tonight."

"What's happening tonight?"

Eli didn't answer as they pressed through the crowd trying to find a security guard for the hotel who spoke some English. One guard was speaking in French to about two dozen people who circled around him hurling questions.

"I understand more French, than I can speak," Lani said. "The guard is saying that all of the jewels have been returned."

"Is that truly what he's saying or is that what you already know?" Eli's voice was skeptical. "Stealing jewels only to return them five minutes later? What's the deal?"

"How should I know. But I'd say it's a happy ending."

Eli continued to search until they found someone who was instructing the crowd in English. The stolen jewels had all been returned, but not to the original wearers. Those who found themselves wearing the jewels when the lights came on were now being questioned. Also the jewels were being authenticated. Three had passed inspection, with two to go.

"So I guess this was like some kind of hoax or practical joke," Eli mused.

"Or something," Lani said patting his chest. "Now you can sleep tonight knowing that no crimes were committed on your watch. So if you will excuse me, all of this lights on-lights off business has me tuckered out. As soon as they let us out of here, I'm going up to my room to call it a night."

"It looks like it might be awhile."

Two hours later Lani and Eli were still in the ballroom sitting on the floor against a wall near the orchestra. The conductor was now taking requests and the musicians were covering a Lady Gaga song, completely via improvisation. Lani's feet were curled under her as she leaned on Eli's shoulder. He'd covered her with his jacket when she complained of being cold when they first sat down. Eli was correct in assuming it was going to be a long wait. The Paris Police Prefecture was handling the questioning of each and every guest that was in the ballroom that night when the jewels were stolen and then returned. And there were over 1000 guests!

Lani couldn't remember the last time she felt so at peace. "I'm so comfortable, I could go to sleep right now. You can wake me up when it's our turn to be questioned." She was speaking the truth. Eli always made her feel so comforted, so protected. There was no doubt that Lani Price was a strong woman, still knowing Eli had her back was reassuring. Even if was only for tonight, even if she was never going to see him again, even if she knew there was nor had there ever been any danger in the ballroom that night. Well, none emanating from the jewelry theft and return that is.

"Ah, sleepyhead," Eli ran his knuckles softly along her jawline. "How many times were you supposed to wait up for me. I'd come home eager to spend time with you and you'd be under the covers snoring away."

"Hey, I don't snore." Lani slapped his arm. "And I'd always wake up for you. Those were just power naps. I had to recharge and power up for," she paused," our nighttime activities."

"Sleeping or awake, I used to love coming home to find you there."

Once more his words went straight to her traitorous heart and Lani's mind drifted back to the day Eli gave her the key to his room.

Lani went to the gym for a very quick workout, showered and then went to his place. She should have skipped the gym because she was completely wiped out by the time she entered his room and plopped down on the bed. Earlier that evening she promised him she would stay awake and wait for him, but the comforter felt so soft and inviting. A quick nap won't hurt anything she thought and stripped down to bra and panties. She looked through Eli's drawers and found a t-shirt and slipped it on then dove happily between the covers. Eli had a nice king sized bed to compliment his king sized body. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Sometime later she vaguely heard a key in the door followed by Eli quietly moving around the room. On some level even as she slept she was aware of what he was doing. Turning on a lamp. Removing the loose change, keys and phone from his pockets and laying them on the dresser. Going into the bathroom to run a shower and then eventually joining her in the bed, wearing only pajama pants and smelling as fresh as rain water in the springtime. He spooned behind her.

"Mmmmm," she said drowsily, stroking the arm he wrapped around her midsection. "How did you get in if I have your key?"

"I had a key made for you," he whispered in her ear. "Go back to sleep. You looked really tired."

Lani was now wide awake. She rolled over to face him. "You had the key made for me? Are you saying I have my own key to your place? Already?"

"What's wrong can't I trust you not to lose it?"

"Of course I'm not going lose it," Lani pinched a chunk of his chiseled midsection in retaliation for the comment. "But you don't have to do that, give me a key to your place. It's an invitation for me to come and go as I please. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"Well, you've already made yourself quite at home. Isn't this my t-shirt?"

"Yeah," Lani replied sheepishly. "I know I said I wasn't going to fall asleep," she kissed him softly on the lips, "but your bed was just calling to me. I couldn't resist."

Eli smiled. "I knew you were going to be asleep by the time I got here. I was just messing with you back at the station."

"You sure you don't mind," Lani stifled a yawn.

"Not at all. My place is closer to the station than your apartment. So you can come here if you want to catch a nap during lunch break. And you can stay here any time you don't feel like driving all of the way home."

"You may not want to say all of that. The next thing you know you'll have a new roommate. Your place is far more conveniently located than mine."

"Mi casa es su casa." Eli pulled her into his arms and she slept that night with her head resting on his chest feeling so safe, loved and secure.

"Mi casa es su casa," Lani mumbled to herself as her mind drifted back to the present knowing without a doubt he'd said the same thing to Gabi Hernendez.

"What's that?" Eli looked down at her.

"Nothing, I was just thinking of something," she said and sat up creating a distance between them. She wanted to be immune to him, but she couldn't help but to be drawn in. "It's not like you don't have someone else keeping the home fires burning," Lani said peevishly crossing her arms as his white tuxedo jacket draped over her.

They fell silent for awhile and Lani just watched the orchestra play. A shapely woman wearing a long white gown ascended the stage and said something to the conductor. He nodded and went over to speak to the pianist and the musicians in the percussion section before returning to the small platform where he'd been standing for hours. He lifted his baton and the musicians began to play. Meanwhile someone had gotten a microphone for the woman in white. She "hmmmed" and "ahhhed" into the mic a few times and Lani knew she was warming up her voice.

"Do you know who that is?" Eli asked flabbergasted. He was also watching what was happening on the stage.

Lani recognized the song that the musicians were playing. It was "At Last," originated by Etta James, but which had been covered by dozens of artists "No, who is she?"

The woman began to sing in a raspy soulful full bodied voice: "At last my love has come along…"

Eli stood and extended his hand to Lani lifting her to her feet. His jacket fell from her shoulders as he raised her arm and slowly turned her before pulling her into his arms. "That is Sola Day up there on stage," he said. "We'll never have another opportunity like this. To dance to Sola Day singing live."

"What? You're kidding me." Lani turned her head to look at the woman again. She had dark brown skin and an afro framed her round pretty face. Lani hadn't recognized her at first, but the vocals were unmistakable. Sola Day was a famous Nigerian jazz singer who was now taking the US by storm with several hits on the pop charts.

Unlike their tango, which was fast paced and thrilling, Eli was now leading her in a sensual, hypnotic slow drag. Not a traditional blues slow drag where you held your partner close and stepped with one foot and then drug the other so that you were still traveling incrementally around the dance floor. Other than their hips, swaying in time to the music, Eli and Lani barely moved. This was like a crowded rent party slow drag that her mother used to tell her about. In the 1970s Tamara said she'd sing at rent parties where they would pack so many people in tiny apartments, there was no room to do anything else but slow drag. Lani's arms were wrapped around Eli's neck, while his hands were dangerously low at the base of her spine.

Sola continued to sing: "I found a dream that I could speak to/A dream that I can call my own/I found a thrill to press my cheek to/A thrill that I have never known."

Lani looked up at Eli and he smiled right on cue as Sola sang: "You smiled, you smiled/oh and then the spell was cast." then he spoke the words to the song into Lani's ear as Sola sang with the orchestra, "And here we are in Heaven/For you are mine at last…"

This is heaven Lani mused. Trapped in a Paris ballroom dirty dancing with Eli while Sola Day crooned in the background.

"I have to teach you how to slow drag, properly," Lani said even as she was thoroughly enjoying their slow grind, following the direction of Eli's hips, even taking over to add a few gyrations of her own which were quite erotic, just a notch short of foreplay.

The song ended and the dwindling crowd which was still quite large gave Sola several rounds of applause. She said something in French, which Lani didn't understand, then exited the stage. Lani backed away from Eli and returned to where they left his jacket and her purse. Her entire body tingled all over.

"Thanks for the dance," she said and gracefully sat down again.