Page 11 of Beginnings

Heat swamped my body and things got uncomfortable in my jeans. I adjusted myself as best I could, gritting my teeth against the ache in my cock. Bonding our spirits would have meant us mating, right then and there in the car. It wasn’t a choice, our wolves would have demanded it, and I couldn’t have stopped it. I shook my head. I didn’t give a shit who saw my naked arse, but Em deserved better than that. The truth was, she was better than me, and she sure as hell deserved a life before becoming anyone’s mate. I knew my Firecracker had suffered in the past, but she was a survivor. I could only imagine the horrors she had endured as a child on the streets of London, open to the predators of the supernatural world. Her nightmares, like mine, were testament to those past horrors.

Despite that, despite her strength and the fire that lived in her soul, something told me she didn’t realise what the consequences of mating and spirit bonding to an alpha were. She would be mine to call upon and to take, whenever and wherever I wished, helpless to stop the urge to submit to my demands. My brow furrowed. Though she had resisted my compulsion so far, in fact she revelled in defying me.

A groan bubbled up from my chest at the thought of having access to Ember’s gorgeous, lithe body whenever I desired it. “Jesus, Connor, get a grip.” I rolled my eyes, knowing I would never truly want to control Ember. Her beautiful wildness and unpredictability were what drew me to her like a moth to a flame. I grinned at the analogy. The inner spirit that gave her the ability to superheat her skin and burn the air was just an externalization of her own indomitable fire. Besides, she was far too stubborn to give me, or anyone else, total control or power over her, even if her wolf submitted to me.

The towers and chimneys of the old house came into view. I relaxed my grip on the steering wheel before I bent it out of shape, and forced Ember from my thoughts. I needed a clear mind for the meeting ahead of me.

The sun came out, reflecting off the glass and metal space-age training facility, which they had built beside the main house. I squinted against the brightness as I turned the car into a parking space facing the old house. The mansion itself was a sixteenth-century place of sandy stone-coloured construction with columns, windows and grand architecture that was as imposing as it was impressive. I both loved it and hated it as a symbol of the strength, wealth and power of the SBI. The bureau owned so many of these properties around the world. I had seen a few, but this one always blew me away with its history, and then made me cringe with the lack of taste shown by adding in such a modern building right next to it.

I climbed from the air conditioned interior, and buried thoughts of Ember deep in my mind. I wasn’t Connor here; I was Agent Maxwell, and I had a job to do, one that I would not allow to hurt Ember.

Heat from the sun warmed my face. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of the damp ground, sun and rain. I splashed through the puddles and made my way along a gravel pathway, around to the back of the house.

I followed the path, nodding to the gardeners and guards who watched my progress, some more openly than others. Topiary hedges and old, bent yew trees dulled the echo of my footsteps. Five minutes later, I approached the orangery.

The glass house was as beautiful as everything else about this estate. Long oval topped windows soaked up the sun, turning the inside into a tropical paradise. The door clicked open on my arrival, the cameras and lasers I’d activated on my approach announcing my arrival. Stepping inside was always a strange pleasure for me. Damp heat stole my breath, but I loved the smell of the plants and blossoms that bloomed inside. I inhaled deeply, the sweet scent of the flowers calming me. This was one of the most important meetings of my career and I needed to be in control, not thinking of Ember or Rawson and Lyss, or how this last interview might affect them.

Cameras tracked my every move as I prowled along the walkways. Guns loaded with silver bullets pointed right at me. They were attached to the camera casings, not to mention fixed separately to the roof, walls and even some of the plants.

I reached the stone steps at the back of the orangery and jogged up them.

“Place your hand on the control panel, Agent Maxwell.”

I did. Again the titanium bands held me while a needle stabbed the tip of my fourth finger.

“You may enter.”

The projection of the stone wall dematerialised and I watched a thick bomb resistant door swing open. Inside, four guards in full battle gear pointed the bureau’s version of machine guns at me.

“Okay, sir, you know the drill.”

My grin was predatory and challenging. I released a little power against these men. All wolf shifters and all below me.

“Easy…” one of them advised the others as a finger or two tightened around a trigger.

I smirked at the guard, holding his eyes as I stripped naked. To his credit he didn’t bow under my stare. I would have kicked his arse if he did, and he knew it. These were my men—and they needed to do what they were trained to do, no matter the amount of power I wielded.

With my arms out at shoulder height I twisted giving them all a good look of my naked muscular body. Thank god my cock wasn’t standing to attention anymore. Could have been awkward, I quietly chuckled. I hoped Ember never made it into the undercover programme and came down here. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle the guards ordering her to strip and giving her the once over. My wolf growled showing me exactly what he would do.

“Captain,” greeted Owen Brady, my second in command.

“Brady.” I nodded and walked naked through the inner blast doors with my men at my back. Nakedness was something a shifter had to get used to. Nevertheless, I snarled as someone blocked my way into the changing room.

The blond haired female crossed her arms over her ample chest and looked at me over the top of her glasses.

I stopped short and glared down at her. We’d met before. The first set of interviews for the top-secret job I’d been asked to apply for were conducted through her. Even I hadn’t been given any details, only that it was undercover, working alone and that it had no definite end date.

“You’re late.” Her bright red lips were stark against her pale skin, which was made more translucent by the deep blue pinstripe power suit she wore. “You should have been here over five minutes ago. The Overseer doesn’t tolerate tardiness.”

“You know, if you kept your mouth shut, you’d almost be able to give the illusion of being sexy.” I plastered an arrogant smirk on my lips, deliberately stepping closer and observing her reaction.

She looked me up and down. Her attention lingered deliberately on what was between my legs, but her grey eyes remained like chips of ice despite the answering smirk on her lips. She gave a delicate cough and stepped back. She was a good actress, I'd give her that, but even taking a step back from my bulk didn’t convince me that she was intimidated by me. No, this was a top caliber agent posing as a personal assistant to the European bureau’s leader.

“Get dressed. I need to conclude this process. The Overseer wants to make a decision in the next hour, so you have very little time left to …” Her eyes drifted down again. “...impress them.” Her gaze returned slowly to my face.

My brows twitched upward in response. It was tempting to ignore her, but this assignment would help get me away from Ember. And, as much as I hated to admit it, my Firecracker needed time to explore her adulthood without me getting all possessive over her. The only way I could manage that was to be far away when she took a lover. That hellacious thought had a cold sweat breaking out down my spine.

I grabbed the standard black t-shirt, boxers, socks and cargo trousers from the shelves, and dressed. Once I’d tied my black boots, I grabbed my weapon from my lockbox, stepped out of the changing room and followed the woman I knew only as Miss X down the corridor to the interview room. Owen shadowed me while the others went back to their posts at the orangery entrance.

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