Page 14 of Awaken the Dragon
Shola hesitated.
Do not say too much. Do not say too little. Be there but do not be seen.
The instruction came in the soft but strong voice that Shola knew well.
“My people are different than yours.” She looked out the window. “Where are you taking me? I have appointments.”
He didn’t reply. It was rude, but just as well, because she needed to think. The moment they arrived at their destination she would get to her suitcase. There was a phone with already programmed numbers inside. She could call to have someone pick her up. This guard detail was not working and she needed to be at every one of her appointments in order to do what she’d come here to do.
A while later she noticed he was moving. Still not talking, but moving. His fingers were on the buttons of his shirt, undoing each one slowly. Why was he doing that? She should look away, but she couldn’t. He sat forward on the seat and removed the shirt. His arms were thick and roped with veins. The white sleeveless tank he wore beneath molded to his chest, outlining thick pectorals and flat abs.
She sucked in a breath and prayed he hadn’t heard it. Rubbing her flattened palms up and down her thighs reminded her that she shouldn’t be watching him do whatever he intended to do. But her eyes weren’t listening. They were tuned in and focused and loving every inch of the honey-toned skin of his arms that was now showing.
“It will get chilly where we’re going. Put this on,” he told her.
Shola looked down at her arms, left bare from the short-sleeved shirt she wore.
“I will be fine.”
“I know,” he said and thrust the shirt toward her. “Put this on.”
She was going to argue against it again, but just like he said she would, she became chilly. A really frosty air filled the interior of the truck and she actually shivered. Shola pushed her arms into the shirt that was way too big for her. She was immediately warm and instantly aroused as the shirt smelled just like him. A mixture of something earthy and something unknown, which when combined, created a heady scent that had her sinking back into the seat and pulling the shirt close around her.
“When we arrive you’re going to be taken to a room. You are to stay inside that room and wait for me.”
She heard him talking but she was busy letting her body acclimate itself to the feel of his shirt wrapped around her. It was an intense experience that had her pressing her thighs tightly together and crossing her arms over her chest so that if/when her nipples hardened, nobody would see it. She had no idea why her body was betraying her, but it was doing so in a magnificent way and all the man had done was give her his shirt.
When his finger touched her chin, turning her head so that she was now staring into those piercing blue eyes, Shola sucked in another breath. At this rate she might very well hyperventilate soon.
“Don’t leave the room. Don’t speak to anyone but me. Do you understand?”
“I do not even know where you are taking me, how could I go anywhere?” In her mind the question had more punch, but as he was only inches away from her face and his finger was now moving slowly over her skin, it was barely a whisper.
His gaze dropped to her lips as she spoke and then slowly lifted back to her eyes. “I don’t want you to go anywhere,” he said and then cleared his throat. “That’s why I’m telling you to stay in the room.”
His scent was everywhere now, filling the back interior of the truck and overtaking every bit of air she inhaled. His broad body was leaning into hers and his long finger was surprisingly gentle against her skin.
“I will,” she replied because they were the only coherent words she could come up with.
The Office was what Theo and his higher-level agents called the private location where they met. But it was no ordinary office. Four miles off a country road located an hour and a half outside of the city, there was a pathway wide enough to allow one lane of traffic in and out. The path curved through trees in the heavily forested field. At the end of the path was an incline that led to an area cleared of trees and other debris. Eight black trucks, identical in make and model, were parked in that clearing. A few feet ahead at the top of a set of marble steps was a man.
He wore crisp dark colored jeans, a black turtleneck and wine dress shoes that matched his sports coat. Black sunglasses shielded his eyes from the sun that was now blazing bright and he waited for them to come inside. His name was Bleu and he was a watcher. His job was to watch and that’s what he did, all the time.
Theo stepped out of the truck when it stopped. He reached for Shola’s hand and when she accepted, he helped her out of the truck. He kept her hand in his as they walked over the cobblestoned path to where Bleu stood. “The east wing is ready,” he told Theo as he looked down on them.
“I want her in the west. And I want everyone in the main conference room in ten minutes.”
Bleu didn’t like his plans being changed. He actually hated it more than Theo did, but he would never say a word against Theo.
“I’ll take care of it,” Bleu replied.
“Shola N’Gara, this is Bleu. He knows everything there is to know about Legion Security. He’ll see you to your room and make sure that your bags are brought to you.” Theo stepped closer to her and resisted the urge to touch the soft skin of her face once more.
“Remember what I told you.” His voice was lower this time, and she gave him a quick nod before turning to walk away with Bleu.
He watched them walk toward the front doors of the Office. A sharp breeze blew, cold air hitting the back of his neck and arms. It was colder here than any other area in Burgess because the dragons that lived here produced enough heat to keep their human bodies and possibly an entire city warm, so the cooler temperature was more comfortable for them. Only the residents of the Office knew that. Theo hoped Shola wouldn’t ask. He also hoped she didn’t already know.
“We need to talk.”
