His door swung open once more. Just a crack.
“Sir…,” Jonathan muttered with exasperation from outside in the hallway. “You are now over an hour late to the meeting.”
Godric groaned and banged his forehead against my back. He growled in protest. “That bastard made me wait.”
“And now you’ve made him wait.”
My lips trembled in humor.
Jonathan had some balls. Too furry or not.
“Fine. She needs to leave soon anyway,” Godric groaned and licked up my spine again. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Jonathan cleared his throat. “Thank you. I’m sure the men would like to go to bed at some point tonight.”
Godric glanced up. “Jonathan.”
Innocence spoke from afar. “Yes, sir?”
“Shut. The. Door.”
The door shut—hard.
“Asshole,” Godric muttered.
I rolled over under him and peered up into the most striking eyes. I smiled with true delight. “Well, big man, it’s been fun.”
“It has.” His head tilted and his tawny curls ran over his shoulder. “I’d like to see you again. Would you consider taking a vacation to New City soon? I could come here, but it would be with all the guards.”
I lifted my left hand and ran the pads of my fingers over his shoulder, his tan skin like silk, absently twirling his hair around my fingers. After a moment of thought, I decided to tell the truth.
“I’m going to New City tonight.”
He was corporate. That was where the top corporations were headquartered. Essentially, I was telling him that I wouldn’t mind seeing him again, too. This test drive had been a success in my book.
His brows rose, but he didn’t comment on my destination. He merely lifted my arm with my silver bracelet and touched his bracelet against mine, stating loudly for his device, “Order: exchange number. Name: Poppy Bree.”
Golden eyes flicked to mine, waiting for me.
I paused a second, making him wait before I spoke loudly, “Order: exchange number. Name: Godric Leon.”
Our bracelets shone white for a moment, the information transferring. We lowered our arms when it was done, the glow diminished.
Godric leaned down and kissed my cheek with soft lips and brushed his fingers gently over the bruises on my wrists caused by his earlier restraining hold, a tender but silent apology. Then he shoved off the bed and grabbed his suit pants from the floor. I rolled on my side and watched as he stuffed his legs into them, zipping and buttoning.
He marched to the door and glanced at me. The man didn’t put on a shirt or shoes. Just his pants, his toes even showing. With his hair still askew from my fingers, he flicked a finger at me. “Cover up.”
I raised a brow at the demand, but I had already been grabbing for the edge of the blanket. I wasn’t keen on his entire guard seeing me naked and freshly fucked. I tucked it over my shoulder and dug my feet down into the soft blanket.
He finally nodded, done evaluating that I was covered to his liking. Silly man. If we were going to see each other at a later date, he would learn that I didn’t take orders all that well. That only worked in the bedroom with long bouts of sex included.
With his right hand on the doorknob, he stated, “I’ll leave a few guards outside the door for you. They’ll make sure you make it to your quarters safely.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he had already turned away and slipped out the door. I hadn’t even needed to cover up. The man had skated out, barely opening the door.
Jonathan grumbled, “You can’t be serious, sir.”
“It’s the middle of the night. If he can dare to make me wait this long, then he can see me straight out of bed,” Godric disputed with heat, his tone business-pissed. He swiftly shut the door behind him, blocking out any further argument between the two.
I stretched underneath the blanket and debated taking a quick nap, but with a glimpse at the clock—almost two o’clock in the morning—I decided against it. My train was leaving at four, only two hours away. I groaned as I rolled out of bed, my body aching in all the wonderful places it should after a delectable night with a man who knew what he was doing.
I dressed and entered the bathroom to use the facilities. But my reflection gave me pause in the mirror. My white t-shirt was stained red in sporadic blotches near my neck. I pulled it away carefully to examine the damage.
My nose scrunched at the view.
Godric had really bitten me.
It was probably going to scar where each of his blunt teeth had sunk in. I groaned and used a washcloth to delicately dab away any remaining blood. But my shirt was no good. Any of the personnel here would take notice and inform my father. That would not be wise with my current plans.
I exited the bathroom and examined the plush bedroom. I had been in this one before, escaping to these rooms from time to time for solitude. I knew the VIP section just as well as I knew my own. And since Godric had ruined my shirt, he now owed me one.
I rifled through his luggage and found a gray sweater that wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention. I pulled it on over my head and pushed the sleeves up on my arms. It was big, but I occasionally wore my clothing large for comfort.
The weapon he had left caught my attention as I stuffed my hair up into my ball cap. My eyes flew over the weird object. There was a black handle, and then it curved in a ninety-degree angle with a silver barrel that was the same length as the handle. His warning ‘not to touch’ didn’t bother me. I picked it up gently from the bedside table and turned it over in my hands. It was heavier than a knife.
I lifted the end of the barrel close to my right eye and shut my left. But I couldn’t see anything down the small hole. There was no blade inside it. I sniffed at it, but there wasn’t a smell, no poisons inside. My brows furrowed as I sat it back down.