Embraced by Fire (8 page)

Adrian owed him a beer for this. Slipping into the room, he peered around. A bed made up with regimental military precision sat in one corner. Only a book lying open on the bed’s rough woollen blanket disturbed the orderliness. A half-filled water glass stood next to the bedside lamp, as if the owner was due to turn up at any moment. Ryu glanced over his shoulder uneasily. This wasn’t what he expected.

The window absent from the main office was here. Bruised, black-purple light seeped through the slatted blind. Another bookshelf and set of cabinets were positioned against the wall opposite the bed. Several brightly coloured, woven wall hangings covered the blank walls, offering insulation from the chill brickwork and turning the atmosphere curiously cheerful.

Ryu crouched in front of the trunk sitting at the foot of the bed. The lock was more complicated than the one guarding the office door but it yielded to his skilful fingers. The trunk opened with a sigh, a rush of sandalwood and clove scented air wafting across his face.

On one side of the chest were Victor’s neatly pressed military uniforms. On the other side were several spare sets of clothes, both work and casual attire. Skimming his hands through the folds of fabric, Ryu found nothing but a box of medals under the uniforms.

Puzzled, he sat back on his heels and stared into the chest, then around the room. Reluctantly closing and relocking the trunk, he investigated the bookshelf and the cabinets. Finally, completely bemused, he gave up. Nothing seemed connected to his case. Instead, the room seemed to be a home-away-from-home, not a nefarious hidey-hole.

His brow creased, Ryu walked back into the office and re-secured the bookshelf, then gave the room a last onceover to make sure nothing looked out of place. Two more offices to go. He shouldered his satchel and stepped quietly into the corridor.

At the creak of a door, he slammed his back against the wall. Eyes wide, he stared down the corridor. A dim shape moved in his direction.
Shit
. He’d lost focus, got complacent. Puzzling over the secret room, he’d forgotten he wasn’t alone.

Focusing on slowing his respiration and calming his pulse, he crept back as silently as possible to where the shadows hung heaviest. Pressing himself into the corner, he hoped Kait didn’t look in his direction. He’d put his long-sleeve black shirt on earlier, covering up the glaring white of his t-shirt, and his black cargo pants blended into the darkness, but that didn’t mean he was invisible.

He narrowed his eyes to slits, hiding their night-glow. Kait hurried down the corridor, muttering to herself and flicking through a pile of papers. What was she still doing here? Didn’t she have a life to get home to? Ryu gritted his teeth in frustration. Damn, what was he going to say if she caught him? Truth or lies? He’d love to tell her the truth but…he’d tell her lies.

His cover and his mission depended on lies, and until he was given permission he had no choice. Of course, if the lies failed and she threatened to tell the police, then the rules changed. In a situation like that he could make a call as to whether it was better to trust her or stay undercover.

Kait paused, looking around. Her hands clenching tight around her papers, scrunching them. He dropped his gaze, a muscle jumping in his jaw. She knew someone was watching her. He bet her instincts were telling her to run. He echoed their message;
run, Kait, run.

She didn’t run.

She shrugged and carried on down the corridor toward him. He held his breath, wishing he could turn off all the lights in the place, because right now he felt like he was under spotlights. She was going to notice him, he knew it. He hated imagining the look in her eyes when she discovered him creeping around.

Her eyes returned to the papers in her hands and, making distressed sounds, she tried to smooth out the wrinkles. She turned the corner and vanished into the lunchroom. She didn’t even glance in his direction.

Ryu’s lungs expanded shakily as he sucked in a relieved breath. He wiped his sleeve across his forehead as adrenaline darted through his veins. Once his heartbeat calmed, he made his way cautiously to Edward’s office. He wanted to run, instead he forced his feet to maintain a cat-like care.

Once again the door was locked, once again he pulled out his lock picks. Eyes continuously darting over his shoulder to check the corridor, he made quick work of the lock and hurried inside. Hidden from sight he let out a sigh of relief.

That had been too close.

Wiping sweaty palms on his cargo pants, he focused on checking Edward’s office. As he opened a drawer, he remembered he still needed to check Kait’s office. He let out a silent groan. She’d better be gone by the time he was done in here.

If the damned woman wasn’t so attractive, if she didn’t distract him like crazy, this mission wouldn’t be tying him in knots.

Chapter 9

“Okay, people, can I have your attention?” Kait clapped her hands together as she looked around the group gathered in the lunchroom.

The buzz slowly died down and all eyes focused on her; the only ones she felt, solid as a caress, were copper. Ryu had been studying her since she came in and her body hummed under his gaze. His face however, was unnervingly blank. Her eyes darted in his direction as she struggled to find a clue as to what he was thinking as he watched her. Nothing, just those luminous, copper eyes.

She cleared her throat. “As you all know we’ve got the Taste-IT-Power event on Thursday—”

“How come it’s on a Thursday, most of the corporate events we do are on Fridays or over the weekend?” Deron asked.

Kait glanced at her notes. “It’s the company’s 10
th
anniversary. As well as throwing a party they are giving all staff Friday off. That way it doesn’t matter if everyone’s out late having fun at our event, none of them have to be in at work the next day.”

“Nice boss they’ve got.” Rachael wiggled her eyebrows as she cast a look at Victor who was sitting in on the meeting.

“Thank you, Rachael, I can take a hint.” The corner of Victor’s lip twitched in a smile. Rachael was one of the few people who had the nerve to tease him.

“I’ve printed out a list of the tasks that still need to be accomplished before Thursday.” Kait started handing out lists to everyone.

Ryu’s fingers skimmed over her palm as he took a copy. Her breath skittered and her thigh muscles clenched. Not daring to look at him, she hurried to give out the rest of the handouts. She needed to get a hold of herself, this was ridiculous.

Almost as ridiculous as the night before when she’d stayed late and begun imagining things. On her way to get coffee, she’d been positive she caught Ryu’s spice and fire scent in the corridor. No one was there of course, but his intoxicating scent followed her home and into her dreams. Heat burned up the back of her neck as she recalled what her sleeping mind conjured.

She opened her eyes in a candlelit bedroom full of shadows and secrets
…Sitting up slowly, her hands trailed over silky, forest-green satin sheets. Decadence surrounded her.

Stretching languidly, she lifted the heavy weight of her hair off her neck. Longer than in real life, the rich river of red reached her hips. Releasing it to tumble down her back, she adjusted the plunging neckline of her diaphanous, white negligee. The sheer fabric a stark contrast against the dark linen.

Music played in the distance and she tried to identify it, but the harder she concentrated the less she was able to make out. The nameless tune continued, setting alight a taunting rhythm in her blood.

A gentle breeze stirred, fluttering the candle flames and bringing with it the scent of spice and smoke—Ryu’s unique scent. Her heartbeat quickened, her mouth slightly open as she drew in ragged breaths. His scent became a taste against her tongue. Her eyes darted around the room trying to pierce the darkness and find the source. Then, he was there. Her dream lover.

His white t-shirt from earlier in the day a glowing beacon in the darkness. He loomed above her, staring down. His copper eyes shadowed and mysterious. Her nerves jangled and she licked her lips. The power she sensed whenever she was with him was stronger, more focused—focused on her. His potent masculinity almost overwhelming her femininity.

Brave, in a way she couldn’t imagine being in real life, she curled onto her knees and reached out, stroking her hands up his muscular arms. His eyes dilated with desire. She felt the balance of power shift. Her stomach quivered as she realised with amazement she had control over the man before her.

She dug her fingers gently into the thick muscles of his biceps and let her breasts brush his chest, teasing them both. He groaned and captured her lips with his. Fire bloomed deep within her. Pulling her tightly against him, his hands stroked her spine, trailing bliss in their wake.

She sank her hands into the silkiness of his hair, weaving it through her fingers. Opening her lips, she welcomed him in. His hands slid lower, scrunching the delicate negligee in his fists, lifting it to her waist. No underwear she realised, nothing inconvenient in a dream.

He slipped his hands under the fabric, caressed her hips, then cupped her bottom. No cellulite in dreams either. He pulled her against him. The power of his arousal pressed against her.

She shivered and the dream shattered.

She had no experience with which to fuel it further. Sure, she’d shared kisses and caresses, but true intimacy eluded her. She could guess, she could read about it, she could listen to friends, but actually knowing what two people did together was different. Even the nature of her fantasy screamed
virgin
.

She imagined when
it
finally happened,
it
would be at some guy’s messy bachelor pad, or in her own hastily tidied bedroom, nary a trace of candles or satin sheets. She hoped she didn’t care where they were. She wanted to be so swept up in what was happening she didn’t notice the ambiance or lack of it. Except, she’d probably be so nervous the whole thing would be a dismal failure.

Her fists tightened unconsciously. What would Ryu think if he knew she was still a virgin? Would he offer to be her first, or run screaming for the hills wondering what was wrong with her? She sighed, she’d never know. Ryu was out of bounds, as well as out of her league.

“When are we painting sets?” Sheng Hu’s question tumbled her back to reality, and the realization she still had a meeting to run.

She smiled at the magician, hoping no one could tell what she had been thinking.

“Today and tomorrow. It’s been a while since we’ve done the Fire and Ice theme and the sets are looking tired. Plus, Brett and Peter developed some wonderful new ideas so there’s construction to be done.” She nodded briefly at the brothers who played dual roles at Fantasia Alive, being both clowns and set designers.

The task list wasn’t complicated but there were a lot of details to cover. Aside from a few chair scrapes as people shifted, everyone paid attention.

****

Ryu considered Kait as she ran through the rest of the to-do list. She’d seemed completely controlled when she started the meeting, but a moment ago she’d been distracted by a stray thought and was still trying to get back her composure. What had rattled her? Was it possible she’d seen him last night?

No, she would have said something. If she didn’t suspect he’d been in the office last night, what was the cause of her high colour? The blush on her cheekbones niggled at him. It must be caused be something.

What had she been thinking about? He gave a mental sigh. Unfortunately, unless he worked out what had distracted her, he was going to get nowhere. Something for his curiosity to gnaw on later.

He rocked back in his chair, the front legs leaving the ground. He hadn’t found anything interesting in his search of Edward’s and Kait’s offices. Victor’s had been the highlight. He looked over at the man calmly watching the meeting, and wondered once again what the little room at the back of Victor’s office was all about.

Adrian had been equally puzzled when they discussed it this morning. After some debate, they decided to simply keep an eye on Victor for now and see if they could find anything concrete to link him to the mission.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ryu pulled his attention back to Kait. As she talked, her bright plait rippled over her shoulder. His fingers itched to throw away her hair-tie and untangle the sizzling strands. He imagined running his fingers through her flowing hair. It would be like playing with fire.

A loose tendril fluttered across her face and she tucked it impatiently behind her ear. He looked at it longingly, wishing he could have performed that small service. His eyes grazed her face with its scattering of freckles like wayward embers. Slipping lower, he wondered if the rest of her skin was as blessed.

Pressing his lips together, he imagined kissing his way down her body, discovering every one. Would they burn like glowing sparks under his lips? His blood heated as the dragon responded to thoughts of fire.

She answered a question of Deron’s but Ryu didn’t hear the words, lost in the movement of her lips. He was still staring at her when she glanced over at him, her eyes locking with his. Her cheeks flushed anew under his gaze. He looked away quickly. Clearly his thoughts were too obviously displayed on his face.

Kait cleared her throat and started talking about the order in which they were going to perform the dinner display. He shifted uncomfortably, glad he was sitting and had Kait’s list on his lap, otherwise he’d be as embarrassed as a schoolboy asked to write something on the board in front of the class.

He gave himself a mental shake. If he didn’t pull himself together he was going to miss something vital. This was neither the time nor the place for his hormones to go haywire.