emma_hillman_hired (6 page)

“Fuck it,” he finally snapped. He pushed her
backwards until she hit the desk. Before she could say anything, he grabbed his
shirt’s lapels and tugged, sending buttons flying everywhere. He didn’t pause,
barely blinked as he toed his boots off and popped his pants open. Determined
to get naked as fast as possible, he threw his clothes over his head, uncaring
where they fell and in what condition. He was entirely focused on her and what
he would do to her, with her.

“Drake?”

He shook his head, knowing that if he spoke
now he was going to regret it for the rest of his life. He was out of control.
He felt out of control, unable to mask his needs and urges, unable to deny his
passion for her. It felt like love, except he couldn’t fall in love. He didn’t
want to, even!

The Guardian in him rose his head, wondering
if someone somewhere had put a spell on them. It was possible with the way he
was reacting. Was that why he could hear her thoughts? Why the link was so
freaking strong between the two of them?

The questions whirled in his head but his
body kept moving. He climbed onto the desk and lied down, never flinching at
the unrelenting hardness against his back. He motioned her over, but she was too
slow for him. He grabbed her hands and pulled her up, ignoring her shriek. He
made her straddle his thighs, positioning her right where it felt good. Right
where he needed her.

“Take me,” he growled.

She obeyed him, to the letter…

Chapter Eight

“Do not share it lightly, or you will bring
Darkness to your own.”

Ambrotos (Translation by Jessica James)

She’d been shaky after their encounter on the
desk but she’d managed to put her clothes back on and her stuff back into
order, finding her pad and assorted pens scattered across the floor. Drake had
found his usual chair but he’d dressed far more slowly than her, his naked
chest doing things to her as she’d tried to get back to her work. She’d forced
herself to forget how he’d feel underneath her, how much pleasure he’d brought
her.

He was an amazing lover, pushing her further
and further until she felt as if she was going to snap in two. She gulped and
tucked her notepad under her arm, following him out of the library.

“How many sentences did you complete?”

So, he’d noticed what she’d been doing.
“Three. A whole paragraph.”

He drew in a sharp breath, his eyes intent on
her as they stepped onto the sidewalk. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

She nodded. “I’m yours for the night.”

He smirked. “Already decided, have you?”

“I want you,” she confirmed. “And this time,
we’ll be on a bed.”

“Decided about that too?”

She laughed, his smile contagious. “Yes. Is
that a problem?”

“No, no problem. Now, let’s see how fast you
can eat because as soon as we’re in my house, all bets are off, baby.”

She didn’t comment, simply followed him to
the pizzeria. It wasn’t as if there was anything else open in this town. They
could have gone straight to his house and cooked something, but she knew he
would’ve forgotten about food as soon as they’d closed the door behind them.
No, it was better to eat out and then reconvene to his house.

Flutters echoed in her stomach, and she
licked her lips.
This was madness!
They’d only had sex a few hours
earlier, but it felt as if they hadn’t touched each other in weeks. Months.
Years. He was addictive. He was hers.

His arm looped around her waist as they
walked, her feet faltering a little at the PDA. Who’d have thought someone like
him would be so open about his relationship with her? He wasn’t her bodyguard
right now. He wasn’t their Guardian either. He was her lover, the man who’d be
sharing her bed tonight.

She grinned in the darkness and wondered why
luck was suddenly looking down on her. Not that she was complaining, of course…

* * * *

“Guardian.”

“First Man?”

“Your report for the day?”

“She is making progress. Good progress.”

“How soon will she be finished?”

“I couldn’t say, Jake. My guess would be
she’s done 50%.”

“How fast can she translate this thing? Have
you given her the right incentives?”

“Most definitely. I’ll keep pushing her.
Don’t worry, First Man, I know my job well.”

“Do that, Guardian. Faye wants to see her.
Bring her to the house tomorrow night.”

“I will.”

“Good night, Drake.”

“Good night, First Man.”

He ended the conversation with his First Man
and realized Jessica was looking at him weirdly.

“You were talking to someone, weren’t you?”

His eyebrows shot up. “What? How do you know
that?”

“Huh, I’m not sure. But your eyes were moving
and you looked so deep in thought and… I don’t know. Was it your First Man?”

“Yes.” Had she heard their conversation? She
couldn’t have surely. “Jessica, have you ever heard me in your head?”

She stumbled on the last step up. “No! Are
you saying I’ll be able to hear you? When? How? I’m not an Immortal!”

“Forget I said anything.” Shit, what the hell
was wrong with him? Why had he even asked her that? She was too clever not to
follow his logic! Fuck but the sex was seriously going to his head. Maybe they
shouldn’t… The thought trailed as he pushed his front door open and stepped
inside. He felt her body brush his as she walked past, electricity zapping
through him at the faint touch. “Jessica.”

“Yes?” She turned around, her eyes full of
excitement.

She was still thinking about that mind-talk, he
was sure of it. Determined to get her off the topic, he lowered his head and
took her mouth in a hard kiss. She moaned in his throat, her hands grabbing
onto his belt loop to hold herself up. Having her fingers so close to his
erection spurred him on. He broke away and grabbed her hand in his, pulling her
after him up the staircase.

He led her to his bedroom and watched her
admire his massive four-poster bed. “You asked for a bed,” he reminded her, his
voice husky.

She sent him a quick smile. “It’s gorgeous.
It’s…just like you.”

“Just like me?”

“Dark and forbidding,” she cheekily replied,
before adding, “I’m sure it’s also very comfortable and very pleasing.”

He found himself laughing, unable to believe
she could make him feel so happy when he’d been raging to get her underneath
him only seconds before. He pulled her to him once again and pressed his lips
on hers, the soft kiss something he wasn’t accustomed to, but it felt right at
that particular moment.

She looped her arms around his neck and
snuggled into him. Everything felt…perfect.

* * * *

It was just as she’d imagined, Jessica
thought as she watched him settle his body over hers. She automatically widened
her legs and hooked them around his thighs, relishing in how hard his cock felt
against her core. Wriggling a little, she moved down on the satin sheet until
the rounded head pressed right against her clit. “Mmm.”

“Do you even need me here?” Drake joked, a
clear indication that this hidden side of him was surfacing more and more.

She loved it. She loved…
NO!
She shook
her head and forced herself to stay in the present. “Yes, I think I’m going to
let you do all the work tonight.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh, most definitely.”

He nipped her lower lip in retaliation.
“We’ll see about that.”

“Do your worst!” she called out as she felt
his right hand slip between their bodies.

And he did. Oh yes, he sure did…

Chapter Nine

“When you are sure of your decision, First
Men and Women,
 bring your people together and start the ritual.”

Ambrotos (Translation by Jessica James)

She hadn’t woken up to a hard chest pressing
into her back in, well, forever. Between his all-encompassing warmth and the
erection poking her ass, it was immediately clear to her who it was, even if
she wasn’t completely awake yet.

“Mmm. Morning, honey.” A sleepy Drake mumbled
against her hair, slashing through her weak defenses.

He was so damn cute sometimes. Who’d have
thought someone so hardened by his years spent as the Guardian could behave in
such a way? He’d been incredible the night before, taking her again and again,
making her come again and again. And she was turning herself on again, wasn’t
she? She sighed and snuggled back into him. She didn’t want to go to the
library today; that was for damn sure.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” he said a few minutes
later. “Time to rise and shine. You’ve got work to do!” He slapped her butt,
making her squeal.

“Hey!” She sat up. “You wore me out last
night! I need a lie-in.”

His gaze darkened. “Not today, Jessica. You
still have about half to translate.”

That’s all he wanted from her, wasn’t it? She
felt the blood drain from her face. She’d forgotten about that damn translation
and how important it was for him. For them. That was why he was acting like
this with her, why he’d tempted her with his one sentence/one orgasm plan. He
didn’t like her… Oh, he might like her body and how she made him feel, but he
didn’t like her as a person. He didn’t care. He just wanted her to finish the
bloody thing so she could be on his way and they could do whatever they wanted
to with the results.

Fuck, that hurt.
She fixed a fake smile on her face and slid out of
bed on the opposite side to which he was now standing. Ignoring him, she left
the room and went back to hers. Locking herself inside, she let the tears fall
down her cheeks while she busied herself getting ready for another day sitting
at that damned desk.

What a foolish woman she’d been. To think
someone like Drake would ever like someone like her…

* * * *

“Fuck!”

Drake fought the urge to pound the wall with
his bare knuckles. He could hear her tears in his head, taunting him, forcing
him to realize what he’d done. For the first time in hundreds of years, he
truly hated being the Guardian. Because she was right, and that galled him. Of
course, he’d been plying her with sex, wanting her to hurry through her
translation so his First Man could applaud his success. Of course, he hadn’t
wanted to have sex with her at first. Hell, he hadn’t even liked her!

All this had changed in the past couple days
however. Now, he couldn’t even imagine not having her with him at all times.
The feeling would probably fade in time−he sure hoped it did at any rate.
He couldn’t afford having someone in his life, not when he had to leave on
missions for Jake for months on end. What would she do then? She wouldn’t be
able to follow him. She’d have to stay here and then she’d grow restless and
she’d find someone else who understood her needs better, who cared more, who...
Fuck, he hadn’t thought of Sara for years, and now he was comparing Jessica to
her.
What the hell was wrong with him?

She had to finish that damn translation and
the sooner the better. He might not want her to leave, but he wouldn’t give her
a choice. She was having too much effect on him, long-forgotten feelings slowly
blossoming inside him. This was why he didn’t do relationships. He couldn’t
face the aggravation.

No, it was better if it stayed like this, he
decided. He’d go back on his earlier promise and push her to work harder. She
might hate him from now on, but that was all right. He could deal with hate. It
was love he couldn’t deal with...

* * * *

You would have thought that she’d be speeding
through that bloody translation, Jessica thought as she chewed on the end of
her pencil. Now that Drake had gone back on his earlier promise of an orgasm
per sentence translated, she had no more incentive, sure. But it also meant she
was back in control. Sex had been far too distracting, for her and for him.
Maybe that was why he’d stopped it, or maybe it was because that now he’d had
her he didn’t need her any longer. Who knew?

She sighed and focused on those unrelenting
Greek letters. They became blurred a second later. She brushed her eyes,
blinked and tried again. To no avail. “Shit!”

“What’s going on?” Drake asked from his usual
chair in the corner of the library.

“I... I think I’m getting tired. My eyes have
gone all blurry.”