Dangerously Hers (7 page)

Her stomach fluttered.

It’s not his bite I’m afraid of.

Rasha couldn’t help but notice that while Jess walked by his side, she kept at least an arm’s length between them at all times. He would have preferred her closer. He didn’t go so far as to think that their bodies could touch. That he could feel her skin on his. No, despite her strong outward appearance, Jess was afraid, something she tried to hide.

But…just maybe…his arm could brush against hers.

Her gaze darted in his direction. She moved closer to the opposite wall, widening the gap between them. Her scent was still heavy as ever, lingering in the air. She smelled like ripe fruit, delicious, succulent.

“I’m glad you decided to come with me,” he said, breaking the silence that hadn’t seemed to bother her.

“Pft, we couldn’t stay in my apartment. The choice was obvious.” She walked with her shoulder brushing against the wall. As she approached a colorful picture of a landscape hanging in a large ornamental frame, she paused. Rasha only guessed she was thinking about how to proceed. Finally she separated herself from the wall and went past the picture.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Her eyes flickered to him. “No, um…yes.”

“Why?”

Jess looked him up and down. “You’re gigantic.”

“You called me a gigantor before. Did you mean it to offend?”

Jess quickly shook her head. “No, not at all.”

They walked in silence before he asked, “Did Eva explain your job and duties to you?”

She cleared her throat. “Umm…yeah. I’m here as your personal assistant.”

For now.
He nodded.

“Listen, about earlier—”

“You will not apologize again. As my assistant you will need to stand up to others, as well as me, when needed. You showed that you are strong. That is a good trait.”

A pink tinge rose up her neck and then across her face. “Thank you.”

“Speaking of work, Eva mentioned you might want to have some time off before starting.”

“No.” Jess brought her thumb up to her lips and nibbled on the nail. “I can start as soon as possible.”

The thought of replacing her thumb with his cock crossed his mind. His nostrils flared. Blood rushed to the thickness between his thighs. He resisted the urge to reposition it as it strained against his pants. “Good,” he drawled.

He couldn’t help but watch her as she walked. She was unlike any of the other humans who occupied the palace.

She towered over the human females on Sonis. The skin suit she wore was molded to her body as if it had been poured on to every delectable muscle, line for line. Her earlier boldness, the knife strapped to one thigh and the blaster to the other reminded him that she was used to taking care of herself.

Her walk was purposeful, stride for sensuous stride. Her thighs were muscled and lean and right now, he longed to have them wrapped around him, preferably quaking from ecstasy.

His breathing quickened.
Mine.

From the moment he had laid eyes on her, she’d belonged to him. Even though it meant going against Eva’s wishes, the need to stake his claim before any of the other guards could overrode his agreement with Eva.

If I fall behind her, I can get a look at her…

Without warning, she stopped, catching him off guard.

“Is something wrong?”

Jess placed a hand on her blaster and stared at him hard. “Listen, big guy, I’m here to work. Nothing more.”

Under different circumstances he would have taken her gesture as an act of aggression. But on her…his cock twitched and strained.

He tilted his head. “I’ll not ask you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

That was true. She would beg for him to take her.

Her lip rolled into a snarl. Her hand flexed over the handle of her blaster. “I know what you’re thinking and FYI, I don’t want to do that—ever—with you.”

He wanted to move closer but didn’t, afraid it would only cause her to run away. “I didn’t mean to offend, just making a statement.”

She growled. “I’m not here to be your plaything. I’m here to work.”

He relaxed with his back against the opposite wall. “Correct. You are here to work.”

“Only,” she added. “Eva said I would be safe here.”

He nodded in affirmation. “You are safe. I’ll not harm you and neither will anyone else.”

While her eyes darted to the guard who walked past them, his did not. She was his only concern.

“I’m safe,” she said more to herself than to him.

“You are safe,” he repeated.

Her hand gripped and then released her blaster. “Shit.”

Every human female on Sonis had come with a past, or “baggage” as Eva had termed it. Eva hadn’t told him what had become of Jess after the Loconuist invasion…yet.

He held an arm out, indicating their direction.

Jess glanced down the hallway then back at him.

He shrugged. “Or if you prefer, we could stay here and talk—get to know each other better.”

“Humph, we are not lovesick puppies.”

“Lovesick puppies?”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Never mind.” She straightened. “I’m ready when you are.”

He led the way again. “You will find that I am not a bad boss.”

“Glad to know, but I’m still wondering…”

He glanced at her. “Are you wondering why you came to Sonis?”

“Yeah.”

“You wouldn’t have come if you didn’t trust Eva.”

She nodded.

“She entrusted your care to me.”

She nodded again.

“You can trust me.”

“We’ll see.”

Chapter Seven

One thing he knew for certain, she would indeed trust him. Right now she was scared, that much was true. But sooner rather than later she would not only trust him but surrender to him.

“It would be a good idea for Mazel, Taio’s personal assistant, to train you,” he said.

“I met her once. She came to Laconia with Taio and Eva.”

“Ah, for Queen Sa’Mya’s official coronation.”

Jess nodded.

He studied her. “I was there as well.”

She squinted. “Um, I don’t remember seeing you.”

“I remember you.”

She had remained out of reach and had not joined many of the festivities. Whenever she appeared, she had disappeared just as fast. An unknown force had drawn him to her. He had wanted to meet her and find out why she preoccupied his thoughts. Before he left Laconia, he found out she had left well before him, on another transport mission for Mercanis Shipping and Hauling. He wondered then if he would ever see her again.

Now she was here. With him.

She tilted her head. “I think I would have remembered seeing you.”

He scratched at the stubble on his chin and quirked one side of his lip. “You may be right. I am unforgettable.”

She choked. “No problems with self-esteem, huh?”

He puffed out his chest and straightened his shoulders. “Is there any reason why I should?”

She waved him off. “No, no, of course not.”

“I am a warrior. A warrior who is not confident in his skills or abilities will soon find himself at the pointy end of a weapon.”

This time she laughed. “Okay, I get it.”

“Anyone working as my personal assistant would need to be confident as well. It would be very difficult for you to make competent decisions in my absence if you were insecure.”

She bristled. “I am not insecure.”

No, he didn’t think she was. While he knew she was uncomfortable in his presence, she was not insecure. Her walk told of her confidence. Her conversation showed her boldness. She would do nicely.

He gave her a long, appraising look.
Very nicely.

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Watch me like that.”

He scrunched his brows. “Is it offensive?”

“Yeah, I mean no. It’s just that you can’t go around looking at people like that.”

He wasn’t looking at people. He was watching her. “My apologies.”

Jess nodded. “How many hours of the day do I work?”

“You are on call for the entire day,” he replied.

“Really? All day?”

“You manage my time. It is expected you will be available to see to my needs.”

“How is that even possible? I mean, there’s no time off? When do I sleep?”

“There’s plenty of time for you to do what you please but if you are called I expect you to take care of me as needed.” He chuckled at the thought of her taking care of him. In any way that he saw fit.

“I don’t like the way you said that.”

“Said what?” he asked innocently.

“‘Take care of me as needed,’” she mimicked him. She puffed out her chest and chuckled.

“It sounds so mischievous when you say it.”

“So I’ll be on call,” she said, ignoring him. “
For business purposes only.
No set time.”

“Correct.”

“When I was on Earth, I had a job where I was on call 24/7…er, around the clock…I mean all the time.” She shrugged. “So I guess this won’t be any different.”

“Perfect.” He’d make sure to call her during the night—often.

“Since you’re the head guard, I’m assuming Taio is the only person ahead of you?”

Rasha nodded. “Taio is king. As head guard, I am under him. There are four minor officers under me and various rankings among the other guards. But you are committed to my needs only. There may be a time or two where Mazel will need your help with Taio’s dealings but I don’t expect that to be too often.” He tilted his head in thought. “Taio’s younger sister Saia has a bonding ceremony approaching. Eva and Taio are hosting a…I don’t remember what Eva called it. I think bonding party?”

“Engagement party,” Jess corrected.

“Engagement party for Saia and her new mate. You may be needed to help with the preparations. We will expect many foreign visitors on Sonis. I will also need you to assist with all the security clearances before the event. The next lunar rotations will be very busy for us.”

He blew out a heavy breath. Not only would the next rotations be extremely busy but stressful as well. Taio was very protective of his one and only sister. Their father King Xochis had promised her to Ranuit Pi, the high commander of a warrior clan, Zumagala. Their species had been embattled in a war that lasted for over two hundred cycles. It was no secret King Xochis had traded his only daughter’s hand and promised support in the everlasting war in exchange for gold.

Taio had wanted to start his own war against his father. The only reason they were not warring with Drazlan right now was Eva. She had begged Taio to invite Ranuit Pi to Sonis. Her belief was that if Taio and Ranuit Pi could come to an understanding regarding Saia’s future and treatment, an agreement could be met and a war could be averted.

Only time would tell if Eva’s plan would be beneficial.

Jess listened as he explained his position within the royal guard and her expected duties as his personal assistant.

“Are you up for the duties the position requires?”

“From what you’ve described, it’s something I’ve done before. I’ll organize your day, anticipate your needs and I can do whatever I want the rest of the time.”

“You worked as a personal assistant on Earth? Eva has told us Earth females worked hard for a living.”

“No, but before I was taken, I was the chief financial officer of my father’s company. But that was a lifetime ago.” She said the last statement as an afterthought. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about that.”

“Why not? That is prestigious, is it not?” Rasha glanced her way. “To be allowed to work for your father’s business?”

Jess snorted as she maneuvered around two Sonis females passing in the hallway. “I don’t think
allowed
is the right choice of words. My father didn’t give me anything. I went to college.” When he scrunched his face in confusion, she added, “I trained for years and worked my way up in his company.”

“Starting from the bottom and working your way up the ranks is an advantage. It allows you to understand the inner workings of a business. It also gains respect of the warriors under you.”

Jess stifled a chuckle behind her hand. “Warriors? I guess that wouldn’t be too farfetched to describe the people who worked in the infomercial business.”

He couldn’t help but throw his shoulders back and puff out his chest. “Taio and I both began our careers cleaning the fighting equipment. Neither he nor I thought the job was beneath us even though his father was king and mine was his top advisor.”

Her eyes flickered to him then back to the front. “Apparently starting from the bottom and working your way up means a lot to you.”

Rasha nodded. “Of course. We had to earn our place. It is sometimes not easy for younglings to find their place within the ranks of warriors. But I was much smaller then.”

The sides of her mouth twitched. “It’s hard to imagine you as ever small, let alone smaller.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Once we mastered that task, we were able to train and eventually join the Drazlan Royal Guards.”

“You and Taio have been friends for a very long time?” Jess asked as they slowed and finally stopped in front of nondescript double doors.

He wanted to take her hand in his and place it gently on the sensor to initiate the scanner security recognition system. But instead he indicated for her to put her palm on the sensor. “We have been side by side ever since I can remember.”

Jess placed a calloused palm on the sensor. A scanning light took an image of every line in her hand. If she were his female, her hands would be soft and supple. Fingers as long and slender as hers had no reason to be hard and rough.

The system beeped and the door slid open. He stepped inside and she followed. He stood in the middle of the expansive office, not really knowing what to do next.

His plan had stopped here. Retrieve her from her apartment. Stake his claim before anyone else got the chance. Now what? She took a swiping glance of the room then turned to him. He frantically searched his mind for his next plan of action.

“Uh, do you want to see your office?” he said, rushing out the words.

“I get an office?”