by I. T. Lucas
She cast him an apologetic smile. “I didn’t think that you would make the connection. We worked damn hard to change the way we looked. What gave us away?”
“The horrid makeup was the first clue. The other was your height. You are both tall.”
As they entered the dining room, Rufsur was already there, and she also recognized the second guy. Both got up from their seats as if she was some dignitary.
“Hello, Phinas.” She offered him her hand. “I’m Jacki.”
He dipped his head. “I know.”
Rufsur looked at her, then at Kalugal, and then back at her. “Is everything okay?”
She nodded. “Kalugal explained why he acted that way.”
“I would love to hear that,” Rufsur murmured under his breath.
“He did it to verify that the tether was gone. If Jin was still spying on Kalugal or on me, she would have told Kian about what happened, and he would have been too enraged to keep quiet about it.”
“So am I forgiven?” Kalugal pulled out a chair for her.
“Not yet. I expect a lot more groveling.”
Phinas seemed satisfied with the explanation, his head bobbing up and down in agreement, but Rufsur wasn’t. His lips pressed into a thin line, he unfurled the napkin with a loud pop and draped it over his knees.
Kalugal took his seat at the head of the table. “Jacki might be staying with us for a little longer.”
Rufsur’s head snapped toward his boss. “Are you giving up on talking with your mother?”
“It’s Jacki’s choice whether she agrees to stay with us for a few more days. She is no longer a hostage, and therefore Kian has no reason to withhold contact with my mother from me. Jacki can leave whenever she pleases.”
That was news to her. “I can?”
Kalugal nodded. “I hope that you will decide to stay, but if you wish, you can walk out of here right now, and no one is going to stop you.”
“I don’t get you.” Jacki lifted the napkin off her plate and placed it on her thighs. “When did you decide that?”
“A moment ago.”
“You are full of surprises, Kal.”
He arched a brow. “Kal?”
“Yeah, Kalugal is a mouthful.”
Phinas hid his smile by lifting his glass to his mouth. Rufsur cast her a glare but said nothing.
Someone wasn’t happy about her and Kalugal’s reconciliation.
Poor Rufsur. After practically crying on his shoulder for over an hour, Jacki might have given him the impression that she’d chosen him as her confidant and savior. She couldn’t blame him for feeling angry at her sudden change of heart.
From his perspective she must have appeared fickle, but from hers she’d just needed someone to talk to, and he’d been that someone. Besides, Rufsur wasn’t there when Kalugal had apologized, and he hadn’t heard his boss offer to donate twenty-five grand to the clan’s charity for every day she stayed in the mansion.
He also didn’t know that she was a fugitive, and that Kalugal’s offer solved the problem of her having to find a place to hide.
“Kal. I like it.” Kalugal smiled. “I’m not sure my mother would, though. She gave me my name.”
“Does it have a meaning?” Jacki asked.
“In Sumerian it means big king.”
She chuckled. “Your mother must have been clairvoyant. It fits you to a T.”
21
Kalugal
“Let me show you to your room.” Kalugal offered Jacki a hand up.
“Can I go back to the library?”
“I thought that you found the selection of books disappointing.”
“I was looking for something to entertain myself with, but your admission about being self-taught inspired me. What if I can do what you’ve done? I was a good student in high school. I just didn’t have the means to continue to college.”
“Aren't there scholarships available for needy students with good grades?”
“Yeah, but they don’t cover everything. I figured I would work for a couple of years and save up money, but that was a mistake. I never made enough to put money aside.”
“That’s a shame.” Kalugal lifted his hand to put on the small of her back but then dropped it.
He’d promised not to touch her.
Instead, he motioned for her to start walking. “Let me show you to your room first, and then you can go to the library whenever you please. You can also go to the kitchen if you are hungry and get a snack. I want you to feel at home here.”
As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, Jacki stopped and looked down the wide corridor stretching in both directions. “Do your men usually sleep in the bunker or in the house?”
He wasn’t ready to reveal how many warriors he had, so he opted for a half-truth. “Some have rooms in the house, and others prefer the bunker.”
“I bet it goes according to rank. The officers get to stay in the house, and simple soldiers have to stay in the bunker.”
“It’s a mix. Rufsur stays in the house, and Phinas prefers the bunker.” Kalugal opened the door to the room he’d decided to put Jacki in.
Originally, it had been designed as his upstairs office for when he didn’t feel like going to the large one downstairs, but he hardly ever used it for that or anything else. It was just a small room with a beautiful bookcase, a desk, and a leather couch.
There were no spare guest rooms in the house. So instead of moving a couple of his men out of their bedroom, he asked for the couch to be replaced with a proper bed, and the computer moved to his downstairs office. There was no closet, though. Right now, Jacki had nothing to put away, but if she agreed to stay, she would need a wardrobe, which he would gladly provide for her. Or better yet, she could use his closet.
“It’s such a beautiful room.” Jacki walked toward the French doors and opened them. “It even has a balcony with a chaise. I love it.”
It was the smallest room in the house, but she regarded it as if it were palatial accommodations.
“This used to be my second-floor office,” he admitted. “All the rooms in the house are spoken for, so I had a bed put in and the couch taken out. I hope you don’t mind.”
She turned around. “You shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble. The room in the bunker is great. I wouldn’t have minded staying there, especially since I might be leaving tomorrow.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Wait a minute. Have you been planning this all along? Because you offered to take me to a guest room this morning.”
“I didn’t plan anything. I just wanted you to be near me for the remainder of your stay, and I don’t like sleeping in the bunker.”
Casting him a doubtful look, Jacki walked over to the only interior door and opened it. “This is your bathroom.”
“Yes. The master bedroom is on the other side of it. The office doesn’t have a dedicated bathroom, so you’ll have to use mine.”
“How convenient.” Jacki grimaced. “I’d rather sleep in the bunker.” She walked out of the room.
He followed her out into the corridor. “I vowed not to touch you without your permission, so it doesn’t matter that we are sharing a bathroom. We are not going to use it at the same time. Besides, the room in the bunker is no safer than this one. I can enter it anytime I want, and so can my men.”
She had nothing to worry about from them either, but implying that she would be safer staying close to him might convince her to take the room next to his.
“Your hearing is really good, right?”
“Excellent.”
“So if anyone opens my door uninvited, you will hear it, right?”
“If I’m in my room, yes. If I’m in the bunker or in my downstairs office, I might not.” He smiled. “But since I’ll want you with me when I’m not sleeping, that’s not a problem. You’ll accompany me wherever I go.”
She arched a brow. “What about your precious secrets? You can’t work with me there.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “
Most of what I do is not a secret. And if you want to learn about stock trading, you might even find it interesting.”
She snorted. “With what money?”
“I can teach you to trade on paper. That’s the best way to start instead of risking money before you know what you are doing.”
“I have to admit that I’m not interested in stocks. Does your bathroom lock from the inside?”
“It does. But you must realize that a simple door with an ordinary lock will not keep an immortal out if he wants to get in.”
“A locked door will signal that the bathroom is in use and that you shouldn’t come in.”
He nodded. “Naturally.”
“Fine. I’ll take the room. The balcony is really nice.”
22
Jacki
As Jacki tossed and turned, she wondered whether Kalugal’s silk pajamas had something to do with her inability to fall asleep.
They felt wonderful against her skin. But even though they were brand new and he had never worn them before, just the thought of how he would look in them was enough to fill her head with naughty thoughts.
Damn, after what he had done, she shouldn’t be thinking about him like that at all, but he’d apologized so sincerely and then made her that incredible offer just so he could spend more time with her.
Even if all that was an elaborate ploy to eventually seduce her, no one had ever gone to so much trouble for her.
She couldn’t help but feel flattered, special.
And wasn’t that what she’d always wanted? For a guy to fall for her head over heels and be willing to do anything for her?
Except, that was a fantasy, and the reality was much different. The kiss that Kalugal had forced on her hadn’t been passionate, not on his part.
Upon further reflection, Jacki realized that she’d misinterpreted what he’d said about hating kissing her. Kalugal had hated forcing her into it and pretending that he’d been about to do much worse.
There was no way he would have made her such a fantastic offer if he wasn’t attracted to her.
Great, so they were attracted to each other, but that didn’t solve anything. He was still immortal, and she was still human, and there could be no happily ever after for them.
Could she survive a month with Kalugal without succumbing to his charm and having sex with him?
Would it be so bad if she did?
Yeah, it would. Because when it was time for her to leave, she would not only be heartbroken, but also disappointed in herself.
Outside, the sky was getting lighter, and a glance at the clock by her bed confirmed that it was a little after five in the morning. She’d promised Kalugal to give him an answer by six, and she was still undecided.
Well, that wasn’t true.
Jacki had known all along that she was going to accept Kalugal’s offer, she was just trying to make her fears go away.
But that wasn’t going to happen in the next hour. Besides, she had never allowed fear to run her life before, and she was not about to let it do that now.
This was her chance to do some good. All she had to do was to keep her heart locked and her desire subdued. How hard could it be?
And if it got to be too much, she could just walk away. The longer she survived, though, the more money would go to the rescued victims of trafficking.
She wasn’t a weakling, and she could manage a week or two.
After all, she had a lot of experience pushing guys away, and if she thought of Kalugal as just another guy who wanted her in his bed, it should be a piece of cake to keep him at arm’s length.
Kicking the blanket off, Jacki got out of bed and padded to the bathroom door. It was quiet on the other side, which hopefully meant that Kalugal wasn’t there. Still, she opened the door only a crack and peeked inside.
The coast was clear.
Quickly, she tiptoed to the other side of the bathroom and engaged the lock on the door leading to Kalugal’s bedroom.
As she brushed her teeth, it felt strange to stand at the double sink vanity and look at the other side and see Kalugal’s neatly arranged stuff.
She liked that he wasn’t a slob, and that his hairbrush was clean of hairs, and his toothpaste was folded and put away in its container. There was no maid service in the mansion, so the bathroom wasn’t spotless because someone came in and cleaned it. Kalugal kept it like that.
Except, she was sure that he didn’t clean the floors or his toilet or do his own laundry. One of his men was probably in charge of that.
Maybe she could do that while she stayed in his house?
That would send a clear message that this was a business arrangement and not a seduction in progress.
She was going to earn her keep and take on a share of the work like everyone else in the household.
Smiling, she reached for Kalugal’s brush and ran it through her hair. She was going to be one of the guys, or rather a sister. After the many foster families she’d had, it was a role Jacki knew how to play well.
23
Kalugal
Kalugal opened his eyes and listened to the sounds coming from his bathroom.
Jacki was awake.
It felt oddly satisfying to imagine her brushing her teeth next to his vanity, using his hairbrush because he didn’t have a spare one he could give her, stripping out of his pajamas and stepping into the shower…
Damn. He shouldn’t think about her in the nude.
He banished the last image from his head by shifting his thoughts to his upcoming conversation with his mother. What was he going to talk with her about?
Condensing the past ninety-odd years into a ten-minute conversation was impossible, and he wasn’t even going to attempt it. Should he choose a few highlights?
Or maybe it would be best to let her do the talking and just listen.
After all, Kian would be privy to their conversation, so it wasn’t as if he could share any secrets with his mother. In fact, he could use it to throw more smoke in Kian’s eyes.
Was it all smoke, though?
Maybe forming some sort of alliance with the clan wasn’t such a bad idea. They could offer him no real protection from his father, but they still had many more men than he had. There was strength in numbers.
Kalugal didn’t want his cousin poking his nose into his business, but having him on standby in case he needed Kian’s cooperation was not a bad idea.
When Jacki was done in the bathroom, he waited several minutes longer to make sure the coast was clear before entering. Naturally, he didn’t bother locking the door leading to her room.
He didn’t mind her accidentally walking back in and seeing him nude. On the contrary. She might see something she liked.
When he was done, Kalugal got dressed, walked out the front door of his suite, and knocked on Jacki’s door. “May I come in?”
She opened it. “Good morning. Is there a chance of getting some coffee around here?”
“Follow me.” He waved a hand. “There is always coffee in the kitchen.”
“How does it work?” She fell into step with him. “I mean the household duties. You have no maid service. Is there a rotation of chores?”
“Some of them are on rotation, and others are permanently assigned. Atzil is our cook, and he also keeps the kitchen stocked and clean. The men are responsible for keeping their rooms and bathrooms neat, and Phinas occasionally performs a surprise inspection to make sure that they do. The common areas of the house and the bunker, as well as my quarters, are on rotation.”
He and Jacki weren’t the first to get to the dining room, and a couple of the men were already there. They nodded politely at Jacki.
“Good morning,” she said, her tone of voice implying that she wasn’t happy about them having company.
“If you prefer, we can have coffee in my room.”
He had a coffee maker in his suite’s bar, but it hadn’t occurred to him to invite Jacki to the master sitting room. She might have gotten the
wrong idea and become all prickly again.
“Do you have something to eat in there as well?”
“Will cookies do for now? I can ask Shamash to bring us breakfast when it’s ready.”
“That would be great.” She cast an apologetic glance at the two men. “There are a few things I need to discuss with you in private.”
“Of course.” He dipped his head.
When they took the stairs, Jacki asked, “Who does the laundry?”
“Shamash does mine, and the rest of the men do their own.”
“Is Shamash your valet?”
Kalugal smiled. “He is my personal assistant.”
“It’s just a fancier name for the same thing. It doesn’t matter what you call it.”
“It matters to Shamash.” Kalugal opened the door to his suite. “After you.”
“You are so polite.”
Was she mocking him?
“Would you prefer me not to be?” He motioned for her to sit on the couch and walked over to the bar.
The sitting room was separated from his bedroom by a door, but he had left it open and noticed Jacki glancing at his bed.
“No, I like it that you are polite, and I also like it that you made your own bed. Or has your assistant done it?”
“I believe in leading by example, and since I demand that my men make theirs, I can’t have someone else do it for me.”
“Nice.” She sat up straight and jutted her chin out. “If I am to stay here for a while, I would like to contribute by taking over some of the chores. I can do laundry, I can change bedding, I can clean floors, I can cook, serve meals, you name it. The more tasks you can give me, the better.”
For a long moment, Kalugal just looked at the woman sitting on his couch and debated what the right answer was.
The good news was that she’d officially accepted his offer, but he didn’t want her to be a maid in his house. She was to be his companion, and that was how he wanted his men to think of her.