When Seamus strode from the room, he felt the weight of two gazes branding his back. The apricot and ginger scent he’d come to associate with Aislyn teased his senses. Then he heard soft footfalls behind him and knew she followed. The knowledge made him edgy and just plain grumpy. Hades, what was he going to do about Aislyn? The more time he spent with her, the worse he wanted to drag her off to a secluded place and keep her there. No interruptions. No responsibilities. No expectations.
He closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. The list of candidates--he would definitely study it closely tonight. Guilt at his delaying tactics slithered through him. For the good of the colony, he must pull himself together, stop dragging his feet, and make a decision.
The decision.
Once he was betrothed, he would be able to focus and accept his responsibilities more readily.
"Seamus? Are you all right?"
"I’m fine," he snapped, not daring to look at Aislyn and her fresh-faced eagerness. "Let’s go." He strode down the council corridor to the classified, fairy force only section. At a set of double doors, he paused to let a machine scan his retina print. "Hurry, Aislyn. I don’t have all day."
The doors slid open and, after making sure Aislyn was through safely, he stalked ahead down the long white passage. At the next set of double doors, he had to wait for her to catch up. She arrived in a flurry of bags and out of breath.
"Give that bag to me," he snarled, more angry with himself than Aislyn. If he hadn’t looked at her then the shining, blue eyes wouldn’t have tempted him. The copper curls and cute sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose wouldn’t have enticed him. Seamus jerked his gaze away to scowl at the door. "Time lock," he explained tersely.
"When will I start work?" Aislyn asked. "I haven’t received my uniform yet. I’ll need that first, won’t I?"
Guilt and shame made him want to shuffle uncomfortably like a young fairling, but he steeled himself and looked her straight in the eye. Regret was a waste of time and emotion. Putting Aislyn into an administrative job was for his own sanity as much as keeping her safe out of harms way. However, his parents hadn’t raised a fool. He had no intention of confessing until the last possible moment. "We’ll sort everything out once we arrive. The admin department will take care of you." He hoped.
The doors finally slid open to reveal a large office manned by security guards. Seamus dipped his head in a brief nod as the security guard checked their passes.
"Wow!" Aislyn said. Her gaze darted around the room, then drifted onto the security guard manning the incoming desk. Her astonishment stuck like a horse in the Glenveagh bog. "I didn’t know there was a tunnel out of the colony. Wait until I tell my friends."
Seamus whirled on her, the fury that had built inside finally exploding in a severe set down. "The reason the tunnel is kept secret is to keep the colony safe."
The excitement and happiness bleached from her face. Seamus groaned inwardly. Bullies-are-us incorporated. Why didn’t he rent a sign to publicize his filthy mood?
"Sorry," she murmured. Her shoulders squared in quiet dignity. "I didn’t think."
"That’s your problem--you don’t think. You’re reckless and tread your own stubborn path oblivious to the dangers to the colony. The commander assured me you were briefed on colony national security. Did you listen at all?"
Her bottom lip quivered. Great. Now comes the waterworks. As he watched, Aislyn clamped her bottom lip between small white teeth and bit down. Immediately, his body heated, leaping from anger to carnal thoughts in no time flat. Seamus forced back a snarl of pure frustration. Gill had tried to set him up with a double date. He’d refused, but perhaps he’d call Gill and tell him he’d changed his mind.
"The commander gave me a rule book and told me to read it. I haven’t had time to read it yet," she confessed in a small voice.
"Read the book tonight. It’s important so you don’t make mistakes in the human world."
Aislyn nodded, but Seamus suspected she still didn’t understand how important it was that she followed the rules. "I’ll spell it out. Human side, I’m in charge. It’s part of my job to ensure that all the fairy force are integrated correctly and follow the rules. Offenders have their wings clipped and they’re sent back to the colony. In your case, the colony doesn’t want you." Oh, just great, Gallagher. That was tactful. "What I mean is that in your case, the consequences will be more severe so read the handbook tonight. Please?"
"I’ll read the book tonight," Aislyn promised.
Seamus nodded. Only momentarily cowed, the eager look that reappeared on her face made him want to smile, but he lacked the energy. He started walking down another long passage toward the exit gate. Murals painted by Glenveagh fairlings decorated the walls. "Have you taken the pill today?" he asked, referring to the pill the recruits took to maintain human size.
"Yes. I followed the instructions on the prescription."
"Good, lass. Make sure you take one every day, exactly as the doctor prescribed. You’ve experienced the cat’s attraction to your pheromones already. You must take care." As he lectured her, visions formed in his mind. A cold fist closed over his heart as he acknowledged exactly how much danger she was in human side. He wouldn’t rest easy until she was back in the colony again.
Aislyn grimaced as she hurried to keep pace with Seamus. You’d think she was a babe, the way he kept lecturing her. Of course, she knew to take her pill. Her head still pounded from the danger the council doctor had expounded on. Broken bones, fang-like scars ... Death by cat sounded like a nasty way to go.
"This is the way you will enter and leave the colony. Make sure you don’t lose your pass because security will detain you if you fail to produce a valid one. Most of the recruits get it tattooed somewhere on their body."
Did she have idiot stamped on her forehead? Because he was treating her like one. Each time she moved a bit close to him, he froze as if she carried a virulent disease. She was starting to develop a complex.
"I know all this," she said impatiently. "Your assistant made an appointment for me to have my pass tattooed on."
He ignored her and planted his feet firmly in front of a set of red double doors. "Leave your bag here. We’ll collect the luggage at the other end."
Aislyn dropped her bag on the trolley with a loud sigh of relief. She rolled her shoulders and flexed her hands. With all the compulsory items on the fairy force equipment list, the bag weighed a ton.
A bell sounded and the doors clanked open. Seamus stepped inside the small room, and Aislyn followed. Anticipation churned her stomach. It couldn’t be long now. The doors slowly slid shut. A whirring sound played inside her head. Seamus blurred in front of her eyes. Bones cracked, lengthened and skin drew taut as her body rapidly grew to human size. She blinked then felt a grin sweep across her face. Cool.
Without warning, the small room moved upward. Aislyn’s stomach dropped to meet her regulation black boots. To her embarrassment, a squeak emerged. She slapped a hand over her mouth and lurched the two steps it took to reach Seamus.
"What’s happening?" she gasped.
Seamus curled an arm around her waist, and she needed no second invitation. Aislyn plastered herself against his muscular chest, her breath coming in small pants. Why hadn’t someone warned her about this moving room? They’d warned her about everything else.
"Don’t worry," Seamus murmured. "It’s a lift. Lots of the human buildings have lifts. You’ll get used to them. We’re going up to the twenty-eighth level. A few minutes more then the lift will stop."
"You could have told me." Aislyn hated looking like a fool. Her glare most likely confirmed the fact.
"All the information necessary for recruits to adjust to the human side is in the recruit’s handbook. You should have read it."
"All I was given was the rule book."
"Murphy was meant to issue you with one."
"Yeah, well. Let’s just say that Murphy and I don’t speak since
my run in with Moira." His breath wafted against her cheek. Their noses were so close they were almost touching. Aislyn’s eyes dropped to his mouth. The way it slashed across his face like a flat line indicated his extreme irritation. But then, that was nothing new.
"If you’d thought harder before you rebelled you wouldn’t have problems now."
His niggling comments made Aislyn lose the tenuous grip on her temper. "Thank you very much, Seamus. I’ll treasure that nugget of advice."
Seamus seized her by the waist and lifted her away from him. "Dammit, Aislyn. I don’t need this."
The small room stopped moving, but Seamus didn’t seem to notice.
"This isn’t my fault." Aislyn tried a conciliatory tone.
"But you’ve got what you wanted," Seamus snarled, looking as though he loathed the sight of her.
"I didn’t tell anyone you took me from the colony. I could have."
His nostrils flared. "Why didn’t you? Damn, why has the lift stopped moving?"
Aislyn eyed him warily. "I thought we’d arrived."
"It’s stuck." Seamus thumped on the wall. "Can’t you see the two numbers lit up on the controls?"
"Since I haven’t traveled in a lift before, how would I know?" What was wrong with the male? When she looked more closely, she saw his body shaking. Alarm zapped through her. "What is it, Seamus? Are we going to die?"
A thin laugh spluttered from him. "No, dammit. We’re not going to die. The fairy maintenance team will realize we’re trapped and get the lift going again. They’ll have us out soon."
Aislyn nibbled on her lip, not sure whether to believe him or not. Despite his laughter, his face appeared deadly pale, his body tense. The lift jerked then ground to a pained halt.
Seamus bounded to the control panel and thumped on the lift buttons. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Are you sure we’ll be out soon?" Aislyn asked. "You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?"
He groaned loudly and sank to the ground with his back pressed against the wall. His eyes were squeezed firmly shut. "Damn, I hate enclosed spaces," he ground out.
A rumor she’d heard from her brother sifted to the front of her memories. Seamus had been trapped in a cave while on a case. A wave of sympathy flooded her. What should she do? If she offered comfort, he’d likely snap her head off.
The lift jerked again, hard enough to send her off balance. Seamus moaned, and Aislyn squatted beside him to slide her arms around his neck. Instead of shoving her away, he groaned again and yanked her so close she felt as though she’d suffocate.
"Can’t breathe," she complained.
He slackened his fierce grasp, and she sucked in some much needed oxygen.
"Sorry." His stiff tone spoke of his discomfort.
Aislyn rushed to reassure. "It’s all right." Close enough to feel the tremors she paused, wondering what to do next. She patted him awkwardly on the arm and slid closer, peeping at him through her eyelashes. He was looking right back.
"Aislyn."
The smoldering flame she saw in his eyes startled her, yet his gaze held her enthralled. He smoothed his hands up her arms, over skin left bared by her turquoise sleeveless top. A tingling sensation sprang to life in the pit of her stomach, and this time it was her that trembled.
"Aislyn," he repeated. He dipped his head.
Stars, he was going to kiss her. Her eyes fluttered closed and her mouth puckered in readiness. A horrid thought occurred. What did she do with her tongue? Oh, she’d die of mortification if their noses bumped.
A strained chuckle sounded right by her ear. Her eyes sprang open, but the lights had gone out.
Rats. What was happening now? She couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.
Seamus’s heart stuttered crazily as the lights flickered then died. His hands tightened on Aislyn’s upper arms. Hell’s teeth, he hated small places, but dark, small places were even worse.
The darkness felt like a living, breathing entity. It sucked the oxygen from the lift until the room seemed to compress inward. Suddenly, it was all too much. He jerked Aislyn across his lap and blindly reached his hand out to cup her head, needing her comfort to fight the panic before it locked him in the past. Seamus’s hand shook, his stomach clamped tight. Inhaling deeply, he concentrated on Aislyn. The scent of fruit--apricots--wafted from her hair. He lowered his lips desperate for distraction from the hideous monster bearing down on him.
His mouth slid across her cheek, awkwardly colliding with her nose. Two seconds later, he’d corrected the angle, slanting his lips across hers with precision exactness. Work with me here he thought, silently pleading for the comfort he so desperately needed. She gasped quietly but didn’t draw away. Lips soft as orange petals trembled beneath his. Seamus drew her closer until her breasts pressed against him, branding his chest with heat. She tasted of the peppermints he’d given her on the walk to the transfer station. Sweet. Innocent. His.
Definitely his.
Relieved, Seamus sank into the kiss, sliding his tongue across her lips in a slow, sensuous dance of seduction. Fire licked his body as he explored the sweet moistness beyond. The darkness receded replaced by pure sensation.
Slowly, he pulled away, one hand mapping her face, savoring the soft, smooth skin. Skin that smelled of apricots and sunshine and lazy summer days.
"Mmmm, Seamus," she whispered.
His mouth curved up in a smile as he skimmed her moist lips with his thumb. Her lips parted, her tongue flicked out, and she sucked his thumb into her mouth. The hot, moist sensation of her mouth and the lick of her tongue across his thumb made his heart thud. Need kicked in, biting savagely at his restraint.
"God’s bone’s" he muttered in a voice he didn’t recognize. He remained frozen in place like an animal in the glare of a spotlight while she slowly sucked his thumb, his body growing hotter and harder until he ached and throbbed for fulfillment.
"Aislyn, let me kiss you," he murmured. He withdrew his thumb and claimed her lips immediately, catching her sound of surprise with his mouth. While he sipped at her mouth, his hands journeyed down her arms, back up again then crawled across to cup one breast.
His befuddled mind finally recognized the absence of a bra. Seamus felt the jolt of her pulse and the answering shudder of his own. He wanted to touch her bare flesh so badly he trembled like an inexperienced fairling. His lips traveled down the side of her neck, nipping in light bites then moist kisses to soothe the pleasurable hurt. Almost without volition, his hand burrowed beneath her shirt to fondle her warm, soft breast. Tracing slow circles, he made a brief foray across her nipple. It hardened to a tight point against his palm. Seamus groaned, fighting his need to take this further. It was too far--too fast. He had to stop. Aislyn deserved more than a frantic groping in a lift of all places. Seamus tore his mouth from her neck and rested his forehead against hers, his breaths coming in harsh, loud pants. Removing his hand from beneath her shirt was one of the hardest things he’d ever done.
"Aislyn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. For God’s sake, slap me. Please."
"Why?" Her voice sounded soft and dreamy and it tore at his guts. Hell’s teeth. She trusted him.
"Because ... because...." Seamus struggled to verbalize the reasons he should stop. "Aislyn, I’m using you to fight my fears. I’m doing this for all the wrong reasons."
"Kiss me again."
Seamus groaned and tried to separate their entangled limbs. It was difficult when her citrus scent beckoned him back. "You’re not listening to me."
Her hands feathered down his arms and made darting forays inside his shirt collar. The touch of her hand on his skin sent a jolt through his sensitized body. Heaven, help him, but he wanted her naked, writhing against him. He wanted ... he wanted things he couldn’t have.
CHAPTER NINE
Aislyn pulled away but not before Seamus had felt the rapid rise and fall of her chest. At least he wasn’t the only one affected by their kiss.
"What, sweetheart?"
"The lift is working again. Should we stand up?"
The lights flickered back on. Seamus gave a heartfelt groan and shot to his feet. He let Aislyn stand under her own steam, not trusting himself to touch her. His jeans were tight and uncomfortable and the burden of guilt threatened to weigh him down. He glanced at Aislyn to see if her face bore regret but his attention was diverted by her ruffled curls, the high color in her cheeks and the kiss swollen lips. He’d faced down the dark demon, but stuffed up big time in the process. Seamus bunched his fists and turned away, unable to face temptation any longer. What the hell was he doing? Last night, he’d worked on a list of candidates for his first lady. Tonight, he intended to send it to his mother to start negotiations.
Seamus watched the lights on the control board intently.
"Do you feel better now?"
Hell, no! "I’m fine," Seamus gritted out.
The lift shuddered to a halt. Seamus tensed, half expecting another wait for the technicians to repair it again, but the doors opened with a ponderous groan.
A serviceman appeared. He dropped his toolbox on the floor with a noisy metallic rattle. "You folks all right in there?"
No he wasn’t. God’s bones! The desire to pummel the serviceman’s nose curled his hands to fists, but Seamus beat the urge down and brushed past the man to get out of the lift. He knew he was acting rudely, but he had a desperate need for solid ground beneath his feet. "We’re fine," he snapped. "Aislyn, hurry up. I don’t have all day." He strode down the carpeted passageway without looking to see if she followed.
The serviceman sniffed. "Some folks have no manners."
Seamus heard him but didn’t stop. The sooner he rid himself of Aislyn, the quicker his life could return to normal.
* * * *
"Hey, boss. You’re late. Gill has rung four times wanting to know if you’d arrived."
Gary’s shenanigans usually amused Seamus but not today. "My office. Now."
Aislyn Page 11