"Look at you, Chef Noran."
"Ah, no, I'm no such thing. It was a bit of luck you chose one of the easiest things to prepare, else you'd be enduring your meal far less enthusiastically."
"Hey, I'd be grateful for mush for as hungry as I am. I've been living off trail mix, jerky, and protein bars for the last week." She paused as if a thought entered her mind.
He waited, hoping this didn't signal the end of his time as a "human" in her mind.
When Amber smiled and took another bite of the sandwich, relief washed over him, Noran joined her in eating and marveling at how good his handy work was as well. He didn't think he'd ever made a sandwich taste so good. It must have been his desire to impress her that made the difference. Another few bites and she tore into the soup.
"You're right. The soup does do a little something for the taste, but that sandwich is the truth. Noran, thank you for the meal, you did your thing on it."
Laughing at her turns of phrase, he was about to say something when his team leader requested a neural link with him. Acting as normal as humanly possible, he excused himself to stand outside. This would help the team leader not have to strain to hold the connection through a building structure.
Yes, he said, are you finished?
The team leader came back. Almost. It seems there's an anomaly with her connections that lead to a contact with a highly secure server. Since you said she appeared to be working alone, it seemed odd that a server would be connected and sharing data. We don't have the password yet. Figuring out the password to see where she's been connecting to has been what's taking so long. Sir, as soon as we figure out where the connection leads and what has been transmitted, I'll give you an update.
Noran didn't like the sound of this news. Thank you. He was about to sever the link until he thought to ask, How much longer do you anticipate it taking to crack the passcode?
There was a hesitation. Then the team leader said, Sir, could you give us at least until the morning? We're working on it, but until we know where this leads and what's been transmitted, there's no way to say we're in the clear where your female is concerned.
There it was again.
She's not my female, but I'll try to keep her occupied until the morning. If anything changes, please report back immediately.
Noran closed the link session and took a moment to regroup and think of a new plan.
He'd already said he'd take her to her van after they ate. Amber wasn't one to easily forget or get sidetracked. He had to come up with a plausible plan to keep her here another night.
This mission kept getting more and more complicated.
10
Amber
The food was great, but she slowed down on finishing the last of the soup. It was silly, but she wasn't ready to go yet. Amber wanted to spend more time getting to know Noran.
He had secrets.
She was sure of this, but more importantly, he made her life more robust. Around him, Amber wanted to do and be more than a geek behind a research project. That kiss they'd shared had proven it. Truth be told, that kiss had awakened a new awareness within.
Her newfound exhilaration must be what it was like to be a woman able to express herself freely. The emotional and mental weight loss of living without the drudgery of political correctness, corporate bureaucracy, and struggles to be recognized for her work and worth was liberating.
Amber wanted to yip in the joy of being delivered from the social impact of being a woman of color in a corporation hell-bent on ignoring her existence. At this moment in time, being fired from BMEG seemed like a blessing in disguise.
Amber welcomed the feel of a wondrous side of herself take form. Never on the receiving end of male attention or appreciation before, she rather liked the feeling it brought. The boost to her ego might as well be a hit of a powerful drug for how giddy she was sitting here. Noran had cooked for her. Her, Amber Chastain, the awkward black girl from small-town Georgia that nobody thought would make it without becoming another unfortunate statistic.
Being the intelligent woman who spoke up for herself had resulted in her getting passed over for opportunities, shunned, taken for granted as a loud ghetto human resource quota requirement and eventually fired. This time, being herself had garnered the interest of an equally interesting man who was incredibly easy on the eyes. That a man had a definite interest in her as a woman—or so she hoped—was exhilarating.
For the first time in her life, Amber felt like she didn't have to struggle to be somebody anybody would want to pay attention. Here with him in this secluded rural location, she felt his complete attention on her, interest in her, and attraction to her. That was rare, and Amber wanted to have this experience, if only once in her life where a guy was interested in her for being her.
Noran might not be entirely on the up and up with her about his interest in her work, but he did appear to have an honest attraction to her, the woman. For once Amber wanted to throw caution to the wind and take the plunge into decadence.
What was the harm in having a little fun with a gorgeous guy that she'd probably never see again? Wasn't that a thing now--to have a hook up--with no expectations afterward? Yes, Amber wanted to have one glorious hookup, with him. Then, she'd go back to her prescribed life as a woman of color in the technology and science fields. She'd transition back into the responsible life of a respectable adult who was on the path to becoming a groundbreaking researcher and scientist. Come hell or high water.
It was the stir of air more than anything that pulled her out of the mental musings. Spoon still in the last few bites of soup; Amber looked up in time to see Noran come back into the kitchen.
Tension etched one of the corners of his eyes. Her body went on instant alert preparing for bad news.
Unable to keep quiet, she asked, "What is it? You look stressed about something."
He looked at her as his face softened, returning to the carelessness he projected before that interruption. Was this ability he could summon on demand? If so, Amber might have to pause trying to stay here longer. With a skill like that, he might be too far out of her league to tangle with him the area of sexual attraction.
"Ah, you're incredibly perceptive. That was a call telling me that your van has an issue that won't be fixed until the morning." He paused to take in her reaction.
Amber wasn't as good at hiding her relief. Her attempt at dousing the huge smile that she surely wore was pitiful at best.
"Oh, is it something major?" Fearing he would ask her to ante up the money to fix some huge repair, she closed her eyes to get it out. "How much will it cost to repair my van?"
"You needn't worry about costs. Instead, there seems to be something draining energy from the van's battery and the electrical system that the technician can't figure out."
Amber concentrated on following what Noran said. It hit her like a lightbulb.
"Oh, I know what that is. I must have left my system hooked up to the database of a company I used to work for."
Then she had to think for a moment. It was unusual for her to be so careless. Staying hooked into BMEG's network for too long was asking for them to find out and cut off her backdoor ability to ghost in and out whenever she pleased. Amber had to get the link severed. She had to get to her van, now.
"What's wrong. You look like something awful has happened," she heard Noran say from the outside of her busy thoughts.
"Yeah, I need to get to my van. I know what that is and if I don't get it fixed, I'm screwed."
A hand, large and warm, sprawled out to cover her shoulder as he stood next to her at the table.
"Amber, your vehicle isn't right here. Remember, I have it being serviced."
"Then take me to it."
"It's after six in the evening. It will have to wait until morning."
That answer wasn't good enough. "Can't you call them back and ask for them to stay open a little longer. Give me time to get over there and sever the connection."
"
What connection are you talking about? Is it something a tech can go in and quickly do? It would take us longer to get over there."
She had to think.
Hating to reveal this, but understanding the ramifications would be worse for her in the long-run Amber said, "I have been logging into my former employer's network to access the databases and research I needed. The equipment runs off my solar panels and switches to the van's battery when that energy is exhausted." She looked up at Noran to see intense interest in her every word. "I know, it's bad considering I was fired from there last month. Don't judge me. I needed access and the way I see it, they owe me."
"That would explain the power drain." He patted her shoulder as a show of comfort. "How would someone log you out of the network and power down the system?"
"Oh, that's easy. I can give them the auxiliary passcode and walk them through the rest."
"How about you write it down, and I'll try to contact the lead technician to see about getting that taken care of for you. Then, tomorrow when they've fixed everything, you can get your van."
Noran made it seem like it was no big deal, but she didn't like giving out her backup passcode, even if it was to fix her van.
Amber wasn't blind to the fact that she was taxing a fifteen-year-old van with a lot of power needs. It stood to reason that the van might be struggling to keep up. Depending on where it was, without enough access to the sunlight, the solar panels would be depleted by now. She hadn't put a new battery in when she'd bought it so, yeah, her van probably had a bone-dry energy cell.
Seeing the wisdom of his words, and the fact that she could change the passcode tomorrow when she was back in her van, Amber agreed.
"Give me something to write it down for you."
An hour later...
"You sure it's all right for me to stay here another night?"
Amber took the bottled water he handed her as she came to sit on a sofa in what looked to be a great room.
The last sparks of the evening sun tried to peek through the canopy of trees that stood sentry in the backyard. Filled with a lot of windows along the posterior wall, the room captured the light and held onto it until its last gasp of life before evening settled in.
"I'm more than happy to play host. If I'm technical here, this is your first night. Last night didn't count."
"On a count of what?" she asked and liked how easy it was to talk with him.
"On the fact that you were out of it."
Then it dawned on her. Looking at Noran as he took a seat on the sofa a respectable distance away, Amber's face flushed as she looked around for something to cover her head in embarrassment.
Noran noticed her change in demeanor. "What is it? Is it something I said?"
Thankful for the little chuckle he gave with that question, she relaxed a tiny bit but not much. Amber couldn't' do this. There was no way she could successfully seduce Noran. Not with what he'd seen already.
"Amber? What is it?" he asked.
She squirmed, burrowing back into her corner of the sofa. He waited, an expectation of an answer fixing his facial features as he stared at her.
Being in the spotlight of his gaze like this wasn't as lovely as Amber had imagined it would be.
"Oh, nothing."
"Like hell, it isn't. Your entire posture and presence have changed. You're closed off now. What is it? I promise you're safe here."
Unable to stop herself, Amber looked over at him to see he held his hand out to here.
"What's that for?" she asked looking down at his hand.
"I want you to come closer. Something has caused you distress, and I want to offer whatever comfort you'll allow me to give."
"Huh? I don't, I mean, I'm fine. I can--"
"Shh and come here—please?" he asked, continuing to hold out his hand.
Huffing as her last act of resistance before moving over, Amber came to sit closer. Before her back could hit the sofa, she was airborne and placed in his lap.
"Hey, what the hell? You said come closer, not get onto your lap."
"If you don't like being on my lap, say the word, and I'll release you."
Amber opened her mouth, prepared to speak up but couldn't conjure of the pesky little intelligent sounds to voice her protest.
"That's what I thought. Now sit back relax and tell me why you're troubled."
In the crook of his thick arms, Amber snuggled in and thought she could die a happy woman. This was the best feeling.
"I'm waiting."
The rumble of his words tickled her ears as she sat in his lap.
"Okay, give me a moment to make the words make sense like they do in my head."
He chuckled, low and deep.
The smile that lifted her spirit was a welcome change. Noran was indeed good for her ego, and soul.
Then she spoke. "You reminded me that I was out of it when you brought me here last night. I woke up naked. I got embarrassed thinking about that." She paused. He remained silent. "Please tell me you have a female maid, sister, or assistant," there was no way she was going to say girlfriend or wife right now, "that helped you get me bathed and in bed."
Warm against her back and outer shoulder had Amber almost purring like a contented cat as he pulled her in closer into his lap.
"I can't tell you what you want to hear. I was the one who bathed and put you to bed. Your clothes were beyond salvageable, and the dirt and grime were too much for you to have an enjoyable rest."
"Yeah, and I was very ripe on top of that. I would have been mortified if I had messed up your bed with how filthy I must have been."
"I don't care about the bed. I could wash the sheets. I cared about your welfare. You gave me a scare when you wouldn't wake. The only thing I could think to do was to give you a soothing bath and make you comfortable. Without running a fever, I wasn't certain your hospitals, you know, the small local hospital would help you without it being obvious as to what was wrong. That's why I did what I did."
He paused, and this time she took a moment to process what he said.
"Thank you, Noran, for helping me. I appreciate it."
"I feel like there's still something you're not saying. Please, Amber, be open with me. I can't answer for myself entirely if you don't, but I promise I showed no disrespect while you were incapacitated."
With a big intake of air for support, Amber blurted out, "I was ashamed that you'd seen me naked. I know I'm supposed to love my body, but I'm full-figured."
"And? I'm not following your train of thought."
"Seriously, Noran? Are you going to make me spell it out? For real?"
She felt him shrug saying, "Pardon me, but I'm at a loss for what you're talking about. I tried not to pay attention to your body, but I found it to be exquisite and lovely."
"Shut the front door. Great answer, dude, great answer! Slow claps to you for being able to think on your feet."
He adjusted his body to get a better look down at her.
"Amber, what are you saying? Don't you believe me? I speak the truth. If you haven't noticed, I find you quite alluring. I've been driven to keep my distance from you all day. Your position right now is my faltering in my resolve. Please don't discount my truth. I find you quite lovely."
Heart swoon, this man was incredibly well versed in how to seduce.
She had to give him his props. "Thank you, Noran. When I grow up, I want to have mad game like you."
"Pardon me? I don't follow your meaning."
"Oh, I mean, you have this whole seduction thing perfected."
"Seduction? I'm not attempting to seduce you. I'm showing you my sincere affection for you. Amber, I think you've got me mixed up with some hum— I mean some other man."
She sat up, recognizing genuine hurt. Amber had insulted the one man who had professed a real interest in her and not what she could do for him.
Twisting to look up at him, she placed a hand on his stubbled cheek and said, "Noran." Amber waited until vibrant green eyes loc
ked with hers. "I apologize. It's just that I'm not used to anyone seeing me naked. I've never had to confront my awkwardness when it comes to dealing with a man in a romantic setting. That's why I'm bumbling this so badly. I suck at romance." She smiled hoping to lighten the mood. "Let me let you in on something."
"What's that?" he asked, assuring her that he was favorably taking in what she said.
"I've never had a boyfriend or romantic tryst." His eyes widened a little. "Nope, it's true. I'm a geek who's never had any experience with a guy beside this one time when I thought it would be a good idea to—never mind. Let's just say I'm a neophyte at the whole romance thing."
Noran brought her back into his warmth with a tighter embrace. Amber didn't resist, commanding her body to relax and the cares of the word to stay outside, if only for this one night.
11
Noran
He had to tell her. There was no way he'd be able to continue holding her this close without being honest. Dragon honor demanded it.
He placed his chin on the top of Amber's head and soaked up the feel of her softness. He'd take a few more moments to relish this before destroying her trust in him forever.
Gathering his courage and determination, Noran spoke.
"Amber."
"Hmm?"
"There's something I have to share with you."
"Okay. Shoot. You handled my secret shame of being a thirty-year-old geek. Oh, yeah, I'm thirty. No make that real close to thirty-one. Got a birthday coming up real soon."
He loved her chatter. It was funny, whimsical and refreshing. Even when she was serious, Amber found a way to make the situation lighter. He'd love to have that lightness in his life.
No, he couldn't go there. Amber was an intruder. The fact that his feelings for her were growing by the second was due to his loneliness and her hurt--nothing more.
His time for a mate was gone.
Amber was on the other side of the aisle of this disagreement they were about to have. She wanted to expose his kind in the name of human discovery. He wanted to remain at peace living in privacy. Amber as a mate was as far-fetched as any human fantasy. Still, his beast was close to the surface making his resistance to her all the more difficult.
Dragon's Curvy Invader Page 8