reached up and grabbed her. She was proud of herself for not gasping, especially when she saw that she’d somehow just gotten hooked on a knob in the car.
“I’m caught,” she said, twisting in the space to free herself. But she couldn’t undo whatever had gotten hold of her, and Simon had to help.
“Hold still,” he said, sliding back past her, reaching around to free her belt loop from whatever had caught it. She hadn’t realized how tight it would be until his shoulder brushed against her waist, and his warm body nudged her. Then he was there, shoulder bumping her shoulder, so close she could hardly breathe…and when she did, over all the mustiness in the air, she smelled the clean, sharp scent that clung to his dark hair.
Sage closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, but dared not look over. He’d be too close…their faces only centimeters apart. Her breathing felt heavy and slow…and why were her hands suddenly damp on the palms?
“Okay?” he said, right next to her ear. She was again aware of that subtle flavor of an accent, just enough to be intriguing…but not enough to obscure the syllables.
“Yeah,” she said, and he eased back ahead of her again, his bare arm brushing against hers once more. Taut from holding himself up, his shoulder and biceps rounded hard and smooth beneath the sleeve of his black T-shirt, showing the bottom edge of a tattoo. His shirt had come loose from his jeans, and as he moved ahead of her, she saw the shadowy hint of a bare, smooth hip as he reached up to the roof of the car.
Suddenly she was thirsty again. Really thirsty, and warm.
He reached above and shifted something on the roof. There was a dull clunk and an opening appeared above them. Simon pulled himself up and through the top of the vehicle and moments later, a strong tanned arm reappeared to help pull her up and through.
Instead of being in an open area in front of the Beretta building, as she’d expected, Sage found that they were in a shadowy area between two tall trucklike vehicles.
“Stay here while I check on things,” he said. “Don’t move. Okay?”
“I’m not stupid,” she said, thrusting her chin out at him.
Simon looked at her in that way that made her belly flip. “No, you’re not.” And then he slipped away, leaving her alone in a silent, unfamiliar world.
Simon had found only one way into the building, and it took him right through the darkened lobby—where the
gangas
lived.
He hadn’t mentioned to Sage that there were just as many canine bones as human bones littering what had once been a highly polished black and yellow marble floor. Nor had he told her that there were about two dozen of the creatures trapped in there—obviously set to guard the place from inquisitive people like the two of them. He wondered how often someone came to provide the
gangas
with food—in the form of feral canines or unlucky humans. Or could the monsters subsist for months without food?
During the day, the
gangas
must stay in the building, but at night they were free to roam within the perimeter of the vehicular barrier. The wolf that had attacked Sage must have somehow escaped from the corral. Fortunately, it hadn’t gone as far as the inhabited part of Envy, or something worse than a few cuts and scratches might have occurred.
Simon mulled these thoughts as he moved out of Sage’s sight, forcing himself to keep his mind away from…other things.
If he weren’t such a
chavala
, he’d have taken her back to the city and been done with it. But he’d seen the enthusiasm and determination in her eyes, and knew it wouldn’t be long before she was back here.
Of course, he could have taken her back and turned her over to Theo Waxnicki, who could probably have kept an eye on her if he knew she’d try and come back. That would have been the smart thing to do.
But no. He’d let a killer body and one soul-shattering smile override that sensible solution, and now he had to find a
“I’m caught,” she said, twisting in the space to free herself. But she couldn’t undo whatever had gotten hold of her, and Simon had to help.
“Hold still,” he said, sliding back past her, reaching around to free her belt loop from whatever had caught it. She hadn’t realized how tight it would be until his shoulder brushed against her waist, and his warm body nudged her. Then he was there, shoulder bumping her shoulder, so close she could hardly breathe…and when she did, over all the mustiness in the air, she smelled the clean, sharp scent that clung to his dark hair.
Sage closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, but dared not look over. He’d be too close…their faces only centimeters apart. Her breathing felt heavy and slow…and why were her hands suddenly damp on the palms?
“Okay?” he said, right next to her ear. She was again aware of that subtle flavor of an accent, just enough to be intriguing…but not enough to obscure the syllables.
“Yeah,” she said, and he eased back ahead of her again, his bare arm brushing against hers once more. Taut from holding himself up, his shoulder and biceps rounded hard and smooth beneath the sleeve of his black T-shirt, showing the bottom edge of a tattoo. His shirt had come loose from his jeans, and as he moved ahead of her, she saw the shadowy hint of a bare, smooth hip as he reached up to the roof of the car.
Suddenly she was thirsty again. Really thirsty, and warm.
He reached above and shifted something on the roof. There was a dull clunk and an opening appeared above them. Simon pulled himself up and through the top of the vehicle and moments later, a strong tanned arm reappeared to help pull her up and through.
Instead of being in an open area in front of the Beretta building, as she’d expected, Sage found that they were in a shadowy area between two tall trucklike vehicles.
“Stay here while I check on things,” he said. “Don’t move. Okay?”
“I’m not stupid,” she said, thrusting her chin out at him.
Simon looked at her in that way that made her belly flip. “No, you’re not.” And then he slipped away, leaving her alone in a silent, unfamiliar world.
Simon had found only one way into the building, and it took him right through the darkened lobby—where the
gangas
lived.
He hadn’t mentioned to Sage that there were just as many canine bones as human bones littering what had once been a highly polished black and yellow marble floor. Nor had he told her that there were about two dozen of the creatures trapped in there—obviously set to guard the place from inquisitive people like the two of them. He wondered how often someone came to provide the
gangas
with food—in the form of feral canines or unlucky humans. Or could the monsters subsist for months without food?
During the day, the
gangas
must stay in the building, but at night they were free to roam within the perimeter of the vehicular barrier. The wolf that had attacked Sage must have somehow escaped from the corral. Fortunately, it hadn’t gone as far as the inhabited part of Envy, or something worse than a few cuts and scratches might have occurred.
Simon mulled these thoughts as he moved out of Sage’s sight, forcing himself to keep his mind away from…other things.
If he weren’t such a
chavala
, he’d have taken her back to the city and been done with it. But he’d seen the enthusiasm and determination in her eyes, and knew it wouldn’t be long before she was back here.
Of course, he could have taken her back and turned her over to Theo Waxnicki, who could probably have kept an eye on her if he knew she’d try and come back. That would have been the smart thing to do.
But no. He’d let a killer body and one soul-shattering smile override that sensible solution, and now he had to find a
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