I hurried to put my ball cap back on. All thirty-plus of the Corporate Army soldiers who had been in the bar were now waiting in the lobby. Their eyes were averted from us while they surveyed the Liberated Army roaming the main floor.
I sputtered, “They’re all for you?”
“Yes,” Godric muttered, not too pleased with it. He placed a proprietary palm at the small of my back, guiding us to the center of the guards. They were all buff like the man I was with, but Godric still seemed so much more. It made me take pause and wonder if I really would be able to make the cut in this army.
I leaned toward him as they all started moving—us with them. I whispered, “What the hell do you do within the corporations to get stuck with this much detail?”
Golden eyes peered down at me. “Remember my overbearing ass of a father?”
I nodded.
He flicked a hand at the guards, full of arrogance. “This is his doing.”
“Ah.” I nodded again as if he hadn’t evaded the question rather beautifully.
Not only was he the best-looking man I had ever seen, but he was also intelligent.
The way the guards took the stairs was a movement of magnificence, all walking as one in front of us and behind. I stumbled on a step, not paying attention, and Godric pulled me closer to his side.
He sniffed in my direction, and then questioned, “Are you drunk? Did you drink before you entered the bar?”
I held my head higher. “No.”
He snorted, and looked away, but kept his arm close around me. “Then you’re a klutz.”
I ground my teeth together. “Only sometimes.”
“It’s been twice so far in the past ten minutes.”
“Sometimes…might be a loose term.”
Godric snickered. “Honesty with one’s self is most important.”
The guards turned in the opposite direction of my quarters, and I breathed a sigh of relief. If we had gotten any closer, my father’s guards would have taken notice of the entourage—with me in the middle of it. They would have taken offense to be sure. I was sure no one wanted a sword fight happening in the cramped hallway of the housing area.
We eventually stopped turning down multiple passages and headed straight to a door at the end of the hall. The section we were now in was reserved for the VIP business associates. The typically bland colors decorating the halls turned decadent and vibrant, the carpeting now plush under my sneakers. This area was meant to seduce the eye and coax visitors into relaxation. My father had always said that where a man lays his head for the night could mean either pampered friends or stubborn enemies in the boardroom. Hence, why he kept this area pretty-pretty for the corporate snobs that battled with him across a conference table.
The guards parted and placed their backs to the wall, clearing an area for Godric and me to walk forward. Two of his guards were already searching his room, not yet giving the all clear to enter.
My lips trembled in amusement. I stood up on tiptoe to whisper, “They’re just going to stay out here while we do the funky monkey?” Those doors weren’t soundproof.
He peered at each guard before us, some with suspiciously shaking shoulders as if they had heard my whispered comment. He flat out glared with death’s own blade at all of them and ground his teeth together. He finally muttered, “Yes. They won’t leave. These unloyal bastards work for my father, not me.” He cleared his throat. “But I do pay them enough on the side that they’ll keep their mouths shut. This will be between you and me. No one else.”
“Well, I’ll just need to be extra quiet,” I mumbled under my breath.
The guards exited his room and nodded their heads.
Godric led me into his room, shutting the door behind us. He walked straight to the oversized bed in the center of the room, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he went. It dropped on the floor. He turned and leaned a hip against the side of the mattress and started to undo the buttons on his white shirt.
His head tilted to the bed, his blazing eyes on mine. “Are you coming?”
When his shirt hit the floor, and he revealed the torso of a man who knew how to take care of himself—muscles all along that tan flesh—I started unstrapping myself of weapons and nodded.
“Fuck yes.”
CHAPTERFOUR
Godric picked me up next to the bed and slammed my back against the wall. I grunted in pain, but he didn’t apologize. His mouth instantly landed on my tender neck, and he placed a hard kiss on my flesh, his warm, plump lips crushing against my skin. The tip of his nose trailed up to my ear while he inhaled deeply. He hissed, “You smell good enough to devour, pet.”
