Once he had closed the doors on the guards, who had carefully blanked their faces while stuck in the room with us as we had our life-fucking-sucks moment, I told him in code everything I could. We lay in bed, holding each other…and it was seamless. Safe in Sin’s hold, I dreamt peacefully.
Sitting in the conference room with the Royals and the spirits, I was in serious need of getting the hell out of here—the place was making me claustrophobic. Not to mention, since I was on a complete hiatus from romantic relationships, the One had been glowering at me—pouting, in my humble opinion—for the last forty-five minutes while we sat in the meeting and reviewed the intel the MSA filtered us. The agency had done their homework on a list of businesses Philip Masterson owned, which Sin and I had given them. But Christ, I just needed some fresh air.
When King Collins’s cell phone rang, I eavesdropped on his side of the conversation.
I was able to decipher that four other Elders were finally here. They should have arrived the previous day but had been held up while working on a Mystical dispute in South America. They had been there for the past couple of months, and supposedly the place had Third World facilities, going by how much my King said they bitched about it. The Elders were the four Kings right before the current Rulers’ reign, and they were here to provide extra brainpower to track down Philip Masterson and Jacob Angel—without sending someone into a deathtrap.
It was time to take advantage of the situation. Placing a quick hand on King Collins’s arm when he started to stand, I mumbled quietly, “Let me greet them.” I pleaded with my eyes. “Please.”
His lips actually trembled with humor, whispering, “I don’t think he’s said one word yet. He’s been too busy glaring at you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know.” Again, I begged with my eyes. “Please.”
Lips still quivering, he rested back on his chair, tilting his head at the door. “Go ahead. They’re just pulling up in the driveway.” I was already lifting from my seat, my feet taking me quickly toward the door, but I still heard him mutter under his breath, “You’re welcome.”
“Thank you,” I quipped happily, but I wasn’t sure he heard me since the door was closing behind me. Hurrying down the hallway, I breathed deeply the free air, my shoulders relaxing instantly. It was damn hard being in the same room as the One. Attraction was one thing, but finding that one person…I wasn’t positive that was a path I wanted, or needed, with him—a man I hardly knew. I patted at my clothes; I was probably not respectable enough in holey jeans, a vintage gray t-shirt, and flip-flops to be meeting the Elders in, but it would have to do. Hearing masculine voices ahead, I quickened my pace and turned the corner to the foyer.
And tripped. Badly.
I shrieked and fell over someone’s luggage on the damn floor, and I reached out to find purchase of something…anything, really. I managed to grab a plant, taking the enormous thing down with me. Along with multiple suitcases, which fell like dominos. The hard tinkle of shattering pottery echoed against the walls. I grunted, my shoulder and hip slamming into the solid, colorful tiling, while dirt and leaves and branches fell everywhere inside the grand Elemental foyer.
Then…silence after the chaos.
It was so quiet, I was sure the Elders at my back heard my mortified curse.
I brushed my hair out of my face, my cheeks alive with color.
The crunching of pottery informed me one of the Elders was moving toward me.
An amused male stated, “Here, let me help you.”
A golden tanned hand appeared in front of the blue wall in my line of sight.
Inhaling heavily, hoping these Elders kept this little incident from King Collins, I gripped his hand, letting him help me to my feet. He even kept a steadying hand on me while I put on one of my flip-flops that had come off. More than humiliated, I quickly scrubbed my clothing of debris, keeping my head down. “I’ll have to tell the gossiping, gawking, pain-in-my-ass house staff to clean this up.”
His right hand that was reaching to pull a twig off my shoulder froze, indeed, his entire body went still. “I’m sorry, Miss. I didn’t hear you right. What did you just say?”
I sighed in frustration. The damn staff had been getting on my nerves lately. ‘Shootings’ and ‘brawl’ and ‘troublemaker’ were comments that were becoming a normal whispered occurrence when I entered any room with a staff member inside. I flipped my hair out of my face, staring up into unblinking golden eyes. “I said, the damn gossiping, gawking, pain-in-my-ass house staff will clean this up.” I glanced downward from who had to be Elder Nelson, the Elder Mage. I shuffled my right foot, toeing some of the debris. “But it’ll give them something else to bitch about.”
I brushed off the twig that Elder Nelson had been reaching for on my shoulder, then I extended my own hand into his frozen one. I hoped he wasn’t the sensitive sort since I had—ahem—cursed. Peering up into his eyes, I stated clearly, “It’s nice to meet you, Elder Nelson.”
He blinked once. Twice.
A masculine throat cleared to my right.