All of the team was there, in position, and waiting for her orders.
She cleared her throat. "Report."
Hopefully, that would get someone to tell her what was going on, what she was supposed to be doing.
"Captain, we're all waiting for you to remember." This from the youngest member of the ship, Greg Wisteria. He was always popular with the female fans because of his dimples, but Wendy found him to be annoying in his constant naïveté. How did you get through training if you were that innocent?
"Remember?" She looked around until she made eye contact with her First Officer, Major Barnet Lucida .
"Yes, Captain, there is something you've seen before, something you need to remember."
She hit her forehead with her hand. "I don't know. I don't know what you're talking about."
Her heart beat faster and she wiped her sweaty hands on her pant legs.
Barnet moved closer until he stood in front of her, blocking her view of the screen where she spoke to other ship captains when they called. "How did no one see the machine until it tore the side off the building? Where did it come from?"
She gasped as Barnet moved away, revealing fifteen-year-old abducted Lael Marckham's face on the viewer. "Come and find me, Wendy." The young man pleaded, a tear running down his cheek. "Don't let them hurt me anymore."
****
Wendy bolted up straight, soft covers falling off her as she darted off the bed.
Where the hell was she? She looked around and realized in a panic that she had no idea.
Think, she ordered herself, think. Like a light switched on, she remembered. Draco and Ace brought her to their house. She must be in some kind of guestroom.
Whirling around, she caught sight of a clock by the bed. Three in the morning. She shouldn't be surprised. If she was lucky enough to go to bed early and actually fall asleep, she always woke up at this time.
The door to the room swung open and Draco entered in two long strides. His arms embraced her as he pulled her around to look at him.
"Wendy, are you okay?" He'd bent over slightly so he could look her in the eyes.
He was naked except for silk pajama pants that were, not surprisingly, black. Her mouth immediately went dry. "I'm...um...fine. Did I wake you?"
He waved a hand as if it was no big deal. "I don't sleep much and I heard you wake up. I wanted to check on you."
"You heard me wake up?" She knew she sounded like a parrot.
"It's my super senses. I can hear everything through walls. Like right now, I know that Ace, who sleeps deeper than I do, is out cold. I can hear his snores a floor below us."
Placing her hand on his arm, she gave into the need to soothe him and pet him gently. "That must be maddening."
He nodded. "It can be." Letting go of her, he walked to the bed and sat down. "Come sit.
You're shivering. Are you still afraid?"
"No." She laughed as she joined him on the bed as if it was the most natural thing in the
world, as if they'd been doing this kind of thing forever. "I had a dream."
"And it made you shake? Was it about the machine getting you or the bomb?"
He ran his hand through her hair. He'd done the same thing several times the day before and each occurrence had made her heart sputter. This time was no different. She wanted to ask him why he did it, but she didn't want him to stop. So on the off chance it was an unconscious thing, she chose not to mention it. She couldn't help it; it felt nice to be touched like she mattered. The rough pad of his skin on hers made heat pool between her legs.
She swallowed away her silliness. Now that she knew he wasn't gay, he likely just did this to every woman he was around outside of the office. In fact, a different girl every night...
"Wendy?"
She gulped as she realized he was still waiting for an answer to his question. "I was the captain of one of the ships on Space Adventure."
He nodded. "Ace told me what happened with that Kevin person. I'm sorry." She corrected him. "Kyle."
Shrugging, he grinned at her. "I couldn't care less."
"Anyway, I was in charge and they were all waiting for me to remember something."
"That's kind of funny. My dreams are always more like a monkey dancing in a potato field sort of experience. What did you need to remember?"
Biting down on her lip, she stood. The dream was already slipping away and the reality of being in Draco's guestroom, surrounded by his overwhelming presence, had started to take its place. She shook her head. It was important she remember.
Whirling around, she looked at Draco. "How did no one see the machine approaching the building?"
"The police have been asking the same question."
She tapped her foot. "I know you said I'm not to do any deductive reasoning."
The smile that lit his face transformed him from imposing and captivating to lighthearted. "I was kidding. You had just accused me of being lovers with my brother. Somehow, I couldn't help but think you shouldn't be doing any detective work."
"Okay, but I'm wondering if the reason that I dreamt about Space Adventures is because it has something to do with that." She knew she was going out on a limb here. Any second now, Draco was either going to laugh, dismiss her, or patronize her.
He stood, towering over her. At work, his size never affected her as much as it did right now.
Alone with him in a bedroom, clad only in lightweight pajamas. Her mind stuttered. How had she gotten into the nightclothes? Grasping the shirt, she looked up at him.
"Ace changed you."
Her cheeks heated. She didn't know which was worse. The idea that Ace had seen her naked or that Draco had farmed out the responsibility to someone else because he wasn't interested.
"If he looked, it wasn't for very long. It was a quick maneuver. My brother is many things and even though he would deny it, he is something of a gentleman. You've gotten to him. He now thinks of you as being under his protection."
That was nice, she supposed. Although she would have preferred to be under Draco's care, even though she knew that made her pathetic. It was a really, really bad idea to fall in love with one's boss.
"With anyone else, Wendy, I'd think that the Space Adventures angle was insane. But this is you and it was you they came for today. So tell me your theory. How did the machine get there?
The police think it was assembled on sight and then somehow blown up to size, although how that works with metal is beyond my understanding."
She took a deep breath, let it out, and then spoke. "It was transported.”
“Transported how? In a big truck?"
"No." He didn't watch the show; he wouldn't know what she meant. "A transporter is a machine that moves things from one location to the next at the atomic level."
"The thing that makes everything look wavy and then reappear somewhere else?"
She laughed. His description was so literal. "Ha. Well, yes, but I mean the graphics and the technology to make everything seem real wasn't anywhere near what it is now. The movie that's supposed to be coming out soon should appear more true to life..."
He held up a hand and she realized she rambled. "But the point here is that you think that someone has actually invented this technology and now has the ability to transport matter over space."
"That's exactly it." He'd just described the science behind it. Maybe he might actually like the show.
"You look like I just told you that you could eat all the chocolate you want and not gain weight."
Now it was her turn to wave him off. "Who cares? No one ever notices me. I could gain five hundred pounds and no one would notice. I'm just thrilled because you aren't dismissing me."
"Wendy, I just rescued you from a twenty story metallic cat monster. Do you think I'm really in a position to be calling something crazy? This is the Organization we're talking about here.
They killed my last Handler and spent four years plotting this. I think it's entirely possible that an
ything is not beyond the realm of the plausible at this juncture."
"So you'll look into it then?"
He nodded. "I don't know who I'm going to ask, but I'll find someone."
"Thank you, Draco."
He stepped forward, pulling her into his arms for one last hug before he let go. "Get some sleep. You're safe here. No one in the world knows where we live and either Ace or I will always be with you."
"Right." Her heart fell as she realized he was leaving. What had she expected? He wasn't going to spend the whole night in this room with her. It was nice enough that he was letting her stay.
Turning back one more time, he smiled. "By the way, I would notice if you gained five hundred pounds, Wendy."
Chapter Eight
Draco lay in his bed, wishing he had Wendy pressed against him. No. He shook his head; this was his future wife's bed. He couldn't—no, wouldn't—bring Wendy into it. But still, to climb into her bed might be nice. Amazingly enough, considering the way he had spent the night before with her hot body causing havoc on his libido, he wasn't even thinking about sex. After the day they'd had, he just wanted to hold her close— another odd desire for him.
If he concentrated, he could hear her heart beating as if she were next to him and not in the room down the hall. Calling the sound into his mind, he could pretend she lay beside him, and if he rolled over, he could wrap an arm around her sleeping shoulder and pull her close. Of course, if he actually attempted this the only thing he'd be drawing close would be his pillow.
Rubbing his hand over his face, he wondered if he'd get more sleep or if he might as well get up and give up the frustration of trying. It had been a hell of a day. There was no way to repair the building. The engineer, who had shown up almost as fast as the emergency crews, had told him it was going to have to come down. If the insurance paid for it, all would be fine. If it didn't...
He let out a frustrated breath. If it didn't, then it was goodbye to Powers, Inc. His head throbbed at the thought. Goodbye to the business he had built from scratch; goodbye to the employees who counted on him for their livelihood and health insurance; goodbye to being able to help people with problems they couldn't solve any other way.
With a groan, he rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. Once again, he sought Wendy's heartbeat. Strong and steady...she had obviously fallen back asleep. Her lungs breathed in and out, her blood pulsed through her veins, and he got hard as a rock.
"Goddamn it." He snarled into his pillow and pounded on the bed.
With a million problems and the weight of the world on his shoulders, the last thing he needed to be thinking about was Wendy Warner in any capacity other than a professional one.
She was his to protect until they could figure out who was doing this to them.
He could have laughed at the thought if it wasn't so perverse. No one was doing this to them.
They were doing it to him. As a means of punishing Draco, Carl was dead. When he'd casually
dismissed his mother's concern years ago, telling her that her son, Carl, had walked out on his responsibilities, Draco had been mad as hell at the fellow. He hadn't known his first Handler had been, maybe at that very moment, tied to a chair awaiting a death sentence he didn't deserve.
Draco should have known, or he should have found out. That was on him—he would carry that guilt to his grave. And now the Organization had all but destroyed him. They'd threatened Wendy and likely ended the business altogether.
He'd clearly pissed off the wrong person somewhere along the line, and while he should be feeling vengeful and energized he just felt exhausted and alone. He heard Wendy sigh; she was awake again. His breath caught in his throat. Should he go back in? Would she find it an invasion of her space that he was so aware of what she did in the privacy of her room? It's not as if he could help it. He couldn't help he heard clearer than everyone else did.
She'd gotten out of bed and was walking around the room. Pacing. He knew the sounds well; he did it often. If he knew her, and he thought he did, she was still thinking about the idea she'd had about the machine being transported to the scene.
Hell, she might actually be right.
Swearing, he stood and picked up his cell phone. He dialed Ace, knowing his brother would be awake almost as soon as his phone vibrated. Sure enough, Ace answered on the first ring.
"Is the frickin' world ending? Has a monster now followed us home?" Even half- asleep, Ace could be amusing. Why couldn't Draco be so easygoing? He sighed.
"Get up. I need you to look into an idea Wendy had.”
“Okay."
What? He'd agreed that easily? Ace never relented that fast on anything. Draco cleared his throat. "Really?"
"If Wendy has an idea, I'm happy to work on it."
Damn it. Draco closed his eyes. Clearly, his brother now had a thing for Wendy Warner. It was probably the story of her life that had done it. Growing up in the orphanage, being all alone...the tale pulled on the heartstrings. She had never spoken about her past, at least not to him. He only knew because he'd read about it in her file. Now, however, she'd confided in Ace, which irked him more than he liked.
Well Ace could get the fuck behind him in line. If anyone was going to have a thing for Wendy Warner, it was going to be him. He'd be damned if his little brother was going to usurp
his place.
Unless, of course, Wendy liked Ace too. Then what would he do? Quietly stay in his room and try not to listen to the two of them going at it like rabbits? He shook his head; he'd have to move. Except, this was his house, so Ace would have to leave.
"Draco, are you still there?"
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he forcibly stopped himself from groaning aloud.
"Great. Here's what Wendy thinks happened. Have you ever heard of a transporter, like on that show she watches, Space Adventures, the thing that moves matter through space?"
"I like that show."
He does?
"Um, I think it bears looking into. I've never heard of anyone inventing one, but then I've not been asking if anyone was working on such a project. I'll ask the people who would know and get back to you."
"Great." Draco disconnected the line. He realized he could have gone upstairs and awakened Ace or just spoken loud enough to wake him. Calling was simpler.
In the corner of his senses, he heard Wendy hiccup and he wondered if she was going to cry.
His heart raced at the thought. He couldn't have more tears. No, Wendy's tears did odd things to his insides. He'd actually thought he was going to have a panic attack when she'd started crying earlier.
Turning on his heel, he walked down the hall. Without knocking, he entered her room. Like earlier, she gasped as if she was surprised to see him but didn't admonish him for not knocking.
That was a good thing. It had been years since he'd had to try to conform to basic standards of conduct or, as his mother would have called it, manners. Having to start behaving now would be next to impossible.
"Did I wake you?" He'd been correct. She must have started crying while he was on the phone with his brother. Her cheeks were tear-stained.
She shook her head. "No."
Crossing by her, he jumped onto the bed, relieved when it didn't break. He'd had all the beds in the house doubly reinforced to withstand the way Ace and he would use them, but that didn't mean they wouldn't eventually succumb to his Guardian strength.
"Come here."
She raised an eyebrow at him while she wiped her cheeks. "On the bed? With you?"
"I'm not going to bite you, Warner. It was a rough day for both of us. I just thought you might like to lie down with me"
Heaven help him if she said no. He'd be humiliated. He might never be able to look at her again.
Without a word, Wendy moved to him and lay down. She was small and fit nicely against him. He knew he took up more than his share of the bed, and he was admittedly a cover-hog.
Pulling the plaid comforter ov
er both of them, he pressed into her until she placed her head on his chest.
He could hear her heartbeat and her breaths easily now. Both had picked up considerably. He wondered if he made her nervous.
"You don't need to be afraid. I can hear your heart beating way too fast. I promise this is going to be an entirely PG experience."
Rolling over part way, she looked at him in the darkness. People had told him over the years that it was hard for them to see without light. He never had this problem himself. She might have looked slightly dulled as compared to how she seemed in bright light, but he could see Wendy perfectly, and, at the moment, her face was all eyes.
She bit her lip. "What if I didn't want it to be PG?"
Draco's mind ceased functioning at the thought. Had she just propositioned him?
He must have waited too long to answer because she spoke again, this time with obvious embarrassment in her tone.
"I'm sorry, Draco, I shouldn't have said that. You're being nice and I got really, really inappropriate. Please, it'll never happen again."
Leaning over, he pressed his mouth to hers, ceasing her rant before it went any further. Yes, she'd been inappropriate, but he'd never been so happy to be propositioned in his life. Though he knew all sexual experiences ended up frustrating and incomplete for him, he wanted her like he'd never wanted anyone before.
Her mouth was soft and pliable under his. Using his tongue, he pressed through her closed lips until their tongues met. Wendy smelled like heaven, like a million delicious scents that had occasionally wafted through the windows of other people's homes when he'd been growing up—
cinnamon, vanilla, rosemary. He couldn't name them all, but each smell served only to make his
already throbbing cock harder.
He'd meant only to kiss her, nothing further. He hadn't wanted her to think he didn't desire her. The kiss was supposed to have been "just a taste,"' both to show her how sexy she was and finally, to feel her against him.
Only, it wasn't turning out that way. Now that he had a nibble, he wanted the whole thing. He groaned as her arms came around his neck.