Nodding, she headed to the elevators with some other people going up and pressed 28th with slightly clammy hands.
Until the 22nd, she was relatively calm.
On the 23rd, her stomach started to flutter.
24th, she remembered the ease with which he'd hauled her up.
25th, she remembered his taped hand fisting her hair, and her body flushed slightly. Pressing herself against the elevator wall, she watched the two other men get off on the 26th floor.
27th, she reminded herself of why she was there. For him. She was there for him. Her mama always said her stubbornness would bite her in the ass, and she was probably right. But destiny had brought him back to her, and she'd be damned if she let that go. They deserved this chance, and he couldn’t fight for them so she would.
She hung her bag on her forearm, keeping it steady, pushed up her oversized sunglasses on her hair, adjusted her silver septum ring, and gave herself a once-over in the mirror. Her dress fit perfectly and fluttered at her knee, her cleavage tastefully exposed, and her legs elongated in heels. She looked hot, and she was banking that he thought so too.
The doors opened on the 28th floor, and Zephyr blinked in surprise. It looked nothing like what she'd been expecting.
A long brown teakwood table in the shape of a log stood in the reception area, AV Security engraved on it. Tall, muscular men wearing black t-shirts they could bust out of and jeans milled about, some sipping coffee in the kitchenette to the left, some just lounging in a sitting area with windows that overlooked the city, one man even wearing spectacles and reading a book in one corner. Three women, dressed in high heels and short dresses, walked out of a room with Hector, the bald guy who’d dropped her home the other night.
What was this place?
"Can I help you?" a masculine voice from the side had her looking at another tall guy, his skin a deep olive-brown, his hair cropped close to his head almost in a military-style. Watching his posture, she wouldn't be surprised if he had in fact served.
This was some seriously hot men marketplace. She almost wanted to sneakily take pictures for Zen.
"I'm here to see... Alpha?" it came out more as a question than a statement.
The hottie frowned, his dark eyes assessing her clinically. "Alpha doesn't meet with potential clients. You'll have to register with us first. If you're interested in security, I can help you out. I'm Victor." He extended his hand.
Before she could take it, a large palm slid around her waist in a move so proprietary, Zephyr was taken aback. She looked up to see her beast at her side, his eye steady on the other guy. "She's with me," he declared in a voice that had her thighs clenching slightly.
Chatter stopped.
It meant something, his words. She didn't know what, but the activity in the common area came to a halt. All the hot guys she'd been ogling were now looking at the man next to her, something like surprise and confusion in the air. Even the guy who'd been reading was looking at them curiously, as she stood with a man more than twice her size.
Damn.
It was hot.
And she was wet.
Without another word to anyone, he tugged her along to the door at the end of the open space, and she followed quickly, taking two steps for his one to not fall behind, the heat of his palm burning through her dress to her skin. Though he needed to learn how to walk slower, jeez.
They entered the office, and he shut the door behind them, walking to the large mahogany desk, leaning against it.
"Rainbow."
"Zephyr, or Zee if you prefer," she corrected, leaning against the door he'd left her at, introducing herself for the first time as she watched for any flare of recognition. Her name wasn’t that usual either. Her mother had a thing for weird names, so she doubted he'd met many Zephyrs. But there was nothing, no sign he’d heard it before.
Alright, then. Mission blank slate commencing.
Zephyr accepted that, and moved on. First things first, she needed to ogle him properly in the sunlight, see everything she had missed that night.
He wore a black t-shirt and jeans like the men outside, not what she would've expected from a guy in Tower A who owned half the city, or an underworld lord people were scared to talk about.
He simply waited, letting her check him out at her leisure as her eyes roved over his massive frame, coming to rest on his scar.
"You look intimidating," she told him, finally locking her gaze with his singular eye. "Not that I'm scared. I wouldn't have jumped you if I was.” Shit, the way he was looking at her was getting to her. “That's why I'm here. Not to be kissed again, although I wouldn't mind that.” Abort, abort, abort. “It was a very nice kiss. Probably the best kiss I've had. I'm digressing. Sorry, I'm a little nervous."
His eyebrow above the eye went up, but he stayed silent, which made her even more nervous.