I looked back at him, raising my eyebrow with confusion. I’d heard of these being used before, but I’d never actually seen one. Most people just linked comm devices.
To be honest, it felt exactly like something he would do.
Something an old-world man would do…
“My details are on the back. I will be available anytime. Please. Don’t hesitate to give my comm a ring if you need anything at all.”
His offer was innocent, but it felt indecent all the same. I smiled in return and shook his hand when he reached for mine, noting his strong grip. When his skin brushed against mine, I jumped, an electric current of sensation racing up and down my arm. My cheeks heated and I couldn’t meet his gaze because I was afraid of what I might see.
Of what I might do if I looked at him right now…
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Gates,” I said politely, hoping to end this encounter before I utterly lost my head and did something I shouldn’t.
“Call me Ryker. Don’t make me remind you again,” he teased. With a wink, he turned away and walked out the door, leaving me with only one thought.
Or else what?
CHAPTER2
Naomi
I hadn’t stopped thinking about Ryker Gates.
His strong hands.
His deep voice.
His all-consuming presence.
Honestly, I just wanted to see him again.
In the days since he had walked into my office, I’d stored and catalogued as much of the crate as I possibly could. I’d stolen several images from the picture album and hid them in secret places in my home, including a few of the woman in the wedding dress as well as all the ones in the last few pages. I destroyed the manifest, leaving no record of the contents remaining behind.
I knew it was dangerous to keep the crate and what it contained in my possession. I spent as much time as I could skimming the books and piecing through the mementos inside it, but I knew I was testing fate by doing so. I took notes, but eventually I knew what I had to do.
With extreme reluctance, I reported the findings to the protector forces. I told them I’d only just opened it after catching up with a backlog of unrelated work and they seemed to believe me. Before I knew it, the crate was gone.
I knew I’d probably never see it ever again.
With that off my plate, I made a call to the council and informed them of Ryker’s request.
They called me in for an in-person meeting the next day. I put on my best suit and arrived a half hour early to meet with my city state’s elected officials.
While the men and women of the council made it clear that my agreement to the whole arrangement was key, it didn’t really feel that way. It almost felt like it was expected of me, that I wouldn’t be a proud supportive citizen of my city state if I should refuse Ryker’s offer.
In the end, I agreed, but not before insisting on one very important thing.
I wanted to accompany Ryker on his journey to the abandoned research facility.
It had been an impulsive request, but I couldn’t stop myself. I’d never left my hometown, and this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel the world and to experience what had become of it, to actually see it rather than read about what once was in books.
If there was a chance to recover classified research that had been lost to history, I wanted to be the one to handle it. I had the training and expertise. It should be me.
Plus, that would give me an opportunity to get to know him better.
I told myself that wasn’t the most important part, but I knew it was a lie the moment I thought it.
I’d taken the council by surprise. They stuttered a bit and called a brief recess.