Читать книгу Rayven's Keep - Kylie Wolft - Страница 10

Chapter 6

Tru did her best not to tug at the hem of the large shirt she wore. To get a better fit, she fastened her wide leather belt loosely over her hips. It added some definition to the material, but the fact remained this was a man’s clothing and dwarfed her smaller frame. She debated putting her jacket on over the shirt, but it was filthy and she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The drawstring pants Seth supplied were impossible to keep up and too easy to trip over, even if she wore the scuffed and oversized boots she’d arrived in to give her added height. After a serious internal debate, Tru opted not to wear them and risk falling in an embarrassing heap when she walked.

Dressed in an acceptable manner, the shirt covering her from neck to knees, she still felt exposed and vulnerable. She shoved a long sleeve up past her elbow but it slid down to cover her hand again. Unsure of what to do next, she perched on a chair in the bedroom and tried to ignore the butterflies dancing in her stomach.

What did she know about Nick Rayven other than what she’d learned through research? If she were going to be being honest with herself, she would have to admit her imagination had cast Nick in the same mold as many of the men she knew. Urbane. Successful. Sophisticated.

After spending a brief time with him, she understood her naive assessment bore little resemblance to the man himself. He was tough, commanding and impatient, but he also made her knees go weak when he looked at her and had shown kindness when she was the most in need of it. He was everything she hadn’t known she wanted, until she met him.

Still, she was stranded on an unfamiliar planet and in the company of a man she knew almost nothing about. Granted, he’d been polite and considerate of her well-being, but he could also have been plotting to hold her for ransom, for all she knew. Her family was well known for its wealth and payoff demands were not unheard of among the more affluent families on her world. It gave her pause. Attraction aside, she needed to be cautious.

An overactive imagination had led her into trouble more times than she could count, and once the idea of ransom demands took hold, she couldn’t shake it. One horrible scenario after another whirled through her mind. Tying herself in knots, she took a steadying breath and stopped her train of thought. She jumped up and paced the bedroom telling herself nothing could be solved while she hid in the bedroom. She needed to see Nick. Firming her jaw, she straightened her makeshift outfit and marched out the door before her courage deserted her.

Barefoot, she glided down the stairs, keeping a sharp eye out for another person. It was quiet in the house. Where was everyone? She reached the bottom of the stairs and stood with one hand resting on the banister. Her bare feet curled against the cool tile and she bit her bottom lip. Maybe she should just go back to her room?

“Is everything all right?” Callen asked.

Tru let out a yelp, lost her balance and plopped on the bottom stair. Pressing a hand to her pounding heart, she stared wide-eyed at the man standing a few paces away.

“Don’t do that,” she squeaked. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

He offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

One lock of ash brown hair fell across his wide forehead. At first glance, he looked harmless, almost boyish, but the cool gray of his eyes held none of the amusement curving his lips.

“You’re Callen, right?”

Thoughts she’d allowed to haunt her upstairs rushed back and it took effort to push them away. If she’d learned one thing from her grandfather, it was never to show fear.

“Yes.”

“I must say you move very quietly. I didn’t hear you at all.”

“If you follow me I’ll escort you to a sitting room where you can be comfortable while you wait for Nick.”

He moved away, seeming confident she would follow. Tru debated staying where she was to see what he would do, but then decided it didn’t matter. She watched his retreating back and had the distinct impression there was more to Callen Bluestone than met the eye. There was something about his enigmatic demeanor making her cautious, although she didn’t feel threatened in any way. With a shrug, she followed him to a set of double doors just past the entry.

He held the door open and waited for her to pass, and she sailed through the doors with a regal tilt to her chin, ignoring the amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. He followed her into the room. He may have startled her, but she refused to be intimidated. He indicated she should sit on a plush couch positioned against one wall.

Tru held his gaze and ignored the couch to sit in a chair flanking the stone fireplace. She sat on the edge, feet side by side on the floor with her hands folded on her lap. She lifted her chin and looked around, doing her best to look confident and self-assured. She could feel heat climbing her cheeks when she caught his knowing smile. She knew he saw right through her and it took some of the starch out of her. Subdued, she scooted back in the chair and lounged against the padded leather.

“Have you lived here long?” She asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

He wasn’t being rude as far as she could tell, just uncommunicative. Not one to give up, she searched for another conversational gambit. “How long have you worked for Nick?”

“Not long.”

He wasn’t going to satisfy her curiosity. She’d been raised from the cradle to handle any social situation presented, but Callen was more of a challenge than she felt up to dealing with at the moment. She watched him move to one of the viewscreen windows beside the fireplace to gaze outside. Vexed by his reserve, she slumped further in her chair and twirled one of her curls around her finger.

“Not much of a talker, are you?”

“I’ve never seen the point of small talk,” he remarked. “Please don’t take it personally, but I would prefer we wait for Nick.”

As soon as Nick entered the room, she felt immediate relief. If she hadn’t been paying attention, she might have missed the almost imperceptible falter in his step before it smoothed out again. She had no idea why a stunned look had flashed across his face before he smoothed his features into a bland expression.

* * * *

Nick felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He was going to kill Seth when he saw him, slowly and with a great deal of pleasure. When he’d sent him to find something suitable for Tru to wear, he hadn’t meant for it to be one of his shirts. His favorite shirt, no less. And, why were her legs bare? A man could only take so much, and the sight of those lovely, long legs made his mouth water. Swallowing hard, he crossed the room until he was standing in front of her.

“I see Seth found something for you to wear?” Nick’s question sounded inane even to his own ears and he winced.

He tried not to notice the delicate lines of Tru’s collarbone revealed by the too-large neck of the shirt, or the fact the fabric clung like a second skin to her small breasts. He jerked his gaze away from her and looked over her head toward Callen, who had the nerve to grin at him.

She shifted in her seat and the hem of his shirt rode up higher on her thigh. His blood pressure rose and his face felt frozen into a permanent scowl.

“Yes, thank you for the loan. There were trousers, but I couldn’t keep them up and they were too long to walk in,” she answered with a charming smile.

Callen choked on a laugh and Nick was ready to commit murder. Tru leaned around the chair and looked at Callen. She seemed surprised to hear him laugh.

‘Damn it,” Nick grumbled. “This isn’t going to work.”

He grabbed her hand, hauled her out of the chair and pulled her unresisting out of the room. She had trouble keeping up with his long stride and tried to jerk out of his grip. He didn’t pause or slow down, just held her hand with bone-crushing force, leaving her to figure out how to keep up.

“Hey, boss...” Seth’s words trailed after them but Nick didn’t give him a chance to finish. He slammed the door to his office, cutting off the sound of Callen’s amused chuckle and the bewildered look on Seth’s face. He’d deal with the two of them later.

Nick dropped her hand as soon as they were alone and went behind the desk, motioning for her to remain where she was. He punched a series of buttons with more force than was necessary and a callscreen rose from its hidden place in the desk.

“Briella’s,” he barked to the automated inquiry, and then drummed his fingers on the desk while waiting for the connection to be made.

“Briella’s, how may I help you?” The voice belonged to a striking young woman, elegantly dressed and smiling with just a hint of hauteur.

“I need clothing for my...er...client,” he said. “I need it delivered immediately.”

“I see. Is there any particular style you want?” The woman’s smile was arch, implying Briella’s catered to every type of need without unnecessary embarrassment to either of them.

Nick glared, and her smile slid away to be replaced by cool professionalism.

“She will need things suited for space travel, nothing frilly–utilitarian,” he snapped, eyeing Tru. “Everything from the skin out. Dark colors.”

He needed the clothing to be dull and sufficient to cool his growing sexual attraction to her. He gestured for Tru to join him behind the desk, positioning her so she could be seen by the salesperson on the callscreen.

“I don’t like dark colors,” Tru declared and raised her chin.

The sales woman looked from Tru to Nick and back again before she focused on Tru. Her smile warmed and she quirked an eyebrow. “Permission to scan?”

“Granted,” Tru replied and then urged Nick to step out of the way. A small rainbow hued beam fanned out and scanned Tru from head to foot. Measurements, skin tone and other pertinent information was gathered and transmitted to the store.

“I will see appropriate garments are delivered right away. I’m sure you will be completely satisfied with the collection.” She smiled serenely at Nick who inserted a data slip into a slot by the callscreen and authorized funds to be transferred. “It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Rayven.” Her image blinked out and the screen slid into the desk.

Satisfied one immediate problem would soon be taken care of, Nick escorted Tru to a nearby seat. Too restless to stay in one spot, he paced the room.

“There was no need for you to order clothes for me, you know? I could have taken care of it myself.”

“Really? How? If I’m not mistaken you are on the run right now without any credits to your name.” Nick’s voice sounded harsh, even to his own ears. He exhaled and forced a calmness he was far from feeling. “Speaking of running, it is time to tell me what is going on, Tru.”

“I know.”