HeroRising Read online

  “What?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes.” He nodded then resumed eating.

  Okaaay. “So, what part are you from?”

  “The north end.”

  “Oh. Of Norway or Sweden?”

  “Norway?”

  “Are you asking me?”

  “Why are you asking at all?”

  “Just making conversation. Sorry.” She picked up a fry then let it drop back to the table. “Are you going to kill me now?”

  This time his nostrils flared with the cheek flinch. “No.”

  Fork to mouth. Fork to mouth. He finished one salad then moved on to the next.

  That was it? Was she to assume all was now well? “Um, thank you?”

  A sound burst from his lips that was a cross between a laugh and a cough. She was about to offer him some of her water, but the sparkle in his black eyes stayed her hand and made her heart do a little flip. Had she…had she made him laugh? Damn, there was one more thing about him to find intriguing.

  “If you believe I will harm you, even though I have vowed otherwise, why are you still here?” he asked.

  Good question. “I don’t know. But you’re right. I should be across the room, pretending you don’t exist.”

  “Don’t.” His loud command drew her up short. He amended with a gentler, “Do not go. Please.”

  Oh, the way he said please probably made many a woman agree to anything he wished. This man was dangerous on so many levels, she was losing track of them all.

  “Fine.” She fiddled with the corner of the wrapper. “Is there any topic that is safe to discuss?”

  “How about you tell me how you plan to get to the city?”

  “I’ll call a cab or something once my phone is charged a bit more.”

  “Won’t that be expensive?”

  Fuck yeah. Ugh, she didn’t want to think about it. “Maybe.”

  “Where are you staying?”

  As if she was going to tell him she was on her own with no plans. “With friends.”

  “Why not ask them to come retrieve you?”

  “I don’t want to inconvenience them.”

  “I would hope you have friends who are more concerned with your safety than being inconvenienced.”

  “Well, we’re not that close.”

  “Ari.” The way he trilled her name made little shivers run across her neck. “Are you on your own?”

  “Not completely.”

  “I ask you again to trust me. On the souls of…my family. You will be safe.”

  Something in the way he somberly said his family, and the haunted shadow that entered his eyes, robbing them of all the earlier merriment, conveyed an intent to carry through with his vow no matter the cost.

  Goose bumps erupted over her skin as she drew in a deep breath, then another. Unable to form any words, she simply nodded. Whether she was agreeing or answering, she wasn’t certain, but instinct compelled her to comply.

  “Where are you staying?” he asked in the same low, softly spoken tone.

  “Don’t know yet,” she whispered.

  “Do you have any money?”

  “Some.”

  “A position for work?”

  “Not yet.” She gulped, forcing saliva past the raw ache in her throat.

  Bale nodded twice. He stabbed a cherry tomato with his fork and brought the bright-red fruit to his lips. As he chewed, he regarded her with a tilt to his head and a gaze that felt as if he were looking right into her soul. The muscles of his throat moved as he swallowed and she licked her lips, already tasting the flavor of his skin. His quickly drawn-in breath brought her gaze back to his, and she too gasped at the heat turning the black depths into a rich chocolate brown.

  He closed his eyes and shook his head with a soft murmur she could barely hear. When they opened he said, “If you will permit me, I know of a place you can stay however long you will need.”

  “A motel?”

  “No.”

  “A shelter?”

  “No.”

  Ah, she knew this game. “Let me guess. Your place?”

  “In a fashion.”

  “No.” Her brain decided for her while all of her girly parts shouted, “Yahoo, when can we go?”

  “May I finish the thought, please?”

  She raised a brow but said nothing as she gestured with her hand for him to continue.

  “Thank you.” That sparkle reappeared in his eyes. “My…employer has several vacant rooms in their home that they use for frequent visitors. I am certain they will be able to accommodate you for the evening, perhaps two. My own residence is inside the same building, which is why I will be close by. Allow me take you there, please.”

  “Is that where you were on your way to earlier?”

  “Yes,” he said with the slightest hesitation.

  “What kind of work do you do?”

  Another hesitation as he unscrewed the cap from a bottle of water and took a swig. “I am in law enforcement,” he finally answered.

  “You’re a cop?” Man, the criminals must piss their pants when he closed in on them.

  “No. I am sorry, that was the wrong word. I look out for threats and eliminate them.”

  “For the government or a company?”

  “Not for government.”

  “Oh, so you’re like a bodyguard?”

  “Yes?” he replied with that little up-note as if he were not sure that was the correct answer.

  She folded her arms. “So if you’re a bodyguard, why are you not with your employer right now?”

  “I am on vacation. Or was. Please, come with me.”

  A free place to crash? Tempting. Tempting. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

  “You won’t be. Believe me, Prin—Amaryllis will enjoy hosting you.”

  Now it was Ari’s turn to ruminate while sipping her water and pushing the last of the French fries to and fro. Bale was still a stranger and he wanted to take her to stay with other strangers. If this were a movie, she’d be screaming at the screen for the heroine to run away, so why was she seriously contemplating accepting his proposition?

  Duh, maybe because she was out of options and her cash was running low. Unless she wanted to live on the streets for a while, she was going to have to find a low-cost, meaning free, way into town. If only she could be one hundred percent positive he was being truthful.

  Her gaze landed on her smartphone. Oh-ho. Maybe there was a way.

  “I will go with you, if you answer a few questions.”

  Tension snapped his spine straight and his eyes narrowed. “What questions?”

  “Hey, you’re the one asking me to trust you. Before I climb back onto that motorcycle, I want a few answers.”

  His lips tightened, but he begrudgingly nodded.

  “Good. What’s your last name?”

  His eyes widened. “What?”

  Oh God. This was not a good start. “What is your last name?”

  “I do not go by one.”

  “But you must have one. I know people from Norway usually have a last name, unless you’re Bjork, and I think she’s Swedish.”

  “I—uh.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked to the walls, tables, everywhere else but at her.

  Was he seriously not going to tell her?

  As she opened her mouth to tell him no way, he answered with a softly spoken, “Llanos.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “My name is Bale…Llanos.”

  “Is that with one L or two?” she asked, pulling up the web browser on the phone.

  “Two.”

  Bale Llanos. Hmmm. Interesting. Especially the way the syllables rolled around her tongue. Damn, why couldn’t he have a non-sexy last name, like Smith or Steenburgen?

  Good news, not a single thing came up in a web search with his name. Not even anything close to his name. Bad news, not a single thing came up in a web search with his name. So, the man knew how to keep a low p
rofile.

  “Who is your employer?”

  “Are you asking for their names?”

  “No, their tax ID numbers. Of course their names, silly.”

  He drew a deep breath and answered just as softly as he had given his name. “Amaryllis Kilsgaard.”

  “Is she someone famous?”

  The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Back home, yes.”

  Ping. A hit.

  “She owns a restaurant? Tutala? I’ve heard of that place. That’s cool.” She scrolled past the listings of five-star reviews and went to the photo gallery to check out his mysterious employer.

  Figures. Of course he’d be hired to guard a beautiful woman with long black hair, lavender eyes and more curves than the St. Louis Arch. Hey, what was this?

  “Who’s this guy?” She pointed to a photo of the woman with a man standing next to her with a possessive arm around her shoulder. “He’s hot.”

  Bale frowned. “That is her husband, Lucian.”

  “Seriously?” Way to go, girlfriend. A successful restaurant and surrounded by two incredibly gorgeous guys? The woman was doing something right. “So, what kind of trouble does she get into in order to have you two guys watching out for her?”

  “None, because we watch out for her.”

  Ari smiled and went back to look for more information. “What’s The Cavern—”

  “Will you come with me?” he interrupted in a rush. “I’m offering a nice bed. Hot shower…”

  Ooo, he had to play on her weaknesses.

  “Only for the night. And if I think I’m being an inconvenience for even one nanosecond, I’m outta there.”

  “If you wish,” he said with a nod. “Are you ready to depart?”

  “Yeah, I just want to make one last trip to the restroom.”

  “I will await you at the cycle.”

  Damn, she was really falling for the way he spoke. It was too cute. “Okay.”

  She admired the fluid way he moved as he collected their trash and walked out the door with a stride that said, “Yeah, I’m a man. Back the fuck off.” A walk like that made a girl’s brain misfire and wonder if he was as confident in all aspects of his life. At least, it made her wonder.

  She let out her breath in a slow whistle and placed her hand over her fluttering belly. It was hard to tell what made her more nervous—staying the night with strangers or being plastered again to Bale’s delicious backside.

  Didn’t matter really. She was going to face both realities soon enough.

  Chapter Two

  Bale adjusted the fit of his leather gloves over his scarred hands and asked himself for the thousandth time that hour just what the fuck he was thinking. The moment they had stopped at the drive-thru, he should have ushered the little human inside and been back on the road before the door closed behind her.

  So why hadn’t he?

  The too-too pleasant ache in his cock was an obvious answer but not the only one. The rest, well, he didn’t even want to contemplate. And those reasons didn’t matter. Ari was just another of the many humans who had needed his services, and she wasn’t going to be the last. Taking her the last leg of the journey and seeing her to safety had nothing to do with wanting to remain in her presence and everything to do with fulfilling his mission. That was all.

  Right. His dick twitched as Ari stepped out of the restaurant and glided toward him on her impossibly long legs. Although he towered over her by a good foot and a half, the female was all legs with gently swelling hips, and breasts that weren’t too big but large enough to shimmy a touch with each step.

  Of course the heating of his blood would be easier to ignore if he hadn’t sensed the answering flare of desire within Ari. For some reason he couldn’t fathom, she liked what she saw when she looked upon him. She also had a healthy dose of skepticism too, which he appreciated. When she had gazed at him with that sultry stare and a soft pout on those full lips, he had almost forgotten who he was and reached out to feel the texture of her cheek before he woke from her spell.

  And that hair. In all his days he had never seen anything so glorious. On his home planet of Skandavia, everyone was light skinned and dark of hair. Well, almost everyone. Princess Amaryllis with her straight silver locks had been a much-discussed anomaly among the citizenry. Now that she’d been mated and marked by her husband, she resembled the people she once had been destined to rule.

  Ari’s deep-red mane was something special and another wonder he had beheld since arriving on this mysterious planet called Earth. The thick strands had dried into a soft tumble of rich maroon, the shade reminding him of the darhan flowers that grew in the forest of his origins. The splash of red against the gray-green foliage had always fascinated him with its elegant beauty and delicate petals. Much as Ari had when he had ridden upon her attack, only she was no fragile flower.

  His empathic powers had picked up on her terror from a mile away, but it was her courage at facing her attackers that had flashed like a bolt of lightning, directing him to her location.

  His two hearts kicked as he recalled the sight of Ari running with the wet strands of hair blowing around her shoulders like a flag during battle. The fear in her eyes made him wonder if his Natalia had had the same wild look when she had fallen to her killers.

  “Bale, are you all right?”

  Ari’s softly spoken question and her compassion pierced through the haze of horror and regret that clouded his vision every time he thought of his wife. “What?”

  The human stood poised on the edge of the sidewalk with her hands wrapped tightly around the strap of her bag and her big blue eyes wide with concern. She might not have his power of empathy, but obviously she was picking up on some of his volatile emotions. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes.” He smiled. Or at least, he tried to force a semblance of a friendly expression. “For a moment I had a horrible vision of what could have been if I had not arrived to assist you when I did.”

  She shivered with a frown. “Well let’s not think about that. You were there and it’s all in the past now. What good does it do to dwell upon what might have been?”

  “What good indeed. Maybe it’s to remind me of why I do what I do.”

  “Oh.” She clasped her hands in front of her and fell silent.

  “Ready to depart?”

  “If you are.”

  He handed her the helmet and watched as her slim fingers and delicate wrist manipulated the strap. So feminine was this little human. So completely opposite from his own brutish ways. To have killed those two bastards who dared to harm her would have taken zero effort on his part. Only her presence had stayed his hand. She didn’t need to be a witness to the ugliness he was capable of imparting with a speed faster than one could blink.

  Or his hungers.

  He clenched his teeth against the wave of desire that lapped up his spine as she settled into place along his back. The respectful clutch she had around his waist was its own sensual torture. One inch lower and her hand would brush the pulsating head of his cock, which seemed to want to crawl out from under the constricting waistband of his jeans. The sensation intensified as the insides of her thighs pressed against his hips as he steered onto the highway. Jesu, if he kept thinking of the heat of her skin, he was going to drive them right into a ditch.

  Laying on the throttle, he concentrated on the next bend in the road, then the one after that and the one after that. As mile after mile passed, he was able to focus less on Ari, barely, and began to formulate what he was going to say when he arrived on Lucian and Amaryllis’ doorstep.

  He had no doubt they would welcome Ari into their home. His princess was always willing to help those who had a need, whether they wanted her assistance or not. The difficulty was going to be explaining why he brought Ari at all. His status was lone ranger. Lone. Always. Never in anyone’s company longer than it took to lend his sword or when stopping to pay his respect to the princess and his former commander. Ari’s presence was going
to raise a lot of questions that he had no clue how or desire to answer.

  When the effervescent lights of the city bloomed over the horizon, Bale pushed aside the senseless concern and focused on seeing his charge to the end of their journey. Ari had not made a sound the entire last leg, but he felt the drugging pull of her exhaustion. The stiffness with which she had held on to him earlier had long ago melted until she draped his back like a cloak. He’d wager she’d deny her sleepiness, if he asked, which was one more thing about her to admire, and again he wondered what she was doing traveling all this way on her own.

  A riddle he would never solve. Once she was entrenched in Amaryllis’ good graces, he’d be off. Humankind could not be saved if he spent all his days on social visits.

  “We’re almost there,” he shouted over the sound of the engine. “Are you still with me?”

  The helmet rubbed against his spine as she nodded and her arms tightened around his waist. For half a second, he enjoyed the pressure of her touch. But only for half a second.

  Their destination was located a few blocks north of the waterfront and the beautiful bay and on the outskirts of the busy downtown corridor with its row after row of skyscraping office buildings. In the middle of all that steel and glass lay an acre of park with flowering cherry blossoms, picnic tables and a velvet lawn that was perfect for a lunchtime getaway.

  Bale turned into the driveway of a five-story building that opened directly across the street from the bubbling fountain that marked the entrance to the park and stopped at the gate. Careful to avoid brushing the soft skin of Ari’s thighs, he withdrew a card from his back pocket and held it over the sensor. The gate rose inch by screechy inch, and with each second Ari tensed behind him, her nerves reaching across the air to tighten around his neck.

  Despite the warning from his brain, he reached down and patted her fingers clenched around his belt. He kept his hand over hers as he drove into the garage and parked the cycle in the shadows near the elevator.

  “Where are we?” Ari asked after stripping off the helmet.

  “Our destination.”

  “Ha ha. You’re telling me your boss lives in an office building?”

  “My employer lives in a former office building. The upper floors are living quarters.”