Or was he simply worried about the interest she had invoked in his lieutenant?
“Sebastian?” A one-word question spoken by such a small voice.
He forced himself to take breaths like humans did. One slow, deep inhale followed by an equally lazy exhale. And then another. It took almost a full minute to apply any sort of calm to himself. At last he said, “That was only one reason why you shouldn’t be here. I was an idiot for thinking this might be a good idea.” It physically pained him to reach a final decision. “In the morning, gather your things and leave, Alice. This is no place for you. For now, go rest.”
“But...”
“I owe you a debt of gratitude and I swear on my life I’ll repay you. Good night, Alice.”
Bast didn’t wait for another protest, choosing instead to head for his gym. His stomach churned with every step he took away from her, but his decision had been made. She didn’t try to stop him, and the disappointment over her willingness to leave in the morning became a living thing within his veins.
He stabbed the security console with the appropriate digits, barely seeing the numbers for the red haze covering his vision.
This was stupid. Just because he wanted to fuck this woman was no reason to be so distraught over her exit in the morning. He’d bedded how many dozens in his lifetime, always with the ability to walk away the next morning without a second glance.
Barefooted, he crossed the cushioned mats covering the floor and headed to the custom-built home gym squatting like a watchman in the corner. Sitting down on the padded seat, reaching for the overhead bars gave him something else to focus on.
His muscles screamed in protest as he moved, pulleys making it possible to simultaneously lift over three hundred pounds of metal. The resounding clang that resulted each time he slowly released the weight rattled his teeth, but he kept going. Kept working. Head lowered, seeing nothing but the expanse of gray on the floor, Bast pushed his body to follow his commands. He needed the control. Lived for the discipline of this moment.
No matter how his body strained though, the slow heat building in his belly made its presence known.
“Do you want to tell me why you’re so angry?”
His head snapped up. First to Alice and then to the closed door. “How did you get in here?” he barked.
She stood well out of his reach. Smart woman. “For someone as security-conscious as you are, you’re not very good about covering your tracks. You didn’t even hear me behind you when you punched in the code. I simply had to watch. Don’t you think you should tell me what just happened out there? Who was that guy, and what did he mean?”
The burn began to spread into his chest. He ignored her questions. “The second you leave this room, I’ll be changing the code. Don’t bother to keep it memorized.” Damn, he was pissed. If any of his men had made such a rookie mistake, he’d have him reassigned off his team so fast there’d be skid marks.
Alice moved to the closest wall, her attention darting back and forth between him and the display of weapons. “You provide security for important people, and that man Cicero reports to you.” He watched her take in the collection of guns, swords and knives. Most of them were older than Alice. Some he’d fashioned out of steel himself. “You kill people. I get that. My brother lives in a hard world too.”
He rested his hands on his thighs, barely able to control the urge to curl his fingers into the cotton. The heat moved faster now. “You don’t seem bothered by it. You continue to surprise me.”
“My brother’s friends once broke every finger on his left hand when he couldn’t repay them right away after he’d stolen some drugs. Those were his friends. So far you haven’t been a jerk or done anything inappropriate to me. In fact, you’re kind of nice at times. I can’t let a hitman or mercenary or whatever make any nevermind to me, so long as you don’t come after me or mine.”
“I don’t deal in illegal activity, I told you.”
“But you do something that’s heinous enough for me to be considered a liability. Worth killing. Doesn’t sound quite legal.”