emma_hillman_hired by Emma Hillman Read Free Book Online Page A

your decision, First
Men and Women,
 bring your people together and start the ritual.”
    Ambrotos (Translation by Jessica James)
     
    She hadn’t woken up to a hard chest pressing
into her back in, well, forever. Between his all-encompassing warmth and the
erection poking her ass, it was immediately clear to her who it was, even if
she wasn’t completely awake yet.
    “Mmm. Morning, honey.” A sleepy Drake mumbled
against her hair, slashing through her weak defenses.
    He was so damn cute sometimes. Who’d have
thought someone so hardened by his years spent as the Guardian could behave in
such a way? He’d been incredible the night before, taking her again and again,
making her come again and again. And she was turning herself on again, wasn’t
she? She sighed and snuggled back into him. She didn’t want to go to the
library today; that was for damn sure.
    “Come on, sleepyhead,” he said a few minutes
later. “Time to rise and shine. You’ve got work to do!” He slapped her butt,
making her squeal.
    “Hey!” She sat up. “You wore me out last
night! I need a lie-in.”
    His gaze darkened. “Not today, Jessica. You
still have about half to translate.”
    That’s all he wanted from her, wasn’t it? She
felt the blood drain from her face. She’d forgotten about that damn translation
and how important it was for him. For them. That was why he was acting like
this with her, why he’d tempted her with his one sentence/one orgasm plan. He
didn’t like her… Oh, he might like her body and how she made him feel, but he
didn’t like her as a person. He didn’t care. He just wanted her to finish the
bloody thing so she could be on his way and they could do whatever they wanted
to with the results.
    Fuck, that hurt. She fixed a fake smile on her face and slid out of
bed on the opposite side to which he was now standing. Ignoring him, she left
the room and went back to hers. Locking herself inside, she let the tears fall
down her cheeks while she busied herself getting ready for another day sitting
at that damned desk.
    What a foolish woman she’d been. To think
someone like Drake would ever like someone like her…
     
    * * * *
     
    “Fuck!”
    Drake fought the urge to pound the wall with
his bare knuckles. He could hear her tears in his head, taunting him, forcing
him to realize what he’d done. For the first time in hundreds of years, he
truly hated being the Guardian. Because she was right, and that galled him. Of
course, he’d been plying her with sex, wanting her to hurry through her
translation so his First Man could applaud his success. Of course, he hadn’t
wanted to have sex with her at first. Hell, he hadn’t even liked her!
    All this had changed in the past couple days
however. Now, he couldn’t even imagine not having her with him at all times.
The feeling would probably fade in time−he sure hoped it did at any rate.
He couldn’t afford having someone in his life, not when he had to leave on
missions for Jake for months on end. What would she do then? She wouldn’t be
able to follow him. She’d have to stay here and then she’d grow restless and
she’d find someone else who understood her needs better, who cared more, who...
Fuck, he hadn’t thought of Sara for years, and now he was comparing Jessica to
her. What the hell was wrong with him?
    She had to finish that damn translation and
the sooner the better. He might not want her to leave, but he wouldn’t give her
a choice. She was having too much effect on him, long-forgotten feelings slowly
blossoming inside him. This was why he didn’t do relationships. He couldn’t
face the aggravation.
    No, it was better if it stayed like this, he
decided. He’d go back on his earlier promise and push her to work harder. She
might hate him from now on, but that was all right. He could deal with hate. It
was love he couldn’t deal with...
     
    * * * *
     
    You would have thought that she’d be speeding
through that bloody translation, Jessica