I still have it. Matthias rolled over in search of his own restless slumber.
Matthias knocked as he walked past her door. She opened it almost immediately. He knew she’d been ready to go since six thirty, alternating between sitting on the bed and nervously pacing by the door.
“Good morning, Anastazia.”
“Good morning.”
He grabbed her overnight bag before she could object and motioned for her to go first. “How did you sleep?”
“Oh, I had a little trouble at first—”
—thinking about sliding into bed with you—
“—but then I just dropped off and slept straight through. You?”
“Wonderful.” He caught whispers of her thoughts and had to stifle his smile while loading the bags in the car. He couldn’t reveal his secrets to her too soon. “I’ll check out if you’ll get us a table. I’ll take coffee, black please, and their scramble special.”
His coffee was waiting and their order placed when he returned. She was going through her BlackBerry, answering messages. He pretended to do the same, and they made small talk until their food came.
She was ravenous. He hid his amusement. She probably wondered why she could eat like a horse and still have a great figure. Or maybe she didn’t. He didn’t take it for granted. She was perfect, beautiful rounded curves in all the right places, a real woman he could place his arms around and actually feel her body against him and not worry she’d break if he hugged her too tight. He couldn’t wait to feel her body against his—
He cut off that line of thinking and shifted in his chair, hoping she couldn’t sense his thoughts.
There was so much she would have to learn, and he would enjoy teaching her.
But not yet. It was far too soon, the earliest still months down the road, after she was settled and completely comfortable around him.
They were on the road by eight, discussing files. After an hour he was ready for music and opted for the XM radio.
“Big Tracks?” she asked when she saw the channel.
“Yes, I like the variety.”
He sang along with ZZ Top, managed to mangle Aerosmith, and she laughed and sang with him. They had lunch at a small diner before hitting the road again.
She seemed comfortable with him driving, which was itself amazing. He’d been told she rarely rode as a passenger with anyone except Tim. Otherwise she was pounding the floor with her foot, looking for an imaginary brake—or accelerator. There was something about Hawthorne she trusted, according to what Tim had told him.
At dinner that night, she closed the file they were working on and yawned. “I hope I sleep well tonight.”
He smiled. “I’m sure you will. Car trips are exhausting.”
“Tell me, I’m curious, how did you decide to come to me for this position?”
He hesitated, then opted for the truth.
Well, in part.
“If you’ll notice, for our headquarters we don’t hire. We recruit. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. Snobby, I know, but unfortunately I’ve learned the hard way that I must have the best people closest to me. I can only do that by handpicking staff. I was fortunate Bob Stanley owed me a large favor and had you on staff to refer. When we completed our background checks and research, you were the best of the choices.”
“What if I’d said no?”
He looked down at his drink.
I would have cried. “I would have upped the offer first, then found out what it would take to get you on board.”
She smiled. “That’s very flattering.”
“I mean it. You were the best candidate. We didn’t make offers to anyone else—only you. You were our first choice.”
My only choice.
By the end of the trip, she accidentally started to call him Matthias five times by his count. “Math-ister Hawthorne” is how it usually came out, and he hid his smile each time.
He pulled into the parking garage at Hawthorne International. “I know this was a business trip, but for once, I’m sorry to be home.” He knew that was a risky comment but hoped she took it the right way.
She smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Hawthorne. It was a good trip, even if it was for business. Thanks for letting me drive. Brought back good memories.”
The valets moved her things to her car.
“See you tomorrow,” he said.
She yawned. “I may be running a little late in the morning.”
“That’s perfectly understandable. I plan on being late myself.”
He waved and took the elevator up, where he found Albert and Tim waiting in his office.
They both looked at him expectantly, and he couldn’t conceal his broad grin. He dropped his overnight bag and approached Tim with a fake strangler’s grip. “You,” he said, grabbing Tim’s shoulders and gently shaking his friend, “are a total jerk! You’ve had her to yourself all these years!”
“Matthias,” he said, straightening his shirt, “she was a handful, believe me. A wonderful, lovely, charming, absolutely breathtaking handful. How do you think I got most of the grey hairs I have?” Which wasn’t much, all things considered.
“You are a genius, I will admit,” Matthias said. “An absolutely wonderful, evil genius.”
“Evil?” Albert arched an eyebrow.
“Well,” Tim said, “wait until she finds out the truth. She’ll bring you to your knees in terror unless we handle it right.”
“I can’t imagine her being like that,” Matthias insisted. “She’s strong, yes—”
“Matthias!” both men said at the same time.
Albert advanced. “You were specifically warned not to test her.”
He waved off their objection. “Don’t worry, I didn’t. It just—” He searched for the word then looked to Tim. “Her power rolls off her, in wonderful waves.”
Tim nodded. “That’s accurate. Fortunately, there have been very few times I’ve needed to control or distract her. I started young, teaching her to avoid looking into people’s eyes, not taking things that aren’t freely given. If I hadn’t, she’d be uncontrollable now. She’ll kill me when we tell her. She’ll be so upset.”
“She loves you,” Matthias told him. “She calls you her adopted dad.”
“Really?” Tim sat up, surprised. “She does?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Lucky bastard,” Albert teased. “To think, if I’d called heads, I would have had the honor.”
“Albert, she would have put you in your grave years ago. If her parents didn’t do you in first.” A wistful expression crossed his face. “They were a couple of insane loons, yes, but they loved Taz. They were a handful, but they were good people.”
Matthias’ eyes darkened. “If I ever get my hands on whoever’s responsible for their deaths, I’ll…” He left the thought hanging in the air.
Tim sighed. “There was nothing you could do. I thought they’d be safe. It could have been an accident. We don’t know. The weather did turn bad, and it was a small plane.”
“It’s too coincidental,” Matthias said. “They were obviously stronger than we first thought. We could have brought them in after Anastazia was fully instructed.”
“We still have Anastazia,” Albert consoled.
Matthias nodded. “And I’ll die to protect her.”
“Get in line,” Tim said. He finished his drink then pointed his glass at Matthias. “That goes for you, too. You hurt her—”
Matthias waved his hand at him. They’d bantered this back and forth countless times. Both knew the other was devoted. One as a father, the other as a lover.
Well, potential lover. If she’ll have me.