Chapter 85

I tried not to gape like a complete hick, but the apartment that spread out inside that door was the most amazing, plush apartment I had ever seen. Charles’s place back in Lustrum had been plenty sleek, but this put his place to shame.

A wall of windows let in enormous quantities of natural light, which illuminated an apartment decked out in natural everything. Soft touches of bamboo, slate, and natural textiles on the furnishings gave the place a comfortable and rather spa-like feel.

“Wow,” I breathed under my breath.

Charles marched inside and immediately started poking around everywhere. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for or if he was just inspecting it to see if it met his standards. This apartment certainly met with mine. But, like not wanting to gape, I didn’t want to let on how much I really liked the place. It was too bad such an amazing apartment had come from such a horrible encounter.

But even memories of the governor couldn’t spoil it for long. Before I could stop myself, I, too, was poking around, looking inside the kitchen cabinets, opening closets, and pushing on the cushions on the furniture to see if they were really as plush as they looked. They were.

Our two security agents joined us inside but stood stiffly near the door, one near the windows. Maybe they’d loosen up after we got to know them a little. Otherwise, they were going to suck all the fun out of this.

“Isn’t this amazing?” I asked Charles, catching him on his way from the main living area into one of the bedrooms.

He caught my arm and pulled me along with him, leading me inside the bathroom.

“What?” I protested, but he put a hand on my lips.

Inside the bathroom, he shut the door and leaned in. I puckered, but he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he put his nose next to my ear and whispered, “I’m worried the place is bugged.”

“Like roaches?” I asked.

He sighed, and I realized my error. Oh! How could I be so naïve? He meant listening devices. A blush flamed across my face.

He kissed my temple, smiling down at me. “I’m glad to see you’re not too jaded. And I hope you never lose that innocence completely. But I can see it in your eyes you figured out what I meant.”

He glanced at the door. “Even if there are no microphones inside the apartment, I am sure that those two are reporting back to whatever government officials are behind all of this.”

“I thought they were here for our safety.”

“As long as us being safe gets the government what it wants,” he said. “But I’m sure they’re as much spies as they are security agents.”

“Oh.” I fidgeted, and he chuckled, pulling me against his chest and kissing me deeply for real.

“Don’t let it bother you too much,” he said. “Because in the end, we didn’t do anything wrong, and we still haven’t. They can spy all they want. They’re not going to find anything. I just thought it would be easier if they didn’t know for sure that we knew what they were up to. Otherwise, they’ll be all the more suspicious of our actions and be waiting to catch us faking.”

“So you want us to play like we trust them?”

“Exactly.” He booped my nose with a finger, his eyes twinkling. “When all your skills are honed up, you are going to be one dangerous reporter, sneaking around undercover without anybody knowing what you’re up to. It’s a good thing you’re on my side.”

I grabbed his neck and pulled him down, kissing him in return. “I just hope it never ends up any other way,” I teased.

“Well, I’ll certainly try my best to make sure that I don’t end up on your bad side,” he said with a chuckle. “Now, when we go back out, are you ready to act like you don’t know anything?”

“Anything about what?” I asked, my eyes wide, a grin on my face.

“Exactly.”

Sure enough, when we went to exit the bathroom, the two security guards had moved, so they were at the door to the bedroom. I was sure that Charles was right, and they had been trying to listen.

Hot embarrassment ran up my neck and into my cheeks, bringing out what I’m sure was an impressive blush. What if they thought we were having sex? Would they even listen in when we actually did have sex? Because I didn’t want to give that up. But oh, how embarrassing would an audience be? I wasn’t sure I could do it under those circumstances.

But nothing ever seemed to fluster Charles. He grinned and looked at me.

“That shower really is big enough for the both of us,” he said with a wink. “I can think of a good way to use that. Can’t you?”

Now, I really was blushing, my cheeks flaming in response to what he had just implied, in front of strange men, no less.

“Charles,” I growled.

He laughed and then winked at both of the men. “Good girls are the best, aren’t they? So much fun to tease.”

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me next to him, kissing my neck with a very audible smack. “Not that I was teasing about what we’ll do in the shower,” he purred.

I kept watching the men. They didn’t even flinch. Charles might be having fun teasing them, but he wasn’t getting much of a rise out of them. And he was embarrassing me more than he was embarrassing our guards.

I pushed him away with a sigh. “Knock it off,” I said.

“For now.”

He sauntered back into the main living area, our spies following close behind us. Charles sat down on the sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table. He would never have done that to his own furniture, especially not since he had left his shoes on. But clearly, he wanted to let our two guards know exactly what he thought of our plush prison.

He patted next to him, asking me to sit. “What would you like to do first?”

After the kisses he’d given me, I knew what I wanted to do first. But I certainly didn’t want to do it with the men in the house. I fumbled with other possibilities.

“I didn’t see much in the refrigerator,” I said. “Maybe we should go find a store and someplace we can pick up take-out for dinner. We could stock the place.”

“Fantastic idea,” Charles agreed. He turned to our guards. “Since we’re obviously new around here, maybe one of the two of you can show us the nearest grocery store and someplace with good food around the building?”

Charles yawned and stretched. “It’s been a long day. I don’t feel like going far. Unless, of course, someplace further away has delivery.”

The men started to walk toward the door silently, and Charles cleared his throat. They both stopped and turned, looking back at him.

“Look, boys, I don’t really wanna do things this way, but I will if I have to. Don’t make me pull rank on you.”

The two of them scowled at him.

“I am an alpha,” Charles said. “And I am not spending the rest of my time here with two silent, surly companions wandering around my house. I’m sure you guys have got orders, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t speak with us. If you can’t at least make civil conversation, you’re going to find yourself with a very cranky alpha on your case.”

The pair glanced at each other, and one of them cleared his throat. “What sort of food do you and your woman like?”

I stomped my foot at the same time Charles growled. He caught the look in my eye and let me have my say.

“Charles and I may be together, but I am nobody’s woman,” I said. “I am my own person, and I can speak for myself.”

The guard shrugged as if my argument didn’t impress him all that much. He still didn’t ask me what kind of food I liked.

My temper got the better of me, and before I could stop myself, I snapped out, “You guys don’t wear name tags, and I can’t tell which of you is which. And neither one of you seems to have much of a personality that hasn’t been government-issued. Since you won’t talk to me or treat me like an individual, should I return the favor? How about I just call you Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?”

My eyes flew wide as Charles visibly bit back a laugh.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I tried to soften my snap. Just because they were acting like jerks didn’t give me the right to do the same.

“I know you two are just doing your jobs, but you’re not making this situation any easier on any of us. I’ve had security before. It doesn’t have to be so uncomfortable. But you have to do your part if you want a decent working relationship. It doesn’t help that I’m extremely hungry. Can you please take us to someplace where we can get something to eat?”