Chapter Seven
Josh could not believe he was going to crawl down an air duct. What the fuck was he thinking. Fuck was exactly what he was thinking. Damn animal and its one-track mind. Good thing he had the wolf to blame. Otherwise, he’d have to kick his own ass for being so chauvinistic. He needed to pull his shit together. He growled at his mating needs. He was a professional. The last fucking thing he needed was to mess up what they were doing because his animal had taken control of the situation.
Taking his shoes off, he chuckled as he watched his lovely mate stick her ass end in the air and crawl backward into the shaft. “You need to use the friction from your skin to keep from sliding down.”
Ain’t she a little genius, he thought. Friction on skin—sounded sexy as hell to him. “You do this often?” he asked. She snorted at him and disappeared down the hole.
“Okay, Tumbel,” he said to himself, “you volunteered for this craziness.” He scooted closer to the vent and repeated Candy’s movements. He scraped his knee putting his leg inside the hole. “Oww, shit, that hurt.”
“Shhh,” Candy called up. “You voice carries in here.”
He looked down. “Sorry,” he whispered. What the hell was he thinking when he said that he could do this? There was barely enough room for him to get a grip on the walls. But just like his mate had said, he used the friction between skin and metal to inch his way down. This would be a total disaster if he fell.
So don’t fall, idiot, his wolf told him. Great time for you to show up, Josh thought back. He diverted his attention to his mate below him. “So what’s the plan after this?” he whispered.
She glanced up at him and said, “We get above the bad guys and use my phone to record what they say and maybe try to get some closer visuals, too. See faces.”
That sounded easy enough. Once he reached the bottom of the shaft, he removed his feet from the metal sides and landed lightly on the balls of his feet. From there, he bent down to get out of the tunnel. The view before him was surreal.
He wasn’t sure what to make of it. The dim space seemed to be a mix of old and new that weaved together creating a chaos of pipes and beams. At his side, Candy stretched her stride to cross to the first I beam. Instantly, he and his wolf didn’t like this idea. If she lost her balance, she’d crash through the ceiling tiles and plunge twenty feet to the tile floor below.
“Don’t move,” he whispered-hollered to her. He stepped forward to join her and leaned down to her ear. “I’ll go first, then help you over.” He saw storm clouds gather behind her eyes. Oh, shit. “Look, it’s not a gender thing. I happen to have excellent balance and flexibility.”
A grin lit her face. “What? You can do cartwheels and flips?” she asked. He was sure if he tried, he could.
“That’s not the point here,” he continued.
“Yeah,” she agreed “I get it. Then get your ass to the next beam.” Josh stepped over crisscrossing pipes and wires bundled between the I bars. He held his hand out to her. She stiffened and stared at it. Dammit, he thought, what was the deal with others touching her? He’d have to find out and get her over it quickly. He intended to touch her all over when this was done.
“It’s just like a handshake,” he said. “You can do that. I’ve seen it. Just put your hand against mine.” He’d do the rest.
Hesitantly, her arm moved forward as she prepared for the leap. Midair, her hand slipped into his and he pulled her directly in front of him, using both hands to make sure she was steady. When she started to freak out and shuffle away, he snapped his arms back, hands in the air.
She scowled at him and pointed to the next location. The terrorists staged themselves at the reception area midway in the room. They had several more jumps to make before they got close to the desk.
His mate was doing a fantastic job of beam hopping, for a human. She had strength for the distance and balance when it came to standing. She probably could’ve done it without him. But he wasn’t about to tell her that.
The next crossing was a bit more difficult. A PVC tube lay on top of existing pipes, making it stick up in the air. He had to make sure his feet were high enough to clear it. He pointed at it when he made it over. She drew her brows down and swished her hand in the air like she would’ve hit him if he were closer and mouthed, I see it. She grumbled under her breath about men thinking women couldn’t do anything. That made him smile.
She’d better get used to it. That’s how it was going to be for the rest of their lives together. He would never let harm or danger come close to her. He would always be there to make sure she was safe, though he had a feeling she was good at getting herself into trouble.
Her eyes followed the length of the elevated pipe, running from the front to the back of the space. If she wanted to avoid the pipe, she was out of luck. He waved her over, mouthing, Come on.
She huffed at him then swung her arms back for the leap. When she was in midair, he could tell immediately she wouldn’t make it. And she knew as well. Her leg snapped down and pushed off the pipe giving her the needed oomph. The pipe bent under her weight, but she was off so quickly, no damage was done.
He reached out for her with both hands. Sorry, she’d have to get over it. This landing was not going to be pretty. Seeing what he planned to do, she twisted away in the air, but that wouldn’t stop him. He grabbed her arm and guided her body against his for a base to hold on to. Her feet tangled with his and his balance was thrown off. He was going down.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tightly to him while his other arm went under him to grip the beam. His hand broke most of the fall, but he curled his back and rolled along his spine on the beam instead of landing flat on his ass. Candy was able to stretch her arms to the sides and hang on to pipes to keep them still.
The look of shock and horror on her face made him want to burst out laughing, after he realized they were okay and safe again. He was sure the fall wasn’t what had scared her, but the fact that she was lying on top of him, her entire body aligned with his. The arm he wrapped around her waist remained.
Her mouth moved with no words coming out. He put a finger over her luscious lips and shushed her. “Calm down, love. You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She stopped her wiggling, though he did like it. Her mask—the other person she became when she needed to protect herself—appeared. He’d seen her make this change a couple of times now. He wasn’t sure why she felt the need to hide herself, but even her smell changed slightly. It was less Candy and more machinelike. No emotions, no feelings.
He wasn’t sure she even realized she slipped into another persona, she did it so smoothly. Her brows came down and eyes narrowed at him. Her chin rose in indignation.
“I know you’re not going to hurt me,” she whispered. “It’s this.” She moved her arm in the air along their bodies to indicate the compromising situation. God, he wanted to kiss her so bad. To lay soft baby kisses down her slender neck to the spot he would very soon bite. He wanted those damn clothes off. To see her flushed and naked and slick with need. Fuck fuck fuck his body hated him. Now was not the time to get a hard-on.