CHAPTER EIGHT
“You didn’t run away,” Rune murmured, strolling through the foyer. A pleased grin lifted his lips, a certain swagger to his steps. “I kind of expected you to. Am I just that irresistible?”
I stopped hugging myself and placed my hands on my hips. “I know what you’re doing.”
Trying to make me feel less freaked out.
His grin widened as he stopped directly in front of me. “Is it working?”
I teetered my head back and forth. “A little.”
“Good.” He bent at the waist and brushed his succulent lips against mine, creating an instant heat inside my lower stomach. Even if my mind was scattered from all I had heard, the bitch downstairs was warming up nicely, unaffected by tonight’s events. He didn’t straighten. His golden eyes stayed in front of mine, roaming over my features. The cocky façade disappeared, and he questioned quietly, “Do you want to talk about it? Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you. If you’re ready to hear it.” His black brows lifted, his self-confidence evident. “We knew you were snooping on us, but we didn’t hold back.”
My jaw dropped on a shaky exhale.
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Questions? Do you want to know?”
I snapped my mouth shut. I didn’t really want to know. I’d had all I could handle today. I shook my head in the negative.
The man-god nodded once and stood to his full height. He peered down at his hands as his fingers started undoing the buttons on his suit jacket. His voice was calm and patient, stating, “When you’re ready, let me know. I’ll explain it all.”
Instant. “Why?”
Rune shrugged out of his jacket and stepped closer to drape it around my shoulders. The scent of forests and sunshine washed over my senses, and my entire body relaxed inside the warmth of his jacket. He tipped his head to the front door, ignoring my question, “My train’s behind Alaric’s. Ready?”
“Why, Rune? Why would you tell me?” I questioned, standing my ground. “I am no one to these people.”
“Ah.” He smirked, his jovial side rushing to the surface, a sparkle in his golden eyes. “But I do love the smell of chocolate chip cookies.”
I snorted and then choked on a snicker. His charm melted my insides. “You’re not going to tell me, huh?”
“You said you weren’t ready, so no.” With a great flourish, he gestured to the front door with his right arm. “Your chariot awaits…if your tiny ass feet would start walking.”
I grinned, showing all my teeth. “I kinda like you.”
“I kinda like you too.” He winked, brushing black hair from his eyes. “But nothing serious, right? Like you said. I don’t want you falling head over heels for me.”
“Definitely.” I chuckled as I opened the front door, glancing at him over my shoulder with plenty of coyness in my gaze. “You couldn’t handle all of me, stud.”
If he only knew the truth of that. Because where I went, my father followed. Always.
His resulting smile brought me to a halt, my knees wobbling where I stood. There was no way he knew how devilishly handsome he was. Looks like his just weren’t fair to a woman like me—eye-candy for days and days. Rune placed his hand on my lower back, propelling me through the door with a softness a man like him had to train himself to exhibit, his tone sliding down to intimate levels. “You would be surprised at what I can handle. Mostly, in the bedroom, of course.”
“Of course.” I turned my heated gaze away from him. A sigh escaped my lips as I studied how far it was to the Mason Corporation train. I whined a little, “Our ride is farther away than Alaric’s train.”
Rune stepped in front of me, his back to my front. He squatted down and glanced back at me. “Hop on. I didn’t work a double shift today, like you.”
I blinked, my voice dry. “You want to give me a piggy-back ride?”
“It’s either that or I pick you up like some weeping willow.”
I shoved my arms through the armholes in his jacket and hopped onto his back in a flash. With my arms over his shoulders and my legs around his waist, I griped, “Don’t ever carry me like a babe. I hate that shit.”
“I had a feeling.” Rune gripped my thighs with his strong hands and straightened. He strolled with a smooth gait, even hopping down the stairs with a fluid nature only a skilled combatant had. His black hair tickled my cheek, blowing in the breeze. “Am I taking you to your place?”
“Mmm.” I hummed in thought. “Are you coming in with me?”
“I’d like to. I don’t do all this gallant crap for nothing.” He chuckled.
I snickered quietly, getting quite the opposite impression from him. “Can you handle poor?”
“If you had to sleep in my life, you wouldn’t even ask that.”
I snorted. “How big is your house now?” I really was curious.
“Ah, but it wasn’t always that way.”
“Must be a big house then,” I mumbled.
Genuine surprise. “You don’t know where I live? Damn near everyone does.”
“Nope. That’s one thing I don’t actually care to read about in the gossip rags. Everyone needs their privacy. Their home should be their safe haven—not the reverse.”
He stopped in front of his train, not even breathless as he bent to allow me to slide off his back. “I have to admit that is refreshing.” His smile was devious as he climbed the iron stairs. “That’s one less person for my security system to keep out.”
I smacked his ass and stomped up the stairs behind him—while eyeing said perfect ass. “I guess you can stay at my place tonight. But I’m going to pass out soon. You’d probably sleep better in your own bed.”
“And miss sleeping next to a beautiful woman?” His face scrunched in horror. “Never.”
I evaluated his train as the door shut behind us. “Really, you’d sleep better in here. I think I have a few mice running around at my place.”
Mason Corporation’s train, specifically just for Mr. Rune Mason, was all shades of gray. Only the plush leather seats were black, with a black panther stitched into the seatbacks. Silver wood paneling on the floor, light gray walls, and a cool white ceiling with tiny silver specks reminded of his business—construction. Clean and raw. Untouched until his company put all the pieces together.
It was simple. Yet beautiful in its hidden complexities.
Rune tapped on the main panel before leading me to sit down on the softest chair.
I sighed in contentment. “This is nice. Sure you want to sleep with the mice?”
He chuckled and sat next to me, eyeing my actions as I reclined the seat. “I’m a great hunter. I can handle a few mice.”
“They’re big.”
“I’m bigger.”
* * *
“What the heck are you doing?” I questioned, my eyes wide in hilarity. My choked laughter wouldn’t be contained, so I stuck my hand over my mouth to quiet it the best I could—the walls were thin in this apartment complex, and it was late. “Your ass is staring at me!”
Rune glanced over his right shoulder, resting on his elbows and knees. He hissed quietly, “Shh. I found the mice. There’s a shit ton in these walls, and here’s where they’re getting into your apartment.” He waved for me to come hither, his head dipping back down to the floor.
I tiptoed over to the wall and lowered to my hands and knees next to him. I ducked low, and sure enough, right behind my only table, there was a small hole at the bottom of the wall. I whispered, “How the hell did you find that?”
He snorted. “You were in the bathroom forever. I had a lot of time to explore.”
“I was only in there for a minute or two,” I argued. It didn’t take me that long to pee.
“Maybe you fell asleep on the pot?”
“I did not!”
“Anyway, do you have any mouse traps? Or are you all humane and stuff?”
I snorted. “Not with mice, but I don’t have any.”
He tapped his fingers on the ground and tilted his head further to examine the hole. “Well, you’re fucked until I can bring over some equipment to fix this.”
“Won’t the landlord deal with it?”
“Not in this neighborhood. You should move into a building that I built. The landlords there actually care about their tenants.”
I snickered. “I’ll do that as soon as I make a million bucks from my bartending gig.”
Rune hopped up in a fluid motion, then held a hand down to me. Curiosity edged his tone. “If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?”
I grabbed his warm palm and let him help me to my feet. I cleared my throat and walked to my pile of clean clothes in my laundry basket. The basket masqueraded as my dresser that I didn’t own yet. “If I told you, you would make fun of me.”
“Probably not. Every job makes the world go round.” He twirled a finger in the air.
I bent and rifled through my clothes until I found one of my large sleep shirts. “Swear you won’t laugh?”
Both black eyebrows rose. A roll of his eyes. “Just tell me.”
“Fine.” I held the shirt against my chest like it would ward off the impending laughter headed my way. “Do you know that amusement park on the north side of New City?”
“Sparkle World?”
“Yeah, that one.” I cleared my throat again. “I’d like to be hired as one of the Princesses there and make kids smile and stuff.”
He stared, then there was a slow blink, his words just as gradual. “Didn’t you enlist for the Corporate Army recently? Princess versus soldier is completely different.”
My brows snapped together. “How did you know that?”
“I pulled a file on you. Anyone I think about seeing twice, I do that.” He shrugged.
As if that was completely normal behavior. Maybe for him it was.
My jaw clenched. “You know who my father is then.”
A gradual nod, his eyes holding mine. “Yes.”
“And you’re not running away.”
“No.”
I stared. “If you had one wit about you, you’d hightail it out of here.”
Pure, blatant honesty. “I could crush him under my foot if I wanted to. He is nothing to me.”
I pointed a sharp finger at him. “That is the kind of thinking that gets men killed. Everyone underestimates him. Then they die. Because guess what? He’s still alive while all the others aren’t breathing anymore. And he’s running their businesses now.”
Rune smirked, a delectable twist of his lips. “You have a fucked up family. I have a fucked up family. Shit like that doesn’t matter to me. The future does. So, let’s get back on topic.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes on mine. “So you didn’t really want to be a soldier?”
“I’m capable of it.” I shrugged, trying to understand this man—a man who isn’t racing from my apartment after learning who my father is. “But I only did it to get away from my father. I thought I’d be free. It was all a mind-fuck on his part, once again. He let me rot in jail for a few days before he called to let them know it was all a misunderstanding. That he had actually signed the Corporate Army’s form, but by then, it was too late for me to continue this year in the program.”
Rune nodded gradually. “And the princess job?”
My nose wrinkled, and my cheeks heated with color. I stated quickly and honestly, “My childhood was a horror show. It’d be nice to help kids have a good one. It’ll help my soul to see kids smile.”
“All while wearing a princess dress?” His lips twitched.
I shrugged. “The dresses are pretty, but I’m not sure if I’m tall enough for it. They probably wouldn’t hire me anyway.”
Golden eyes squinted. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if you really want to dress like some made-up princess, go after it. Laughter and love are good for the soul.”
“See?” I grinned, bouncing on my feet with excitement. “Now you get it.”
He watched me bounce, a sparkle lighting his gaze. “You should definitely apply.”
I stopped moving, and then I shook my head. All the energy drained from my body, his borrowed jacket rubbing across my chest as I slouched. “Not happening.”
His brows snapped together, and he took a step closer. “Why not?”
I held up a quick hand to stop his advance to coddle me. “It’s simple. I would never subject innocent kids to my father’s whims. And if he ever found out where I was or where I worked, everyone there would become his new favorite playthings to torment me.”
Rune scratched at his chin then wiggled his mouth.
Opened it. Shut it.
His eyes creased at the corners.
“What?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” He started unbuttoning his dress shirt but stopped to flick a finger at the nightshirt I was twisting around my hands—an obvious nervous gesture. “Get changed. Let’s go to sleep. It’s past late.”
I sighed and began undressing, the weight of the day crashing down on my shoulders with just those few words spoken. Hopes and dreams were one thing. Reality was another. I yawned and pretended like I hadn’t noticed the man-god checking me out. “I sleep most of the day generally and work at night. I’ve just been covering for a gal who’s been out sick the past two days. So make sure to lock the door on your way out tomorrow.”
He chuckled and folded his pants. “Tomorrow—or today rather—is Saturday, remember? I don’t have to work on the weekends unless it’s an emergency. I’ll sleep in with you.”
I yanked the sleep shirt over my head, the soft material falling down to my knees. “Isn’t Theron announcing he’s taking over King Corporation tomorrow? I thought you’d need to be there.”
“Only if he calls me. I’d rather not get caught up in that shitstorm.”
I bent down low and pulled my fluffy comforter back from the mattress. There was no bed frame. Or box springs. It was simply a mattress on the floor—excuse the mice—and bedding. One day, I would have more if I found furniture at a moving sale cheap enough.
Crawling into bed, I asked, “I’m getting the impression you aren’t fond of Theron.”
“Wrong impression,” he countered and flipped off the light switch. He padded on sure feet right to the bed and crawled in next to me. “I like Theron. I even sort of love him. But…”
“But what?” I turned onto my side and allowed him to wrap me in his warm, muscled arms.
“Well, he’s scary as hell. And rightfully so.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
I prodded gently, “Has he ever done anything to hurt you?”
“No,” he stated. “Never.”
“Then it’s simple. He’s the scary motherfucker you want on your side. You should probably go and support him. Especially, if you sort of love him. That’s what a family does.”
Rune was quiet for a long moment and then kissed my temple. “For a poor girl, you’re awfully smart. The school of hard knocks did well for you.”
I chuckled. “Asshole.”
“Rich asshole. At least my bed isn’t rock hard.”
“You wanted to sleep here,” I teased.
“’Cause I love the smell of chocolate chip cookies.”
My shoulders shook inside his hold, a stupid grin plastered on my features. “I’ll burn some just for you.”
“Mm. I love it hard.”
Dry, dry words. “Night, stud.”
“Night, beautiful.”