CHAPTER FOUR
I grasped the length of my dress and lifted the hem to my ankles. I was a flash of diamonds and silk as I raced past them, my heart in my throat. My long legs took me to the staircase in seconds.
I glanced back to see if the beast was following.
But Cassander and Poppy were in an animated discussion, their heads close together as they conspired. My eyes widened of their own accord when the situation only proved more dire. Mr. King’s intimidating presence made itself known, the corporate high king walking out of the party onto the balcony, his eyes homing in on Cassander and Poppy in surprised confusion at their blatant, heated discussion.
Poppy peered directly at her lover, as if she could feel his mere gaze upon her, and waved him over with quickly fluttering hands, demanding his attendance in the argument.
I didn’t hesitate any longer.
I grabbed the marble railing of the stairs and ran down the curved structure as fast as I could. Quick glances behind me kept them in my sights, all three individuals now talking in tones that were more subdued. My heels clicked on the marble stairs in a rapid rhythm that matched the beat of my frantic heart.
Click-click, click-click, click-click.
With one last furtive glance at the balcony, no one giving chase yet, my hand slipped off the railing. I lost my balance and toppled down the last step.
Strong, warm hands caught my shoulders as I fell forward, the tops of my shoes dragging along the atrium tiling from my forward motion. My forehead smacked against a broad, muscled shoulder as I clutched at the gray tuxedo covering a massive male frame. The top of my dress strained against my chest with each labored and panicked breath I took.
I wanted to cling to my savior who had protected me from a header into the unforgiving ground. His intoxicating smell invaded my entire sphere of reality. Sunshine and snow, the dawn during the winter’s first snowfall. I kept my face against his shoulder as I regained my footing, my shaking fingers digging into the lapels of the fine material, his tux even softer than my father’s.
Whoever he was, he was warm. Safe.
He slowly released his grip on my arms to slide his palms carefully around my body, holding me close as I trembled in his embrace.
He dipped his head down to mine, his mouth against the side of my head, probing softly, “Are you okay, miss?”
I gasped in air, attempting to regulate my out-of-control breathing. The shudder that tormented my body was all encompassing, the man’s arms tightening around me as if he could rip the fear right from my soul.
One of his hands slid up and down, up and down my back as he soothed me. He inhaled against my hair, his face still against mine.
Surprised, he mumbled, “This is probably inappropriate to say given the situation, but you smell absolutely decadent. Are you wearing perfume that’s been modified for aphrodisiac results?”
My eyelashes fluttered against his tuxedo. I couldn’t control the bubble of soft, hysterical laughter that erupted. I shook my head against his shoulder, and panted my reply, “This night’s one fucked up mess.”
He pressed his nose closer against my hair, sniffing again. “So that’s a no to an enhanced perfume?”
“That’s a no.”
His lips brushed my temple, purring, “Tell me your name.”
To hell with propriety.
His strong body was paradise to rest against.
“Mina.”
“Last name?”
“Kramer.”
His palm continued to rub my back, the tremors in my frame lessening under his care. “Aren’t you going to ask me mine?”
My breathing calmed with his touch. “What is your name, sir?”
Easy and sultry. “Finn Baker.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Hell on earth.”
The monsters were everywhere tonight.
He stood quiet for a moment, uncaring that my body had turned rigid in his arms. “I see my name has inspired you to divine joy.” His shoulder shrugged under my frozen face. “But I did catch you. I could have let you fall since, by all appearances, you were running from friends of mine.”
Why does the monster feel so right against me?
Steeling my inner strength, I tipped my head back to face the beast. White hair cropped in a severe, older military style shone under the overhead lights. An olive-colored skin tone glowed with perfect health. Red lips made for sin were currently straight and serious. His regal jaw was clean-shaven, not a whisker showing. His black lashes were thick over a reserved gaze.
The white tiger had stunning blue eyes.
Monsters shouldn’t be so attractive.
Or feel so delicious…
Ingrained dignity kept my voice from shaking as I stated, “Let me go, sir. This is inappropriate, as you stated.”
With one more sniff in my direction, he released his hold on me. The beast did it so quickly, and without any tensing of his body to warn me, I was the one still clinging to him.
I straightened my cramped fingers, removing them from his impressive, muscled chest, and mumbled, “Thank you.”
Blue glacial eyes continued to stare.
I took a step back from him. Another one.
My eyes flicked up to the balcony, to the railing.
Cassander. Mr. King.
The two were watching us with intent expressions.
Silent predators waiting to strike.
I jerked my attention back down to the monster in front of me. My eyes widened in shock, the man only an inch away from me again. I grasped the skirt of my dress and dipped my head once as I whispered, “Thank you for catching me, Mr. Baker.”
His head tipped to the side, an animal watching his prey. “You’re welcome, Ms. Kramer.”
My heels squeaked on the tiling, and my shoulders cringed at the horrid show of fear as I sprinted across the atrium, fleeing Baker Corporation with hardly any poise intact. Father would be appalled at my actions. Mother would be clawing the monster’s face for daring to touch me.
It was only a blessing my parents hadn’t noticed my long absence yet. I knew Father wanted to introduce me to the corporate kings, show off his pride and joy who had finally grown up into a beautiful woman. Father had been patient, biding his time, and grooming me, always waiting for the opportune second to make the most advantageous business transaction. His daughter was at the ripe age to trade now, the thought whispered into his head by wayward words from Mother.
If he had witnessed Mr. Baker’s interactions with me, and my resulting dash from the building, I’d never leave our townhouse again. Not until a marriage contract had been struck with an elite New City citizen who didn’t mind a willful bride-to-be. Mother couldn’t help either since she was born a female.
Mr. King’s laws were set. Marriage by twenty-five signed off by a legal male guardian. No one argued, not even me. Marriage and babies would save our existence.
Stopping on the street in front of Baker Corporation, the stars twinkling in a sheet of the navy sky above, I pressed a button on the streetlight for a train cabin to take me home. One quickly stopped before me, the iron stairs lowering to the ground.
I lifted my right arm with my silver bracelet, stating, “Order: Call Odette Kramer.”
My bracelet buzzed.
“Mina?” Mother asked.
I began climbing the iron stairs. “I’m going home. Please let Father know I became tired.”
She paused for a moment, and then replied, “I’ll make your excuses. We’ll check on you when we get home.”
“Thank you,” I stated in comfort at her support.
“It’s okay. You came for as long as you could.”
“I love you. Bye, Mother.”
“I love you, too. Goodbye.”
My bracelet buzzed as she ended the call.
The panel inside the cabin glowed, well lit for a passenger’s needs. The stairs retracted and the door shut on its own while I typed in my home address. The clean blue energy keeping the train afloat hummed beneath my feet as the train started traveling. I sat on one of the seats, the other nine empty, and rested my head back against the headrest.
My hands shook on the armrests, remnant terror sizzling in my bones. I closed my eyes and thought of my old mathematics professor. The man bored so many students that many fell asleep in his class every day. It was the thought of his monotone voice, the baritone easy and smooth, that soothed—and bored—me enough that I sighed in relief. Leave it to a professor I had once hated, for having no zeal for teaching, to be the solution for centering oneself.
The train came to a swift, unexpected halt.
I screeched as my body flew forward, my arms flailing in the air, until I slammed against the bathroom door. I continued to flap my arms as gravity took hold and my body brushed all the way down the door to the floor.
I grunted, “Oomph!”
Nothing was broken. Nothing was broken.
Please don’t let any bones be broken.
The shock held me frozen on the ground, wondering what had caused the error to occur in the transport.
Would I be able to fix it and get home?
My hasty, fearful scream charged the air, the train suddenly falling to the street. My sprawled frame rose off the ground for a heartbeat, until the train slammed onto the road, and then I hit the floor again with a groan.
In the startling silence, I pressed my shaky hands to the floor of the train and pushed my torso up, peering around the cabin. No alarms were blinking inside, which would be normal for a collision. The train was still intact, nothing out of place.
Except for my quivering body lying on the floor.
“What in the world?” I panted.
The door to the train opened to the night.
My eyes slammed wide, and my body jerked.
A new form of terror entered my system.
There was a man in a mask standing in the doorway.
He pressed his sword against my throat, staring down at me on the floor. “Ms. Mina Kramer?”
“Yes,” I whispered, not moving my head.
“Get up. Now.”