Syn
“Little wolf,” I faintly heard Hendrix murmur as something touched my cheek, caressing it before moving away. I opened my eyes and soon realized that we’d come to a stop. The door closest to Hendrix in the vehicle was open.
“What are we doing?” I asked, instantly going on alert. Somehow he’d managed to lull me into a small sense of security while on the drive, but I was on edge now.
“I have some business to attend to before we make it back to my home. We’re going to switch transportation so we get there faster,” Hendrix said matter of factly before he gracefully stepped out of the vehicle.
My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, and I winced at my stiff muscles as I slid out of the car as well, doing it very ungracefully.
I sighed in pleasure as I inhaled the salty air. Even though I knew I must have slept for a while, judging by how much lower the sun was in the sky, we were still by the sea.
A breeze brushed across my face, and I had to resist the urge to dance around in glee at the sensation.
The air in the Hallow Sector was always bitingly hot, drying out your eyes and your skin and adding to the desolate feel of the place. Wherever we were now was doing the opposite. My wolf was practically doing somersaults inside of me.
“I’m thinking you won’t have a problem with the climate,” Hendrix mused, and I realized that he was standing there watching me. I grimaced in embarrassment. Who knows what giddy, goofy expression I’d had splashed across my face just from breathing in air.
But it was really good air.
Just then, I bothered to look beyond him where I could see a giant black plane. Men and women were hustling in and out of the plane, loaded down with bags and boxes. There was a strange red eternity-looking symbol near the back tail section.
My stomach growled again.
“Come on, little wolf. There will be a meal prepared for us on the plane.”
I shifted uncomfortably, half tempted to jump back into the limo even though I had no idea how to drive.
“Is that thing safe?” I blurted out, a little squeak in my voice as I stared at the plane, images of it falling to the ground in a fiery blaze filling my head.
I shivered and noted the small grin of his that appeared and disappeared on the asshole’s face again.
“It’s my personal plane, so it’s the very best,” he said simply, like that was explanation enough.
Knowing I didn’t have a choice, and wanting to walk rather than be forced on, I reluctantly let go of the door and made my way over to him.
His hand went to my lower back, and tingles sprinted out across my skin from his touch. He wasn’t touching me through the sweatshirt, but his hand was in that hollow space, right above my butt, and it felt so proprietary…so intimate. I stiffened, but he either didn’t notice or was pretending not to because he didn’t move his hand the entire walk from the car to the plane.
I’d felt deep feelings towards Brayden, the Moon Goddess ensured that. But this spark, this feeling that every touch from Hendrix could swallow me whole…I’d never felt that with Brayden.
It was very confusing…and alarming.
There were two scary-looking men stationed at the base of the stairs that led into the plane, and Hendrix nodded at them in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything.
I walked like an unsteady colt up the steps, very aware of Hendrix’s presence right behind me…I swore I could feel his gaze centered on my ass…and stepped right into another luxurious world.
There were a few people already on the large plane, but they weirdly kept their eyes averted from me like I didn’t exist. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or annoyed about that, but I didn’t think about it for too long. I was too caught up staring at everything.
This plane wasn’t some small prop plane. It was a full-on jet that could have seated at least a hundred people if the interior had been situated differently. And everything was in black and red.
There were different seating areas filled with a mix of comfy-looking sofas and armchairs. A few actual airplane seats like I’d seen on TV were sprinkled here and there, I guess in case you actually needed to buckle up. Large-screen TVs were everywhere, all playing a mixture of the same stock and news channels that had been playing in the limo. Some of the people were studiously watching the screens, typing things down on tablets in their laps every so often. I could see at least three doors towards the back of the plane, and I suspected there were probably rooms back there like I’d read about in books.
An image of a black silk bed flickered through my brain…but I quickly pushed that away.
Hendrix didn’t talk to anyone as he led me towards the back. There had been three men in suits working on a sectional couch, but when they saw Hendrix heading towards them, they jumped up and fled.
It was a little odd to see grown men looking like they were going to pee their pants in fear, but Hendrix didn’t seem to see anything strange about it because he continued to lead me right towards the couch that they’d just abandoned and motioned for me to sit down.
I sighed as soon as my butt hit the couch. I’d never felt anything so comfy in my life. I leaned back into the cushion, studying everything around me.
A gorgeous woman dressed in a tight black skirt and red silk blouse popped up and walked over to us, her gaze locked eagerly on Hendrix. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to drool all over her shirt.
“What can I get you, sir?” she purred, her voice coming out so sexual that I shifted awkwardly in my seat, wondering if she was about to try and climb into his lap.
A rush of something unfamiliar slid through me. My wolf didn’t like this girl standing so close to Hendrix, especially acting like that.
I didn’t particularly like it either.
Just another thing I was going to studiously ignore about my interactions with Hendrix.
“Two filets, asparagus, and the au gratin potatoes,” Hendrix ordered, not even bothering to look at her. My wolf was slightly mollified by that and backed down enough that I stopped feeling like I was going to leap at the girl.
“And drinks?” she asked, a bit of hurt creeping into her voice as she finally turned her attention to me with a frown.
Hendrix looked over at me, his hand finding my knee as his thumb made small movements across my skin. I couldn’t withhold the shiver this time as our gazes met.
“Water’s good,” I said in a raspy voice.
Hendrix licked his bottom lip sensually, and I felt like a fly caught in a spider’s web as we continued to stare at each other. Did Stockholm Syndrome usually happen this fast? Because this was something.
“Two waters and a scotch,” Hendrix ordered, finally sparing the girl a glance. Her face brightened like she was expecting him to suddenly fall at her feet in love. Instead, he said, “that’s all,” and looked down at the tablet he’d pulled out, still keeping one hand on my knee.
She shot me a dark look, like she wanted to kill me, and then stalked away, garnering plenty of looks from the other males on the plane…but obviously not from the one she wanted.
I guess I could just hope that she didn’t spit in my food.
“All of these people work for you?” I asked as the door at the front of the cabin was closed and the plane’s engines began to roar. My fingers dug into the couch cushion as I looked longingly at one of the cabin chairs up ahead that had a seatbelt.
As a shifter, it was hard to kill me, even with the bands around my wrist keeping my wolf imprisoned, but I was pretty sure that a plane crash could do it.
The girl returned with a tray carrying the drinks. There was a black marble-looking coffee table in front of us, and she carefully set down the drinks without spilling a drop before walking away without a word.
I picked up the water, eyeing it carefully to make sure I didn’t see anything resembling spit.