“Maybe, it depends on what they say.”
“If you're not back by nine, I'll come get you.” He lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, his brow creased. “Oh, you'll need a code for my door. 96339. Here.” He rolled over and wrote the number on a small piece of paper then held it out to her. “So you don't forget.” When she approached to take the paper, he caught her wrist with his other hand and pulled her down for a quick, hard kiss. “That was so you don't forget me while you're gone.” Neo grinned once she pulled away.
“Like there's any chance of that,” she smiled over her shoulder as she headed for the front room to find the rest of her clothing.
SHE SLIPPED INTO THE apartment she shared with her body guards and closed the door softly, hoping she could manage to make it in unnoticed.
“That's one hell of a swim, and oddly, your suit and hair don't appear to be wet.” Ellis's voice made her jump and she spun around trying hard to keep from blushing. Damn, she was caught. It's not like she wasn't about to call their alpha and own up to everything anyway, but still, it was different being caught in a walk of shame.
“I wasn't swimming, not for a while. Let me change clothes, then I must call home. You can listen in while I explain everything to the alphas.” Gwen walked past Ellis to her bedroom.
A few minutes later, fully dressed and ready to face the firing squad, she stepped back into the living room to find not only Ellis, but Isla waiting for her as well. They were sitting on opposite ends of the sofa, Isla with a mug of coffee in one hand while Ellis had a half-full bottle of water on the table beside him. Now, she felt like sitting in the chair angled toward them would be putting herself on stage, still, she had to do this. Gwen retrieved her phone from where it was charging on the kitchenette counter and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge while she was there, then dialed Grigor while she went to sit down. She hoped he'd be less likely to explode and start screaming when he heard what she'd done than his mate, Rhiannon.
Grigor's secretary picked up and Gwen identified herself and asked to speak with the alpha before agreeing to wait. While she waited, Gwen opened the water and took a long drink.
“Gwen, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon.” Grigor's voice came over the line. “I hope things are going well over there.”
“Well, sir, I think so but I'm not sure you'll see it quite the same, which is why I'm calling.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems I found my mate.”
“Seems? Are you uncertain?” he sounded suspicious.
“No, sir, not seems. I'm sure. He's my mate, but that's where the issue comes in. He's one of the dragons here. The alpha's brother.”
“I take it things have moved quickly? These things tend to.”
“They have, sir. That's why I'm not sure if you still want me to do this for you.”
“Are you doubting you can be unbiased and get our clan a fair contract?”
“No, sir. I have no such doubts, but I was unsure if you would still want me for the job, considering the circumstances.”
“Hmm... I'll have to discuss it with Rhiannon, but for now, I see no reason for you not to continue as planned. Is there anything else?”
“My first meeting is scheduled for,” she checked the clock on the wall, knowing her internal clock was off, “two hours from now. Do you want me to keep that, or delay until I get an answer from you?”
“It's what? About seven a.m. there?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Reschedule for now. I'll get back to you before afternoon meetings and let you know our decision.”
“All right, sir, sounds good.” They rang off and she let the hand holding the phone fall to her lap as she looked across at the two watching her. “Well?” she might as well let them say whatever they were thinking.
“I take it he didn't fire you?” Ellis said with one lifted brow.
“Not yet. He said he needs to discuss it with Rhiannon and he'll get back to me.” She sighed and wondered if it might be best to just reschedule for tomorrow, then it wouldn't be two last minute cancellations on Neo.
“You were up early to swim and ended up spending the last, let’s just say several, hours with the dragon you're supposed to be negotiating this treaty with, only instead of working you were shagging.” Isla shook her head and looked grim. “This is not a good way to start a job.”
“I know.” Gwen stared at the floor. “It wasn't my intention, I was trying to stay away from him but I've heard with matings, this is how it is sometimes. I have no excuse, other than since he's my mate, it's safe to say it won't be happening ever again.”
“I'm not judging you.” A grin spread across Isla's face. “I'm just giving you shit because I can. It amuses me.”
Gwen shook her head and rolled her eyes as she turned to Ellis. “What about you? Do you have anything to say?”
“Not really, other than is anyone else ready to eat and where do we get food around here?”
“I'm fine, I need to let Neo know we need to postpone the meeting. I thought I'd go over to his place and do that. If you want food, you can either call room service or go upstairs to one of the restaurants in the hotel, just give them our room number.”
“I'll show him how to get food, you go on back over to your mate’s if you like,” Isla said. “Just remember the rule, no leaving the resort without at least one of us.”
“And take your phone with you this time.” Ellis shot her an unhappy look. “It does no good if I can't call to check on you.”
Gwen looked at her phone and noticed she'd missed a call, checking it, she discovered it had been Ellis, less than an hour after she'd left for the pool. “Sorry, I was planning on swimming, and it needed to charge.”
“You just need to be reachable. Besides, you don't want to miss the call from the alpha.” Ellis was right, she didn’t want to miss his call.
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES after she'd left, Gwen let herself back into Neo's apartment. It appeared nothing had changed, and she slipped through the quiet living room to the bedroom. There, she found the lamp beside the bed lit and the bed empty. The sight of his empty bed sent a shot of disappointment through her she hadn't expected. She was still standing in the open doorway staring at the empty bed when the bathroom door opened and a puff of steam escaped, followed a second later by Neo. He was stark ass naked and rubbing a towel through his hair.
“You came back.” Neo stopped and stared at her with wide eyes, his hair stood on end as if an extension of how he felt. He looked to the rumpled bed then back to her. “I couldn't sleep after you left, and as much as I hoped you would, I didn't think you were coming back.”
“I didn't either, but I needed to talk to you about rescheduling our meeting and climbing in bed beside you seemed so much more fun than calling.”
“Reschedule? Is something wrong?” He tossed his towel over the back of a nearby chair and went to the chest of drawers where he pulled out a pair of boxers and stepped into them before his eyes were on her again, reminding her he was waiting for an answer. The cloud of confusion seemed to lift from her brain once he was covered. She pulled a face.
“I'm not sure yet. My alphas haven’t decided yet if they’re going to replace me on this assignment.”
Neo's eyes narrowed. “I still don’t get why they would do that.”
She looked away, to the painting over the bed so she didn’t have to see his expression. “Because they might decide, after this morning, I'm not the right person for the job.”
“Because of us?” the anger in Neo's voice made her look back at him. “You might lose your job because you found your mate?”
“Not because I found my mate, but because they may see my having shagged you as changing my allegiances.” Gwen shrugged. “Who knows, our being mates may save my ass on this one.”
“Do you really think they're going to fire you because of this?”
“I was certain of it when I left this morning, but Grig
or didn't seem to think it was as big a deal as I did. It remains to be seen, however, how Rhiannon will react. I've been ordered to delay the meetings, and they will contact me with a decision.”
He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. “I'm sorry it's caused you this difficulty, but in all honesty, I can't regret having found you. I thought I would never have a mate and now that I do, I would do anything to make you happy.”
“Even let me walk away?”
Neo froze. “Do you want to go?”
“No, but you said anything to make me happy. If not being with you is what it took, would you let me go?”
He closed his eyes and was silent a moment. “It would hurt like hell, but if that's what it took to make you happy, yes, I would let you go.” His voice was rough and Gwen could see the pain in his eyes at the mere idea.
She fell silent. She hadn't been expecting the bolt of anguish that shot through her when he said he would let her go. It took her breath away. Gwen stared at the floor, wondering what she should say to fix this, but nothing came to mind. She felt his eyes on her and looked up to find Neo looking her up and down.
“I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Do you want to go up and eat or call for something to be delivered?”
The last thing she'd expected was the sudden change of subject, and she didn't have an answer. She was still trying to process his question when her stomach rumbled and her dragon growled Food into her mind. Gwen couldn't help but laugh. “I guess I'm hungrier than I realized.” She glanced down at what she'd thrown on before calling her alpha and shrugged. “We might as well go upstairs, I guess.”
“Great, let me get dressed first.” Neo gave her a playful grin and went to the closet. He kept glancing back at her as if expecting something but she didn’t know what to say, so she remained quiet.
9
Neo had hated when she asked if he would let her go, but Neo had been honest. As much as it would hurt, if that's what it took to make her happy, he would let her go. He hoped to the gods it wouldn't happen. Though, with the way his life worked, that's probably exactly what he would have to do. Maybe the fates had found a new way to punish him. Give him his mate, dangle that kind of happiness in front of him, and then make him give it up. Losing her just might break him in a way nothing he'd lived through yet had.
Gwen had looked so sad and heartbroken when he'd admitted if it was what had to happen for her to be happy, he would let her go, that he'd had to lighten the mood somehow, and the gnawing ache in his middle had been as good a reason as any.
Now, as he sat in an out of the way corner of the all-you-can-eat buffet, which was just one of the many facilities inside the MesoAmerican he oversaw, he waited for her to bring her plate back to the table, thinking about how to keep things more upbeat. He didn't want her to think too much about going home, or the possibility of losing the negotiation job.
“Looks like you had no trouble finding something you like,” he said as she set her plate on the table and took the seat across from him.
“No, there's plenty to choose from, and it all looks fresh and tasty.”
“I do try.” He shot her a grin as he popped a cube of chilled cantaloupe into his mouth.
“You?”
“Me. This is my normal position. My assistant is handling things this week, but I oversee all the restaurants in the resort.”
Their plates were about half-empty when Neo spotted Teya heading in their direction.
“Hey, there you are,” his sister said as she came up beside their table.
“Gwen, this is my sister, Teya,” Neo made introductions. “Teya, this is Gwen, she's the negotiator for the Welsh clan.”
Gwen coughed and tried to make it to her feet.
“No, no. Sit down, enjoy your breakfast. I just needed to talk to Neo for a moment.” Teya waved a hand in Gwen's direction. “Can you take a break in your meetings this afternoon to come by my office, at about three?”
“We’ve decided we need to postpone our official meetings until tomorrow, so sure.”
“Oh? Is there a problem?”
“I wouldn't call it one but Gwen is afraid her alphas won't see it the same way.”
Teya frowned and looked back and forth between the two of them, Neo knew she was waiting for someone to explain.
“Pull up a chair, sis. I think you're going to need it.”
Teya's frown deepened but she pulled out a nearby chair and sat. He let her wait a moment, enjoying the suspense before he told her.
“I found my mate.”
“No way.” Teya shook her head, the disbelief on her face echoing what he'd felt the day before. Neo just grinned and waited. After a moment, she looked back and forth between Gwen and himself and her eyes went wide. “You're serious? You two are mates?”
“I didn't believe it at first either, but we are.” He looked over at Gwen, who looked uncomfortable, then back to Teya.
“Maybe the fates decided you’ve made up for your transgressions. That you’ve redeemed yourself, and the curse has been lifted.”
“I don’t know,” Neo admitted. “I tried to ignore what I was feeling, thinking I was fooling myself, but we ran into each other at the pool early this morning and things just kind of happened after that. That's why we are postponing the meeting. Gwen contacted her alpha to let him know what happened. Now she's afraid he's going to replace her here.”
“But why?” Teya turned to look at Gwen. “Surely he knows it's not something you could have controlled. Mates, once they find each other, are driven to be together. How can he punish you for that?”
“I don't know that he will, ma'am, but I had to give him the opportunity to make a different choice. He trusted me to come here and negotiate with our clan's interests uppermost in my mind, and I can’t betray that. Grigor didn’t seem to think it would make a difference, but Rhiannon may not believe I can if I'm mated to one of your dragons, much less if my mate is the other negotiator. Besides, if I went ahead and finished the negotiations without informing them of the change of circumstances, it would put things into question, and I don't want that. I've worked too hard to earn enough respect to be given this assignment.”
Teya was quiet a moment, watching Gwen as she thought. “I take it you haven't bound each other yet?” she glanced at Neo then back to Gwen.
“No, ma'am. That would only complicate things further.”
“Yes, it would, but I'll say it now. You're welcome in Vegas. You two bind things, you’re free to decide between where you want to live. If you choose to stay here, and I want to assure you, you're more than welcome, I will find a position for you. I have no problem putting women in jobs others might not.” She winked at Gwen before turning back to Neo. “Congrats, little brother. Don't forget, three o'clock, my office.” With that, she stood and spoke to Gwen one more time. “It was nice to meet you.”
“You too, and thank you for the welcome.”
“No problem.” His sister left the two of them to finish their breakfast.
“I can't believe you told her,” Gwen said under her breath.
“Why not? You told your alpha.”
“I had to.”
“She needed to know we were postponing things a little, besides, she's my sister and she's happy for us.” He smiled as he stared for a moment in the direction his sister had disappeared in, then turned back to Gwen, “I'm remiss in asking, do you have any family?”
Gwen shook her head. “No. My parents died almost a hundred years ago and they were my only blood family. My father’s best friend stepped in, took me under his wing, but Uncle Tristan has been gone some time now as well.”
“I'm sorry to hear that. We lost our parents about forty years ago. It was hard, and Teya and I had each other, I can't imagine going through it alone.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. He didn't know what else to do.
“I won't lie, it wasn't easy, but my clan did what they could to support me, and I learned to be st
ronger because of it.”
They got to know each other a little bit better while they finished eating, then went back to his apartment.
NEO STEPPED OFF THE elevator at five minutes to three, waved at the receptionist and headed down the hall toward Teya's office.
“Hi, Rachel. Is she ready for me?” he motioned at the closed door behind Teya's second in command's desk.
“Yep, she's ready and waiting.” She looked up and smiled as she saw him approach.
“Any idea what's up?”
“It's best to let her tell you. Go on in.” Rachel tilted her head toward Teya's office.
“Thanks,” he stepped past the desk and pushed the door to his sister's office open. She was sitting in her swivel chair behind the desk facing away from him, toward the wall she'd had painted to look like an ancient Aztec city. He knew it calmed her, to him, it was just another memory, and not a particularly pleasant one. “Hey, sis. You said you needed to see me?”
Teya's chair spun, and she sat for a moment watching him. “Have a seat.” She waited until he was comfortable and continued. “We have a problem, one that could seriously hamper tourism if word of it gets out.” She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. “This is not something I want to saddle you with, but you need to know to make sure you and our visitors remain safe. At the same time, you need to be very careful what you tell them because it could severely cripple our side of the negotiations.”
“Speaking of the negotiations. What exactly are we negotiating? It's been widely known for a long time, everyone is welcome in Vegas. I'm not sure why we're just now concentrating on making special treaties for individual groups?”
“Vegas being an open territory is common knowledge in this country, but they do things differently in the older countries. Most of Europe and Asia want treaties in place, even if they just state we have an alliance, they can visit and we will take any offense against them as an offense against the clan. We want them to feel safe enough to come visit.” She paused, then shot him a knowing smile. “My hope is it will bring more dragons in, expose us to more people and help some of our people find mates. So far it seems to be working in our favor.”
The Dragon Chronicles_City of Sin Page 22
