by Alexis Davie
Oryn watched in amazement as Adley left the office and closed the door behind her. He looked down at his arm and the number written on his skin. Her number. She had willingly written her number on his arm, which meant she wanted him to call her. Success!
A stupid and goofy grin formed on his lips, but he didn’t care. Things were moving exactly into the direction he wanted them to, and everything else was just background.
His phone vibrating on the desk brought him back to reality, and he quickly answered it.
“It’s me,” said Lync.
Oryn’s smile faded, and he cleared his throat. “Hey. What’s going on?”
“The pack was sighted near Mount Aspiring National Park a few days ago.”
“They’re getting closer.”
“Yeah, pretty fast, too. My scouts haven’t been able to find their exact location yet, but we have eyes all around the park.”
“Find them. I don’t want them to cross over onto the North Island.”
“Yes, Oryn.”
“This is important, Lync. Please. If you see them, take them out.”
“I will. I just love a bit of wolf meat.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“I’ll call you when it’s done.”
Oryn listened as the call disconnected and lowered his phone. He turned, jaw clenched, and walked over to the window. He stared out at the Auckland skyline in front of him, lights flickering, and a feeling of dread replaced the warm and fuzzy feelings Adley had made him feel.
They knew where he was, and they were coming for him. Luckily, he was ready.
6
Adley glanced out the window of the car Oryn had sent to pick her up from her apartment and took a deep breath. She was feeling very nervous about meeting him at his house, even though it was only to talk marketing strategies. Ever since he had kissed her in his office, Adley felt like she was living in a dream, walking on air, and all those horrible clichés there were about being in love, only Adley was convinced it wasn’t really love. It couldn’t be.
She hadn’t known Oryn for very long, and although she wanted to kiss him again and again and again, it couldn’t be love. Love was complicated and difficult, but the feelings she felt when she was with Oryn were easy and natural. Was that what everyone meant when they talked about how love was supposed to be? Could it really be as simple as that?
Adley had never known love like that. To her, love was painful and terrifying, tiring and soul wrenching. In retrospect, maybe that wasn’t love at all. Maybe Adley had simply had the terrible skill of attracting the wrong men; the dangerous and manipulative kind. Now she had the chance to finally have something with a good man who made her feel things she had never felt before. Plus, he was an incredible kisser, and even just thinking about it made Adley’s cheeks flush.
She glanced down at herself, hoping she had picked the right clothes for the occasion, although she wasn’t really sure what the right clothes were and whether it was an occasion at all. At least her bran and underwear matched, and that only made her feel more nervous. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about what it would be like to have sex with Oryn, but it would be so much more than that. He was the kind of man who would make love to a woman—hopefully her—and treat her like the goddess she was.
The car suddenly came to a stop, and Adley glanced out of the window. She hadn’t even realized that the car had driven through the large gates, which were now behind the car, and onto the steep driveway leading to the house. Even before she climbed out, the driver was already opening her door, and she smiled at him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, miss. Allow me to escort you into the house.”
Adley climbed out of the car and followed him to the house. He opened the door with a key card, almost like a hotel, and once she stepped inside, her jaw dropped. It was the most beautiful, elegant design she had ever seen in her life. It had crafted woodgrain concrete walls and high ceilings. The floors were from the same wood as the walls, and the full-length windows finished off the architecture of the house. The entire place, as well as the furniture, reminded her of Oryn’s office, and for some strange reason, she felt instantly at home.
“Mr. Veskovic is out on the terrace. Follow me.” Of course Oryn’s house would have a terrace. The man had a driver, for heaven’s sake.
Adley looked around her in awe. The house electrified her senses, and the anticipation of seeing him in his own home was almost too much to bear. She wondered, for a moment, what he would be wearing before shoving a possible visual out of her mind.
No funny business, Adley, she reminded herself. She was just there to talk about the company’s marketing strategies. Sure, and I just went into his office to apologize.
The driver opened the glass doors to the terrace, and she stepped outside.
The view was absolutely breathtaking, and she gasped. The ocean lay before her, shimmering in the sunlight, and small boats were floating around in the water. The white clouds moved slowly along the sky, while green trees framed the bottom of the view. The wooden deck boasted an outdoor fireplace to her right, a swimming pool in front of her, and a set of wooden stairs disappearing into the trees below.
Her eye caught movement on her right, and when she turned her head, she saw Oryn standing close to the fireplace, holding a drink in his hand. He was casually dressed in a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt making him look like just another normal guy. A normal guy who was incredibly hot.
“Hey,” Adley greeted him with a shy smile. Luckily, she had decided to wear something just as casual: also a pair of jeans and a black off the shoulder top.
“Don’t you look nice.”
“Thank you. I could say the same about you.”
Oryn grinned and slowly approached her. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Sure, I’ll have whatever you’re having,” she replied.
He raised his glass to her, and poured her a vodka soda. “Same as mine. Just not as strong.”
He handed her the glass, and the pungent smell of vodka filled her nostrils. Adley wasn’t a big drinker, so she wasn’t sure how well this would go down. She may just do something that she wouldn’t normally do. Maybe that was exactly what she needed, something new and exciting; something she wouldn’t regret not doing.
She raised the glass to her lips and took a small sip. Much to her surprise, it tasted mildly sweet and slid down her throat quite smoothly and comfortably.
“Your house is amazing, and this view? I have never seen anything like it,” Adley commented. She was glad she had the drink to keep her hands occupied as she felt really nervous and out of place.
“Thank you. I bought this house solely for the view, and of course, the interior matched my personal style,” Oryn explained. “When I stepped inside for the first time, I felt like I was home, like the wooden floors and the walls were calling out to me. Then, if I wasn’t already sold on the house, the realtor made me stand right here where we’re standing now and showed me this view. I was instantly smitten.”
“It’s magnificent. It must be amazing waking up in the morning to watch the sunrise,” she sighed dreamily.
“Maybe I’ll show you sometime,” he offered coyly.
Adley looked at him and cleared her throat. “We should talk about the marketing strategies.”
“Right,” Oryn said and finished his drink. “Let’s get to it then.”
They sat down on the outdoor couches in front of the fire and talked a little business. Oryn shared his vision for the company, and Adley came up with a few great ideas on how to minimize advertising and marketing costs, although it didn’t seem like Oryn needed to worry about overspending. His company was flourishing and was highly successful, but Adley understood that he was still a businessman, and the less he could spend on marketing, the higher his profit margin would be.
He listened tentatively as she went on about using local press for their advertisi
ng, as opposed to foreign companies who charged nearly triple the price a local one would. Oryn seemed to be very impressed with her ideas as he leaned in to listen more closely.
Once business talk was over, Oryn poured another round of drinks.
“I’m curious,” Adley said. “Why data storage?”
“Why not? It is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. With everything going digital, people want to know their data is safe without having to back everything up on hard drives. It’s less complicated, very compact, and people don’t have to cart around drives with them all the time. They can access their veils, as in GreenVeil, anywhere in the world, wherever they log into from any computer or laptop. Even their data on their tablets or phones is backed up with us,” Oryn explained.
“And are you the brains behind this whole thing?” she asked.
“Surprisingly, no. I am not a hardcore software developer, and sometimes I have trouble with even the most trivial thing. I just had the idea, and I hired a bunch of people who are experts in their field. They made it all happen, and I just paid for it.”
“So you were rich before you started the company?” she asked bluntly, and no sooner than the words came from her lips, she regretted them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“That’s okay,” Oryn chuckled. “I have been lucky to have help from my family. My father made sure my brothers and I were set for life with land, businesses, and other financial resources. Although I have built most of my empire on my own.”
I can imagine,” Adley smiled. “You’re very good at running a company, which is obvious by how successful GreenVeil is. Did you get your business savvy from your father?”
“One of the very few things I got from him, yes.”
“Is your father still in the business game?” she asked.
“He keeps himself busy with smaller projects, but recently, he’s been doing volunteer work with my mother. They’re out saving the world one orphan at a time. When my mother isn’t visiting us, you know.” He shrugged.
“Does she visit often?”
“I would say too often, but that would make me a terrible son.”
“I doubt that. You can’t be terrible at anything, even if you tried,” Adley said. She briefly glanced at Oryn before gazing down at her drink.
“You know, that kiss in my office,” he said softly, which caused her to look at him. “It was so good; I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since it happened.”
“Neither could I,” she admitted. “Why do you think that is?”
“I have a theory.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Oryn shifted closer to her to her. “I think that everyone on this earth has someone who is perfect for them. Someone who was made especially for them. Now, most people don’t get to experience this in their lifetime, because they decided to settle for someone who they feel only lukewarm about and makes them feel lukewarm inside.”
“You really believe that?” she questioned, her voice low.
“Don’t you?”
“I don’t really know what exactly I believe. I tried to follow my heart, but that just led me to the wrong paths, and when I tried to follow my head, it landed me in even more trouble.”
“It’s not about following your heart or your head, Adley, it’s about listening to your soul and whose soul talks to your own.”
“That’s pretty deep,” she said.
“All I can say is, sitting here with you, my soul is going absolutely crazy for yours,” Oryn murmured.
“Mine, too,” Adley breathed and leaned in, kissing him on the lips.
They tasted even better than before. The taste of the vodka on his tongue caused her to shiver with delight. His strong arms pulled her onto him, and she allowed it without a shred of hesitation. As their kissing grew more intense, Adley felt like she would burst into flames. She wanted him, all of him, right at that moment. She pulled away from him slowly and stared deeply into his green eyes, filled with desire.
“I think we should continue this somewhere else,” she whispered.
“I think so, too,” he agreed. In one swift and effortless move, Oryn scooped her up in his arms, stood from the couch, and went inside. As he walked through the house and up the stairs, not even breaking a sweat with her in his arms, Adley tried to reason with herself whether this was the right thing to do.
She wasn’t the kind of woman who would just have sex with someone without getting to know him first, but as Oryn set her down gently on his very comfortable bed, her mind went completely blank. She watched him take off his shirt, revealing his lean and toned torso. She finally saw what was hiding underneath those expensive shirts of his.
She felt her body temperature soar. His gaze was still fixed on hers, and she had to get her clothes off as soon as possible. She slipped her top over her head and dropped it on the floor. Slowly removing her jeans, she silently expressed intense gratitude to herself for wearing matching underwear. She noticed the desire in Oryn’s eyes and took a deep breath while he took off his own jeans. Oryn joined her on the bed, kissing her again, and she fell back against the softness of the pillows. The heat of his skin against hers made everything else fade into the background, and it was just Adley and Oryn, wrapped up in one another.
Adley glanced over at Oryn, who lay beside her. His skin glowed, covered in perspiration, and a hint of a smile played on his mouth. His green eyes were luminous and fixed on hers, and she could still feel his lips all over her body. Adley had never experienced anything like that before. Sex had always been only physical to her, but with Oryn, it was so much more. He knew exactly what she wanted, what turned her on, and his timing was absolutely perfect. He made her feel things that she didn’t even know existed, but the best thing of all was when they had orgasmed together. Being so in tune with another person was something that Adley had never experienced before.
Oryn was in tune with her needs, and it didn’t make any sense to her how he could know. She usually felt scared and hesitant opening herself up to those kind of things. With Oryn, though, it was easy. She allowed him inside her mind and inside her body with ease, and there was not a shred of guilt or embarrassment.
She didn’t even feel the need to hide the nasty scar on her back, and not for a second did she notice Oryn look at it in any way that wasn’t positive. He seemed too good to be true, and normally, that was the case. The perfect man, with a perfect job, a perfect house, and that made her feel like she was on top of the world—multiple times—had to have a flaw. Everyone did.
Her eyes narrowed as she tried to think what his flaw could be, but she couldn’t think of a single thing. He was indeed perfect. Even his lovemaking was perfect.
“What?” he asked, looking at her with a slight grin
“There was nothing lukewarm about that,” Adley answered, rolled over on her side, and, as if perfectly in sync, Oryn did the same. They lay in silence for a few seconds.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” she said.
“That scar on your back,” he started, and Adley’s shoulders tightened slightly. “You know what, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay,” she assured him and weaved her fingers into the spaces between his. “I was in a very abusive relationship. He used to hurt me, a lot. The scar on my back was when he pushed me down the stairs and I fell against a mirror. I was unconscious and hurt pretty badly. I ended up in the hospital for two weeks, and I consider myself lucky that I am still alive.”
Oryn’s jaw clenched, and he closed his fingers around hers. “Where is that piece of shit now?”
“He’s still in the States. He was in prison for a short amount of time. A lifetime wouldn’t be long enough in my opinion, but it wasn’t up to me. I have a restraining order against him, but I don’t feel like that will keep me safe. He doesn’t know where I am, though.”
“What about your family? Would he ever go
after them?”
“No, he wouldn’t try that. I was the one he wanted to hurt, not them,” she told him sadly.
“I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. No one deserves to be treated like that, especially by someone who supposedly loves you.” Oryn gritted his teeth. “If I ever find him anywhere near you, I will be held responsible for my actions.”
Adley cocked her head. “And why is that?”
“Because you are special to me, and just the thought that someone did something like that to you makes me angry. You deserve so much better,” Oryn said, squeezing her hand. “I don’t ever want you to feel unsafe, Adley.”
“I don’t feel unsafe. On the contrary, this is the safest I’ve ever felt in a long time,” she murmured.
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he sighed in relief.
Adley smiled gratefully and glanced at the scar on his face. “Tell me about your scar.”
“This one?” he asked and lightly touch the spot just shy of the outer edge of his eyebrow.
“Yeah, that one. It looks like it has a very interesting story.” She curled up beside him, seeking the heat of his body.
“Well, my brothers and I were out camping when we were attacked by a wolf.”
“A wolf? Are you serious?” she gasped.
“One big ass wolf. Being the oldest, I tried to protect them. I got them all to safety in a tree, and just as I climbed up, the wolf clawed me in the face.”
“Shit, that was so close to your eye.”
“I know. My mom thought I might lose it, but luckily, it didn’t cause too much damage,” he said. “I’m just stuck with it for life.”
“I like it. It suits you,” she pointed out.
“You think so?”
“Yeah, it makes you, you. I couldn’t imagine you without it. It shows what you’ve been through, and you managed to get to the other side,” she whispered, running her finger along the feint scar. “I’m glad you’re still in one piece.”
“Me too. I can’t say the same about the wolf, though.”
