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Chapter Twelve
Appearance and attitude were everything.Not that Ellie had ever worried about that before. However, one thing her friend Madge had told her when she’d first started working at the call center was that the tone she used with the person who needed her could determine the outcome. If she showed doubt, the person wouldn’t be able to trust her. If she guided them with definite confidence, they’d follow her instructions and survive.
Now, she needed to exude power and control, not only so she could believe it herself, but to support Sam and fool Finch.
Ellie had to admit that dressing up was something she wasn’t at all familiar with. She did have a nice outfit or two at home for those events requiring one, but nothing as chic as what she’d discovered in the room.
Sam had told her Finch had provided anything they’d need. However, when she was kidnapped, Ellie didn’t know they’d be locked in a gilded cage.
As Sam took a shower in the other bathroom, leaving her the en-suite one, Ellie had some work to do. After a good scrub under the shower the first sight of her body in front of the mirror made her wince. After foraging through the endless rows of drawers, she found upscale make-up that would do to conceal most of the bruises. She did her best to apply her make-up without turning herself into a clown. Her black hair was, as usual, difficult to tame but she decided to use pomade. The final result was surprisingly nice, giving her a regale and more glacial elegance, intensified by her clear blue eyes.
The walk-in wardrobe was filled with so many clothes, it was dizzying. Not all of them fit her small frame, but she found an evening dress made of crushed, pale blue velvet that made her look like a lick of frost. With its off-the-shoulder design, the fabric covered enough of her damaged skin to give the impression that nothing had happened. She was tempted to don the highest heels she could find, but the fear of ruining her plan by stumbling made her decide on sparkly sandals with more sensible heels.
Ready for battle, Ellie pushed her shoulders back before joining Sam in the living room.
Standing by the large window, hands in his pockets, his gaze was lost in the night landscape before him, but when she stepped into the room, his eyes went to her.
The intensity of his silver gaze would’ve burned if she hadn’t been entranced at the way he looked. Clad in a black tuxedo that outlined his muscled body, his black hair was combed back, revealing his strong jaw. She was happy he hadn’t shaved, as she liked the stubble on him. He appeared both sophisticated and dangerous, turning her legs to jelly. Also, there was an air about him she hadn’t seen before, bringing an additional punch to the effect he already had on her.
At last, Ellie shook herself back to the present. “I hope I look all right. I’ve never dressed formally before.”
Sam came closer and she shivered under his sweeping gaze. “You’re perfection. A fairy queen about to reign over her court.”
Somehow, his poetic words alleviated her stress and struck a chord deep inside her chest. “I’m not queen, or a fairy. But you, in that light, look like a warrior prince ready to conquer the world, to defeat his enemies.”
It was subtle, but a veiled sadness passed in front of his eyes, along with a hesitation that made Ellie reach for him. “I’m sorry. I said that in admiration, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “You didn’t know.”
“Know what?”
Once again, he looked into her eyes, and it broke her to see so much pain and agony in this fierce man. “I come from a nomadic tribe, that lives deep in the desert. My mother was a princess there.” His gaze lost focus, as he lost himself in his memories. “I remember a little of that time. It was a simpler life, where there was time to admire the stars and lose ourselves in the fire’s flame at night.”
As he spoke, Ellie was, for a brief instant, transported to his world, to a time of innocence that should have stretched way longer for him.
“It sounds like a dream, a perfect world.”
Sam ran his fingers up her arms. “It was, but after... when I grew up, I had to leave. It felt like I didn’t belong anymore. But the outside world wasn’t welcoming to a young man who knew nothing of reality, or modernization.”
A slight quirk of his mouth encouraged her to pull on that thread, lighten his dark mood. “No internet? No coffee?”
Now he gave her a full grin that made her feel like the queen he’d described so beautifully. “I won’t tell you any of the stupid things I did when I set foot in a big city for the first time, but let’s just say that it was an interesting time. Everything moved fast after that, and I enlisted in the Army. My life unfolded in the most unexpected way.”
“Admit that your life without pizza was dull and empty.”
His laughter, deep and rich filled the room, and Ellie vowed to do everything in her power to make him laugh again. In that moment, she could see the man he could be without the heaviness that pulled him down.
His smiling mouth descended on hers and she tasted his joy, and the kiss soon heated.
Every other thought vanished from her head as he pressed against the entire length of her body. Immediately, all the hunger she still felt for him, everything she wanted to experience again after their first encounter, resurfaced.
Breathless, it was Sam who pulled away, breaking the kiss although his grip on her arms tightened a bit. “How could I lose all sense of time and place when you kiss me like that? Even when we are about to meet with the devil himself.”
Even if she had to agree, Ellie found it fascinating that everything felt so bright and vivid when he was close. If life was returning to him, it was the same for her, and she wasn’t about to let him forget that. “I can’t help it. You’re a great kisser.”
The remnant of his smile remained. “I smeared your lipstick.”
“Let’s say it was a team effort. One I hope we can repeat, Mr... Oh! I don’t know your last name. I’m guessing it’s not Finch.”
