piece of bittersweet chocolate at intervals, one perhaps filled with a ganache glorious enough to stop your heart, and milk chocolate with caramel tastes all the more luscious.”
He spared her a considering look. “I will pass along the suggestion, madam.”
Athena held his gaze. “If I were talking to you, however, I would not that there must be jurisdiction issues.”
“I don’t understand…”
“Of course you do,” Athena interrupted. “Isn’t it basic spy craft that people are more readily recognized from behind? I should have to be much less observant than I am to have failed to realize that you passed me in front of my home not two hours ago, albeit without the uniform. That you should be here, where I’ve arranged my flight, is beyond the possibility of coincidence.”
He remained crouched before her but watched her features with care.
“Yet you are American, or I am a crumpet.”
A fleeting smile curved his lips, all the more enticing for its brevity. “Is that a crime?”
“No, but it does raise the issue of jurisdiction, since I’ve learned that some legal authority is trying to discern the details of my business. I’m not stupid and neither are you.” She leaned down and heard him catch his breath in a most satisfactory manner. “And I don’t want my government wasting money in the pursuit of law-abiding taxpayers.”
His eyes narrowed. He packed up his case and stood to leave.
Athena put her hand on his arm and he froze. “Our goals aren’t that different,” she said quietly. “You want inside. I want to prove our innocence. There’s a very simple way to accomplish both.”
He said nothing, simply fixed his silver gaze upon her.
Oh, he was something special.
“I find I have a need for a personal assistant. That individual will have to apply to the club like anyone else, and make a good argument for his skills.”
His tone was wary. “A personal assistant?”
“Extremely personal,” Athena clarified. “We have a rigorous application process at The Phoenix, including a number of contracts to be signed and medical qualifications to be fulfilled. It’s not easy to get a job with me, although it does have its reward.” His gaze flicked to hers again, and away. “But if you think about it, such a role would be the only way to be truly sure of what was going on.”
He was thinking about it.
She would fantasize about it.
Athena spun away from him, pausing only for a final comment. “In the meantime, let me make your surveillance task easier. I’ll be back in five days, at roughly the same time. In the outside chance that we are going to be working together, I’ll be able to offer you a ride back to the house.”
She strode away, knowing his gaze was fixed upon her and liking it a lot.
Let Rex be the one who planned and schemed behind the scenes, who calculated risk and moved with caution. Athena was his opposite in that, charging into the midst of conflict and throwing caution to the winds each time.
In truth, it was the only time she felt fully alive.
She was tingling with anticipation in this moment, and it wasn’t just about the preparations at Windswept. He stayed at the terminal, watching as the helicopter lifted into the air. Athena didn’t wave, even though she knew he could see her.
It would do her Lone Wolf good to worry a bit about his application.
* * *
The next erotic novella in The Phoenix Series is
Harnessed
Coming Soon!
Books by Ella Ardent
The Phoenix Series
Revealed
Harnessed (coming soon)
* * *
The Plume Series
Submission
Surrender
Seduction
Deception
Exhibition
Exposure
Flashback
Switch
Celebration
The Plume erotic novellas are also available in anthologies, in print and digital editions, each containing three novellas.
The Plume: The First Anthology
The Plume: The Second Anthology
The Plume: The Third Anthology
* * *
The Wedding Trilogy
The Best Man
Always A
He spared her a considering look. “I will pass along the suggestion, madam.”
Athena held his gaze. “If I were talking to you, however, I would not that there must be jurisdiction issues.”
“I don’t understand…”
“Of course you do,” Athena interrupted. “Isn’t it basic spy craft that people are more readily recognized from behind? I should have to be much less observant than I am to have failed to realize that you passed me in front of my home not two hours ago, albeit without the uniform. That you should be here, where I’ve arranged my flight, is beyond the possibility of coincidence.”
He remained crouched before her but watched her features with care.
“Yet you are American, or I am a crumpet.”
A fleeting smile curved his lips, all the more enticing for its brevity. “Is that a crime?”
“No, but it does raise the issue of jurisdiction, since I’ve learned that some legal authority is trying to discern the details of my business. I’m not stupid and neither are you.” She leaned down and heard him catch his breath in a most satisfactory manner. “And I don’t want my government wasting money in the pursuit of law-abiding taxpayers.”
His eyes narrowed. He packed up his case and stood to leave.
Athena put her hand on his arm and he froze. “Our goals aren’t that different,” she said quietly. “You want inside. I want to prove our innocence. There’s a very simple way to accomplish both.”
He said nothing, simply fixed his silver gaze upon her.
Oh, he was something special.
“I find I have a need for a personal assistant. That individual will have to apply to the club like anyone else, and make a good argument for his skills.”
His tone was wary. “A personal assistant?”
“Extremely personal,” Athena clarified. “We have a rigorous application process at The Phoenix, including a number of contracts to be signed and medical qualifications to be fulfilled. It’s not easy to get a job with me, although it does have its reward.” His gaze flicked to hers again, and away. “But if you think about it, such a role would be the only way to be truly sure of what was going on.”
He was thinking about it.
She would fantasize about it.
Athena spun away from him, pausing only for a final comment. “In the meantime, let me make your surveillance task easier. I’ll be back in five days, at roughly the same time. In the outside chance that we are going to be working together, I’ll be able to offer you a ride back to the house.”
She strode away, knowing his gaze was fixed upon her and liking it a lot.
Let Rex be the one who planned and schemed behind the scenes, who calculated risk and moved with caution. Athena was his opposite in that, charging into the midst of conflict and throwing caution to the winds each time.
In truth, it was the only time she felt fully alive.
She was tingling with anticipation in this moment, and it wasn’t just about the preparations at Windswept. He stayed at the terminal, watching as the helicopter lifted into the air. Athena didn’t wave, even though she knew he could see her.
It would do her Lone Wolf good to worry a bit about his application.
* * *
The next erotic novella in The Phoenix Series is
Harnessed
Coming Soon!
Books by Ella Ardent
The Phoenix Series
Revealed
Harnessed (coming soon)
* * *
The Plume Series
Submission
Surrender
Seduction
Deception
Exhibition
Exposure
Flashback
Switch
Celebration
The Plume erotic novellas are also available in anthologies, in print and digital editions, each containing three novellas.
The Plume: The First Anthology
The Plume: The Second Anthology
The Plume: The Third Anthology
* * *
The Wedding Trilogy
The Best Man
Always A
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