Dark Desire by Shannan Albright Page B

…
situation downstairs.” Lucien’s gravel deep voice could barely be heard against
a backdrop of angry shouts and threats.
    “I can hear,” he
retorted. “Lock the fucking lobby down and meet me in my office.” He cut him
off, this time setting his cell on the table, and shoved his fingers in his
hair as he paced in front of the windows of his high rise.
    “You need to
leave.” The soft accented voice stroked over his skin, a soothing balm. Calming his rage. How Leola could calm his wolf down with
just her voice was a mystery to him.
    His head turned
toward her, hunger sharpening to near pain as he stilled, his gaze raking over
her slim body dressed in form fitting jeans and a tight low scooped sweater of
deep blue. Her dark skin shimmered as the sunlight touched her, and he suddenly
envied the light wanting his hands where those rays were flowing over her. The
sway of her hips as she moved mesmerized him, and his hands itched to grab
those hips and pull her up flush to his hardening groin.
    “Leola.” The
reality of the situation slammed into his gut with the force of a sledgehammer.
“I need you to go. I have a place in Washington State…”
    She stopped in
front of him, placing one slender finger to his lips to still his words. “Not
without you. Don’t ask this of me.”
    He gently took
her hand in his, turning her palm up for his kiss, his gaze snared by the
glittering moisture of unshed tears in her dark eyes. “I can’t do what needs to
be done when I’m worried about your safety.”
    “I am not
without resources, love. I must be by your side. Turn me away, and I will just
come back.” Her chin lifted with stubborn defiance.
    His argument
died on his lips as Lucien charged through the door with as much elegance as a
bull in a china shop. “We gotta go now. They broke
through the lobby. I locked the elevators, but it will be only a matter of time
before they burst through the door to the emergency stairwell.”
    Temple took a
quick look around his office, cataloguing in his mind anything he had to take.
Only one thing came to mind, and with quick strides he moved to his desk. He
ran his thumb against a button underneath the left edge and pressed. With a
metallic click a compartment sprang free revealing a small metal disc. Oman’s
Seal in those human idiots’ hands would be worse than giving a monkey a machine
gun.
    Slipping it into
his trouser pocket he grabbed Leola’s hand and pulled her to him and grabbed
his cell. “We don’t have the time to argue about this now. Let’s get the hell
out of here.”
      Lucien led them past the stairwell, and the
sound of angry voices and pounding feet grew louder as they ran past, stopping
at a door labeled janitorial supplies. The door barely shut behind them when
the sounds of shouts, breaking glass, and furniture being overturned carried to
their hiding place.
    Mob mentality at its finest , Temple thought
drily. And the Enforcers wondered why he wouldn’t lift a finger to help a human.
    The space was
tight with the three of them crammed in between buckets, mops, and cleansers.
He squeezed Leola’s hand in reassurance, noticing, even with the dim lighting
from one single overhead bulb, the paleness of her face, fear haunting her dark
eyes. The sharp stab of anger surged through his system, and he hated Amari
even more for putting his woman in such danger.
    Yes, he
admitted, if only to himself , Leola was his. He loved
her and would do everything in his power to see her safe and happy. Lucien made
a soft chuffing sound, bringing him back to their present situation. Quietly he
shifted as far back as he could, pulling Leola with him to give Lucien room to
maneuver. With silent efficiency his second in command reached up the far
corner of the back wall and placed his hand flush with it.
    With a click and
whirr of bolts being released the wall slid open with only a whisper of sound,
showing another emergency staircase, one no one but Temple and Lucien