Steele (4 page)

It also helped that he was absolutely gorgeous.

He was so tall, she felt dwarfed by him. And not only was he tall, he was heavily built, like a football player. He shaved his head and it looked good on him. His eyes were a cool, silvery gray that seemed to see more than what was on the surface. He had the squarest jaw she’d ever seen. And his neck, corded with muscle, drove her to distraction.

“If you want me to,” Steele said. “Maybe we can have lunch together?”

“That would be nice,” she said, feeling like an awkward teenager.

“I’ll see you later then.” He turned and left her there.

Marla leaned on her cane and knocked on Ryan’s door. He called for her to enter and she did. “Hello there,” he said. “You must be the lovely Marla Rivers.”

“Hi.” The lights flickered wildly and Marla sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to keep from doing that.”

“That, my dear, is why you’re here with us today.” Ryan smiled and rose from his seat behind the massive mahogany desk.

“My name is Ryan Murdock. My father started this project some fifty years ago. I’m now in charge of Sterling’s affairs.”

“Steele said you were funded by the government.”

“Absolutely. We study and catalogue people like you. Gifted people, with talents not unlike your own.”

“Sounds interesting.” She tried not to fidget under Ryan’s deep blue gaze. He looked as if he could see straight into the center of her, as if he could uncover all of her secrets with but a look.

“You’ve made the best decision in coming here to us, Marla. We’ll have your gifts figured out in no time, you’ll see. And you’ll be able to learn about them yourself in the doing. Come with me and I’ll introduce you to the team of scientists I’ve assigned to your case.”

Marla followed him from the room. They walked down a long corridor, one that reminded her of the hospital that had been her home for nearly two years. People passed them by, each nodding a hello to her and Ryan. One man in particular caught her attention—Johnny. Or Vicious. Whatever his name was. He was tall and dark and handsome, with pale green eyes and chocolate brown hair, still dressed in the long coat he’d worn last night when he’d guarded her. He winked at her rakishly as he passed and Marla couldn’t help but smile.

“Pay no attention to Vicious. He’s a devil, that one,” Ryan said after noticing her interest in the passing man.

Ryan led Marla to an elevator, which took them deep into the bowels of the massive compound. Four levels below the ground they stopped and exited into another labyrinth of corridors and offices. Marla tried not to be overwhelmed by it all, but she couldn’t help feeling a little awe.

“How will I ever find my way out of here?” she had to ask.

“You’ll have an escort until you’re used to the surroundings. Don’t worry, we won’t let you get lost,” Ryan assured her.

He led her to a room and ushered her in.

Three men and two women in white lab coats greeted them.

“Marla, this is your team. They’ll be working nonstop to help you understand and control your new abilities. This is Jeff, Mark, Richard, Alice and Deirdre.”

Marla shook each of their hands in turn.

“Well,” Ryan clapped his hands together, “I’ll leave you all to it then.”

Marla watched him go and felt a moment of panic. But it subsided as Deirdre came and put her arm about Marla’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you. Come, let me show you a little of what we’ll be doing today.”

* * * * *

Lunchtime came quickly for Marla and her team. The entire morning had been spent going through test after test. A CAT scan, a brainwave monitor and a urine test had been the first steps on the agenda. Marla didn’t know what these tests would reveal to her new colleagues that hadn’t already been revealed to her many doctors back at the hospital. But Jeff had been certain that they were already making progress.

Time had flown and now Marla looked forward to seeing Steele once more.

She made her way to the cafeteria with the rest of her team, ignoring the flickering of the lights as she entered the room and grabbing a tray of lunch, realizing that she was quite famished. She turned, bumping into someone’s chest, and was jolted out of her musings. “Sorry,” she said, and raised her eyes to meet Steele’s cool gray gaze.

He smiled gently. “It’s all right. How have you been faring?”

“So far, so good.” She led them to a vacant table and they sat opposite each other. “They’ve done quite a few small tests so far. Just hooking me up to machines and covering me with electrodes, stuff like that.”

“Ugh. I hate the electrode cream they use,” Steele said.

Marla chuckled. “Me too.”

They ate their lunches in a companionable silence for several minutes.

Marla almost hated to break the soothing silence. “So what do you do here? I’ve been told that you live here in the compound.”

Steele nodded. “You’ve asked about me?”

Marla blushed.

A small smile played at the corner of Steele’s mouth. “I’ve lived here since I was thirteen. I like it here. It’s safe for a person like me.”

“What about your parents?”

Steele’s smile disappeared. “My mom died giving birth to me and my father…well, let’s just say I don’t miss him much.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“Don’t worry about it. What about you? How are your parents faring after these new developments?”

“My mom is all I have, and she’s nothing but supportive of me. She and I don’t talk much about my new quirks, but we both know they’re there. Without her help I never would have made it out of the hospital.”

“I understand that your coma lasted a year,” he said.

“Yeah, it was a long time. I lost most of my motor skills and had to relearn how to walk. It was hard work, but I had very determined physical therapists and they assured me I was recovering with great speed.”

“How did you end up in the coma?” Steele asked.

Marla blushed. “I was putting a lightbulb into the ceiling fan at my house and I fell. It’s not glamorous but there it is. I don’t remember much. For me, no time passed from that fall—heck, I hardly remember the fall itself—to when I woke up in the hospital over a year later.”

“That sounds frightening,” he said.

“Only if I think about it.” She shrugged with a grimace.

Her eyes drank in the sight of his delectable mouth as it twisted into a wry grin. “This place can help you heal,” he said.

“I’m starting to believe you’re right about that.” She couldn’t help a rush of desire as his beautiful eyes roved over her face, searching out the truth of her statement.

He cleared his throat and looked away, almost guiltily. “Uh, are you doing anything tonight?” he asked.

Marla’s heart beat double time. “No.”

“Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“I’d love it.” She would.

Steele rose, grabbing his now empty tray. “If you’ll still be here around six, I can come fetch you and take you back to my apartment. I’ll make a meal you’ll never forget.”

Marla grinned. “That sounds lovely.”

Steele nodded and turned, leaving her there.

She focused on her lunch, mind in a quandary as she thought back over the day’s events. Between each thought was an image of Steele, taking her off guard. He was certainly handsome enough for her to daydream about, but she was far too old for such frivolous musings. She tried valiantly to push him away and concentrate instead on what lay ahead of her in the lab.

Johnny Vicious plopped down into Steele’s vacated seat a few minutes later. “Hey there,” he said.

Marla started and dropped her fork. Before it could land, Vicious’ hand struck out—so fast she couldn’t follow the movement with her eyes—and caught it neatly. She smiled at him, amazed at his speed. “Hey yourself.”

“Sorry about last night.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m over it now.” She grinned. “So why are you here? What do you do for Sterling besides guard people like me?”

“I’m the result of an experiment gone bad,” he laughed.

Marla started. “What do you mean?”

“I was part of a sleep deprivation study here and it didn’t work out. Now I just do odd jobs for Sterling.”

“Sounds fun I guess.”

“It is,” he countered, and grinned. “So I hear you’re recovering from a coma and there are…complications, shall we say, brought on by your big sleep.”

“You act as though you hear about people like me all the time.”

“Around here you do.” He smiled slyly. “I also see you’ve taken a liking to our big guy Steele.”

Marla growled. “You’re not a very nice man, are you, Johnny Vicious?”

“Oh I can be very nice when I want to be,” he laughed.

Marla rose, but Vicious stopped her by reaching across the table to grab her arm. “I didn’t mean to rile you,” he said. “I just wanted to tell you that Steele is a good man. He’s a true gentleman.”

“Whereas you aren’t?”

“Guilty.” He jumped from his seat so fast that if Marla had blinked she would have missed the move. “Well, I’m off. Take care of yourself and the big guy, would you Marla? I like to think of Steele as a friend and I can already tell just by looking at you both together that you two need each other. Be good to him.” He walked jauntily away, leaving her dumbfounded in his wake.

Chapter Four

Steele came around to pick her up from the lab at precisely six o’clock. He watched as Deirdre removed the last of the electrodes from Marla’s temples, a strong, silent support that Marla greatly appreciated.

“We’ll see you tomorrow at the same time,” Mark called out as she rose and went to Steele.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then.” She waved goodbye to her team members and allowed Steele to lead her out of the room.

“I hope you like spaghetti,” Steele told her, taking her down the winding corridors of the Sterling compound. “I make it from scratch.”

Marla was impressed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had spaghetti that didn’t come straight from a box before.”

“I like to cook. It gives me time to think,” he said.

“I’m lucky if I can make toast without burning it,” she chuckled.

Steele led her through hallway after hallway until Marla was completely disoriented. Finally they came to a door, which Steele opened and allowed her to step through first.

Steele’s apartment was a working contrast against its owner. Where Steele was large and strong, much of his décor was delicate and homey. Marla walked into the sitting room and looked around. It was done in soft hues of vanilla and neutral beiges. It was a soothing room. Comfortable. And already the delicious smells of his still-cooking food were filling the air.

Marla noticed right away the several bonsai trees placed here and there about the room. “You practice bonsai?” she asked, surprised.

“I try. My hands are sometimes too big for it though,” he replied softly.

The trees, so small and delicate, were lovely and she told him so. “How many do you have?”

“I just acquired my seventeenth.”

It spoke volumes about him, that he took such great care of things so much more delicate than he was. “Wow. You’ve got a lot more patience than I do, that’s for certain.”

“I just like to know that I’m taking care of something that needs me,” he said with a slight blush.

Marla thought his words and sentiment were beautiful. She took a deep breath of the air to steady her suddenly fraying nerves and smelled the wonderful aroma of the spaghetti. “That smells great.” She sniffed again and smiled.

“This way.” He took her deeper into the apartment. His kitchen, off the left side of the sitting room, was large for such a small apartment, with enough room for a small breakfast table within. Marla looked at the table, already set with delicately fine china and tall candlesticks.

“How lovely.” She came forward to run her finger down the curve of a plate decorated with tiny orchids.