To Woo A Warrior (Southern Sanctuary) (6 page)

Rafe cleared his throat, swallowing
a grin. “Actually I was referring more to the earpiece and armour. We’re not
exactly overstocked with vests that will fit Hadleigh’s … measurements.”

Hadleigh rolled her eyes.  A
moment ago every man in the room was contemplating her butt, now every single
eye was locked on to her cleavage. She hadn’t received so much male attention
in well … forever. “Hey!” She clicked her fingers. “Eyes here!”  She
pointed to her face, secretly amused that several of the men had the grace to
blush. Not Vaughn though, she caught a glimpse of anger flashing like fire in
those burnished eyes. Great, no doubt he was unamused, already reconsidering
the idea of bringing Hadleigh into the mix.

Giving his men a hard golden look he
growled. “Go! Be busy.” Turning his head he gave Hadleigh a warm sunny smile.
“Come on you, we’ll go eat and talk.”

Vaughn gave her hand a small tug
leading her over to the elevators. Trailing behind him Hadleigh couldn’t have
been more confused. One moment the man’s sending out death looks, the next he’s
got her knees melting again with that sexy smile of his.

“You know…
”  
They
had reached the elevator and she watched as Vaughn pushed the up button. “You
don’t have to lead me around like this.”

The elevator door opened with a soft
swish, Vaughn stepped in pulling her gently in next to him. Hadleigh tried to
step away, create some
much needed
space between
them.  The elevator wasn’t small but with Vaughn next to her it felt miniscule.
She managed to take two small steps to the left before Vaughn shifted over and
filled that space.

“Careful.”  He admonished,
those gold eyes glowing with heat. “We don’t want people getting on and
separating us do we?”

Hadleigh glanced at the overhead
display dubiously. “It’s an express elevator.”

“Still.” Vaughn rested his warm arm
lightly against her own. “Better safe than sorry. It’s your first day on the
job, can’t have you getting lost.”

“So I have the job then?”

“The job was yours the moment Flynn
hit the mat. Nice moves by the way.”  Vaughn hit the button for the top
floor.  Seeming content to stand there in silence, just holding her hand
as they waited for the
elevator to rise to the 85
^th
floor
.

Chapter Seven

Hadleigh wasn’t sure exactly where
she thought Vaughn was taking her, but his own apartment on the 85
^th
floor was not one of them. She had assumed that perhaps there was a restaurant
or staff canteen up there. Instead she found herself seated at a bench in his
personal kitchen watching whilst he grilled chicken and chopped salad
ingredients. He’d tried to push a glass of wine on her when they first entered
but she’d insisted upon soda. Whilst he went about getting things together she
studied the kitchen, a gleaming modern affair, with lots of bench space,
hardwood floors and every mod con one could wish for. She wondered if he knew
how to use all that equipment, he certainly seemed
confident
enough, all his actions so far capable and quick.

Vaughn divided the salad between two
plates, added the now slightly cooled chicken pieces, drizzled a mysterious
liquid over the chicken and for a final flourish threw a handful of cashews on
top of each salad as a garnish. “
Wa-lah
, my famous
chicken and cashew honey mustard salad.”  He handed her a plate and fork,
taking a swig from his own soda as he took up a standing position across the
kitchen bench from her and commenced digging into his own salad.

To say Hadleigh was a little stunned
would be an understatement. She didn’t think a man had ever gone to the trouble
of cooking a meal for her. Even Declan was a disaster in the kitchen, barely
managing edible sandwiches when it was his turn to organise a meal.

“Thanks, this looks wonderful.”
 She dug in, more to give herself the opportunity to look away from those
intense dark gold eyes of his which seemed lit from behind with avid interest.

“You don’t talk much?” He commented.

“I’m lousy at small talk. Lucky for
me that’s not why you hired me.”

“Which raises a question, where did
you learn to move like that?”

“Mostly my Dad, he’s been training
me since I could walk to work in the family business.”

“What’s the family business?”

Hadleigh paused for a moment.
“Security.”

“Did you enjoy the work?”

“Still do … I’m just taking a break
for a month or so.”

“So you’ll only be with us short
term?” Vaughn’s tone was neutral but there was an edge to it that Hadleigh
couldn’t quite interpret.

“Yeah, I hope that’s okay. My … Aunt
is a huge fan of the show. She was concerned when she read online about
Serena’s departure and asked me to take some holiday time and see if I couldn’t
help your show make it through the season.”

“You must really love your Aunt.”

Hadleigh couldn’t help but laugh out
loud. “Actually to tell you the truth I’m slightly terrified of her.”

Vaughn froze, it was the first time
he had seen her laugh and it was all he could do not to launch
himself
over the bench, sweep her up and carry her off to
his bedroom. That husky
full throated
sound made his
insides clench and his poor cock which hadn’t been at less than half mast since
meeting this woman was back to full attention demanding satisfaction.

“It’s not a problem is it, the short
term thing?”

“Not at all, it might even allow us
time to track down Serena and coax her back.”

“She’s missing?” Hadleigh probed.

Vaughn shrugged. “She left a note
saying she was burnt out, needed some down time.  
Definitely
her handwriting.
But it was pretty abrupt and we haven’t heard from her
since. Marcus has his researchers looking in to it. So tell me about yourself …
married?”

“No.”

“Boyfriend?  Partner? 
Significant other?”

“No, no and no.” Hadleigh managed
between another
forkful
of the delicious salad. “Are
you allowed to ask employees those sorts of questions anymore?”

“I’m just trying to get to know you
better. What makes you tick so when we’re in the field I’ll feel confident
about who has my
back.
Do you live locally?” Vaughn
shot off another question.

“No.”

“So you need somewhere to stay?”

“I suppose...”

Vaughn cut her off. “You’ll stay
here, it makes sense logistically.”

Hadleigh glanced around the spacious
apartment unsure. “When you say stay here?”

Vaughn flashed a warm smile. “I
don’t mind sharing but I was actually thinking of the guest apartments we have
available on the 83
^rd
.”

“I could commute.” Thinking it might
be easier to transport in and out at the end of each day rather than expose
herself
to twenty-four hour a day Vaughn temptation.

He shook his head determinedly. “No won’t
work. During the season we’re on call. Often our destination is interstate so
we have to be ready to travel as a team a-sap.”

“Okay.” Why did she feel out
manoeuvred, first by Great Aunt Alma and now by Vaughn? “Why don’t you tell me
a little about the show and what exactly my role involves?”

Vaughn sent her another grin.
“You’ve never seen the show have you?”

“No” acknowledged Hadleigh. “But
based upon what I’ve seen so far I could take an educated guess.” She lay down
her fork, crossing her arms, leaning intently onto the kitchen bench.

Vaughn gave himself credit for not
drooling when the V-neck of her top gaped ever so slightly when she leaned
forward. “Enlighten me.” 
Grateful that he could still
form words.

“Let’s see, what would Maat’s seven
seekers of justice, balance and truth be doing working on a reality TV show?
 
Unless they were using it as cover to track down magic
nasties that threatened chaos.
How am I doing so far?”

Not only
beautiful but intuitive as well.
“How did you know?”

“The name of your company and the
mural in the front office were my first clues. Seven men gathered together in
one place,
who
just happen to be super-sized warriors;
tall, buff and sun kissed. I’d have to be a complete ninny not to put it all
together. But why a paranormal reality TV show as cover?”

Vaughn laughed softly. “Keeping our
identities off the grid became a lot harder with the introduction of computers.
So we became the Maat Corporation and went hi-tech. Plus embracing the
internet
age made our jobs that much easier.  The
average person in the street will tell you anything if they think it will
appear on TV or the
internet
.  It’s kind of
embarrassing how eager people are to contact us regarding paranormal sightings,
rumours and spill their most intimate secrets. We found a front man and the
guys and I keep our identities on the show pseudo secret with code names,
camouflage paint and caps.”

“And what type of nasties do you
track down?” Hadleigh enquired, intrigued despite
herself
.

“Any week we’re tracking four to
five active cases. Off book we deal with the usual: grommets gone techno-mad,
harpies, imps and the stray pixie. We reserve the wraiths, poltergeists and
things that go bump in the night for the camera. The show is about verifying
the paranormal.” He gave her a quick sardonic grin. “And the ghostly set is the
hardest to capture on film so we leave it up to the audience to interpret the
shadows, flickers and blips. It all comes down to editing. If you like I can
add you to the rotation for all missions not just the token ones we do for the
camera.”

“Absolutely. And can I use the work
out area for my training?”

“That’s what it’s there for. So this
family business of yours, I’m thinking with a surname like Valhalla it must
have something to do with Odin.”

Hadleigh shook her head in the
negative. “I work for my Mother’s side of the family.”

Vaughn quirked an eyebrow up, his
gold eyes remaining fixated on her.

Hadleigh shot him an exasperated
brief smile. “Honestly you’re not going to be happy until you know everything
about me are you?”

“That’s the plan.” Vaughn confirmed.

“I work for the Southern Sanctuary
as a Guardian slash family enforcer.”

“I’ve heard of the Sanctuary but
don’t really know much about it.”

“When the European magical
persecutions began several centuries ago my mother’s ancestors made their way
to the new colonies. First stop was the Americas. Not perhaps the best choice
of destinations considering the type of people who were settling there at the
time. Long story short, two days after the first witch trials commenced my
ancestors and several other like-minded individuals departed the area post
haste. My Great
Great
Great
Grandfather eventually settled the family in Australia, on the coast just over
the Queensland border. The Sanctuary now encompasses three neighbouring towns,
which also includes a rather flamboyant artistic community, great cover for
when we need to explain the more bizarre occurrences to the norms. With that
much magic in one place we attract a lot of attention from the magical set.
That’s where the family guardians come in.”

“Do you get a lot of action?” Vaughn
queried, trying to wrap his head around the idea of three whole towns inhabited
by magically inclined people.

“Sometimes too much. The problem
with that many of us in one locale
is
that we act kind
of like a magnet for magic users. Plus a lot of my relatives are elderly and
border line eccentric, they like to experiment with old
lores
and spells. It can be challenging at times.”

“But you love it.” Vaughn could tell
by the way her grey eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

“I do, it gives me a chance to
utilise my magic on a daily basis.”

“And just what is your magic?”

Hadleigh studied Vaughn for a moment
before coming to a decision. He was a Maat warrior, hopefully he would appreciate
what she could do rather than think she was some kind of freak. Hopping down
from the stool, she took a couple of steps back from the counter. She waved her
right arm out in a big figure eight. At the beginning of each arc a weapon
appeared in her right hand. First a wicked sharp dagger to be replaced a split
second later by a curved scimitar, then a broad sword, then a bowie knife, then
finally a Swiss army knife.

Vaughn was looking at her with those
intense golden eyes.  “I am so jealous right at this moment.” And turned
on, but he didn’t announce that little fact out loud.

Hadleigh grinned, appreciating his
response. “I’m a blade caller. What about you? How did you come to serve the
Goddess Maat?”

“She made me an offer I couldn’t
refuse. I could either cross the river Styx to join my ancestors or I could
return to the earthly plane to act as one of her warriors of justice and
balance.”

“You died?”

Vaughn shrugged. “The Goddess takes
away the memories of our previous life … and death when we make the agreement.”

“But aren’t you at all curious?
About who you were?  What your family was like?”

Golden eyes glowed with amusement.
“Not really. If I was, I believe I would have chosen to cross the river to be
with them. The seven of us have discussed it occasionally, what we can recall
is hazy at best.  We have managed to determine that each of us was plucked
from different eras, different cultures and transported through time.  Our
biggest clues come from Maat; she likes to drop teasing hints.”

“And you? Do you know anything of
your former life?”

Faint colour rose in Vaughn’s cheeks
signalling that he was clearly embarrassed by what he was about to share. “I
believe I was a Viking.”

“Cool.”

“You don’t find the idea of me being
of the plundering and pillaging set to be somewhat disturbing?”
Amusement shon in those golden eyes.

“Well if you put it like that, yes.
But somehow I doubt very much Maat would make her offer to anyone but men who
had lived their human existence seeking justice and balance. Why, do you feel
any sudden plundering or pillaging urges?”

Vaughn laughed. “Previously I would
have categorically gone with no, but you know all of a sudden I’ve come over
with a distinct urge to plunder.” His sunlit eyes swept down to her cleavage
and back to look her once more in the eyes.

Thank the Goddess she didn’t
blush.  Right now she’d be fire engine red she was sure of it. Why did
gorgeous men make flirting look so darn easy? And why was this one practising
on her of all people? “Uh-huh, what did I say about flirting?”

“That was to Nate. Anyway I wasn’t
flirting with you.”

Hadleigh wanted to sink through the
floor, oh Goddess of course he wasn’t. She was a hulking great warrior. 
His normal type probably ran to women who were slim, petite and sweet of nature.
Goddess what must he think of her when she couldn’t even tell when a man was
flirting with her or not? Caught up in her humiliation and self-recrimination
it took a few seconds for the rest of what Vaughn was saying to sink into her
consciousness.