emma_hillman_hired
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Authors: emma hillman
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extent of the law.
This book is for sale to ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains
substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be
considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot
be accessed by minors.
All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of
age or older.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and
incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used
fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or
existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover
Design: Emma Hillman
Hired © November 2011
e
X
cessica publishing
All rights reserved
Hired
Prologue
“No, thank you.” Jessica tried to ignore the
man’s immediate glare at her response, but her hands shook when she grabbed the
nearest pile of books.
“I’ll double your salary.”
“You’ve already said that,” she reminded him.
“I’ll triple it,” he countered, his palms
slapping onto the desk in front of her.
She looked up at him, taking in the granite
expression and darkening eyes. Huh-oh, looked like someone was getting pissed
off. Too bad she didn’t much care. She’d already turned down his job offer, and
nothing he would say would convince her otherwise. “I said no.”
“You can’t say no,” he growled, showing far
too well how unused he was to people saying that word to him.
“I sure can.” She sent him a bright–and very
fake–smile. “Now, do you mind? I need to close the library.”
“I’m not leaving here until you say yes.”
She’d been in the middle of putting her coat
on, but his words made her pause. “You’re not leaving? You have no choice! I’m
closing the library, and that’s that.”
“Look, lady, I don’t think you understand−”
Her face reddening, she cut him off, “No, Mr.
Layton, I don’t think
you
understand. You offered me a job, I turned it
down. End of the discussion. Now, would you mind please leaving so I can go
home? Some people have worked today.” With that, she grabbed her purse and
laptop case, and strode to the front doors, expecting to hear him following
her. He didn’t. Exasperated, she whirled around, only to gasp when she found
him in front of her. Far too close in front of her.
His gaze captured hers and he said, his voice
low, “You’re sleepy.”
Jessica’s eyebrows snapped together. “No, I’m
not.”
His eyes widened in apparent surprise, or
maybe it was shock. Two seconds later, he repeated, “You’re sleepy. You want to
sleep.
Now
!”
“Are you drunk?” was her only response,
wondering if maybe she should have told Tom to stay. He’d asked her if she
could do him a favor by closing the library for him, knowing that she would
work until the very last minute. She loved it in here. It was quiet and
peaceful, the old books her refuge. Her income too. She hadn’t expected a
prospective employer to turn up just before it was time to leave however. For
that matter, who knew if the job even was real? Maybe the guy was a serial
killer and he got a kick out of kidnapping frumpy researchers? Oh God! She slid
her hand behind her back and patted around the cold metal of the doors, trying
to find the handle. She needed to get out of here…and pronto!
“You’re not sleepy?” he asked, stopping her
in her tracks.
He looked bemused, his face all of a sudden
less scary. More approachable even. Considering how easily he loomed over her,
that was quite a feat. She watched him cross his arms over his chest, the
leather of his brown leather jacket crinkling as if the seams were only seconds
away from wrenching open. He was so heavily built, so damn muscled, she
wouldn’t be surprised if it happened. Realizing he was waiting for her answer,
she struggled to remember what he’d asked her. “No. Huh, I mean, I’m sure I
will be once I get home, but for that I need to close the library. Remember?”
“Yes,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “My
memory works very well, thank you. Now, are you sure you’re not sleepy?”
She blinked. “Is this a joke? Am I getting
Punk’d or something?”
“No, why would you be?” He looked down at
her, and she winced.
That was a very good point. Who would be
interested in surprising a thirty-something ancient Greek expert who hid
herself under too big clothes? “Goodbye then, Mr. Layton.”
“No, good night, Ms James.”
Before she could say anything else he moved,
so fast she had trouble following what he was doing. That was probably why she
never realized she was falling. Her eyes closed and she slumped forward, dead
to the world.
* * * *
Drake Layton looked at the woman sprawled in
his passenger seat and let out a heavy breath. Trust his First Man to send him
off on a wild goose chase. Jessica James might be the only ancient Greek expert
in the region, but she wouldn’t even contemplate his job offer. Just one phone
call with her had made him realize no amount of sweet talking would do the
trick. He had a mission however, so he’d gone to the library where she did her
research to talk to her directly. That one hadn’t worked quite as planned.
She mumbled something and moved as if she was
looking for a more comfortable position.
Good luck with that
, he thought
as he turned his gaze back to the darkened road. She was a bit too wide for the
seats in his sports car, her generous hips squeezed tight.
It wasn’t too far to the compound now, and he
hoped she wouldn’t wake up before they got there. All he had to do was to get
her safely to their library, show her the document they needed translated, and
lock the door. Of course, she wouldn’t be too happy, but hey, these were
difficult times. And he hated not getting a job done. He had a reputation to
uphold after all. He smiled, pleased with the conclusion he’d come to, and
pressed his foot down on the pedal.
Chapter One
“The Age of Reason will come for all
Immortals, and none other.”
Ambrotos (Translation by Jessica James)
She’d been at it for two days. Two days of
deciphering, two days of transcribing, two days of trying to make sense of the
ancient Greek parchment she’d been kidnapped to translate. Two days. It was
such a short period of time, and yet so much had happened. She’d met their
leader and his wife, had been told the reasons behind her presence. She’d seen
the love in their eyes, had felt so touched by Faye’s story, that she had
agreed to help them. Even if it meant being stuck in one room for hours on end
with Drake, the man who’d forced her here.
When you thought about it, it sounded so
far-fetched like one of those Fantasy novels her brother used to read. A race
of Immortals, men and women stuck in this lost compound, living apart from
civilization so that no one could notice they never aged. She wouldn’t have
read some of their basic textbooks, she’d never have believed it. Okay, so
maybe their First Man’s attempt at mind-control had had something to do with it
too. He’d told her to sleep, and she’d woken up two hours later feeling
strangely refreshed…and in altogether different house.
It had brought back to mind that first night,
when Drake had managed to put her in his car and drive her here without her
even knowing. Drake… Just thinking of him made her look up, her eyes blinking
in the semi-darkness only to find him gazing at her from across the room. He
held her eyes for a fleeting second, then looked back down at the business
magazine he was holding. Jessica bit her lip and looked down too…at the words
she had yet to translate. Damn it! She was usually much better than this!
She shook her head, stretched her arms out in
front of her, made her wrists pop and her neck crack. All right, she was ready.
“Time for a break?”
She felt like screaming, but it wouldn’t do
any good. Instead, she looked up, sent him a small smile and nodded. “Sure.”
He stood up, the chair scraping on the old
wood floor as he reached out for his leather jacket. “Put your coat on. I want
a coffee.”
Rolling her eyes at his commanding tone, she
albeit did as ordered and met him in front of the main doors. “The usual then,”
she finally commented as they stepped outside, a violent gush of wind wiping
her hair across her face. She watched him nod through her dark strands and
sighed, wondering if he would ever talk to her for more than a second. One
could hope, right? Her feet leaden, she followed him to the small coffee shop
further down the street.
He ordered a double-shot Americano. She
ordered a Latte. She eyed the pastries on display, her stomach rumbling at all
the possibilities. She saw his face harden and moved on, to the table where
they always sat. The one at the back, where Drake took the chair closest to the
wall, and she sat across from him. The usual then.
She took small sips of her coffee, knowing
she was prolonging her torture session and yet unable to stop. She could catch
glimpses of him behind her overlong bangs, and that was enough for her. He was
the most breathtaking man she’d ever met, maybe even more than their First Man.
Mind you, she hadn’t seen a single ugly person in the whole compound. She
wondered for a second whether turning Immortal made you beautiful, or if they
only picked models for their race. Who knew? She bit her lip and forced her gaze
away from his angular face and intense blue eyes.
“How is it going?”
She nearly spit out her mouthful of now
lukewarm coffee at his sudden question. “Wha-what? I mean, I’m fine. And you?”
A flash of laughter brightened his gaze for a
second. “No, I meant the translation. How is it going? Do you need more books?
Dictionaries?”
“Oh.” Of course, he hadn’t been asking about
her!
Stupid!
“It’s going okay. I don’t think I need any more reference
material.”
“Fine.”
She looked at him, but nothing else came. He
went back to what he did best: looking around and making sure no bad guys were
in the vicinity. She still wasn’t sure why he thought anyone would be
interested in her, but what did she know? She couldn’t even do her job properly
these days!