Her Billionaire, Her Wolf(69)
They stepped into a lavish suite with its exterior walls entirely in glass. The ceiling rose to a dizzying height and warm lighting brightened gently before them as they walked upon what appeared to be a hardwood floor of rare essences.
Sara was about to walk further into the extraordinary suite when Braze stopped her.
He raised his arm and then tapped his finger against what appeared to be thin air. Except that there was a dull sound and, faintly, she made out a nearly glare free wall of clear glass that barred them from going forward.
“There are no security measures from this point forward, Sara. But for one....” he trailed off then indicated the grey, metallic wall next to them.
It was of brushed steel, similar to the elevator, and Braze touched a section at waist height.
As Sara had seen in a different elevator meant for Braze’s private use, a small sort of drawer slid out of the wall and within she saw the pattern of a hand inscribed in dark metal.
“It is quite possibly the most sophisticated device of its kind in the world,” Braze said as he settled his hand within.
“While DNA analysis remains the focus of most research in the security field, we have taken a different approach. Genetic identification is too cumbersome, taking far too long. This, on the other hand...” and he smiled at his own pun, “...is keyed to a myriad of factors, any one of which might be artificially subverted, while the whole is impossible to fool.”
A light glowed green around his hand and there was the sound of a pleasant chime that accompanied it. A whispering sound came behind them and Sara glanced over her shoulder. The almost imperceptible glass wall had slid open to allow access to the living quarters beyond
“Here,” he said, drawing her attention back to him as he pulled her close, “Place your hand there.”
Sara did as she was told while Braze tapped a series of codes into a small touchscreen.
“The system will take just a moment to learn who you are. First, it samples volatile chemicals on your skin. Then, it examines your fingerprints as well as your heat signature. It also analyzes the subtle electrical pattern of your touch, your pulse...among other things.”
Sara smiled, then said, “So...are you saying this thing is sniffing me?”
Braze chuckled and said, “Yes, that’s exactly right.”
A second chime accompanied by a green light rang softly, then Braze gently lifted her hand away from the drawer which slid smoothly shut.
Sara looked about them, then leaned into the big man who still held her hand and said, “Did you just give me the keys to your apartment?”
He did not answer. Instead his lips went to hers and she did not hesitate to kiss him back.
Their tongues slipped along one another as Braze brought his hands to Sara’s breasts, then he pulled back from her and asked, “Would you like to see the rest?”
She nodded as he interlaced his fingers within hers, then the two of them walked forward.
“Welcome to my sanctuary, Sara,” Braze said, gesturing in a wide motion with his free hand.
“My home is here and while some might consider it too close to the workplace, I do not.
“That is because work rarely intrudes here,” he said, then pointed to a corner of the room where she saw a simple desk, a computer screen, and several large file cabinets, all of it in tones of brushed steel or matte black and greys, “But when necessary, I can retreat from the fray down below and get things accomplished while cut off from the rest of the building.”
He looked into her eyes then, his visage as serious as ever, then said, “I want you to understand what I meant when I said there are no security measures in this place, Sara. All key elements of Abraxis Industries are housed in those file cabinets and in that computer. Our most secret of secrets are there...as are long term projections and the hundreds of scenarios envisaged to arrive at our goals.
“Because of this, I want you to understand that absolutely no one else is allowed access here. Ever.”
He bent down to kiss her forehead, then whispered, “Until now.”
Braze smiled at Sara then pulled her after him and she could not help thinking he was like a little boy surprised by his own enthusiasm for showing off his treehouse to a close friend.
Only this little boy just took down the no-girls-allowed sign, she thought, half-smiling to herself.
They went down a corridor and as they did, Sara saw an enormous black marbled bathroom to one side before they arrived at a bedroom with what may have been the largest bed known to man.
However, her attention was quickly drawn from the bed to something else that dominated the room above all else. There was a magnificent spiral staircase that wound its way up to the ceiling and into the darkness beyond.