He was going in circles with Bleu and he wanted to break the cycle almost as much as he wanted to break his bond to Olivia. His heart whispered that was a lie and he knew it. Loren ignored it and stared at Bleu, his gaze narrowed and demanding the male offer a solution that would stop him from constantly harassing Loren about his plans.
Bleu looked deadly serious. “I will go with you.”
Some of Loren’s frustration faded on hearing those words leave Bleu’s lips. Loren appreciated his friend’s support and his desire to protect him. The council would be more likely to allow him to go to the mortal world to assist the female if Bleu were with him and he would be safer from his brother too.
The only downside Loren could see was that Bleu would be hard to control around people he evidently viewed as a threat to Loren, but even that wasn’t dampening Loren’s spirit. He would be glad to have Bleu with him.
If only to keep Loren in check and stop him from fulfilling a desire that had seized him with both hands several times this day.
He wanted to kiss Olivia.
CHAPTER 6
Olivia wasn’t making any progress at all. Mark stared back at her from behind his large black wooden desk, his grey eyes narrowed, causing crow’s feet to form beside them. She had known him for almost ten years now, and he had been caring towards her, taking her under his wing and giving her so much freedom and opportunity within Archangel. That had all changed the night she had royally messed up and her demon boyfriend had gone on a rampage, attempting to bring down Archangel’s headquarters in London. Since then, Mark had held her at arm’s length and rarely agreed to meet with her. He didn’t even acknowledge her if they passed each other in the hallways or were present in the same meeting.
Mark leaned back in his mahogany leather executive chair, the deep red colour setting off his crisp black suit and almost matching his silk tie. He tunnelled his fingers through his sandy hair, a tell that she knew well. He was having difficulty taking in what she was asking him to do, and even more difficulty bringing himself to find a shred of the trust he had once shown to her.
“Please. You’ve read my report on the specimen that the team brought in.” Olivia leaned over the black desk, planting her palms on the surface. She struggled to keep her voice smooth and level, hiding her mounting hurt and frustration from Mark. “He’s a rare fae and when I spoke to him about how I would like to have the opportunity to study him, he offered to come in and willingly subject himself to it. All I’m asking is that you call a meeting with the higher ups and we can come to some agreement about this opportunity and they can issue an order to the hunters stating that he’s not to be touched.”
Mark steepled his fingers in front of himself and frowned at her. “Your report about the male intrigued me, Olivia, and I agree this appears to be a good opportunity, but I don’t need to remind you that having living fae or demons in the building as guests is not allowed.”
He really didn’t need to remind her. He didn’t need to remind her on the rare occasions he did speak to her, but that didn’t stop him. He was still punishing her for her mistake.
“Mark... please? I know the risks and I’ll take full responsibility for him. He isn’t a threat to us. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to record data and study a species hitherto unknown to us.” Olivia dug her fingertips into his desk, her patience slipping.
He dropped his gaze to his laptop and tapped a few keys. “You know that you can’t judge whether he is a threat or not. What you’re asking for is a leap of faith, Olivia. I’m not sure my superiors will agree to it. Not after last time.”
Her shoulders sagged and her hope deflated. If Mark couldn’t get her clearance to work with Loren in her laboratory, perhaps she could go to the prince’s castle and work with him there. He had teleported her there. Could he teleport the equipment she would need too or was his ability limited to living objects within specific parameters?
“I’ll call the meeting... but on one condition.”
Olivia jerked back to the room and stared at Mark through wide eyes. “Name it.”
“You work in a team and you have armed escorts at all times.”
Loren would never go for that. Neither would she. If she had a team working with her on this, they would ask questions about what she was doing and how was she meant to explain that Loren had accidentally bound them and they were really looking for an out clause?
Never mind the fact that they would realise what Loren was. If they realised he was an elf, and a prince of that species, they would kick her off the team and hand it over to those still in Archangel’s good book.