Chapter 1
Levy stared at the building across from the beautiful library.
It was a horrendous excuse for a building.
An eclectic bobble of misplaced shops.
Glaring center of the facing wall was an obnoxious street tag style display in drip-dry paint.
Dragon's Eye Piercing and Tattoo.
Along the rest of the wall were less blazing images.
Lightning Computer Repair.
Perfect Match Dating Center.
Tinker Toy Shop.
Furry for Life Pet Shop.
Iced Sugar Confections.
Fairy Ceramics.
Cerberus Den.
Pretty upfront names.
Aside from the last, but given that it had some directions to the side of the building instead of inside the mall, she guessed it was the otherwise unlabeled bar she had passed walking from the bus stop.
She shook her head as she watched two men laughing as they walked into the mall.
She went into the library, wishing she had her taser at least.
Her job didn't require it, but she would have felt safer walking past that mall.
She went up to the desk and asked for the head librarian.
Levy felt as nervous as if this was an interview.
Her hands even shook slightly until she held them on her pencil skirted lap.
A very demure blouse and long, narrow skirt was considered appropriate by her.
A young man walked out and Levy frowned as she stood up from the computer chair.
"Levy?" He asked.
She nodded.
"I'm Hibiki, the head of the archives." He said.
She shook his hand when he offered.
"You seem kind of young to take over such a huge project."
He laughed. "I get that a lot actually. But it's what I'm good at and my uncle helped me get this job."
Levy sighed.
"So I'm told you're here to help our problem?" He asked quietly.
She nodded.
"You look quite the part. I trust you've been informed?"
She nodded.
"Someone comes in once a month and steals a precious book from one of the three archives of Magnolia."
"Like clockwork." Hibiki said. He rubbed the back of his neck as they walked the aisles of books.
"This will be the sixth hit, fourth on your collection."
He nodded as he led her to a door.
He swiped a card at the reader and she was assaulted by the wonderful scent of old leather and ink.
These were the rare and priceless books of history.
"Have you notified us of exactly which books were stolen?" Levy asked.
Hibiki flushed slightly. "Sadly...we can't tell. These books are so old we can't put the electronic scanners in them that would list them as removed from the building once outside the property."
Levy nodded.
The system had been implemented several years ago to all new books and libraries. Old books were still being processed with the inset spine chip that was registered to a particular library system.
But these gorgeous things couldn't be touched like that. Their spines were delicate, with no room to insert the chip and just glue the spine in place again.
She'd heard of new technology that would make it even easier to access literature, but took the fun out of physically holding a book.
The readers would come in several styles: individual books, series collections that would be updated as published, and personal collections which could be programmed to hold certain books or series. Libraries would be allowed to have the public versions which could hold individual books and the series collections, but individuals could purchase the much larger capacity ones and simply transfer data to their own for a set amount of time from a library unless they bought it on the store.
She liked the concept of easier access, but something just felt right about holding a real book. Especially these old leather bound treasures.
Hibiki waved his hand at the rows of shelves. "I suppose you're going to have to go through all these with me to check the records against their possession. I have a second tablet if you don't mind using it. I've at least gotten them registered electronically if not chipped. I just...couldn't do that to these precious things."
She nodded. "That will do nicely. How far have you gotten?"
"That row from the door all the way to the right front corner of the room." He motioned as he turned around to the row of shelves along the wall.
It was a good thirty feet long with thousands of books.
He'd been at it five months now.
"I know it isn't much, but I've been busy with the front getting all the books chipped."
Levy nodded.
"Understandable." She said.
"So, did you want to start today?"
"I'll be here until I find out which books were stolen." Levy said.
He sighed. "I'll try to stay as long as I can."
xXx
It was nearing midnight when Levy finally finished her selection.
She worked the entire row to the left of the door and then four rows of shelves back into the archives.
She moved to stretch her neck as she set the tablet down.
The dimmed lights were annoying, but Hibiki had left hours ago and she didn't have the time to try and find the switch.
The library had been closed for almost six hours now.
She heard a click from behind her and a flash of light blinded her.
Someone dashed past her as she was rubbing her eyes.
She turned as they headed out the main door.
Levy sprinted after them.
She'd expected to at least get done archiving all these books before this place got hit.
Levy tossed the tablet onto the books on the shelf beside the door and pushed it open.
She hurried to the only real exit to the building and just saw a tall, thin man slip through the door as she rounded the corner.
Her sides hurt as she pushed it open in time to see him running for the mall.
The main doors had been locked a couple hours ago and she clipped down the library stairs as she tried to keep an eye on him.
He rounded the corner towards the bar and she hurried across the street to keep up.
Levy huffed slightly, cursing her short genes and her skirt.
Her combats and black pants were much better to run in, but she had to admit she was getting a little lax in that department anyway.
It never seemed to matter, her legs were too short to run and keep up without exhausting herself.
She liked her taser.
She rounded the corner just in time to see the flash of neon green hair dip into the door to the bar.
She hurried along and turned to go in.
Shit.
No way would she find him in there.
It was a sea of dim lights and neon glow.
She headed in anyway and wove through the crowd.
She caught sight of a hint of green ducking around a hallway entrance and hurried after it.
As she caught sight of the hallway she paused.
Lit up in the light of the elevator was a man in a dark old fashioned long coat and black pants tucked into soft leather boots.
But it was his hair and face that caught her attention.
Neon green hair and an aristocratic face.
If not for his long hair, he could have stepped out of an old romance novel.
She hurried down the hall as he jammed the button to close the doors.
"Wait." She called as the doors closed on him.
She pushed the unlabeled button on the wall, pretty sure the thing only went down.
There was no up to go to.
When it finally came back up and opened to her, it was empty.
She sighed as she stepped inside.
Just as her body cleared the doors, they snapped shut behind her.
She jolted and turned.
xXx
"I'm sorry. I didn't know she was there alright?"
Gajeel growled under his breath at Freed.
"Fucking hell, god dammit, you're supposed to be the smartest one around here." Gajeel ran his hand over his face as Laxus clicked away at the computer bank keyboards.
"Freed isn't used to the whole sneaking and running thing Gajeel, give him a break."
Gajeel faced Laxus.
"Stop defending your pet project Laxus. He'll never be one of us at this rate. I'm on the verge of dropping Natsu too."
"Chill." Gray said from the other side of the room.
Gajeel turned on him. Where Laxus was a beefy man like himself who was more than capable of taking and dishing hits, Gray was a lean fighter. He prefered the Magic he normally kept hidden.
Gajeel faced Laxus again and leaned against the chair the blond man sat in.
"Please tell me she's under control." Gajeel said.
Laxus sighed.
"She's in the Maze. She's terrified and lost. What more do you want?" Laxus asked.
He looked up at him and Gajeel saw the scar over his eye lit up in the light of the monitors.
Gajeel growled as his own wild Magic started to surface in his anger.
"Five weeks you've gotten in and out no problems, how was tonight any different?" Gajeel glanced at Freed.
The thin man shrank into his chair.
"I thought the Archives were empty." Freed said. "I've never had to deal with Hibiki because he leaves at closing. This girl was doing the archiving all night and I never noticed."
Gajeel sighed as he watched Laxus move another few walls around in the Maze beside them.
It really was difficult due to the laser walls being switched on and off constantly by the sadistic technology wizard in front of him.
Laxus had the same kind of wild Magic he did, but he used his regularly in his tech. The Lightning Dragon was a master with anything that ran on electricity.
"What do you want to do with her?" Laxus asked.
"Let me get to the Dark Room and then set her loose in there."
"You sure? She could be packing." Laxus said as Gajeel headed for the door to the hallway.
"Trust me, she isn't. Freed would have been shot if she had."
xXx
Gajeel stepped into the Dark room.
It was so named because without the Dragon sight, it was pitch black. Normal people couldn't see from the tiny laser lights around the ceiling.
But just those thin red beams were more than enough for him and Laxus to see.
He watched the door from the Maze open and was momentarily stunned.
The tiny, fragile body running through the door in fear was breathtaking.
Once he got over the stunned feeling he was just floored.
Her scent was of terror and anger. But underlying that was a hint of sweetness like vanilla, the shampoo she used, grapefruit, her body wash, and the natural musk of a female.
Gajeel had never been so strung up by a scent before.
No...this was like Laxus and that Demon.
Laxus had been out of it for weeks when he had first caught scent of the woman running the dating center upstairs in the mall.
He could only focus on his usual work, and that just barely. He'd had no mind for the stuff they needed to do.
Not until he'd gotten laid.
The Lightning Dragon snapped clear and straight again for a while after that.
Every time he started going out again, Gajeel had told him to go bed her again.
Do it enough and go for a couple dates and the two had gotten married. Now he got sex every day and never functioned poorly in either job.
Natsu had been like that with the reporter woman keeping their actions out of the papers too.
Get laid regularly and he functioned fine. Now the two were together but not quite looking at marriage yet.
Gajeel took another breath as he watched her fumble in the dark.
It took him a moment to see her tears.
The poor girl really was terrified.
Gajeel moved in the room, heading for the lights.
"Hello?"
That soft, scared voice was the final nail in the coffin.
Gajeel turned the very dim lights on and she turned until she spotted him.
"Who are you?" Her voice cracked.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
She stepped back as he moved towards her.
Gajeel backed her into the wall until he could brace his arms on either side of her and pin her in.
God she smelled so sweet.
He liked the mix.
He leaned in and she shrank away from him.
"Shh, you're safe. No one is going to hurt you."
Her big brown eyes looked up at him, meeting his blood red gaze for a moment.
He moved to thread his fingers into that soft, silk azure hair.
She closed her eyes as he cradled her head with his larger palm.
She was so damn small.
If he hadn't caught the whiff of her maturity, he'd have sworn she was far underage.
He stood at least a foot and a half taller. He guessed maybe more.
The marks on the wall put her at barely five foot, but she was pressed against it on her toes trying to keep away from him. He pegged her at four eleven.
He felt huge compared to her. He normally felt big at six seven, but this was ridiculous.
At least Mira was a cool six foot to Laxus's six and a half. Model height gave her something. But she could still feel safe wearing heels with Laxus.
Freed pushed six foot one when he wasn't hunched over cowering from Gajeel's anger.
Gray topped at five eight, making him almost the shortest in the bunch, but Natsu beat him by an inch. Hell, they needed more people. Hopefully his new hires tomorrow would show and he could scout them for the team.
Gajeel buried his nose in her hair.
"I...I'll scream." She squeaked.
"That'll only give us both a headache." He mumbled against her ear.
He pulled away slightly. "And I said I wouldn't hurt you. Therefore I won't."
She opened her eyes and wobbled slightly on her feet.
The chase from the library had worn her out and Freed had nearly lost her had he not tripped on the stairs in front of the library and fumbled the buttons in the elevator.
Then the half hour in the maze had both scared her and made her wear herself out.
"You're safe with me." He said softly.
Those comforting words seemed to be the switch to her body if not her brain.
She collapsed into his arms and he scooped her up.
Her eyes closed as she gripped his shirt and her head fell against his shoulder.
He turned to carry her out to the elevator that led further underground to their private sanctuary.
Laxus caught up with him as he walked the bridge over the huge open area down below.
It was a rift between dimensions that they had found here.
Just a crack in the earth to normal people, a veil to the Magical side of life.
"So what are you going to do with her?" Laxus spoke softly.
Gajeel carried her to the door set into the stone wall.
The metal walks were the only thing giving access to these upper levels.
"Not sure yet, but I think I'll keep her."
"As a pet? That'll go over well." Laxus huffed.
"No...as a Mate."
Laxus stopped on the walkway as Gajeel pushed his door open.
"Like Mira?"
Gajeel nodded as he kicked his door closed.
xXx
Levy woke to a warm bed for the first time in a long time.
Her normal living space was paper walls and single pane windows and just above freezing.
Her lonely mattress at home wasn't nearly this comfortable.
Not even the day she bought it.
This was like sleeping on a cloud wrapped in satin.
She couldn't feel a single spring under her body, nor an ounce of cold beneath the blankets.
She opened her eyes as her pillow shifted.
She shoved away as she saw the monstrous man from last night.
She had hoped it was a dream and she had dozed off in the Archives.
Levy felt a hand lash out and snag her wrist as she struggled for the side of the bed.
"I'd stay here if I were you." He said.
His voice was deep, melodious.
Smokey.
She looked at the side of the bed and gasped.
That fall might have seriously hurt her.
The floor below was at least twelve feet away.
It was then she realized his bed hung from thick chains from the ceiling.
It was very slightly bowl shaped, like a dinner plate.
"Who are you?" She pulled on her hand, but he kept a firm grip.
She realized she was stripped down to her camisole and 'shorts' style panties.
She reached to cover her lap with the huge blanket she had come out from under.
"Just relax."
"Not until you let me go and announce yourself." She said.
She didn't sound much like a member of the police force.
Hell, this was supposed to be her first real job after the training she'd gone through.
"My name is Gajeel Redfox. I own and run the Dragon's Eye as well as own and lease the rest of the mall."
He didn't let her go though.
She looked down at him in the soft glow of the lights above them.
His muscular, tanned body was bare as far as she could see, and covered with small implanted studs.
They ran down his forearms, his brows, his nose, chin, and she could only guess that he had more.
"I told you my name, it's only fair to tell me yours." He turned to his side and the blanket slipped to his hip, allowing her to realize he had nothing on under that blanket.
She blushed as she pulled on her arm again.
"Levy McGarden, member of the Magnolia Police Force."
"Ooh, a cop. I dig it." He grinned.
"You are holding a law enforcement officer against their will. This is a violation of several laws."
"I'm just keeping you from falling to an extremely painful end." He said. "Scoot in closer and I won't worry as much."
She edged away from the edge and his other hand lashed out to grab her thigh and pull her closer.
"Stop." She screamed.
He winced, but pulled her onto him.
His quick movements had her straddling his waist.
"I don't exactly fear the police darling. They fear me."
She stared into the red eyes from the night before and trailed her gaze on the wild black hair and fanged grin.
"Black Steel." She whispered.
All police ranks feared him.
He was known in the files as the Metal Dragon.
It clicked as she saw his fangs clearly.
He wasn't from the human side of the veil.
That long thought secret passage to the Magical realm. Occasionally users of Magic would come through and cause trouble and leave.
But none tended to stay like Black Steel.
He was a menace. But not just to the police.
To criminals everywhere.
He was considered the one who leveled the playing field.
Humans were nothing to a Dragon. History had shown that.
Before Magic was sucked into the mirror world and allowed through tiny tears, it ran wild and free everywhere.
Humans had once been able to wield pieces of that powerful energy.
Now it was gone from their reach and the knowledge lost.
Levy stared down at the Dragon under her.
He held both her wrists so gently.
He held her left hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist. Over her pulse.
It jumped at the action and he grinned.
Gajeel let her wrists go to put his large hands on her thighs, his fingertips teasing the lace frill of her panties.
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Hmm. I had thought of keeping you. Maybe for a few weeks until you started to cling to me. Then bringing you back out to the human side of the veil again."
She looked around the square room.
"We're not on the Human side?"
He laughed, causing her to shift on him and reach to press her hands to his chest to steady herself.
The position was erotic to her.
She felt her skin flush slightly.
"No love, we've been on my side since last night. I brought you here to rest when you collapsed."
It had been the best sleep in her life. Warm and soft with nothing rattling or shaking off the walls or traffic noises or trains going by.
Nothing to interrupt a perfect night of sleep.
Levy turned to look for a clock.
"What time is it?" She asked.
"Just after seven. Don't worry, you aren't missed from the library yet." He said.
"You know where I work?"
"You chased Freed into my building." He said. "Of course."
Levy tensed at the name.
xXx
Gajeel felt her hands tense on his chest.
Honestly, he liked the feel of her soft thighs on his hips.
Just sifted slightly lower, remove that black silk and lace and he would have been in her already.
She pushed away from him.
"I need to catch him. He'd been stealing valuable books."
"No. He's been doing the same thing you're doing, just not as good." Gajeel spoke up.
He pulled the chain netting up around his bed again.
Had he known she was a runner like that, he'd have had them up earlier.
The opening leading to the walkway was left empty and he let her go.
She tried to crawl out to the walkway as he reached towards the edge of his bed for his soft pants.
He hated wearing anything when he slept, but he'd figured he'd appreciate a bit of covering.
At least until they were regularly having sex.
Maybe he could ease her into being as open as him. In the privacy of his room anyway.
He pulled his pants on as she hesitated at the entrance.
He stood crouched over and moved past her.
She let him jump to the walkway and he turned to keep his lofty bed steady for her.
He held out his hand and she actually gripped it as she carefully climbed down.
"Where are my clothes?" She asked.
He reached inside his bed area and pulled the neatly folded blouse and skirt out.
She took them and quickly pulled them on.
He pointed to her shoes on the walkway and she held the railing and his arm to slip her tiny feet into them.
"So what are you planning on doing?" He asked.
"I need to find the thief if he isn't it."
"Ah." He led her down the walkway to the stairs leading down to his floor along the wall. "You could use Freed to help in that. He's a capable Mage with Runes and Script." Gajeel said.
She turned to face him.
"He's a Mage?" She frowned.
He moved to his wardrobe to pull out a pair of leather pants like he had worn yesterday and a clean silk shirt.
All natural fabrics were the only thing his Dragon skin could stand.
Laxus wore natural cotton slacks and silk shirts for the same reason.
Natsu was an anomaly. He wore jeans and synthetic shirts all the time with no problems.
Maybe because he'd grown up on the human side and was never really exposed to the pure Magic of this side.
"Yes." Gajeel said as he changed.
He caught her blush as she turned away from him.
"As are you, but I suspect that you aren't trained."
"I'm a Mage?" She gasped as she faced him again as he tucked his feet into the Dragon leather combat style boots.
They still had a scratch in the leather where he had scuffed them in a fight with another Dragon.
The boots and his long jacket had been gifts from his father and mentor Metalicana before he vanished into the Aether Fields with the other old Dragons. Only a select few from Gajeel's generation were left until they returned.
"I can tell by your natural scent whether you are fully human and I can smell the Magic infused in you." He said.
She shook her head.
"At any rate, take Freed, he'll be much more use to you than doing the Archives with a man who stays by the minutes."
"I'll have to get permission." She said.
"It's nothing. Freed can walk in the library and access the Archives. No one will question him there." Gajeel said.
He led her to his door and pulled it open.
She blinked at the new sight.
The pool of water down below was steaming as the morning Aether flow heated it from below. He moved to tug her along as he saw the golden Dragon below slipping into the water with a woman.
Laxus seemed to enjoy being washed by his Mate in his Dragon form.
She had said it was relaxing too.
Meticulously cleaning all the scales on the car sized Dragon's body was therapeutic.
Gajeel knew that for a fact.
Maybe Levy would wash him.
It might relax her.
But he had his own pool of water to bath in, cycled and heated by the Aether flow.
He led Levy to the tear and she stared at it.
"It's safe." He urged her forward and she stepped through to the chilled passage he'd carved out a while ago.
He followed her.
xXx
Levy stared at the elevator just sitting there at the end of the short stone tunnel.
Gajeel urged her forward again and pushed the button to go up.
"How long has this tear been here?"
"It's a stable opening actually. We disguised it as an unstable tear because humans would freak out to know that a genuine portal was deep under their feet leading right to a Dragon Stronghold."
Levy glanced back as the doors to the elevator closed.
It still looked like a shimmering tear in the fabric of space.
She looked up at Gajeel.
Far up.
He was huge.
Muscled and hulking over her tiny frame.
But there was something about him that screamed he wasn't going to hurt her.
Maybe the fact that he'd said it, but she didn't believe that.
More like the playful way he'd acted in bed.
He could have let her fall, could have killed her in her sleep, could have done a lot of things.
Instead, she was safe, warm, and her body felt better than it had in a while.
The plushness in his bed had been heavenly. The warmth made it even better.
She blushed as the doors opened again in front of them.
His warmth.
All that heat had been coming off a Dragon.
Who hadn't eaten her like fables said, or killed her, or even raped her. He could have done all three.
"Freed." He called out as they entered a room.
That same man from last night jumped to attention from a dead sleep.
"Yes boss?"
"You'll be helping Levy with the Archive. Get yourself in and get access to whatever you need to help. Also, bring her back here by no later than midnight unless you finish faster. If you are done before I'm off, bring her by the shop."
"What about...my work with Master Laxus boss?"
"Sparky can handle it himself today. He did before you came along. Even distracted by the Demon."
Levy frowned.
Must have been codenames.
The man stepped closer and bowed to her.
"I'm sorry about last night. My mistake hurt you."
"I'm alright." She shook her head.
He sighed.
"The library should be opening up here shortly. Shall we go?"
Levy was startled when he offered her his arm.
But she took it anyway.
He led her to another elevator and pressed the buttons.
It went up smoothly.
They walked out of the closed bar and turned for the library.
She wasn't sure she'd be able to get him in.
xXx
Gajeel sighed as he looked down at the work he was doing.
A simple tattoo of a butterfly on the back of a woman's shoulder.
She had brought in a picture for reference and he was finishing up the fill.
He rubbed his face as he set the ink gun to the side.
"Alright." He said.
She adjusted her shirt as he pointed her over the the mirror cubical.
She looked at it and turned to him with a happy expression.
He heard a crash from the other side of the room and looked at the doors leading out to the mall.
The woman paused as she was taking the receipt he handed her until he let it go.
A drunk young man was harassing his new girl.
Gajeel sighed as he stormed over before her boyfriend could get up from his spot where he was doing a tattoo up on a man's arm.
"Come on, show me." The young man slurred.
Gajeel grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground.
"Hey man!"
Gajeel pierced him with a sharp glare and carried him out to the mall hallway and to the main doors as Natsu came running.
Natsu held the doors for him and he threw the man to the sidewalk.
"Wanna come in my mall, be sober. Go find somewhere else to screw off." Gajeel snapped.
The man stumbled as he got to his feet and tripped off.
Away from the red eyed monster no doubt.
He didn't mind being thought of as the Fairy Tail Mall Monster.
Until he looked across the street where Freed was escorting Levy across.
He waited for them to come to the doors.
"As instructed boss, we finished completely. I'll have the information ready for you once I finish analyzing the contents I can find of the missing books."
Freed paused a moment and Gajeel gave him a nod of approval in reward.
Last nights screwup had been his first major accident and it turned out fortuitous.
Gajeel put his hand on Levy's shoulder before she could run.
"I need to report in." She said.
"Do it from my phone then. And then quit." He urged her inside and Natsu frowned as Gajeel led her to his shop.
Mira smiled as he glanced at her little center.
She raised a questioning brow and then made a smoothing motion with her hand.
Gajeel sighed as he nodded.
She grinned.
He was going to regret her knowing he had a Mate.
Or who it was.
Levy didn't fight as he led her into the shop.
Cobra looked up for a second to acknowledge him and Kinana sat behind the counter, hidden from anyone.
Gajeel urged Levy towards his table as he faced the counter.
He knelt in front of Kinana.
"You alright?" He asked.
She looked terrified.
"Does that happen often?" She whispered.
He shook his head.
"No, that's the first time in seven months. I'm sorry you had to deal with it on the first day."
"I...I don't know if I can handle that again." She said.
He put his hand on her cheek.
"If anyone scares you, you can freely come to me, or if I'm not here for some reason, go to the computer shop and see Laxus. He's the scary blond techie geek."
She smiled at his phrasing of Laxus.
He stood up and held his hand out to her.
"You'll be alright here. I do promise that. If anyone tries or succeeds in hurting you, we are a force worse than the police. Laxus and I were fighters and we still throw down when needed."
"Like just now." She said.
Gajeel shrugged. "Honestly, I would have let Cobra beat him if he hadn't been busy."
She nodded.
"Do you still want to stay?"
She glanced at Cobra and he gave her a soft look for a slightly scary man.
Gajeel had a feeling, but he hadn't checked his nose yet.
Cobra had the burgundy hair and slightly buffed build of the old Poison Dragon who had left years ago to cross the veil.
He could be his son, easily.
Gajeel faced her as she looked up at him and nodded.
"Good." He ruffled her hair slightly, careful to not muss it.
He watched her walk away to sit near her boyfriend and watch him work.
Gajeel turned to his own station to face Levy.
As he stepped closer, he could smell her unease.
"I...you're nicer than you look."
"Not normally. She's just a good girl and her boyfriend is a good artist. I'd rather not lose them both." He shrugged.
Levy shook her head. "No, you are nice, just not to everyone."
He moved to sit in his chair and propped his boots on the table beside her, cutting her off from just jumping down and running.
"Did you report in?" He asked.
"I used my cell, but yes." She nodded. "They were...not impressed."
She looked down.
"Did you quit?"
Her hair hid her face, but he felt a couple tears hit his pants from where she leaned over his legs slightly.
"I...didn't have to."
He growled.
"They fired you?"
She nodded.
He reached out to her and tugged her down from the table.
She let him pull her into his lap.
"Stupid fucking bastards. They don't know a good thing when they see it. How many could have done that job so quickly?" He growled.
She cried on his silk shirt.
She had liked that job.
He'd get her a better one.
Working with him.