Two short chapters=review? :D

xx

SSC

Chapter 7

Khan knew he had to tread carefully. The situation had turned precarious. They had managed to create superhuman being fusing animal DNA. To make matters worse, they responded to commands.

An alarming question drifted into his thoughts. Just how many commands did these creatures have?

There was a knock at his door. Marching forward, Khan placed a wide hand over the handle and twisted before pulling the door open.

She was standing at the threshold, wearing the same red suit. Her vibrant head of sunset curls were a little damp. Khan guessed she had cleaned up after her encounter with the now dead, assassin.

He was stunned by the sight of her. She raised her gaze and met his firmly.

"Sir." She greeted giving him a curt nod of her head. Her voice held a smoky, purr that was strangely appealing. From the way he had witnessed her kill, he half expected her to hiss out her words.

Her posture was straight and her arms were stiff at her sides. She regarded him with her ocher eyes again.

"You are early." He commented. Khan had hoped for a little more time to discuss the presence of the creatures with his comrades. The obvious haste of the Arabs to install the Wahash on to them was most questionable.

She blinked, momentarily startled by his strict tone. But the astonishment vanished and was replaced by her taciturn expression.

"Sorry Sir, shall I come back later?" She suggested. He considered this, but watching the female, he couldn't help but be intrigued.

"No matter." He dismissed her proposition and stepped to the side, widening the angle of space between the door and its frame.

"Come in." He insisted. Her posture stiffened once more. Khan did not miss the cautious glance she directed into the dim lighting within his quarters.

She stepped forward and crossed the threshold, taking her preliminary steps into his chambers. He shut the door after her before turning to face her.

He observed amused by the way her neck craned from side to side. She was sniffing the air and her surroundings. Satisfied with the environment she addressed him with her profile.

The orange light from the adjacent bedside lamps in his bedroom glinted against the brass buttons of her ruby red jacket. He recalled the moment when she had stripped the coat off her strong shoulders, revealing to him the olive skin tone that travelled up her lithe arms.

She was watching him expectantly while standing in the middle of the foyer, in front of the centre table that held the vase of withering flowers.

"So..." He drawled, his deep voice filling the silence. He approached her, his arms tucked behind his back as he paced to her. He circled her much like a hawk would to a prey. She stood undaunted by his piercing gaze.

"You are to be my protector?" He noted out loud. She gave a fleeting glance in his direction.

"I am to be utilized as you please, sir."

His clear eyes gleamed hungrily at her statement. If that is true, solider is the last task I would give you. He chose not to voice his wicked thoughts.

Her strikingly gold eyes were fixated on the back of the door.

"I'll admit your skills as an individual are most...remarkable."

"Thank you, sir." She retorted as if forced to accept his compliment. He stopped in front of her, blocking her view of the door in a silent demand for attention. His looming presence continued to be ignored by her, in the most reticent fashion.

"Does my protector have a name?" He was teasing despite his monotonous tone. She looked to him from beneath her sandy brown lashes. He immediately noticed the feline features of her face. The flat bridge of her nose, the slight peak of sharp canines when her lips parted. He even saw the tips of her ear lobes peaking from beneath a mass of wry, copper curls.

"My assigned name is Arba." He did not miss the disguised vehemence in her voice when she uttered the title.

"Arba." He echoed. The Arabic numerical for the number four. They were part of a system. Sabaa was the seventh and Ashera was the tenth. This made him wonder how many of her kind were created.

"Where are your quarters, Arba?"

"I will stay wherever you deem appropriate, Sir." She responded drolly.

He was astounded by this. It was not intended banter when the Sheikh had said they would shadow him at all times.

His gaze shot to the bed out of some strange instinct in him. Dismissing the thought, his eyes settled on her again.

"I'll let you decide." He retorted. She was not expecting the order, but she was quick to mask her stunned state and left his shadow to move about the space. He watched her purposeful strides, studying the frantic darting of her captivating gaze.

She hesitantly stepped into his sleeping quarters. He was intrigued by how she completely avoided the bed, not even bothering to acknowledge at it. Maybe she wanted to steer clear of a suggestive comment from him. This made him wonder if men had been inappropriate around her before.

She halted in front of his tall wardrobe. She reached up and with deft fingers she probed at the wood, testing its stability.

Surely she does not intent to sleep among my clothes does she? He wondered to himself, trailing after her into room.

Satisfied by the structure of the cupboard, she turned to him.

"I'll take rest on top of this." She gestured to the storage unit. It dawned on to him why she had chosen that particular spot. It gave a direct view of the door and window, a perfect vantage point.

How strategic. He nodded in approval. She took a step to him and pulled out a neatly folded paper from within the recess of her coat. She held the card between two slender fingers, waiting for him to accept it.

He plucked the paper and began to leisurely unfurl it, his gaze focused on her the entire time.

"My trigger, command in case you had forgotten, sir." She explained. Khan was annoyed by this. The Sheikh continued to doubt his intelligence, like he couldn't remember one simple word. He crushed the paper in his hand. He wondered how many trigger words were there if one had to be written down in order to be remembered.