CULLEN- The Secretary and the Soldier (Project Zeus-Olympia Book 2)

CHAPTER 5

Kiara juggled groceries in one hand while trying to open the security door with her other. It had taken a miracle for her to swipe her card and enter her key code without dropping her bags to the ground. Now she just had to manage to pull the door open while the light was green, indicating that she could enter. Kiara gripped the handle in her hand and pulled. She was about to give a triumphant grin when she felt her bags began to slip.

“No!” She wailed. She could see her bags crashing to the ground and her eggs

shattering all over the sidewalk. Just before her bags could fall, a hand shot out quickly, and steadied them.

“You shouldn’t have to do all of this alone.” The deep rumble of the male’s voice had Kiara turning with a grateful smile on her face.

“Donovan, you’re a lifesaver. Thank you.” She walked ahead of him as he held the door open for her. Then he came in behind her and took the bags from her hands.

“Dinner date?” He asked curiously as he followed her to the elevators.

“Well, I’m having dinner, but there’s no date involved.” Kiara replied with a wrinkle of her nose.

“I’ll be your date. I’d love a home cooked meal.” Donovan glanced down at her bags hopefully. The expression on his face had her laughing out right.

“Yeah, cause I’m sure this offer is all about me not eating alone.” Kiara said with a roll of her eyes.

“Ok, so I’m fishing for a home cooked meal. The company would just be an added bonus.” In a world where players were a dime a dozen, Kiara had to appreciate his honesty.

“Fine, you’re invited.” She told him, pulling the bags from his hands as she opened her front door. “Dinner’s at seven.”

“See you then.” Donovan replied as he walked away, whistling a jaunty tune.Kiara entered her apartment and began to prepare dinner. She decided her mood called for something raw and powerful. A little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. Kiara selected her Kane CD. She blasted “House Rules” as she prepared a quick meal of fried chicken wings, baked macaroni and cheese, candied yams, green beans, and hot buttery rolls. For dessert, she popped a Dutch Apple pie in the oven to bake while she

went to take a quick shower. Right at seven o’clock she heard the buzzer sound at her

door.

“Wow, he’s prompt.” She muttered under her breath, nerves beginning to tangle in her belly now. She hadn’t had time to think about being alone with Donovan, not while she cooked. She had let the sexy sound of Kane drown out her worries, but now the time was here. There was a gorgeous, single man standing outside of her door, waiting for her to let him in, and she was terrified. What kind of expectations would he have? The buzzer sounded again, cutting into her racing thoughts. Well, it’s now or never, she thought as she pulled the door open and faced a grinning Donovan.

“Hey.” She leaned in, hugging him before he stepped over the threshold. “Sorry, I was back in the bathroom getting changed.” She closed the door behind him and then led him over to her small cherry oak, dining room table. She had the food laid out in the center, with their plates sitting, waiting to be filled. Kane continued to croon softly in the background, as she forgot to turn the CD off.

“I hope you brought an appetite with you.” Kiara called over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen and turned the oven down to warm. She came back to the table and sat down nervously.

“I’ve always got an appetite.” Donovan responded, sending her a wink as he

quickly fixed her plate, before fixing his own. Once they were settled, he grabbed his

utensils and began to dig in appreciatively.

“This is really good.” He complimented as he continued to eat.

“Thank you.” Kiara nervously took a small bite of chicken before quickly putting the wing down and wiping her hands.

“I forgot the drinks.” She began to push her chair back to rise, but Donovan stopped her.

“I’ll get them.” He quickly pushed to his feet, wiped his hands, and headed to the kitchen as she called out to him where to find the cups. She heard her cupboards opening and closing and then she heard the sound of ice tinkling into glasses.

“What are we drinking?” Donovan called out, making her turn around to look into the kitchen.

“I have soda, juice, milk, and iced tea. You choose.” Kiara told him, before turning back around.

“Soda it is.” He called back, pouring two glasses of Dr. Pepper before heading back over to the table. He sat her glass in front of her and then took a sip out of his own cup.

As the evening progressed, Donovan watched her grow more and more mellow, more and more compliant. After dessert, Kiara stood to her feet and staggered slightly.

“Hey, you look a little tired. Why don’t I do these dishes while you go and sit on the couch.” He watched as her eyes drooped slightly, before she shook off the lethargy and agreed.

“Ok.” He helped her back into the living room, sitting her down on a smooth, tan couch, with a floral pattern. As her eyes drooped down once again, Donovan gave a wicked grin.

“Kiara?” He called to her.

“Hmm?” She replied, sleepily.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a dull drone, as the pills took effect. Donovan sat down across from her, eager to try out the hypnosis pills the government had engineered, outside of a controlled environment. Like any experiment, there were hits and there were misses, but Donovan knew for a fact that these pills were a hit. He had seen them in action, personally.

“Can you tell me about Cullen?” He asked, keeping his voice low and soothing. He was told that he had to keep his tone even and that it would only work on her if he were someone she trusted.

“Cullen?” She asked, suspicion creeping into her voice.

“Yes. You told me you work for Cullen, for Nightshade Security. Can you tell me about that?” Donovan asked, making his tone politely curious to negate her suspicions.

“Sure.” Kiara muttered and then she began to talk. Donovan grinned as he cut on his tape recorder. Wasn’t it going to burn Olympia ZW-83’s ass when he realized the only person he trusted completely betrayed him?

As Kiara came awake she realized two things. She didn’t remember what happened last night and her mouth was as dry as the dessert. She climbed from the bed as she tried to remember what had happened. She remembered cooking and sharing dinner with her neighbor, Donovan. They had had a good evening with great food and stimulating conversation, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what had happened next. She didn’t remember how she’d gotten into the bed and that bothered her. She hadn’t been drinking, had she? Kiara stumbled from the bedroom and into her bathroom, running the water for a few seconds to get it cool, leaning her head under the facet to drink. She drank deeply as she still tried to remember her night. After she finished her water, Kiara brushed her teeth and washed her face before heading back out into the bedroom. She saw the light blinking on her phone, letting her know that she had

messages. She hadn’t heard her phone ring at her. Had she really been that deeply asleep?

She never slept deeply. When you grew up on the streets, you basically learned to sleep

with one eye open. What was wrong with her?

“Hey, Kiara.” Donovan’s pleasant voice filled the room. “You fell asleep on the couch last night so I just tucked you in and left. I guess your day was longer than you thought.” She heard him chuckle indulgently before he continued on. “Anyway, thanks for the great meal and the great conversation. We’ll have to do it again sometime. See you around.” Kiara frowned as the message ended. She couldn’t remember the conversation she had with Donovan. Not all of it. She barely remembered the dinner. Kiara sighed as she pushed her long, tangled hair from out of her eyes. Well, she guessed there was a first time for everything. With that thought, Kiara went to dress for the day.

Cullen turned the number over and over in his hands. He wondered if he should call her. What could it hurt to hear what she had to say? Cullen picked up the phone and then put it back down. Was he making a mistake? Could he trust this person? He just didn’t know, but he knew that the dreams were coming nightly now and he was seeing things he couldn’t possibly know about, things that didn’t make any sense. Cullen picked up the phone again and began to dial Kiara. She would know what to do. She always was level headed and she looked at things from a no bullshitting standpoint. Plus he could always bounce ideas off of her.

“Kee-Kee, I need to see you.” He said in greeting. “Meet me at my house.”

“Cullen, what’s wrong?” He could hear the concern in her voice. He didn’t want to worry her, but he didn’t know how to explain what he was feeling.

“I’ll tell you everything when you get here.” With that, he disconnected and then began to prepare breakfast. He knew that once Kiara arrived, she would want to eat. As he cooked, he wondered if he were making the right decision. Should he really involve her in this entire mess? He wanted Kiara safe and out of the way, but he didn’t trust anyone else with her safety. She was his. She had been from the moment he invited her home with him six years ago.

“Knock, knock, Nightshade!” He heard Kiara call from the living room as she headed back towards the kitchen out of habit.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Cullen turned around to respond and felt lust grip him tight. She wore snug denim shorts that hugged her curves, enticingly. Her top stopped just at the hem of the shorts, showing an enticing glimpse of tummy when she moved. He was hard and aching within moments. He couldn’t even speak.

“Cullen?” There was confusion in her voice as she moved closer, her scent enticing and arousing. He could feel the lust and the rage claw at him, and he could practically taste her on his tongue.

“Talk to me, Cullen.” Kiara took another step towards him. He wanted to warn her, to tell her to stay back, but he couldn’t, because the part of him that raged, wanted her closer. The part of him that lusted wanted to devour her.

“Cullen, you’re scaring me.” Her voice wavered slightly, exciting him. Just one more step and she’d be right within reach. As she took the final step, the smell of her skin, increased, and so did his desire. Before she could speak again, Cullen reached out, gripping her around the waist. He saw the alarm in her eyes, moments before he crushed his mouth down on hers, hungrily.

Kiara felt desire slam through her hard and fast, as Cullen’s mouth connected with hers. She couldn’t think beyond the buzzing in her ears as she wrapped her arms around him and held on for dear life as the kiss took on a life of it's own. She didn’t know when she’d become a participant in the assault on her senses; all she knew was that his taste was addictive and she never wanted to stop. Colors exploded behind her eye lids as he devoured her, mercilessly. When he backed her up against the wall, gripping her breast, possessively, alarm filled her. When his grip began to border on painful and his kiss became more hungry and desperate, alarm turned to fear. This wasn’t like Cullen. What was wrong with him? Though kissing him was delicious, it wasn’t right, and he definitely wasn’t alright. With regret, Kiara broke the kiss and pulled away.

“Cullen, are you ok?” Concern filled her as she finally got a good look at him. His pupils had expanded to the point where his eyes were just two blue-green rings surrounding the black. She tried to break his grip on her, but she felt it tighten, painfully.

“Cullen, you’re hurting me.” She kept her voice low, soothing, hoping to break through whatever daze he was in, but it didn’t seem to help. It was as if she was looking at a complete stranger, and the fear she felt earlier, returned.

Cullen could scarcely breath around the knot in his belly. How did he lose control so quickly? He looked into Kiara’s eyes and saw fear and lust there, and it excited him. Lord, help them both if he couldn’t get the rage under control. He took two deep steadying breaths and with the last of his strength, he released her.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered, reaching for the pills in his pocket. He crunched into them, hoping for instant relief. For some reason, they barely took the edge off.

“What’s wrong with you, Cullen?” Concern glossed over the fear in her voice, making his heart ache.

“I don’t know.” He answered honestly, sighing as he stepped back. When her small hand reached up to caress his cheek, soothingly, it took everything in his power not to reach for her again, devour her again. Cullen stepped back again, gesturing to the kitchen table.

“Sit down and eat. I’ll try to explain what I can.” Cullen ignored her, focusing on fixing their plates as he heard the chair scrape back. Once he felt that he was more in control, he turned around, plates in hand. He sat one in front of Kiara and then sat down across from her. He began eating his food, and remained silent until the meal was nearly gone.

Kiara picked at the breakfast before her. Apprehension had her stomach tied in knots and there was no way in hell she’d even be able to taste the food he put in front of her. What the hell was wrong with him? First he kissed her like he was going to die if he didn’t have a taste of her, and then he pulled away, fixed her breakfast, and pretended as if the kiss never happened. Should she follow his lead, and also pretend the kiss didn’t happen? Apparently, he wasn’t feeling well. Otherwise, he never would have kissed her. Kiara knew that Cullen saw her as a kid sister, as the little girl that he raised.

“I went to see that investigator.” His words had shock moving through her as she put down her fork and stopped pretending to eat. So, that’s what was on his mind. It didn’t explain the kiss, but at least it explained his erratic behavior.

“I thought that we were going to stay away from her.”

“I just had to know what she knew.” Cullen responded to that, shooting her an apologetic look. What? Did he think that she was going to disapprove or fly off the handle because he wanted answers? She was happy that he saw Nyla.

“And?” She prompted.

“I can’t be sure, but she seemed like she was telling the truth. So, I got a number for this Alexia St. James.” He filled her in before pushing away from the table so that he could pace. She could see that his nerves were stretched tight, which was another rarity in

and of it self. Cullen never showed nerves or anxiety.

“I think that you should call her.” Kiara’s voice was low and full of concern.

“Maybe she could explain the dreams to you.”

“What if it’s a trap?”

“Cullen.” Kiara climbed to her feet and stood before him, stopping his forward motion. “You’d know if it was a trap. You’ve been doing this for a long time.”

“I know, but no one’s ever tried to get to me like this before.” Cullen looked into Kiara’s wise gray eyes and he knew that she was right. He owed it to himself to find out if the dreams were true. He owed it to himself to find out if he really had siblings.

“I’ll be here for you, Cullen, to support you anyway I can.” Kiara’s quiet voice cut through his frantic thoughts and worked towards calming his racing heart. With a determined nod, he reached for his cell phone and dialed the number that he committed to memory. On the third ring, a husky familiar voice responded on the other end, bringing the impression of misty green eyes into his mind.

“Is this Alexia St. James?” Cullen asked stupidly into the phone. Of course it was. Everything in him was telling him that it was.

“Cullen.” There was love and relief in the voice now, and laughter.

“Who are you?” He bit off, shaking the vivid images from his head.

“It’s me. Allie.” He could hear hurt sound in her voice and he had the strangest urge to comfort her.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know an Allie.” Cullen responded, steeling his heart against the pain in her voice.

“Then what made you decide to call me?” She challenged and he could almost see the look on her face. It made him grin.

“You tracked me down. Now tell me what you want before I get bored with this entire conversation.” He made his tone sound careless and unconcerned.

“Just be careful, Cullen. There are members of the government trying to track us down and kill us.” There were tears in her voice now, tears she tried hard to conceal, and it was breaking his heart.

“Don’t cry, Allie.” The words were out of his mouth before he knew what he was going to say, but somehow they sounded familiar. Somehow it was natural for him to want to comfort her.

“You do remember.” She cried out in elation. “Oh, Cullen I miss you.”

“Look, I honestly don’t remember you, but I’ve been having dreams.” He confided. “Dreams about places I’ve never been, never seen.”

“What have you seen, Cullen?” There was curiosity in her voice now, giving him pause. Did he really know who he was talking to? After all, it wasn’t as if he were starring at her face.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I have no idea who you are. I don’t feel comfortable getting into this.” He responded, bluntly.

“Cullen, you know exactly who I am. They couldn’t have buried your memories that deep.” Her words had suspicion creeping through him. What the hell was she talking about?

“How the hell could someone have buried my memories?”

“Show me yours and I’ll show you mines.” Her voice was husky and teasing now, as more images bombarded him. Should he trust what he was feeling?

“Fine.” He grounded out. “I’ve seen a young girl between the ages of twenty to twenty-five with green eyes and dusky golden skin, standing on a beach, looking out over the water. I get the impression that it’s an island that very few people know about. A safe haven.” He heard her gasp at his description.

“You’re connecting to me.” She whispered in awe. “Even without your memories you’re connecting to me.”

“My memory is just fine.” Cullen growled out, making her sigh.

“Well, you shared yours and now I’m going to share mines. In 1983, scientists started a project known as Project Zeus. A group of ambitious scientists seduced the government with the idea of young soldiers, bred to fit into all walks of life. Children who could slip behind enemy lines, gather intelligence, and kill without a conscious. The government liked the idea, and funded the project.” Cullen swore under his breath.

“Cut the bullshit. You said that if I showed you mines you’d show me yours.” He cut into the story.

“I am showing you mines. Unfortunately, it’s all true.” Alex responded as she expelled an exasperated breath. “They impregnated twelve young women with embryos that were far from normal. Only six of the women were able to carry these special babies full-term. You’re one of the six.”

“I wasn’t born in a lab.” Cullen bit out. “Why don’t you just tell me what you want?’

“What I really want is for my brother to remember me. What I want is for my brother to come tell me that everything will be ok. But I’ll settle for him being careful.”

“I’m always careful.” Cullen assured.

“Even when I’m far away…” The quiet feminine voice had chills moving down Cullen’s spine as he responded, “I’m always close by.”

“Yeah.” She muttered sadly. “Just be careful, Cullen.” At that, the dial tone sounded in his ear. He swore viciously and snapped his phone shut, as he whirled around to find curious gray eyes starring up at him. He’d nearly forgotten that Kiara was there. How the hell was he supposed to explain anything to her? His feelings were all mixed up and he felt discombobulated.

“I have a few things I need to look into.” He muttered before exiting the kitchen, leaving her there to ponder over his weird reaction. He strolled towards his office in determined strides. If there were a program like that within their government, he would find it.