A couple warm fingers pressed to her throat, over her racing pulse point. “You’re going to hyperventilate if you don’t calm.” The large, rough hand moved to the back of her neck, where he squeezed the muscles for a time before releasing. He massaged the area slowly.

She closed her eyes and let her head fall forward. He’d done this when she had been freaking out as a child, too, in her dreams. “I’m trying to calm down, but you try having a gun pressed to your head and a bunch of oversized GI Joes pulling you out of your home, and then we’ll talk about not freaking out. How do I know you aren’t taking me somewhere to kill me?”

“If we wanted you dead, we wouldn’t have used the hood to obscure your view of the destination.” His thumb and fingers were working up and down the length of her neck, along her spine.

They took a turn a little too hard and she felt herself falling toward him. But his grip kept her more or less upright. Then they came to a sharp stop. His hand dropped away as doors were opened, then slammed shut. Hers opened a moment later. The seat belt was removed, and a big hand on her arm guided her out to the ground.

“Thank you, Demaratus.” Holly spoke his name even though no one had said it aloud. She simply knew it. She stood still and took a deep breath. “Okay, where are we going? I really suck at walking on good days, so having a hood on my head is only a disaster waiting to happen.” She heard a snicker and shrugged. “I can’t help it. I’m a bit of a klutz, and I embrace it.”

“You won’t fall. Walk,” Demaratus told her. He didn’t acknowledge the use of his name. He lifted his hand up higher on her arm and led her along at a slow pace. She knew he was making sure that he could catch her if she stumbled. There was asphalt under her, but even a smooth surface wouldn’t stop her from taking a tumble if her feet had other plans.

She was walking along at his side, and that’s when it happened. Perfectly straight asphalt was nothing compared to her clumsiness. She tripped and would have fallen if he hadn’t wrapped his arms around her and caught her. Where her shoulder hit, she sensed heat before she was hauled back upright. “Sorry. I told you that I wasn’t exactly the most graceful person. Give me a computer and I’m a goddess, but make me walk, and I suck.”

He put his arm around her and scooped her up. Carrying her, he moved at a quicker pace, bouncing her a little with each stride. He only slowed when he seemed to be climbing up something. Then she was in another seat, with another seat belt put around her waist, and what seemed like headphones dropped over her ears.

“Oh now, this isn’t fair,” she grumbled. She felt someone sitting at her side. It wasn’t Demaratus. She pushed the sudden hurt away. These men were essentially kidnapping her, so why would she care about them? “So, tell me, boys, is this something you do often?” She couldn’t hear them, but they could hear her, and she was going to make sure that they knew she was still there by talking. A lot.

Whatever she was sitting in began to vibrate. The person at her side suddenly left his seat, and someone else settled next to her. Wider than the last one and warm. Demaratus, she was sure.

“Do what?” came through the headphones to her.

“Kidnap women. Are we in a helicopter? If so, keep the bag on my head. I’m afraid of heights, too.” She had a list a mile long of the things that scared her.

“We’ve never kidnapped anyone before.” This time it was Demaratus’s voice in her ears. “As they say, there’s a first time for everything. And yes, we are in a helicopter. If you need anything to drink, let us know, but be aware there are no facilities on this thing, so we’d have to open a door, hold you out there, and let you do whatever was needed that way.”

“Oh now, that is just so totally gross.” She frowned and laughed at the same time. “You guys are seriously not funny. Nothing to drink. Just knowing that I’m in the air is enough to wig me out, thank you very much. Thanks anyway, DC.” Another moniker she had given the man who looked like him in her dreams. Demaratus Corinth was how he had introduced himself. The motion of the helicopter made her briefly sway toward Demaratus. There’s that heat again. Strange.

“You will explain how you think you know me later,” he said quietly. “For now, it might be best if you closed your eyes and tried to sleep. We’ll be in the air for a while, without anything to do up here.”

“Jesus, you did that in my dreams, too. You’re a bossy bit of goods,” she grumbled. Oddly enough, she did find herself yawning. The warmth from the massive man at her side had her calming, even while the more logical part of her railed against it. He felt so right. She had grown up with this man in her dreams. She had lived with this man giving her his faith and his support, and even now she felt herself giving in to the comfort that he offered.

He cut the restraints loose from her wrists. “Since I know you won’t be going anywhere given our current location, those are not required.”

She moved her hands so that she could rub at the skin. “I always talk. I’m a talker, and when I’m not talking, I’m coding, and when I’m not coding, I’m talking to all things electronic. It’s just who I am.”

“I’m beginning to see that. I should have brought a gag.” He spoke in a tone she thought might have been teasing. “Sleep, Ms. Smith. We have a few hours ahead of us.”