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She descended the ramp and found herself bathed in warm, amber-toned illumination. Clean air brushed past her cheeks, perfumed with hints of citrus and flowers.

The ambiance hummed with quiet energy, walls clad in dark obsidian steel softened by inlays of burnished gold and backlit veins of aetherite.

Waiting at the bottom, leaning against a chrome-plated railing with one hand tucked into his belt and a disarming smile carved across his face, stood a man.

One who made her forget her momentary troubles, even her name, for a moment.

‘Hola,jefa,’ he said with a slow grin, eyes sweeping her in one appreciative glance. ‘Welcome to theÚltimaSombra. Name’s Santi. I’ll be your charming escort today.’

Damn, the way he said ‘boss’ was sexy, sensual, suggestive, and respectful all at once.

He was also absurdly handsome, with sun-warmed skin, shoulder-length blackberry-dark hair, and a jawline sculpted by a divine demi-god or a skilled black-market gene modeler. Muscled but graceful, he was danger wrapped in silk.

He wore a matte combat shirt open at the throat, dog tags glinting beneath the collar. His smile was trouble, and his blended Spanish-Kwavi accent needed to be made illegal.

She searched for a word to describe his magnificence, found none, and capitulated with a husky, ‘Hi.’

Her eye was caught by movement to the left.

A giant figure stepped out of an engineering shaft a few feet away, barefoot, soot-slick, half-naked to the waist.

He wore grime-covered durable work trousers in thick triple-stitched synth cotton with reinforced knee pads and pockets, reflective patches, and held up by braces that hung over his naked muscled chest.

Tools hung off a waist belt, and he carried a massive wrench in one hand.

His entire body was ropey with muscle.

Shoulder-length violet hair clung damp to his neck and over his right eye.

The visible left eye, hell, it was a map of old violence.

It was scarred from temple to cheek as if someone had raked him with a blade dipped in hate. The skin around it had long since healed, but not kindly.

His gaze was unreadable, molten golden behind a rough, brutal exterior.

He slowed his roll the moment he saw her.

His nostrils flared. A slow, extended inhale that made her spine ripple in warning.

Then that gilded eye raked her. From head to heel and back again.

Savvine’s mouth went dry.

Santiago’s voice broke the thick, electric pause. ‘Bone, this is Savvine Bianchi. Chief of Security on theEterna. She’s here to meet Xander.’

The massive barefoot man didn’t reply.

His gaze and frame locked onto her like a predator who’d just found its quarry.

Raising his head, he sniffed long and deep, eyes still fixed on her, scenting her, nostrils flaring, from only a few feet away.

Savvine stiffened, every instinct firing in protest.

This wasn’t curiosity nor a greeting.

This was darker. He looked at her like he wanted to pin her down and never let go.

He took a step forward.