Chapter 10
Nyah
As I’m talking with Lionel Shepard, the owner of a prestigious law firm here in Tulsa who has had their annual banquet held here at the hotel, my senses hit me like a ton of bricks. Braxton Hillard is close, and I know if he’s seen me talking with Lionel, he and his wolf will attack first, then ask questions later... maybe.
After looking towards the elevator and seeing Mr. Hillard and his Beta standing there, I’m surprised to see an older version of Braxton stepping out before him. I continue my conversation with Lionel before assuring him the banquet hall will be available on the date he wants to reserve it.
I shook Lionel’s hand before he left the hotel, just as Mr. Hillard and his entourage walked over. I sat my tablet on the counter, trying to pretend not to see Mr. Hillard as I blocked off the date for the banquet.
Once I’m finished, I turn to Mr. Hillard.
“Good morning, Mr. Hillard. I hope your night here at Hillard Hotel was accommodating.”
Mr. Hillard smirks. Why does that simple gesture have my wolf and I ready to jump his fine ass?
“Everything was fine. I only hope that the kitchen will give our guests the same hospitality they did for us in the penthouse this morning,” Mr. Hillard replies.
I open my mouth to respond but the older looking Braxton moves forward and extends his hand.
“Good morning, young lady. I’m Bryant Hillard, Braxton’s father.”
I glanced at his hand, really not wanting to shake it but daddy taught me better.
Taking his hand in mine, I respond, “It’s nice to meet you. Mr. Hillard.”
He chuckles, patting my hand. “Please call me Bryant.”
“I have no problem with that, Bryant,” I returned, not knowing where this was going.
That must have hit a nerve with Braxton because he sneers, “So, you can call my father by his first name but not me?”
Far from being intimidated by his gruff voice or expression of being displeased, I reply, “Bryant is a guest here at Hillard Hotels. You, on the other hand, are my boss, so I will address you as such.” Ignoring the scowl on Braxton’s face, I resumed conversing with his father. “Bryant, if you’d like, I can give you a tour of the entire hotel. Granted some departments will start overhauling today and over the next few days.”
A look of rage washes over Braxton. As quickly as it came, it disappeared as Braxton said he would join us. I don’t know why he wished to join us since he and his Beta did their stake out on the hotel over the weekend, but I wasn’t going to argue.
Bryant caught his son’s expression, then said, “Ignore my son.” He links his arm with mine. “Please, lead the way.”
Mr. Hillard, probably seeing the trepidation in my eyes, encourages, “Yes Nyah, lead the way.”
With a half smile and a slight bow of my head, I started walking towards the banquet hall.
Bryant held onto my every word as I took them from one department to the other. I was happy to answer any questions he presented, unlike his son who stood behind us like a brooding neanderthal. I was actually getting a kick out of it. Mister big bad Alpha Braxton was having a jealous fit as I paid more attention to his daddy than him.
Our last stop was in the kitchen. The staff was hustling around to get room service orders out. Bryant and his Beta, James chose to have a look around. Leaving me in the presence of Braxton. He takes hold of my elbow and pulls me to the side. I snatch out of his grip.
“Before I hunt down that motherfucker you were talking too, I suggest you tell me who the Hell he was. I saw the way he was looking at you. Who was he?” Braxton demands.
I have to take a couple of seconds to keep myself from clawing his eyes out. How dare he come at me in such a way. Taking a deep breath, then exhaling. I replied, “If you had asked before the tour, I would have told you that it was Mr. Shepard. He books our banquet hall for his law firm’s gala every year.”
Braxton stands there looking stupid, but he tries to play it off. “That still doesn't explain the way he was fucking you with his eyes.”
I snicker. “If you knew our clients like I do, then you would know Lionel Shepard wants no parts of me like that.”
“And how do you know because to me, his body language spoke differently?”
Staring into his eyes, I lean in, then whisper, “Because the man has been happily married to his husband for the last six years.”
This is one of those times I wish someone were around to take pictures because the jaw dropping impression on Braxton’s face is priceless.
Being sassy, I snapped my fingers at him before going to join his father. Braxton may be my unclaimed mate but before I agree to our bonding, he’s going to need to learn to treat and respect me as his Alpha Female.
Once the tour was over, I had already set up a private dinner for all of us with daddy. Daddy was enthused to see his old friend. When we returned to the lobby Bryant said he and his Beta were going out to see the city.
I knew once his daddy was gone, Braxton was going to have something to say and as Bryant and the others exited the hotel, he focused in on me before demanding, “My office in thirty minutes.”
I had other more pressing issues to deal with, but at the end of the day, asshole or not, he is my boss.
I returned some calls and emails when I got back to my office before it was time for our meeting. With five minutes to spare, I took off my headpiece and begrudgingly made my way to Braxton’s office.
As I stepped off the elevator onto his office floor, I took my time walking down the hallway. I already knew this meeting had nothing to do with the hotel, but about his ego getting bruised by me talking with Lionel. As much as I didn’t want to because I had been here so long, it might be time for me to move onto another hotel. Shifter or human, working in the same space as your mate at some point can become overwhelming. This is just the second day with Braxton and I’m ready to cut his ass.
Reaching his office, I notice Fonda isn’t at her desk and Braxton’s door is open. Low whispers can be heard coming from inside the office. Using my wolf hearing, I hone in.
“How’s that, Mr. Hillard?” Fonda asks in a sultry tone.
“Perfect,’ Braxton slowly replies.
What the absolute fuck?
“Mr. Harris used to love it when I would do this for him,” Fonda says. “He said I was the best at doing it.”
At the brink of shifting, I storm into Braxton’s office to see Fonda leaning in front of Braxton, giving him a full view of her cleavage, with the remote to the blinds in her hand. The deadly look on my face has her face turning beet red as she takes a step back.
Braxton swivels around in his chair to face me. “Why did you stop?” He smirks when he sees me standing in the doorway ready to pounce on Fonda.
“Come in Ms. Lightfeather and have a seat,” he says. “Fonda, thank you for adjusting the blinds for me. Hopefully, I’ll get the hang of it soon.”
Handing him the remote, Fonda tells him, “I’m sure you will, Mr. Hillard, but until then, I’m more than happy to show you again.”
“I just bet you would,” I say under my breath, digging my nails into my palms from the close proximity Fonda is to my mate...shit, did I just...never mind.
Braxton stares me down, asking, “What was that, Ms. Lightfeather?”
“Nothing,” I lied, peering back at him. Damn his wolf hearing.
Fonda’s eyes move back and forth from us as if she’s trying to figure out the silent conversation.
She finally says, “Okay, well I’ll be going back to my desk now. Mr. Hillard, if you need anything, let me know.”
Braxton breaks his silence as he gives her a polite smile. “Thank you, Fonda, and please close the door behind you.”
As Fonda walked past me, the urge to rip her bad blonde extensions out of her hair almost overcame me. I had to remind myself that she is a human who does not know about our ways. Fonda didn’t realize that directly or indirectly flirting with one’s mate could leave you lying on the floor bruised and bloody!
But then I have to wonder how many secretaries at Braxton’s other hotels he had slept with. No doubt Fonda would be far from the first. One thing I wouldn’t tolerate with a mate is infidelity. I don’t give a shit what you did in the past or present. Once it’s been established that we are mates, the only person you should be thinking about fucking is me.
Hearing the door close behind me, has me going to the chair to sit, but Braxton stops me. He stands, then says, “Come here, Nyah.”
“No,” I return, standing in place. “You can say whatever you need to say to me right here.”
Braxton chuckles. “Why must you be so difficult?”
Before I can catch my words, they fly out of my mouth. “And why do you have the hotel pass around, giving you a peepshow in your office?” Damn.
Braxton finds this more amusing. “Are you seriously forgetting about what happened yesterday and earlier today?”
Placing my palm flat on my forehead and closing my eyes, I reply, “You know what, no I’m not serious. We haven’t claimed each other, whatever you do is not my concern.”
“Is that right?” Braxton inquires, slowly approaching me.
“Hell, yeah that’s right. If and when things become official between us, I don’t give a shit what you do and nor should you when it comes to my personal life.”
Lord, I hope Fonda was away from her desk, so she didn’t hear the guttural growl Braxton let out before pulling me into his arms. I would like to say that I tried to fight off his domineering kiss, but once his lips touched mine there was no use. Braxton held me in his arms like a King holding his Queen as he passionately kissed me into submission. Every erogenous zone in my body awakened and wanted to be touched, teased, and stimulated. Braxton must have been feeling the same way, because his massive hard dick was pressing against my stomach. One thing we knew for sure, our sexual chemistry was on fire.
Braxton suckled my lips before moving his head back. “You are the only woman I want to be with, Nyah. You might see me as this person who moves from State to State, bedding women, and you’re right.” I try to get out of his grasp, but Braxton tightens his grasp. “What I’m saying is, I used to be that person, that is until I met you. You are my mate, Nyah and I am yours. Every woman that I have been in contact with since then looks like Jeepers Creepers to me.”
I laughed out loud. Now why did he have to say that?
“I’m serious,” he says. “Fonda can walk into this damn office butt ass naked, and it still wouldn’t get a rise out of me.” To add emphasis, he makes his dick throb. “You feel that? That is only for you. All I want is for you to give us a try. The next full moon isn’t for another two months. I suggest we take this time to get to know each other better. How does that sound?”
I take a minute to think about it, then reply, “We can do that, but you need to let Ms. Thang out there know she has a snowball chance in Hell to be with you.”
Braxton nods, then responds, “I can do that, but you need to let that panty-waste Corey know I’m not the one to be tested when it comes to my mate. Just like you wanted to tear into Fonda...”
“No, I didn’t,” I deny, but we know I was seconds away from doing it.
Braxton throws his head back laughing. “Yes, you did. You reacted the same way I did yesterday with Corey except you didn’t partially shift which I highly commend you for.”
“Yeah, okay. That’s because Fonda doesn’t know about our people. You on the other hand were surrounded by other shifters.” I giggled, loving the way his big arms felt wrapped around me.
Braxton shrugged his shoulders. “Shifter or humans, I don’t care who I’m around when it comes to you. Mr. Shepard was lucky my father was around this morning, or he would have been met with the same hostility as Corey’s punk ass.”
I laughed but I have no doubt Braxton meant what he said. He and his wolf have just as much of a short fuse as me and mine. Maybe the Gods did the right thing in pairing us together. Only time will tell.