Worked By the Werewolf (Monster Junk #1)

Chapter One

Jonah stared up at the dazzling building, checking he’d got the address correct for what had to be the tenth time that morning.

His heart was pounding behind his ribs. He couldn’t believe he was here!

It had been a week since the CEO of Sensual Playthings, Ezekiel Tompkins, had sent him an email, inviting him to their headquarters to take a look around... and potentially get his hands on some samples to play with.

The tour alone was enough of a draw, especially considering that, for all his sudden rise to the top of a fairly competitive industry, Tompkins was circumspect about his own life. Jonah didn’t even think there was a picture of him on the web.

And he was going to meet him?

Jonah checked his phone again. He was ten minutes early, but there was no point in standing out here and letting his nerves get the better of him.

He bounded up the white steps that led to the door of what had once been a townhouse, eyes sweeping over the discreet sign labelling the business, and pressed the buzzer.

Nothing. Jonah pressed it again.

“Can I help you?” The woman’s voice was young. Professional.

“Yeah, uh, I’m Jonah Stanfield. I’m supposed to be meeting with Mr Tompkins this morning.”

Silence. Jonah chewed the inside of his cheek, resisting the urge to run his hands through his dark hair and mess it up. He’d spent ages getting ready this morning.

“Please come in, Mr Stanfield.” There was a buzz, and Jonah pushed the door open, stepping inside.

The hallway was long and narrow, with two doors on either side and a staircase almost at the very end. A woman opened one of the doors and smiled at him. “Mr Tompkins is just upstairs,” she said. “Second door on the left. You’ll see his nameplate on it.”

Jonah nodded. “R– Right.”

If he hadn’t been nervous before, he was now, as she disappeared behind the door again. Still, he was here, wasn’t he?

Jonah had never known that this was the direction his life would take him. He’d started reviewing sex toys a few years before. It just made sense – there were so many out there, and so many people, especially guys, who didn’t know what to look for.

Reviewing had led to... Well, videos, though he kept his face off-camera for those. Part of him wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like he hid the videos, and they made up a decent chunk of his income.

It was why he was excited to be here. Sensual Playthings was the hot new company in the sex toy industry, and they’d had a meteoric ride to the top. Jonah had almost everything in their collection so far.

He made his way over to the stairs and walked up them slowly.

Apparently, Ezekiel Tompkins had a hand in every product his company produced. If he did, the man was some kind of genius. Or knew some kind of sex magic.

Jonah snorted and paused when he reached the top of the stairs. The first door on the left was blank; the second had a sleek brass plate high up, and Jonah took another deep breath before he knocked.

“Come in.”

The man’s voice was clear as a bell, even through the heavy wood. Jonah pushed open the door and stepped inside.

He froze mid-movement as the man behind the desk, who could only be Ezekiel Tompkins, turned his attention to him.

Even seeing pictures of Mr Tompkins on his website or in publicity shots did nothing to prepare Jonah for the reality of being in the same room as him.

He was ridiculously handsome, dark skin flawless, just a twitch at the edge of his smile that Jonah knew, if he wasn’t thinking of sex already, would have veered his thoughts right there.

Jonah closed his mouth, swallowed. Ezekiel Tompkins’s smile widened.

“You must be Jonah!” He stood and rounded his desk, holding out a hand. A jolt went through Jonah when he shook it. Every nerve was alight. He did his best to keep his eyes front and centre, even as he wanted to take his time and look the man over.

“Yeah, I – You’re Mr Tompkins.”

“Please, call me Ez. I’m so glad you could make it.”

He seemed it, too, which Jonah thought was odd, but then what about this situation wasn’t? He wasn’t anywhere near the top in his field in terms of followers or anything like that. Sure, he managed to make it work full-time, but still...

“Yeah, I’m not quite sure...” Jonah flushed under Ezekiel’s curious gaze. “Why me?”

Something shifted in Ezekiel’s eyes and Jonah’s stomach flipped as every hair on the back of his neck stood on end. It was as though he was being stared down by a predator, by something that would eat him whole.

Jonah wasn’t sure he would dislike that.

“Why not you?” Ez asked, and his voice was a low purr.

The moment lingered, then shattered when he smiled, something more distant in it.

“Now, I know you don’t have the largest fanbase, but that doesn’t matter.

They’re eager, hungry. You’ve helped sell a lot of our products.

So, I thought it might be prudent to invite you here to assist us on the next line. ”

“The next product line?” Jonah found himself leaning forward without thinking about it.

Ez merely chuckled. He rounded his desk again, gesturing at the chair opposite as he did. Jonah dropped into it without hesitating.

“Yes. I have something... ambitious in mind. We have the prototypes complete, of course.”

“You do?” Jonah knew his eyes were wide as saucers. He wasn’t sure how they’d done it, but they’d done a great job of keeping that under wraps. Very impressive, considering the buzz around the company right now.

“Yes,” Ez said, and this smile was definitely sincere. “I wanted to give you the first chance outside this company to check things out, see if we’re on the right track. You’ll be compensated, of course, for your time.”

The original email had mentioned compensation, though Jonah had been too excited at the time to think about why he’d need to be compensated for a visit.

“I – Yeah, that sounds, I mean—”

Ez took pity on him. He leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand. “There are some forms for you to fill out, naturally. NDAs and all that.”

He passed them over and Jonah flicked through quickly, barely skimming the conditions. He got it. He had to keep whatever he saw here to himself. Well, at least until they were looking for publicity, he guessed.

Jonah signed the forms and passed them back. Ez picked out one copy and set it aside. “That’s for you to take with you.” He leaned back and looked at Jonah for a long moment. “There is something else you need to know. What I’d like you to do.”

Jonah swallowed. “What’s that?”

Ez smiled again. “Come on. Let me show you.”