Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Konni watched me enter and close the door, his amber gaze even more mesmerizing in the daylight pouring in from a wall of glass behind his executive desk.
“You don’t look surprised.”
My knees felt weak as I crossed the space to his desk, stopping in front of it.
“I saw you this morning.”
His perfect mouth didn’t tilt up in amusement as he studied me. He looked serious.
Seriously hot and tempting.
Why couldn’t I remember Friday night?
“What happened Friday was a mistake,” I said.
He stood and slowly walked around his desk. I backed up a few steps. He casually leaned against the front edge, silently assuring me that he wasn’t coming for me.
Today. But he had come for me on Friday.
Maybe it’d been more than once.
“I’ve spoken to Lianna. She—”
“Did you use protection?” I blurted in a panic.
He considered me for a long moment.
“How much don’t you remember?”
My face flushed scarlet since I couldn’t remember anything and wasn’t about to admit that.
“It would be better if we maintained a professional distance,” I said.
“Here or everywhere?”
“Everywhere.”
“I’d rather not. You’re already dealing with enough on your own. Financial strain at home. Your Mom’s injury. Stress here. Distance is the last thing you need, Sophia. Let me help you.”
I fisted my hands at my sides, mostly so my hands would stop shaking from how nervous and desperate I felt.
“Are you going to use my job to manipulate me? Because I’ll quit now if that’s the case.”
A hint of hurt and something else softened his expression.
“Never. Your job is guaranteed for life because you’re worth keeping as an employee—I’ve seen your reports. You work efficiently and give results. I’d be a fool to do anything that would make you want to leave.”
His words soothed me until he plucked my phone from my grasp. He moved so fast that he had my phone unlocked with my facial recognition before I knew what he intended.
“If something happens, like on Friday, call me.” He frowned at my phone and looked up at me. “Sperm donor? You actually have one?”
My flush deepened. “We all do. It’s my dad.”
“Interesting contact name for him.”
“Just give me my phone back, Konni.”
I moved to grab it from him. He caught my wrist and tugged me forward so I fell against his chest. Then he pinned me there with a steely arm wrapped around my waist and a hand on the back of my head.
“I’ve been craving this since you left my bed Saturday morning.
Do you know how hard it was to lie there and listen to you gather your clothes without stopping you?
But I did it. I knew you didn’t want to be tied down.
And I know that hasn’t changed. But have you considered that letting me tie you down could be as enticing as letting me spank you? ”
I jerked back to meet his gaze.
“You spanked me?”
His slow smile created a heat in my middle.
“Would you like to recreate Friday night with less alcohol involved so you can remember?”
My hormones were screaming, “Hell yes.”
Thankfully, they weren’t in charge.
Yet.
“I’d rather have the professional distance I asked for.”
He sighed and released me. Picking up the phone he’d set on the desk at some point, he handed it back to me.
“Call me if anything happens, Sophia.”
“No, thank you.”
He smiled in a slow way that felt like a threat and a challenge.
“If you don’t want me to quit, pretend you don’t know me at work,” I said.
“That’s impossible, kitten.”
That pet name momentarily robbed me of reason and filled me with heat.
Why was he so good at this?
“I mean it, Konni.” I poked his chest.
Damn, that was firm. If I didn’t leave fast, my hormones would win, and I’d start petting some pecs.
“Behave, or I'll quit. And no ‘kitten’ pet name.” I would do dumb things if I kept hearing it. “Ms. Elmantas. That’s it.”
I turned on my heel, my face flaming and phone in my hand.
He caught me from behind, trapping my arms as he hugged me to his chest and spoke next to my ear.
“Leaving this office while looking upset will raise questions. If you don’t want anyone to know we know each other, take a moment. Breathe. I’ll listen to what you say and follow your lead. Alright?”
His words were logical and borderline comforting, which contradicted his hold.
Liar, I whispered to myself because I really liked the way he was holding me, one forearm just below my breasts and the other over my waist. I didn’t feel caged, but shielded, and damn if I didn’t just want to melt into it.
“Message received. You can let go.”
He did, but not before I felt a faint brush of his nose against my ear.
I stood there, composed myself, then calmly left his office. It was a good thing he’d stopped me from rushing out. Lianna stood just outside, waiting. Her sharp gaze swept over me before shifting to the partially open door behind me.
Ignoring her and that lingering sensation on my ear, I kept walking.
Was I in trouble? Undoubtedly. If I were smart, I’d swallow my pride and tell the Wulfs I’d take any position there. Janitor. Elevator greeter. Stapling Compliance Auditor. It didn’t matter. Anything would be fine.
But I’d probably lose just as much sleep at night doing that as I would staying here, knowing that I’d slept with the CEO, who also happened to be the obsessed shifter that Miranda had been feeding information to.
I tripped as I realized, with full horror, what I might have done.
“Are you all right?” a man asked, catching my elbow.
“Yeah, fine,” I croaked.
He released me with a skeptical look I probably deserved, and I veered for the bathroom.
My breath wheezed in and out of me as I checked my neck for bite marks. Nothing. Just a necklace of faded hickies.
Unsure, I sent out a panicked text.
Me: Is he a wolf shifter?
Miranda: No. Dragon. Why?
Me: How do they mate?
Miranda: You’d have to ask him that. I’m not familiar with their mating rituals, only mine.
If I’d accidentally mated with Konni, he wouldn’t let me go. I’d seen how Wrenly’s mate had acted after they’d officially mated. Obsessive. Clingy. Possessive. He’d been that way before they’d mated, too, though.
No thanks.
Since Konni wasn’t like that, did that mean we weren’t mated?
Groaning, I stared at myself in the mirror.
Why in the hell did a dragon have to want me?
Maybe dragons were like wolf shifters. Even if we were mated, there was a way to unmate.
I repeated that to myself until my pulse slowed and my legs felt less weak.
Feeling a little calmer, I returned to my desk to find Lianna waiting for me.
“Why were you in the bathroom so long?”
“Chronic constipation.” My delivery was as flawlessly serious as was her immediate disgust. “Did you need something?”
“A report. The details are in your email. I need it before you leave.”
“Understood.” I eagerly sat, grateful for a task that would distract me from the new boulder life lobbed at me.
The next several hours passed quickly. I finished the report, sent it to Lianna, then made a backup and stuck it into my purse. Whitney and Shana shut down their computers at the same time I did.
“Any plans tonight?” I asked as we walked toward the elevators together.
“Home. Cook dinner. Get the kids settled,” Shana said.
That was the first time she’d mentioned kids.
“How old?” I asked.
“Seven and ten.”
I wanted to ask more, but I could see from her expression that she wouldn’t welcome follow-up questions. So, I didn’t bother asking. I took out my phone and sent a message to Uncle Jay as the elevator went down.
Me: Can you get someone to cover my shift tonight?
Uncle Jay: Yeah. Are you okay?
Me: Fine. Exhausted. I think life is catching up with me, and I need an early night.
Uncle Jay: Take as many as you need.
Me: Just tonight. Stop trying to get rid of me.
He laughed at my last message, and I drove home, second-guessing the wisdom of missing a shift at Lunar Pulse. I couldn’t really afford it. Yet, I wasn’t ready to face Konni outside of work either.
Was I being a chicken? Absolutely. However, I was allowed some time to freak out and regroup. As much as I wanted today’s conversation to be the end of us, there were more questions I needed to ask now. Questions I wasn’t quite yet ready to have answered.
I felt physically nauseous at the thought of my father finding out I was mated to the CEO of Steele Corp. What level of conning or emotional blackmail would he pull then?
Shaking my head, I cleared that line of thinking. But my thoughts continued to whirl all the way home.
Mom looked up from her book when I walked in the door.
“I made you a sandwich,” she said. “It’s not too bad for one hand.”
“Thanks. Did you eat?”
“I did.”
I took my sandwich and sat down next to her on the couch. She studied me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone at work likes me, and I’m not sure how to deal with it. My usual lie about transitioning didn’t scare him off.”
“Maybe that means he's decent. Also, you really need to stop telling people that. It’s not nice.”
“I’m helping break social norms through desensitization.”
Mom snorted. “You’re so full of it. You’re desperately trying to keep everyone away because you’re terrified of following in my footsteps. Not every man is as selfish as your father.”
“Meh. The good ones are rarer than a princess-cut painite ring.”
“A what?”
“A rare gemstone that costs tens of thousands of dollars just for a little piece.”
“The fact that you know that is concerning.”
“My love of fashion and accessories isn’t concerning.” My inability to support it was. But if I kept focused on my career and got Mom back in a management position where she belonged, that would turn around.
“Back to the topic at hand,” I said. “The real concern is this guy. Even Uncle Jay doesn’t intimidate him.”
“He’s that interested?”
“Your skepticism is noted and not entirely appreciated.”
“Pfft. Make up your mind. Do you or don’t you want him to be interested?”
She had me there.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Which is why I’m not going into work tonight. I need a break to think.”