by Sophie Stern
“Lots of homework?” Allison remembered grad school well. She’d only done a semester before she’d decided that she was ready to start working instead of continuing to study.
“Something like that,” Yvette said vaguely.
Lyla started chatting, talking about the boys and how she hoped they would go to college one day, but she didn’t seem to notice the way that Yvette’s face fell when Allison asked about homework. Allison tried to pay attention to her mother, but as soon as Lyla stepped out of the room to use the toilet, Allison grabbed Yvette by the arm.
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on. Dish.”
Allison knew her sister well enough to know when something else was going on: something more than met the eye. Allison’s little sister was a darling, but she also wasn’t the type to hold back when it came to talking about school. If Yvette was being sly, there was a reason for it.
Yvette sighed and looked over her shoulder. Lyla was still gone. She could speak freely without her mom finding out what she wanted to say.
“Okay, fine,” Yvette said. “Frank and I broke up.”
Allison raised an eyebrow.
“Frank?”
“I know, it’s a stupid name, and it sounds like he’s an old guy or something, but he’s not. Well, he wasn’t. Isn’t. I don’t know anymore,” Yvette shook her head. Allison’s heart hurt as she reached for her sister and pulled her into a tight hug. She hadn’t even known her sister had been dating someone. Yvette was pretty private when it came to her personal life. Still, dealing with a break-up sucked.
“I’m sorry you broke up, and it’s not a stupid name.”
“He’s stupid,” Yvette whispered.
“Anyone who breaks my little sister’s heart is definitely stupid,” Allison agreed. “You deserve better than that, you know.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so. What happened? Do you want to talk about it?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. We were happy and then we weren’t.”
“How long were you together?”
Yvette wasn’t really what Allison considered to be a player, but she did like to date a lot of different people. The thing about Yvette was that she had a lot of love to give, and she was high-energy. She’d always been that way. The idea of her settling down with one person was foreign to Allison.
“A year.”
Wait, Yvette had been dating Frank for an entire year?
They’d been dating for a year and Yvette hadn’t told anyone?
What the hell?
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t tell me!”
“I didn’t tell anyone,” she sighed, shaking her head.
“How did you meet?”
“We met at school. He was a TA.”
“A teaching assistant?”
“Yeah.”
“As in, your teacher?”
“Sort of...he’s not now, though. He’s got a new job. I don’t know what it is. He doesn’t talk about work very much...”
“Yvette, what aren’t you saying?” There had to be more to the story. There just had to be. If Yvette wasn’t being totally forthcoming, then there must be a dark twist to the story. Had he gotten fired because of their relationship? Was he married? What had happened?
“What I’m not saying,” she whispered, lowering her voice, “is that I was going to propose to him.”
“You were going to propose?”
“I know it’s unconventional,” she said.
“Not really,” Allison shrugged. A lot of girls proposed to guys these days. There was nothing in the rulebook that said only a man could propose. That wasn’t the way the world worked anymore.
“He’s a shifter,” Yvette added.
Now, that did pique Allison’s interest.
“You’re completely full of surprises today,” she chuckled. In high school and during their early 20s, Yvette had sworn up and down that she would never marry a shifter. More than that, she swore she would never date a shifter.
“Well, I do what I can,” Yvette said. “What can I say? I like to mix it up.”
“What kind of shifter is he?”
“A monkey,” Yvette said carefully.
“A monkey?”
“Yes.”
“That’s kind of...”
“Crazy?”
“I was going to say unique, but sure.”
“I liked him a lot,” Yvette sighed.
“I can tell. It’s not every day you find someone you want to propose to.”
Although, if Allison was being honest, that was how she felt about Christopher. She liked him far too much for her own good. It was going to be a problem for her if she wasn’t careful.
“What about you? Anyone special in your life?”
Allison was saved from having to answer because her mother came back into the room.
“Sorry about that, girls. Where were we? Ah, yes, the dishes.” Lyla stepped back to the sink and continued washing the dishes, as though she’d never left. She started telling the girls all about work, and all about their little brothers, and all about her big plans for Christmas.
Allison tried to pay attention. Really, she did, but every time she let herself think for a moment, her thoughts just drifted back to Christopher.
She should have asked him to the party.
She shouldn’t have chickened out.
Now it was probably too late for her to try to claim him as her party date. Oh well. He was out of her league, anyway. Besides, it was never a good idea to try to date your boss. Really, who did that? Not girls like her. Girls like Allison dated safe people. Safe guys. They dated guys like James, the new project manager at Monster Brothers Security.
Should she ask him?
Chances were that James didn’t have a date. After all, he was brand new not only to the office, but to Sapphire Island itself. Nobody really knew very much about James, and from what Allison had gathered, he was pretty anti-social. Maybe he was just a little shy. Did he need someone to help bring him out of his shell? Could she be that girl? She wasn’t attracted to James. Not by a long shot. Still, maybe it would be nice for her to invite him to the party. She could view it as a sort of outreach kind of situation.
He was new, and she was experienced. It would be her way of welcoming him to the office. Yep, that was exactly what she would do. The very next day, Allison promised herself, she would ask James. She would make it clear that they would only be going as friends.
She just had to work up the nerve to do it, and she needed to find a way to stop wishing James was Christopher.
“Allison?” Lyla’s voice broke into Allison’s thoughts, and she realized that her mom had called her name a few times.
“Sorry, I was thinking about work,” Allison said truthfully.
“I just asked if you wanted to play a board game.”
Allison glanced at the clock on the wall. It wasn’t super late, but she was tired. She could tell that Yvette didn’t really want to play a game, either, and if Allison ended the night now, they could all go home and go to bed.
“I’m actually feeling a little beat,” Allison said. “I’m going to call it a night.”
Yvette breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
“Me too,” she said.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Lyla sounded disappointed, and Allison felt a little bad. She knew her mom often felt tired from chasing the little kids around all day. Maybe she’d come over and babysit for her one afternoon next week. That way Lyla could have some alone time, and Allison could bond with her brothers.
“Raincheck?” Allison asked.
“Of course,” Lyla nodded.
After hugging Lyla goodbye and making her promise to give Steve and the boys hugs from them, Allison and Yvette headed outside of the little house.
“So, back home?” Allison asked Yvette.
“Yeah,” Yvette n
odded. “I’ve got a busy night of eating ice cream, watching movies, and fighting with my roommate to get through.”
“You fight with your roommate?”
“Uh, yeah...” Yvette’s voice trailed off and she looked away. Allison stared at her sister. What wasn’t she saying?
“Yvette?”
“Yeah?”
“Is Frank your roommate?”
Yvette blushed and looked over.
“Yeah,” she whispered.
“Ouch.”
“That’s it? No judgment?”
“No judgment, little sister,” Allison reached for Yvette and pulled her into a tight hug. “No judgment.”
Chapter 3
"Lunch for two?”
Christopher looked up to see Allison standing in his doorway. Nearly a week had passed since the last time they’d eaten together, and he was happy to have her around. Their weekly lunches had become the best part of his week.
To be honest, they were the only reason he managed to make it to work on Mondays anymore. If he didn’t know he was going to get to hang out with Allison, he’d be tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep, and that was no way to run a company.
Besides, Brian would be a total dick if Christopher just didn’t show up.
“How can I resist?” Christopher grinned, taking in the little human. She looked so hopeful and sweet.
“I thought you’d say that.”
Allison came into the office, shut the door, and then walked over to the desk. She stood for just a moment before she sat down across from Christopher. Allison looked adorable as hell in her soft dress and kitten heels. If he wasn’t her boss, he’d grab her, kiss her, and whisper dirty, nasty things to her.
Unfortunately for both of them, he was her boss, and he knew it was wrong.
But in another life, in another situation, he’d have her. He’d push her against the door and run his hands up her sides to cup her breasts. He’d slip a hand between her legs and start rubbing, petting her pussy until she was breathing hard and unable to think straight.
“I got us something good today.”
Unaware of his horrible, dirty thoughts, Allison placed a brown bag in front of him and took a seat across from him. She crossed her legs and then uncrossed them, obviously unable to get comfortable. Christopher closed his eyes for a second. He’d give just about anything to kneel in front of her and lick those creamy thighs.
“How was your weekend?” Allison reached into her bag and pulled out a sandwich. Apparently, they were going to be eating turkey subs, and he was quite all right with that. There was nothing quite like a turkey sandwich to make a man forget his troubles, and Christopher’s weekend had been full of them.
“Unfortunate.”
“What does that mean?”
It meant they’d had problem after problem with their software. It meant he’d been called in to work all weekend. Christopher hadn’t wanted to bother any of his team members. Most of them had families, and all of them had lives, so he’d kept the problems with the software to himself and a few select employees. That was the way he wanted to run his business, so that’s what he’d done.
Now, he was exhausted, and he was no closer to solving the issues. Declan and Brian had been completely confused as to what could have possibly gone wrong, and Christopher was equally as flummoxed.
“It was just a long weekend.”
“Problems at home or problems at work?”
“Work, mostly.”
Allison set her sandwich down, and Christopher immediately knew it had been the wrong thing to say. He and Allison had worked together for a long time, after all. She knew him inside and out, and she knew what kind of man he was. If Allison knew there was a problem at work, she would have come running in. He didn’t want to ruin her weekend.
Also, he didn’t want her to think that he was incapable of taking care of his own issues.
“You didn’t call me.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“You know why.”
“No, I don’t know why.”
“I didn’t want to bother you,” he said. That should have been good enough. He was being polite. Kind. He was being a courteous employer. Allison had a life outside of work, and she didn’t need to be bothered with his boring software issues. Besides, if he couldn’t take care of something like this without her assistance, then what was he even doing running the company?
“Bother me? That’s the entire point of my job. My job only exists so you can bother me, Chris.”
She was getting irritated. He could scent it. In all of the time that Christopher had known Allison, he’d never seen her get mad. Well, she was getting mad now. Why now? Why this time?
“Your job doesn’t exist so I can bother you,” he said carefully.
“Yes, it does. I’m your assistant. I’m your tech. I’m your girl.” Allison purred the word, and she seemed to realize what she’d said, because she clamped her mouth shut.
His girl?
Yeah, he could go for that. Hell, yes, he would go for that. If Christopher could have Allison be his girl, he’d be the happiest damn dragon on the entire island because she was incredible.
“You have a life outside of the office.”
“My life is here with you.”
“You make it sound like we’re dating,” Christopher pointed out.
He shouldn’t have.
He should have let the comment go, but he couldn’t. Oh, he couldn’t. Maybe it was because he wanted her to sound romantic. He wanted her to sound sweet and sassy and smart. Oh, he wanted that tongue to just keep on wagging. He wanted to know everything she was thinking. All of it. Every damn word.
“I am not making it sound like we’re dating,” she snapped.
“No?” Christopher stood up and walked around the desk. Then he reached for her hand and tugged her to her feet. Allison moved easily, quickly, and soon she was standing right in front of him. They were so close that if he breathed too heavily, their chests would touch. He’d have to feel her soft, full breasts pressed up against him.
Then what would he do?
“No,” she whispered.
“Allison, I didn’t call you because you deserve to have a life that doesn’t revolve around work.”
“But I’m supposed to help you,” she whispered, looking up at him. She blinked, and her eyes filled with tears. Christopher felt suddenly like a complete piece of shit.
He knew what he’d done was wrong. He should have called her. He should have asked her for help. He should have done a lot of things that he just didn’t do. He had no excuse. Not really.
He just hadn’t wanted to be a bother.
“You help me every day, kitten,” he whispered. Allison stilled. He’d never called her that. He’d never called anyone that. Not out loud. She lifted her face to his, and he could see that a single tear had fallen.
“I could help you more,” she whispered, “if you’d let me.”
Christopher didn’t know what came over him. In that moment, he would have done anything to keep her happy. He didn’t want her to cry anymore. He wanted her to feel nothing but joy.
He wanted her to know that he cared.
He adored her.
He did need her.
Christopher brought his lips crashing down onto hers before he could talk himself out of it, and he kissed her. Allison was soft and delicious and precious, and she seemed to melt right into him. She groaned just the slightest bit, and instantly, he was hard.
Heat coursed through his veins, warning him that this was probably not the best decision he’d ever made. He didn’t care. His heart knew that this absolutely, totally, completely was the very best decision that he’d ever made.
It was probably the best decision he would ever make.
He moved his hands to her waist and tugged, bringing her closer to him. Allison wrapped her arms around Christopher’s neck and kissed him back. So, she liked hi
m, too, did she? Well, that was quite wonderful. His inner-dragon felt a sense of pride at the realization. Christopher had been enamored with Allison for a very long time, but he’d always resisted acting on it until now.
Now he couldn’t resist her.
Not when she looked at him like that.
Finally, he pulled back, and he stroked her face softly, touching her as she looked right back at him. There were so many questions burning in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She just watched him, waiting.
She was fucking gorgeous.
“What was that for?” Allison finally asked. She bit her lip as she looked at Christopher. Was it just him, or did she seem a little scared? He didn’t blame her. He was a little scared, too, if he was being honest. He’d never done anything like this before.
“For making you cry.”
“You didn’t make me cry.”
“I did,” he whispered. He’d seen it. He’d seen the tears, and he’d felt bad. Terrible. He didn’t want to be the man who made the sweet tech girl cry. She was better than that. He was, too. They both were.
Besides, he liked her. She was everything to him. He didn’t want to admit it because that would mean facing the fact that their relationship was so completely forbidden, but he liked her more than he could ever tell the world.
“I liked it,” Allison whispered.
“Me too.”
“It was a good kiss.”
“The best.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead softly. It was a gentle sort of closure to the kiss they’d shared. He wasn’t sure what to say to her next. It had been a long time since he’d cared about a woman the way he cared about her. He didn’t want to rush into anything, especially when kissing her had been such a spur-of-the-moment thing to do.
“I’ve thought about kissing you so many times,” she whispered.
“You have?”
“I have,” Allison admitted. “Haven’t you thought about it?”
A million times.
He thought of her every time he rubbed his dick. He thought of her every time he walked into the office. When he arrived for work each day, he scanned the faces he saw until his eyes locked on hers. She was everything to him.
“Yes,” he whispered.