by Sophie Stern
She could blow off James, and she wanted to, but what kind of message would that send? He was a project manager now, and while Christopher didn’t have to work directly with him, Allison did. She didn’t want James to think she was a dirty flip-flopper. No, she’d have to go. Otherwise, he’d view her as unreliable. That would come back to bite her in the ass in the future.
“I...I’m so sorry,” she whispered, unable to meet Christopher’s eyes.
“What is it, kitten?”
“I’m already going with someone.”
Christopher stilled.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” Allison didn’t have to be a shifter to know that Christopher was pissed. Shifters thought they were incredible because they could scent emotions, and while it was a wonderful gift, Allison didn’t need to be a shifter to know that Christopher was radiating anger and frustration. He was irritated with her. He was mad.
Apparently, he also thought she was a total cheater.
“No,” she said quickly, “nothing like that. I’m not dating anyone. This,” she gestured between them, “wasn’t cheating. It wasn’t.”
“Who are you going with?”
“I asked James to go.”
“The software project guy?” Christopher’s jaw dropped.
“Yeah, well, he’s new, and you obviously weren’t going to ask me, so I thought I’d be polite and ask him to come with me. He’s a good worker, right? I thought you’d be pleased, like it would be my way of welcoming him to the company.”
Christopher seemed so upset that Allison slid off of his lap and stood in front of him. Was he...jealous? Was that what was happening? She’d never seen him like this before, and to be honest, she wasn’t quite sure why he was acting like this now. Christopher had never been the jealous type, and there wasn’t really anything for him to be jealous of. James was just her date to the Christmas party. That meant they’d arrive at the same time, they’d hang out together, and they’d have a few drinks. That was it.
Allison wasn’t going to kiss James. She wasn’t going to sleep with him. She definitely wasn’t going to ask him for a second date. She was just being polite. That was it.
Only, Christopher didn’t seem to think her choice had been very polite. He didn’t seem to like the idea of her being with another man. He seemed anxious and pissed, and if she was hearing him correctly, he was emitting sort of a low growl.
“Christopher?”
“You should go,” he whispered.
“Christopher, it’s just a friendship date. Really.”
She was worried now that Christopher wasn’t going to believe her. Was he going to think that Allison and James were dating? Was Christopher going to think that kiss had been her cheating? It wasn’t. She’d never cheated on anyone. Honestly, she probably should just tell James she was no longer interested, that she was seeing someone now. Only, it would make things awkward at work, and she really, really didn’t need awkward.
Christopher didn’t say another word. Instead, he stood up and started taking off his clothes. Allison stood silently as he practically tore off the suit, and his socks and shoes, and then finally, his boxers. She tried not to look at his cock, but that was an impossible task. Then he strode to the glass door behind his desk that led to a little balcony. He walked out there, completely nude, and he jumped off the ledge. Allison waited just a moment, and then he appeared again: a beautiful dragon. He’d shifted mid-air, as dragons were known to do, and then he was gone.
And she was alone.
Chapter 7
He was a fool for wanting her.
As Christopher soared over the city and toward the dark forest that surrounded the glittering buildings of Sapphire Island, he knew that he was making a pretty dramatic statement to Allison. He was saying that he couldn’t handle the information she’d shared and that he needed to escape, so he was running.
He felt weak for doing it, and he felt horrible.
Allison was so fucking incredible that leaving her alone and naked in his office seemed like an awful thing to do, but he needed to fly. He’d been trying to keep his dragon at bay all morning. He’d been doing pretty damn well until she’d come into the office and he’d stripped her down.
Oh, she’d been so damn perfect. She was beautiful, of course, but she was sweet, too. She was kind. She was gentle. She was smart as hell. There were so many wonderful things to like about Allison that Christopher couldn’t quite figure out which thing he liked most.
What he did know was that flying always relaxed him. It always gave him a place to clear his head. That was one of the great things about living where he did. He could fly as much as he wanted to and nobody cared because everyone else was a flying, shapeshifting dragon, too.
Christopher wasn’t sure what came over him, but he found himself heading toward Declan’s house. While Christopher and Brian had both chosen homes close to work, Declan was a bit of a recluse. He was also an outdoorsy sort of dragon. He spent his lunch hour in the treehouse in the forest that he’d built long ago, and he spent it with his wife. Christopher approached the treehouse quietly, soaring over it and circling around a few times before he finally landed.
Then he waited.
If Declan was inside with Zoa, there was a good chance that they were making love. He didn’t need to see that. Nobody did. Oh, Christopher was perfectly happy for his brother. He just didn’t need to see Declan’s dick. So, Christopher waited patiently outside of the treehouse. He sat just outside of it on the grass, and he closed his eyes.
He counted, trying to calm himself. That was a trick his mother had taught him years ago. She’d always had a lot of stress and an incredible amount of anxiety that had been difficult for her to manage. She’d touch the necklace she always wore around her neck – the one that seemed to glow at times – and she’d count to 100. Then she’d count backwards to zero. Then she’d count again.
Now, Christopher tried that same method of self-soothing, and to his pleasure, it seemed to work.
“What are you doing?” Declan’s voice cut through Christopher’s silent meditation, and he was so surprised that he shifted right back into his human form and found himself sitting cross-legged on the front lawn of his brother’s home.
“Is that Christopher?” Zoa’s voice sounded from inside. “I told you it was Christopher. Tell him I’ll make some lemonade.”
“I don’t need lemonade,” Christopher managed to say.
“I know you don’t,” Declan told him. Then Declan just looked at him, watching him. Christopher and his brothers were triplets. In some ways, that made them closer than people could possibly imagine. Christopher had always felt like his brothers could read his moods. They always seemed to know exactly when he was sad or frustrated or anxious, and this was no exception. “What’s the problem?”
“Allison.”
“Ah, you finally figured out she’s your mate, did you?” Declan looked smug. Christopher wanted to slap that look right off his face. He couldn’t, of course, because only recently Christopher had said the same thing to Declan. Brian and Christopher had both realized that Zoa and Declan were meant to be together. They’d teased their brother about it, laughing that he’d been the last to figure out their relationship was destiny.
Now, apparently, everyone thought the same thing about him and Allison.
“She sneaked into the file room.”
“What file room?”
“So, you don’t know either? Apparently, Brian has a file room.”
“Of course, he does, that sneaky bastard.”
“What is it?” Zoa called from inside. She still hadn’t come out. She was probably naked.
“Brian’s got a secret file room,” Declan yelled back.
“What a sneaky bastard!” Zoa yelled.
Christopher just rolled his eyes. Declan and Zoa were definitely made for each other. There wasn’t really any way around that knowledge. The two of them were more alike than either of them would ever admit. Most o
f the time, Christopher just felt happy for his brother. Other times, he was slightly jealous. He wanted a mate who would make him smile as much as Zoa made Declan smile.
“He is a sneaky bastard,” Declan repeated, looking at Christopher. “So, what’s this got to do with Allison?”
“She sneaked down there.”
Declan laughed, shaking his head.
“What?”
“I’m not surprised at all. She’s a clever one. She’s always on top of everything. You know, it was lame that you didn’t call her in the last couple of weekends.”
“I wanted her to have a life outside of the office,” Christopher was exasperated. He was tired of justifying his decision to everyone. Apparently, the entire world thought he’d done Allison wrong by excluding her, but the way he’d thought of it was giving her the gift of time.
“She’s got no life outside of the office, Christopher. You are her entire life. Can’t you see that?” Declan’s words were rough around the edges, but he was kind. Christopher knew perfectly well that his brother was being gentle with him. What he didn’t know was why. He definitely didn’t deserve all of that.
“I can see it,” Christopher finally said. He knew that Declan was right. He knew he had been wrong. Allison had already told him that she didn’t want him to exclude her, yet he’d done it again. He’d had this idea that he was protecting her, but that wasn’t quite right, was it? He wasn’t protecting her. He was protecting himself.
Allison was a big girl. She could look after herself. If she said that she didn’t want to be left out of a meeting, he needed to respect that. Besides, she was right when she said that she was an important member of the team. There were a lot of things he couldn’t do without her, and he needed to trust her. He hadn’t been showing her the most important thing a teammate could show another person: genuine trust.
Kindness.
Caring.
“So, what happened?” Declan crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t leave me hanging.”
“Oh, someone came in.”
“Someone came in?”
“Yeah, someone came into the file room. Apparently, they shut the lights off to that part of the building, and they were carrying a flashlight. They came in and started rummaging around.”
“What were they looking for?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did they do to Allison? Did they see her?”
Yeah. They’d seen her. That was the part that worried Christopher the most. Whoever was messing with their systems knew perfectly well who she was. If they knew she was in the file room, then they knew she was onto whatever it was they were doing.
“They saw her,” he confirmed.
“Well, shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Any ideas who it might be?”
The only new employee they’d hired recently had been James. Christopher didn’t like him. He especially didn’t like that Allison had invited him to the Christmas party. That was Christopher’s Christmas party, and he’d wanted to invite her.
“Maybe James.”
“The software guy?” Declan raised an eyebrow. “Why him?”
“He’s new.”
“Being new doesn’t mean someone’s a snake,” Zoa said, tossing a pair of sweatpants out of the treehouse. They fell, landing just in front of Christopher, and he grabbed them and slipped them on.
“It could mean someone’s a snake,” Christopher countered.
“Not necessarily,” Zoa said. She was coming down the treehouse stairs. She carried two tall glasses of lemonade in her hands. When Zoa reached the bottom of the steps, she handed a glass to each of the guys.
“It could, though.”
Zoa just rolled her eyes.
“Coming from someone who was actually captured by a snake,” Zoa pointed out, “I think you’re being a bit hasty.”
“I don’t think so,” Christopher pouted.
“She’s right,” Declan nodded.
“Don’t take her side just because she’s your mate.”
“I’m taking her side because she’s not emotionally wrapped up in Allison,” Declan said.
“Neither am I,” Christopher said.
Declan and Zoa both laughed.
“Did he realize Allison’s his mate?” Zoa asked Declan.
“Nope.”
“But you gave Declan such a hard time about not knowing I was his mate,” Zoa said.
“I know,” Christopher frowned. He sipped the lemonade, glad to have the refreshing drink. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. All is forgotten. Besides, I got my happy ending, so I can’t complain,” Zoa looked over at Declan and smiled. Yeah, she was perfect for Christopher’s grouchy brother. Not that Declan was the grouchiest of the dragon brothers. That award definitely went to Brian.
“I just think we need to consider all of our options,” Declan continued.
“Like what?”
“Maybe someone from inside the company is causing trouble.”
“We already know that.”
“I mean, maybe someone who is already established within the organization,” Declan clarified.
“Meaning?”
“What if someone has been working with us for a long time, but has some sort of need for vengeance?”
“In the personnel files?” That was the thing Christopher just couldn’t figure out. The person who was hacking their systems kept doing really small, minor things that were more bothersome than dangerous.
“I don’t know,” Declan said.
It was a mystery to all of them. Whatever was happening was annoying, but it wasn’t dangerous. The person hacking their systems was obnoxious, but not cruel. So, what was going on? Who was it?
And what did they want?
“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Zoa finally asked.
“It’s lunchtime, Zoa,” Christopher looked at her. She just shrugged.
“You don’t look like you want to go back to the office.”
The office where he’d left Allison?
The office where he’d just abandoned her?
She was naked, and she was alone, and she was probably cold, and he’d completely freaked out and run away. Well, he’d flown away, but the result was the same. He’d ditched her, and she was probably tired and scared and worn out.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“What is it?”
“I left Allison in my office.”
“So? She knows how to get back to her own office,” Declan was confused.
“She was naked.”
Zoa giggled.
“You want to call her?” Zoa offered, gesturing toward the treehouse. “Because if you want to call her, you know, and let her know what your plans are, you’re free to use one of our phones.”
“No,” Christopher sighed.
“Brother, I love you, but go back to your mate,” Declan said.
“I didn’t say she was my mate.”
“We literally all know she’s your mate. Go to her. Go do what you need to do. Go fly to her, comfort her, and look after her.”
“She’s waiting for you,” Zoa said softly. “I’ve seen the way you two look at each other.”
Zoa had come to work with their office as an accountant after Declan had saved her from a snake-shifter. She’d been kidnapped, and she’d been hurt, and Declan had rescued her. He hadn’t even thought twice about it. It was just the kind of guy that Declan was. When his mate was in need, he was ready to save her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Christopher said. There was no special way that Allison looked at him.
Was there?
Oh, they’d had stolen glances, sure, but didn’t everyone have those?
They’d had moments where they were crazy about each other, and moments where he felt like his heart was going to explode if he didn’t hurry over and hug her. He liked her. A lot. Was that proof that she was supposed to be his mate?
Oh,
he didn’t know about that.
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Christopher said.
“And there’s a lot you won’t admit,” Zoa said.
Declan looked from Christopher to Zoa and then back again. He seemed amused by the entire situation. Declan had been there for Christopher his entire life, and Christopher trusted him totally. He trusted Zoa, too. He didn’t like to admit it, but she was totally, completely trustworthy.
Besides, if she was Declan’s mate, she couldn’t be half bad.
“Just go to her,” Zoa encouraged him, gently pushing him. “She’ll be waiting for you, Christopher. She’ll be right where you left her.”
Chapter 8
Allison wasn’t about to wait around.
What the hell was Christopher’s problem? Was he serious? She couldn’t believe that he’d bailed on her. He’d straight-up ditched her, flying out of the office and into the wilderness. She knew exactly where he was going, too. He was heading straight for Declan’s little hideaway.
Well, wasn’t that just great?
Now she was naked, alone, and wet. What was worse was that she was in Christopher’s office. If she left now, McKenzie would definitely see her, and rumors would spread like wildfire. James liked to gossip, which meant he’d definitely hear about her hanging out naked in Christopher’s office, and so would everyone else, too.
Allison had worked hard to make a name for herself at the office. She wanted everyone to know that she was dependable and worthy. She wanted them to know that she was good at what she did. Allison didn’t need the reputation of being the kind of girl who lurked around in Christopher’s office in the nude.
She walked over to his desk and sat down in his big, cozy chair. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she reached for the phone on his desk. Her own phone was soaked, completely destroyed by the sprinklers. She definitely should have invested in a waterproof case of some sort.
But she hadn’t.