Bearly Falling

by Ally Summers

  I walked to the bar and poured a glass of bourbon straight. I swirled it in the crystal glass before taking a sip. The office was quiet. Everyone else had left for the night. My brother was right. I did spend most of my time here. Night was when I didn’t have the distractions of the office buzz. There were no interruptions. No phone calls. No meetings. I could focus with the blanket of darkness lying heavy on the city.

  Tonight, I didn’t feel the calm that the solitude usually brought. I was angry.

  “Damn it, Jackson,” I muttered before a full-blown growl erupted from my chest.

  I inhaled the rest of the bourbon and then I heard it. A clear sweet voice.

  “Hello?”

  Who was that? Celia had left early for her girls’ night book club. Everyone else cleared out by six. I was the only one on the floor. At least I thought I was.

  I strolled past the double doors and turned in the hallway.

  I stopped in my tracks.

  It didn’t matter that the lights were off or that I was twenty feet from her. I could see how blue and dazzling her eyes were. They were laced with fear. Fear of me. She had heard the growl. Shit.

  “Who are you?” I asked. Probably here to meet Celia for book club or something. I took a step toward her.

  “Sienna McKenzie.” She didn’t move. “I have an appointment with Grayson Hawthorne.”

  I scowled. “I don’t have any appointments.”

  Despite my pissed off mood, I couldn’t help but move closer again. There was something about her that pulled me in inexplicable ways. She was beautiful beyond her eyes.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you were Mr. Hawthorne.” She paused. “It’s for the design of your office space.” She started to tap and swipe at her tablet. “It says here that Jackson Hawthorne requested the meeting specifically as soon as possible. He said it was a design emergency. I worked it into my schedule to be here tonight.”

  “My brother set this up?” I could almost see his smirk when he realized I had been forced into this meeting. “I don’t believe Hawthorne Global has ever had a ‘design emergency’.”

  “He made the appointment,” she corrected. “For a design consultation. He said that the executive suites needed a complete redesign. And that I needed to pay special attention to the CEO’s office. That is my first priority.”

  “Did he?” I scoffed. Her eyes flashed up from the screen.

  “He did.” She nodded. “I have the information here.”

  I rubbed the scruff of my cheek. “So you want to decorate my office?”

  She pinched her eyebrows together. “I am a designer, Mr. Hawthorne. I do more than decorate. And my services were requested.” There was a hostile tone in her voice I didn’t expect. I had offended her, but I didn’t know this woman. I didn’t owe her anything, especially if she was part of a prank Jackson was playing.

  “I see.”

  I could kick her out of the suite and tell her I liked the way things were. I liked my father’s brass light fixtures and leather couches. Or I could let her in. Let her rake through my things. Scrutinize and examine where I worked. Invade my space. Poke and prod until everything was different and unrecognizable.

  I held the glass and took a gulp. The bourbon was strong and pungent. It burned my throat. I needed it.

  “Five minutes,” I answered.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You have five minutes to convince me to hire you.”

  Her jaw dropped. Enough for me to notice how lush and soft her lips were. “Five minutes? But you asked me. It wasn’t the other way around.” Her hand planted on her hip. A hip that curved and rounded over her ass.

  My chest seized. What in the hell was going on?

  “Take it or leave it.” I placed the empty bourbon glass on Celia’s desk. I nodded toward my office. “I don’t know that you’re up for the challenge.”

  Truth was, if she turned me down and took a step toward that elevator I didn’t know what I’d do. My bear was suddenly awake in a new way. He wasn’t going to let her out of here that easily. There was something about her he liked. Something that drew him to the surface. It wasn’t the same as his anger. It wasn’t a need to run through the woods. It was raw and primal. I had to try to suppress it. Convince him she wasn’t worth his time.

  “You’re challenging my credentials?” she huffed.

  I shrugged. I wanted another drink. It may calm my bear. “I didn’t say that, Ms. McKenzie. I’m a busy man. Do you want the five minutes or not?”

  Her eyes narrowed. She was a fiery one. I was afraid it made her even more beautiful.

  “Yes, I want the five minutes.” She straightened her shoulders. It was hard not to notice how her breasts pointed forward. They looked damn perfect. So round and delectable. I held in a growl.

  “Shall we?” I motioned to my left.

  She walked toward me and my heart hammered against my ribs. I could feel it press into the steel ridges of my ribcage. No woman had had this effect on me before. It defied logic.

  She saddled past, eyeing me with every step she took.

  “I’ll make this worthwhile for you. Five minutes well-spent. You won’t regret this, Mr. Hawthorne.” She looked up at me as she slipped into my office.

  I followed her inside. I thought I already did.

  Four

  Sienna

  I wasn’t sure I could concentrate fully. I had a portfolio stocked with my best work just a fingertip away and all I could think about was how Grayson Hawthorne was sex-on-a-stick. He was by far the tallest and most muscular man I’d ever met. His white crisp sleeves were rolled to his elbows. His tie and jacket were strewn across the back of his chair.

  Grayson had a strong cut jaw and a five o’clock shadow that was practically edible. I had to stop myself from shivering around him. I had to land this account—not the CEO.

  I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck, or maybe they were on the back of my legs. I had an urge to pull my skirt down, but I didn’t want to fidget in front of him.

  “What do you think?” His deep voice lulled over my ears.

  I had to focus. “I-I… it’s nice. Professional. Intimidating.” I chose my words carefully.

  “But?” He waited for me to respond.

  I walked from corner to corner of the expansive office. There were bookcases of mahogany built into the wall. A full bar made of hunter green marble. There was burgundy wallpaper as the accent and the fixtures were splashed with brass and bronze. It was hideous to be honest. Something that was at one time a symbol of wealth, but now looked as if it had been locked in a time capsule.

  “But it’s dated.” I twirled on my heels to meet his stare. “I could work up a proposal for you with a complete design. But this office doesn’t necessarily inspire a lot of faith that you are current or relevant in today’s market.”

  “What?” It was almost a bark the way the words roared from his lips.

  I had said too much. I had probably just lost the account, but it was the truth. “Your office should reflect the leadership of Hawthorne Global. If you want to showcase the best your company has to offer, it should come from this office. From you.” I looked at him.

  His eyes pierced me as if they could see right to my soul. Something shattered inside me. It peeled and shook against my soul. I reached for the chair to steady myself. I couldn’t stop now. I had to keep going no matter how easily he knocked me off my feet.

  “You need a complete redesign of this space. New colors. New furnishings. You need to lead the company forward and this space only screams that you are stuck in the past.”

  There was silence. I tried to study his face. But I didn’t know Grayson other than the ten minutes we had spent together. I didn’t know if the silence was good or bad.

  “That’s what you think?”

  I blinked. “Yes, it is. It’s exactly what I think. I can help you, Mr. Hawthorne. I can transform all of this for you.” I remembered I had pictures I could show him. I
powered on my tablet, but he stopped me.

  “All right. Do it.”

  “All right?” I wasn’t sure I had heard the words correctly.

  “Take care of it.” He leaned against the wide desk. His forearms flexed against the strain of holding his massive frame.

  “Would you like to set up a design meeting?” I suggested. “We could go over details.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Take care of it. Whatever you think is best.”

  “But, Mr—”

  He chuckled. “Call me Grayson, please.”

  I blushed. I shouldn’t have, but the heat rushed to my face. I couldn’t slow my pulse or my thoughts.

  “But, Grayson.” I started over. “I’d like to have your approval on the final colors and the furniture. I want to make sure you’re comfortable.”

  “I will be.” He said it with such confidence I forgot why I was arguing with him.

  “And if you don’t like it?” I had to ask. I needed to know what I was up against.

  “Then you’ll have to get it right.” He had a sexy smirk that made everything inside me twist and melt.

  “I will.” I smiled in return.

  Five

  Grayson

  I was torn between getting her out of my office and keeping her in it. My bear was surfacing in new ways. I wanted to grab her and kiss her. Kiss her until our lips seared into each other and neither of us had a breath left in our bodies. Why? Why was he reacting like this?

  But I couldn’t do that.

  I wasn’t reckless like my brothers. I was Grayson Hawthorne. The leader of the Ashe Peak clan. The CEO of Hawthorne Global. And this woman was human. She didn’t know what I was. What I was capable of. The darkness and power that lived beneath my skin. She had had no idea what she had walked into.

  “I’m going to need access to your office to take measurements. And I need photos to take back to my office to start mock ups,” she answered. “I can customize a 3-D design that will show you how everything will look.”

  I gazed at her. I couldn’t help but trace the lines of her legs with my eyes. They were gorgeous and sexy. Her calves were accentuated by the high heels she wore. My concentration was broken when I reached the hem of her skirt and her thighs disappeared under the fabric. My bear tugged and pulled against the restraints I put on him. I wanted to push up the skirt. Explore her honey. Taste her. Touch her. The instinct to take her was strong.

  “Grayson?”

  “That’s not going to work for me.” I shook my head.

  “Why not?”

  “You’re going to need to do the design here,” I stated.

  She looked confused. “But I have other clients. I can’t work out of your office. This isn’t my only project. No offense.”

  “Why not?” It made sense to me. My bear needed her here. She had to work here.

  “Well, I-I have to talk to Jennifer about that kind of arrangement.”

  “Is that your boss?” I asked.

  “Yes, but soon-to-be-partner,” she added.

  I nodded. I liked that. She had ambition. Goals. “Then consult your soon-to-be-partner and tell her this is part of the deal. It’s non-negotiable. Hawthorne Global requires your full attention. We only work with contractors who are committed to giving us exactly what we want.”

  “I understand. Bubble Design will meet that expectation. I promise.”

  “Good.”

  She hesitated in front of the door. “Thank you for the five minutes.”

  I reminded myself she would be back. My bear had to let her walk out that door as much as every instinct in my body was telling me to tell her what she meant to my life. That as much as I wanted to kick my brother’s ass right now, he was responsible for sending her. I didn’t know whether to be grateful or more annoyed.

  I wasn’t looking for Sienna. I didn’t want a woman. I had enough responsibilities and pressure without complicating life with a female distraction.

  But she was here now and like hell if I was going to let her get away. I had to figure this out. I had to know why I wanted to pull her in my arms.

  “You’re welcome, Sienna.” I gripped the side of the desk, almost breaking through the wooden frame.

  “Goodnight.”

  The next morning, I was in the office by six. Oliver was waiting for me inside with a cup of coffee.

  “Good morning, sir.” Celia beamed as I walked past her.

  She was wearing another low-cut number. I tried not to look closely.

  “Good morning.”

  I closed the door behind me, prepared to catch Oliver up on what happened while he was on his tech trip.

  “How was Seattle?” I asked.

  “Good. We are twenty-four hours away from owning one of the largest research and development companies on the west coast.” He looked pleased with himself. “I’d call it a successful trip for HG.”

  “Nice work. At least I have one brother I can count on.”

  Celia knocked before she pushed in a coffee cart. It was a tradition left over from my father’s reign. I took my coffee black. She placed the large mug in front of me and left the cart between Oliver and me.

  “If you need anything else, let me know. Anything.”

  “Thank you, Celia.”

  “Of course.” She closed the door, leaving us alone to discuss the crisis HG was in with Jackson’s departure.

  Oliver raised his eyebrows. “I think the only reason any woman would keep up with Dad’s archaic tradition is because she’s ready to settle down with you and give you as many cubs as you want.” He took a sip.

  “God. Not you too. You sound like Jackson did before he bailed yesterday.”

  “Celia has been in love with you since you hired her. We’ve all been able to see it. Why else would she put up with you? You’re intolerable, brother.”

  I shook my head. “Well I’m not in love with her. And she’s free to leave anytime.” The discussion irritated me. I didn’t like thinking about Celia that way. “Why are we talking about my assistant?”

  “Because while the rest of us are out looking for our mates, you are up here in this tower. Alone. Maybe you should ask Celia out.”

  My look said it all. “Did you and Jackson discuss this?”

  He laughed. “No, but what did he say it?” he asked.

  I took a seat across from him. “He’s trying to pressure me into finding a mate.”

  Oliver laughed again. “Because he’s so great at relationships. I don’t know that I’d take his advice, but he might be on to something.”

  “He left me a parting gift before he took off.”

  “What was that?”

  I leaned forward. “A woman.”

  Oliver’s expression changed. “What the hell did you say?”

  I closed my eyes. “You heard me. A woman. I think it was supposed to be a joke. Or a statement. I don’t know what he was expecting.”

  “Who is this girl?”

  “A decorator. Or designer. He hired her to redecorate my office. Said it was too dated and stuck in a time capsule.”

  The sound of his laughter echoed off the walls. “That I can agree with. This has to be the ugliest CEO’s office in the country. And I’ve seen my share.”

  I scowled. “This is Dad’s office. He liked it. It worked for him. It works for me.”

  “True, but you’re the CEO now. Dad isn’t here, and last time I checked you weren’t sixty. Jackson was on to something. Update the place. Claim a mate. Have some cubs. Get out a little. This company won’t fall apart if you have your own family.”

  “It’s not the right time, Oliver.”

  “If you met her. It is.”

  I leaned into the leather seat. “I can’t just change gears like that. I can’t suddenly accept a mate into my life. Hawthorne Global needs me. So does the clan.”

  “You can do all that. A good alpha rules with a good woman.”

  “I don’t know that she’s my mate. This is spe
culation. It’s a waste of time talking about her. I don’t know anything about this woman.” I had no intention of telling my brother my dreams had been filled with her last night. Her legs. Her lips. The lightness in her voice. She filled my senses. It was like being drunk without taking a drink.

  He shrugged. “So, what if she’s not? You get laid. Nothing wrong with that.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  I eyed my brother. He didn’t know what it meant to be dynast or CEO. He also didn’t know what it was like to have a mate. My brothers were known to sleep around. Frequently. He’d never been with the same girl more than a month. Neither of them were qualified to give me advice. Not about Sienna. Not about claiming a woman for life.

  I growled. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Can’t wait to meet my new sister-in-law.”

  I glared. “Nothing has happened.”

  “Your bear knows what he wants. You’re a strong man, but you’re an even stronger bear. You have to at least consider it.”

  It was all I was considering. What if Sienna was my mate? What if she had awakened the primal side of my bear? The need to bond. The need to have heirs.

  “And what if she doesn’t want a bear? You’re forgetting she has a say in this.” I paused. “Hypothetically speaking. Because this is all hypothetical.”

  “You’ll just have to turn on that Hawthorne charm. It always works for me.” He grinned.

  I chuckled. Maybe there was something I could learn from my brothers after all.

  “Enough talk about mates. I need to fill you in on Jackson. He and Clarence came up with contracts we need to go over.”

  “Go ahead. Can’t wait to hear what wreckage he left for us before his vacation.”

  Six

  Sienna

  I had tried on three different outfits. It was silly, but I wanted something that might catch Grayson Hawthorne’s eye. Not so short I screamed take-me-now, and not so stuffy I warned don’t-touch-me. I scrunched up my nose. Flirty professional was a hard look to pull off. I settled on a dress that was a soft pink. It had a scoop neckline that cut across my breasts. A belt that accentuated my waist and a hemline that hit my thighs at just the right height.