The Surprise (Secret Baby Bad Boy Romance)

by Faye, Amy

  Diana looked at him and blinked. "You just got me fired? You came here to tell me that you just got me fired?"

  He smiled, but the expression on his face was anything but pleased. If anything, he looked as if he were grimacing, baring his teeth. "Fired? No. Go on, get your things."

  She looked at him and waited for the other shoe to drop, for some explanation, for anything at all. If there was an explanation to be given, he wasn't forthcoming with it.

  "Now, Diana. I'm not as patient a man as you seem to think I am. Go get your things, I'll wait here."

  "Sir?"

  He let out a hard voice and a yell. "Now! Go on!" His voice lowered, but it still held the same tenseness as he muttered to himself. "Are you deaf?"

  She didn't need to be told a third time. Diana left the room and ran smack into the partner of her firm, a man who had been well-respected by the Dakota Bar Association for over forty years, hand her a purse and a coat that he'd apparently been sent to fetch. And then she walked back to the conference room absently with no idea what the fuck was going on, except that it was apparently going to well and truly upend her life.

  10

  Alex Blume had lived the past twenty years as a human being, and it was beginning to grate on him, as it always eventually did. It wasn't the first time he'd done so, and it probably wouldn't be the last. He'd been drawn to it so many times, so strongly, that there was very little use in denying himself. But even then, a voice whispered in his mind that Alex Blume wasn't who he was, not really.

  Alex Blume was a fake. A fraud. A suit that he wore to interact with the world. He was Aleroth, and at the end of the day he always would be. But no matter how much Blume tore at him, he couldn't walk away. Not yet, anyways.

  The crown jewel of his horde was standing outside, collecting her things and apparently not understanding what was happening to her. It was understandable that she would feel a little bit confused. After all, few people were ever 'collected,' like bottle caps or trading cards.

  Yet that was what she was going to experience. He hadn't taken her, not completely. Not as much as he wanted to. He would take everything about her, every piece and every part. She was his, to play with and manipulate and use however he wanted. But it was more than that.

  She'd been Keleth's before; now she was his. He'd taken her. There were so many things that he wished he'd taken from his rival, over the years. Things that he couldn't take any more, in any meaningful way.

  Now he was just fighting to make sure that whatever Keleth had became his, as much to keep them away from the other vultures as it was a way to claim his victory over his centuries-old rival. The fact that Keleth had walked away from that rivalry, from their entire society, and lived as a human, out of reach of anyone, burned in his chest.

  The door opened and Diana came back inside, looking something between confused and upset, and she waited for an explanation. Eventually, he would have to give it to her. She'd want to know why she should follow him, why she should listen to him at all, and eventually, he'd give her the reason that he'd invented for her.

  But for now, he would see how long it took for her to ask, and he wasn't going to tell her before she asked, pointedly, and demanded an answer so fiercely that she couldn't be denied any further.

  "Is that everything?" The words sounded strange coming out of his mouth. Everything about being human felt wrong. He wanted nothing more than to fit himself back into his proper body, to re-learn what it was like to keep a proper hoard.

  Even as a human, though, some parts of him were as scaly and draconic as ever. The desire for valuable things, for example. Not just gold, of course. Anything that had any value at all. And after last night, he knew more fervently than ever that she was valuable. The need went to his head and made him feel wild.

  "I guess," she said. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

  "This way," he said, brushing past her. He hoped that she didn't notice how stiff he moved. The pit of arousal and need that had opened in his gut. He needed her, and the simple smell of her shampoo was driving him wild.

  Absolutely the crown jewel of his hoard, and she wasn't even his yet. Not truly. But she would be, with time. It was only a matter of time, and he could be patient. He'd waited a long time, after all.

  There was a whole section of his roost that was waiting for Keleth's things to fill it, and he had the most important piece of that treasure. As long as he managed to get the rest of it, there would be no problem.

  She followed behind him, in spite of the lack of an explanation. She had a dim look on her face, one that wasn't the most appealing expression he'd ever seen on her. But it did little to tarnish her beauty, and did nothing at all to destroy her value.

  That would take a great deal more, and he was absolutely certain that he could ensure that she didn't lose value for quite a long time. The history of ownership helped, as well, and would keep her valuable longer still.

  She waited until the elevator had closed before she spoke, but when she did Alex indulged her by listening, already exulting in his victory. "Is this about last night? Because I mean... I really wasn't thinking that clearly last night."

  "Please," he said, his voice low and soothing. "There's no need to worry."

  "Oh, good," she said, her voice unsteady. "Because I thought I'd just gotten fired."

  "Hardly."

  She let out a nervous giggle, and he enjoyed that, too. The feeling that she was afraid, and that she was afraid of him, was just another cherry on top of the exultation of the hunt. She was perfect, and even if she was the only new piece of Keleth that he walked away with, she would be enough.

  "Okay, but when are you going to explain what's going on exactly?"

  "In due time," he told her. It wasn't an answer, but it gave a startlingly accurate appearance of having addressed her concerns. The feeling of stringing her along was all he really needed. It was more than enough. And he was loving it.

  "Oh," she said, and pressed herself back into the corner of the elevator and stayed there as they descended.

  Diana was nervous, Alex thought to himself. She was afraid of him, afraid of the elevator, afraid of whatever was going on. She was afraid of what she didn't know. Still, there was nothing to be afraid of. A dragon never lets any harm come to his hoard, and he was more focused on protecting her than many of the other things that he'd gathered in his long life.

  The elevator that they stood in was years away from any trouble; with maintenance, it would continue to work for decades. She was more likely to die in a car accident before that happened. The elevator let out a loud 'ding' that they had reached the ground floor, and opened.

  Diana relaxed a little bit, but there was still a great deal of nervousness in the set of her shoulders as Alex started to walk away from her. She followed a moment later. After all, she still had no answer to what was going on, except that she was apparently no longer employed here.

  She followed him out through the doors, too. He smiled at his driver, an elderly human who had no idea who he worked for except that his employer paid well and preferred not to have a whole lot of questions asked. The old man smiled and slipped into the driver's seat of the car, turned the engine over, and waited.

  Alex opened the rear door for himself, as he generally preferred to do, and turned back, which is when he got his first real surprise of the day.

  Diana stood a few steps away, her hands balled up at her sides. He'd expected at least a few minutes more before she decided that she was done blindly following. He silently congratulated her, but put her to the test all the same, even though he could see the determination in the set of her shoulders.

  "Come on, this way." He imbued the words with just a little bit of magical persuasiveness, enough to make her lean forward and nearly take a step before she caught herself.

  "No," she told him. "Not until you explain what's going on."

  "I told you," he said, his voice soft and warm. "I'll explain everything i
n time."

  "It's time that you explained now, if you want me to get in that car with you."

  Alex smiled. "Very well, then. Consider yourself headhunted."

  She looked confused. "Did you want to stay out in the cold like that? I must say, I love what it does to your nipples, but it can't be comfortable."

  The way that Diana clapped her arms across her chest made Alex smile. Keleth had himself a perfectly good toy here, and he probably hadn't even realized it. He had no originality, no real spark. Aleroth had never had that problem, and playing Alex Blume had only made him feel that much more creative.

  "Come on," he repeated. "It's very warm in here, I promise. If you've still got questions, I'll answer whatever you like. Once I'm not freezing my ass off."

  She looked down at him, clearly trying to decide how honest he was being, and then seemed to make a decision and slipped into the rear seat beside him. He moved over for her and buckled himself in as the door closed behind her.

  "Fine," she said, trying to make her voice hard and threatening. It was terribly cute when she did it. "Get talking."

  11

  Alex smiled at the positively wicked enjoyment that he got out of Diana's expression. Regardless of how long the explanation, regardless of how clear he was, it was never quite enough to wipe that sick look off her face. Like she was going to be ill. Alex was going to change that.

  "So what's really going on? You wanted some kind of fuck doll at your beck and call?"

  He smiled. Not exactly, but he certainly wouldn't refuse. "I haven't mentioned pay, have I? How unfair of me."

  He waited a long moment, relishing the look on her face, the uncertainty. The worry. "Doesn't matter."

  "You haven't heard the number yet."

  "I don't have to," she said. Her expression told him differently. The scent of her pheromones set him on edge from the beginning, but he didn't need those to tell him that she was seriously considering the whole thing.

  "It's not becoming of you to lie to me, Diana. Be honest, now, and I'll be honest with you. I'd say that's only fair, wouldn't you?"

  "I'm not lying," she said. But the lie told itself right on her face. She didn't need to keep going any longer, but he would let her continue if she wanted to lie to him so badly.

  "Very well, then. Driver?"

  They slowed to a stop, and the old man pulled them into the first convenient parking lot. It happened to be a big box store, one that sold products priced for people who couldn't afford anything better. Products of such low quality that it was generally easier to do without.

  "I can leave you here, I'll call you a cab. They'll be here for you in ten minutes. Or, you can listen to my offer, and get yourself a ride home."

  She sucked in a breath. It wouldn't have been hard for her to turn him down. In fact, it would have been the easiest thing in the world. But just that little bit of push, he knew, was going to be enough to put her over the edge.

  "Okay, then."

  The driver eased the car back into gear and started to crawl through the parking lot, turning around, without needing to be told.

  "Ten thousand dollars."

  "You're kidding. Ten thousand? I may have been part time, but I was at least making that at the firm."

  "A month," he finished, after a pause far too long not to have been intentional. "Plus expenses."

  That got her attention. The girl opposite him took in a deep gasp. "That's..."

  "That's not chump change," he said, smiling. "Now, as to the work."

  "You already said," she cut in. It was partly true, but as with every other part of the conversation he had strung her along as slow as he could manage, hoping to keep himself entertained for as long as possible. "'Various simple tasks, gofer duties, making calls, in addition to other duties that remain to be named.' Is that right? I'm not an idiot. Ten thousand a month for an errand boy? You could have anyone doing that."

  "And they'd be doing it for the money, I might add," he told her, though he had other tasks in mind for her. It was that much more entertaining to keep pretending that he had nothing to do for her, the more offended she got. The more angry she was, the more he kept doing it.

  "Well, I'm not just some schlub from the street. I've got actual goals, you know."

  "To be fair, you won't just be an assistant. But understand, the main parts of your job won't be particularly demanding, most of the time, so..."

  She cut him off, not for the first time, and he had to rein in the instinct to finish there and not continue when she gave him space to speak once more. "You're absolutely right. I've just got to lie back and think of England, is that it?"

  He clicked his jaw. It was a bad habit, but not one that he intended to make an effort to fix. Not after twenty-odd years of doing it.

  "Your primary job is perfect for you, in fact. You'll be maintaining my collection."

  "Collection?"

  "Art collection."

  She didn't have anything to say to that. What a surprise. She had some snappy response for everything else that he said, but this was the first thing that had well and truly caught her off balance.

  "Art collection?" Diana parroted the word back to him, with an expression as if she were trying to hold a pencil between her eyebrows. "I don't know if I follow."

  "I've had a collection for some time, and I was just beginning to think that I might be in a position to expand it."

  "Oh," she said vaguely. "But I'm still just a student. I'm not really qualified..."

  "There's a saying, you might have heard it." He waited for her to look at him, and a moment later he finished. "It goes, 'shut up and take my money.' You familiar with that one?"

  She clapped her mouth shut and kept the furrow between her brows.

  "Very well, then," she said. Her eyebrows stayed furrowed. "But I want to know something. Why me?"

  "There are a great many reasons," Alex started. "I can think of at least three off-hand." He looked pointedly down at her breasts, and waited for her to get the idea. She didn't take long. "But first and foremost, because you're the best candidate for the job."

  "How could I be?"

  He left out the explanation of her role in the entire collection. "Because I think you might have known the artist," he told her instead. "I believe he was a friend of the family."

  "I'm not sure I follow," she said. Her eyes said that she had guessed it already, but he was couching everything in such vague language that she didn't want to make any guesses.

  "He was tall, dark, handsome. Dark hair, not entirely unlike yours. Dark eyes. Wore thick coke-bottle glasses and liked to work with his hands more than he liked to paint, but the painting was something he did for the money more than for the creativity of it. I heard he died recently. Is any of this sounding familiar?"

  She screwed up her face. "I don't see how my relationship with my father has anything to do with," she got out before he started speaking over her.

  "I heard that the collection is now closed. There won't be any more Kramers coming out any time soon, I shouldn't think. Which means that now is the time to start solidifying what I've got, and acquiring anything as it comes onto the market. Is that about right?"

  She swallowed hard. "I suppose that sounds right."

  Diana had looked as if she might throw up at any moment, before; as he had finally started to give her the details on the job, details she'd been asking for several minutes, that look had cleared up into confusion, and then starting to edge up to understanding and acceptance.

  The casual way that Alex spoke about her father, though, had brought that sick look back on her face. "As you know, though, there aren't many on the market. There never are. There weren't many to begin with, for that matter."

  "No, there weren't," Diana agreed quietly.

  "So you can see, then, that I don't need you for your art history degree, nor your museum science. I need you because you're hungry for this sort of work, and because you are uniquely situated for the ta
sk that I've got for you."

  She nodded blankly.

  "Think of it as a way to get closer to your father. A second chance."

  The shade of green her face turned was almost delightful enough to make up for the fact that someone had killed the only other dragon that Alex had ever really thought understood him. At least, before Aleroth himself had gotten around to it.

  12

  Alex Blume was already reacting to the oncoming threat before he realized two very important things: first, that he was the only one who'd seen a dragon before, and more important, second, that he wasn't the one driving. He bit out a curse as the old man started to led out a low moan, and yanked the wheel off toward the edge of the road.

  At interstate speeds, yanking the wheel like that is a mistake. In a best case scenario, it does almost nothing; the wheels slip, and after a brief, sickening moment of twist, the entire car loses traction and turns all too slowly around the corner.

  This wasn't a best-case scenario, though. The car's wheels bit into the asphalt and pulled the nose sharply to the side, the car wobbling dangerously forward, the rest of the vehicle not seeming to notice that it was supposed to have turned.

  As a rule, tires struggle to roll sideways, and so it was with the SUV that he'd taken her in. Under normal circumstances, he would have driven himself. It was his preference. But this was supposed to be an impressive display, one that cemented his dominance in her mind.

  That dominance would have grown and shifted as time went on, but it would have been first cemented in her mind that he wasn't the sort of man who was trifled with. He had a driver, had a blacked out car, and had a lot of other things, as well.

  Some parts of it were lost in translation, but it hadn't escaped Alex that the first time he'd seen something he really, truly wanted, in over a century, he'd started acting less human, and more dragon. Create an impressive display, show your dominance through your things. Prove that you know more, that you're more in control, that everything is well in hand.

  But as a result, the big SUV, already a little bit too top-heavy, started to tip, and then turn, and finally turned over onto its side and skidded that way another twenty or thirty feet, flipping brilliantly as Alex forced his body into the corner with Diana's, cushioning it as best as possible.