by Renee Rose
“You my big brother, Stu? Always watching?”
“No, uh.” He flushes. Poor guy. He’s obviously into me but trying to stay professional. Which is more than I’ve done with Jackson. “Just trying to show you the ropes. I feel responsible, ’cause I got you hired.”
You hired my boobs. My snark self rears her head. My brains are just along for the ride.
“I know Jackson King is a big name, but he’s not a nice guy. Kinda a jerk, actually. He’s got a reputation around here for being a royal dick. The ladies always fall for him.” Now, Stu sounds whiney and jealous. “But he treats them the same as any employee. Barely says a word that isn’t rude.”
“I’m fine, Stu. He didn’t say anything rude. And I like working here, so far.”
“Well, great.” Stu casts about. “Got any plans for the weekend?”
Groan.
“Hanging with my boyfriend,” I lie cheerfully.
Stu pushes off the table, away from me. Of course, I’ve been sending I’m not interested vibes for days, but now that he thinks a man has claimed me, he’s finally taking a hint.
Jerk.
“Right,” he says. “Well, I’m off to the meeting with Finance. We’re setting a project to test their structure before the next 10-Q filings. Which is in a week. I might need you on it.”
“Great.” I fake enthusiasm at the promise of overtime and mentally upgrade Stu from jerk to dickhat.
“Okay.” Stu shoulders his laptop case. “I’m heading up, now. You want me to hold the elevator?”
“No, thanks.” I fight back a sarcastic reply. “Gonna take the stairs. Need the exercise.” I let out a sigh when his footsteps fade away.
“Is Stu bothering you?” A low voice makes me jerk and almost spill coffee all over myself. King prowls in, looking like he’s ready for the cover of GQ. “I’ll have a word with him if he’s being inappropriate.”
“No. He’s fine.” Lordy, I’d forgotten how broad his shoulders are. “It’s fine.” I’m babbling. “He’s just awkward. All geeks are.”
“Are we?”
I arch a brow. “You, especially.” Crap. Here goes the truth serum again. “The last time I saw you, you told me to leave. No explanation. No nothing. You tossed me out and didn’t tell me why.”
“You know why.” His deep, quiet voice makes my cheeks flush and my pussy purr.
To hide it, I roll my eyes. “Stu just asked me the same thing about you. Wanted to make sure you weren’t bothering me or being rude. Apparently, you have quite the reputation, Mr. Mean.”
“What’d you tell him?” His jaw is clenched tighter than normal.
“I told him you huffed and puffed but didn’t blow my house down. Relax.” I smirk, and the tension in him eases a little. “I left out the part where you told me it wasn’t safe to stay.” I glance around the empty conference room. “Which reminds me. You said we shouldn’t be alone.”
A group of people pass the open door, chatting loudly.
“We’re not alone. And we shouldn’t.” He fixes me with a look, and his tousled hair falls over his hollowed cheek. It should be illegal for a man to be so beautiful.
“I think I can handle you.” Maybe.
Something flickers across his face. He looks away. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you’ve never dated anyone,” I blurt, mainly to distract him from the thought that put the pain in the expression.
“So you’ve mentioned. You still stalking me, little hacker?”
“No.” Yes.
He smirks as if he knows it’s a lie.
I grin back. “Thank you. I can handle Stu. But it’s nice to have someone check on me.”
“If anyone here harasses you, I want to know about it. Understand?”
A thrill goes through me, but I hide it.
“Wonder Woman today?”
“What?” I blurt, before I realize he’s talking about my shirt. “Oh, yeah. Well, you’re Clark Kent.” I nod to his suit and tie.
“Ouch,” he grimaces. “He was a nerd.”
“He was Superman,” I correct. “And you are a nerd.”
He shrugs. “Billionaire nerd.” A grin hides just out of sight on his mouth. He’s handsome now; he’d be breathtaking if he’d smile. “Like Iron Man. Or Batman. He’s more my style.”
“Or Lex Luther. Maybe you’re not a hero.”
The smile lurking in the corner of his mouth disappears, to my dismay. “Yeah,” he mutters. “I’m definitely the bad guy.”
“I was kidding. You’re not a villain.” I step closer, put my hand on his arm before I remember myself. “You act big and bad, but I know what you’re really like. You’re the one who comes to the rescue. I remember what you did for me in the elevator.”
“No,” he says. His eyes drop to my hand and up to my face. I remove it and step back, flushing a little. “You’re mistaken.”
My whole body heats from his nearness. He keeps shutting me down, but the fact remains, he’s still standing here. I know he has a thing for me. He just has too much integrity to act on it. “So why are you here? Marking your territory?”
“Me? You’re the one who set my secretary back on her heels.”
“I did not,” I sputter, then grin. “That was just a little cat fight. And she deserved it.”
He holds up his hands. “All right, kitten. Sheath your claws.” Smirking, he strides off, looking almost...happy?
What was that all about?
~.~
Jackson
My wolf whines a little as I walk away from my little superhero, but he behaves. He wanted me to close the door and mark her with my scent so the likes of Stu will stay away, but he’s satisfied that we got to see her at all.
I shouldn’t risk getting near her, but I can’t help it. At least I proved to myself I can be in the same room without jumping her. I love that she’s not afraid to tease me.
You’re Clark Kent.
If she only knew.
I skip the elevator, take the stairs two at a time.
My secretary gives me a bewildered look as I pass. I realize the strange feeling on my face is a smile.
“Mr. King?” I turn, and my secretary’s perfume hits. The downside of having a sharp nose.
“Yes, Vanessa?”
“You have a call from Garrett. No last name. I wouldn’t bother you, but you said to put him through—”
“I’ll take it.” Ever since Kylie sparred with her, my secretary’s been subdued. I still get rock hard when I think of the encounter. If Kylie was a shifter, she’d be an alpha female. Perfect for my wolf. Strong enough to stand up to my rule, sexy enough to keep me wrapped around her little finger. Sweet enough to keep me hard, just thinking of putting my cock in her. Of long nights running under the full moon. Just the two of us at first, but, one day, there’d be pups...
Shaking my head, I pick up the phone. I must be moon mad if I’m thinking about pups.
“King?” The Tucson alpha sounds like he’s making his voice deeper. At twenty-nine, he’s one of the youngest alphas in the states. It helps that his father runs a big pack in Phoenix, and backs Garrett’s claim of the territory. “Just wanted to check in.”
Most alphas have a protective streak. Garrett is no different. But I’m not one of his pack. If any alpha tried to claim me, I’d be obliged to make it clear I’m no one’s wolf. Quickly and violently. My wolf tolerates Garrett’s “check-ins” because it thinks of the young alpha as a kid brother, kinda like Sam. Still, Garrett and I are careful in our interactions. In a fight for dominance, I’d win, but I have no interest in taking over his pack. And it’d be a shame to best him, because I like the guy.
“Garrett,” I answer. “Full moon this week.”
“That’s why I’m calling. My dad’s hosting mating games on pack land near Phoenix. Wanted to invite you to run with us.”
“You going?”
“Yeah. The guys want to sniff some she wolves. They won’t mate,
but they’d like to get laid.” There are fewer than twenty members in Garrett’s pack, all young, unattached males, like him. And they all live in the same apartment building. Bit of a fraternity.
“Appreciate it, but I can’t make it. I’d send Sam, but I promised him we’d run our own property.”
“Dad says you’re always welcome,” Garrett says affably.
My money is welcome. I’m barely tolerated, standoffish even for a lone wolf. I’m dominant enough to hold my territory, but that doesn’t mean I want a pack. I’ve avoided gatherings since my birth pack banished me.
“There aren’t a lot of single females, but you might find one you like.”
“Tell your dad thanks but no thanks. Maybe in a few years, if Sam wants a mate.” I don’t want to insult the Phoenix alpha, but I find it best to be blunt. Maybe not the most politically sensitive, but I’m big enough, people tiptoe around me.
“Look, King, I don’t give a shit if you mate or not. Obviously, I haven’t taken a mate, either. But three males in my dad’s pack have gone moon mad in the last few years. It’s my responsibility to make sure you at least mingle with some females, since we don’t have any down here.”
What he really means is: You’re a lone wolf past the age of thirty, and a dominant, and more susceptible to going moon mad unless you take a mate.
Also, there is at least one female wolf in Tucson. Garrett’s beautiful younger sister is a student at the University of Arizona, but I can’t fault the guy for leaving her out of the equation. Not that I’m interested in her, anyway. The image of Kylie’s Batgirl stretched tits rises in my mind.
Not a wolf.
Garrett goes on, “I’m bringing up my pack to give them all a chance to at least run off some tension.”
“I didn’t know matchmaking was part of the alpha’s job description,” I drawl.
“I know your wolf is dominant. Without a pack to run, it must be dying to bring a she-wolf to heel.”
Every muscle in my body clenches, imagining bringing my little hacker to heel.
“Besides, with birth rates among shifters so low, it’s good for the pack if the most dominant of us settle down and have pups as soon as possible.” He sounds like his father. “Why put it off?”
I scoff. “Says the chronic bachelor. What, did your mother call asking for grand pups, and you decided to pass the advice onto me?”
Any other alpha might bristle and take offense at my jab, but not Garrett.
“You caught me.” I hear his grin, and it goes a good way to mollifying my wolf, who’s annoyed at having this conversation in the first place. “I figure if she has your wedding to coo over in the shifter society gossip pages, she’ll leave me alone.”
“I’m onto you now. I’ll think about it next moon. Sam should definitely get a girlfriend.”
“All right.” Garrett laughed. “We’ll look for you. See you around, King.”
“One more thing, Garrett.” I drop all joviality. With my wolf’s newfound attraction to a human, I’m suddenly not so certain about my own stability. “If I do ever go moon mad, promise me you’ll protect Sam. And bring your whole pack in to stop me. Whatever it takes.”
“Whatever it takes,” Garrett vows. The silence hangs cold and serious between us. We both hang up without saying goodbye.
I drum my fingers against the desk, the warning a weight in my chest. Garrett did the right thing, bringing up moon sickness in the most tactful way possible. It irks me that it took this reminder to make me back off Kylie. The animal inside me is dangerous and just looking for a moment of weakness so it can break free.
No more tests of my control. No more games like today. I have to stay away from Kylie. For her own good.
I open my laptop, ready to immerse myself in work, when the chat pings.
Batgirl4u: Hey
For a second, I catch my breath, thinking I’ve found my nemesis at last—Catgirl, the hacker who broke my code years ago.
But no. It’s Batgirl, with a B. And it’s on our intranet, the private network my employees use. Except I only allow connections with my executive team. Which means I’ve been hacked.
King1: Who’s this? I type, although I can guess.
Batgirl4u: Who do you think?
I shake my head.King1: Cute trick, kitten. But if you have time to hack our intranet, I need to get Stu to give you more to do.
Batgirl4u: Just proving my worth. You could send me that code you wanted to show me
The cursor blinks at me.
This isn’t a good idea. I want to watch over her, but I can’t. Today, I had a weak moment. I have too many of those around her. Like it or not, I am dangerous. Deadly. She thinks I’m not a villain.
She’s wrong.
I power off my computer. Time for another run.
~.~
Kylie
After an hour waiting for King’s reply, I power off my laptop and head home. I shouldn’t have taunted him like that. I was showing off, and, if I’m not careful, he might connect the dots some day and figure out I’m Catgirl.
Infuriating man. One day I think he’s going to bend me over his desk and fuck me senseless, the next he’s throwing me out of his office. Then he’s back to flirting. And then he ignores me online. I can’t keep up.
“Holy mixed messages, Batman,” I mutter as I close my front door and pull off my heels. One thing’s for sure, I’m not wearing these shoes for him again.
“Mémé? You home?”
A note on the table in my grandmother’s loopy scrawl tells me she’s run to the store, so I pick up the mail, pulling out the large manila envelope with no return address. I pry the flap with my thumb and rip it open.
A thick packet of papers emerged, with a typewritten cover letter.
Oh fuck.
My heart stops beating.
We know who you are, Catgirl, and have the proof to put you away.
To ensure our silence, you have twenty-four hours to install the code on this thumb drive into the main drive of SeCure.
If you do not comply, if you corrupt the files on the thumb drive in any way, or if you speak of this to anyone, we will send this packet to your new employer and the FBI.
No.
I struggle to breathe as I flip through the rest of the pages of the packet. They include all the evidence from my break into SeCure years ago, as well as IDs and photos of me and my parents under various aliases.
None with my real name.
Hell, even I’ve forgotten that.
My head throbs, and the room spins away. Someone found me. Maybe not him, but this is a huge threat.
First things first. Is there anything in this packet that can put me in jail?
I flip through the pages again.
No. But it will raise flags. SeCure will fire me, for sure. I’ll lose the chance to work with Jackson King, not that it looks like we’d be working closely, but still. Goodbye to my chance at being normal.
But I can’t do it and stay. If I give in to these guys, I’ll be their bitch forever. Next, they’ll ask me to hack into the credit card vault. Then somewhere else. I can’t do that. I have to disappear. Like I’ve done a million times before.
I stomp to the bedroom, grab a suitcase from the closet, and fling it onto the bed. Without thought, my hands move, packing the necessities. Black clothes, one pair of each thing. A simple bag of toiletries.
Running again. It doesn’t matter how hard I try to outrun Catgirl and my parents’ legacy, the past always catches up with me.
But what about Mémé? We’ve moved so many times, I don’t want to drag her on the road again. This time, our lives aren’t in danger. It’s not fair to make her pick up and move. Can I leave her?
She’s the only family I have. Ditching her to keep her safe feels like what my father did to me, when he tried to stick me in boarding school after my mom died. I wouldn’t let him, and I’ll bet Mémé won’t like being left behind, either.
Okay, so we’d both move.
Mémé can make soup anywhere.
We have to run. We have to hide. What other choice do we have?
So much for my chance at normal.
I wrench open my drawer. The Batgirl shirt stares up at me.
“I can’t,” I say. “I’m not a superhero.”
I’m definitely the bad guy, Jackson told me. If only he knew. I’m his arch-nemesis, as bad as they come. I thought I was clear of my old life. I thought wrong.
In the past, I’d hack my way out of any problem—mine or my dad’s. We were in it together. Always on the run, but together. I’d felt safe. Powerful, even. But the Louvre shattered that. Stabbed in front of my eyes, my father gone forever. I almost died in that air-conditioning shaft, suffocating on my own panic. I’ve never felt safe in a tight space again.
Except in the elevator, with King.
I remember the pressure of his arms around me, the triggering of the calming reflex. I’d looked it up when I got home. All I found was reference to yoga postures that involve locking the chin into the sternum for calming.
Jackson’s big hands had been so much better than a yoga pose. They’d radiated warmth and safety.
If anyone harasses you, I want to know about it.
It’s not real. It’s not safe. I can’t trust him.
But what if I can?
I shove the papers back in the envelope, write a quick note for Mémé and run to my room for a new outfit before I can change my mind.
I’ve built my life on lies.
Maybe it’s time to try the truth.
~.~
Jackson
The moon shines silver, lighting the mountainside. I usually run and hunt most of the night when the moon is so close to full, but my instincts screamed to go back early. It wasn’t because of the rain, either.
Sam chases me, nipping at my hind legs, but I turn and snarl at the young wolf, causing him to tuck his tail and whine. I don’t want Sam’s company—I never do, but the kid is my self-appointed permanent shadow. When we reach the back side of my property, we both freeze. The rain makes it impossible to scent anything, but the high-pitched tone set at a frequency only canines register tells us my alarm system has been tripped.