by Riley Storm
Now there was an idea. Guilt him into selling her the property.
“Six minutes,” she said abruptly. “Six minutes and I’m gone.”
She hung up without waiting for an answer.
This is a bad idea, Olivia. You should have just gone home.
She settled in to wait, wondering if he would make it in time.
7
Five and a half minutes, three ignored red lights, one near-accident and most of the rubber on his tires later, Aaric screeched to a halt outside of Leblanc. The valet parking attendant was staring at him like he was a bat out of hell.
“Be gentle with her,” he said, tossing the young man the keys. “She might be a bit temperamental after what I just did to her.”
Both he and the valet frowned at his language, then smiled a knowing smile at one another before resuming their interaction.
“Of course, sir,” the valet said. “I’ll be tender.”
“I’m sure you will, son,” Aaric said with a nod.
The click-click of heels on pavement caught his attention. Turning, he was greeted with a sight that was nine-tenths wonderful, one-tenth terrifying.
“You. Look. Stunning,” he rumbled as Olivia walked up to him, her face filled with anger. It wasn’t enough to detract from the rest of her, not even close.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting the compliment but saying nothing more.
“I am most sorry for embarrassing you the way I did,” he said, meaning every single word.
She might be a bit prickly, and likely using this as an excuse to try and butter him up to get him to sell his newly acquired property, but Aaric didn’t care. None of that excused him being forgetful of their date, and then assuming that, just because she wanted the property as well, Olivia was the one he’d chased around.
“Thank you for your apology,” she said tightly.
Aaric’s eyes took in her dress, a deep purple that was tight to just below her waist, and then loose but not billowy from her hips to the floor. It swayed and the satin rippled, colors reflecting wildly with every step she took. Her hair was straight and pulled back into a ponytail. Elegant, but simple. Black heels showed with each step.
“Truly, you do look beautiful,” he repeated, gesturing at the door. “Shall we get you that dinner I promised?”
“I am hungry now. I was thirty seconds away from leaving and getting a pizza to crush by myself at home.”
Aaric laughed. “That doesn’t sound too bad either. Maybe next time,” he said with a wink, pulling the door open for her.
Olivia stuttered as she groped blindly for a reply to his outrageous flirtation, further helping to diffuse her anger at him. Not that Aaric would deny her right to be irate, but they both would have a more enjoyable time if they moved on from his regrettable error in time judgment.
“Thank you,” she said as he pulled her chair out and pushed it in behind her.
Aaric had barely taken his own seat before she leaned forward, eyes focused on him with an almost eerie intensity.
“Yes?” he asked, trying not to sound as uncomfortable as he felt when suddenly confronted like this.
“I was just wondering,” Olivia said, her voice quiet yet just loud enough to carry across to him the emotions within as well as the words.
“Were you now?” he returned, not overly interested in playing games.
“I was.”
He just nodded, remaining silent. If this feisty human thought she could outwait a dragon shifter, she was in for a rather rude awakening. Patience was—when he chose—something that came easily to him. When it was a challenge to see who would blink first? Aaric never lost.
Nearly a full minute passed. He could see her cheek begin to tick as muscles screamed at Olivia to speak, to do something besides just stare at him. Aaric, meanwhile, remained calm, his mind wandering back to his newly acquired property.
He’d been fairly positive Olivia had been the mysterious figure. That she wasn’t actually human, but instead part of his world. Yet now he knew she’d been seated in very public view in the restaurant the entire time.
What the hell was I chasing?
There was another player in the game, it seemed, and Aaric was completely unaware. The bears of House Ursa weren’t an issue. They were busy with their own problems he’d found out, still recovering from an internal civil war. The wolves were in nearly the same place, having split between two factions, resorting to blows.
None of them was dumb enough, or strong enough, to consider taking on House Draconis.
Nor do they even know we are returning, though that will change soon enough, I suppose.
Aaric smiled to himself. He’d recently learned there would be an official coronation ceremony for the new King of House Canis. As was customary, a representative from each of the other shifter Houses would be present at the ceremony. He couldn’t wait to see the reaction when he walked in, the first member of House Draconis to reveal their presence in a century.
I don’t know how Parre and Elanna kept themselves so well hidden. It must have been tough staying out of the public, avoiding being seen.
It was then he realized Olivia was talking to him.
“Pardon?” he asked, returning his focus to the present.
“I asked you why you were late,” she repeated. “I’m curious as to what your excuse is.”
Aaric leaned back and shrugged, careful not to flex too much so that his suit didn’t rip. “I don’t have an excuse.”
Olivia’s forehead wrinkled in surprise. “What? So, you just didn’t show up?”
He shook his head. “No. I have a reason why I wasn’t here. It’s not one that’s acceptable to me, let alone you. It shouldn’t have happened. I screwed up.”
“You’re telling the truth,” she said softly, her eyes never wavering.
“What reason do I have to lie?” he told her. “The truth is often the best choice.”
“It’s always the best choice,” Olivia corrected.
“When it’s available,” he added. “Sometimes, we are unable to reveal the truth, for reasons outside of our control.”
“Is that the case behind your reason for being late?” Olivia asked, emphasizing his word choice over hers.
“I got caught up in work,” he said, answering the question without detail. “An unexpected guest, um, dropped in, I guess you would say, and I couldn’t get rid of them in time.”
Olivia nodded. “I see. Work. Business. That’s as good a segue as any.”
“Pardon?” It was Aaric’s turn to be caught off guard.
“I need that property,” she said firmly. “I must have it. Let’s work out a deal.”
Aaric sighed. “Olivia, I’ve told you this already. I cannot sell it.”
She leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Why, Aaric? Why can’t you sell it?”
He bit his lip. What was he supposed to tell her? That he needed it because it was the perfect site for his dragon outreach center? Where he hoped to not only find a mate, but also help the community of Plymouth Falls? Of course, he couldn’t say that. Just like he wouldn’t be able to call it a “dragon” outreach center.
The truth, in this case, was simply something he was unable to reveal for reasons outside of his control. The human populace at large simply couldn’t handle the revelation they weren’t alone, that paranormal beings of all shapes and sizes inhabited the earth, and also several other dimensions that mirrored its appearance.
They would freak out. There would be massive manhunts and thousands would suffer, and many more die, plenty of them innocent. It wasn’t something he could risk.
“Because I need it,” he said, reaching across the table, taking her hand, giving it a squeeze to try and reassure her he wasn’t doing this just to try and screw her over. “I need you to understand that.”
Olivia, to his surprise, lay her other hand on top of his. “I need you to understand that I must have that property. Whatever it takes. Please, Aaric.”
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It took a lot of his immense self-control not to raise an eyebrow or two at that last sentence. After leaving Charles’ place earlier that day with the winning bid and signed contract, Aaric had done some digging into Olivia and who she was. One thing he’d garnered from his brief research, was that she wasn’t the type to resort to saying please very often, at least not in her real-estate negotiations.
That must have cost her a lot.
“Why do you need it so badly?” he rumbled, bringing his other hand up to cover both of hers, feeling the soft, warm flesh underneath, the faint tremble of her pulse through her skin.
She was nervous, he realized, noting the speed with which her pulse beat through her system. Why would she be nervous? He was no threat to her, not even remotely.
“I just do,” Olivia said with sudden sharpness, trying to yank her hands away.
“As far as pitches go, that one wasn’t very convincing,” he said, holding her hands tight enough to keep them in his grip. “Maybe try again?” he suggested.
“I think this was a bad idea,” she said suddenly. “Thank you for the invite, but I should be going.”
“We haven’t even had drinks yet,” he protested as she stood up abruptly, pushing her chair out so fast it nearly tipped over.
She looked down at her hands, which he still had. Aaric abruptly let go, not wanting to hold her there against her will.
“I had enough drinks while I sat here waiting for you to show up the first time,” she fired back, heading for the door.
Aaric scratched his head, realizing it was almost time to shave it again as he did. “What the hell just happened?”
He sat at the table for a few more seconds, then he too got up and headed for the exit, still trying to puzzle out what was happening.
“Hey,” he called, his long legs easily catching up to her in the parking lot. “Hey, they have a valet service, you know.”
Olivia made some sort of noise and shook her head but kept walking.
A few seconds later, he came up alongside her, leaving room between them so she didn’t feel threatened. He hoped.
“They would have brought the car to you.”
She growled and came to a stop, the lights on the upscale four-door sedan blinking as she unlocked them. “This is my car.”
“The valets would know that.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Maybe I didn’t want to wait on the valets, because then I would have to stand somewhere you could easily bother me. Did that ever occur to you?”
He frowned. “Honestly, no. I don’t understand what went wrong in there. I thought we were past this, that we could have dinner now.”
“Dinner? Dinner? Are you sure that’s all you had in mind?” she asked.
“Yes?” Aaric was beyond confused now.
“What the hell was with all the hand-holding then?” she asked, reaching out and grabbing his hands, mimicking how he was holding them earlier. “Why do you need it so badly?” she asked in a poor mockery of his voice, though she didn’t let his hands go at the end.
“I’m not following why that got you so upset. I’m sorry if you didn’t like my hands on yours. I…I didn’t think about it that way,” he said, fumbling for an apology he’d never expected to have to make.
“Don’t act so stupid,” she snapped, stepping closer. “You know damn well that’s not the problem.”
“I do?” Aaric wasn’t so sure that he did. “Can we pretend I’m suffering from short-term amnesia, and then you fill me in?”
“The problem is how good your hands felt, though you know that. Or how hot you look in that suit. The way you were staring into my eyes. I could feel it. You wanted to kiss me over the table. Your pulse was practically hammering in your hands,” Olivia challenged.
Aaric lifted his eyebrows. “That was your pulse, Olivia. Not mine. Perhaps you, wanted to make out with me.”
“I didn’t say make out,” she retorted, looking away.
“You also didn’t deny it,” he pointed out, still holding her hands.
“Fine!” she shouted. “Maybe I thought for a moment there that you were hot and that I wouldn’t mind kissing you. So what?”
“So, do it,” he challenged, wondering where the words were coming from as he said them. This wasn’t his plan, not at all. Olivia was not his type. She was gorgeous, that part worked, he loved her curves and the idea of her body pressed against him was far from unappetizing.
But she was too prickly and standoffish for his tastes. Too wrapped up in her image of being the number one real-estate agent in the area. If she could learn to separate those two, then maybe…
“Do it?” Olivia echoed. “What, kiss you?”
“Yes. Like this,” he growled, tiring of her timidity and stepping forward. His right hand slid up the back of her neck to hold her skull, while his left wrapped around the small of her back, feeling the curve of her spine as he pulled her in close.
Olivia gasped, the sound silenced as his mouth closed over hers, tasting a faint hint of the red wine she’d had earlier. Her lips were much softer than the way she often spoke, and Aaric lost himself in them, his tongue flicking out to glide over hers and explore her mouth.
Two hands found his chest and pushed back, separating them. Olivia was staring straight ahead, directly at his pecs, her own chest rising and falling as she gasped for breath.
“Like I said, just do it,” he repeated, his voice deep, a surefire sign of the arousal threatening to overwhelm him.
“You just kissed me,” Olivia managed to get out.
“Did you hate it?” Aaric was surprised by how much he truly wanted to know the answer to that question.
“It, or you?” Olivia said, anger blossoming across her face again. “I need to go.”
Aaric stepped back as she all but fled into her car and raced out of the parking lot, leaving him standing there with nothing but the slightest taste of her mouth on his lips, and an overwhelming urge to have more.
Fat chance of that. She doesn’t even want to talk to you again. Time to move on, Aaric, you don’t have any time to waste. You must find your mate.
Before it was too late.
8
She plunked herself down into her chair, fighting the urge to lean back and stare morosely at the ceiling.
“Shit.”
There wasn’t much else to say. Not just then. Her carefully crafted plan had gone down the drain. Her backup plan had joined it. Olivia was currently out of ideas on what to do.
She inhaled deeply, then cursed as the scent of leather and oak threaded its way into her nostrils.
“How is that possible?” she hissed to herself. “I showered twice!”
Yet despite the extra cleansing session, she was still smelling Aaric every time she breathed in deep through her nose. Of course, she could also feel his lips on hers every time she closed her eyes, but that was another problem, separate from this one.
“Angela,” she called out to her assistant. “Any messages?”
“No, boss. Quiet morning so far. Why, are you expecting anyone?”
“Not really,” she said. Now Olivia did lean back in her chair and stare at the ceiling.
What am I going to do?
Her eyes strayed from the roof of her office to a stack of papers in her mailbox. The only stack of papers in it. A contract. The contract, the one from her new clients down in South America. A signed contract.
If she didn’t get the property for them, Olivia would be on the hook for a portion of their losses in the deal. She could be ruined by this, all because Aaric was a stubborn asshole who wouldn’t just sell her the property.
“He could have his pick of any other place in Plymouth Falls,” she muttered. “Why the hell did he have to pick this one?”
“Boss?” Angela said, pushing back her chair, sticking her head into the open door. “Everything okay in here?”
“Everything’s fine,” she said tightly. “All good. Do me a favor, shut the doo
r, will you?”
Angela gave her a reluctant gaze, but then nodded. “Of course. Just buzz me if you need me.”
Olivia nodded, waiting until the door was closed to bury her face in her hands, leaning forward onto the desk. She wasn’t going to cry. She wouldn’t cry. Not over this. Not like this. There had to be some way she could convince him to sell to her.
But what?
Her ears picked up the sound of the phone ringing outside. Maybe that was him now, calling to say he’d thought about it, and that she could have the property. Fifty percent over asking was higher than the budget her client had given her, but even if she used her own money to top up, the payout in the end would still ensure she came out more than ahead in the deal.
“It can be done,” she said, trying to reassure herself.
Angela’s voice came through her phone. “Boss? You have a Mr. Martinez on the phone? He says he’s from Northern Aspiration Charters, Holding & Trading.”
Olivia went still. It wasn’t Aaric calling to say he’d reconsidered. It was her new client, calling to see if she’d secured the property or not.
“Fuck me,” she moaned even as she composed herself, reaching out to punch the buzzer to Angela’s desk. “Thank you,” she said, then reached for the phone.
You can do this.
“Edgar!” she said, forcing a cheeriness into her voice that she didn’t feel. “How are you? It must be about lunchtime for you. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“I called you,” the smooth, clipped voice of her South American business partner came back. “So of course, you aren’t interrupting.”
“Right,” she said awkwardly. “Of course. How silly of me. How are you though? Are you doing well?”
“I am, yes, thank you for asking. I will be doing better once I receive word from you that we can begin to proceed with our new factory. I admit I was hoping to hear from you by now with the good news.” There was a pause. “After all, you did promise us that this would be easy. That you would not encounter any problems in securing this property.”
Olivia swallowed nervously. “Yes, yes I know. I do apologize for not contacting you sooner, Mr. Martinez,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as uneasy as she felt. “Unfortunately, we seem to have run into a problem.”