by Anna Lewis
“Hello there,” I heard him coming in before I saw him. “Hi everyone.” He sounded far too chipper for my liking, like he wasn’t feeling anything like me. The fact that I was potentially about to destroy that happiness had my heart hammering guiltily in my chest. “Hello, Cassie. Do you mind stepping into my office in a moment? I need to speak to you?”
Shit, was he going to fire me before I quit? Somehow that would be a billion times worse because it’d also carry his rejection with it. “Erm, sure,” I stammered, trying to cover up the fact that I was dying inside. Still I couldn’t look at him. My eyes were everywhere but at Markus. “I’m coming.”
Unfortunately, Markus didn’t get the hint that I needed a moment alone, he waited for me which meant I couldn’t even breathe deeply to steady myself. Instead I had to go inside with panic bulldozing through my system.
I tiptoed through the door and took my seat, feeling like I was about to be scolded for allowing that night to happen.
“Are you okay, Cassie?” Markus asked me in a very kind tone of voice. “I feel like you’ve been avoiding me. You ran out…” My eyes snapped up to him as he brought up that night at work. I hadn’t been expecting him to actually speak of it here. Seeing his gorgeous eyes made my heart flip flop unwelcomely in my chest. “And that’s the first time you’ve looked at me since.” He reached across the desk and grabbed onto my hands, displaying none of the sex consciousness I was feeling. “I know it was a bit crazy, but you’re okay, aren’t you?”
“N… no,” I stammered as a reply. “I’m not really.” Everything felt hot and cold all at once. “I think I might have to… to leave. I can’t be here knowing that we… did that.”
“What?” he exclaimed loudly, jumping upright. I winced at the volume of his voice in such a public place, but again he had no self-consciousness about it. “Are you serious? You cannot leave. I can’t let that happen. I need you to stay.” As he moved around to the side of the desk where I was standing, I felt grateful that at least his office had no windows. No one could see the goings on in here. “I like you, Cassie, don’t you get that? You’re the best PA I’ve ever had.”
That comment burned my heart. My feelings for him ran way deeper, I couldn’t see him every day and know that he didn’t feel the same way that I did. “I can’t just be your PA anymore.” My eyes were welling up, I felt pain everywhere. “It’s too hard for me. I know this is my fault, but I shouldn’t have done anything with you knowing that I felt so much for you. Now I’m in a real mess.”
One stray tear escaped and cascaded down my cheek, which Markus rapidly flicked away. “What are you talking about? None of this is your fault. We’re consenting adults, aren’t we? We had fun on all the times we were together, didn’t we?” I nodded slowly, because I couldn’t deny that however much I wanted to. “So what’s the problem?”
He was being dense. I was going to have to spell it out, it was the only way this agonizing conversation would ever come to an end. “Markus, I’m in love with you. I have been for a very long time, and I finally get my chance with you and I blow it because of Ryan. I only like him in a physical way, and I’m gutted that had to be the reason this all ends…”
“Who says it has to end?” Markus interjected, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “I love you too, I have done for ages. The only reason I forced myself to keep away until I literally couldn’t resist anymore was because I know my sexual appetite isn’t to everyone’s taste.”
“Wait.” I held my hands on his chest to stop him for a moment. “So you really liked all of that?”
“Could you not tell?” His smirk made me chuckle, despite the weirdness of the situation. “Look, Cassie, I’ll be honest with you. All my relationships before have ended because I felt like I was forcing my kinkier side on them, that the others weren’t really into it, but with you it comes natural. I don’t get the impression that it’s things you’ve ever done before?” I shook my head, confirming his point, all the while my emotions were dancing all over my body. “But you like it, right?” I nodded silently, my vocal chords seemed unable to work. “So what’s the issue? You like kinky, I need it, I need someone to keep me on my toes.”
This was all resonating so much with me. Maybe this could actually work if we both loved each other enough. He liked thrilling new things, I was definitely up for trying them with him, so what could go wrong? It really felt like nothing.
“I am more than willing to do things on your terms, I would never want to push you into a situation that you aren’t comfortable with, but I love you, Cassie. I want to give us a try. The only question is, do you?”
“I do,” I gasped, clutching at my chest. I didn’t even need to really think about it, the answer was absolutely obvious. Markus had always been the man for me, now I could see just how much.
After all, who cared what went on with us in the bedroom? That was our business only.
“So, please stay and be my PA? And please be my girlfriend too? That would make me the happiest man alive?”
I smiled so brightly I feared my face might crack. This day had gone from the worst ever to the absolute best. I had to be the luckiest woman alive. “I will, to both those questions. Thank you so much, Markus.”
His lips met mine and I felt that chemistry once more, that really powerful spark. How could I say no to any of this? I’d have to be absolutely insane. No one made me feel as good as he did.
“Now I want you to go over there, and lock the office door,” he murmured into my mouth. “You want to try something new? We’re going to have sex in public, at work, over my desk, and I have a little surprise for you in my brief case too.”
“You do?” I could barely breathe with a nervous excitement. “Are you insane?”
“Very, but don’t worry, this room is sound proofed and no one can get in. I am about to show you a very good time. I have the sort of whips and toys in this bag that will drive you wild.”
Ooh, I liked the sound of that!
His seductive tone was enough to have me racing to the door and clicking the lock shut. I wanted to experience yet another very good time with Mr. Markus Smith.
“Do you always carry that sort of stuff around with you at work?” I purred as I flicked the lock downwards. “Or is it only for special occasions?”
“Trust me, Cassie Symmons,” He smirked as he flicked the case open, even laughing as I gasped loudly and clapped my hand across my mouth. “You’re going to find out.”
He reached out for me, and I took his hand happily. There wasn’t a single other person on the whole damn planet that I would be willing to take this crazy sexual journey with, but when it came to Markus, I knew that he’d be worth it. Just because he was a freak who wanted to unlock my crazy passionate side, didn’t make him any less sweet or caring. He was the perfect man for me, and I had a feeling that we were going to have a very happy life together.
“You know I’m going to have to marry you soon, right?” He smiled as he grabbed me for a kiss. “I’ve never met anyone as perfect as you.”
“Do you know what? I don’t think being your wife would be the worst thing in the world,” I teased as I glanced over his shoulder to see what he had. “Now get that red thing out, I want to see what that does.”
Yep, this might not be a very traditional happy ever after, but I got the impression that it was going to be mine.
THE END
= Bonus Book 4 of 8 =
Dragons Blood
“…Oh my God, this one says that because of my fiery personality I should be mated with a wolf!” one of the girls in my group of friends, Charlotte squealed excitedly. “I would love that. The wolves are so hot and exciting. Plus they have bodies like no tomorrow!”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and inform her that the answers only came out that way because she wanted them to. It seemed pointless to insist that because my friends spent their whole lives deciding which shapeshifter species they wanted to be with, they knew exactly how to
form their answers.
“Well it says here that I have the perfect cool attitude that would work well with a vampire,” another girl shot back.
Just because I didn't get it, didn't mean they couldn't have their fun. I had to just grit my teeth and let them get on with it.
I didn't harbor any secret urge to be whisked off my feet by a vampire, a werewolf, or a dragon. I didn't want the magical, fantasy lifestyle that everyone assumed would come with that. My only dream in life was to get a good job, marry a nice man, and have children. Normal – that was all I needed, which made me different from just about everybody else. I just wanted a quiet, normal and drama-free life, and I was pretty sure that my mundane wish was much more likely to come true. After all, that was how most people lived their lives.
Years and years ago, before any of us were born, and our parents too, the different species were all at war with one another. Each species had a different view on how to live and the stubborn opinion that their idea was the right one. Each species wanted to lead the rest of the world, and none of them would back down.
The fighting went on for decades, and because of their additional powers they were too strong for us humans. Our numbers started to decline. It seemed like we wouldn't last much longer and that the shapeshifters would be left to sort out the world themselves.
But from that tragedy, a romantic story that has determined how we live now was born. According to the legend, a werewolf stopped fighting because he fell in love with a human woman. They snuck off and hid, leaving the fighting to everyone else, but unfortunately during an intimate moment, the werewolf lost control of his human side and the animal in him took over, causing him to bite the human.
Fearing that he'd killed her he raced back out onto the battlefield to ask the other werewolves for help, and by some miracle they listened to him and rallied round. What made it even more amazing was that she didn't even really need the werewolves' help; the woman was fine. Actually what the bite had turned her into was a shapeshifter werewolf hybrid. She didn't have the shapeshifting abilities, but she was stronger, lived longer, and she could also carry her werewolf's babies.
That made everyone stop and rethink, leading us to the situation we were in today. Now, everyone lived in harmony. Sure, there were segments of the planet occupied by each species, but mostly everyone was alright. I lived in a place where you only ever found humans, which was probably why my friends were so fascinated with the unknown. What they didn't seem to get was that our location would make it even more difficult for them to get what they wanted.
The Council of Species was created to ensure that peace was kept for now, and it worked really well. There were representatives from each species to keep everything under control, but only certain people were chosen to go there.
Charlotte shook my shoulders and smiled brightly at me. “What about you, Hattie? What did your test say?”
“Oh… dragon,” I lied, shutting down my computer screen so that she couldn't see I'd been doing homework rather than the stupid test. “Apparently I'm destined to marry a dragon.”
“Ooh, dragons are the kinky ones,” she giggled, and everyone else pealed in laughter too. “It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?”
As everyone around me discussed how I must have been the kinkiest of them all because I was so quiet, I went to my happy place in my mind. The place where my life was quiet and simple, where I didn't have a gaggle of silly girls around me. Maybe I was too mature for my age, maybe I was just boring; whatever the case I couldn't change who I was, so I embraced it instead.
“Right,” I announced, standing up with a massive fake smile on my face. “I better go, my Grandma is waiting for me.” My parents had been killed in a car accident when I was only a baby, so my Grandma raised me, and she was all the family that I knew. Some of my friends thought that it was a strange living arrangement, but I loved it. My Grandma was a straight-talking bad ass lady who always gave me the best advice.
It was because of her that I embraced the person I was.
I left in a chorus of 'see you laters' and went to see the one person in the world that I felt truly got me. But the happiness that I felt from the ability to be myself zapped right from me as I saw her sitting at the dining room table with a grim expression on her face.
Bad news, it had to be.
I felt like losing my parents was enough loss for one lifetime. I wasn't sure that I actually needed more.
“Grandma?” I asked curiously, moving to sit next to her. My heart was pounding in my chest and my hands shaking with nerves, but I forced myself to continue because I needed to know what was going on. “What's wrong?”
She turned to me and gave me a look that nearly tore me apart. “Hattie, I have something to tell you,” she sighed deeply. “And this isn't going to be easy to hear.”
“What is it?” I gasped, panic starting to consume me now. “What's going on?”
“Well, I've tried to keep this from you, but I can't anymore.” She clutched my hands tightly in hers. “You are nearly eighteen years old now, and you'll have to go soon, so I can't keep it back any longer.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my anxiety rising. “What's happening here?”
“Darling, our family has always been a part of the Council of Species, and now it's time for you to take on that role too.”
***
The information that I wasn't normal, but actually a member of something incredibly important was utterly overwhelming. I was glad I found out when I did because it gave me some much needed time to adjust. Gone was my dream of a standard, normal life and in its place was something else instead; something I didn't understand, and that filled me with a horrifying pit of dread.
How the hell could I, normal, boring Hattie Smith, be a member of the Council of Species? I was the only one that wasn't interested in that side of the world. I'd never expressed any real desire to have anything to do with it, but I was the one who had to go… it didn't really seem fair.
I didn't tell anyone that I was going, because I was afraid of their reaction. I figured I would just cover it all when I got back. For now, I had school all wrapped up, and I was on my way to training camp. I hadn't exactly planned anything big for the milestone of turning eighteen, but I certainly hadn't planned on flying to England to get to assume a place in the Council of Species.
The families who had established the Council of Species had mostly run it since the peace treaty was created. I knew that much. I just hadn't realized that my family was one of them. As each generation of new Council delegates came of age they had to go to the training camp where they would learn everything about the other species and the terms of the treaty. After that, everyone was given the choice to stay in the English camp permanently, assisting in the constant work to keep the peace and to train other newcomers, or to return home and become a part time agent, only returning for the annual meeting and for other big decisions.
Of course I would be returning home afterwards, but I still didn't get how I was going to be involved with something so huge.
I was just so normal.
“How did you manage to keep this from me for so many years?” I asked Grandma, for what felt like the hundredth time. “I don't get it.”
“Well to be honest, after your parents were killed I was released from a lot of my duties, so it wasn't too hard. I guess I just wanted you to have a normal life before all this craziness kicked off.”
Well… she definitely achieved that. My life had always been incredibly normal, just like my ambitions.
“But you'll be fine,” she insisted quickly. “I know it's going to be hard going from such a small, human American town to a place where you'll mix with so many new people, but it'll be an incredible experience for you. You'll love it, it'll really open your eyes.” She looked at me with concern, spotting the obvious fear I was experiencing. “Look, it'll be different, but you'll be fine. The other species are each amazing in their own way; you'll
soon discover that.”
“Yeah,” I murmured as a reply, but all I could think about was my friends and their stupid personality tests. Vampires were frosty and cold-hearted, werewolves were fiery and hot tempered, and dragons were aloof and frankly terrifying. Of course rationally I knew that it wasn't possible to categorize a whole species into one box like that, but it made me scared all the same.
***
When Grandma dropped me off at the airport, I had my ticket clutched so tightly between my fingers that my knuckles had turned white. I hadn't dared ask her yet if this was something that I could refuse to do because I was absolutely terrified to hear her answer. From all of her stories, of which I'd heard far too many now, training at the Council of Species had been the best time of her life.
I got the distinct impression that she wished she'd stayed there, but again I didn't like to ask.
“Bye, sweetie,” she smiled at me happily, but I could see a mistiness in her eyes. “I'll miss you! Call me when you get there.”
I pulled her in for a deep hug, wishing that I didn't have to let her go. I was too shy and quiet for this massive life change, too sheltered. But I was doing my best to get past that, to make myself grow. I probably needed this, however terrifying it was.
“I will, and remember what to tell my friends if they call?”
She tutted and shook her head, clearly not approving of my plan. “Yes I know, you're on a trip. I don't know why you won't just tell them the truth.”
I wanted to tell her that they wouldn't understand, but that wasn't really the truth either. Actually it was me that didn't get it. “I don't know, I just don't want the fuss.” I shifted awkwardly in my seat. “But I better go now anyway. Love you.”
As I walked into the terminal, about to face the most terrifying experience of my entire life, my whole body was shaking. But I kept my feet going forward. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to let down the one person who had always been there for me.