Red Hot Alphas: 11 Novels of Sexy, Bad Boy, Alpha Males (Red Hot Boxed Sets Book 2)

by Jo Raven

  “You're new.” A female voice startles me from behind.

  I turn and come face to face with a beautiful brunette wearing a gown encrusted with jewels. My status as belle of the ball has been spirited away in the fleeting second it took for me to soak in her dress. Everything about this woman speaks of sophistication and wealth, from her perfect updo to the diamond necklace ringing her delicate throat.

  “I am.” I nod before taking a long swig from the champagne glass. Any poise I once held melts away with the uncouth gesture. “I just started working for Enkidu Industries two weeks ago.”

  “I can see why he invited you.” She looks me up and down, assessing me.

  “I'm Parker Bernier's date.” I'm not sure why I feel the need to inform her of that, but I do. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to tell her that, but it's too late now.

  “I was his date last year.” She extends a gloved hand to grab a glass of champagne from the table, keeping her nose up to me all the while. A tremor of jealousy burns through me as I realize he's probably fucked her too.

  “Good on you.” Bitterness shines through in my voice. I wish she would just go away, but she doesn't look like she has any intention of leaving. While I had thought that having some company would be nice, hers is most unwelcome.

  “Don't expect that he'll bring you next year.” She stares out into the crowd. “He brings a different employee with him every year.” She points towards a woman in a red shift dress. “See her? That's Nancy Joyner. She was his date the year before me.” She gestures to another woman in a blue mermaid dress. “And that's Cynthia Roger. She was his date the prior year.”

  Learning that he brings a different employee to the party as his date every year diminishes my experience. The fact that I'm not special makes my hopes of his genuine interest in me sink like a lead brick to the bottom of the ocean. This isn't actually a date. He's just following a pattern.

  “Ah. There's our host.” Her face brightens as Parker steps up onto a small stage at the far end of the room. He looks as dashing as ever in a classic tuxedo, though my attraction for him is tempered by my bad mood.

  Someone hands him a microphone, and he looks out over the crowd, his eyes skimming the faces of his friends and employees. “Welcome, everyone, to my fifth annual Christmas party.” He pauses for a moment to make sure he has everyone's attention. “Thank you all for joining me tonight. As always, I want everyone to enjoy themselves and have fun. Tonight is a bit more special than usual though, because my best friend has flown all the way from San Francisco to share the evening with me.” The smile on his face broadens as he prepares to introduce his friend. It's another personal side of Parker Bernier I'm not used to seeing. He looks genuinely happy… and like he's completely forgotten about me. “I'd like everyone to put their hands together for my mentor and business partner, Mister Asher Shepard.”

  No! This can't be happening. I reach up to touch my chest as if it will still my rapidly beating heart. The look on my face is of utter horror. Best friend. Business partner. San Francisco. It can't be the same man. It can't be the same Asher.

  A wave of nausea hits me like a freight train as my smiling asshole of an ex-boyfriend takes the stage and promptly hugs my now lover. To make things worse, he does what it seems like Parker couldn't do to save his life. He zeroes in on me almost the second that his eyes leave Parker's cheerful face.

  The champagne glass I'm holding falls from my hand and crashes to the floor, snapping in half at the stem and sending champagne splattering all over the bottom of Miss Sophisticated's expensive dress. She takes a small hop away from me, but it's too late.

  “I'm sorry.” My head snaps to the side to apologize. I am sorry. I never meant to ruin her dress. The shock was just too much for me to bear, and I'm so unnerved that I'm shaking. The accident allows me a moment's reprieve to drop to my knees and out of sight while I desperately wipe off the bottom of her dress with a napkin before picking up the pieces of the broken glass.

  “Don't worry about it,” she huffs, stomping off into the crowd, probably to find a towel or change or who really gives a shit.

  I stay on the floor meticulously picking up each tiny piece of broken glass while I formulate my escape plan. If I wasn't supposed to go find Parker, I'd crawl under the table next to me and hide there until the night was over. I can't believe that Asher Shepard and I are in the same room together.

  “I remember the last time I saw you on your knees,” a male voice says from above me, and as recognition sinks in, a shiver of anger chills me to the core. How dare he say something so crude to me in a room filled with so many people. Who does he think he is?

  The comment makes me stand. My body is so tense that I'm not even sure I'm going to be able to keep myself from slapping him. That's the least that he deserves. “Asher.” His name slips off my lips like a curse.

  “Kira.” He doesn't return my hate. In fact, he looks rather happy to see me, which only ticks me off more. “Fancy seeing you here, of all places.” He casts a glance around the room as if we're in some foreign country instead of my hometown.

  The longer I look at him, my anger begins to fade into something else. Pain. This is the man I was in love with. The man who owned my heart. The man who still holds pieces of it captive. I want to hate him, but just looking into his dark eyes brings back all those nights that he held me in bed and whispered sweet nothings into my ear. He was amazing then—the most perfect man I'd ever met in my life. Seeing him again… I hoped it would never happen.

  “You stopped responding to my text messages. Why?”

  Is he really going to bring that up now? Shouldn't he be off socializing or hanging out with Parker?

  Parker. I need to find him so I can tell him I'm leaving. There's no way I'm going to subject myself to an entire afternoon of this. I need to escape as quickly as possible.

  “I stopped responding because we're over.” It's as simple as that. He begged and pleaded for me to give him another chance in his text messages, but I wasn't going to fall for the bullshit. I saw him with his wife. I could see there was still something there. I wasn't going to allow him to play me for a fool any longer.

  “That's not what I wanted. That's not what I want.” He shakes his head. Just hearing him say it deepens the pain. I have to get away from him, get away from this stifling, horrible feeling that he causes.

  “Where's Parker?”

  “How do you know him?” His voice darkens with suspicion.

  “It doesn't matter. I just need to talk to him.” My eyes dart around the room, desperately trying to spot Parker in the crowd.

  “You think I'm going to let you go now that I finally found you again?” He takes a step forward and slides his hands around my waist. The softness of his voice takes me back to happier days, days when I was so in love. But I know it was all a lie. Six months ago, his gentle touch would have evoked such a soothing feeling. Now, it only disgusts me.

  My hands jump to my sides to push him off of me as I take a step back, nearly stumbling into the table with the champagne glasses. If they were giving out an award for clumsiness tonight, I would win it. Even though I haven't even had half a glass of alcohol, I feel way too hot, and my sanity is starting to slip away the longer I'm in Asher Shepard's presence. This night is getting worse by the second. I need it to be over—to get myself out of this bad situation before I say or do something I know I'll regret for the rest of my life.

  “Kira, just talk to me.” Asher takes a step towards me again, and I sidestep him, launching myself into the crowd.

  I head toward the stage, taking long strides to the point that I'm almost running. People are staring now. Penny, the mail room manager, tries to greet me, but I ignore her completely, making a beeline for my destination. I'm halfway across the room when I finally spot Parker talking to three other men. It's imperative that I get to him, get my point across, and get out of here before anything else goes wrong.

  “There she is.” He grins
as he catches sight of me. As I get within arm’s reach, he draws me to him like a prize, practically spinning me around so I can face his friends.

  I turn towards him and stand on my tiptoes, not even the slightest bit interested in introducing myself to the gentlemen who are obviously waiting to hear about me. “I need to talk to you. Now!” The urgency in my voice is unmistakable.

  “Would you excuse us for a moment?” The grin leaves his face as we step out of earshot. He scans my face with genuine concern. “What's wrong?”

  “I need to leave.”

  “Why?” His eyebrows knit together.

  “I can't explain right now. I just need to go.” My nerves have gotten the best of me, and I'm sure I look it. If I can just leave before Parker and Asher have a chance to tag-team me, then maybe everything will be okay. Perhaps they won't even find out about each other, and life can proceed on as if this night never happened.

  “You're not losing me that easily,” Asher's voice creeps up from behind me, making the blood in my veins freeze. Luck is not on my side tonight. Shit is about to hit the fan and splatter all over me.

  I visibly cringe as he sidles up beside me, wrapping his hand around my waist as if we're a happy couple. My body and mind are in too much shock to pull away from him. All I can do is stand there and stare and pray that I drop dead from anxiety. This can't be happening.

  “I see you've met my date for the night.” Parker stares directly into Asher's eyes, and there's a hint of warning in his tone, though it doesn't pass the point of aggression. This is how men claim their territory, and right now, Asher is stepping on his toes.

  “Your date?” Asher looks down at me. “However did you manage to get this lovely creature to be your date?” Despite Parker's warning, he doesn't take his hands off of me. It seems like he has absolutely no intention of letting me go.

  “She works for me.”

  I'm reminded that I hold no meaning to Parker. I think of the brunette woman with the expensive dress, of Nancy Joyner and Cynthia Roger. Next year, I'll be adding my name to that list and probably explaining it to the girl of the year. For some reason, that thought makes my resolve to pull away from Asher disappear. I don't want to be around either of them, but I'm caught between them. Neither is better than the other.

  “What are the odds of that?” Asher laughs with clear amusement.

  “You two know each other?” Parker's gaze shifts from his face to mine. The pieces are lining up to be pushed into place, but I just can't form the explanation. Disclosing that Asher is the man who destroyed my heart is too painful, and I don't even want to think of what will happen when Parker finds out.

  “Kira and I go back a bit.” Asher draws me a bit closer to him, and I feel the warmth of his body.

  “Regardless, she's my date tonight, so hands off.” Parker reaches for my wrist and possessively tugs me away from Asher. I stumble as I flank his side, feeling like a rag doll being fought over by two rowdy little boys. They'll have me torn apart by the end of the night.

  If Asher's offended, there's no sign of it on his perfect face. “Fine. Fine. Go have your fun, but if you would let me, I'd like to drive you home tonight.” He casts a charming smile down at me.

  “That won't be necessary. She's staying with me tonight,” Parker's voice is marred with irritation.

  “Staying with you?” Now it's Asher who is beginning to fit the pieces together. The carefree expression he's been holding ever since he laid eyes on me is quickly melting away in the realization that there's more than meets the eye going on between Parker and I.

  “Yes. I booked us a room upstairs,” Parker responds.

  “You two are dating?” It feels like someone has rolled a gas bomb into the room, and it's slowly starting to suffocate us all.

  “Ash, could you just give us a few minutes alone?” I ask pleadingly. There's no other choice now. I have to explain the situation to Parker before things escalate any further.

  “Ash?” The name sounds bitter on Parker's tongue. “Did you just call him Ash?”

  “Asher, please,” I beg.

  Asher's eyes rake over my desperate expression for a moment and then he sighs before turning his attention to his friend. “Kira and I used to date not too long ago.”

  I would have much rather Parker heard it from my lips. The reaction probably would have been the same though. My heart sinks as the color drains from his face. He's staring at Asher as if the concept that we once dated just can't sink in.

  “It was six months ago,” I offer, trying to soften the blow.

  “He's the last guy you fucked.” The words are almost a whisper. The fact that he can recall what I told him about not having had sex for six months amazes me. If there's one time I wish his memory failed him, it would be now.

  “Am I, Kira?” The corners of Asher's mouth lift into a pleased grin.

  “It doesn't matter. I have guests to entertain.” Parker shakes his head as if it will brush away everything he's feeling, if he's feeling anything at all. I can't tell, but something about him has changed in the short span of a few seconds. All the warmth has faded from him. He's strictly business. “Enjoy the party,” he tells us both before taking off into the crowd, leaving me behind in stunned silence.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “So, tell me about the party?” Yolanda asks as she tosses herself down on the sofa in my living room.

  She already knows it was bad. I told her in a text that it was the worst night of my life, though I didn't get into any details.

  “Ugh.” I pick up a throw pillow and shove my face in it. “You're not even going to believe what happened.”

  “Ohh, these are the types of stories I like best.” She wiggles to the edge of the seat, lacing her fingers together and staring at me expectantly as I pull the pillow away from my face and set it between us.

  “You're never going to guess who was there.” She won't guess. Asher lives in California. We live in Texas. The odds that he'd be at Parker's Christmas party are slim to none. At least, I had thought they were. I never even anticipated that he'd be on the guest list, much less Parker's best friend.

  “I probably won't, so you should tell me.” She's never had patience for these types of games.

  “Asher.” The name sounds venomous on my tongue. It is venomous. He completely poisoned my good time. Well, him and Miss Sophisticated.

  “No!” Yolanda puts her hands up to her mouth in shock.

  “Oh my God, Kira. What are the odds?” Her hands drop to her lap.

  “That's what I thought.” I push myself back against the sofa and close my eyes, remembering Asher's handsome face. Not much has changed about him since the last time we saw each other. He was more dressed up than usual, but his mussy brown hair was the same and his eyes still had a gentleness to them that made it hard for me to remind myself that he's a lying, cheating asshole. “To make it worse, the two of them are best friends and business partners.”

  “You've got to be shitting me.” She rests her shoulder against the sofa.

  “I wish I was.” Just remembering the moment when Parker made that announcement causes my skin to crawl. I can't recall the last time I felt that unpleasant over something.

  “Did you get to talk to him?” Her voice rises in interest.

  “Who?”

  “Asher.”

  “Only long enough for the two of them to figure out I've fucked them both.” My stomach flops as the words leave my lips. As soon as Parker walked away from us, I bailed, saying I had to go to the restroom when what I really did was head upstairs to get my suitcase and car keys. The night was ruined for me. There was no point in staying and subjecting myself to a long, heated discussion later that would have only soured my mood more.

  I had spent the rest of the night curled up on the sofa with a box of tissues and my phone on my lap. Surely Parker would call me when he found out I hadn't retired to our room for the night. He never did though. In fact, the only time my phone buzzed
was when Asher sent me a text to ask if I was all right.

  He's sent me five texts since then, all begging me to see him before he leaves for San Francisco. It's not going to happen. That ship has sailed. And apparently, so has the ship that Parker was on. I can only hope that the one with my job is still in port.

  “How did they figure that out?” A broad smile crosses her face at my obvious misery. I know she doesn't mean to look happy about it, but she does.

  “The same way most people figure shit out,” I sigh. “They talked. But I don't really want to think about that anymore. All I want to do is forget about Asher and hope that I still have a job tomorrow.”

  “Do you really think he would fire you over something like that?” Her expression turns sympathetic. While this is all amusing for her, it's serious business for me. If Parker fires me, I'll be fucked, and not in a good way.

  “I don't know.” I shake my head. “I haven't spoken to him since last night. I certainly hope he hasn't, because I'm supposed to start massage school tomorrow night. But the more I think about it, the more I'm starting to wonder if I'd be better off just quitting. Things are so awkward now.”

  “No, Kira. Don't quit.” She makes it sound like that's the worst idea in the world. “If nothing else, wait until you finish school. You're never going to get another opportunity like this again.”

  She's right. What other employer is going to send someone without a college education to school? Besides, once I get my massage license, I can go anywhere. I just need to suck up my feelings until then and try to get through this.

  ***

  “I honestly wasn't sure if you were going to show up.” Parker is leaning against the massage table as usual, though he's not naked for once. He's wearing a pair of tight white boxer briefs, and his cock is hard as always. He lazily rubs over the bulge in the front of his underwear as he looks at me, though there's no lust in his voice.