The Shifter’s Hostage

by T. S. Ryder

  "Good. Now let me get in there."

  He pushed Sanjay's head to the other side of her neck and dove in where the shifter had been kissing. Heat swirled throughout her body and Audrey gasped, wrapping an arm around each of her men. Part of her brain said she needed to stop this, that if Sanjay was still supposed to be on bedrest he should be resting, not doing anything else, but as their hands began caressing her body, she didn't care.

  "Can we maybe close the door?"

  Dimitri detangled himself from her and went to the door, shutting it. He came back and sat back down. His hands cupped her face as he kissed her gently. "There should be protection in the nightstand."

  "Um…" Audrey bit her lip.

  "Um?" Sanjay repeated.

  "Well, maybe we don't have to use anything. The three of us are together now. And it's forever, right?" Audrey curled each of her hands around one of their biceps. "We can start our family right away. If you think about it, I might already be pregnant."

  Sanjay's brow furrowed. "What about your work?"

  Audrey smiled hesitantly. "I've used work to fill in the hole where I always wanted family to be. When you were hurt, I realized… I'd give up everything for you two. A Pulitzer doesn't seem nearly so important now that I have you two to love me. My worth isn't based on what the world will praise me for accomplishing. And like I said, I'm going to scale back. I want to be a person again, not just a reporter."

  Admiration shone out of Dimitri's eyes. He grinned at her. "Will it scare you if I said I love you?"

  A deep sense of calm settled over her, followed quickly by a burst of warmth in her chest. She smiled. "No. I'm over that now. I love you, too. Both of you."

  "I love you," Dimitri said, a grin bursting over his face. He kissed her again, deeply. "I love you."

  "Love you, too, bro," Sanjay joked. "But I love Audrey more."

  Dimitri pushed at him. "Shut up."

  The shifter laughed and returned to kissing Audrey's neck. As Dimitri caught her mouth again and began undressing her, the human couldn't help but grin. So what if she had come here without any intention of finding herself a mate? She had two now, and her future had never looked brighter.

  *****

  THE END

  The Shifting Boss's Mate

  Description

  A curvy personal assistant ready to re-start her life PLUS her hot possessive boss who has it all PLUS a rival who wants to destroy them both!

  Curvy 20-something Jacqueline Smith isn't looking for romance; she's looking for a job.

  Three years after the death of her parents sent her spiraling into a deep depression, she's ready to get back in the saddle and take control of her life once more. The problem is that nobody seems to want to hire her.

  Nobody except Myles Foster, that is. The Alpha of the largest werewolf pack in North America is a self-made billionaire and the head of a massive agricultural empire. He’s also sizzling hot. But Myles is not looking for a mate–and certainly not a human one.

  Which is just fine for Jackie.

  At least it would be fine, if Myles wasn't so dang sexy. She knows it's ridiculous. Men like Myles don't go for women like her, and Jackie's not ready to make room in her life for love. It’s not like she needs another wrong man around, anyway.

  Besides, sleeping with her boss would be so unprofessional…

  But then a rival challenges Myles in an Alpha fight and Myles must make a difficult decision. Can he fight off his rival? And will Jackie be able to resist her attraction to him? Find out now in this steamy billionaire romance!

  Chapter One

  The interview wasn't going well. Jacqueline Smith didn't need to be a mind reader to know that. All three of the interviewers, two men and a woman, were asking the most basic of questions, nodding with little smiles at her answers, but not engaging with her at any deeper level. They had already decided not to hire her.

  Cross being a personal assistant to Myles Foster, owner of one of the largest agricultural empires in North America, off the list.

  It was the same every time she had an interview for a new job. The interviewer would welcome her in, shake her hand and then spend the fifteen-minute interview thinking more about the size of her waist than the words coming out of her mouth.

  Still, she kept a bright smile on her face. Her mother always said that her smile was her best feature.

  "So, Miss Smith," the woman said, looking over her resume. "It says here that you were the personal assistant to Scarlet Thorne, the CEO of Dragonco Games, but it's been three years since you last worked. Can you tell us why that is?"

  "I left my position at Dragonco due to personal issues."

  Those 'issues' being her parents dying in a car accident and the resulting depression Jackie had sunk into. The next three years had wreaked havoc on her, both emotionally and physically. She had gone from a size twelve to a size twenty-nine, and she just didn't have the energy to get out of bed, let alone hold onto a demanding job.

  Eventually, her sister had forced her to go to therapy, and slowly Jackie had managed to find ways to cope. She was ready to get back to work now and so had sent her resume out, only to be met with these polite but uninterested smiles. Though she had managed to get her weight back under control and was back down to a size twenty, which really didn't look too terrible on her six-foot frame, she was no longer an attractive candidate for the high-energy job of being a personal assistant.

  Not that she was going to say anything about that to these interviewers. That would be unprofessional.

  It would help if I was able to buy something more suitable to wear for these interviews, Jackie thought. Running out of money was one of the main reasons she wanted to get back into the workforce, but on her budget she hadn't been able to afford the high-quality suits she used to have.

  Still, she kept eye contact with first one interviewer and then another, hoping she could turn this around. "When I was at Dragonco, I was responsible for everything from scheduling Mrs. Thorne's meetings to arranging for her dry cleaning to be picked up. She also trusted me to take minutes during meetings with the board of directors, and I handled disciplinary action for several departments."

  "But she didn't hold your job for you?"

  Jackie's smile faltered. "Dragonco's offices were moved overseas last year. I want to stay more domestic."

  "You have an impressive resume," the female interviewer said, doing that paper-shuffling thing that meant she was about to tell Jackie that they'd call her if they wanted her. "But what do you really know about the agriculture business?"

  Jackie's heart sank. She needed this job. She had already been turned down from most of the gaming companies she had applied to, and it was really taking a number on her confidence. "It's true I have more experience in gaming, but as you can see from my resume I have recently completed an agricultural management course at the local university, and the skills I gained as a personal assistant are transferable to any field."

  "I see. Well, it was so good to meet—"

  The door behind Jackie opened. She swiveled to see who would interrupt an interview. Her jaw dropped as the man entered. Myles Foster himself. What was the company owner coming to sit in on a preliminary interview for?

  Jackie recognized him, of course. Everybody knew his story. He had inherited his father's place as Alpha of his werewolf pack, the largest pack in North America, at the age of sixteen. The same year, oil had been found on his packlands, but rather than wasting his good fortune Myles had reinvested that money. Within a decade he owned land throughout the United States and Canada and was invested in crops and livestock of all sorts. Not many men could boast of having an agricultural empire as successful as his.

  Of course his calendars sold well, too. Jackie had bought one for her sister just that year, and the two of them had spent plenty of time drooling over the various shirtless poses, reassuring themselves that his strong jaw and chiseled eight-pack had to be photoshopped.

  Myles
closed the door behind himself, his expression vaguely annoyed.

  "Mr. Foster." One of the men jumped to his feet and offered his boss the chair. "We weren't aware that you were going to join us in the interviews today."

  "I'm tired of you sending me idiots and decided to see what we have today for myself," Myles replied, not taking the chair. He stared at Jackie, head cocked to one side.

  The calendars didn't do him justice. He was taller than Jackie realized, a good foot taller than her even, and even though he was fully clothed in a tailored suit the cut showed off his massive shoulders and flat stomach. Five o'clock shadow roughed his cheeks and chin, but he looked even better for it than if he had been clean-shaven. But all that could be seen in a calendar. Maybe the reason he was so much better in real life was because of the smell. There was a distinctive scent of werewolf thorn coming off him.

  Jackie's nostrils flared as she eagerly sucked in the smell. Maybe it was a good thing that she wasn't going to get this job. It would be difficult to keep her head around him.

  "You've got some werewolf in you," Myles said, his cool gray eyes staring hard at her.

  Jackie brushed a long, loose golden curl behind her shoulder. "Yeah. Yes, I mean. Um, I, my." What was wrong with her? She was never this tongue-tied! She cleared her throat. "My great-grandfather on my mother's side. But I can't shift or anything, although I'm told I have a better sense of smell than… others."

  Why did she have to blush? It was going to clash terribly with her honey-gold hair and the olive blouse she had chosen for this interview.

  Myles, whether because of her reaction or her confirmation that she had some werewolf in her, suddenly smiled. Perfectly white teeth flashed; they were all even except his canines, which were slightly longer and more tapered than the rest of his teeth. He broke from Jackie's gaze, letting her suck in a deep breath. Yep, it was definitely a good thing she wasn't going to get this job. It would be far too hard to be professional.

  "Dragonco," he said, glancing through her resume. "Impressive. Scarlet has always struck me as a rather demanding individual. Well, we'll give it a month to see how you do. Be here seven o'clock sharp tomorrow morning. Julia here will get you your ID card. I look forward to working with you."

  Myles nodded, clearly done with the conversation. Jackie's jaw dropped, and she hardly had the presence of mind to jump to her feet and shake his hand, thanking him for the opportunity. The three interviewers looked shocked but Julia, the woman, gave her a rundown of how the offices worked and made her an ID card before she left.

  It wasn't until Jackie had called her sister to tell her the news that it really hit her. She had a job working for Myles Foster, the most gorgeous man in the entire universe.

  She was so screwed.

  "Just don't give away your treasures and you'll be fine," her sister advised.

  Jackie snorted at the phrasing. "Penny, I'm not going to sleep with him. I'm not ready for any sort of relationship."

  "Honey, that's not what I meant at all."

  "I know what you meant. And I'm saying that it's not going to happen. Even if he oozes sex appeal and he smells better than a roomful of hamburgers. Now I want a hamburger." Jackie winced as a wailing child's voice came over the phone. She loved her nieces and nephews, but she didn’t know how her sister survived them. "It sounds like you have to go. Tell the kids I love them."

  "I will." Penny's voice was layered with Big Sister Concerns. "And I mean it, Jack. Don't do anything you'll regret. I know you, you only get involved with men you think are going to stick with you forever. And all this 'mating for life' stuff that the werewolves like to talk about is nonsense. They cheat just as much as anybody else."

  Jackie repressed a sigh. The idea of forever love was romantic, but romance wasn't anywhere on her list of concerns right now. "Love you."

  She hung up and then tugged her long hair back into a ponytail. Her mouth ached for something to eat, but it was only half an hour until supper, so she decided to watch an episode of Beverly Hillbillies while she jogged on the treadmill instead. Nerves were already fluttering in her stomach at the prospect of this new job, but she swallowed them down and focused instead on the positive things.

  Five months into her new diet and exercise routine and she was still going strong.

  She had found three new business suits in a consignment store that she could easily tailor to fit her frame.

  Her bathing suit looked cute.

  Myles Foster was her boss.

  Jackie grinned. Myles Foster was her boss. The job could still turn out to be terrible, but at that moment she felt like the luckiest woman alive.

  Chapter Two

  The next two weeks were hard. Myles expected his employees, even brand-new ones like Jackie, to excel in whatever they were doing. After the first day Jackie cried herself to sleep and wondered if she had taken too long out of the workforce–maybe it would be better to start at a lower position and work back up.

  But she picked herself up, and the next day blew her boss's expectations out of the water. Despite her panicky start she found herself thriving in the high-pressure, busy workplace. For the first time in a long time, she felt more than just content. She felt happy. She enjoyed going to work.

  And it wasn't just because Myles was so hot. He had high standards for his employees, but he also provided high rewards for a job well done, giving her a two thousand dollar bonus after the first week to expand her business wardrobe. It was then she knew that the trial period, even though he had said it would be a month, was over, and she was officially his PA.

  "I can fit you in next Thursday at three." Jackie pinched her phone between her shoulder and ear, pen poised over her appointment book.

  A rancher wanted to meet with Myles for an investment into his land. Her boss never turned down meetings with farmers or ranchers, although he was very stringent in who he invested in. It was one of the things Jackie admired about him.

  The rancher agreed, and Jackie penciled in the name before she thanked him for his call and hung up. Setting the planner aside, she did a quick google search of the man. Myles liked to have background information on potential investments.

  She looked up as his distinctive smell curled into her nostrils, trying to calm the instant increase of her heartbeat and the blush that rose in her cheeks. Myles smiled at her. Jackie stood, snatching up her appointment book and quickly finding the current day.

  "The oil company called with updates to your—"

  "In a minute," Myles interrupted. He set a box on her desk. "I thought we could chat a little. I still don't know much about you."

  Jackie's face went scarlet. Myles seemed amused at her reaction, giving her a cocky grin as he flipped open the box. The scent of powdered donuts hit her hard and she moaned, her mouth watering. She shook her head as Myles nudged them towards her.

  "I can't. I'm on a diet."

  Myles's brows rose. "Why?"

  He sounded so genuinely surprised that Jackie floundered for a moment. Her face was so hot that she was sure she could fry an egg on it. "Well… health reasons, really. My family history puts me at a high risk of diabetes and heart issues, so I just want to take better care of myself."

  Myles nodded seriously. "That's a good reason. I'd have had to give you a lecture if it was all about your looks. You're damn hot the way you are."

  Jackie's eyes widened, and for a second she forgot how to breathe. It wasn't as though she thought of herself as unattractive, although she was certain some people would label her as such. When she’d first started gaining weight she had hated her body, which only made everything that much worse. It was only after she stopped thinking of herself negatively that she had begun to be able to shed the pounds again. What she had told Myles was the truth; she wanted to be healthier. A smaller dress size was just icing on the cake, so to speak.

  But Myles Foster had just called her hot. Jackie wasn't quite sure how to respond.

  "Thank you," she mumbled.r />
  Myles grinned broadly, clearly enjoying her reaction, and closed the box of donuts. "So this diet of yours. What can I bring you?"

  "Um… I can have a 100-calorie snack between meals. Except Mondays. Mondays are my cheat days, when I don't have to worry about calories or sugar."

  "Hmmm. Donuts on Mondays, then." Myles nodded. "Good for the start of the week, right?"

  Jackie nodded, still aware her face was uncomfortably red. She smoothed down her tan pencil skirt, frantically thinking of how to respond to that. Scarlet had never been interested in her as a person.

  "So, you like donuts?" Jackie could have died the moment the words left her mouth. What sort of idiotic question was that?

  Fortunately, the phone rang right at that moment and Myles gestured for her to answer it. She snatched it up gratefully, her face burning.

  "This is Billy from the PR department," the voice on the other end of the phone said without preamble. "There's something on channel ten Mr. F needs to see."

  Billy sounded so grim that Jackie relayed the information at once. Myles's expression darkened and he strode into his office, turning on his TV. Jackie followed him, her black pumps sinking into the thick rug as she joined her boss beside his desk.

  Myles flicked to the channel Billy had directed them to. It was one of those talk shows that were little better than supermarket tabloids, always digging up dirt on celebrities, or making it up in some cases. The talk show host, Maggie something or other, sat on a couch with a blonde supermodel. She was skinny as a broomstick, with breasts that were so huge it was a wonder she didn't topple over when she stood.

  "Kathy," Myles muttered, then let out a string of curse words that had Jackie's jaw dropping. She didn't even know what half of those words meant!

  Shaking her head, she turned back to the TV. Maggie had her hand on Kathy's shoulder, a sincere, comforting expression on her face.