My Billionaire Boss

by Gold, Bella

  “Sorry,” I said with a shrug. “But it's the truth. I don't really have a firm plan in place, I figured we'd see what happened and play it by ear. I heard that El Monstruo's cartel hung out a few towns over, figured we'd go there and see what we might find out. Maybe we'd get really lucky and run into the man in a dark alley somewhere.”

  Ava sighed, rolling her eyes, but not saying anything.

  “What? Do you have a better plan?” I asked.

  “So we just head over to this town, hang out, and hope something good happens? That's it?”

  “And kill the bastard when we see him, of course” I said, taking a sip of my coffee which tasted like it had been burned. “But I thought that was obvious.”

  Ava looked down at the remnants of her breakfast. I could see her trying hard to scowl at me, but there was a hint of a smile on that face of hers. She tried to cover it up, but it was there, for a split second, before she took a sip of coffee and grimaced.

  “This stuff tastes like ass,” she said softly.

  And just like that, her smile was gone. But something inside of me wanted to see it again. There was so much darkness in her eyes, so much anger, but I could tell that underneath it all, she wanted to be happy. I knew the feeling.

  “I think I've tasted ass better than this,” I said with a smile, hoping to coax a positive reaction out of her.

  And it worked. A half smile on her lips, she chuckled slightly before reaching for the bill. I tried to grab it from her hands, but she fought me off.

  “No, stop treating me like a girl,” she said, giving me that dark look again. “I pay for this. You can always buy us dinner later, because God knows we're going to be spending a lot of time together tanks to your half-assed plan.”

  I had to admit, that didn't sound so bad to me. It had been a long time since I'd spent time with a woman who challenged me the way Ava did. And yes, I was curious to see how much of her act was for real. Was she really this tough and hard to get? Or was this simply all for show, a persona designed to protect her from the world.

  Only time would tell, and from the sounds of it, we were going to be spending a hell of a lot of time together over the next few days, so I might have time to get answers to my questions.

  ***

  “Where are we?” Ava asked the next time we stopped, which happened to be a couple of hours later. “Why are we stopping here?”

  We were parked outside an old building that was mostly boarded up. It looked like just your run-of-the-mill abandoned warehouse. Nothing special about it. It sat in the middle of nowhere on a lone, dusty road surrounded by trees.

  Ava climbed off the bike, removing her helmet and shaking her dark, purple-streaked hair free, it fell around her pale face, framing it nicely. Yes, I was staring. No, I couldn't help myself.

  “We're here to practice,” I said as I removed my helmet. “I need to see what you're capable of before we look for this guy. I can't afford to run with somebody who can't take care of herself.”

  She raised an eyebrow at me, hands on her hips and her attitude clearly showing. “Practice? See what I'm capable of? What the hell – ”

  And without even thinking about it, I closed the distance between us and shut her up with one, quick movement. Our lips pressed together, I kissed her, silencing her. She didn't fight back – not at first, anyway. Not like I expected her to. Her hands were on my chest as if she wanted to push me off her, but instead of pushing me away, she rested them there, even digging her nails into my skin.

  “And here I thought you'd slap me,” I said, after I'd broken the kiss.

  “You surprised me,” she said, not meeting my gaze. She looked down, her face clearly flushed. “I didn't have time to react. But if you'd like me to, I can certainly slap the hell out of you now.”

  “Please, no,” I said, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear before stepping back. “I'd rather we get along.”

  “I'm sure you would,” she muttered.

  “Not like that, Ava.” I sighed. “Seriously, you're Deacon's niece. There's no way I could fuck you knowing that. I'd be afraid that all I'd see was his face when I looked down at you.”

  I turned away and walked toward the building, but what I wouldn't have paid to see the look on her face. Call it intuition, but I knew this girl had a thing for me. She looked at me with both disdain and lust – a mixture of emotions I'd seen in plenty of women before. She was fighting an inner battle with herself, just like I was. And I knew it was cruel for me to play these games. But she'd asked for it. She kept telling me off, and I was tired of it. I acted without thinking, but it was the best way to stop that argument before it started.

  Ava caught up to me and walked beside me in silence as we approached a side door. The words “Stay Out” were written in spray paint across the door in bright red – like the color of blood. Other warnings were written beside it, all of which I ignored as I turned the handle, twisting it hard, forcing the door to open for me. With a loud crack, it opened and swung inward, the sunlight streaming into the darkened interior of the warehouse.

  “What the hell?” Ava said, stepping inside before I did. She looked around, wiping the dust off a table that sat nearby.

  I walked over to a fridge and pulled out a beer, handing it over to her. She shook her head, refusing it, so I opened it for myself.

  Tables and chairs lined the outside area, and a bar stood along the wall where we were standing. In the middle of the warehouse was a ring.

  “What is this place?” Ava asked, not bothering to turn toward me.

  “Let's just say – us guys need to unwind sometime,” I said, taking a long drink from the cheap-ass beer. Leaning against the bar, I watched as Ava walked around the large building. It was empty, as I knew it would be this time of day.

  “We also train here sometimes,” I said. “And train new recruits. Break them in, you know.”

  “No, I don't,” she said. “And I don't know if I want to know.”

  “Probably not,” I shrugged and took another long swig.

  Ava turned toward me and stared me down. “So what are we doing here again?”

  I put the beer down on the table and walked over to her. She didn't budge. If she thought I was going to kiss her again, she was in for a surprise.

  Before I even got to her though, Ava had her arm up, blocking mine from coming toward her. A simple move, just to get us started. She'd blocked me well.

  “Good one,” I said with a cocky grin.

  “Yeah, if you think that's something, why not get in the ring with me?”

  “Feisty. I like that,” I said, walking beside her as we moved toward the ring. I reached out to help her in, but she refused my hand, climbing in all by herself and scowling at me.

  We both stood in the center of the ring and I gave her an amused smile as she flexed her arms out, stretched her lean legs. I waited, giving her the chance to strike first this time, and she did. Her arm came toward me, hitting my arm hard as I blocked her, but what I didn't expect was her leg driving hard into my stomach.

  “Did I forget to mention I'm a kickboxing instructor?” she said with a hearty laugh.

  “Yes, I believe you did,” I said, standing tall. Her attack hurt, but not so badly that I couldn't keep going. “Did I forget to mention I'm a hybrid like you?”

  “No,” she said. She kicked at me hard, but I grabbed her leg, twisting it and bringing her to the ground. “You mentioned it, but you never told me what you're mixed with.”

  Her face hit the ground hard, almost too hard. I felt bad for a second and reached down to help her back up. But once again, she refused my help, jumping to her feet and aiming for my face with her foot this time. I wasn't ready, expecting her to need time to recover, and ended up with her foot driving into my cheek.

  “Because you wouldn't believe me even if I told you,” I growled. I wasn't going to hit her. I only wanted to test her. I would block her, take her down, but there was no way I'd ever hit a
woman – no matter how bad ass she might be.

  She swung around, kicking at me again. And again. Before I could block her, she got two swift strikes in. Damn, she was fast.

  “Try me, I've heard some pretty crazy shit in my lifetime,” she said, stopping long enough to push the hair from her face.

  “Nothing like this, Ava,” I said. “Nothing like this.”

  “You still think I'm naive, don't you?”

  “Not naive, it's just hard to explain,” I said, standing still.

  The fight was over, or so I thought. But Ava took the opportunity to rush me, taking me to the ground – hard. Her tiny body had more force in it than I thought – it was likely both the lion and the bear in her. She called upon those forces in battle so easily, I didn't even see it until she was on top of me, staring down with eyes that weren't her own.

  “Still think I'm a weak little girl?” she asked me, holding me down. “How many weak-ass women can hold a man like you down.”

  “Not too many,” I said, feeling excitement course through my body. “In fact, you're the first.”

  She stayed there, holding me down with her body and stared at me, a look of pleasure in her eyes. And then she smiled. Of course she smiled. She was enjoying showing me up.

  “You know, I could get up if I wanted to,” I teased.

  “Do it then,” she said.

  “I don't want to. Maybe I like you on top of me.”

  I felt myself growing hard in my pants, my erection defying my brain in the moment. No amount of “down boy” could save me in that moment. I bit down on the inside of my cheek – hard. But still to not avail. And when Ava's eyes grew wide, and I knew she felt it pressing against her body.

  As soon as she felt it, she jumped up, her face red and a look of fear in her eyes. Fear? She was afraid of me getting turned on?

  “I'm sorry, Ava,” I said softly. “Natural bodily function, I'm not going to seduce you or anything – ”

  She paced the ring, her hands clenched at her sides. She was off her game. I watched her, much like a cat watches a mouse, and waited for the opportunity to strike. Hopping up on my feet, I lunged for her, took her down to the ground, but this time, kept her head from hitting the ground. Now it was my turn to be on top, to be in control – but I made sure my erection came nowhere near her body. No need to make the situation anymore awkward than it already was – even though my cock was just itching to be free from my pants and sheathed somewhere cozier.

  She gasped as I took her down, but she didn't fight back. As I held her down, I smiled. “See, I told you so – ”

  But before I could say another word, Ava strained upward and kissed me. She pressed those soft, sweet lips to mine, forced her tongue into my mouth and grabbed onto my face, pulling me into her. There was no fighting back this time, nothing I could do. My body pressed into hers, pressing her into the ground. Her legs wrapped around my waist as she bucked up toward me, rubbing herself against my erection and taking me completely by surprise.

  I shouldn't have let my guard down, though.

  As her legs tightened around my waist, I felt her push on my chest, and before I knew what was happening, she'd flipped me over onto my back. Again. Holding me down with a defiant look on that sweet face of hers.

  “What were you saying, Elias?” she asked me. “About being able to take me down?”

  “Not fair,” I gasped. “...to use a man's horniness against him.”

  “Who said we were playing fair?” she said. “I don't know about you, but I'm playing to win.”

  Chapter Ten

  AVA

  Staring down at Elias, I couldn't help but admit to myself that the kiss I'd forced on him wasn't just to distract him. It served that purpose too of course – but I'd been fighting that urge for some time. And after he'd kissed me outside the building, my lips had been burning to feel his soft lips against mine again.

  Not that I could let him know that, of course.

  But as our bodies were pressed together once more, there was a warmth growing inside of me. His erection had pressed hard against me earlier, so I knew he was horny. But I could easily hide my own horniness. Being female meant he didn't have to know that I was equally turned on by him, wanting him in a way I shouldn't.

  Not moving off of him, I asked, “Have I proven myself to you now?”

  He gave me a cocky grin, placing his hands on my hips as if he were going to move me off him. But he didn't move me. Instead, he held me in place against him.

  “You've proven you're stronger than you look,” he said, leaving it at that.

  “Is that all?” I asked, leaning down and pressing my chest against his, hoping he caught sight of my cleavage. After all, the game wasn't over yet.

  His eyes locked exactly where I wanted them to and I smiled as he licked his lips. “And you've showed me how ruthless you can be to men who find you undeniably attractive.”

  I leaned my face down to his, nearly kissing him again. His breath was warm against my face as I leaned closer and closer, taunting him with the promise of a kiss. But instead of kissing him, I bit down on his lower lip – hard. I bit him so hard he yelped in pain but didn't stop me, he didn't push me away.

  “I'm more ruthless to those I don't like,” I said, rolling off of him, laying down beside him. I propped my head up on my arm and stared at him.

  “So this means you like me then?” He mimicked my movement, facing me.

  “Maybe a little,” I said. “Maybe a tiny bit.”

  “Well if this is how you treat men you like, I'm intrigued to see what you do to the ones you don't like.” He rubbed his face, a bruise forming on both sides where I'd kicked him. Funny, he never let me know I hurt him, but I could see how painful it must have been.

  Reaching out, I stroked his cheek. “I'm sorry I hurt you.”

  “This? This is nothing,” he said with a laugh. “I'll heal before the day is up. That's the great thing about us, am I right?”

  “And being a hybrid, even more so,” I said.

  “I didn't know that,” Elias said softly. “So we heal faster?”

  “I dunno about you, but I do,” I said, laying my head down flat. “Hardly anything can hurt me, not for long at least. I mean, it hurts like hell. but I heal pretty fast. Faster than my parents ever did, that's for sure.”

  Elias seemed deep in thought. “I wonder if that's true for me too.”

  I shrugged. “I don't know enough about you to say,” I said, continuing to stroke his face. There was a light stubble on his cheeks and chin that made him even more sexy than when I'd first laid eyes on him. He looked less boyish, more grown up than before. “Though I will say, you seem to age slower too. Just like I do.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Because you look young, Elias. But I can tell you're older than you look. Probably quite a bit older, in fact.”

  “Is that you're way of saying I'm mature?” he asked with a wink.

  “No, not at all.” I laughed. “But there's something about you that says you've seen a lot, a lot more than someone my age has.”

  “That doesn't mean I'm older, Ava. Just that I've had a rough life. Or maybe several rough lives.”

  That caught my attention. “Several lives?”

  “Maybe?” he said. “My parents believed we've lived before, and I get the sense that this isn't my first go-round on this earth, nor will it be my last.”

  “Tell me more about them,” I said, getting comfortable curled up next to him – too comfortable.

  He laid his head down too, smiling but with a distant look in his eyes. “What do you want to know, Ava?”

  “I want to know what they were – and how they managed to bring someone as unique as you into the world”

  “You mean you're still trying to figure out what the hell I am, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Well then, you better settle in and grab yourself something to drink, because we could be here awhile.”
<
br />   Chapter Eleven

  We moved over to a table near the bar and I took the beer offered to me this time. I sat down across from Elias who was healing before my eyes. The bruises probably wouldn't even be noticeable later tonight, which meant that yes, he did heal even faster than most.

  “I knew you were Native American,” I said, leaning back in the chair and laughing. “I could just tell.”

  “It's that obvious, huh?” he said, taking a long drink. “Yes, half Native American. My mother's side.”

  “Your father is the lion, I take it?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “And your mother is...?”

  “She's a creature not of this world, Ava. She's something that only exists in legends.”

  I looked at him and arched an eyebrow. “Do you realize how crazy that sounds? Werelion and werebear hybrids don't exist either. Except we do. I mean, I do.”

  He nodded again. “But my other half isn't a shifter in the traditional sense. It's not like I shift into another animal. I'm already shifted, as we speak. This is my alternate form.”

  I cocked my head to the side, looking at him. He looked exactly as I'd seen him last night, nothing had changed.

  “Don't believe me?” he said with a sigh. “I'm not human, at all. While there's part of you that's human, Ava. I'm not, not really. I'm – something else.”

  “What are you then?” I asked.

  Elias stood up, lifted something up over his head, and turned around. Where his shirt had been was now feathers – black, shiny feathers covering his back and his head. Wings sprouted out from either side of his body and he lifted them up, flapping them and creating enough wind that it almost knocked over the table and chair we were sitting at – and taking me with it. A loud, thunderous noise echoed around the room and the feeling of electricity coursed through my body.

  He turned back around and I caught a brief glimpse of a beak and talons, but he moved his wings over his head and he was back in human form – the Elias I knew and lusted over.

  I was on my feet before the wind had even died down completely. “What in the hell – ”