Alpha Temptation: Sanmere Shifters Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  Brianne couldn’t help but smile, despite the lump of dread that sat heavily in her stomach.

  “Well, look at you. You’re really into him, aren’t you?” Shauna said.

  Brianne bit her lip and nodded.

  “Then ignore the gossip and enjoy it. They’ll all have something else to talk about by the end of the week and you’ll be old news,” Shauna replied.

  “Thanks, Shauna,” Brianne said.

  She didn’t think it would be that simple, but Shauna didn’t know any of the Valerie details, and at that moment, Brianne was just glad that someone was on her side in this.

  “Well, I’d better go face the music,” she said.

  “Enjoy it,” Shauna grinned. “You’ve got something so many of the women here want.”

  Shauna walked away, leaving Brianne standing alone for a second. Was Shauna right? She should enjoy it? She had certainly enjoyed her time with Callin, and the way he had talked about seeing her in his future told her this could go somewhere. But she didn’t think she would ever be able to enjoy being the person everyone gossiped about on the set. Even if the reason they did it brought her so much pleasure.

  She shook her head and sighed, and then she started off toward the make-up department again. Why couldn’t whoever had spotted them have just kept their fucking mouth shut? she wondered.

  Brianne tensed up as she saw Valerie heading toward her. Valerie looked angry, to say the least.

  “Brianne, there you are. A word,” Valerie said.

  Her voice was clipped and cold. Brianne felt an icy feeling in her stomach. She was going to get fired. And Valerie was way too clever to tell anyone why she had fired her. She would never be able to find work in this industry again. She had to find some way to appease Valerie. She decided to start with a professional matter and see how things went.

  Brianne followed Valerie down the corridor and into an empty room. Valerie left the door ajar and Brianne wasn’t sure if that was better because Valerie was less likely to yell and scream at her with an open door, or worse, because it meant Valerie planned to get this over with quickly.

  “I’m sorry I was late back from lunch,” Brianne said. “I lost track of the time, and then…”

  “Yeah, I just bet you did,” Valerie said with a cold smile. “This isn’t about you being a few minutes late back from lunch and you know it. It’s about the reason you’re late back from lunch. I’ve cut you some slack on this set, and this is how you repay me?”

  Brianne put her head down, unsure of what to say. There was really nothing she could say. Valerie was right. She had been a lot nicer to her over the last few weeks, regardless of her motive. And Brianne had repaid her by having sex with the man she wanted to marry. It didn’t really matter that Callin wouldn’t touch her if she was the last woman on earth. Brianne had still betrayed Valerie’s trust in the worst possible way and she knew it.

  “Well?” Valerie demanded. “Haven’t I treated you how you wanted to be treated on set?”

  “You have,” Brianne admitted. “And I’m sorry, Valerie. Really, I am. I know you like Callin, but…”

  “You think that’s what this is about?” Valerie cut in with a glare.

  “Isn’t it?” Brianne asked, genuinely surprised to learn she had gotten it so wrong.

  Had Valerie somehow not heard the gossip and she’d effectively told her about it? But no, it had to be that. Valerie had said she didn’t care she was a couple of minutes late; it was the reason she was late that she cared about. What else could she mean? It wasn’t like Brianne had done anything else to upset her.

  “No,” Valerie said. “You can do whatever—or should I say, whoever—you want on your own time. But you did this on my time, Brianne. And you’ve made me a laughingstock on the set.”

  “Actually, I’m pretty sure they’re laughing at me,” Brianne said.

  “Oh, undoubtedly they’re laughing at you. As if Callin McKenzie wants anything from a lowly assistant except for a quick fumble,” Valerie said nastily. “But they’re laughing at me too. The idiot who cut her assistant some slack and was repaid by the assistant using my time to have a social life. I’m sorry to say this, Brianne, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to fire you.”

  “Fire me?” Brianne exclaimed. She had expected this, but now that Valerie had said it out loud, she was a little shocked by it. Shocked and upset. She felt tears flooding her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but they refused to be ignored, and to her embarrassment, Brianne felt them start to run down her face, cutting hot little paths down her cheeks. “No, Valerie. Please don’t do that. I… I’m sorry. I swear it won’t happen again.”

  “It’s too late for that, Brianne. Get your things and security will escort you out,” Valerie said.

  “No, please. Just give me a second chance,” Brianne implored through her tears.

  At that moment, she hated herself. Valerie was clearly enjoying this—Brianne had seen the glee on her face as she had told her that security would be along to escort her out. And she was reduced to begging Valerie to not do this. She didn’t want to beg. She wanted to be able to shrug her shoulders and walk out with her head held high, but being an assistant was all she knew how to do, and if Valerie blackened her name across the board, and Brianne knew she would, then she would be screwed. Her savings would only last her for a couple of months and she would end up losing her apartment.

  “I don’t think so,” Valerie said. “You’ve gotten what you wanted once today. And that will be all.”

  8

  Callin could feel everyone’s eyes on him as he walked toward the set for the filming of the next scene. Shauna had already given him a heads-up that the whole damned place knew about him and Brianne.

  Callin wasn’t particularly worried about it from his own point of view. It wasn’t like he had anything to be ashamed of. He had had sex with the most beautiful woman on the set—hell, he had had sex with the most beautiful woman in the world—and he didn’t care who knew it. He was a little bit worried about Brianne, though. She might not be so pleased about the whole place knowing her business, and more than that, he was a little afraid of what Valerie might do to her because of it.

  He knew Valerie wasn’t going to be happy about this, and he also knew that she wouldn’t confront him about it; she would take it out on Brianne instead. He was prepared for what would come next. Valerie would threaten Brianne, and the next time he managed to get a moment alone with Brianne, she would tell him they couldn’t do this anymore. And then he would have just cause to go after Valerie and tell her to stay the hell out of his business.

  He really wanted to get to Valerie before she got to Brianne, though. He knew how intimidating Valerie could be, and he was worried that Brianne would be more afraid of Valerie than she was into him. If that was the case, he could lose her for good.

  “Have you seen Valerie?” Callin asked one of the runners as he moved past him carrying a clipboard balanced on top of a large brown box.

  “She went that way,” he replied, pointing down a quiet corridor.

  Callin thanked him and headed into the corridor. He paused when he heard voices coming from one of the rooms. The door was ajar and Callin stood out of sight when he recognized Valerie’s voice. He would wait until she was finished whatever conversation she was having and then he would talk to her while she was alone.

  Callin realized the other voice he could hear belonged to Brianne. She was crying and begging Valerie not to fire her. Callin felt anger explode through his body at the sound of the panic and upset in Brianne’s voice. He wanted to burst in there now and demand that Valerie stop this right now, but he took a moment to rein in his dragon, who had stirred at the sound of Brianne’s voice and gone into protection mode.

  When he was confident he was in control of himself, Callin pushed the door open further and stepped into the room.

  “Can I help you?” Valerie demanded.

  He ignored her and focused on Brianne.
>
  “Brianne, I left my cell phone in my trailer,” Callin said. That much was true. “And I really need it.” That part was a lie. “Would you be so kind as to go and grab it for me?”

  “I…” Brianne started.

  “You’ll have to send one of the runners for it. Brianne, unfortunately, no longer works here,” Valerie said.

  “Yes, she does. We’ll talk in a moment. Brianne? My cell phone?” Callin said.

  Brianne nodded and flashed Callin a grateful smile. His dragon ached for her, wanting to go after her and make sure she was okay as she scurried from the room, wiping the tears from her face quickly.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Valerie?” Callin demanded.

  “Look, Callin, what you do and don’t allow your assistant to do while she’s on the clock is your business. Personally, I want someone professional, and I don’t pay Brianne to fuck around on the set,” Valerie said.

  “She was on her lunch break,” Callin pointed out, ignoring the crass way Valerie spoke.

  Valerie shrugged her shoulders.

  “It’s not professional and you know it. Besides,” she added with a smile that made Callin’s stomach tighten, “I did you a favor. You’ve had your fun with her and now you don’t have to be the bad guy that has to avoid her for a while and then break her innocent little heart.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Callin demanded. “Why would I do that?”

  “Oh, come on, Callin. We both know someone like you doesn’t want anything more than a bit of fun from a girl like Brianne,” Valerie said.

  “By a girl like Brianne, you mean a girl who is gorgeous, funny, and utterly amazing?” Callin said.

  “No. I mean a human. We both know how this plays out. You screw around with humans until you’re ready to get serious and then you and I become mates,” Valerie said.

  “Okay, let me make this clear to you, Valerie. The chances of you and I becoming mates are up there with the chances of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny being real,” Callin said. “And I’m not just screwing around with Brianne. She’s special.”

  “And now she’s fired,” Valerie said. “So, if she’s so special, I suggest you go and find her and apologize to her for not being able to keep it in your pants and getting her fired.”

  Callin felt his temper rising again and he took a moment to calm down before he spoke again. When he did, his voice was as cold as Valerie’s always was.

  “Brianne is not fired. And if you are ever nasty to her again, then you’ll be the one who is gone,” he said.

  “Excuse me?” Valerie said, raising an eyebrow.

  “You heard me. You treat her with respect, or you’re off the movie,” Callin said.

  “You wouldn’t,” Valerie said, although some of the edge had gone out of her voice.

  Callin knew that she knew for a fact that he really could get her kicked off the movie every bit as easily as he had gotten her into it. The question was whether or not he would have the balls to do it. And he knew he would. Valerie had pushed him far enough that he would do it and suffer the consequences within the pack.

  “Try me,” Callin said. “Now, I’m going to go and find Brianne and reassure her that you just overreacted. And when I’ve done that, you’ll find her and apologize to her. I’ll respect the fact that you don’t want us carrying on while we’re on the set, but we are going to be together and nothing you can say or do is going to change that. Am I making myself clear?”

  “Crystal,” Valerie muttered.

  Callin started to walk away, but Valerie wasn’t done.

  “I wouldn’t bank on you two being together, though,” Valerie said.

  Callin glanced back at her.

  “Is that a threat?” he said in a low voice.

  “No,” Valerie said quickly, the picture of innocence. “It’s more of a heads-up. Brianne knows exactly what you are, and I think she knows enough about our kind not to get mixed up with a dragon.”

  Callin stormed out of the room without responding to Valerie. He headed toward his trailer, pulling one of the crew aside and asking him to tell the director he was running a little late for the next scene, but he would be there as soon as he could.

  He tried to dismiss Valerie’s words. She had to be lying. How could Brianne know he was a dragon? As much as he tried to ignore Valerie’s taunting, though, she had gotten into his head. Maybe she really did know the truth about him. Valerie made no secret of the fact that her assistants all came from the same family and were all loyal to her because they knew what she was. Was it really such a stretch that Brianne knew he was a part of the pack? And if she did, did it matter?

  She clearly wasn’t afraid of dragons or she would never have been Valerie’s assistant in the first place. And if she did know what he was, that hadn’t stopped her from having sex with him. Twice.

  And she had told him she saw him in her future. Maybe it would be better if she did know, then at least she would know what she was really getting herself into. If she didn’t know, Callin would have to tell her eventually, and that left him open to her reacting badly to the news and ending things between them. He wondered how much she knew. Did she know that there was a chance she, too, could become a dragon? Would she want that? Would it even be possible for her?

  Callin had no answers to any of these questions. Even if Brianne carried the Sanmere protein in her blood, the protein that allowed a human to turn into a shifter without dying in the process, it didn’t mean she would want to do it. Immortality was a big choice. He told himself none of that mattered right now. That he and Brianne would have all of these conversations in time, and that right now, all that mattered was making sure she was okay.

  That got him thinking about Valerie again, and for the first time, he began to wonder if Lucian was right about the pack. Was Valerie really the right person to lead their pack? She was selfish and she made rash decisions based on what she thought was more likely to get her what she wanted instead of on what was best for the whole group. Did she do the same when it came to making pack decisions? Callin had no idea, but he was starting to think she likely did, and he made a mental note to talk to Lucian when he could and find out exactly how bad Valerie’s leadership was.

  Callin was almost at his trailer when the door opened and Brianne stepped out with his cell phone in her hand. She had cleaned her face up and anyone looking at her now would never know that she had been crying a couple of moments ago. She spotted Callin and gave him an embarrassed-looking smile. They continued walking toward each other and when they were close enough to talk without yelling, Brianne gave him another rueful smile.

  “I’m sorry about that back there,” she said. “I shouldn’t have let her see me crying, but I just couldn’t keep it in.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s Valerie who needs to apologize, not you,” Callin said, reaching out and caressing Brianne’s cheek. “And I think you’ll find that will happen at some point today. And if it doesn’t, then come and find me and let me know, okay?”

  “So, I’m really not fired?” Brianne asked.

  “Of course not. And I’ve made it clear to Valerie that if she tries anything like that again, she’s the one who’ll be fired,” Callin said.

  Brianne smiled then, her normal smile, the one that made Callin’s cock twitch.

  “Thank you,” Brianne said. The smile faded from her face. “Look, Callin, I like you a lot, but maybe we should cool it down a bit. Wait until after filming has wrapped up before we do anything.”

  “Is that what you want?” Callin asked. “Or is that what you think Valerie wants?”

  He felt his muscles tense up as he waited for her answer. He couldn’t bear to lose Brianne and the thought of not being able to be with her for months and months filled him with dread.

  “It’s what Valerie wants,” Brianne said. “But she is my boss and she kind of does have a point about us carrying on here. I mean, you can get away with it a
s the star of the movie and all that, but I’m just an assistant and it doesn’t bode well having everyone gossiping about me like this.”

  “I get it,” Callin said. “And we probably shouldn’t have done what we did in your office.”

  He smiled and she smiled back and he knew she was reliving their session just like he was.

  “And you’re right about it not happening again on set. I’ve promised Valerie that won’t happen again. But I don’t want to wait almost a year to be with you, Brianne. Come to my place tonight and have dinner with me,” he said.

  “I… Valerie will find out,” Brianne said.

  “Yes, she probably will. But I’ve told her that you and I are going to happen, Brianne, and she’s going to have to learn to deal with it. I hope that wasn’t too forward of me,” Callin said.

  “It wasn’t,” Brianne said quickly. “But she’ll make our lives hell. Mine here and yours…” she looked around quickly, checking they were still alone, “within the pack.”

  So, she did know he was a dragon. Valerie had told the truth about that. But if she was worried about that, she was hiding it extremely well. Callin decided to just roll with it.

  “She won’t make your life hell. Not if she wants to keep her job, and I guarantee you that she does. And don’t worry about the pack life. I can handle Valerie,” Callin said.

  “Then I would love to,” Brianne said.

  Callin’s dragon was practically purring at the thought of spending the night with Brianne.

  “Fantastic,” Callin said. “I assume filming will be done around ten tonight, so if you want to hang around, we can go straight from here.”

  9

  Brianne nodded her head as Callin asked her if she wanted to take her wine to the living room. She was stuffed full—Callin had cooked them a lovely dinner of chicken in a creamy sauce with sautéed potatoes and green beans, and then they had had some ice cream. She was glad of the chance to move to the comfortable-looking leather couch.