Chapter 1
Anna was just about to walk out of the meeting. She had enough of the bickering between managers of the departments that made the most money. They were always arguing about one bloody thing or the next. More often than not it was an argument aimed at stroking egos. All the damn testosterone in the room was going to drive her crazy. She hated being there when her boss wasn't.
The motorcycle riding, gorgeous piece of sexy man she swooned over every time, rarely ever came into work. This was because he assumed he hired two competent men to run his business. If only he knew that was not the case he would probably clobber them all into oblivion, but it was not her place to say a word. Instead, she sat quietly listening to the incessant ramblings of the two pig headed fools who were in charge.
Nomads Travel Core was one of those companies nobody thought would have made any sense. Anna remembered when it had just started up six years prior. She had been in her comfortable bank job, just carrying on as if there was not a single problem in the world. She had actually been the one to deal with the account when Aiden Savage from the motorcycle clan had come in. He had been such a flirt while trying to convince her to come work for him. The truth was that she was not going to leave her comfortable well paying job to go struggle on some pay check to pay check kind of salary. When his company had become the multimillion dollar franchise it is now, he had come back. She took his offer in a heartbeat.
“Anna what do you think?” Jake, one of the pig-headed idiots was asking her.
She glared at him. She was thinking maybe, just maybe, she should not say what she was thinking. Maybe she should just let them carry on, but she managed accounts and so in reality she had just as much power as they did. Besides, the other exasperated faces staring at her from around the table said that they had had enough.
“I think you two are idiots,” she said unapologetically and waited for that to sink in. She even waited an extra couple seconds for them to have a comeback. When they remained in silent shock she continued.
“Both your departments bring in the money. Jake, you manage cruise ship bookings and air travel. Simon, you manage all our hotel bookings throughout the seventy-eight countries we have listed. Why you both cannot see there is no need to bash each other is beyond me.”
She started collecting her things. “Every two weeks you both call these meetings to update us and then go at each other like two girls. Enough though! You are both excellent workers and a little healthy competition only puts more money in all our pockets. However, because of all the testosterone killing your few brain cells, none of you can see that. Just because of damn testosterone.”
She picked up her folder and looked at them with utter disdain.
“I don't know about anybody else in this room, but I would rather go lobotomize myself elsewhere than stay in this room with you both any longer. So as to what I think…I think your arrogance and high levels of testosterone makes both of you two goddamn idiots who belong in an underground fight club and not running a prestigious business like this. I for one will not be coming back to any of these fortnightly meetings unless you both get it together. That is what I think.”
With that she walked out of the conference room and did not look back. Moments later she saw others following her lead and smiled. Enough was just enough and those two idiots just needed to get that. If she had to face the firing squad in Aiden’s office when he came in for an update later that day, she would happily deal with it. Someone had to get them straight and on track. They were all in it to the same end. Jake and Simon needed to get that. If they couldn't then that was not her problem to deal with.
“Good job!” Kelly, her assistant said poking her head around her door. “It was about time someone did us that solid.”
She smiled and swiveled in her chair to look at the city below her. It had felt pretty great, but in the meantime she grabbed a hot dog and pondered on her fate when Aiden got in. At least if she faced the gallows she would go on a stomach full of her favorite meal. There was just something that was too depressing about going to hell on the verge of starvation.
* * *
“Hey Aiden! Get out here!” London called. He was about to smack the teenager silly for disrupting his stalking tendencies. He decided to ignore him as long as he could and turned his attention back to his computer screen.
He kept hitting the replay button to watch her speak again. It was amazing how she managed to get the two men to shut up. Jake and Simon were the reasons he stopped going to those meetings. They were excellent sales managers, but clambering buffoons on a regular day. Truth was he no longer had the patience for their incessant childish tantrums and fights. They reminded him of the relationship he had had with his brother before he died. Sometimes he wondered if this was how exhausted his parents had been by them.
“Aiden! What are you doing? We have to go!” London burst into his office.
The newest motorcycle clan recruit was just eager to show his shifting prowess. Recruits were only allowed to wear the MC cut after they had been deemed loyal enough. And after they could shift effortlessly. There were a lot of laws and bylaws that governed their brotherhood. Top of that list was mastering your shifting abilities. Having been in the clan for eight years now, Aiden had been here several times before. He still showed up because it was a duty he had to perform. And if it could get London off his back then so be it.
“I am coming!” he shouted irritated.
“Ooh! Who is that?” London asked with his lustful eyes looking at the woman on his computer screen. “She is hot!”
“Shut up and let’s go!” Aiden pulled him by the ear, but the seed had been planted.
Anna was definitely one for the books. She had all the right curves in all the right places. The sexy pencil foot dresses and skirts she wore to work just made it hard to avoid looking. And those heels...man those damn heels had him thinking thoughts that would earn him an eternity in hell. She was the kind of woman that you just wanted to take home and do ungodly things to her. When he had met her the first time, her curly strands, belying her mixed ethnicity had entranced him. He had barely heard a word she said as he looked in her beautiful milky brown face framed perfectly by her curly hair. He had just kept saying yes, totally oblivious to what she asked. It is a miracle she had managed to set up his account the way she had. When his business had taken off, he had found out just how much of an accounting dynamo she was and he had gone back to steal her away from a boring bank job.
He kept telling himself that he had just wanted her to work for him and it was nothing more than that. After the first month of having a hard on every time she walked by him, he could not be in the same space with her all the time. She never gave him more than a passing glance, but he could not ignore her existence. Now watching her put two arrogant men in their place was just something beautiful. He had those cameras installed in the conference rooms so he could see the meetings. It did not matter where he was. But he was sure he was committing some federal offense by just staring at her all the time from them.
Something was wrong with him. He brushed it away as he hopped on his motorcycle and followed London to meet with the rest f the MC. He could use the distraction of a hunt right now.
“Aiden is stalking a girl online!” London blurted out as soon as they got to Brett’s spacious garage minutes later.
“One of these days I am going to kick your teeth out of your head,” he said to London. The boy laughed and nimbly danced out of his reach.
Jackson, one of his oldest friends laughed. “Bro, you just need to go tell her how much of a hard on she gives you.”
“That would be so crass,” he lamented. “A woman like that needs romancing.”
Brett was the next to speak. “You might be so surprised. As bears remember we tend to be attracted to the right kind of woman.”
“Is that your sage advice, Sir Recently Married?” Aiden asked a bit annoyed with them for honing in on his one weakness.
Brett slapped him on the shoulder and handed him a beer. “Nope. That is just intuition. When you find yourself attracted to a woman to the point where it becomes so difficult for you to even work in the same space with her, there is a reason for it. Take it from me. I have been there.”
Aiden took a swig from the bottle and acknowledged the truth to that experience. The truth was that Brett, Brian and Tyler had all been there. As the only three entangled shifters in the clan, they had all recently gone through the same emotional challenge. An attraction to someone who could be considered inappropriate. Brian had crashed into Carrie in Jeanette’s bar and later married her. Brett had fucked the brains out of his newest employee and only female mechanic worth speaking of. Then later married her. Brett had thought the relationship was inappropriate, but AJ would not let him get away so easy. Now they were happy. Tyler was now shacking up with Brett’s little sister and a girl he had grown up with, and they were happy. Now here he was pining for a woman he had no clue how to get. And his friends were all drinking beer and staring at him like he was hopeless.
“Just go for it bro,” London chimed in with all his non-existent years of knowledge on these things. “You should or I will.”
“Then he will definitely kick your teeth out,” Jackson joked.
As a round of hearty laughter went up in the garage they all finished their beers and headed out. As the group of motorcycles hit the highway, he looked around at his bear brothers with pride. They had gone through a lot together. When the Tribe bikers had killed his brother, these guys had stood by him and his reprisal actions all the way. He loved them, but that was too mushy a thing to say out loud. Nevertheless, even little London knew that if someone should wrong him, the whole crew would rain fire and brimstone on whoever it was.
This was a brotherhood he would die for.
An hour later when he shifted to go hunting with them he decided he would take their advice. Anna had tormented his waking and sleeping hours long enough. He had to have her or at least know for sure that there was no chance of that ever happening. One thing was sure and that was when he went into work tomorrow he would make his move.
May the gods...or whichever cosmic soul was in charge of all this romantic shit, be on his side.
Chapter 2
Two days later she watched as Aiden hopped off his motorcycle downstairs. He then rode up to the thirty-second floor for an impromptu board meeting. She was wondering if the meeting was called to decide on her dismissal. Quite possibly since men are known to band together when threatened. To her surprise when she was called to the meeting she found Jake and Simon sitting humbly. They sat amidst all the others who had been there the day she had walked out of the meeting.
“What is this about?” she asked Kelly who was seated with a straight back, chewing the insides of her cheeks beside her. The woman looked pale and Anna was beginning to think that was an indication that she should worry too. Then again, if the cat’s fur was out of place Kelly would damn near have a heart attack. And so she decided to wait and see what it was all about.
“Okay,” Aiden said looking at her. She found herself blushing beneath his gaze and quickly turned away. She had tried to ignore it, but this was a man her body screamed for. Every single time he was around she felt like she would just walk into his office and strip down to her birthday suit then have her way with him. He coaxed that kind of thinking out of her.
She just wanted to act like a wanton whore for him, but he was her boss and he never gave her the time of day.
“What is this about Aiden,” Jake asked. “I have a meeting with a client very soon.”
“If you don’t shut your mouth, the only meeting you will be having is with a new employer,” Aiden said. This was about to be a testosterone showdown. The only difference was the alpha male was in the room in all his glory. He was dressed in a business suit that hugged his lean muscular frame in all the right places. And he was not about to be upstaged.
“This ought to be good,” Kelly whispered to her with a chuckle.
“Those cameras over your head,” Aiden said pointing to the cameras she had not taken note of. “They are in here so I can watch the proceedings of every meeting regardless of where I am. I might not be here all the time, but it does not mean I am not overseeing every single thing that goes on here.”
“Oh shit!” Anna lamented.
Aiden turned to Simon and Jake. “It took a woman to get you both to stop behaving like teenagers and you should be ashamed of yourselves. You both walk around here like kings of the mountain, and I let you because you are both extremely competent. However, that does not mean I am afraid to replace you. You monitor people to whom you are supposed to be role models. Yet you squabble like entitled children over something I can take from you without so much as a flinch. Stop it! Compete, bust each other’s balls, upstage each other! But when it comes to these meetings and the proper management of my business, do fucking better!”
Anna was shocked at how long Aiden had spoken and the ice-cold tone in which he did it. She thought that was the longest she had ever heard him speak. And despite the fact that he was obviously not trying to be cute, she found him absolutely adorable. The fire she had for him blazed even more than she could control. She had to get out of this room, but he was not done.
“Thanks Anna for bringing the meeting under control,” he said turning to her. She lost the ability to speak. “Now I want the updates that were supposed to be given. Should any of you piss me off, I will relieve you of your employment effective immediately.”
He sat down with the confidence of a man in control and the sources of his ire were humbled.
“Now that is a man who knows how to handle his business,” Kelly said taking a sip of her glass of water. Anna agreed, but the entire time she was wondering if he was just as good at handling other business.
Get a grip you harlot! She reprimanded herself as she tried to listen to them speak.
When the meeting was done, she was the first one out the door. If she had a cock she would have been going someplace to blow one. But being a woman it was more complicated than that, and so she decided to settle for a hotdog. With a fleeting glance behind her she could see Aiden speaking to a few others. His eyes met hers on the stairs and she dashed away with her cheeks blazing red. Taking the elevator to the ground floor, she walked out into the cool autumn breeze to the hotdog cart.
“You look like you are running from hell hounds,” Jim the man who owned the cart said. He had become one of her best friends and she looked forward to their lunchtime chats.
“No, just trying to get away from Aiden before I decide to back him in a corner and fuck him.”
Jim laughed. “You really should just go for it. Lasting relationships have been built on far less and I can tell you that I have seen him eying you too. You should just go for sit before all that heat you are carrying for him makes you spontaneously combust.”
“What is this about spontaneous combustion I hear?” Aiden’s sultry voice asked from behind her.
She turned in shock to look straight into the Amazonian bronze of Aiden’s face. His ancestry was evident, and it added to the mystery of him and she couldn’t help but want to know. She chose not to ask however. If she followed Jim’s advice she might end up knowing sooner than later. If not, some mysteries might be better left unsolved.
“How the hell did you get down here so fast?” she asked in shock.
He simply smiled and cocked his head to look her up and down. He did that too. Whenever he was around he moved so fast you had to wonder if he was normal. You would see him in the coffee room one minute and then he would be gone. By the time you turn for a second he would be seated in his office clear across the hall.
“Anyway anybody with an inkling of common sense, would just about jump out the window to get away from Jake and Simon,” she said when he didn’t answer.
She didn’t wait on a response and she knew that she might have crossed a line; after all he was the boss.
“It was that bad?” he asked.
“It was far worse than you can imagine! That has been going on for months you know,” she said with gusto and she did mean that.
He chuckled. As she turned to look at him as a strong gale of wind picked her scarf up off her shoulder and floated it away on the wind. With a swift snap of the hand he grabbed it before it could get too far. And then he stepped dangerously close to her to wrap it around her neck. He was so close she could smell his subtle and intoxicating scent stealing into her senses. Despite all that, he maintained a respectful distance. Anna was not sure if it was to provoke her more or simply because he wanted to respect her personal space. She stood still; unable to move as he wrapped her scarf around her with gentleness. There was not even a hint at the powerful beast that lived inside him. She had never before been this close to him. The sensory overload his presence caused was something she could do little to hide.
Keep calm and eat your hotdog. But that order she gave herself was not working out for her at all. Her knees felt rubbery as she watched his hands tie her scarf properly. She almost had to ask him to stop touching her. The back of his hand brushed against her cheek when he was done, and she could only mutter a barely audible thank you before he stepped back.
“That should do it,” he said when he was done bundling her up, and took two deliberate steps away from her. The hotdog vendor, who had silently been taking in all the action, stretched a hotdog out to her and as she regained control of her limbs she took it. Aiden handed the man a fifty, shoved his hands into his pockets and nimbly walked away. He did it as if he had not just nearly cause her to spontaneously combust. For a moment she felt like a groupie or one of those stupid teenagers who couldn’t control herself.
“Did that just happen?” she asked Jim in a whisper.
“Yes...” the man said staring after Aiden. “Yes, that did just happen.”
“You look absolutely ravishing, by the way,” Aiden turned and called to her.
She went red as the people hustling about paused for a millisecond to throw a glance in the direction of the woman he had just paid a compliment. He knew what he had done as he smiled suggestively at her. The nonchalance of the compliment was even stranger. Oh, what lovely weather. I think I would like to fuck you, by the way.
Clearly she was the idiot for even thinking something was wrong with that. He most certainly did not.
“I told you the man had the hots for you!” Jim hollered at her in complete jubilation. “Just go for it.”
She smiled; happy he was a man who clearly had an appreciation for her curves. The same curves she had grown to love despite society’s insistence on telling her that bones were the ultimate must have. She had learnt the power of her curves. She love the confidence that came with her curves. In the past those curves had driven both women and men alike crazy with lust.
Aiden was clearly the newest addition to that lot.
Stop! She admonished herself. He is your boss and you will not go down that road with him.
She took a bite of her hotdog to stop herself from drooling over the man. His curved, long legs were accentuated by the kind of strong masculine ass that would make any woman weep and disrobe without question. The black suit he had chosen that day was carried off by the rose pink tie that blew lightly on the breeze. Both of which were a testament that his self-confidence far surpassed any need to have his ego soothed. And Lord knows his swag was more than enough to feed a thousand man army.
“Are you going to take him home and fuck him?” Jim asked, breaking through her lust session with his crass question. His eyes followed hers as she gobbled up the image of Aiden walking away, and his question was a valid one. She turned and glared at Jim more out of embarrassment than anger.
“What?” he asked laughing at her hopelessness. “You better or I most certainly will.”
She swatted him across the shoulder and turned back to Aiden who had stopped to talk to someone. She watched him as he walked through the revolving doors at the front of the building. He entered backwards, and from where she stood she could see a flash of lust in his eyes as he stared at her again. She quickly looked away, gazing down at the black shirt he wore beneath his suit. All she could think of in the seconds before he disappeared behind that glass, was that he must have some seriously gorgeous abs beneath that.
Was he even a single available man? Women must be throwing themselves at him. The truth was that she did not care whether he was romantically engaged or aspiring to become a monk. She wanted him and she would have him.
“I suggest you stay away from that half-breed if you want to avoid trouble,” said a gruff voice behind her that just interrupted her moment.
“Excuse me?” she said to the man who wore the motorcycle cut of one of the most troublesome gangs in town. Most other motorcycle crews were called ‘clans’ because they represented a brotherhood or sisterhood that stood for something. The cut this one wore was from a group called a gang, because racist, sexist and ignorant were just some of the nicest words that could be used to describe them.
“I said, if you know what is good for you, then you stay away from him.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “What crime is this one guilty of now? Since you and your crew go about this city accusing people of basically the sin of being born.”
The man stepped up to her menacingly. “You listen to me carefully. We will be keeping an eye on you because any woman who beds a half-breed is just as much an abomination we will wipe from the face of the earth.”
He spoke the last words up in her face and the stench coming from his mouth made her gag. “I think you should go brush your teeth and wipe your stinking breath from the face of the earth before you try to tackle any other problems.”
The insult landed a solid punch and the red of anger that crept into the man’s face made her want to hightail it. She took a few steps back from him, not wanting to turn her back to a potential threat. but then she walked right into the solid frame and a familiar scent...Aiden.
“Do we have a problem here?” Aiden asked the man as he rested a hand on her hip where she stood before him.
“Yeah, stinking half-breed. You are the problem. If you defile another human woman I will make sure you end up just like your brother.”
Anna didn’t know what really was going on, but the words the man spoke angered Aiden. He stepped in front of her. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
“Aiden, let’s go,” she said pulling on his hand and trying to get away from the crowd that had just gathered. “He isn’t worth it.”
She pulled on his hand but he did not seem to notice her there.
“I said I will make sure you end up just like your dead broth-“
The rest of the word the man was about to say did not leave his lips as Aiden swung upward in one powerful swing. In slow motion the man lifted off the ground and went flying backward into the hotdog cart. Jim managed to dart out of the way just in time, but his cart was not so lucky. The flimsy frame crumbled under the weight of the man falling on top of it.
“I will make you a promise, you scum,” Aiden said bending over the man who was scurrying to his feet. "You touch a hair on her head and I will make sure you meet your maker before you have time to repent for ever being born.”
“I will get you back,” the man hollered as he ran off.
“I look forward to it,” glowered Aiden. The man couldn’t hear him, but she did. Even then the look in his eyes told Anna that he was very serious. Though she had many questions about what the man meant by half-breed and defiling a human girl, she didn’t ask. It was neither her place nor the appropriate time.
“Are you okay,” Aiden turned to her, his eyes softening.
“Yes,” she said looking at his hand that was bleeding from the power of the blow he had just landed.
“I will be fine,” he said smiling and straightening his suit. He turned to Jim and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. “I am sorry about your cart.”
“It’s okay man,” Jim said. “I know what they did to your brother. My cart is insured.”
Aiden patted his shoulder and handed him the cash. “Here is five grand. I am sure it will cover the damage and then some.”
Jim tried to protest but Aiden wouldn’t have it, and when he was done he turned to Anna as if to say something. She waited, but all he did was look at her with sadness in his eyes and sighed before walking off.
“What did that man mean by half-breed?” she asked Jim.
Her friend looked at her in shock. “You really don’t know?”
“No,” she said looking towards where Aiden was disappearing into the building.
“Aiden and his entire motorcycle crew are shifters. Bear shifters and the Tribe gang killed his brother three years ago for that very reason.”
“No!” she exclaimed in horror.
“Yes,” Jim said coming to stand beside her. “The gang has dangerous people and they don’t like human girls who sleep with the bears so be careful.”
“I am not sleeping with him,” she protested.
“Not yet,” Jim said with a knowing smile. “Just be careful.”
“I have to go,” she gave Jim a peck on the cheek and drew herself back to the present.
She rushed into the building meaning to apologize to Aiden for what had happened, but he was already busy. Their eyes met through the glass of his office and he looked at her apologetically. For a moment she just stood looking, wanting to say something, but unsure of what she should say.
“Hey!” Kelly came up to her. “I have been looking for you. There is a problem with one of our accounts.”
She reluctantly drew her eyes away from Aiden and instead focused on the job he had hired her for. She hoped she would get a chance to talk to him. She had this urge to go be by his side, and nothing could shake it. Later when her day calmed down he was already gone. But as she made her way home five bikers from the Tribe gang followed her. She changed her mind and decided to go back to the office. There were rooms beside the gym downstairs where she could sleep. Luckily she always had two changes of clothes there for the days she worked out before work.
She didn’t exactly like the idea of leaving the comfort of her home because of a group of men. However, safety came first and so she would make sure she stayed out of harm’s way.
Chapter 3
Aiden was steaming with anger as he left the office that day.
“Hey Hank!” He called to one of the plain clothes security forces he had employed since his brother’s death.
“Sir?” The man jogged over to him.
“I need you to get a couple more guys and work overtime tonight. Make sure Anna is safe. I think those motorcycle guys might go after her.”
Hank smiled. “Already ahead of you on that sir, but what about you?”
“I will be fine. Call me if anything comes up.”
With that he rode off. He broke every speed limit as he made his way to Jeanette's bar to meet up with the others. He had tried his best to move on from his brother’s death but it had not been easy. The Tribe was still a reminder of how cruel people could be. And they were making it particularly difficult for him today.
“Your hand?” Carrie, Brian’s wife asked him as she served him a beer.
“I am fine,” he said coming off harsher than he intended.
“What happened?” Brian asked. Aiden related the events of his day.
“You have to make sure she is protected Aiden,” Carrie told him. He could see her reliving the day the Tribe bikers had set Jeanette's bar afire with her inside.
“I know,” he said. He explained he had beefed up security for her.
“Isn't she the one you have a thing for?” Jackson asked. He nodded.
“I like her way too much to put her in danger so I am going to just stay away from her. I have seen what the fact that we are shifters can do to the people we love.”
The others were silent but Jackson didn't leave him alone. “Truth is Aiden, we are allowed to be happy and we can't let a bunch of arrogant and ignorant men take our joy away. She is also safest with you now that they know you have a thing for her. Now more than ever you should make sure you are by her side.”
He thought about that for a moment and decided he was right. He hung out in the bar playing a few pool games to calm himself down before he decided to go. He watched Carrie and Brian, the epitome of what a perfect couple was. Tyler and Mary couldn't get enough of each other either. All the love blooming around him made him nostalgic for a love like that of his own. They were entitled to love and that was the truth. The only problem was that the Tribe was making it hard for them in this town.
Picking up his phone he called Hank. “Where is she?”
“At the office sir,” Hank said.
He was shocked. “Why?”
Hank chuckled. “She is smart. When she left work earlier a group of tribe bikers followed her out. We stayed close enough should they try anything. That was when she realized they were following and turned back to the office. I guess she figured with the rooms and twenty-four hour security here she would be safer.”
Aiden was fuming again. “But she can't stay there forever.”
“I know sir. Maybe we can find some other arrangement for her until this blows over.”
He sighed. “I will be there in a few. Has she eaten? Do you know?”
“I think she ordered some Chinese or something.”
“Okay, hold the delivery until I get there. Don't let anyone in.”
He hung up and ordered some of Jeanette's spicy wings to go along with the food. Explaining to his clan what was happening just in case he would need them, he rode out and back to the office. Hank met him downstairs with the food and he took it up to her. If the conversation went the way he was hoping it would, he would put her up in a nice hotel for a couple weeks. That would have to do until he and the clan figured out how to deal with these idiots.
He would not have another person he cared about dying on his watch.
Not again.
* * *
To get out of the foul mood the bikers had put her in, she decided to make use of the fact that she was the only one in the office. The gym was hers to work out as much as she wanted to and that was what she did. For an hour she poured herself into sweating and thinking. Aiden was a shifter, what did that mean really. When she had just moved to this town she had found out that shifters existed. Then she had been told that the bar a few streets down was where they hung out mostly. Never did she think she would have ever met one, let alone get the hots for one.
It didn’t change anything for her though; in fact it made her want him even more. Then there was the anger at the mention of his brother’s death. Now she remembered how three years earlier the self-made millionaire’s family had been the centre of the news cycle. His brother had been shot twice in the chest after he had been leaving college one evening. He was just twenty-four and on the verge of an excellent career as a doctor. Now she knew that the Tribe had been responsible for that. The spate of reprisal killings that had followed now made sense to her.
Clearly Aiden was a man of much more than meets the eye and she felt something more for him in that moment. She felt like she was driving herself crazy, so she decided to take a shower and go do some work. Donning a pair of slacks and a comfortable T-shirt, she walked barefooted to the elevator. She buried herself in work, completely forgetting the food she had ordered earlier.
Anna buried herself into the work that had been left on her desk. She tried to forget everything else around her once again. It was not until a familiar voice disrupted her quiet that she was reminded of the food that had yet to arrive.
“Do we pay you so much that you want to dedicate your nights to your job?” Aiden asked her. She looked up into the grey eyes belonging to Aiden and her heart skipped a couple beats. Her jaw went slack at the sight of him in a v-neck white shirt and comfortable slacks. He looked dashing and laid back. A side to him she had never seen before.
“No you don’t,” she responded when she remembered her words. “Consider this my hopeless case of not having a life.”
“Or are you just here because the bikers gave you a scare?”
She looked at him shocked. “Hank told you? I saw them following me too.”
“Observant aren’t you?” he asked with a smile.
“Yes,” she replied. “And observant enough to have figured out that you are a shifter and that is why the Tribe hates you so much.”
He chuckled. “Does this belong to you?” he asked as he pulled a bag of food from behind him and her stomach rejoiced.
“Yes,” she said and he stepped into her office and rested it on her desk. “Thank you,” she whispered smiling up at him. He smelled like fresh air and cucumbers. A combination of scents that was simply intoxicating to her.
“No problem. I saw the delivery man pacing in circles in the parking lot. He was no doubt worried he would have to pay for his food out of the pittance he earned. I saved him the trip up.”
“Or did you have Hank take the delivery so no strange man could come in here?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
He laughed. “I forgot for a moment how smart you were. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she really did think it was sweet of him to pay such close attention and she was grateful.
“I have another sleeping arrangement for you if you are interested,” he said and waited for her to look at him.
“Let me hear it.”
He smiled loving the way she was cautious about herself. “The Marriott down the road has excellent security and is close by. I want you to stay there until I deal with this situation.”
“How are you going to deal with it?” she asked not wanting violence on her behalf.
“However it needs to be dealt with,” he said flatly and she knew that was the end of that conversation.
“How much do I owe you then?” she asked reaching for her wallet. She turned her head back to him when he did not answer and saw him smiling down at her. He was hotness personified even when he was not trying to be. His grey eyes melted into the cover of the black and white ensemble he wore. And his lips seemed to barely move as he answered her.
“Just don’t bill me for overtime tonight and we can call it even,” he said. He moved with the stealth and grace of a wild animal out the door.
“Eat with me and we will call it even,” she called to him. She was not really wanting him to leave but not believing she had just extended him that invitation. She unpacked the food and waited for him to come back. He slowly took a seat in the chair across from her desk and gazed longingly at her. Beneath his stare she felt naked.
“Don’t you dare just sit there,” she said to him. “Eat or you will just seem creepy.”
He smiled and she prayed her fast moving mouth had not just gotten her into trouble. She had tried very hard over the years to control her tongue. But no matter how hard she tried her mouth moved faster than she could control it. She looked at him hoping he had not been offended. The interested twinkle that warmed his eyes told her he was not.
“You are different,” he said to her. “A kind of difference that is appealing, infuriating and refreshing at the same time.”
“Is that a good thing?” she asked him coyly.
“It's all a matter of perspective,” he replied shoving food into his mouth. “You should try the wings. They are some of the best around here.”
“So Aiden,” she said around the food in her mouth as she took his advice, “tell me about the mystery that you are.” Maybe this was not the time, but she might never get another opportunity.
He remained silent with the seemingly unmovable smile spread across his face.
“Tell me!” she demanded and he smiled.
“You already know more than most people ever will. Learn the rest as we go along. Until then you can call me the reluctant hall monitor,” he said and though it was an evasive response. “Now hurry up and eat so I can take you to the hotel and Hank can go home.”
His response hinted at troubled waters but she did not push any more. She looked at him. She was trying to stare inside the chaos that must be his head, but she saw nothing beyond what he allowed her to see. She squinted some more in concentration.
“I will figure you out yet,” she said narrowing her eyes at him.
His brows furrowed as she stared at him. “If you need glasses, the hefty insurance package we provide here will cover that you know,” he said. She laughed and she assumed he thought his job for the night was done as he got up to leave.
“You do know you are not any less of a mystery to me right?” he asked turning to her from the door. Her head shot up at his comment and she stopped chewing.
“Some mysteries are best left unsolved Mr Savage,” she said with a teasing smile. She tried to keep herself from walking around her desk and kissing him.
“Really?” he asked leaning against her door jam. “I think I could quite enjoy the adventure that would come with knowing you. “
“Oh we will see,’ she replied loving the sound of that. “Let’s go.”
They walked out the door a few minutes later and he piled her into her car, taking the keys to drive. When they were checked into the Marriott he accompanied her to her room and then turned to leave.
“Want to come in for a night cap?” she asked him.
He looked at the desire in her eyes and knew exactly what she was asking. She made it plain. “I better not.”
“Afraid you might enjoy the alcohol in my bar?”
He turned and smiled at her. “No, I am afraid I might enjoy much more.”
She smiled. “And that is a bad thing why?”
As she asked she walked over to him and stood so close his breath caressed her nose.
“I haven’t quite figured beyond the fact that I want to rip your clothes off,” he confessed to her. She reached up on her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
“Let's figure it out together,” she said and she saw all the resistance disappear from his eyes. She walked off and he followed her into the room. When the door closed behind them he pulled her into him and brushed his lips against her. At first it was just a whisper to say how much he wanted her, then the beast in him took over and she let go to enjoy the moment. His hands cupped her cheeks and he pulled her to him. Her groin met the bulge in his pants and a moan of pure desire swept through her.
When he let her come up for air she sat at the edge of the bed looking up at him. She tentatively ran her fingers over his solid abdomen. She wanted to see him naked, but she wouldn’t rush this at all. She wanted to savor every moment of it.
Aiden who had sat beside her staring in amazement was not ready for the kiss of pure joy that she gave him. He kissed her again and as she pulled her lips away she felt an instant need to put them back.
They paused to look at each other as if seeking mutual permission. When it was granted she ran her hands under his shirt feeling the heat of him beneath. His flat chest was defined by the strong muscles beneath the skin and she just had to see them.
She lifted his shirt over his head and worshiped him with her eyes before he again lowered his lips to hers. He rolled her backward onto the bed and moved to position himself between her legs. One hand slipped beneath the T-shirt she had worn and up to gently cup her breast. She could feel his erection growing and did what she had wanted to do the night before.
She was not going to wait to be told. She wanted him now. They could worry about the romance later.
The elastic waistband of his slacks easily gave her access, and she slipped her hands inside to grip his ass. The material of his boxers was an impediment and so she slipped her hand beneath that. His fingers made their way beneath her bra to pinch her nipples that had been begging for his attention. His erection twitched against her shorts clad groin. She lifted her legs to have it pressed against her clitoris, and firmly gripped his ass. Making sure to push him down into her.
They moaned in unison as they dry humped each other. But even with his fingers on her nipples and his teeth nipping away at the sensitive skin of her neck she wanted more. She moved her hand to rid herself of her shirt. Whatever senses she might have possessed that spoke against that, had long since exited the building.
Only blinding desire remained. As he expertly unhooked her bra, she pulled his pants down and his cock stood out beneath the boxers. She wanted nothing more than to free it, but she waited. He eased her shorts from her legs, and kissed his way back to her breast. He lightly ran his tongue around one nipple as he gently pinched the other. She moaned and lowered her hand to grip his cock, stroking it beneath his boxers. He pumped gently against her hand, while she positioned him so with each forward thrust, the top of his dick met her soaking wet panty where her clit lay.
“I want you...” he whispered against her lips as if seeking permission to enjoy her. Permission she had already willingly given.
She couldn’t hold out any more. She had to feel him again. She saw the wet spot at the front of his grey boxers and pulled him on top of her. Anna wrapped her legs high above his waist and moaned as his dick pressed into her pussy.
He kissed her as his hands snaked down her thigh to bend one leg up to her chest as he dry fucked the living daylight out of her. She writhed and moaned against his lips, as his dick rubbed her clit to the point of no return.
She could feel the orgasm building and his grunts in her ears told her he was close to climaxing too. She wanted to release his dick from the cloth that held it back. She wanted to let him plunge deep inside her, but she did not want him to stop. And as his rubbing pushed them both over the edge she took his lips in hers and screamed into the kiss.
Spasms of pure satisfaction rocked them for what seemed like hours. When the climax had passed she felt drained. She had never experience sex like that before. Not only was it earth shattering but that had not even had actual penetration. He collapsed on top of her, as she closed her eyes and welcomed the weight of him.
“Fuck Anna!” he moaned into her neck. “Now for sure I can never walk away from you.”
“Why would you even want to try?” she asked.
Chapter 4
Aiden waited until she was about to take a shower before he excused himself for the night. She protested but the reality was that he had to leave or they would go much further. He would not be able to help himself. He felt bewitched. He felt like putty in the hands of a child, and knew that he needed to get away from her.
He had heard about Brett’s and Aj’s story. He also knew the dangers and concerns of a man sleeping with his employee, but for him that wasn't a concern. They were both mature people with careers before they met each other. She had been working for him for months now and he had never once had reason to doubt her skills. But she had a power over him that no other woman ever had.
Not wanting to have a discussion he slipped out while she was in the shower and made his way home. But strange enough, his sprawling mansion was just not enough for him that night. It felt empty coming from the warmth of Anna’s arms. He needed to do something about it.
Opening his door he shifted and went into the forested area. The unharnessed wind running through his fur gave him a kind of liberation he sought. When he returned home and showered, he slept like a baby. With morning came a new zest. It followed him throughout the day as he stole glances at Anna while she worked.
She was truly gorgeous.
“Dinner later?” He asked as he cornered her in the file room.
She glared at him. “Not after you stole out of my room without a word.”
“Okay what you might not have figured out yet is that I am also an idiot. I am sorry. Let me make it up to you with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. Well it's really a roadside joint. You will love it.”
He watched her think about it for a moment before she shoved him out of her way and walked off.
“Fine. See you at eight.”
He smiled and watched her sexy ass as she made her way up the stairs. He was far from just smitten. He had to admit she played a special tune for his heart.
Later that evening he showed up with flowers and an extra helmet. “You look lovely.”
She smiled at him as she took the flowers and placed them in the jar by her hotel room door. When they got downstairs she hopped on the bike as if she had been born to ride.
“Seems you have done this before,” he said.
“Nope. I just watch a lot of TV.”
He laughed as he gunned the engine and took her to his favorite place. The Tribe couldn't leave well enough alone. Trouble awaited them there.
“I thought I told you to leave the human girl alone you filthy beast!”
He turned to see the man he had given a proper beating just the other day. He was not alone. Three other bikers were with him. He knew if they threatened Anna’s safety, he would kill them all.
“I suggest you mind your own business,” Aiden said and placed himself between Anna and the men.
“Let's just go Aiden,” she whispered behind him.
He thought about it, but they would only follow. He knew he couldn't run forever. This was one of those fights he would have to fight once so he never had to fight it again. And the Tribe sensed he was alone and wanted a piece of him.
That he could certainly oblige them.
* * *
Anna stood in both horror and awe as Aiden walked away from her and the group outside the roadside pizza stop. He walked into the privacy of a dark alley.
“Fine,” Aiden said to the men. “I will leave the human girl alone, once I am dead. So come get me.”
“Aiden no!” she called as he rushed off and the men followed him. She got to the entrance of the alley just in time to watch his transformation. In the dim glow of the streetlights that managed to get there, his face elongated. Fangs appeared as the bones in his body crack and white fur took the place of his skin. When he was done shifting she wondered how such a big creature could come from the lean man. The same man she had been slowly falling in love with.
His eyes a soothing and dangerous gold stood out in the night as he charged at the three men. He growled loud enough for her to hear, but not above the music serenading the oblivious people around the corner. She wondered if she should call for more help. But as Aiden rose on his hind legs and clawed the men who were too stupid to run, she realized that he needed no help. A speck of blood splashed on her face as the last man went down and Aiden’s huge girth walked towards her. His white coat speckled here and there with blood.
He snorted and she took two steps back from him. Had she not seen him change herself she would have thought for certain he was a wild beast to run and hide from. Then he did the unimaginable- stood still and then lay at her feet. An act of submission to her. She knew instantly he was telling her not to be afraid of him. She stepped forward and ran her fingers along his fur and he slowly changed back to his human form. Naked in the glow of the lamp he was majestic. No words were needed as her fingers traced the contours of him and their lips met.
“Take me home,” she said not caring about the men bleeding in the alley. They deserved it.
“I have a change of clothes in the storage compartment on my bike. Run and get it for me while I call these fools an ambulance. They will have a hell of a time explaining their illegal weapons and injuries in an alley.”
She did as he asked and in thirty minutes they were riding along the driveway of his mansion.
“I need to shower,” he whispered to her kissing the top of her head. “Make yourself at home and find us something to eat.”
She didn’t do that though. She wondered around the hallway and found an extensive library. The plush sofa was just beneath the window looking out on the side of the property. It offered her solace and she made her way to it, running her fingers along the spines of the books she passed on the way.
“I thought I would find you here,” Aiden’s voice said from the end of the aisle. She briefly turned to acknowledge his presence.
“It is nice here,” she whispered not wanting to break the moment.
“You are welcomed to stay here as long as you like. Would you though?” he asked. She turned to look at him. His hair still wet from his shower and his chest bare. Lust sparked inside of her and she was almost sure she would not be able to ignore it any longer.
“I love libraries,” she said stopping to pluck a book from the shelf.
“They say a woman who reads is a deadly woman,” he said.
“And a man who reads is worth keeping for a lifetime,” she responded. She knew from the care that he placed in this library that there was no question as to whether or not he did. It went against every stereotype of bikers. She turned to walk away again, but he placed a palm on her hip stopping her in her tracks.
“You look gorgeous tonight,” he whispered in her ear, as he stepped up to her back and pulled her in against him. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling, willing herself to walk away but wanting every bit to stay.
He gently nibbled her lobe and the soft scratch of his beard against her neck sent shivers down her spine. His hands wasted no time in cupping her breasts. He dipped his lips to her neck and trailed kisses from her pulsating jugular down her naked shoulders.
“I tried resisting you but I can’t,” he whispered in her ear as his hands gently and slowly rolled her shirt up. She did not protest. She wanted to resist him too, but it seemed that every time he walked into a room her common senses committed suicide. She slowly turned to face him and stared into the golden eyes. Eyes that now raged with desire where there had been a troubled storm. Had it been some other man she might assumed she was just a mere distraction for the unresolved issues in his life. But she knew with him it was not a case of unrequited love, but one of mutual unadulterated lust.
He stepped in front of her and looked her in the eyes. His mirrored the haunting sadness in the moonlight that slipped through the windows behind them. She was sure hers burnt with the desire she was fighting hard to control...futilely.
“Is that really what you want?” he asked her stepping in close to her.
She smiled shyly up at him, wondering if that question even needed an answer.
She sighed and was about to speak when he kissed her. She closed her eyes and leaned in to the kiss. The steel resolve she had built up slipping away with every second their lips were together. He tasted like danger on a cool summer’s evening and she was the hopeless maiden caught in the web he spun. A web she had willing walked right into and was sure she was not going to walk out of unscathed. Right now she really did not care. He represented everything she wanted and she was not a woman who was used to being denied.
She angled her head and pulled him deeper into her. The line where she ended and he started blurring with the passion that washed over her.
“Be sure this is what you really want, because once I start I will not be able to stop,” he said. He spun her around, and ran possessive and intrusive hands over her curves. It was a gesture of complete appreciation for her body. In that moment she would have begged him to just bend her over and fuck her silly.
She would have, if she didn’t think that would be giving him her goodies far too easily. SO she shut up and moaned her desire instead.
“Be sure Anna...” he said again.
His voice was husky with the desire he was trying to fight, and it sent shivers down her spine. The tiny bumps on her skin that rose as she stepped into him again, were enough to say there would be none of that. She rested the book she had taken down on the chair and turned to cup his face pulling him into her. His tongue snaked into her mouth, dirty dancing with hers. It was then she realized for the first time that he tasted like wild apples. It was a thought that made her smile as she remembered her teenage love for all things that tasted and smelled like wild apples.
Oh, how time was the master of bringing all things full circle.
“I want you Aiden. And nothing can change that,” she whispered against his lips.
His hands slipped down her side to rest gently on her ass. Then he bit lightly on her lips, causing her to moan into his mouth. She responded by sliding her hand beneath the hem of his shirt to feel his hot skin burning with desire.
Stop and walk away!
She knew she needed to...or rather... she should. Every inch of her body wanted nothing but to be devoured by the passion he ignited. He responded with the same. He pressed her ass into his groin so she could feel how much he wanted her. then bent his lips to trail the tip of his tongue against the sensitive part of her neck. She could feel her knees getting weak with the pleasure that rolled over her. He lifted her as if she were paper weight and turned towards his desk, shoving anything in his way to the ground. How he knew exactly what she wanted was beyond her. Nevertheless, she was in no mood for the softness of sweet love and he was right there with her. They were like animals caught in a dance that predated human existence and she lived for this moment.
He slowly pulled away and every ounce of desire in her protested as she let him. His soft hands cupped her face and his stormy eyes were confused by what he felt from the anger she had dished him. Still they searched her face for certainty. “If you are so sure you don’t want this then walk away and I won’t stop you.”
He let her go as he bent to kiss her one more time and she hesitated before allowing him to. She could feel herself getting closer to the point of no return. No, she was at the point of no return and she no longer had the energy or desire to fight it.
His hands found her breast and gently squeezed her nipples before he rolled her pants off her hips. She had not bothered to put panties on, and he smiled. She pressed her heated pussy against his groin. She wanted him just as much and decided not to play coy or wait any longer. She reached to stroke his erect dick through his pants as her other hand freed his belt buckle.
Their lips met and his fingers wrapped around her slender thighs. She knew instantly that no matter how much self restraint she had; tonight was not going to be the night she resisted. She had waited a whole month for this. She slipped her hand into his boxers and released his cock. The heat of her palm touched his manhood for the first time and she enjoyed every inch of the skin she felt. She gripped him and slowly stroked back and forth. She wanted no dry humping and she wanted no child’s play. She wanted him... all of him.
His lips lowered to her neck and he lifted her off her feet. She positioned his dick to enter her as he slammed her against the book shelf.
She let loose a primal moan that spoke of the pleasure the pain of his entrance brought her. As he slowly thrust in and out of her she met each thrust with a plea for more. This was no love making, and it was not love making that she craved or wanted. She wanted to be fucked and he gave her exactly that.
With each thrust she could feel her climax building. The muscles of her pussy clenched and shuddered with the promise of an earth shattering climax. In a matter of minutes they could hold back no longer. He gave one hard thrust into her, groaning from the pit of his stomach in satisfaction. She threw her head back and could not hold back the scream that escaped her.
She could feel his cock burying his seed deep inside her as it pulsed its satisfaction. They stayed that way until their breathing slowed.
Aiden slowly eased her down to the floor, his cock still buried deep inside her and growing erect again.
“You are mine Anna,” he whispered in her ear as he started to move in her again. “Mine and nobody else’s.”
She would not object, because then and there she knew she would want no other man but him. This was the kind of connection she had waited all her life for. She rode his dick like no other before and vowed never to let him go.