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“I didn’t think there was anus,” she said tightly.
I didn’t answer her. I wanted her to let me in so that we could talk, and finally, she stepped aside.
I walked into an underwhelming apartment. It had high walls with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the light was incredible, but the floors were old and creaked under my feet, the furniture wasn’t even second-hand, it was just old, and she’d clearly had it rough.
Despite the state of the place, it was neat and clean.
“Look, I handled the whole thing wrong,” I said. “The bond, the fact that you were a virgin… it all caught me off guard, and I wasn’t very good at thinking on my feet.”
Oaklee folded her arms over her chest, like she was physically holding herself together. She didn’t say anything, so I kept talking.
“I don’t know what to do with the mate bond. It’s new to me.”
“It’s new to me, too.”
“We can’t just break something like that, so we owe it to each other—I owe it toyou—to get to know each other a little bit better.”
Oaklee studied me, her expression cautious. “You want to try to make this work?”
I had no idea what I wanted—where this was going. I hadn’t even known what I would say to her until the moment I was here, but trying made sense, right? It had to make sense, because the alternative was fucked up, and I’d had more than enough of that in my life.
“I want to work closer together at the office,” I said. “I’m giving you a promotion.”
“To do what?”
“Taking care of the new memberships, the club conduct, it’s more of a managerial position. It will come with a bit more cash, too, and an office closer to mine.”
Oaklee hesitated. “What will that look like?”
“What will what look like?”
“I sleep with my boss, and suddenly, I get promoted?”
“No one needs to know we slept together,” I said, but the moment the words left my mouth, I realized what I was saying.Everyonewould know we’d slept together if they were a shifter. The mate bond, our scents clinging to each other, it was part of being fated, and there would be no denying that.
“I’m the alpha. I also own the club. I call the shots, and if anyone has an issue with it, quite frankly, they can go fuck themselves.”
A smile played around Oaklee’s mouth, and it was beautiful.Shewas beautiful, and I wasn’t just saying it because we were fated. She was incredible to look at in any way, and I wanted to kiss her whenever she said something interesting… which was almost all the time.
I closed the distance between us, moving carefully so that she could back away if she wanted. When she didn’t, I wrapped an arm around her waist. I pulled her closer and pressed my lips against hers.
Her lips were sweet and soft and perfect, and everything else fell away, just the two of us remaining.
This was what mattered. If this was how it felt to be with her, maybe we could figure it out.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I concluded when we broke the kiss, and she looked up at me with her hazel eyes. I realized she had golden flecks in them. “I never wanted to hurt you. I just…”
“Don’t date,” Oaklee finished for me.
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “It’s not that simple.”
“Would you like some coffee?” Oaklee asked. “Maybe we can talk about it.”
“Coffee would be great.”
“I only have instant,” she said, looking guilty. “Unless we order up.”
“Instant is perfectly fine.” I made a mental note. She could use a couple of things to make her life easier up here, and I intended to give them to her.
