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“Wow, really? Didn’t strike you as the dating type.”
“I’m not.”
“Youdefinitelydon’t strike me as the ‘hit it and quit it’ kind of—”
“I don’t think this line of questioning is prudent.”
“Fine, fine.” She’s nodding at the air again, her nose doing that thing once more thatdefinitelymust be a habit. I can’t decide if it isannoying or endearing. “So, this whole thing still seems more to your benefit than mine. I mean, I want to get a break from the dating scene, not land a whole-ass fake mate.”
“My scent would keep every shifter within a ten-mile radius from evenconsideringapproaching you romantically.”
I watch her eyes widen, the soft pink of her mouth parting in quiet surprise at the certainty in my tone. “How can you be sure?”
“Because no one who scented me on you would dare touch you.”
She looks surprised again, that same part to her mouth, but there’s something else there now. Something that blends with her surprise and looks oddly like curiosity again. I think I can safely assume I am the first alpha she’s ever come across. Not a far-fetched idea, given that I only know one other than myself. I watch the slim line of her throat bob with a swallow, her lips pressing together as she averts her eyes.
“Interesting,” she counters quietly.
I can see the thoughts practically racing in her head, her expression calculating as she appears to consider every possible angle of what I’m offering, or rather, requesting.
“So, what, we just... spend our lives in mutually beneficial fake love?”
Now it’s my turn to wrinkle my nose. “Hardly. I just need to buy myself some time to figure things out.”
“Makes sense,” she answers offhandedly, still appearing deep in thought. “So, like, a couple of weeks? A month?”
“I’m not sure,” I tell her honestly. I still don’t know if it’s a good idea to be laying all my cards out for this woman I’ve hardly ever spoken to before today, but at this point, I’m in it now. “I have a job offer in Albuquerque that I am considering. They’ve beenheadhunting me for a while, and they’ve offered me a chief of staff position. Their opinions on my alpha status are not as dated as those of the board here, and given my perfect record here...”
“But if they found out you’ve been lying—”
“I wouldn’t call it a lie,” I argue.
“—that you’ve been purposelyomittingyour alpha status the entire time you’ve been working here...”
I nod solemnly, not ashamed of my omission, since it’s a ridiculous stigma to begin with, finding it a necessary evil. It’s not as if they specificallyaskfor this clarification during an interview, given that doing so could potentially draw in accusations of discrimination, and it’s this minor detail that has helped ease any guilt I might have had for not mentioning it. “It could potentially paint an unflattering picture of me. Also something I’d rather not leave to chance.”
“So we’re mates till this blows over, and then you disappear, and we fake break up?” She looks contemplative. “Can mated pairs even break up?”
“With difficulty,” I inform her. “It’s an option, to be sure. Or you can continue to use my name to get you out of dates, if you prefer. It doesn’t matter to me. You can spin whatever story you like when I’m gone.”
“How romantic,” she laughs.
“I assure you, this is a business transaction, Dr. Carter. Romance won’t be a part of it.”
She smiles wide then, all perfect white teeth and little dimples in her cheeks that my eyes linger on for a second too long, seeming to be finding this entire conversation mildly amusing. “Right,” she says. “That sounds perfect.”
I feel the knot in my stomach begin to unwind, but only slightly. “It does?”
“I mean, I get to be free of the dating sceneandhave a leg up on the Boogeyman of Denver General?”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t worry, they don’t actually call you that.” At my frown, she adds, “Well,mostof them don’t.”
“Does this mean...” I can actually feel nerves fluttering in my chest, the possibility of all my hard work slipping through my fingertips because of something as silly as my genetic makeup being utterly unacceptable. “Does this mean that you’ll do it?”
“Hm.” She taps her chin with her finger, looking more pleased with herself than I’d like. “I mean, itdoessound kind of fun.”
