“Perfect.”
When Amy saw Mark come out of the elevator, wearing jeans and a cashmere sweater, she almost fainted. Nobody should look that good in jeans she thought, and clearly his tailor made suits were hiding what an incredible butt he had. Despite the fact that the clothing were clearly still designer, they made him look younger and much more laid back. She decided then and there to always suggest things that would get him to wear jeans.
Amy also immediately knew the doorman was gay, considering he gave Mark a very appreciating look as he walked out which Amy immediately countered with a look that told him Mark was hers and to back off. “I saw that,” Mark commented casually as they walked down the street.
“Saw what?”
“That look you just gave him. It’s flattering, I won’t deny it.”
“Don’t get too full of yourself.”
“Of course, wouldn’t dream of it.”
Throughout dinner they talked about fairly inconsequential things, and Amy found herself having a wonderful time. When she was in bed later that night, she found herself replaying it over and over in her head, wondering if she was really falling for her boss. She had always told herself she would not be one of those girls who starting dating someone at work, only for it to fall apart and become a complete disaster. Now she realized she wanted nothing more than to spend time with Mark, and she hoped she would be able to hide it.
Monday morning came quickly, and when Amy was getting ready for the day she realized she was incredibly nervous, which is why she was very thankful to see Lydia in her kitchen when she walked out. “I assumed you’d want a good breakfast before your first day. Mr. Carren said the meeting is at eight.”
“Thank you. That gives me thirty minutes to eat breakfast. It smells amazing.”
“Chocolate chip waffles with bacon.”
“Don’t do that every day, I’d be twice the size I am now by Christmas,” Amy chuckled.
Lydia just smiled as she put a plate in front of Amy before also putting a large cup of coffee in front of her. “Mr. Carren mentioned that you need coffee in the morning. He actually asked me to make you a large pot and make sure you drink at least two cups before leaving the house.”
“He has a point,” Amy said, trying not to smile at the fact that Mark had not only remembered, he also cared enough to let their housekeeper know. “My first talk to him was when I was low on coffee.”
“Mr. Carren is the same way, he drinks a lot of coffee. It is the first thing I do for all of you when I get up here in the morning.”
Amy thought about that while she ate her breakfast, finding it interesting that Mark had never mentioned his love for coffee in all his time with her, even though he had brought up hers several times. She also realized she was going to be late if she didn’t finish eating, and soon she was rushing out the door. A larger man, in his mid-forties she thought, with a friendly smile walked out of apartment A right around the same time. “You must be Amy.”
“I am. Kevin?”
“Sure am. You ready for your first day?”
“I just hope they accept me. I take it you don’t live at the office either?”
Kevin chuckled and shook his head as he pushed the button to go down to the lobby. “I do not. I love my job, but there is a limit to everything. So what did you do to get Mark to love you so much? He stopped by last night to tell me he hired you, which I knew he had been trying I just didn’t know he was successful, and he couldn’t stop talking about you.”
“I have no idea. Maybe it was simply time someone told him the truth?”
Kevin laughed out loud at that one and looked at Amy sideways as they walked out into the morning sun. “I like you. Assuming you’re as good at accounting as you must be for Mark to hire you, I could see us working together for a long time. I’d like you to meet my daughter, she’s coming next weekend.”
“I’d love to but I will tell you upfront I’m not great with kids.”
“Fair enough. If any of the employees give you a hard time, let me know. Don’t tell Mark, he’d just fire them.”
“Thanks. I’m sure I can handle it but it’s good to know I have people who will back me up if needed.”
The introduction to the employees went much better than Amy could have ever predicted. They welcomed her with open arms and it was clear the accounting department was happy to finally have leadership again. Susanna admitted that they’d all felt lost, and she had liked Amy from the moment they had started working together and was looking forward to that continuing.
Amy immediately got to work after the company wide meeting and called a small meeting with just the accountants and support staff. She made it clear that she wanted them to come to her with any questions or if they weren’t sure on something. She would also be evaluating their workloads and seeing where extra training might be needed. She made it clear to them that everyone could do everything if they were properly trained, and that she didn’t want one person having too much work while another held coffee breaks all day.
When she arrived home that evening and found Mark on her couch, holding out a glass of wine for her to take, she kicked off her shoes and gratefully took it before falling down on the couch. She knew it didn’t look graceful, but she was in her own home and if he chose to be there when she got home he better get used to her getting comfortable. “Thank you, this was just what I needed.”
“Julia is in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. I heard good things about you, and I won’t deny that I did a little bit of spying on your staff in the break rooms. They love that you’re there, and you are approachable and they love that you’ve taken charge right from the start. Do you want to go change into something more comfortable? You look great in that skirt, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t imagine it’s comfortable in any way.”
“It’s not, but I have this boss who I don’t think will appreciate me showing up to work in sweatpants. You are right though, I’m home now. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Mark laughed as Amy left the room, to return a few minutes later wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Amy didn’t miss the fact that his eyes roamed over her body when she walked back in, inwardly smiling as she knew that she had picked the sweatpants that framed her butt the best. Before she could sit back down there was a knock on the door and with her glass of wine still in her hand she went to open it. “Kevin! Come on in. I see you’ve brought a friend?”
“Wine? Sweatpants? From what I heard your first day wasn’t that bad,” Kevin laughed as he walked in, a young girl right behind him.
“Uncle Mark!” she yelled as she practically launched herself at the couch to hug Mark.
“Your daughter?” Amy asked.
“Yes. Caroline, be polite and come meet Amy. She’ll be living here.”
“Hi Amy,” Caroline said, not getting up from her place on the couch.
“Nice to meet you Caroline. Are you two staying for dinner?”
“Well I actually came to introduce Caroline and see if Lydia was here, which I see she is. I shouldn’t be surprised Mark is here as well.”
“He was here when I got home. I won’t go into the fact that he can get into my apartment, or that he left work before either of us.”
“That’s unusual. I would not mind staying for dinner if Julia made enough, and that wine looks amazing.”
Amy laughed and motioned for Kevin to sit before walking to the kitchen. “Is there enough for Kevin and Caroline to join us?”
“Absolutely. I was going to take some of this up to him anyway. Need a refill on your wine?”
“Yes, and one for Kevin please. I don’t know what Caroline drinks.”
“She loves tomato juice. I’ll get some.”
Somehow Amy managed to balance three glasses in her hands without spilling anything, and she handed Kevin his wine. “I have been told you like tomato juice?” Amy asked Caroline as she handed her the glass.
“Love it but daddy won’t let L
ydia buy it for us.”
“Well then you’ll just have to come over here because I saw a lot of it in my fridge.”
Amy sat back down on the couch, smiling when Caroline remained leaned up against Mark. He was clearly good with her, and she didn’t think there was anything better than a man who was good with kids.
“Why are you with your dad today?” Mark asked.
“I got in trouble at school and got grounded, but mom had to work so she dropped me off here. I like it better here anyway, at mom’s I’m always alone until she comes home but here I have you guys and Lydia and John.”
“What did you do to get in trouble?”
“It’s nothing Uncle Mark. It was stupid.”
“Young lady, that’s not what I asked.”
Amy almost raised an eyebrow at how stern Mark suddenly was with her, and she looked at Kevin who appeared to find this normal. Seeing her look, Kevin explained. “Mark pays for her schooling as part of my benefits package, but in return she has to work hard and do well. Mark says as long as she tries her best he’s happy, but he takes an active interest in making sure she’s getting the best education she can possibly get. Private schools can get really expensive, and I’m very grateful to work for someone who values education.”
Amy just nodded that it made sense, watching Caroline try to squirm away from Mark. So Mark really cared about his employees, and he knew that Caroline deserved the best education she could get which he was able to provide. The fact that he actively stayed on top of her studies instead of just paying the bill and forgetting about her said a lot. Amy knew she was lost, and if Mark were to invite her into his bed she knew she’d say yes.
“Uncle Mark, it’s fine, really.”
“Young lady you have three seconds to tell me what got you in trouble or you can go stand in the corner.”
“It’s not fair! Mom already lectured me!”
“Caroline, just tell him,” Kevin said calmly. “You know you will eventually anyway, and you like it when Uncle Mark cares about what’s going on in your life.”
“Fine. I didn’t do my math homework and when my teacher asked about it I said a bad word.”
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Mark asked, pulling her back into a hug. “What are you doing after dinner?”
“I have a feeling that regardless of what I had planned I’ll be doing homework.”
“Excellent. Then I will say no more on it. I think dinner is about ready, you want to move to the table?”
Amy loved the evening they all spent together, as it appeared Mark was more relaxed and they simply enjoyed their time. Nobody brought up work, and when Caroline was sent to go get her homework she was allowed to do it at Amy’s kitchen table so she could still be in the room with them. It felt so normal that Amy wanted every evening to be like that.
A week later Mark was once again in her apartment, waiting for her when she arrived home, once again holding a glass of wine. “You really are allowed to do this every day, you know that right?” Amy asked as she took the glass of wine.
“I don’t know that,” Mark replied calmly. “You don’t mind that I’m here?”
“Not at all. I find myself enjoying your company and find myself missing something when you aren’t here. I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud.”
“I’m glad you did. I realized the same thing, and felt drawn to come here every day but stopped myself; thinking you wouldn’t want me to.”
“Don’t stop yourself in the future.”
“Look, I want to date you properly,” Mark said after a moment’s pause. “Even though it might not be entirely proper considering we work together, but I’ve wanted to since the moment we met. There are some things you need to know about me before we ever could though, and I’m afraid it might ruin what we have now.”
“Is whatever this is something Kevin knows about?”
“Yes, he does. He’s actually the only one who does.”
“Then whatever it is, it won’t affect how I feel. He is a great guy and he would never let his daughter near anyone he had doubts about. So what is it?”
“Almost sixty years ago, my parents had to move from where they were for fear of their lives. They had to abandon everything they had and everything they knew and move to this world they knew nothing about, and where they wouldn’t be accepted if people knew. They adopted a different look to fit in, and soon they had established themselves here in the city. When I was born, I had to change my looks as well and as I grew up I was comfortable in these new looks. However, I knew that inside I would always be different and that any children I had would always be different. I have been very successful in life, and I’ve been afraid it would all get ruined if people found out, so I haven’t told anyone. Kevin knows because there are certain times that I have to get rid of my other look and just be myself, and he knows not to disturb me no matter what when I do that. I’m sure you’ve seen movies about aliens and all that, and a lot of that isn’t true, but some of it is. Aliens exist, despite what many people believe, and they are often much more intelligent, business and technology savvy than humans. They don’t usually come to this planet for any reason because the atmosphere is so different than on their home planets, they simply don’t like it. Amy, my parents weren’t from this planet and I’m not fully human.”
Amy looked skeptical, thinking this couldn’t be true and was some kind of strange joke, but seeing how serious Mark was she knew she didn’t have a choice but to believe him. “I see. It’s hard to believe so I’m sorry if I seem skeptical. Do you have proof?”
Mark nodded and stood up. “There is a reason I asked Lydia not to be here until later. I’m going to change forms, but please don’t run away until I’ve changed back? I want to be able to talk about it.”
“Fair enough. Go ahead,” Amy replied, still not believing it was real. How could it? Aliens didn’t exist and while she knew there was a good chance there was life on other planets they didn’t know about, she didn’t believe they could actually come to earth.
Her mouth dropped open as she watched Mark close his eyes before suddenly it was like an invisible shield had fallen. His skin started disappearing, as did all his other features, and she couldn’t describe what was underneath it all. It was about the same height as Mark had been, and stood on two legs with what looked like two arms, but it’s head almost connected with its torso (could you even call it that?) and was much smaller. The strangest thing about it was that it was almost completely translucent, and no organs were visible from what she could see so she assumed it didn’t have any. She knew her reaction should be one of fear and shock, possibly even coupled with some nausea, but all she felt was turned on. It was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen and she found herself getting up and walking over to it, getting an up-close look. There didn’t appear to be a mouth or nose, but the eyes were big in the small head. There were only two fingers on the end of each arm without a distinct hand.
She reached out to touch it, and it let her before the arm reached around her and pulled her into a hug. She realized it felt just as soft as human skin, and she felt comfortable in that hug. She also wanted more, but had already seen that wasn’t going to be possible as it didn’t have any sexual organs.
She stepped back and waited for him to put his human appearance back on, watching in fascination as Mark came back and looked at her with a smile. “You didn’t run.”
“That has to be the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I would have jumped you like that except I don’t think it’s possible, is it?”
“It’s not, since my species reproduces differently, but like this it is perfectly possible. Like this my body serves as a way to transfer my genes to you, and have you fall pregnant with a baby who is of my species as opposed to merely human. It’s also why I have to wear a condom unless you want to become pregnant because it only takes once. Birth control doesn’t stop it and you don’t have to be ovulating either.”
“Int
eresting. Condom it is then, at least for now. You have some?”
“Yes. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you should come with me to my bedroom. Come on Mark, don’t deny you want this because I know you do.”
“There’s one other thing. I can’t have sex with someone I don’t love, or with whom I’m not intending to marry. I had a brother who tried and there is a reason I’m an only child now.”
“I see. Do you love me?”
“I do. Do you want to marry me?”
“Not right now, but if you’re willing to take it slow? I don’t know what it is about you but in the span of two weeks I find myself wanting nothing more.”
“Then let’s take it to the bedroom,” Mark said as he grabbed her by the hand and started leading her down the hall. Once inside he turned her around and started undoing the zipper on her dress slowly, before letting it slide down her shoulders and back. Amy was instantly glad she had decided to wear matching lingerie that day, which she often didn’t bother with, and knew she looked good. She once again imagined Mark as he had been in the living room and felt excitement course through her. As soon as she was out of her dress she turned around again and started undoing the buttons on Mark’s shirt, realizing that his clothes had disappeared and reappeared along with his skin. She’d have to ask him about that later.
It took all of five minutes before they were both completely naked, at which point Mark turned her around with her back flush against him and reached a hand around to finger her. When she looked down, it was a translucent arm and she almost came undone right there. “I can turn only parts of me at will,” Mark whispered in her ear. “Get on the bed.”
Amy immediately obeyed and pulled back the covers before getting on the bed, looking back to see Mark, once again fully human. He looked magnificent and she couldn’t take her eyes off him, especially once she realized how large he was. Mark joined her on the bed, letting his hand run over her breasts and starting to kiss her before moving to lay right on top. She knew she didn’t need foreplay, and clearly he was ready as well. It was obvious that the revealing of his real self had turned Mark on while it had done the same for Amy, and she waited patiently when he put on a condom, knowing it was necessary.
ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) Page 9
