"Do you really hate me that much?"
"I don't hate you." Julie hesitated. "I...I don't dislike you."
"So you like me?"
Ryan's tiger began bounding out happily. It knew the answer but Ryan wanted to be sure.
"A little." Julie admitted. A blush started across her cheeks. "As much as one can like their boss."
Ryan sighed. He stood and came round to her side. Julie's eyes widened as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Ryan brushed that stray strand of hair that always drove him mad and cupped her cheek in his head.
"I don't mean to be a bastard." He said softly. "But you drive me crazy, Julie. I don't know what to do with myself around you. You have me all in knots."
Julie blinked.
"I have you in knots?"
Ryan looked at her mouth and knew he couldn't stay away much longer. He drew her closer to him.
"Yes." He growled. "You do."
He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.
#
Julie's head was spinning. Ryan was kissing her. Really kissing her. And it shouldn't be feeling this good.
She clutched onto him as he pulled her against him and gently brushed his tongue across her lips, opening her mouth to his ministrations. His tongue tangled with hers and Julie was lightheaded; this man was going to have her as a melted puddle on the floor if he kept this up.
But she managed to get some strength to pull away, ducking her head to the side as Ryan tried to follow her. He settled for kissing her neck, nipping gently at the skin.
"Should we be doing this?" Julie asked breathlessly as she clutched onto him.
"Maybe not." Ryan groaned, not stopping his attentions to her neck. "But I can't help myself around you."
"Men have said that before." Julie was aware of his hand drifting down her back towards her waist. "I've never believed them."
It was at this that Ryan drew away, surprise showing on his face.
"Why not?"
"Because it's always untrue."
Julie couldn't understand what was going on. Her boss was kissing her, something she had dreamed about for some time, and she was backing away by saying these stupid things.
Insecurity was a bitch.
Ryan growled and picked her up, turning and setting her down on the edge of the table. He pushed her legs open and stepped between them, his hands on her bare thighs as her floaty skirt shifted up her legs.
"Do you believe me?" He asked quietly.
His hands drifted further up, going under her skirt to her hips. Julie shuddered as his fingers brushed against her panties.
"Yes."
"Thank God."
Gripping her backside, Ryan pulled her towards him, his erection rubbing against her center as he kissed her. Julie wrapped her arms round his shoulders and locked her legs around his waist as he thrust against her, his cock rubbing against her enough to have fireworks going off behind her eyes. She had been depriving herself of sex for so long that he was giving her mini orgasms and he hadn't even fucked her yet.
She was vaguely aware of a ripping sound and then Ryan's hands came out from under her skirt, holding the remnants of her panties. He tossed them to one side as he broke the kiss and gave her a grin that made Julie glad she was sitting down.
She could hardly breathe as Ryan pushed her skirt high up around her waist and shoved her legs out wide, leaving her pussy on display. He brushed his fingers across her curls and groaned.
"God, you're so wet." Julie gasped as he pushed a finger into her and his thumb rubbed against her clit. "And so tight."
"It's been a while." Julie managed to say.
She leant back and rested onto her elbows, her head falling back as Ryan pumped his finger inside her tight sheath, rubbing against the sensitive nerves inside her. Then his hand left her and was replaced a moment later by his mouth. Julie bit back a cry as his tongue flicked over her clit.
"Don't hide it, Julie." Ryan growled, his growl vibrating through Julie's body. "I want to hear you scream."
"But what if someone hears us?"
"We're the only ones in the office. And the sleeping quarters is nowhere near." Ryan nipped at the skin on the inside of her thigh. "Scream all you want."
Julie tried to say something but forgot all powers of speech when Ryan's tongue dived into her pussy as his thumb rubbed at her clit, thrusting deep.
She fell back onto the table and held on for dear life as he fucked her with his tongue, his hands holding her hips in place as she writhed, trying to get closer and away at the same time. He left nothing unloved in his ministrations and Julie couldn't take it.
Her orgasm hit her hard and Julie found herself screaming. She screamed his name, her thighs clamping around his head. But Ryan didn't let up, drawing out her orgasm until Julie was shuddering on the table, quietly begging him to stop.
Eventually, Ryan finished with one gentle kiss to her thigh and straightened up. His expression was wild as Julie looked up, their eyes locking. His eyes were completely gold, glowing even brighter as he looked at her. He was as turned on as she was.
Ryan reached for her and helped her to sit. Julie rested her head against his shoulder and he held her, stroking her sweat-soaked hair as their heart rates slowed. Her mind was in a whirl. She had just had this gorgeous man - this shifter - going down on her and she had climaxed hard for the first time in her life.
She had been missing a lot. Now she knew what the fuss was all about.
Chapter Five
"Bye, Julie."
Julie looked up from searching for her apartment key and saw Jayne waving from her car as she pulled out of her space. She waved back.
"See you on Monday, Jayne."
"Don't forget our lunch date on Sunday."
"I won't."
With a final wave, Jayne drove away, leaving Julie across the parking lot to where her and Ryan's apartments were housed. She found her key and virtually skipped across to her apartment.
It had been two weeks since she and Ryan had made their attraction aware to each other, since Ryan had made her come in his office, spread across his conference table while he feasted on her. By mutual agreement, they had decided to keep their fledging relationship quiet due to office ethics but Julie felt like everyone knew already.
A lot of the women gave her dirty looks and two of them had cornered her walking back to her apartment, threatening her to keep away from Ryan.
But Ryan's cousin, the ever-loyal Greg, had moved them on; warning them not to harm Julie or Ryan. Julie had guessed they were also shifters and weren't happy that Ryan was dating a human but she brushed it off. If they had a problem, they could lump it.
She didn't have a problem with being in a relationship with a shifter now. At the start, she was nervous, apprehensive with her early prejudices.
But Ryan had proved that he was different, showing her affections and emotions she didn't think she'd ever see in a partner. Her previous boyfriends always acted as if she should be grateful they were dating her but Ryan always made her feel like she was a queen.
They had shared several intimate moments in the office since that night. Ryan had made her climax several more times, both with his hands and his mouth, while Julie had returned the favour and reduced the big man to a shivering mass as she sucked his cock. She loved surprising him when she did that.
One time he had been on a conference call with Julie taking notes and Julie had gone down on him during the call. It had surprised Ryan but he wasn't complaining, even encouraging her and managing to carry on the conference call without any indication that he was otherwise engaged.
They hadn't had full-blown sex yet but Julie knew it was only a matter of time. She couldn't wait for that to happen. The way Ryan had been looking at her all day told her he was thinking about it, too. But he hadn't said anything, so Julie was left to wonder when he was going to pounce on her.
It had only been a short amount of time but she was beginning t
o fall for this shifter. He had blown all her hidden perceived opinions about shifters out of the water, showing himself to be sensitive, sweet and caring. Julie knew she was in danger of setting herself up for a fall but right now, she didn't care. She just wanted Ryan and everything that came with him.
She had four days left before the month was up. Julie needed to find a way to know Ryan's true feelings for her before she finished. If he had been leading her on for filling up the month, it was going to break her heart. But if he felt as strong feelings for her as she did for him then she would do everything she could to make it work.
Julie was still thinking about Ryan as she let herself into her apartment, digging into her purse for her cell phone. She had planned to call Charlie later tonight and tell him what she had been up to.
She had kept him in the dark about what she was doing but now things were drawing to a close, he deserved to know the truth. Charlie would be unhappy that she didn't tell him right away but Julie knew he would be supportive when he found out how she felt about Ryan.
But her euphoria turned to panic as she ferreted around. Her cell phone wasn't in her bag. Desperately, she searched her brain for when she had last seen it. Desperation turned to relief when she remembered that she had left it on Ryan's desk. At least, it hadn't fallen out her bag.
Realizing that she was going to have to traipse all the way back to get it, Julie tossed her purse onto the couch and left again, pocketing her key into her trousers. Hurrying across to the office building, she let herself back in and retraced her steps to Ryan's office.
The light was still on in his office as Julie entered. That was expected since Greg and Jeffrey Holmes, one of the work hands, had gone into conference with him as she was leaving. He hadn't told her not to bother them so it couldn't be that important.
Nevertheless, Julie was ready to knock and enter when she heard Ryan's voice.
"So you're absolutely sure about this? He's admitted to it?"
"Not to us but we managed to get a wiretap."
Julie paused. A wiretap? What was going on? She heard Ryan groan.
"Those are illegal, Greg. You could get into trouble."
"No one's going to know." Greg responded. "But Ian has spoken openly about it with his Beta and his girlfriend. He knows exactly what happened because he started the fire."
Julie's body went cold. They were talking about her cafe. It was the only fire that had happened recently. They knew who had set it.
Wait, they had mentioned Ian. They didn't mean...
"We've also managed to get a look at his bank accounts." Jeffrey added. "He withdrew hefty sums the same day as the fire. Two big payments. We found one payment went to one of his soldiers and the other went to Laura."
Oh, God. They really were talking about Ian. Laura's boyfriend. The man who seemed so pleasant towards her. He had taken away her livelihood.
And Laura had helped him. Julie leant against the doorframe and closed her eyes as she felt the tears welling up. Her best friend had turned her dreams into ashes because of her boyfriend.
"I didn't think she'd be involved." Ryan sounded almost reluctant at this news. "She and Julie are best friends. She's a cow of the highest order but Julie has always stuck up for her."
"That woman is a sociopath, Ryan." Greg declared. "She loves to toy with people."
"I take it she made the moves on you as well."
"In the past, I've flirted with the idea but once I found out she was the Alpha's girlfriend, I told her to back off. She wasn't happy with that."
"She's never happy unless she's sucking cock." Jeffrey grunted.
Alpha. Julie knew what that meant. The leader of the werewolf pack. Her head was spinning. Ian was a werewolf? And their leader? How could she have missed that? He didn't pass himself off as a leader at all.
"She would do whatever Ian told her to do." She heard Ryan said grimly. He snorted. "Of all the people I'd expect to be Alpha, he wasn't one of them."
"Looks can be deceiving." Jeffrey reminded him.
Ryan grunted.
"Have you got the evidence to hand, Greg?"
"Yes."
"Then go to the police and hand it in. Tell them what you found out but don't tell them that they're werewolves. If they know, they'll start a mass panic and that's what we don't want."
"You got it."
Julie heard them making their way towards the door and hurried to her desk, ducking down and hiding out of sight as the door opened. She heard two sets of footsteps make their way through the office into the corridor, the door closing behind them. It was only then that she stood up, fury building as the clarity of the situation hit her.
Laura had betrayed her. Ian had betrayed her. And Ryan had known all about it.
She stormed across the room and barged into his office.
"When were you going to tell me my best friend betrayed me?"
#
Ryan was stunned when the door banged open and Julie came charging in. He had seen her angry before but not this angry. Her face was red and her eyes were brewing up a storm ready to explode. He stood.
"How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough." Julie snapped. "Ian Galatia, a guy I've known for years, is the Wolf Alpha and my best friend is dating him. Is she his Lupa?"
Ryan blinked. She knew about werewolf ranks?
"No. Galatia isn't interested in her like that. Just for sex."
Julie snorted rudely.
"That would explain why he doesn't appear to care when she fucks any bloke with a pulse. But that doesn't explain why you didn't tell me the damn wolves were to blame for burning down my cafe."
Ryan sighed and came round the desk. He had hoped to avoid this confrontation but Julie wasn't giving him a choice anymore.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to do anything rash."
"Rash? What do you think I would've done?"
"Go to the cops. And they can't do anything. Wolf shifters are damn sneaky." Ryan approached her carefully, aware that she was simmering with anger and was likely to lash out at him.
"Nothing would stick and those who haven't been arrested would come after you."
"They've been my friends for years." Julie tilted her chin stubbornly at him. "They wouldn't hurt me."
"Yet they took away the most precious thing you have other than Charlie."
Ryan saw the indecision in Julie's face, the doubt creeping in. He wanted to go to her and hold her but guessed that Julie would push him away. He had, in effect, lied to her and she didn't like liars.
Julie shook her head and paced away from him.
"How did I never know they were shifters? I spotted you immediately but they never gave themselves away."
Ryan was caught off-guard with that comment. She knew he was a shifter? How...?
"How do you know I'm a shifter?" He demanded. "Come to think of it, how do you know about shifters?"
"I'm more open-minded." Ryan could see Julie knew more but didn't push it. She turned to face him. "And I knew you were a shifter when I witnessed your eyes change colour. That's a sure sign, I've heard. I don't know what you are yet but I'm guessing you're the leader if you're giving Greg the orders."
She was smart. Too smart. Ryan was almost proud of her. But this confrontation wasn't about him. This was about them and why he kept this secret from her, which he had only known about for the last week.
He had still not told her about it and she saw that as a betrayal.
"Ian's very careful. He's psychotic. He can make people believe that he's harmless but he is crazy. Laura, on the other hand, is human. I think she wants to be Ian's queen but Ian's just stringing her along. He'll tire of her one day."
Julie looked like she was still struggling with things in her head. She ran her hands through her hair, something she did when she was agitated.
"Why did you make me think you were involved?" She demanded. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Ryan sighed and appr
oached her slowly.
"I didn't say anything because I wanted you to focus your attentions on me. That way you didn't get hurt by those who really did this."
It had been painful to lie to her and not say a word but it was for her own protection. Ryan knew she would have charged off to find the culprits involved and be damned with the consequences. No way was he letting his mate go off half-cocked into the middle of a shifter pack.
Julie looked at him and Ryan was shocked to see the tears in her eyes.
"You made me hate you." She said hoarsely. She swiped at her face when a tear fell. "You made me..."
Her voice trailed off. Ryan's heart clenched and he went to her. He didn't like seeing her like this.
"Made you what?" He put his hands on her shoulders. "Julie? Made you what?"
Julie sniffed and lifted her head to look him in the eye.
"You made me have feelings for you." She croaked. "I hated you and I fell for you. How messed up is that?"
She had fallen for him. She loved him. Ryan could feel his beast roaring his appreciation and tampered it down. She didn't need to see that right now. He drew her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her head.
"That's not messed up, honey." He said quietly. "I've been falling for you since I met you. And you wouldn't give me the time of day. That's messed up."
"You love me?"
Julie looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. Ryan brushed his thumb across her wet cheeks and smiled.
"I do."
#
He loved her. Julie thought she had to be dreaming. Ryan loved her.
She didn't protest when Ryan kissed her, nibbling her lower lip and licking his tongue across the seam of her lips. Julie kissed him back, arching against him as his hand palmed her breast and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her lips parted and Ryan thrust his tongue into her mouth.
Her hands slid round his shoulders, her fingers dancing across the bunched muscles, and slipped her fingers through his hair. She whimpered as Ryan slipped his hand under her shirt and bra, running his thumb across her nipple.
The Tiger's Reluctant Mate: BBW Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Standalone (Hunky Shifters Book 2) Page 5
