with unease. What if I changed when he touched me? Sex was a solo act out of necessity.
But . . . everyone already thought Ramsey and I were doing the deed. I wondered if it’d be such a stretch. I wondered if Ramsey had ever thought about it.
As if he’d been summoned, the doorbell clanged. I looked up to see Ramsey in the doorway of the office. His big shoulders blotted out the early morning sunlight, casting a shadow over my desk, since it was the closest to the door.
I looked at him in surprise, my cheeks hot with a blush at my thoughts. Ramsey’s timing was . . . eerie. “Everything okay?”
He stepped toward my desk, and I noticed what he held in his hand—a lidded Starbucks cup and a small brown paper bag. As he extended the coffee to me, I took it, surprised.
I was even more surprised when he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “Have a good day at work.”
Then he strode back out of the office.
I stared after him, watching his broad back flex in the sunlight. He squinted, put on a pair of sunglasses and a Russell Security baseball cap, and got into his truck. I looked down at the cup in my hand. The closest Starbucks was at least ten minutes away. He’d gone to get it just for me?
Had he heard my offhand comment to Connor yesterday? Or had Connor volunteered it? Surely not, if Connor’s job was to entice me toward the pack. I looked at the werewolf, but he was still filing, a bored look on his face.
A small, polite cough caught my attention. I looked across to the other side of the room, and Bath pointed a finger at her monitor.
I glanced at my own screen. Bath had sent me a chat message. Boy, he’s really good at this pretending thing, isn’t he?
I’d say he was. The Starbucks was thoughtful. The kiss on my head afterward? Felt like something a real couple would have done. I didn’t want to share with my sister that I was having some not-so-fake thoughts about my fake mate. I typed back, Ramsey is very thorough. He wants to make sure this seems real.
As I typed it, I felt my heart drop a little. Was that all it was? That he was very good at details? Surely I was reading more into a cup of coffee than I should.
Another message pinged from my sister. Next time, tell him to bring me a coffee, too. I like decaf.
As the day wore on, my anxiety grew at the thought of the Anderson barbeque. I’d tried to weasel out of it, but Connor had been insistent, and my sister was enthused on my behalf.
“Think of all the pointers they can give you,” she said. “And you can tell them all about Midnight Liaisons. Maybe you can talk a few more of them into signing up with the Alliance. Think of yourself as an ambassador.”
Ambassador? Pointers? Like they were going to swap shape-changing stories over burgers and hot dogs? My sister had a strange idea of what this barbeque would be about. The queasiness in my stomach grew. “You sure you and Beau don’t want to come?”
“Can’t,” she said with a small grimace, typing at her desk. “We weren’t invited. Beau says it’s a major faux pas if we invite ourselves to a non-Alliance function.”
From what I knew of shifters, he was right. More like all-out war if they decided to interfere again. I sighed. I would have felt so much better with my sister at my side.
I cast a brief look over at Connor, who continued to file diligently. I pulled up my files on the Midnight Liaisons database. On a whim, I clicked on Ramsey’s profile again. He looked so surly. Big and surly. Was it a wonder the man didn’t date? I pulledup an instant message window to my sister, now curious.
How long has Beau known Ramsey?
Twelve years. His family took Ramsey in when he was exiled from his clan.
Why was he exiled?
Don’t know. Want me to ask Beau?
No, it’s okay. I didn’t want him to know I was asking questions about Ramsey. It would look like I was more interested than I should have been. I typed, Beau ever say anything about Ramsey’s dating
But . . . everyone already thought Ramsey and I were doing the deed. I wondered if it’d be such a stretch. I wondered if Ramsey had ever thought about it.
As if he’d been summoned, the doorbell clanged. I looked up to see Ramsey in the doorway of the office. His big shoulders blotted out the early morning sunlight, casting a shadow over my desk, since it was the closest to the door.
I looked at him in surprise, my cheeks hot with a blush at my thoughts. Ramsey’s timing was . . . eerie. “Everything okay?”
He stepped toward my desk, and I noticed what he held in his hand—a lidded Starbucks cup and a small brown paper bag. As he extended the coffee to me, I took it, surprised.
I was even more surprised when he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “Have a good day at work.”
Then he strode back out of the office.
I stared after him, watching his broad back flex in the sunlight. He squinted, put on a pair of sunglasses and a Russell Security baseball cap, and got into his truck. I looked down at the cup in my hand. The closest Starbucks was at least ten minutes away. He’d gone to get it just for me?
Had he heard my offhand comment to Connor yesterday? Or had Connor volunteered it? Surely not, if Connor’s job was to entice me toward the pack. I looked at the werewolf, but he was still filing, a bored look on his face.
A small, polite cough caught my attention. I looked across to the other side of the room, and Bath pointed a finger at her monitor.
I glanced at my own screen. Bath had sent me a chat message. Boy, he’s really good at this pretending thing, isn’t he?
I’d say he was. The Starbucks was thoughtful. The kiss on my head afterward? Felt like something a real couple would have done. I didn’t want to share with my sister that I was having some not-so-fake thoughts about my fake mate. I typed back, Ramsey is very thorough. He wants to make sure this seems real.
As I typed it, I felt my heart drop a little. Was that all it was? That he was very good at details? Surely I was reading more into a cup of coffee than I should.
Another message pinged from my sister. Next time, tell him to bring me a coffee, too. I like decaf.
As the day wore on, my anxiety grew at the thought of the Anderson barbeque. I’d tried to weasel out of it, but Connor had been insistent, and my sister was enthused on my behalf.
“Think of all the pointers they can give you,” she said. “And you can tell them all about Midnight Liaisons. Maybe you can talk a few more of them into signing up with the Alliance. Think of yourself as an ambassador.”
Ambassador? Pointers? Like they were going to swap shape-changing stories over burgers and hot dogs? My sister had a strange idea of what this barbeque would be about. The queasiness in my stomach grew. “You sure you and Beau don’t want to come?”
“Can’t,” she said with a small grimace, typing at her desk. “We weren’t invited. Beau says it’s a major faux pas if we invite ourselves to a non-Alliance function.”
From what I knew of shifters, he was right. More like all-out war if they decided to interfere again. I sighed. I would have felt so much better with my sister at my side.
I cast a brief look over at Connor, who continued to file diligently. I pulled up my files on the Midnight Liaisons database. On a whim, I clicked on Ramsey’s profile again. He looked so surly. Big and surly. Was it a wonder the man didn’t date? I pulledup an instant message window to my sister, now curious.
How long has Beau known Ramsey?
Twelve years. His family took Ramsey in when he was exiled from his clan.
Why was he exiled?
Don’t know. Want me to ask Beau?
No, it’s okay. I didn’t want him to know I was asking questions about Ramsey. It would look like I was more interested than I should have been. I typed, Beau ever say anything about Ramsey’s dating
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