Maiden and the Lion (Lions of Manhattan 2)

“Escort?”

“You drive a van, right. I’ll follow you to make sure you get home safe and sound.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary, Mr Larousse.”

“Bea, this is not negotiable.”

“I can take care of myself, really, Mr…”

“Bea!”

“But, sir…”

Suddenly, Alex grabbed her and silenced her with a kiss. His lips plastered hers hungrily, kissing her with heat.

Her brain turned to mush. She couldn’t think. The way he kissed her, demanding, so possessive, made all the bones in her body melt like wax. When he parted his lips, Bea was all dreamy. Had he really just kissed her? Was this only her hallucination?

“Mr Larousse,” she slurred. Her knees weakened.

“Now listen to me, you drive home and rest. I’ll follow you from behind. And don’t argue.”

“Yes, sir.” He kissed me. Holy shit. Alex kissed me. For real. She gathered her things in her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Alex followed her to the parking lot. He caught her stealing a glance at him. He smiled. Her heart stammered. Alex smiles! No more grumpy Alex. And he looked so damn good when he smiled. Heat burned her cheeks. She was giddy when she got into her van. Her hands trembled from the excitement and it took her a few tries to put her key in the ignition.

She pulled out from the parking lot and into the main street. Alex’s Audi stalked behind. Bea couldn’t let him know that she was homeless. So, she planned to drive to her dad’s house, pretend she was still living there, and take off when Alex left. She looked at the time. Ten past eleven. And in the midweek like this, her dad would be still in the bar until closing time around four a.m.. She still had the house key so she could let herself in without suspicion.

Forty-five minutes later, Bea entered a rundown neighbourhood and veered into a cul-de-sac. Her dad’s house was the one at the end of the block. It was a two-storey brick house with a rotting porch and windows that needed dire replacement. She parked in front of the house and walked into the yard after giving a wave to Alex. Alex waved back.

The house looked empty and Bea was silently glad for that. She didn’t have the energy to face her drunken father and have another fight. She went in the front door and turned on the light. Alex was still outside. Five minutes later, she turned the living room light off and headed upstairs to her own room. She turned the light on and spied on Alex from the window. She saw Alex pulled out and drove away slowly. She exhaled a relieved breath. She couldn’t stand playing this charade a second longer. This house gave her the creeps. All the bad memories in this place suffocated her.

Bea stalked down the stairs and peeked again to see if she had successfully fooled her boss. Alex was gone. She tiptoed out and got into her van. She drove to her office building to spend the night in the parking lot.

Bea had a fitful sleep and woke around four. Since she couldn’t go back to sleep, she decided to go to work. She could use the rest room to change clothes and wash up and brush her teeth, and the break room for coffee and breakfast, and surfing the Internet to kill time. She couldn’t wait to get her pay cheque. She sighed. There was no use crying over spilt milk. She was on her own now. Being independent. She was a big girl.

A short while later, she flounced to her desk with a cup of hot coffee from the break room. She paused when passing Alex’s office. She grinned dorkily. He had kissed her, and what a hot kiss it had been. Bea wondered why he’d done it. Did he actually like her? Or had he just wanted to shut her up? Either way, it was a dream come true. She touched her lips, reminiscing about the way he had kissed her. God. Those warm lips. That passionate kiss. She could get used to it.

Silly. Bea shook herself from the daydream. He had probably just wanted to shut her up. He couldn’t be attracted to her. She was only his receptionist. And he had never shown any signs that he liked her before. Maybe he was grateful to her. After all, she had saved him from drowning in the river. Yeah, that was what it was about. It was a funny way to show his gratitude. But she didn’t mind. At least he wasn’t snappish anymore. She could live with that.

Bea glanced at her wristwatch. Five a.m. She trudged to her desk and placed the coffee cup near the monitor. She grabbed her purse to find a lipstick. She frowned when she saw Alex’s wallet. She had forgotten about it when she had met him last night. The kiss and all. Well, she could give it to him later if he came in.

But Alex was a no-show today.

He still didn’t call. Sarah Krueger instructed her to halt all Alex’s appointments until he came back. He was indisposed, Sarah said. That only made Bea more curious. He certainly wasn’t indisposed. He’d looked healthy enough when she had seen him last night. Could his injury have mended? He hadn’t flinched or acted like he was hurt or anything. Perhaps being a werelion gave him a supernatural ability to heal fast.

And why had he been spying on her in the gym? He had wanted to make sure she got home safe and sound. She had nothing to do with Alex’s business. All she’d done was pull him out of the water. Perhaps the man who had shot Alex was now after her too because of it. Bea gripped the edge of her desk. She hadn’t thought about that possibility. What kind of business was Alex tangled up in? Bea was curious. She wished she could be a hel

p. He was her boss, after all.

She waited until the business day was over. Her boss was still a no-show. Since she had nothing to do other than go back to her van, she decided to return the wallet to Alex’s apartment. He must have been to his home at some point, considering that he had changed clothes and all. And after that, she would go back to the office and surf the Internet until bedtime.

Using Alex’s special passkey, she got into the private elevator and onto his floor. She swiped the card again and it gave her entry into her boss’s lair. With a thundering heart, she pushed the door open.

Alex’s apartment was as luxurious as she would have imagined. The walls were painted in subtle beige tones that matched his furniture. The place was decorated in a modern style. Leather upholstered sofas, a dark dining set, monochromatic draperies that looked very tasteful. All together, it created a very cosy yet high-end bachelor pad.

Bea whistled in amazement. She wished she could live in a swanky place like this. Her dad’s house was a hand-me-down from her grandparents, including the furniture from the fifties. As much as she had tried to keep it clean, her dad was a drunken slob. Empty cans of beer and liquor bottles littered every available surface. Dirty clothes were haphazardly strewn on the carpet. The stench of nicotine seeped into the furniture from his habit of chain-smoking.

Alex’s apartment was beyond clean. The air even smelt good. Bea looked at the source. Alex had an aromatic diffuser on the kitchen countertop.