Page 20

Chapter 19

Bossy, Domineering Alpha Male

Jemma

H is voice was dark, and proper … and full of menace.

The snarky spark within me flared to life. The one that he always seemed to awaken.

I patted Esther’s hand and extricated myself from her grip. “If you’ll excuse me for just a moment. My … boyfriend … is a tad overprotective.”

Jules was staring up at SJ with bulging eyes, mouth agape. On a mad whim, I leaned closer. “Fanfiction Draco Malfoy, am I right?”

I winked, grinning at Jules’s shellshocked expression, and finally turned to see him looming over me.

I’d thought I would be prepared for what I’d find, but no …

SJ, hair perfectly quaffed, forearms perfectly defined, a hint of pecs at the open collar of his shirt. Eyes blazing with … something devious, no doubt … and lips pursed in a pouty frown. The damn devil took my breath away. It took me a hot minute to get my brain to act and send messages to my mouth.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

The pout ticked up at one corner. He leaned closer, one big, warm palm engulfing my hip, his lips at my ear. “I would have thought you’d be constantly looking over your shoulder, awaiting my next visit.”

I inhaled his smoky, spicy scent, and my stupid, hormonally charged body lit up like a Christmas tree. One hand tangled in the front of his shirt, holding him close.

“What do they want from you?” he asked, his voice rough and growly. His words snapped me out of my horny haze just enough to respond a little acidly.

“I was about to negotiate that with them, before you interrupted.”

A rumble erupted from his chest, vibrating through me where our bodies touched. Which was far, far too many places, I realised. I was curled into him. Embarrassingly so. I forced myself backwards. His fingers gripped me tighter, hauling me against him once more.

“Just remember that your soul is already mine.”

“Not yet it isn’t!” I hissed.

His face somehow managed to get closer to mine, his breath hot on my cheek. “Well, it’s not available for others to … bargain for.”

I shivered. Furiously. It was a furious shiver. “You do realise that in my almost thirty years of life, only once has anyone tried to make any sort of business deal out of my soul … and that someone is holding me far too close right now.”

Gosh, we were so close. But he didn’t release me. And I didn’t pull away.

I told myself I needed to keep up the facade that we were lovers. Why? Because I kept stupidly introducing him to everyone that way … what on earth was wrong with me?

No, it was smart. I was already lying to so many people. Adding different lies into the mix was a recipe for me blurting the wrong thing to the wrong person and all my lies crashing down around me.

Yes. That was why I was keeping up this fake dating ruse. That was the only reason.

“Just don’t … concede more than you’re willing to part with …” he warned.

I sneered. “Oh, so not like I did with you?”

His eyes flickered, his lips pressing together. At my waist, his fingers dug into my skin. Heat flooded me … and not just where he was touching.

“Not like that,” he agreed.

“Uh, we can come back later, if you two have some … stuff, to do.”

I blinked. Turned. Holy crap, how had I forgotten they were there? We had literally been arguing about them.

In too deep, Jem …

“No!” I shrieked, spinning out of his grasp and frightening poor Luci and Falcor, who hissed and scuttled into the little ferret igloo in her playpen. “Please don’t … I’m very interested in hearing what you have to say. He’s just leaving!”

“He is?” His tone was bemused. I glanced up at his frown.

“To get me some donuts,” I informed him. I flashed a little smile. “ Please , SJ?”

His face slackened, but his arms did the opposite, snaking around my waist and tightening. I only just managed to contain a scowl at how … nice … it felt having him around me, even though I knew he only saw it as protecting his possession.

Definitely over your head …

“I’m staying,” he said firmly. “Anything you have to say to Jemma, you can say in front of me.”

I rolled my eyes dramatically in Esther and Jules’s direction, and they smirked back at me. Silly, overprotective men, we all silently agreed.

I was the only one fuming about it, though.

“This would be a … talent exchange, for want of a better term,” Esther explained. SJ’s fingers dug into my belly, the tip of one finger finding my navel through the fabric of my dress. Every inch of me prickled with awareness.

Esther continued as if I wasn’t having some sort of existential crisis. “We think you’ve got exactly the right look for our marketing materials—pin-up girl slash sexy nerd. Not to mention you’re already well known in the ferret-having community, and you’re clearly not new to cosplay.” She gave my stall and all the adorable little costumes a lingering look.

“Pin-up girl?” SJ muttered, his tone confused. “Cosplay? Nerd? What are these terms?”

I fought a grin … and lost. “Sorry, he’s not from around here. A lot of our cultural references are lost on him.” I patted the big palm that rested on my belly. “I’ll explain later, sweetie.” I turned and threw him a saccharine grin. His eyes darkened, and his very prominent … something … started jabbing me in the back.

“So …” Esther continued as Jules smirked knowingly at me. “We want you to be our model. We’ll make you up, do a photoshoot, put you on our logo, our marketing materials, everything. We want you to be across the event. We’ll fully brief you so you can talk it up to your customers.”

My stomach jolted, and I was almost certain it had nothing to do with his proximity this time. “You want … me … to be a model and spokesperson for your event?” I asked faintly.

Jules nodded. “Absolutely!”

I shook my head. “But I don’t know what … how you …”

Esther patted me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll brief you fully on everything. You won’t be involved in the organisation, just in communication. And in return, your brand will be all over the marketing materials, you’ll have a prime location within the convention itself, and of course, people will likely want to have photos with you and Luci-Fur … which of course, we can charge a fee for.”

“What?” I blasted. SJ’s fingers flexed on my belly. “You’re not seriously telling me that people will want to pay money to be photographed with me!”

Esther’s grin was practically wicked. “By the time we’re finished with you, everyone will want a piece of you.”

A growl rumbled at my ear. SJ clearly didn’t like the sound of that.

“I’m in!” I blurted, snaking out my hand for them to shake. If he didn’t like it, it was probably a great idea.

“Really?” Jules practically squealed as Esther’s grin widened, and she reached for my hand.

“No!” SJ snapped, tugging me backwards. I squeaked as my feet left the ground.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, kicking frantically. He placed me back down, his arms a cage around me, so tight I couldn’t turn to give him a piece of my mind.

“You do not shake unless you know exactly what you’re getting into, Mouse,” he warned, his lips brushing my ear. I shivered, and he loosened his hold on me just long enough to turn me in his arms. His eyes were dark, his face stern … worried?

That couldn’t be right, though, could it?

“Get everything in writing, tell them you need to review the agreement before you decide.” His voice lowered, his eyes searching mine. “Have you not learned not to leap headfirst without reading the fine print?”

Heat flooded my cheeks. Here he was, the man … monster … devil … who had tricked me into selling him my soul, and he was warning me to be careful around contractual arrangements. Reminding me that I was being impulsive. Again.

I was a fool.

But he was right. I gave a small nod, and the crease in his brow eased.

“Can you put together an agreement and email it to me?” I asked, turning in his arms once more. “I’d love to see all the details laid out before I sign on the dotted line.”

Esther nodded, all business. “Smart choice. We’ll aim to have that to you by close of business Monday.” She plucked one of my business cards from the holder on the table as Jules browsed through the costumes. She picked up a fairy set in hot pink, holding it out to show Esther, who chuckled.

“He is a bit of a fae bugger, our Falcor.” Esther turned to me, proffering her black credit card. “Can you make him one? You’ve got his measurements?”

I grinned. “Absolutely!”

I took payment. SJ refused to let go of my waist, following me around like a conjoined twin. I wanted so badly to hate it.

But I couldn’t.

What is wrong with me? Oh, that’s right, ovulation hormones …

Jules scooped up a very reluctant Falcor, who dooked madly and looked ready to take off one of her fingers.

I giggled. “Well, it seems our ferrets have taken a shining to one another!”

Jules wrangled their monster boy while Esther handed her own card to me. “Any questions, give us a call, or email, or message us on socials. We’ll respond as fast as we can.” She gave me another shoulder pat. “I really hope we get to work together.”

She turned to leave, and Jules sidled up. I gave Falcor a scratch on the head. He only tried to bite me once.

“See you next time, Falcor! I’ll have your pretty pink costumes sent out to you as soon as I can. You look desperate to try them on!”

“You’ve got a good man there, Jemma,” Jules murmured, flashing me a sweet smile before following her partner off into the evening.

When they were safely out of hearing range, I slapped SJ on the hand repeatedly until he let me go.

“Where do you get off?” I demanded, stepping away from him. Brrr, it was so cold without his big, Hellishly warm body enveloping me. I rubbed at my arms, tugging my cardigan tighter around myself.

“Get off?” He frowned, mystified. I threw my hands up in the air.

“Acting all bossy, domineering alpha male! You were so rude to them!”

His frown deepened. “I was just trying to help.”

I opened my mouth to rant some more, but no words came. He had helped … in his own way. I would have jumped headlong into a partnership with Esther and Jules and their Ferretcon after a five-minute conversation with them. Which, in hindsight, was not smart.

Joe would very much approve of SJ. The thought only made me grouchier.

“Alright,” I huffed. “You might have had some good advice. But did you have to be so … beastly about it? Holding me tight and tugging me around like a doll?”

His eyes darkened. “Where I’m from, a handshake is a very serious commitment. I was … I am beginning to understand that here, it might be different.”

I rolled my eyes. “How serious can it be? You didn’t need to shake my hand to take a piece of my soul.”

He muttered something under his breath.

“What was that?” I demanded, folding my arms over my chest. His gaze found my cleavage, then darted away.

“Never mind.” He scratched at his head. “I just feel very … protective of you.”

“Protective of me?” I snorted. “Or of the soul inside me that you hope to harvest for your infernal misdeeds? I’m just a meat sack housing your precious commodity, aren’t I?”

His mouth twisted, and he stepped closer. “You are not!” he snarled. “And not everyone has pure intentions, Mouse!”

I gaped up at him. “Are you seriously lecturing me on pure intentions, Satan Junior?” I hissed. “Because I can tell you now, those women’s intentions are far purer than yours when it comes to me!”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “You have no idea, Mouse.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded. He just shook his head, turning his attention to the girls’ drawings of some of my designs.

“Harper did this one, didn’t she?” he murmured. I watched his fingers skim the little ferret in an angel costume.

“She did.” I stepped closer, my shoulder brushing his arm. “How did you …”

“I recognise the style, from her piece in the … healing centre.”

“Hospital,” I corrected automatically. We stood like that in silence, both staring at the angelic ferret drawing for what felt like an eternity. But I couldn’t step away. He was warm, and … something about him made me feel safe.

Get a frickin’ grip, Jemma Bliss! You are the opposite of safe with him!

I stepped away. “Donuts,” I blurted, my stomach fluttering wildly.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Donuts?”

I swallowed. “Yes, donuts. Go and get me some. If you’re going to lurk around here, at least make yourself useful.”

His lips twitched. “Gluten-free, am I correct?”

I narrowed my eyes. “You are. I think you know by now exactly the ones I want.”

“Oh, Mouse, I know what you want.” His voice was suddenly low, rough. The butterflies intensified. “Mind if I leave Beezle and Bub here to play with Lucifer?”

“It’s Luci-Fur, and do you have to? They’re very badly behaved.” I glanced down at Luci, who was absently batting at her squeaky toy, sulky little socialite she was.

I sighed. “Alright. They can stay. But if they cause even a fraction of the trouble they did last time, I will wring their little ferrety necks, and I won’t even feel a scrap of remorse!” What a lie.

He grinned, exposing his white teeth. The mischief in that smile reached all the way to his silvery-grey eyes.

My knees went weak, and I gripped the corner of the table for balance. He’d never smiled at me quite like that before. I couldn’t … I shouldn’t like it, but oh my gosh, I did.

Stand down, ovaries!

And suddenly, two black ferrets popped up from his shoulders, their red-tinged eyes bright and excited. Without tearing his gaze from mine, SJ lifted them into the playpen, where Luci greeted them with far more enthusiasm than they deserved, the little furry terrorists.

“Behave yourselves,” SJ warned, shaking a finger in their direction. I bit back a giggle as the three of them completely ignored him, launching into a very rough play wrestling match.

“I’ll return with donuts forthwith,” SJ said, one hand finding my elbow and giving it a gentle squeeze. My mouth wouldn’t work to retort. My entire being had been reduced to a scrambled mess of roiling hormones as I watched his perfect backside as he sauntered away.