Penny’s stomach growled, signaling that it was time for lunch. She glanced down at her watch and saw that it was time for her break.
“I think I got it,” Carla Sawyer remarked, making her last note in her notebook.
“I hope I have everything labeled for you to make it easy.” Penny smiled as she looked over at her coworker. Her day had been plagued with meetings. She was almost done with transitioning her clients to the other sales reps.
A knock at the door snagged her attention. To her surprise, Lydia opened the door and popped her head through. When Lydia had called, Penny had told her that she would come retrieve her guest.
“You have a visitor.” Lydia wagged her eyebrows. Butterflies swam in her stomach with the thought of the person who was standing behind her.
Drake.
She thought of nothing but him all day.
Penny looked past Lydia’s head and found Drake standing behind her secretary. He stood well over a foot taller than her. His dark eyes seemed to bore into hers as he waited for entrance.
“We’re just finishing up here.” Penny nodded at Lydia, signaling she could let Drake in. Lydia opened the door completely to allow Drake to pass. He strolled into the small office and stood off to the side, his intense eyes taking in everything.
“Thanks again, Penny. I’ll let you know if I have any questions,” Carla said as she stood from her chair and gathered her belongings. Penny watched as her coworker could barely take her eyes off Drake as she scurried from the room.
Penny breathed deeply as she stood from the chair. Just the sight of him in her office took her breath away.
“Hi.” She smiled as memories of the previous night came to mind. Her heart rate increased as she thought of a repeat session later that evening.
“Hello to you too,” he murmured, his eyes taking her in. His eyes did a slight peruse of her body from her heels, and back up to her eyes. Just that one look had her knees wobbling. How the hell did he do this to her?
“So, you’re Penny’s new boyfriend?” Lydia asked, leaning against the doorjamb. Penny glanced at her friend, not realizing that she was still standing there.
“I’m not sure we’ve put an official label on it yet,” he said, turning to the wide-eyed Lydia. Penny could instantly tell that she was captivated by Drake’s charm.
“No, we haven’t,” Penny agreed, walking around her desk.
“So, how about it?” Drake grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. Penny knew that he was putting on a show for Lydia, but little did he know that she would be spreading what she was witnessing as soon as she walked away. Or maybe he did know that. Maybe he could sense that Lydia was the office gossip. “Want to put a label on us?”
Penny wanted this to be real, not a show. Damn this stalker. Why couldn’t she have met Drake under normal circumstances?
“Sure, if you are.” She smiled up at him as he brought her close.
“Wow,” Lydia gasped. Penny couldn’t tear her eyes away from Drake’s. “I’ll leave you two alone. Have a great lunch, Penny.”
The door shut as he leaned in and kissed her. She immediately opened her mouth to welcome his tongue. Hers was not shy in meeting his. She wanted more. She gripped the front of his jacket and stood on her tiptoes, threading her hands together at the base of his neck. A light rumble came from his chest as he brought her closer. She could feel his hardness pushing against her stomach. How she wanted to just push everything off her desk and let him take her there, but they couldn’t.
“I thought we were to put on a show in front of people,” she gasped, ripping her lips from his.
“That was for me. I’ve been wanting to do that since you left me,” he murmured against her lips. He gripped her ass tight in his hand and pushed his length against her. “As much as I would love to take you on your desk, I think that would have your coworkers in an uproar. The nosy woman is still standing at the door.”
“What?” she gasped, pulling back. “How do you know that?” she whispered.
“My hearing is very sensitive.” Stepping away from her, she watched as he moved around her office. She tried to see her office through his eyes. Compared to his massive one, hers looked like a closet. She had been proud when she’d finally earned a private office. It was one of the perks of being top salesperson in the company. Her hard work had paid off. “She’s gone now.”
“Is there anything else that I should know about your…um…other side?” she asked. He had promised her that they would speak of his abilities later.
His eyes darkened as he looked at her. “Later.” He smiled softly as he walked around the small office and made his way back to her. “Come on. Let me feed you.”
“Thank goodness. I’m famished.” She nodded as her stomach growled. She could feel her cheeks warm as he chuckled and ushered her to the door.
“But first, I want you to introduce me to people as we make our way out.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He’s here.”
“Where are we going now?” Penny asked as he pulled the car away. Earlier, she had introduced him to a few people who were still lingering around as they left for lunch. It gave him the chance to get their scents. The wolf in him wanted to try to sniff the stalker out. His gut feeling was that it was one of her coworkers, and he always trusted his gut.
Always.
He wanted to make sure that if they came across the person later, he would be able to recognize them. She’d introduced him to her mentor and a few others before he whisked her out of the office.
Nothing.
He’d taken Penny to a small cafe near her office for lunch and fed her. The beast and the man wanted to take care of her, and feeding her gave him pleasure. It was his job to make sure his mate was cared for and needed for nothing.
“We’re going by my office. My men have been working on the email you sent me, trying to track down where it originated from.”
Her face lost a little color at the mention of the email, but she nodded.
“If we figure that out, then we can get the guy, right?”
“Yes.” He grabbed her hand, needing to touch her. Placing a kiss on the back of it, he intertwined their fingers together. He didn’t take his eyes off the road as he held her tight. “Tell me what you planned to do with your newfound wealth.” He knew he needed to distract her, get her talking to take her mind off the person stalking her.
“Well first, I want to travel. I want to see more of the world. I’ve traveled, but it’s basically been for work. This time, it will be for pleasure, and I can take my time becoming worldly.”
He could feel her the muscles in her hand relax. He glanced over at her and found her smiling. The late afternoon sun came into the car window, highlighting her profile.
Mate.
He swallowed hard as he turned back to the road.
He would have to tell her soon, as his wolf was getting impatient. It wanted to claim her.
Now.
“I want to go to Rome. Have you ever been?”
“Yes, I have.” He cleared his throat. “It’s beautiful. Full of history.”
They began to chat about places they had been. He loved listening to her talk about the cities she had placed on her bucket list. He wanted to be the one who took her wherever she wanted to go, wanted to be there to watch her face as she took in all the sites. He tightened his hand on hers and brought it to his lips again.
Twenty minutes later, he parked his sedan in front of his office building. Pride always filled his chest as he looked at the building he and his brothers had built. Their insignia stood out against the building.
“Mr. Ransly,” the valet gushed, opening the door.
“Don’t scratch it,” Drake ordered, tossing the keys to him.
“Yes, sir.” The valet got inside the car as another one helped Penny from her side. He stalked over to her, his eyes narrowed on the valet.
“I have her,” he snapped, taking Penny’s hand.
He had to push his beast down to keep it from growling. It didn’t want any other man touching their Penny. He led her into the building, keeping her close to him.
“I know we said we’d put on an act for my company, but do we have to here?” she asked with a shaky laugh. “I should be safe here.”
“What are you talking about?” He frowned as he led her through the lobby toward the bank of elevators, his eyes scanning for anything out of the ordinary. His wolf settled as no threats were detected.
“The possessiveness. The almost caveman routine you put on when any man comes near me. You might as well stamp a sign on my ass, claiming me as property of Drake Ransly,” she chuckled.
He thought about it for a brief moment. Putting a sign on her ass to ward off males was tempting. She did have a nice round ass, and he knew that other males thought so too. He’d caught a few men just today, staring at it as she walked by. He sent each of them glares that left them trembling in fear. But no, he didn’t want a sign on her ass, as nice as it was. Drake wanted his mark on her.
His claiming mark.
The elevator doors opened and he quickly ushered her inside.
“What if I don’t want to pretend anymore?” he asked. He punched a code in with the floor numbers, knowing that the elevator would take them to a secured location beneath the ground. The car began to make its descent to a level beneath the building that was not marked on the elevator’s panel.
Her eyes widened at the admission. He didn’t want to pretend. He knew that they would need to, but he wanted it to be real. Fuck putting on a front for the assignment; she was meant for him. He’d dreamt of the day that he would find his Penny. Now that he knew the penny he had chased in his dream was really Penny Berkey, he would never let her go.
“Wow. But…we just met,” she stuttered. Her hand shook slightly as it pushed her hair behind her ear.
“And I’ve already tasted you.” He moved closer to her, trapping her against the wall. The memory of his tongue trailing along her curvy body and dipping down to her slick folds had his chest rumbling. He wanted more. He wanted to hear her call out his name again as her body shook from her orgasm, the orgasm that he gave her. He tipped her chin up so he could see her eyes. “And I want more. Much more. I want all of you.”
Her eyes fluttered closed before opening again, and focused on him. He held his breath as he waited for her response.
“I want more too.”
He crushed his mouth to hers, loving how responsive her body was to his. Her mouth instantly opened and granted his tongue entrance. She tasted as sweet as before. Her taste and scent were like an aphrodisiac for his wolf. He wanted to consume all of her.
He pulled back as the elevator announced their arrival to the secret level of the building.
“Later,” he murmured, swiping his thumb against her plump bottom lip. Her dazed eyes showed that she was affected by him as much as he was affected by her. As much as he wanted to push her up high on the wall and plunge his cock inside of her, he knew the elevator was not the place. There were cameras inside the car, and he’d be damned if he gave his employees a show. He took a deep breath, and could smell the strong aroma of her arousal. He cursed slightly, knowing he was about to take her back to his men who were all shifters, and would smell it too.
“Is that a promise?” she asked, pushing off the wall. Her lips curved up into a small smile as he grabbed her hand and led her from the elevator.
“Think of it as a guarantee.”