Eligible Billionaire: Alpha Mated #1 (Alpha Billionaire Werewolf Shifter Romance) (3 page)

The apartment building wasn't exactly high living. The wallpaper, what little remained, peeled off the walls in large strips, and sat on the worn wooden floor boards. All the doors to the apartments looked like they saw better days during the Biblical Flood, and the inhabitants weren't much better to look at. We creaked and groaned down the hall with Dives and the floor alternating with the groaning.

We reached my door, the spacious apartment at the end of the hall. I fumbled for my keys and inserted the right one into the lock.

"Who have you got there?"

I froze and winced. My mind worked on a terrible excuse as I looked over my shoulder at the middle-aged occupant of the room next to mine. She wore a bathrobe over her flowered dress and bunny slippers adorned her otherwise bare feet. Her graying hair was done up in a tight bun behind her head and her small, curious eyes fell on Dives.

"Um, nobody, Miss Ardelio."

She turned up her peeked nose and wagged a finger at me. "No lying, Miss Combes. I can see you have a young gentleman here, but what on earth is wrong with him? Have you called a doctor?"

I glanced between Dives. "It's really nothing. He-um, he's practicing for a play he's giving. The fur's his costume. See?" I leaned him against the wall and tugged on some hair that stuck out from his shirt. He winced, but didn't cry out.

Ardelio waltzed up to us. Her narrow eyes studied his face and posture. "He certainly looks ill."

I flung open my door and pulled Dives's arm over my shoulders. "That's just him staying in character. He's a-um, a method actor. But if you'll excuse us." I pulled him into my apartment and slammed the door in my neighbor's nosy face.

My apartment didn't look much better than the hall. The wallpaper was more often on the walls than the floor, but the small kitchen had warped cupboards and a sink with hard-water spots. The furniture in the living room, if you could call the small space in the right-hand corner, was of some ancient vintage, perhaps the Sixties, and was hidden beneath new cloth covers to hide the holes and springs. I hefted Dives over to the couch and plopped him down. He landed on his rear and leaned against the back with a heavy groan.

I sat down in the small chair opposite him and sank into the cushion. It helped that there weren't any springs left to keep me up. I studied my unexpected, and furry, visitor.

Dives's breathing was less erratic and his arms hung by his sides. His eyes were still yellow, and it was unnerving to be watched by them. He didn't blink much.

He shifted on the cushion and winced. "I think one of your springs is broken."

"It's probably missing," I replied. I leaned forward and set my elbows on my legs. I clasped my hands together and set my chin on them. "So do you always get hairy when you hit on girls, or is this a new thing?"

Dives managed a hoarse laugh and shook his head. "No. At least, not until after the first date which is after I've learned her name."

I raised an eyebrow. "So this
has
happened to you before?"

All humor fled from his face. He pursed his lips, but nodded. "Yes, but not this-well, it's never gotten out of my control before."

I looked him over. The gray-brownish fur. The increased muscle mass. The sort-of-snout. It all pointed to one unbelievable conclusion. "So you're a werewolf?"

He sighed and sank deeper into the couch. That, or it was slowly sinking beneath his heavy weight. "Yes."

I frowned. "After saving your life all I get is a 'yes?'"

A mischievous smile slipped onto his lips. "I could give you something more, but you already refused my kind offer."

I leaned back and rolled my eyes. "I don't think making out with a werewolf is on my bucket list."

Dives chuckled. "I suppose not, but I guess I could give you some more explanation. That is, if I can trust you with it, and if I can know the name of the beautiful woman who saved me."

I shrugged. "Would anybody believe an office girl when she tells them the owner of her billionaire-dollar company is a werewolf? As for my name, it's Dakota Combes."

He smiled. "Dakota Combes. Not a bad name."

"Now for the story," I insisted.

My boss tilted his head back and nodded. "I see your point about the authorities, but it's a long and strange story."

"It's Friday night, and I've got nothing to do."

CHAPTER 4

Dives sighed. "It all started like a lot of regrets, with a girl."

I snorted. "Figures."

He shrugged. "I suppose I don't deserve pity, or even sympathy, but I'd be grateful if you waited until the end of my story to pass judgment."

I pursed my lips, but nodded. "All right, have it your way."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, like I said, this all started with a girl. It was about ten years ago. I was on a cruise to escape some of my more persistent admirers."

"The ones who kept sending you pics of wedding dresses?" I guessed.

Dives smiled. "The very ones. The cruise sailed around the Mediterranean and Aegean. At a port in Greece we picked up more passengers. One of them was a lovely little Gypsy in a troupe of musical performers. She was the dancer."

"So you got it on with her," I surmised.

He shrugged. "What else could I do with a beautiful woman who barely knew any English? Talk philosophy?"

I sighed and waved my hand. "Go on."

He pursed his lips and sank lower into the couch. "It turns out she didn't speak very good English, but her troupe leader knew more than enough to get me into some deep shit. It was he who got her to my state room where we had a little fun. Then she bit me." He pulled down the collar of his shirt. The fur was thinner near the jugular and I noticed a crescent mark made by sharp teeth.

I winced. "That must've hurt."

"Like hell, with an extra dose of curse to give it a good kick," he agreed as he released the collar. "Her troupe leader knew how rich I was and told me if I didn't pay him a king's ransom to teach me how to control myself I'd kill someone."

I raised an eyebrow. "And did you?"

He smirked and shook his head. "I didn't give him a dime. All I had to do was point out that if I
did
kill someone I'd reveal their existence to the whole world. They'd be hunted down like rabid dogs and dissected like lab rats. He got mad and then scared, and taught me enough so I could get by. At the next port I jumped ship and headed to an estate my family owned in Scotland. I worked a little longer on my self-control until I was sure I could get through any one-night stand and headed home." He shrugged. "And that's it."

I shook my head. "If that was it than I wouldn't be sitting here listening to your lame story. In all those ten years you never lost it and wore a real fur suit in public?"

Dives pursed his lips and studied me with those yellow eyes. "I do have trouble controlling myself around the full moon."

I jerked my head to the right towards a dirty-glassed window. "The full moon isn't due for another week."

He tilted his head to one side. His eyes never left me. "I know. It doesn't make any sense to me, either."

I furrowed my brow. "I'd say it was the mugging, but you dropped in the elevator."

A sly smile curled onto his lips. "Perhaps it was in the elevator that something happened."

Dives stood and walked up to me. He set his hands on each arm and leaned down so our faces nearly touched. I shrank as deep into the chair as the cushion would allow. His yellow eyes studied me with carnal interest. I found my body responding to his attentions in a most pleasant and annoying way. A warm wave of desire swept over me. I was nearly drowned in lust for this strange creature that stood over me. My heart quickened and my breathing deepened. I grasped the sides of the arms and trembled.

He leaned closer so his lips brushed against one of my trembling cheeks. His low, sultry voice slipped into my ear. I had to bite back the groan. "Perhaps it was
someone
in the elevator that happened."

A knock on the door startled both of us. Dives spun around and growled at the door. I jumped from the chair and swept past him to the entrance. "I'll get it!" I yelled in a squeaky voice. I grabbed the knob and flung open the door.

It was Miss Ardelio's turn to be surprised. She started back and the pie dish in her hands nearly dropped to the floor. "My goodness, but you frightened me!"

I gave her a shaky smile. "Sorry about that. I thought you were a salesman."

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "Miss Combes, you know those types of men aren't allowed in the apartment building."

I glanced over my shoulder at another type of 'man.' Dives had his back turned towards us. "Oh, right, I forgot." I returned my attention to Ardelio. "But is there something I can do for you?"

She smiled and held out the pie. "I thought perhaps your young gentleman friend there would like this. Actors can have such strong appetites after being under those hot lights all day."

I swiped the pie from her hands and pressed the tip of my foot against the door to give it a good slam. "Thanks, I'm sure we will."

Ardelio took a step inside so that shutting the door would involve cutting her into two. Her dream-filled eyes never left Dives. "Perhaps the young gentleman-I never caught his name-might entertain me-us, that is-with some of his acting. What play was it?"

I swept through my old-story recollections even as I inched the door shut. "It was-um, the Hound of the Baskervilles. He plays the dog. But he's really tired and-"

"The Hound of the Baskervilles?" Ardelio wondered. She grasped the door with one hand to keep me from shutting it. "I had no idea that was a play. He must perform his howl for me."

I winced. "I really don't-" A long, hideously accurate howl echoed through my apartment. I whipped my head around in time to see Dives lower his head after his performance.

Ardelio was all smiles as she clapped her hands. "Bravo! Encore! Encore!"

Her distraction gave me a chance to slam the door shut in her face. I locked the knob and turned around to lean my back against the entrance. Dives turned to me with a proud grin on his face.

I frowned. "Did you have to be so loud?"

He shrugged. "It was natural."

"Yeah, naturally a bad idea," I retorted as I stalked over to the kitchen table and plopped the pie on the top. "If my manager hears that he's going to have a fit. Dogs aren't allowed in the apartment building."

Dives chuckled. "I'm hardly a dog."

I whirled around and glared at him. "No, a dog would be better behaved. Now do you think you could lose the fur coat before somebody else sees you like that?"

Dives raised his hands and glanced from one to the other. He furrowed his face. "It doesn't seem to be working." His eyes flickered up to me and that smooth, seductive smile slipped onto his lips. Even with all that fur and ripped clothes he was handsome. Or maybe it was because of the ripped clothes. "Perhaps it's the company."

"Perhaps it's because you don't know as much about this whole werewolf thing as you thought," I retorted.

A dreaded heavy rap came to my door. "Combes? Combes, are you in there?" growled the apartment building owner, Mr. Dominus.

My shoulders drooped and I hung my head. "Perfect. . ." I mumbled.

I lifted my head when I noticed movement. Dives strode towards the door.

I reached out a hand towards him. "No!" I yelped.

Dives opened the door and revealed my tall, heavy-set apartment manager. Dominus was six-foot six without shoes and was built like a tank if a tank could bench press a bus. He wore a plaid shirt and jeans, and glared down at Dives.

"Who the hell are you?" Dominus snapped.

Dives smiled and extended his hand. "David Dives. Perhaps you've heard of me."

Dominus sneered at him. "No, now where the hell is Combes? I heard a dog howling and I know it came from her apartment."

Dives dropped his hand, but not his smile. "Miss Combes is currently unavailable, but if you have a problem with animals you can take it up with me."

My apartment manager narrowed his eyes. "I'll take it up with whoever I want, now where's that worthless girl at?"

Dives's face took a noticeable downturn as his eyes narrowed and a frown graced his lips. "You might want to apologize for calling her that."

Dominus scoffed and grabbed Dives's shoulder. "Like hell I'm going to do that, now get out of my way."

Dominus shoved him to the side, but Dives wrapped his arms around the manager's thick arm and swung him back into the hall. I stepped into the line of sight from the hallway and watched the giant of a man slam into the shut door on the opposite side of the hall.

"You can't come in here without permission or a warrant," Dives warned him.

Dominus pushed himself off the door. His furious eyes fell on me and he pointed a finger in my direction. "You've got two weeks, and then you're outta here! Understand?"