Maiden and the Lion (5 page)

One day, he might have slipped and she could have ended up in the county morgue.

While the cops had arrested him for assault, she had packed all her belongings and had driven away in her van. If she had stayed, nothing would have ever changed. In the following twenty-four hours, her father would have called her from jail, begging to bail him out and promising to change his behaviour, and she would’ve been riddled with guilt until she had done what he had asked. Things would have returned to normal for a couple of days until the addiction would have kicked in and her father had got hold of some booze. Then the vicious cycle would have started all over again.

Bea shuddered as she towelled her hair dry.

She couldn’t go back to her old life. Things were bad now, but once she got her pay cheque, she could afford a cheap motel room and proper meals. She would sort everything out once she got cash in her hands.

As she slipped into her jogging pants and a comfy shirt, she remembered that she still had Alex’s wallet. Inside it was a few hundred dollars. Would Alex mind if she borrowed sixty bucks to rent a nice motel room for the night? She was tired of sleeping in the cold and uncomfortable back seat of her van. She could keep the van warm, but that would burn gas, and she couldn’t really afford that either.

No. That’s crazy.

Bea shook her thoughts away. She couldn’t take her boss’ money. She must return the wallet to its rightful owner. Maybe he would show up at work tomorrow and she could put all this craziness behind her. She could pretend that she had never pulled him out of the Harlem River and she had never seen him transform into a lion.

Yeah. That’s what I should do.

Four days aren’t terribly long. I can totally make it.

Bea was stuffing her dirty clothes into the bag when she heard the bathroom door creak open. She glanced at her watch. Jeannie, the owner and trainer of this place, must have come to warn her that she wanted to lock up for the night. The gym closed at eleven.

“Jeannie?” Bea called.

No answer.

Bea tied her shoe laces and craned her neck past the stalls. The narrow hallway to the door was empty. She frowned. Who the hell had come in just then? Had she misheard? Bea turned back to retrieve her bag. Her face instantaneously hit a solid wall of chest. She squealed.

“Ssh!”

Her eyes widened. “Mr Larousse!”

A pair of strong arms steadied her on her feet. Even though he had dressed immaculately, Alex looked worn out. There were dark shadows underneath his eyes. His hair was tousled. “Bea.” Even his voice sounded tired.

“How did you get in here?” She glanced at the door. “How did you find me? This is the women’s bathroom.”

“So I noticed.”

Bea fought an unbearable urge to hug him. Luckily, she was able to restrain herself at the last second. That would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it? Hugging her boss as if he were her best friend. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Bea. Are you finishing up?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I’m going to escort you home.”

“Home?”

“It’s almost eleven. You should be home at this hour. It’s not safe.”

Right. Problem was she didn’t have a home to go to. “Yeah, I’m just about to leave.”

“I’ll escort you.”

“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 help. 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.

Bea took out Alex’s wallet from her purse and put it on the dining table. She rummaged in her bag again for a post-it note and a pen. She wrote a short note that she had found his wallet and returned it. She glanced around one more time before heading to leave. Wow. She wondered what Alex’s bedroom looked like. Maybe one peek? She shouldn’t. That would invade her boss’ privacy. But she was curious. She wanted to see where Alex slept. She imagined his hair would be tousled in the morning but she would bet he still looked sexy.

Curiosity won.

Just a peek and I’ll leave.

Bea went from room to room. There was a home office and two guest bedrooms. Alex must sleep in the master bedroom—the biggest bedroom in the apartment, but the bed didn’t look as if it had been slept in. The bedding was immaculate and inviting. She gazed longingly.
A real bed.
Oh, how she missed sleeping in one of those. Not the backseat of her van. She’d bet it would be warm and comfortable.

Suddenly, she needed to relieve herself. Bea searched for Alex’s bathroom. She walked past the adjoining door and into a huge master bathroom. Whoa. All marble and fancy porcelain. And the shower! It had multiple, kick-ass steam shower heads like she had seen in fancy home improvement magazines.

Bea sniffed her armpit. She hadn’t showered since last night and she needed one. Would Alex mind if she took a shower in his amazing bathroom? She grinned. As long as Alex didn’t find out, that would be okay, right?
Teehee.
Bea felt naughty. Here she was, stealing a shower from her own boss. And she would be stealing his soap, too. Alex always smelt amazing in the morning. She didn’t think he wore perfume. It was his bath soap. It must be one of those designer fragrances.

Quietly, she stripped her clothes and folded them neatly in the sink. She stepped into the shower and closed the glass door. She turned the water on and fiddled with the handle. Oh, God, it was heavenly. Bea showered until her skin turned prune-like. With a satisfied sigh, she turned the water jet off. She towelled and donned her clothes. Now she smelt like Alex.
Mmm, nice.

Refreshed, she felt sleepy. Alex’s bed caught her attention. She wondered what it would feel like sleeping in his bed. She had used his shower, she might as well try the bed too. Just five minutes and she would get the hell out of this place. Playing Goldilocks was fun. She hoped Alex wouldn’t find out. The bears had been nice to Goldilocks. She couldn’t imagine what a werelion would do.
Relax
, she told herself. It was Alex. She knew his secret and he had kissed her. She was sure he wouldn’t fire her over something silly like this. If he never found out.

Bea halted her giggles and climbed into the bed. Wow. She had forgotten how good being in a real bed felt. She stretched and curled like a contented cat. Alex’s scent was on the pillow, the blanket and everywhere else. Somehow, it soothed her. She yawned. Her eyelids were heavy. She hadn’t got much sleep last night and hadn’t got much proper sleep since she had become homeless. Before long, Bea drifted off to dreamland.

Chapter Four

Alex noticed there was an intruder in his apartment the moment he opened the door. He could smell
her
. A woman. And he knew who she was. Her scent was unmistakable. His lion turned restless instantly. It threatened to claw out from under his skin.

Bea.

What is she doing here?

He closed the door and investigated. He spotted his wallet and a note on the dining table. He checked it out. He guessed she had got the passkey from it. How sweet of her to return it. He looked for her and found Bea in his bed. She was fast asleep, curled in the foetal position. Her hair was damp and she smelt like his soap. Alex thought she was very cute. His lion growled at the sight of her. A sudden urge to mate overcame him. God. He silently groaned at the temptation.