Read Sheltering His Desire Online
Authors: Allyson Lindt
Tags: #forbidden love, #friends to lovers, #damaged hero, #billionaire alpha, #animal shelter vet, #older brothers best fried
Sheltering His Desire
Sheltering His
Desire
Love Hack 2
Allyson Lindt
Copyright 2015 Allyson Lindt
Smashwords Edition
ISBN: 9781310937095
Copyright © 2015 by Allyson Lindt
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction.
While reference might be made to actual
historical events or existing locations, the names, characters,
places and incidents are either the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or
locales is entirely coincidental.
Editor: Rhonda Helms
No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Manufactured in the United States of
America
Acelette Press
Alyssia’s animal shelter needs a boost of
cash to expand its center for abused pets. When her older brother’s
best friend, Tate, offers her first access to his crowdfunding
startup, she has a million reasons to say yes. And only one reason
to say no—she’s crushed on Tate forever, and he doesn’t feel the
same. As long as she remembers he’s just eye candy, it’ll be fine.
She wants happily ever after, not just happy until the morning
after.
Tate’s taking the family business to new
places, adding a crowdfunding portal for small companies. He just
has to ignore the fact the woman using one of his pilot sites isn’t
the bratty tag-along she used to be. Alyssia’s grown up, filled
out, and has a sexy mind on top of it all. Not that it matters.
Tate never hooks up with clients, and he’s certainly not going to
pursue his buddy’s sister.
When Alyssia’s shelter suffers from
slanderous press, the backlash threatens both their businesses.
They find stress relief in each other, and an unforgettable night
of no-strings passion. The fallout will destroy families, careers,
and lifelong friendships if Tate and Alyssia can’t admit how they
really feel.
Breaching His Defenses (Love Hack 1)
Securing Her Surrender (Love Hack 3)
For my eternal dragon
Chapter One
No one should be allowed to look that good in
scrubs. The thought spilled into Tate’s head when Alyssia walked
into the office at her animal shelter, Great ‘n’ Small. He shook
the words away, but not before trailing his gaze past her hips, up
her narrow waist, and over the swell of her breasts, and landing on
bright blue eyes and a face framed by long, dark hair.
That wasn’t what he needed to be thinking
about. Now, or ever really. He was here as a consultant, not to
leer.
“Did I miss a memo?” Alyssia gave an
exasperated huff. “When did it become acceptable for a guy to send
a picture of his penis as a way to say ‘I’m sorry, please take me
back’?”
“Excuse me?” If he’d guessed a million times
what she was frustrated about, dick pics wouldn’t have been on the
list. From Lys, he almost wasn’t surprised by the blunt, ludicrous
question. He’d known her for decades and very little was taboo
between them anymore. This came pretty close, though.
She looked directly at him. “Sorry. But am I
wrong to think this is creeptastic?” She held out her phone.
Apparently it wasn’t a rhetorical question
after all. He shook his head. “I’m going to take your word for it.
And last time I checked it still wasn’t acceptable. Care to fill in
some blanks for me… Minus the visual aids?”
Her brow furrowed and she ducked her head.
Her, “I suppose,” was soft in the room, blending into the dogs
barking in the background. “You know that guy I was talking to last
week?”
“Not personally.”
She stuck her tongue out. “You're funny.”
He smirked. “Damn straight I am. So online
distraction of the month…” He wasn’t sure how he'd officially
become the person she shared her dating woes with. It had started
years ago. At first he participated just to make sure she wasn’t
hooking up with the wrong guys. She was his best friend’s little
sister, and looking out for her was status quo. He'd quickly
realized though, that she could figure it out on her own, she just
liked the sounding board.
She blew a strand of hair out of her face,
sank into the chair across from him, and rested her arms on the
desk. “I need to wrap my brain around how ludicrous this entire
situation is first. And we have work to get done.”
“If you’re sure…”
She nodded. “What do you need from me?”
The conversation wasn’t over, but she’d spill
if and when she was ready. Besides, she was right about them being
on a deadline. He was seated at her desk, using the computer to
help set up a crowd-funding campaign for her animal shelter. She
was one of twenty pilot groups for the application he was using to
spin a new arm off his family’s software company. “I’ve gone
through the shelter’s social media accounts. With the updated
graphics, everything is in order. I’ll write up the copy for the
pledge page. You’ll need to verify it. Then we just have the video
left to shoot.”
Normally, any computer-related favors would
fall to his best friend and business associate, Jared. Or Jared’s
fiancée, Mikki. Both of them were scary brilliant programming
geniuses.
However, this was more about sales and
marketing, and proving this was a legitimate new market for them to
enter. Once the crowdfunding site took off, he had several next
steps, and then he’d be running the arm of the business himself. On
top of that, he got to help Alyssia raise enough money for a down
payment so she could buy the building her shelter was in. When it
came to selling anything, Tate would rock the results like no one’s
business.
“Right. Video. Tomorrow night.” She raked her
fingers through her hair as she pulled it back, twisted it into a
loose knot behind her head, and stuck a pen through it to hold it
up.
Exposing her long, kissable neck—Tate
mentally shook himself. Where the hell had that come from? Too long
since he’d gotten laid or something.
“And recording the voice overs in office the
day after—they finally confirmed your time slot.” Every aspect of
the project was part of an independent budget, to prove the idea
was financially viable. Fortunately, he’d been able to contract
most of the resources he needed from his parent company, Skriddie
Bust Media. The art department was available for all the pilot
groups. Marketing had a storyboard for each company’s promo film.
It was going to look as clean as possible out of the gate. Tate was
making sure of it.
“It’s just…” She fiddled with her watch. “I
thought the guy was really into me. I mean, I know a lot of these
men in online chat rooms are full of shit and just looking to get
laid, but he actually seemed to be listening. Remembering what I
said, talking to me. Interested in me and not just my boobs.”
And they were back on that. “We could include
those in the vid if you’d like. Draw in a new crowd.” He wouldn’t
have made a joke like that with anyone else, but he hoped with her
it would bring her out of her funk.
She looked at him, lips drawn in a thin line,
expression flat. “My boobs?”
“Sure.”
A smile slipped out. “You don’t have to come
up with excuses, you just have to ask.”
Good, they were back to casual and fun.
Except her teasing dragged up more mental images. Of stripping her
top off, running his hands up her stomach, cupping her breasts. He
needed to stop that. “But then I’d be like one of those guys
online, right? I have to at least make an effort.”
Her expression slipped, and her frown flew
back in. “Which is where the problem started. He wanted to see me
topless. I told him no. He wanted just a peek. Begged about five
million times across twenty-four hours. And when I told him I was
done talking to him, he sent me this—” she held up her phone, “—as
a ‘please forgive me’ or something. I don’t even know.”
She sank further into her chair. “It’s not
like I was falling for him or anything, it was just nice… I’m about
to get repetitive.”
Maybe he could lighten the mood. He hated to
see anyone bummed out, but especially her. He made sure to keep a
teasing tone. “That’s why real people are better than online
people.”
“Don’t even start.” Her mouth twisted in
irritation. “The situation wouldn’t have been any different if I’d
met him in a bar.”
He really did hate to see her like this. She
deserved a guy who would give her happily ever after, not a jerk
who just wanted dirty selfies. “I know, most men suck. But I
promise, Lys, not all of them are bad.”
Her mouth twisted in amused irritation.
“What, like you?”
God, that would be a mistake. Even if he were
interested—he forced himself to keep his eyes on the computer and
not let them drag over her figure—she deserved better. “No. I’m an
asshole. Guys not like me. Though, admittedly I’ve never sent
anyone a picture of my junk.”
“Junk. Is that the technical term?”
He liked seeing her smile. “You’d rather I
called it Tate Jr.? Or George?”
“Touché. So, where do I meet this mystical
man who likes me for my mind, isn’t related to me, and isn’t bound
by some unwritten guy code not to touch me because I’m your best
friend’s baby sis?”
His mind stalled, and he processed her words
again. Somehow, this had just become about him. “He’s out there.
You’ve got both body and mind covered when it comes to attractive,
and if you were anyone else—”
“Really?” She stood so quickly it made his
head spin. “If I weren’t the person I am, with all the shared ties
we have, you’d be interested? Or is that just lip service?”
It wasn’t just lip service. Though he didn’t
see her as approachable, he still noticed she was equally
intelligent and beautiful. Even now, he couldn’t help but notice
the flush in her full lips. The tinge of frustration on her cheeks.
And it was all amplified by the back and forth fun of their
conversation.
She moved around the desk, pushed her
keyboard aside, and hopped up. She sat directly in front of him,
just inches away. “Take that off the table. We’re the only people
in the room, right? And I know you wouldn’t lie to me. If we didn’t
have that connection. If Jared weren’t my brother, would you make a
move?”
That escalated quickly. He swallowed, throat
suddenly dry. Blood pounded in his ears, and his dick twitched at
the thoughts of what he’d do to her if she weren’t
her
. “If
you were just some random woman in a bar, yes.”
“Not quite what I asked, but let’s go with
it.” She rested her stocking-covered toes near the inside of his
thigh, close enough heat radiated through his slacks. “You know me
as well as anyone, Tate. If there’s more to me than a pair of tits,
how come no one who gets to know me is interested in me
like
that
? And how come no one wants to get to know me?”
His restraints were short circuiting tonight,
for reasons he didn’t understand. If she didn’t pull her foot away
in about two seconds, he might act on the impulse to find out if
she tasted as good as she looked.
Except he wouldn’t act on the desire. He
mentally steeled himself. This was a moment of temporary insanity,
on his part and hers. He’d ignore it, remind himself she was a
client and his best friend’s baby sister, and they could get back
to work.
His cock twitched as her toes slid higher.
Fuck.
*
Alyssia knew she was being a brat, yet she
couldn’t make herself stop. Tate was a convenient target, and she
was asking more of him than was acceptable between friends. She
needed to apologize. The problem was, now that she’d nudged the
edges of this boundary—this temptation that was him—she didn’t want
to stop. There was a reason she never pushed this line with him.
What had gotten into her? Part of her brain whispered what a bad
idea this was. That she needed to suck her up pride and just walk
away, but the rest of her wasn’t interested in backing down.