Rejecting My Shifter Boss by Skye Alder

Seven

Kiera

Even if Ididn’t have such strong feelings toward Roman already, having him spoil me every day would definitely have worked. In the past, I gave the cold shoulder to any guy that was acting interested in me, and they leave me alone. That didn’t work with Roman, and a big part of me is happy about that.

It’s been over a week of him showering me with gifts, food, and attention. At first, I thought his gestures were insincere, but Roman surprised me by taking note of my preferences and adjusting his plans accordingly. Instead of extravagant roses, he figured out I’m more of a tulip person. Instead of a big breakfast, Roman noticed I enjoy a sugary pastry. Plus, he’s been spoiling me with expensive lattes and mochas and all the treats I could never afford.

All of it was totally unexpected, and I won’t lie, his charm is working on me. It’s more than his sexy grin and the money he’s spent. Roman is surprisingly thoughtful, which is unlike anyone I’ve met, aside from Peyton, of course.

I’ve never experienced anything even close to this kind of attention and care before, and I hate to admit it, but it’s addicting.

Growing up in the First Coming cult, women were considered second class citizens. When I became a teenager and started to develop, I was looking forward to the prospect of boys and dating. It’s not like I thought I’d get a fairytale ending or anything, at least not with the way things were at First Coming. But I hoped to find someone who would care for me, even a little bit. However, no one caught my attention and none of the boys seemed interested in me, either. I guess I wasn’t worth the effort of getting permission from Isaiah.

No one was allowed to get married or date without his permission. He did this so he could refuse the girls he was after, which is ten kinds of messed up.

Things were different for my sister, though. She’s so beautiful and sweet that it’s impossible not to love her. She had a ton of suitors growing up, but of course, they were all turned away. When Peyton was seventeen and Isaiah declared that she would be his next wife, the reason for him denying everyone else became apparent.

Peyton and I spent the last year running and since we never had enough money or fake IDs for clubs or bars, I never really met anyone that I wanted to go out with.

Roman is changing all of that, though.

He started out so cocky, so sure of himself. Over the last several days, however, I’ve seen a different side of him. Or maybe I’m finally seeing him without all of my baggage clouding my vision. I realized somewhere along the way that Roman isn’t arrogant, he’s confident. His confidence in us, in me, is overwhelming at times. I didn’t think I needed that kind of validation, but it’s comforting coming from someone as powerful as Roman.

I lean back in my office chair, pretending to stretch as I watch him work at his desk. There isn’t really much for me to do around here. Roman is so efficient that half of the time he responds to emails before I can. Instead, I spend most of my days trying not to get caught checking him out.

He keeps insisting that I take frequent breaks, but this whole job feels like a break. I pop one of the chocolates he bought me into my mouth and look around his office, but my eyes keep bouncing back to him.

The early afternoon sunlight silhouettes his profile, accentuating his strong jaw and angular features. My eyes get caught on his lips, so full and soft looking. I can’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have him kiss me. Everywhere.

Forcing my gaze away from his tempting mouth, I continue looking over his body, which fills out the Armani suit he’s wearing in the most delicious way. Sometimes Roman loosens his tie, shrugs off his jacket, and rolls up his sleeves. He’s fully clothed now, but I can still picture his solid forearms and the way they tensed and flexed as he typed.

“I can see you, you know.”

“What?” I squeak, sitting upright in my chair.

“I can see you. I can feel your eyes on me all day. What do you humans call it? Eye fucking? I can feel you eye fucking me all day.”

His voice sounds deeper, almost like a growl, and the sound goes right to my clit. My brain almost short circuits as I try to picture him actually fucking me. The man is massive, and I’m sure that’s true of everything below the belt as well. Could I take all of him?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I start and he growls for real this time, the sound cutting me off.

“Don’t lie to me, Kiera.”

“I…” I start to object when my brain snags on something that he said. “Wait, what do you mean by you humans?”

I’m expecting him to brush it off or tell me he had a slip of the tongue. Those dark blue eyes fall on mine, however, and don’t let go. It’s intense, the way he’s staring at me. Like he’s trying to decide if he wants to explain further or not. My heart starts to race and it feels like the whole energy in the room changes as I wait for him to explain what he meant.

“What?” he asks and I glare at him. I won’t let him get away that easily. It’s clear he meant what he said. Now I have to figure out what exactly it means.

“What did you mean when you said you humans?” I repeat.

He continues to stare at me and I want to scream and demand that he answer me, but I’m not sure I’m ready to hear his answer. My brain is already working overtime, trying to come up with some kind of explanation. Not to mention, I’ve been fighting my ridiculously fierce attraction to him for days now and I’m mentally drained.

“Maybe we should go somewhere and talk about all of this,” Roman suggests. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a wave of doubt and unease course through me.

“No, either you tell me now, or I’m going home.”

It’s only three pm, but I don’t think I can stay in this room with him if he’s not going to be honest with me. Especially about something so enigmatic as saying you humans.

“Kiera, this isn’t the best place to talk about it.”

“Talk about what? What secrets are you hiding that you can’t tell me in your sound proof office on the top floor of a massive skyscraper?”

Roman’s brow furrows with indecision, his eyes darting around the room, landing everywhere but on me. I don’t like it. “It’s…complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it.”

“Kiera…”

“Listen,” I say forcefully, trying to hold back the barrage of emotions welling up inside of me. “I appreciate the gifts and food you’ve given me over the last week, but if you can’t be honest with me, it’s over. Whatever this is between us…it won’t work.”

I swallow down the tears threatening to break free at the thought of not having Roman in my life. I spent my whole life listening to lies. I don’t have any more room in my life for manipulation and half-truths.

“I’ll stop by after work,” he insists.

“Don’t bother,” I snap as I gather my purse and head for the door. Part of me knows I’m overreacting, but the feelings are overwhelming and so real and raw, I can’t be here anymore.

“Kiera,” Roman pleads. I can’t help but turn around. I’m frustrated and confused, but I hate the idea of him hurting.

“You’re right,” I spit out, trying to maintain control. “I was eye fucking you.” He stands and starts to step around his desk. “But I don’t want to be around someone who withholds information from me.”

“I’m a shifter,” he blurts out.

“A what?” I had no idea what to expect, but this...is crazy.

“A shifter,” Roman repeats. “I’m human, but I can also turn into an animal. A wolf, to be exact. I’m also the alpha of the pack here.”

I freeze, not sure what to make of his statement. At first, I want to reject it. Shifters? Wolves? Alphas? Then again, why would he lie about something so strange and fantastical? My mind flashes to how everyone around here seems so much stronger than me or any normal human being for that matter. They’re so much faster, too, and it’s not even just at work. They walk faster, move faster. And every once in a while, I think I see Roman’s eyes glow. Could that be his wolf shining through?

“Everyone here is a shifter?” I ask, thinking about Everly.

“Not everyone, but most,” Roman rushes to say. He seems relieved that I’m asking questions instead of running away. “Stryker, the CEO of Leader of the Pack Advertising and Archer, the CEO of Full Moon Real Estate, are also alphas of their own respective packs.”

He has to be insane. I can’t really be buying this, can I?

“I have to go,” I whisper. This time he doesn’t try to stop me. It shouldn’t hurt, but it does. Even though he just dropped a bomb on me, I still feel like I need him to comfort me, to cover me in his strength and confidence that this will all work out.

I ride down in the elevator and walk home in a fog. It isn’t until Peyton and Everly burst into the apartment, scaring the crap out of me, that I realize I never texted to tell her that I was leaving early.

“Sorry, I completely forgot,” I apologize sincerely. Peyton relaxes slightly against the couch. She still looks worried, though, and I turn to look at Everly.

Is she one of them? It feels weird to ask. What if she isn’t? How am I going to explain that to her? How am I going to explain this to Peyton?

“I’ll let you two talk,” Everly says, giving us a nod. We both wave as she leaves.

“What’s going on, Kiera?” Peyton asks. “Did you see someone from the cult?”

“No, nothing like that. It was Roman.”

“Did he finally ask you out?” she asks excitedly.

“Um, not quite.”

“Then what was it?”

“He told me that he’s a shifter,” I blurt out.

“What?” Peyton asks, her nose scrunching up as she looks at me in confusion. If I weren’t so scatterbrained, I’d laugh that we had the same reaction.

“He’s a shifter. A wolf.”

“What is a wolf shifter?”

“I don’t really know,” I sigh. “I left before we got into too many details. He just said that he can turn into a wolf. Oh, and he’s the alpha of his pack; Stryker and Archer are, too, I guess.”

Peyton seems interested in learning that last detail and I wonder what that’s all about.

“So...you just left?”

“I didn’t know what else to do!” I insist, throwing my hands up in frustration. “I thought he might be crazy.”

“And now that you’ve had some time to think on it...?”

“To be honest, I’m still not quite sure.” Thoughts of how impossible it is swirl around in my head, clashing with what I know of Roman. His deep blue eyes keep popping up in my vision, pleading with me to give him a chance. My chest grows tight and my stomach flips. What the hell am I going to do with this new information?

“Tomorrow should be fun, then,” Peyton teases, trying to lighten the mood.

I groan, my head falling back on the couch as I try not to think about having to face Roman tomorrow at work.

Unfortunately for me, Roman shows up before then.