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  Nadia got up, dusting herself off. “This isn’t over bitch.” She turned on her heel, slamming the office door behind her.

  “Problem solved,” Charise said. She turned and was greeted by three highly aroused men. If only she could drop to her knees and worship the wonderful bulges outlined by their pants.

  Xander was the first to come out of their stupor. “That was fucking hot.”

  “Control yourselves, please,” Charise said, smiling at them.

  “How were you able to do that?” Xavier asked.

  “I have two older brothers. It was either fight or be smothered by them. Can we get to work now?”

  “Yes, that would be best.” He turned to Xander and Xerxes, who watched him curiously. “The crew finished up at Circle Court yesterday and should be starting on the apartment complex across town today.”

  Xander arched a brow a brow and smiled. “That means you’ll be busy walking the Circle Court property for final approval?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m in charge,” Xerxes said, cutting his brother off.

  “What?!” Xander questioned.

  Xerxes smirked and shrugged. “My client, I’m in charge.”

  “Damn,” Xander muttered.

  Charise chuckled, shaking her head at the banter between the brothers. She remembered when things had been that way between her and her own brothers. But times had changed and both her brothers and her were different people. “As amusing as all of this is, the clock is ticking and so far I’ve been paid to drink my coffee and kick your ex-girlfriend’s ass. Not that I mind, but I figured you’d want me to doing more than that.”

  “Not only gorgeous but feisty too. I definitely want you to do more than drink your coffee,” Xander said, his gaze trailing over her sending heat through her veins.

  “You must be the slow one of the group,” she chuckled.

  “Verbal abuse only excites me,” he murmured, moving closer to her. He wanted to bend her over the desk and sink his cock into her.

  Xerxes groaned and grabbed Xander’s sleeve. “Time to go.” He pulled Xander away from her and stepped into his place. He pulled her close and brushed his lips against her cheek before whispering in her ear. “Don’t let him push you around, he loves a confident woman. He may not admit it but he wants you just as much as Xander and I.”

  She stroked his cheek. “I think that applies to all of you, my lion king.”

  “Stop flirting and get to work,” Xavier growled.

  “See what I mean?”

  “I haven’t had my chance to kiss her yet!” Xander pouted.

  “You had plenty of time to kiss her while you had her pinned to the desk. Now get to work,” Xavier growled.

  Xerxes pulled Xander with him to the door. “Maybe you’ll get lucky after work.”

  Xavier glowered at her handing her a slip of paper. “I’m going to go meet a client. The computer is already set up, the password is on the paper along with my phone number if you need anything. Just familiarize yourself with everything today, tomorrow you can start filing and processing.”

  Charise watched him walk out the door. “Yay me. Time to go to work.” She sat down at her new desk and began unpacking.

  Chapter 7

  Charise looked at the wilted salad that was her lunch. She hoped Dejah would call soon, telling her that Alexis had made it up faster than usual. Her phone rang making her jump. She glanced at the caller ID and groaned. “What do you want, big brother?”

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Why’d you start working for those damn lions?” Jaxon snarled.

  “I needed a job and since they’re the ones that got me fired I made them give me a new one,” she answered.

  “You know you could’ve worked at the mine and worked with Jason and me,” he said.

  “We both know the mine will be closing soon. So even if I had wanted to work with you I would‘ve been job hunting not long after. Besides what would you have me do? Pass out paychecks and timestamps to the grumpy ass miners that would blame me for the mine closing?”

  “It wouldn’t be like that,” he said.

  “Bullshit. Why do you think you’ve gone through almost 20 people in the last 6 months? It’s been even worse since you announced that you would be closing the mine.”

  Jaxon mumbled something too soft for her to hear.

  “What was that?”

  He sighed. “Maybe you’re right. But why‘d you have to go work for them?”

  “What do you have against them?” she asked.

  “They’re womanizers,” he growled.

  “So are you,” she snorted.

  “They share their women!”

  “According to Jason so do you. So what’s the problem?”

  “You’re my baby sister and I don’t like them,” he grumbled.

  “I am a grown woman and that means I can do what I want whether you like it or not,” she replied, smiling.

  “I don’t want to see you get hurt,” he said.

  “They’d never hurt me,” she replied, knowing what she said was the truth.

  “How do you know?”

  “I just know they wouldn’t.”

  He sighed. “I thought about what you said this morning.”

  “And?”

  “We’ve known Ares since we were children and don’t think he would do something like that but I have realized that forcing you to mate with someone you fear would be the worse thing I could ever do to you. So, I called the Southern Den and broke the betrothal.”

  “Really?” She was surprised that he’d even considered it.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry about this morning.”

  She walked over to the window, searching the sky for flying pigs or to see if Hell had frozen over.

  “Charise? You ok?”

  “Sorry, I was checking the weather to see if hell had frozen over. You never apologize to anyone. Mom had to force you to say you were sorry after you shoved me in the mud, ruining my new dress.” She was still irritated about that day.

  “Very funny and there is always a first for everything,” he said grouched.

  She chuckled. “I love you, big brother.”

  “I love you too, you pain in my ass.”

  “Give Jason a hug for me,” she said, smiling at the groan of disgust that came through the phone.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you can get your ass over here later and give him one yourself,” he said, laughing.

  “Fine. I’ll swing by on my way home. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  She smiled ending the call. At least he isn’t forcing me to marry Ares anymore. Now if only she could take off her veiling charm.

  ~ * ~

  Charise looked up as Xavier stormed into the office. “Everything ok?”

  “No, the Circle Court client wasn’t happy about not having an eight person jacuzzi in the master bath. She didn’t like that there wasn’t a convection oven in her kitchen. She wasn’t happy with any of the work we did.”

  “Would you like me to talk to her?”

  “I don’t see what difference it would make but if you want.” he said, handing her the client’s file. He went into his office and closed the door behind him.

  Charise found the client’s number and quickly called her. After talking to her for several minutes she hung up the phone and went to his office. She quietly knocked on the door.

  “Come in.”

  She walked in and sat down, crossing her legs. “Mrs. King will be coming in to see you tomorrow morning to talk about her house.”

  “Why? So she can have us redo everything?” Xavier snorted. His eyes were drawn to the expanse of exposed thigh. He wondered if it was as soft as it looked.

  “No. So she can have you put on an addition,” she said with a mischievous grin.

  “What?” He looked up at her questioningly. Mrs. King had made it abundantly clear that she would be going through Cougar Const
ruction to have everything changed.

  “She decided that instead of having a jacuzzi in her master bath, she’s going to have you put in a jacuzzi house and that she didn’t need the oven since she couldn’t bake anything but charcoal.”

  “How’d you get her to change her mind?”

  She stood up and looked back at Xavier. “You just need to know people. By the way, tell your brothers goodbye for me, I’m going to go home.”

  “No need, beautiful, I’m right here,” Xander said as he walked into the office.

  “You better not have left the site unattended,” Xavier growled.

  “Keep your pants on,” he said. “I came to ask this beautiful woman to dinner.”

  “What if this woman says no?” she asked.

  “Then I will ask everyday until she says yes,” Xander replied.

  “I guess you’ll be waiting a while huh?”

  “You wound me. Don’t worry, I will continue on my quest to make you mine, beautiful.”

  “What happens if your mate shows up? What then? Toss me to the wayside?” she asked.

  “Never. My mate’s already shown up. My cat has been pacing and yammering at me to make you mine since the moment we met.” He stared at her, his eyes changing from their dark blue color to the golden eyes of his lion.

  “Oh…”

  “Are you done? You’re starting to sound corny,” Xavier said. He was annoyed by their easy banter.

  “No. We all feel this way, don’t deny it,” Xander said. He was sorely tempted to beat the hell out of his brother.

  “Not all of us are horn dogs like you,” Xavier snorted.

  “I’m not a dog in any way, shape, or form. But do like to be stroked.” Xander said, his eyes caressing her every curve.

  Heat coursed through her body and knew that it was time to go home. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She left Xavier’s office and grabbed her purse.

  “What about dinner?” Xander asked as Charise raced out of the office door.

  “Looks like she’s not falling for you, Romeo.”

  “Shut the hell up,” Xander snarled. “You’re the one that got her fired and then continually insult her. You should be begging her for forgiveness!”

  “She’s not our mate!”

  “I’m not so sure of that.” Xerxes said walking into the office. “Our cats have been demanding that we claim her. That has never happened to any of us before. Haven’t you wondered how she was able to take out Nadia? If she was a normal human, Nadia would have killed her.”

  “Are you saying she might be a shifter or witch?” Xander asked.

  “She might be a shifter. There are ways to cover one's scent and if she is then why?” Xerxes said. He sat down in a chair in front of Xavier’s desk and leaned back.

  “Why are we even talking about this?” Xavier growled.

  “Why are you in denial?” Xerxes asked.

  “How can you two be positive that she’s our mate?” Xavier glared at his brother, his eyes flashing from blue to gold.

  “We’re not. But we are willing to give it a chance,” Xerxes sighed. He knew his brother had commitment issues but he hadn’t realized just how much Rachel’s death had affected him.

  “What happens if she turns out not to be our mate?”

  “Then we move on. We’ll meet our mate eventually. But give her a chance until we know.”

  Chapter 8

  Charise walked into Wolf Haven, waving at Remy as she went to the kitchen. Dejah was standing at the sink cleaning up the dishes for the day. “Hey Dej.”

  “Alexis should be here any minute,” she said, looking up from the sink. “I figured afterwards we could all go to The Blue Moon.”

  “Sure. I need to tell you and Alexis what happened today,” Char said as she sat down at the breakfast bar. “Anything good happen today?”

  “Nothing much. The normal sibling spat between Remy and Freya. Cutie’s was slow as hell and Gabriella started working over at Cougar Construction,” Dejah said drying her hands on a dish towel.

  “What position did she take?” Charise asked.

  “Electrician. She seems to be really happy with it. And apparently the new secretary started today as well,” Dejah said, sitting down across from her.

  “Really? I knew Jack had been looking for a new electrician since the last one retired and moved to Florida. Did Gabriella get a chance to meet the new secretary yet?”

  “Yes, Jack was on site all day today. He refused to go to the office at all,” Dejah chuckled.

  Charise laughed. “Maybe he’ll start behaving himself now.” Dejah looked at her, arching a brow. “Okay, maybe not. He just needs to find his mate then he’ll calm down.”

  “You just need to find yours and then Ares will leave you alone,” Alexis said as she walked into the kitchen.

  “I highly doubt he’ll ever leave me alone, even if I do find my mate,” Charise said with a sigh.

  Alexis nodded in agreement. “Well, lets get this over with so we can have some fun. Char, we’re going into the backyard. You’re going to take off the veiling charm and shift for me. I’m going to try something different this time. Your bear is the source of your scent. If we cover your bear’s scent then it should cover your human scent as well,” Alexis said.

  “Okay.” Charise stood up and quickly undressed, folded her clothes, put them on the counter, and walked into the backyard. She turned to Alexis and Dejah before shifting into her bear. She growled as the shift finished and sat down. She was small for a brown bear but her size was still imposing for some people. She huffed, signalling that she was ready for Alexis to start.

  Alexis pulled several items from her satchel and cast her circle. She called forth the gods and cast a veiling spell on Charise. She motioned for Dejah to see if she could smell her.

  Dejah sniffed Charise and frowned. “Her scent hasn’t gone away. If anything it’s stronger than before.”

  Alexis frowned looking through her spell book. “Charise, have you met your mate recently?” Charise huffed and hung her head. “This won’t work if you’ve met your mate. This actually does the opposite and amplifies it until you’ve officially mated. Why didn’t you tell me you had met your mate?”

  “I don’t think she realized they were her mates. In fact I don’t think she recognized her attraction to them as finding her mates,” Dejah said, chuckling.

  Charise shifted back and stayed seated on the ground. Dejah was right about not realizing that they were her mates. She was incredibly attracted to them, to the point she wanted to do nothing more then throw herself at them and beg them to take her. But she wondered if she would ever be their mate. Xavier wanted nothing to do with her, no matter how much Xander and Xerxes wanted her. She laid down on the grass and looked up at the sky. If only things were different.

  Dejah walked over and looked down at her. “Why don’t you get ready to go to the bar? We’ll have a nice relaxing night and you can forget everything for a little bit.”

  Charise stood up and brushed the grass from her backside. “Ok, give me enough time to take a shower then I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” She walked into the house and grabbed her clothes before going up to her room. She quickly showered and dressed for a night out. She didn’t get to wear her little black dress very often and decided to wear it. She put on her favorite high heeled boots and jewelry, grabbed her clutch, and went down to the kitchen.

  Alexis wore a pair of jeans, emerald wrap-around top, low heels, and a simple silver locket necklace. Dejah was in her normal ripped jeans, knee high boots, and black leather halter top.

  Dejah smiled as Charise walked in. “Ready?”

  “Yeah.” They got into Alexis’ car and drove to the bar.

  “Jasmine’s working tonight so we should be able to avoid men trying to pick us up,” Dejah said. They sat down in an available booth. “We might even get a couple of free drinks.”

  “In your dreams.” Jasmine said as she walked up. “My boss would kil
l me if I started giving out free drinks. Who’s running the desk if you’re here?”

  “I left Remy in charge,” Dejah said.

  “Really? I hate to inform you but he showed up before you three did,” Jasmine said pointing towards the bar.

  Dejah got up, growling. “Excuse me. I need to put a certain pup in his place. Just because his sister is the alpha doesn’t mean he can ignore what I said.” Dejah walked over to the bar and slammed Remy to the floor.

  Jasmine smiled at them. “What can I get you?”

  “Rum and coke for me,” Charise said.

  “Water for me. I have to drive home tonight,” Alexis said.

  “Of course. I’ll be right back with your drinks,” Jasmine said, shaking her head as Graeme broke up Dejah and Remy.

  As Jasmine walked away Arius, the only known dragon shifter in the US, walked up. “Hello, ladies.” He looked at Alexis. “I’m Arius, I work at Leo Construction with Charise.”

  “This is Alexis Black. Alexis, this is Arius Loreigh,” she said. “What brings you out tonight?”

  “Not much, just the pretty women. Xander and Xerxes talk about you all the time. I couldn’t resist coming to talk to you,” Arius said, sitting down in Dejah’s seat.

  “Really?” Charise asked.

  “Yea. They always talk about how you light up the room when you walk in and how their cats are driving them crazy wanting to claim you.”

  “And you doubted that they were your mates?” Alexis asked.

  “There’s three brothers, Xander and Xerxes have been upfront about their claims as my mates. It’s their brother Xavier that claims that I’m not,” Charise explained.

  “I have a feeling that if you let them they would claim you in a heartbeat. Xavier though, he’s one cautious guy. It might take a little bit of prodding for him to stake his claim,” Arius said.

  “Here are your drinks,” Jasmine said, putting their drinks in front of them. “What can I get you, Arius?”

  “What I’m always wanting?” he said grinning at her.

  “In your dreams,” she snarled before stalking off.

  Arius sighed. “It was nice meeting you Alexis. I will see you later Charise.” With that he got up and followed Jasmine.