Page 12 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
“Do you really think the intruder could be planning another attack?” I chopped capsicums and mushrooms while Sam stirred the onion and garlic frying in the pan, filling the kitchen with a heavenly scent. My stomach rumbled. The salad at lunch had not been enough.
“Maybe,” he said. “There’s a reason Electra asked Luc for help. Do you have any angry exes? Could this be personal? A stalker?”
I shrugged, trying to act as if it didn’t bother me that no-one cared enough to be jealous. “Don’t think so. My last date only went out with me because I looked like his ex-wife who he then got back with and the boyfriend before him ditched me for someone else, and they moved out of town.”
Sam winced. “Jealous lover doesn’t really sound like our problem then.” He thought for a moment. “Any business partners?”
“Nope. The business debts are all mine.”
Sam looked up from the pan, his eyes surprisingly intent. “Are you in financial trouble?”
“No. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m solvent if that’s what you’re asking. The landlord and my suppliers get their money every month.”
Grabbing the chopping board, I moved to Sam’s side at the stove. He took a small step sideways to give me more room. It was… nice. It had been so long since I’d had someone else in my kitchen that I’d forgotten howgoodit was to have human companionship… even if it was that person’s job to be there. We continued to work together in silence while I transferred the diced vegetables into the pan and stirred them vigorously. Without being asked, Sam turned away and hunted in my cupboards for bowls for the pasta and cutlery, putting them ready on the counter.
Sam was an all-round nice guy. I frowned as I remembered how Luc had treated Sam in my shop today.
“How long have you worked for Mr Tall, Dark and Growly?”
“About six months.”
“Do you like your job?”
“Yeah. I like the variety of the work, and Luc is a good mentor.”
Huh. At least someone likes him. “Doesn’t the Alpha behaviour get to you? He was really rude.” I had been trying to not overhear the conversation that had been carried on with lots of intense whispers, and most of it had been inaudible, but the deep voiced demand, “You don’t fucking touch her,” had come across loud and clear. As well as the demand that Sam protect me with his life.
Luc had been way out of line. Although I hadn’t known Sam for long, I could tell that he was gentle and shy. He wasn’tthe sort of guy to hit on me while guarding me, and I was probably about ten years too old for him. Luc’s behaviour was bullying; plain and simple.
“Er.”
Glancing at Sam I saw a slight flush on his cheeks. “What?”
Sam looked away, thinking. “He’s not normally like that,” he said eventually, still looking uncomfortable.
“So, he’s only a dickhead some of the time?” I added the beef to the sauteed vegetables.
“No,” said Sam. “He isn’t a dickhead.”
I didn’t know why he was still defending his boss. “He shouldn’t talk to you the way he did.”
Sam chewed his lip, looking suddenly younger and less confident. The water was ready for the pasta. I gave Sam a couple of minutes while I added the spaghetti to the pot.
“Luc is an Alpha. A very strong one.” I nodded to show I understood. “They can get very… protective.”
“Sure, I understand that.” I concentrated on stirring the sauce. I didn’t want to think about Luc as a protector. It was easier to be angry when I thought of him as a bully. “I know that Shifters, and Alphas in particular, are protective of their mates and young. But I’m not a Shifter, nor am I mated to one.”
Sam was silent for so long that I thought he wasn’t going to reply. When he did, he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Some Alphas, their protective instincts get… fired up... I suppose you’d say, at the thought of any form of violence to women.”
Huh. That was something I hadn’t known. The anger in my chest was fading. I grasped at the dying embers, trying to keep my anger alive. If I didn’t like him, I could ignore my attraction to him. Luc might be protective of women, but he’d bullied Sam. I leaned back against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest. “He was out of line, though. To you.”
“No, he wasn’t,” Sam said. This time he made sure to meet me eyes and I was sure that he really meant it. “By Shifter standards, what he said was absolutely right.”
Well fuck. Sam had taken away all my ammunition. Luc was sex on a stick. Since the moment he’d entered my shop this morning I’d been thrown off kilter. He flustered me and made me want things I couldn’t have. I wanted to believe that he was an arrogant bully and not a hot, protective, sexy-as-all-hell Alpha. “Well, I think it was unnecessary,” I mumbled, turning back to the stove, hoping that he wouldn’t see how my face had heated at the thought of that protectiveness being directed towards me. “Really, this whole thing is unnecessary.”
Yes, it was unnecessary and part of melovedit. To have one person, other than my sister, who cared about my safety. To worry about me going home alone to an apartment that wasn’t in the best part of town. Maybe Ishouldhave gone to therapy about my issues with my parents. With my free hand I waved dramatically. “I hear what you’re saying. But it’s not very professional if he flies off the handle every time a woman is involved. I’m sure it’s understandable when he finds a mate, but he needs to dial the alpha-ness down a bit.”
Sam made a strangled sort of sound and I looked across at him in surprise.
