Her Alpha Lover: A Draken and Charli Boxed Set Read Free Page A

"Draken's up to something."
    "Just a bit of amusement," Draken drawled. "All right, everybody, sit back, relax, and most of all...pay attention. Help Ms. Fontina out. As we all can see, she's extremely nervous, presenting to us today. She really needs our help to unwind."
    As we all can see? So she was that obvious? Anxiously her gaze flew to Draken. He looked back steadily. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.
    The smart thing was to leave. Even allowing herself to consider his proposal was humiliating to a degree. If she continued...
    No. She was fine. She'd done nothing wrong. Her chin lifted. She would do this, and she wouldn't be ashamed of her ill-fitting business suit or the her average looks. He'd asked for it, so...with resolve, Charli dropped her jacket onto a chair back.
    Then she sucked it in and began to unbutton her blouse.
    Suddenly you could hear a pin drop in the room.
    "Ms. Fontina, we're getting bored, here," Draken said into the silence, his eyes narrowed. "Please resume your pitch."
    She stiffened as it dawned on her he expected her to continue her spiel while she was stripping—if you could call this prosaic unbuttoning stripping.
    She swallowed. "Um. Right, okay. To recap what I was saying before the break..." She began haltingly to speak, her voice soft now, as her fingers clumsily worked the buttons. Focusing on intelligent speech when she was conscious of her shirt parting, of her newly exposed bra, was torture.
    There were a couple of smothered laughs. Her words faltered. She froze with the material half off her shoulders.
    Oh, damn, her bra. It was a sturdy, black, lace-free number that, despite the sexy color, was made for support rather than provocation. Inwardly she cringed. She had a few nice-looking bras in the back of her drawer. Why had she not worn any of them today? Her face felt like it could melt ice.
    "I didn't quite hear your last statement, Ms. Fontina," Draken said innocently. "John, did you catch that?"
    "Nope," said a cheerful voice.
    "Project your voice, please," someone else called.
    And suddenly everyone was talking, "encouraging" her, and Charli could feel the amusement in the room. Oddly, it didn't seem malicious. These guys weren't actively trying to make her miserable, she sensed. They were just enjoying themselves, watching a sexy show. A few loosened their ties; one jabbed his neighbor with his elbow and chuckled. They were having a good time.
    The only one who seemed at all tense was herself. Well, and Draken, surprisingly. His lips were pressed flat.
    Yeah, she thought, he really hadn't thought she'd do it.
    He probably hadn't bet on her doing it to show him she could .
    Charli stared straight at him, forcing herself to go on—with talking, with taking off her blouse. Her hands shook badly, and she was embarrassed to hear the stammering nonsense that poured from her mouth.
    And to realize that if her nipples were saluting before, now they were clapping and shouting, Look here! This bra is pathetic! It hides nothing!
    Yup, in the fluorescent lighting of the room, all these guys could clearly see her nipples poking out.
    Don't think about it. Think about your promotion. Think about your raise. Think about twenty thousand.
    A swish of movement alerted her. A dark guy with a neck tattoo wearing a bright green suit was raising his hand, like a student in a classroom.
    "Y-yes?" she said, her fingers hovering at the front clasp of her bra.
    "What kind of timeline are we talking about here? Are you thinking this will go down before or after Thanksgiving?" he asked blandly, and others immediately echoed him, nodding.
    "B-before," she mumbled, trying to smile confidently. "This shouldn't intrude on anyone's holiday celebration."
    The man smirked. Oh, God. This was mortifying. Here they were, treating this like a straight business presentation, and here she was, baring her body for them. Her fingers worked the clasp as she doggedly continued with her pitch. Now she could hardly