To Catch a Snake: Book Three - Supernatural Bounty Hunter Romance Novellas (5 page)

Chapter Six

Ling smoothed down her dress and surveyed the outside of the Blau Bail Bond Agency. It was pretty shabby looking, and it wasn’t exactly in a great part of town.

She chewed her cheek and considered just turning around and hightailing it to the nearest Lunar Burger, but her panda started wailing, and she didn’t think it was worth the headache. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her way into the office.

Okay, so far, so good. She was expecting something seedy and smoky.
Yeah, she’d watched too many movies.
In reality, it was just a pleasant little office.

“One second and I’ll be with you,” called a harried voice.

“No problem,” she replied.

She sniffed the air; hmmmm, rabbit. A few seconds later, a small rabbit shifter bustled into the room; her face was obscured by the boxes she was carrying.
It was brave for a rabbit to work for a snake shifter.

Ling moved forward and took the top box. “Here, let me help you with that.”

“Thanks,” she said gratefully. Mia could have waited until Logan arrived; he’d have been more than happy to help, but she had been meaning to get rid of these boxes of junk for ages. They were filled with items previous customers had put up for their bail bonds. Not everyone had money to pay; some scraped together items from their homes, including TVs, blenders, a personal neck massager…
Mia shuddered when she saw that.

“Here, let’s put them over in the waiting area.”

They dumped both boxes on the shabby couch, and Mia wiped her hands. She blinked as she studied the woman stood in front of her. She had to be Carly's friend. In truth, she had been expecting a Carly clone, all wild hair, cheeky smile and impatient attitude. While the Chinese woman stood in front of her was Carly’s age, and possessed the same curves as Carly, she was an entirely different creature.

“Hello, I’m Ling.” She thrust out her hand, and Mia shook it.

Ling was sleek and businesslike, without a hair or eyelash out of place. Mia faltered a little; she felt so frumpy in comparison, with her baggy shirt and crumpled skirt.
If only Mia had seen her a couple of hours ago.

“So, you’re here about the job?”

Ling hesitated, but forced herself to speak. “Yes, I’m here to interview for it.”

“Marcus, my uncle, should be back soon, why don’t you sit at your desk – or, what would be your desk.” Mia led her over while Ling looked at her questioningly.

“Your uncle is a snake?” she asked in disbelief.

“My father is too.” Mia shrugged. It was a reaction that she was used to. People still had trouble believing a rabbit had mated a snake, but they were true mates. If fate thought her parents should be together, who was anyone else to question it?

Ling demurely sat on the chair. Her panda yapped at her. Okay, so this wasn’t so bad, and Mia seemed sweet.
If she could grow up around a snake, then Ling should have no problem working with one.

Mia offered to make her a drink, and she accepted a cup of tea.

Ling sat, twisting her hands, impatiently waiting for the snake to arrive. It was just like a snake to think other people didn’t matter! She was thinking of the many things she didn’t like about snake shifters when Carly, Jackson and a huge bear shifter erupted through the door. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest in surprise.

“You’re here!” squealed Carly.

“Well, obviously,” laughed Ling.

Carly’s eyes twinkled. “Ling, this is Logan, Logan this is Ling.”

The bear gave her a crooked smile and bound over. He engulfed her small hand in a warm handshake.

Carly made little cooing noises while Jackson groaned. Mmmm, the bear was nice looking, if a little large. He seemed pretty easy going, but he didn’t exactly exude confidence or power. That was what she liked; sadly both her ex-boyfriend and ex-husband had that in buckets. Ling smiled indulgently, but her panda let out a little growl of protest.
This shifter wasn’t for them.

Ling told him it was nice to meet him and settled back into her seat. Carly frowned but Ling ignored her.

Mia came out and handed Ling her drink while giving Logan an adoring glance. Carly and Jackson seemed completely oblivious, but Ling could see the heated look Logan gave her in return.
Hmmm, if she had wanted him, it looked like he was already taken anyway.

Carly was soon distracted by something shiny. “Ooh, where did this come from?” She pulled the blender out of one of the junk boxes and started inspecting it.

Mia pursed her lips. “It was from one of the previous skips; he was a personal trainer who attacked one of his clients. He didn’t have quite enough money, so we got his blender and his coffee maker. He was a nasty piece of work.”

Carly twisted the blender in her hands. “Hmmm, he had good taste in home appliances though. Can I keep it?”

Mia rolled her shoulders and concentrated on her computer screen. “Sure, if you want it.”

Jackson grunted. “You’re not bringing that piece of crap home with you, we barely have enough room as it is.”

Carly stuck out her tongue. The mates lived in Jackson’s trailer, and given Carly’s collection of shoes – which, as Jackson pointed out, she never wore – space was at a premium.

“I’m not taking it home,” she told him, haughtily. “It’s staying here.”

He folded his arms. “What do you want with a blender?”

She sniffed. “I’m going to make smoothies. I’m on a diet.”

“Since when?” asked Ling in bewilderment.
Hadn’t they just shared a box of toaster pastries less than three hours ago?

“Since now, the blender gave me the idea.”

“Stupid, fucking blender,” muttered Jackson, eyeing it with loathing.

Carly set up the blender on Ling’s desk, or her almost-desk, she still had to get the job. Which, Carly had no doubt she would.

“Hey, that tickles!” yelped Ling as Carly climbed under the desk to plug it in.

Jackson smiled wolfishly as her ass wriggled under the desk.

She climbed back out and disappeared into the kitchen, bringing back a pile of fruit and vegetables and some yogurt. Thankfully, her mate ate healthily. She crammed everything into the blender.

Ling watched her with interest. “Alright, I’ll ask. Why are you suddenly on a diet?”

“Yeah,” snarled Jackson. “I don’t know who the hell you’re trying to lose weight for, but I will rip his fucking throat out.”

Ling’s eyes widened, but no one else seemed overly concerned by his proclamation.

“I’m not trying to lose weight; I’ve decided I need to get in shape to catch those bounties. We’ll also have to start doing some exercise.”

Jackson’s eyes turned amber, and he growled lustily; he opened his mouth to speak, and Carly interrupted him. “Real exercise, not the type you’re thinking of.”

Ling looked at the mushy mess in the blender as Carly added wheatgrass. She ran her hands down her, somewhat, thick thighs. “Rather you than me.”

Mia asked the two male shifters to get rid of the two boxes of junk. It wasn’t said, but it was implied that Mia wanted them gone before Carly found something else she wanted to keep. Logan and a slightly mollified Jackson did as she asked, disappearing out the office.

Carly grunted in frustration, rattling the blender. “This thing isn’t working.”

“Well, it has been sitting in the cupboard for a few months,” murmured Mia absently.

Carly took the top off and peered inside. “Maybe I put too much stuff in, here hold this.” Carly passed the lid to Ling before disappearing under the desk again.

“A-ha! It wasn’t switched on at the socket,” cried Carly, seconds before the blender started whirring.

The mixture flew into the air, splattering all over Ling, who screamed in surprise and banged the buttons, trying to make it stop. It did, and Carly emerged from under the desk with a sheepish look on her face.

She took in the green, slimy mixture currently adorning her best friend. “Whoops!”

“Whoops?!” shrieked Ling.

Carly shook her shoulders trying not to laugh, and noticed Mia was doing the same. “Green’s a good color on you…”

“Ugh!”

The bell on the door tinkled. “Having fun, ladies?” asked a silken voice.

Ling felt a little tingle at the voice; she spun around and gasped. Her panda mewled in fervent glee.
Holy hell, the man stood before her was gorgeous!
His dark green eyes bore into her, and god, she felt him pierce her soul. He stood at six feet tall; he was lean and trim, clothed in a well-cut black suit. A wry smile played upon his dark lips. Damn, he could be an angel… if he weren’t a snake shifter. She felt a little trepidation at that, but her panda soon soothed her. There was an innate stillness and sense of restrained power that called to her on a base level.
Her little beast was already besotted!

“Oh… ummm… I…” Ling grasped at words; she knew she had a name lying around here somewhere.

“You must be Ling,” he purred.

Yes! That was it!

“It’s nice to meet you; I’m Marcus.” He held out his hand, but Ling didn’t move to take it.

“I would, but I’m covered in goo,” she said, blushing furiously.

“So I see.”

Her sex fluttered at his velvety voice. Oooh, he should do books on tape… erotic books… that she would listen to, over and over again.
No, down girl!

He cocked his head on one side. “Why don’t you take a few moments to… freshen up, and then come into my office so we can start the interview?”

Great, just great. She was standing in front of the hottest, most attractive guy she’d ever met, and she was covered in goo! And he just happened to be her new boss. Terrific – as experience had taught her, dating the boss generally didn’t turn out all that well. “Maybe, I should go home and change,” she suggested quietly.

His jaw twitched. “There’s really no need; it doesn’t matter what you look like.”

She deflated a little at that. Apparently, he could give a crap what she looked like, he didn’t think she looked nice and clearly he wasn’t attracted to her. “Okay, just give me five minutes.”

He nodded and disappeared into his office. She shot to the bathroom, pulling Carly with her. After a few minutes or primping she reemerged with her short hair tied back with a band, a fresh coat of make-up, and she was wearing Carly’s clothes. The fox shifter had put up a bit of a struggle at first, but Ling had been determined. Alright, so the black shorts and the She-Ra vest top weren’t exactly her style, but teamed with her pumps and her purse, she just about pulled them off. Carly trailed after her, scowling and wearing her gloopy shift dress.

Squaring her shoulders, she knocked on his door and quivered when he told her to come in.

He was sat at his desk; he’d taken off his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves, unveiling his ropey arm muscles. His deep eyes watched her carefully, mercilessly taking in every detail of her body. Hell, she felt naked in front of him. Her panda was practically dancing up and down,
getting naked sounded like a good idea…

If he was surprised that she was wearing Carly’s clothes, he didn’t show it. In fact, it was kind of hard to get a read on him, he seemed pretty emotionless altogether.

He motioned for her to sit down, and she did. He tapped his fingers on the desk, staring at her for a few moments.

She smiled nervously, and he smiled in return.

“So, when can you start?” he asked unexpectedly.

“Oh! Ummm, today?”
The sooner, the better!
Her beast yipped in approval.

“Great, welcome aboard.”

“Umm, not that I’m complaining, but don’t you want to… ummm, know why I was fired from my last job.” She looked at her feet as her panda gave her a growl. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she didn’t really want him to know about her relationship with Myron. It didn’t feel right talking about a past lover with him for some reason, and not just because he was her boss, there was something else.
She didn’t like the idea of him picturing her with anyone else…

His jaw ticked. “Jackson already told me.”

She harrumphed.
Ugh, stupid Jackson!

Seeing her discomfort, he was quick to reassure her. “It doesn’t matter to me. And don’t worry; you won’t get fired for sleeping with your boss here.”

She sucked in a breath. Was it her imagination, or did his voice just turn husky? Was he suggesting they were going to sleep together, but she definitely wouldn’t get fired for it? Excitement coursed through her.
No, stop, easy girl.
He probably just means he’s never going to sleep with you. That thought was a real bummer.

Marcus gave her a curious look. “You’re not still… I mean, you’re not still dating your old boss, are you?”

“No! Absolutely no, hell no! Not in a million years, even if he hadn’t fired me, we wouldn’t be dating,” she blurted in a rush. Heavens, she sounded like a lunatic. She had to do something to make her seem normal. “I’m actually single right now.” She gave herself a mental kick, how did telling him that help?