Chapter 1
“Mr. Monster, can I offer you some coffee?”
The woman standing in Brian’s doorway was holding a damn tray filled with coffee and cookies, but she was shaking so badly that the entire tray threatened to spill all over the office floor.
He sighed when he looked over at her. He hated how the poor woman was so scared to be there.
Was she scared of dragons?
Or was she just scared of him?
“You can set it on the side table,” Brian jerked his head toward the table, and then he turned back to his computer.
He had a busy day full of errands and meetings and client problems to deal with. Then he was going to go back to his house, have a glass of whiskey, and jerk off all night. After the week he’d had, he deserved it. That was what Brian thought. He thought he deserved to have a good orgasm – or orgasms – before bed.
The woman in his office now was cute and perky and nervous as hell. She was a shifter, just as Brian was. Only, instead of being a fierce dragon, she was a little cat: a kitten, to be precise. Brian didn’t mind cat shifters when they were big. Lions or tigers were perfectly fine to be around, but a kitten?
Well, she had some problems, and being skittish was only one of them.
“Savannah, stop freaking out,” Brian finally said, but it was the wrong thing to start with because she did, in fact, freak out. Savannah jumped and the contents of the tray spilled everywhere. There was a clatter, and the puddle of coffee started to spread across the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” she shrieked. Then she shifted into her cat form and stood there on the ground, surrounded by a pile of clothes. She poofed out her body. Her fur stood upright. Even her tail was up and poofed out. She was the ultimate definition of a scaredy cat.
“It’s fine, Savannah,” Brian sighed.
She was his new assistant slash secretary. The three Monster brothers shared an assistant who could do things like manage their schedules and help them deal with clients. Their last assistant, McKenzie, had developed an unhealthy crush on Brian and had caused a reign of chaos around the office. They were all glad that McKenzie was gone; however, Savannah was a handful.
“What’s going on?” Allison, Brian’s sister-in-law, walked into the room. “I thought I heard a crash.” Allison took one look at Savannah in kitten form and burst out laughing. Then she reached down and picked the kitten up, stroking her head. “Did you get scared?”
“I’m afraid that was my fault,” Brian admitted sheepishly. His brothers knew he was a harsh guy. They’d never accused him of being nice. Still, he hadn’t meant to scare Savannah. He had just been warning her to be careful.
“She’s new, Brian. You have to be nice to her.”
“I was trying,” he sighed.
“It’s not your fault.” Allison held the kitten up, so they were face-to-face. “Brian’s last secretary was a crazy bitch, so he’s edgy as hell. Come on. Let’s go back to my office and you can get dressed there.”
Allison collected Savannah’s clothing and headed out of the office. Brian breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he wouldn’t have to deal with the awkwardness of Savannah trying to shit back and get redressed right there. As a shifter, he wasn’t exactly weird about nudity, but having his secretary get dressed in his office was a bit much, even for him.
“Mops are in the hall closet,” Allison called over her shoulder. Then she was gone, and Brian was left alone. He got up and headed over to the closet to grab a mop. It was going to be a long day, and it was only mid-morning.
What else could possibly go wrong today?
“Trouble in paradise?” Declan, Brian’s brother, showed up.
“For fuck’s sake,” Brian growled. “What is this? Everyone-Go-Talk-to-Brian Day?”
“Calm down, little brother.”
“I’m not your little brother. We’re triplets. We’re the same age. Besides, I’m a few minutes older than you.”
“Hmm, seems like Mr. Dragon woke up on the wrong side of the treasure pile,” Declan said. “What’s going on?”
“Savannah spilled the coffee and snacks.”
“Yeah, that’s because she’s scared of you.”
“I caught that.”