Deal With the Alpha (BBW Billionaire Shape Shifter Paranormal Erotica) by Sierra Wolf Page A

tailored suit. I’d never seen a man look so out of place, and yet so at home. Maxwell exuded a natural confidence that was different from the men in town-Less bravado and more tight control. I was used to the men in Woodward, all of whom wouldn’t hesitate to whistle at a busty girl in tight jeans, but Maxwell was something different. He hadn’t looked at my breasts once, and his deadly focus on his work was admirable, even to me.
    “So what about my job?” I asked.
    “Well, we do plan on having a restaurant within the club,” he replied, sensing an opening. “And I am happy to negotiate job contracts with your staff-provided they have the requisite skills.”
    So no flapjacks and burgers then. Somehow I didn’t think that Cody would be up to making foie gras or whatever it is they are planning on having. I pursed my lips tightly. Mr. Lalune was a typical businessman, used to getting his way and having us begging for his scraps. Well I wasn’t going along with it.
    “ Don’t bother, Mr. Lalune. We aren’t interested in selling out.”
    “Max is fine, and you haven’t heard my price.”
    “I don’t need to. We. Aren’t. Selling.”
    I pushed past him to get back to the front of the diner. It wasn’t a hard push, just enough to emphasize my point. This conversation was done. But before I could react he had whipped out his hand and grabbed my arm, spinning me around to face him. My eyes widened in surprise.
    “Don’t walk away from me,” he growled, lips pulled back in a snarl.
    Our gazes charged the air with tension. Then I noticed was that Max’s eyes weren’t like normal eyes. They were a golden amber, flashing like a sunset. In the dim light of the storeroom, they almost glowed. His grip on my hand tightened, until it almost hurt. For a moment, fear curled around my stomach. He wouldn’t dare do anything inappropriate, would he? I glanced nervously to the front of the diner. There wasn’t anyone in here who could hear me scream. My nerves tightened like a guitar string, readying myself for the worst.
    I looked back, and blinked confused. The glimmer was gone. His eyes were just a chocolate brown, and he released my hand. Max stepped back, disconcerted.
    “What… happened to you?” I whispered.
    Suddenly the bell rang on the front door, and Cody stomped in, his heavy footsteps thumping on the diner’s creaky wooden floors.
    “Penny? Who’re all those people out front?” he yelled. He entered the kitchen and glanced back and forth between us.
    “Everything okay here?”
    “Y-yes. Mr. Lalune was just leaving.”
    Max’s eyes flickered over to Cody, all three hundred pounds of him. He frowned a little, then shoved a card into my hand.
    “My number, in case you change your mind.”
    Without another word, he turned around and left. As soon as I heard the bell on the door, I sagged onto the floor, cradling my arm. A laugh rippled from somewhere within me, from relief or what I didn’t know. Cody walked over to me, concerned.
    “Penny? You okay?”
    “Yeah, yeah I’m fine Cody.”
    “What was that all about?”
    “He wanted us to sell. But I told him to kiss my ass.” I grinned weakly up at him, and stood up. I shoved the card into my back pocket and dusted myself off. “He offered us a job in his new yacht, but somehow I didn’t think you’d want to cook filet mignons for snobs.”
    “You got that right Penny. Now let’s open’er up.”

All thoughts of this morning were driven from my mind as I worked my butt off at the diner. It was busier than ever this Saturday morning. It wasn’t until I was trading off with my father for the evening shift that remembered what Max had said. I warned dad about the fact that he might try to show up again, and left to go home.
    During the drive home, I replayed the scene over and over in my head. The golden light in his eyes, the almost wild look he gave me as he held onto my arm… All of it was so strange. It was like for a moment, someone