“James...er...Frank?”
“You can call me whatever you want, princess,” James stepped closer to Yvette, and Allison realized the moment had turned really,
really personal. She mumbled something about finding Christopher, but neither James nor Yvette noticed when she stepped away. She turned, hurrying away from the couple embracing, and she ran into a big wall of muscle.
She looked up to see Christopher standing there, staring down at her.
“Hello, kitten.”
“Oh,” Allison whispered.
“Oh indeed. Come with me.”
Christopher took her hand and led her out of the ballroom. The party was being held at a huge hotel that was both beautiful and overwhelming. There were guests everywhere and loud music playing, but once they were out of the ballroom, the noise quieted. Christopher guided her down a hallway and to a set of elevators.
“Where are we going?” Allison whispered.
“To my suite.”
“You have a suite here?”
“I do tonight, and we’re going to talk, kitten.”
“Talk?”
“Yes, Allison. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Did you know that James is actually my sister’s ex-boyfriend?”
She still couldn’t wrap her head around that. She hadn’t known. She’d had no clue at all.
“I found out today,” Christopher told her. “James came by my office. He was concerned about hanging out with you tonight and wanted to make sure there weren’t going to be any hard feelings.”
“And were there?”
“No, kitten.”
They reached the top floor of the hotel and stepped off. Then Christopher guided Allison down a hallway lined with mirrors and to a big door at the end of the hall. He swiped his keycard, and they stepped into what was probably the most gorgeous hotel suite she’d ever seen in her life.
“Christopher?”
“Allison,” he turned to her and reached for her shoulders. “You’re my mate. I’m sorry I ditched you in my office.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered.
“It’s not okay,” he told her. “It won’t happen again, and I’m sorry for any pain I caused you.”
“It’s really okay,” she said again. Allison had been wrong, too. They both had. They’d hurt each other even though they’d never intended to.
“Allison, I’ve liked you for a long time. I’ve cared about you for what feels like an eternity.”
“You have?”
“If I’m not wrong, you’ve cared about me, too.”
“I’ve cared about you ever since I started working for you,” Allison blushed. It was a little embarrassing to say it out loud. “I know that’s probably wrong, but I always figured, you know, that you wouldn’t want to cross any lines with the employee-employer relationship.”
“Are you telling me you thought I was a proper sort of dragon?”