Chapter Two
The Scent That Changes Everything
Acheron
The first thing I notice is silence.Not the peaceful kind and not the kind that comes at the end of a long, satisfying day.No.This silence is heavy and thick with expectation.
I’m standing near the window of my office when it hits me.A wholly unexpected scent.Thick, sweet, spiced with heat and something that absolutely doesn’t belong in this sterile glass tower.Something feral.
My dragon jolts awake beneath my skin, and I stagger forward with a snarl, bracing a hand on the wall as the scent rips through me like wildfire.It crashes through my chest, sharp and unrelenting, sinking claws into my soul.
Mine.
The word detonates inside me with all the subtlety of a bomb.
“No,” I breathe, snarling as my dragon claws against my ribs.
He doesn’t stop.Because he knows.
Fated.Mine.Ours.
My fingers change into talons and dig into the marble window frame leaving deep gouges.I haven’t smelled anything like this in my entire life.It smells like lilies scorched in the sunlight mixed with wild magic that is barely restrained.It’s arousal, submission, and fire.
Turning around, I slam my hand against my oak desk before growling toward the intercom.“Get me security.”
My assistant, Greta, doesn’t reply but a moment later a deep voice answers, “Samuel speaking.”
“Who has been working on the executive floor?”I demand.“A cleaner or someone.”
“Just janitorial, sir.The evening rotation,” he replies with a clipped tone.
“I need to know who was in my office.”Desperation makes me even more impersonal than usual when speaking to my staff.
Silence.Then I hear the clack of the keys on a keyboard as Samuel retrieves the information I desperately need.
“Her name is Zahara Matthews.She isn’t a new hire, but she was recently promoted to the executive floor when the spot opened up.”
Zahara Matthews.The name brands itself into my skull.
“Pull up camera three.”
I don’t wait for a response before I end the call.I swipe open the security console on my screen, hands shaking with rage.No, not rage.This is something worse, something darker.This is a dangerous mix of lust and hunger.
I watch the screen for a moment before she finally appears.She is petite with auburn hair twisted into a messy bun.She is wearing an oversized dove gray hoodie and black leggings that cling to a body built for being bent.She’s wiping down my desk with trembling hands.Her cheeks are flushed and even through the screen I can tell her breathing is erratic.
And then she stops dead in her tracks.One hand is pressed tightly to her chest like she’s trying to keep her heart from exploding.Even from here I can see her rubbing her thighs together and my cock jerks in the confines of my navy-blue slacks.
