“Most do,” Emmett agreed. He liked the idea. If Jonah wasn’t receptive to that kind of attention, and now seemed a little early for him to have to deal with that kind of thing, it’d be simple enough to tell someone he was taken so they’d stop asking. Butsome species would be able to tell it was a lie unless it had some truth to it. “You should tell them you’re seeing me.”
That made Jonah stop, whipping his head up to look at him. “What?”
Emmett shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Some supes can tell when you’re lying. If you tell them you’re in a relationship with me, it won’t be a lie. Friendship is a type of relationship. And I’m happy to play pretend boyfriend to keep the assholes off your back.”
He winked, hoping a little flirting would help bring some color back into Jonah’s cheeks. It definitely worked. Jonah’s cheeks flushed bright red and that hint of arousal he’d picked up more than once tinged the air. His tail swished in pleasure and for the first time, he was too out in the open to hide it. It snagged Jonah’s attention, his eyes dropping to the wily appendage.
“Does… Does your tail wag? Like a dog?”
Making an offended sound, Emmett scowled at him. “I’m not a dog!”
Jonah made a curious sound, a sly grin taking over his face. “Okay… but does it wag when you’re happy or excited?”
Emmett pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to answer that.
“Does it… droop when you’re sad? Tuck between your legs when you’re scared?” he teased.
“No. I don’t get scared,” Emmett sniffed.
“So it could be true, but you don’t know,” Jonah countered.
Emmett mock growled at him, making Jonah laugh. The sound settled the agitation in Emmett’s chest, as did the smile on Jonah’s face. He no longer looked pale and shaken. He looked more like Jonah, teasing and playful and cute enough to eat.
Emmett wanted to lick him.
Jonah made it back to Kian’s office without any other incidents. Part of that probably had something to do with his new shadow, Emmett refused to go anywhere before he was sure Jonah was safe, but Jonah didn’t mind. After the encounter that morning, he liked that Emmett stuck close.
It still stunned him that he’d felt so shaken after that experience. He’d never felt like that before, and it’d honestly scared him a little. He understood better why some humans avoided supes if that was their only experience with them. He wasn’t going to let it ruin his view of supes as a whole, he’d met too many good people to write them all off with one bad interaction, but he’d be more careful in the future. And maybe take Emmett up on his idea to say they were together. What were the chances the guy would’ve backed off if he thought Jonah was taken? The idea of being in a relationship with Emmett made him a little breathless, but that would only sell the story if he was actually interested, right?
Kian scrutinized him when he came into the fae’s office, eyes narrowed. “You okay?”
Jonah nodded, gesturing a hand at Emmett. “We went for a walk. It helped a lot. Sorry I’m late.”
Kian scoffed, waving away his apology. “Being intimidated is not something I take lightly, and I’ll be having a conversation with Supernatural Resources about the behavior. This isn’t the first time that particular werewolf has caused trouble for my temps, and I’m tired of it.”
Emmett stiffened beside him. “Wait, what? He’s done this before?” he growled. The sound was entirely inhumane and threatening, and yet Jonah felt nothing. Well, okay, not nothing.It was a little hot. But it didn’t scare the shit out of him like the interaction with the other wolf had. That was weird, right? He’d never felt afraid of Emmett, even in the beginning. Unnerved, maybe, before he knew him, but never afraid. What was it about this werewolf that made him so special?
Dipping his chin, Kian pulled out a file and offered it to him. “Morgan was amongst the first wave of temps brought to the medical innovations division after the coup. He lasted only a few hours before he felt too uncomfortable to stick around and had to be replaced.Kyle–” He said the name so derisively, Jonah almost felt bad for the guy when he eventually faced Kian– “then decided to come to my desk to try to demand Morgan’s contact information. His attempt at intimidation failed, I have a spell against it, but I recognized the energy. I’m no longer interested in playing nice about this.”
Emmett’s growl was almost constant as he read through the file, his lip lifted in a snarl that showed off sharp teeth. Jonah felt his cheeks flush again. Why was that so hot?
Emmet’s gaze suddenly snapped to him, making Jonah jump in surprise. He grimaced. Maybe he was still a little shaky.
“Can you put Jonah back in Entertainment this week?” Emmett asked, finally shifting his gaze back to Kian. “I’m there for another week, and I’d like to keep an eye on him. If Kyle was persistent about the last human, I don’t trust him not to come looking for trouble.”
“Neither do I,” Kian agreed. “But I was actually going to send him to the main IT floor. He graduated with a degree in computer science, and they need help setting up the cyber security floor.”
Jonah perked up at that. His time working with Wendell had been nice, he’d gotten to learn a lot about servers. More opportunities actually working with tech would be awesome.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Jonah insisted. He didn't want one jerk ruining his chances at a job opportunity. “I’m fine.”
Kian gave him another long look, possibly assessing whether or not he could truly handle it. He could. He’d dealt with bullies before. He was scrawny as a kid and bigger kids liked to pick on him. He never let it fly. He wasn’t going to let this one win.
“Fine.” Kian smirked at Emmett’s disgruntled sound, pointing at Jonah. “He feels comfortable, and he’s excited. Let him make his own choices.” Pushing papers around, he pulled out one and handed it to Jonah. “You’ll be meeting someone named Francine. She’s the receptionist on the main IT floor, and she’ll let you know where you need to go every day. Since they’re making a new section of IT, they need help doing a variety of things, so it’ll be good experience for you.”
Jonah beamed at him, more than happy to go wherever they sent him.
Snorting, Kian waved him off. “Go. Do tech-y things. And if you have any trouble, call me immediately. Got it?”
