Their Eyes Met For A Few Heartbeats
1648 Words
"Wait!" Kit's voice was panicked. "Take them with you!"
Beta stopped slowly and stood in front of her.
"You wanted them to fight? You wanted something exciting, so here it is! If you created a problem, then you'll have to solve it yourself." He looked at the men. "Are you going to hurt her?" They both shook their heads. Beta nodded.
"That's good. I have other things to do. Figure it out!"
That's why Beta avoided women. They gave him a headache and he never knew what to expect from them. He left the hotel and headed for his jeep. The memory of one particular woman filled his head and he growled.
A human woman. Even thinking about her made his c**k twitch, so he pushed them away. Women were always bad news, but the human hectic ones should be avoided at all costs. Especially the pretty ones, the redheads, the ones with the unforgettable green eyes.
***
Richard slumped down in his chair.
"We don't have to answer hate mail. Sometimes, if I'm mad, I'll send a few replies." He chuckled. "Just be polite. That's what I was told. No one said politeness and sarcasm couldn't go together.”
Aileen laughed, and Richard, wanting to prove his point, turned the computer monitor toward her. "Read this letter and tell me when you're done. I'll show you my reply."
The girl walked over to his desk, leaned over, and began reading the letter. By the end of the letter, she was furious. Some man was calling the werewolves a group of rabid animals who should all be sterilized and euthanized. Her eyes found Richard, and he clicked on the tab he was working on.
She started laughing almost immediately. Richard had written an extremely polite letter to tell the asshole that his feelings were mutual and everyone here was glad he shared his opinions on men like himself. It was incredibly polite, but only if you didn't read the original letter. Richard winked.
"I just had to respond."
"This is a total bust. I hope his ass splits when he read your reply."
"Me too."
The mailbag was full. She opened it, grabbed the top letter, and used a box cutter to open the envelope. Richard had told her to scan each letter and enter it into the computer to number all correspondence and respond if she felt a response was necessary.
Communications would print and mail any letters she deemed necessary. It was a grim job. Most of the mail she received was revolting, but she found some really good letters written by children.
Time flew by. When the door opened, Aileen was sitting cross-legged, her skirt tucked between her thighs, typing a reply to a cute little girl from Iowa who had written that she loved werewolves and thought they were cool. She looked up as John walked in.
"It's lunchtime!" Richard announced, and she immediately pulled her skirt down and put on her shoes. She grabbed her purse.
"You won't need it. Your money is useless here. Just throw your bag on your desk. It's safe. There's no such thing as theft here."
She nodded to Richard and followed the men out of the building. As she went down in the basement, John turned to her.
"How do you like your job?"
“I'm happy I have her.”
“That's good.” His gaze fell on her. “How are you doing, Richard? Have you been mad yet today?”
“Not today yet.” Richard laughed. “She helped me stay in a good mood despite the worst letters.”
“Good.” John started his walk. “I'm glad it's not my job to read all that crap. I'd be mad all the time.”
They pulled up to a multi-floor. Although there was no sign on the floors, she was pretty sure it used to be a hotel. There were a lot of SUVs and golf carts parked along the street and in the parking lot, and she was starting to get nervous.
"It's crowded in here."
"We all eat at the same time," Richard stood up from his seat. "The cafeteria made a huge buffet, but the line moves fast. We have an hour to eat."
When Richard said the word "huge," Aileen immediately thought of her fallen angel. She gritted her teeth, knowing she should stop calling him that. He had a name. Black. As soon as she, Richard, and John entered the lobby, she immediately looked around.
As she walked into the cafeteria, which was the size of a gymnasium, she suddenly remembered high school. The tables were arranged in rows, each with a wastebasket. She felt out of place. On the opposite side of the room was a long steel counter with a line of people four deep. Many of the tables were already filled.
She looked around at the people around her as she followed John and Richard to one of the lines. The line did move quickly. There was only a handful of human employees, and the werewolves outnumbered them about thirty to one. This made her feel uneasy.
There were probably over two hundred werewolves eating in the cafeteria. The women were tall and athletic, while the men were heavier. She looked at the man who passed her and was struck by the amount of food on his plate. His plate was more of a platter, and the meat was stacked about six inches high.
“Don’t look,” Richard said softly, and she turned to look at him.
“I was looking at the amount of food.”
“I feel I must warn you that most of them eat meat that's raw on the inside. Don't be surprised. When we get to the buffet, go left, not right. The left side offers cooked meat. The right side offers raw meat. It looks cooked until you take a bite. " He chuckled. "I made that mistake on my first day on the job, and it was funny to everyone around me except me.”
“Thank you. " she meant it. She didn't want to end her lunch with the wrong choice.
John turned right, and Aileen followed Richard to the left. Not all the werewolves chose raw meat, as some remained standing in line ahead of them. Her colleague handed her a standard-sized tray and grabbed one for himself.
She followed Richard to the long buffet, marveling at the amount and variety of food. She picked out a meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, some chicken fingers, some fries, and a piece of chocolate pie, and grabbed a soda and silverware for last.
They sat down at an empty table against the wall near the front doors. Richard smiled.
"I told you they were serving buffet, didn't I?"
She unfolded a paper napkin, placed it on her lap, and nodded. She sliced the meatloaf and took a bite. When the taste filled her mouth, she was stunned and let out a soft moan.
"Just like Mom used to make, huh? They have their catering service, and it's damn good."
"This meatloaf is amazing. With the mushroom sauce... So good."
"You can always come back for more in a few seconds. Or minutes. And no one will look at you the wrong way. We eat hellishly smaller portions than they do.”
Aileen saw someone approach their table and recognized a familiar face.
“Hi, Creek. Want to eat with us?”
“Yeah,” Creek took a seat next to her and smiled at Richard. “Hi, human male.”
Richard laughed.
“Hi, Creek. I'm Richard.”
Creek spun around in her chair. “How's your first day going, Aileen?”
“Great. "I love my job," she glanced at her new friend's plate, which held several steaks and a large mound of salad, and then noticed what looked like coffee ice cream.
"I didn't even see it there. I like iced coffee."
"It's in the right corner of the buffet. They have chocolate, mint, nuts. We love caffeine," Creek replied.
"Who doesn't?" she grinned.
She glanced around the room. Everything seemed strange to her. Some of the werewolves were looking at her, but Aileen figured they were as curious about her as they were about her. A movement near the door caught her eye, and two tall men entered the cafeteria.
And there he was, her fallen angel. Black wore a black uniform, but without the bulletproof vest, and walked side by side with an equally large man. They talked quietly among themselves, but she didn't even look at his friend.
Her gaze was fixed on Black. She couldn't believe she was seeing him again, but she knew it was him.
His hair was long, the daylight highlighting its exotic coloring—a soft brown with streaks of red, blonde, and honey. It fell loosely over his broad shoulders, and she remembered very well how satin it felt. Black passed their table, and she got a good look at his rear.
Her, angel's pants hugged a nice firm ass. His waist was narrow, and his torso was as big and muscular as she remembered. The booze had nothing to do with her finding him sexy. That was a fact. She swallowed hard and tried to catch her breath. He was gorgeous, from head to toe. His every move was graceful and sensual, impossible to miss.
Black glanced over his shoulder, as if he felt an appraising gaze on him, and scanned the area of the room where Aileen was sitting until his gaze settled on her. Their eyes met for a few heartbeats. His momentum carried him forward, taking a few more steps, and suddenly his entire body seemed to freeze. He skidded to a halt.
- Writer
