Delivered to My Elves (Mail-Order Matings #18)

Chapter One

Misty

“No, dear, you go ahead and have a drink.” Cousin Anita placed a hand on her rounded belly and gave it an affectionate pat. “Lemonade for me,” she told the server. “No alcohol for a while.”

“When are you due?” the petite redhead gushed. “I just love babies.”

“I probably look just about ready to deliver, but I’m only six months.” Anita managed a blush, which impressed me not at all, since we did this routine every time we were in public.

“Oh no,” the girl protested. “You have such a cute small bump. I only noticed because you mentioned the no-alcohol thing.” And patted her belly. I was tempted to rub mine and pat my head for attention. “We have the best strawberry lemonade, house made, if you’d like to try it? Fresh fruit instead of all the fake stuff most places try to push on you.”

They discussed the recipe, the fact it was sweetened only lightly with honey because the strawberries were so sweet, and Anita mentioned that honey was fine according to her doctor, so yes please. My cousin had met her mates only seven months before via an app she’d been trying to get me to join ever since.

They lived just one street over from her, two grizzly friends who had always wanted to share their lives with one mate, and the day after they matched with her, she walked around the corner for dinner and only came back to pack. No wonder she thought the Mail-Order Matings app was the best thing ever.

But lightning was not going to strike twice. I’d tried a few online dating sights and met some real duds. Then started a new job and got a look at Rob, a wolf shifter with the best bad-boy attitude ever. I’d never have said that was my type, but he was so handsome and full of confidence and when we worked on a project together, that confidence seemed to rub off on me.

I wanted other parts of him to rub on me, too. Not that I’d ever said a word about it because I watched so many women in the office try that to no avail. No, I merely worked with him and admired him from afar and wished he’d notice me soon. There were signs he was starting to. Like he called me his work mate, and since he didn’t have any other mate, that was positive…wasn’t it?

“Earth to Misty?” Anita bumped my knee with hers. “What are you going to order?”

“Oh, Diet Coke and a garden salad, dressing on the side.” Because, unlike my cousin who was happily settled, I couldn’t let my figure go. Not until Rob noticed it.

“And I’ll have the double cheeseburger plate with extra fries and a chocolate shake.” Sure the lemonade was lightly sweetened…and all natural. The rest? Well, I’d steal a few fries.

After we finished eating, I grabbed the check because I had not been the best company. Anita chattered on and on about her mates and what studs they were in the bedroom and how she’d never been so surprised as when she found herself pregnant within a couple of weeks. “Before I even moved my dresser over to the house.”

But the fact I’d heard the story so many times was no reason to be rude. I hugged her, kissed her belly because I was going to adore my little cousin even if their mommy, my cousin and bestie, was currently driving me over the edge with subtle reminders that her life was amazing and mine was not.

She didn’t mean it that way, wanted the best for me, and I was super happy for her. But some days I wanted to talk about a different topic and maybe forget my own failures in the relationship arena. I even got her a piece of carrot cake to take home.

Back at the office, I shrugged off the low mood. I had a meeting with Rob in a few minutes. I passed the reception desk where a cluster of women gathered giggling and whispering. A comment, “Well, I’m not giving up until I see the mating marks,” floated after me. Odd. I continued down the hallway where more whispers and laughter and strange remarks had me wondering who they were talking about. Apparently someone was getting mated, and they were all up in arms over it. My boss had been talking about some cheetah girl for a while, but every time things seemed serious, they backed off.

Chuckling under my breath, I opened the door to the conference room and my world fell out from under me. My head spun and my knees went weak—I grabbed the doorframe and held on as darkness threatened to take a bad situation and make it a hundred times worse.

Rob was sitting at the head of the table, his usual spot, but what was less usual was the fact that he was bent down, his head under the skirt of one of the partners’ secretaries. She lay back on the table, braced on her elbows, and her moan sent a chill down my spine. I stayed in place, waiting for them to notice me. There was a full glass wall facing the hallway, and had I looked inside before entering, I wouldn’t be in the spot I was now. I’d be in the bathroom sobbing my eyes out or possibly throwing things out the window in a rage. Preferably Rob’s things. Maybe that was still an option? I turned on a heel, ready to make a quick getaway, when I heard a gasp.

I tried not to look—really I did my best—but it was like a traffic accident, impossible to glance away from. “Rob, honey, we’re not alone.” The woman, Bonnie, a lynx shifter, sat up and patted her skirt. “That production assistant is watching us.”

She didn’t even use my name, which, in a company our size, she had to know.

The skirt flipped back and Rob’s face emerged, shiny from lips to chin with…eeewww. I couldn’t even think about it. And then it got worse. Bonnie turned her head, and her low-cut blouse showed the fresh mark on the side of her throat.

Fuck.

My boss wasn’t mating some random coworker. No, the happy couple were right in front of me, my secret crush’s face slick with his new mate’s juices. I clapped a hand over my mouth and ran for the bathroom to be sick.