Did he say a kiss?

Eleanor was surprised to find the man who had sneaked up on her was none other than Henry Hudsen. Her fight-response disappeared, replaced by embarrassment. She pushed him away and stepped back, hoping he didn’t notice how she blushed. Damn, what was it with him and making her so flustered? A second ago, she was ready to crush his groin in full defensive mode. But the sight of his face alone and the thought of how close they’d been–even if it had only been for a moment–was enough to send her heart racing. She moved behind her desk and took a seat–the farther away she was from him, the better. “I didn’t figure you for someone who enters people’s houses through windows.” He arched his brow as he perched on the corner of her desk. He was so relaxed, as if he had been inside her office before. “I’m here to discuss your divorce and replacing your husband, and we can’t do that publicly, can we?” No, they couldn’t. She swallowed as she looked up at him. He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of black leather pants. “Oh,” she mumbled. “No, we can’t.” He came down from the table and looked around, taking in her office. She watched him as he moved around, checking her bookshelf momentarily before coming back and taking a seat opposite her. He was the total opposite of how she had imagined him. There was nothing gruff or cold about him at this moment. Instead, he was relaxed and even playful–definitely not the Darkfall Alpha people talked about. Perhaps this was the demeanour he kept in private? “We have to move quickly,” he said, throwing one leg over his knee. The material of his pants stretched over his strong thighs. She pulled her eyes away as soon as they landed there. Now was not the time to check him out–they were having a serious conversation. “After that speech you made, people trust your abilities, so this is the best time to get things rolling.” That’s what she had thought too. Besides, the longer she waited, the more likely it was that Thomas would find out her plan. She couldn’t risk that. Sooner than later, she’d need to take major steps if her plan was to work at all. “First, you need people by your side,” he said. He tilted his head, his dark eyes studying her intensely. “Are there any people in your pack you can trust to be loyal?” “Yes.” Sophia was top of the list. This was a sensitive matter, so they’d have to think carefully about who to include. “Make your team, strengthen it. You’ll need as much support as you can from the inside.” They conversed for a few more minutes before Henry received a message from Ethan through mind-link. He and Thomas were making their way over to Eleanor’s office. Rising, he walked over to the desk. “Your husband and my Beta are coming over right now.” Eleanor looked at the door nervously, and then at Henry. It wouldn’t be okay if he was in her office when Thomas came in. Nobody had seen him come in, and why would the Darkfall Alpha be meeting Stormblack’s Luna in secret? She rose and looked at the window he had sneaked in through. “We’ll continue our conversation later.” “Afraid your husband will find some strange man in your office?” he teased, making no move to leave. She raised an eyebrow. “What happened to not wanting to be seen in public making plans?” “I don’t know that it has any repercussions on me,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. He leaned against the edge of the desk. As if moving any time soon was not on his agenda. “You, however…” he trailed off suggestively. Eleanor’s eyes moved to the door. Any second now, Thomas would come through that door. She looked back at Thomas. “Not if I kick you between the legs and claim you are an intruder I’ve never seen in my life,” she told him. “Damn, and here I was, thinking I could negotiate for a kiss.” A kiss? Did he say a kiss? Was he flirting with her? Henry noticed how flustered she got. He could see she was trying not to be, but she kept slipping up. As if she couldn’t help it. He liked the idea very much. Too bad they were about to get interrupted. A knock sounded on the door just then. He had no intention to complicate things for her, so he moved towards the window. She watched him until he was on the other side and only after he was out of sight did she call for those at the door to come in. Thomas was accompanied by Ethan and Miller. It turned out that the topic for discussion was normal pack affairs. They talked about trade agreements between the two packs and shared information about recent activities by rogues. About ten minutes into their conversation, there was another knock on the door. “Is anyone else joining us?” she asked Miller, wondering who it could be. “That must be my brother,” Ethan said. “Sorry, he was running late. I’ll get him.” He rose and went to the door. When he opened it, it was Henry who walked in. Eleanor did a double take. Why did Ethan say it was his brother? Henry walked over to the sitting area where they were all gathered and greeted everyone, introducing himself as Ethan’s brother. He even greeted her politely like they didn’t know each other. He was pretending to be someone other than Darkfall’s Alpha. Eleanor kept stealing gazes at him throughout the discussion. What was his plan? They were in this together, but somehow, it felt like he was a step ahead–even if this was about her. She still had no idea what his condition for helping her was. She didn’t know a lot of things about him, but he acted like he knew her. The conversation about dealing with the rogues went on for a long time, with ideas being thrown around about how to arrange their forces to neutralise threats. The conversation seemed to go on forever, and Henry interrupted at a point and suggested that they all have dinner together. “I would like to bring Mia along,” Thomas said. “This is a good opportunity to get her to know the people I work with.” “Of course you can,” Ethan told him. Eleanor smiled at Henry. “If it’s okay, I’d like to bring my close friend along too.” If Thomas was bringing Mia, she was bringing Sophia. “The more the merrier,” he told her, giving her a quick wink. He was too much, she decided. And she was going to be sitting at the same dinner table with him in the evening. Maybe she’d be able to unravel some of that mysteriousness about him–if that was even possible when he was pretending to be someone else. When Eleanor and Sophia arrived at the restaurant Henry had made a reservation at that evening, everybody else was already seated. Ethan was the first person to see them. He lifted his hand as if to wave them over, but when his eyes landed on Sophia, he froze. He felt a connection to her come alive, as if it had always been there, waiting to be turned on. His wolf was suddenly alert. Sophia froze too, staring at Ethan. Panicking, Ethan pushed his chair back, stood up, and hurried towards the exit. “What’s wrong?” Eleanor asked, noticing the sudden change in her friend. But Sophia didn’t answer as she turned and rushed for the exit, going after Ethan. Eleanor moved to the table, where everyone was looking taken aback by what had happened. Did the two know each other?