Romance: Mills and Boon Romance: The Boss's Proposal (Billionaire Bad Boy BBW Romance) by Amanda Horton Read Free Book Online

next to her, Claire opened her eyes. She looked into the anguished face of a man about to die. He was pale and his clothes were soaking through with red. It was too much for her. She stood up, and ran.
    Around her things whizzed through the air. Growls and grunts, thuds and booms filled her ears to overflowing. Figures darted faster than she could see around her. But all she wanted to do was go home. The urge to not be there anymore was so strong that Claire would have crawled over a heap of dead bodies to get away and not even have noticed.
    But suddenly something growled right next to her. Something huge and black was standing there. She spun, pressing the plunger on her still clasped canister. The air filled with the scent of flowers again. She got a glimpse of fur, a muzzle and then something landed heavily on her head, knocking her to the ground. The world swam sickeningly, and darkness rose like a merciful angel to claim her.
    ***
    Daylight slid gently into the room through a slice in the curtains. Claire watched dust motes hover and glide on the faint air currents and for a moment the world seemed peaceful and quiet. Then she heard voices in the next room. She couldn’t’t quite make out what they were saying but they seemed sort of familiar, but not and far away.
    Claire lay in a warm, fuzzy daze for a few minutes until she realized that the ceiling wasn’t hers. She looked at the curtains. They had a yellow pattern of flowers on them. Then she looked down at the covers that matched the curtains. She sat up in alarm. This isn’t my apartment!  And immediately lay back down again. A wave of nausea ran over her like a runaway truck. Gulping air she tried to force the bile back down.
    With great care a few minutes later Claire tried sitting up again, gingerly, and when no nausea followed she relaxed a little. So she was in a strange room. There were two doors, one to her left and the other to her right. Okay, good to know there was possibly an exit. A thought entering her mind she quickly lifted the covers and saw that she was still fully clothed in her work shirt and jeans, right down to her tennis shoes. That was a good sign. Her bag was next to her on the bed. A quick search revealed that her phone was missing. Okay, not a good sign.
    Suddenly the door to her right opened and Claire’s head whipped around on an instruction from her hindbrain so fast, that her thoughts were left hanging on their own. A glimpse of pink skin and black fur, a growled word and then the door shut again. But standing in the room, looking at her and smiling, was Jed.
    “You?!” she managed, fear pulling anger up behind it for backup. “What the hell is going on here? Why have you brought me here? Where am I?”
    Jed, his smile never wavering, raised both his hands palms out. “I mean you no harm.”
    Claire sneered, “Right, you just decided it would be fun to bring me here for what…?”
    “You were unconscious, we couldn’t’t leave you there” he said walking slowly around the bed. Claire swung her feet out of the covers.
    “Well thanks and all, but I’m leaving.” She stood up and began to walk to the door.
    But Jed got there first. He moved like lightning.
    “Now, now Claire, we need to talk. I promise I won’t hurt you, but you really do need to listen to me before we do something foolish, and someone gets killed,” Jed said. “You are my guest, well mine and my brother’s. Please promise you will hear us out. You must have so many questions.” His blue eyes bore into her green ones and something inside Claire began to melt. She let her bag slide down on its strap until it hit the floor. Jed nodded.
    “Good,” he said. “I’ll get us some food. You must be hungry.” Jed reaching behind his back turned the door handle and opened the door that Claire had meant to go through in her dash to freedom. It opened onto a sitting room furnished with two sofas, chairs and a table, a mini fridge and small coffee