hands several times during a conversation, just for the excuse to touch her again. “I’m never grumpy.” Liar. The pilots leave the dome seconds after landing just to avoid you.
“Jax is a serious hard ass, Gina, but I’m sure he’ll be ten times better than your previous boss.”
Understanding dawned as he looked from Alice to Gina. “She’s here for the job I posted?” Almighty One, he’d never thought a human female might respond to his ad. He had specifically asked for a strong male capable of working in a high stress environment. “I’m afraid you don’t meet the requirements of my ad,” Jax said.
Gina drew herself up tall and put her hands on her hips. “There are laws protecting woman against sex discrimination in the work force, sir. You can’t not hire me just because I have breasts.”
At the mention of this particular part of her body, Jax’s gaze dropped to her chest, and his mouth watered at the slight display of cleavage revealed by her snug pink shirt.
“Hey,” Gina said sternly. “Eyes up here, mister.”
Alice laughed, clearly enjoying herself. Jax couldn’t believe the human female, who happened to be mated to his friend, Klemm, had taken it upon herself to bring a woman to his dome for a job interview.
Reluctantly, he tore his eyes from Gina’s enticing, rounded breasts. The word sorry rested on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed hard and tried to pretend he hadn’t just been ogling her, his gaze dancing all around the dome before he once again met her soulful dark eyes.
“I’ve been an administrative assistant for the past six years and I assure you I’m more than capable of handling the job. I also have experience in accounting and payroll. Alice says you’re having difficulty handling the paperwork aspects of your business and following American business practices. I’m certain I can help you, and I’m very interested in this job, sir.” Gina tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and peered up at him, her demeanor proud and confident.
“I’m sure you could handle the job just fine, Gina, and it really was nice meeting you, however, you’re…a female.”
“Told you he was sexist,” Alice said. “And grumpy.”
“I am not sexist or grumpy.” Jax stepped back and crossed his arms. “This is a high stress job that requires eight to ten hours a day. Females belong at home under the protection of their family, not working long, difficult hours.” He thought of the human females who worked outside the settlement, such as Alice, and frowned. Their mates allowed them to hold outside jobs, and he hoped Alice and Gina didn’t use this as an example to counter his argument. On Reestria, males took care of their mates, and families certainly protected their daughters.
“How about you give me a chance to prove you wrong, Mr. Jax?” Gina tilted her head to the side and gave him a challenging look he found downright adorable.
* ~ * ~ *
Holy hell, Jax was hot. Scorching, panty-wetting, oh-my-lawd in heaven (to quote her Aunt May) hot. Gina had never felt such an instant attraction to any man, or alien, before, and she had to remind herself she wasn’t here to play around. She really needed this job, and she also wanted to be closer to Alice, who was more like family to her than her biological one. Of course, it didn’t help that Jax’s pants were oh so perfectly tight and especially snug around the crotch area, or that his shirt sleeves were rolled up to reveal his powerful, muscular forearms.
The last time she’d gotten romantically involved with someone at work, she’d regretted it immensely. She couldn’t make that mistake again, and besides, Jax probably had a mate. She didn’t know much about Reestrians, but she thought he looked old enough to have already experienced his mating urge. Which made him a total pig for having stared at her breasts.
She glared at him, awaiting his response. If he didn’t give her a chance, she was