Dark Desires

Copyright © 2013, Adriana Hunter

All Rights Reserved.

Published by Wet Ink Publishing

Adriana Hunter

http://www.AdrianaHunter.com

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This is a work of fiction. All names, characters,
locations and places are solely the product of the author’s imagination. 
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, including events, areas,
locations and situations is entirely coincidental.

Katherine Hewitt waited in line at the
Starbucks Drive-Thru, checking her watch every few minutes and trying not to
tap her foot too impatiently. She really should have arrived ten minutes
earlier, but she’d had a restless night and had fallen asleep late, resulting
in her hitting the snooze button one too many times. It was ten minutes to
eight and if she didn’t arrive with the coffees for the morning meeting she
would be in hot water.

She pulled up to the ordering screen and
put in her order for five house blend coffees, three with cream and sugar, one
with just cream, and one black. Then she ordered a caramel macchiato for
herself, and sat back while she waited for the car in front of her to roll
forward. Her tired mind drifted back to work, to all the things she would have
to get done for the day, while trying her hardest not to be distracted by the
sexy, enigmatic powerhouse that was Mark Donaldson.

In truth, she was only his front desk
secretary—his personal secretary (or assistant, as the man liked to call
himself) was Dave Harrison, tall, skinny and snooty-nosed, and very much
crushing on their boss. Max had a tendency to tumble whichever woman was in his
bed across his desk during his lunch hour, and Dave would get outrageously
jealous and take it out on Katherine since he knew she had eyes for the boss as
well. So he would dump tasks on her that were quite obviously his
job—like fetching the morning meeting coffee.

She collected and paid for the orders,
then drove down Central Avenue and into the parking garage adjacent to the
building Empire Creations was housed in. Balancing the two trays of coffee in
her hands, she somehow managed to get to the office on the 30
^th
floor without spilling any on the white blouse she wore—a miracle, since
she’d already stained three shirts in as many weeks doing just this.

Her low-heeled pumps clicked against the
black tile floor as she headed past the wide console that was her desk, through
the hall, and into the meeting room, where several staff were already
waiting—including Mark, who was making notes on a pad of paper as he sat
at the head of the table.

She set the coffees down near him, and
froze momentarily when he looked her way. He was too handsome for a Plain Jane
like her to be around him without floundering for oxygen. The ceiling lights
glanced off his black hair, slicked back from a tanned face with a straight
nose, lips she knew could curve absolutely wickedly when he was looking at a
woman he liked, and a strong, square chin. His eyes were such a dark brown they
appeared to be black, and they pierced her like arrows now, something intensely
carnal in them she wasn’t at all comfortable with.

“Good morning, Ms. Hewitt,” he greeted
her in that deep, rich voice that was like the caress of a man’s hand down her
spine.

“Morning, Mr. Donaldson,” she murmured
quietly, dropping her eyes to the coffee tray she’d set down so she wouldn’t
have to look into his eyes. She began pulling out the different coffees and
reading the labels on them before passing them out. When she got to his she set
it down in front of him, her eyes fixated on the glossy wooden table, and she
nearly jumped out of her skin as his hand curled around the cup, strong, warm
fingers touching hers before she could let go. Startled, she looked up to see
that carnal gleam was in his eye, and this time that wicked curve to his lips
was there to match it. Her pulse tripped as color heated her cheeks. Surely he
wasn’t looking at
her
like that. She was just a wallflower—a
nobody.

The spell of the moment was shattered
when Dave came rushing over, his pale face stretched in a grimace of a smile.
The loathing in his blue eyes as he looked her way told her loud and clear that
he was not pleased with what he was seeing. “I’ll take that off your hands, Ms.
Hewitt,” he told her, elbowing her out of the way none too gently. He spied the
caramel macchiato and snatched it up. “Ah. I see you’ve forgotten my own
coffee, so I’ll make do with this. You can go back to your post up front, Ms.
Hewitt.”

Katherine balled her hands into fists,
but she was still new here and she couldn’t risk speaking out and losing her
job. Prepared to walk off without her coffee, her head shot up in surprise as
Mark spoke.

“Mr. Harrison, you know full well you
never ordered any coffee this morning, which is why Ms. Hewitt did not bring
any for you. You always complain about the inferiority of the Starbucks brand
and blend your own at home, which is in the thermos you’ve left out on the
table over there.” Mark pointed to where it sat next to the portfolio case Dave
was always carrying around, and though his tone was mild there was a hint of
steel in it that had Dave’s spine stiffening and a line of sweat breaking out
over his pale forehead. “Please don’t play games during office hours, and give
Ms. Hewitt her coffee back.”

“O-Of course,” Dave stammered, his eyes
wide with shock. He turned and handed Katherine her macchiato. “Apologies, Ms.
Hewitt. It was my mistake.” The resentment flashing in those pale eyes told her
it was no such thing, and they both knew it. As it was, she gave him a small
smirk that didn’t even come close to the tap dance of joy her heart was
performing, and took the drink from him.

“Thank you,” she told Dave, and then
looked past him to Mark, who was watching them both. “Good morning, sir.”

She turned and left the room, and a
tingle went up her spine as she felt Mark’s eyes on her the entire way out the
door.

* * *

Mark watched the subtle sway of
Katherine’s hips as she walked out the door, fancy drink in hand. She really
wasn’t much of a looker at first glance—she wore the same black pencil
skirts, white blouses and low-heeled pumps every day, and her brown hair, while
glossy, was always pulled back into a no-nonsense bun. Her make-up was always
professionally done, but low key, the buttons on her blouses were always
completely done up so as to show not a hint of cleavage, and she always wore
pantyhose over those legs of hers despite the sweltering heat that was summer.

She was always very quiet, very
unassuming, and wouldn’t look him in the eye if she could help it. Their
conversations were always very brief, and she never tried to engage him in
small talk. If it weren’t for the surreptitious glances she would send his way
when she thought he wasn’t looking, he would swear she swung the other way. But
he suspected she was exactly what she appeared to be—shy, quiet,
unassuming. A wallflower that preferred to duck her head and avoid him rather
than raise it like many other women did and flirt shamelessly with him.

He was between women right now, the last
one having become far too clingy, and normally he wouldn’t have given Katherine
a second glance. He liked his women to be sexy and outgoing, to know what they
wanted and not be afraid to ask for it. But he was also a Dom, and he sensed
that she was a natural submissive, albeit one who was inexperienced with men.
His practiced eye eventually saw past the drab exterior and to the exquisite
figure beneath that she downplayed, and his instincts told him that the right
man could not only bring out her external beauty, but awaken her sexually as
well.

He’d seen those fists of hers bunch when
Dave had tried to steal her coffee as punishment for drawing his attentions. He
glanced sideways at his assistant now, who was busy setting up the projector.
He knew perfectly well about Dave’s feelings for him and his proclivity for
jealousy towards the women he brought around, but that was just too bad. He
wasn’t sexually attracted to men, and if he had been he suspected Dave wouldn’t
be his type anyway. If it weren’t for the fact that Dave was the best assistant
he’d had in his ten years as CEO of Empire Creations he would have gotten rid
of him—it didn’t pay to have an assistant constantly mooning after him
that he wasn’t sexually attracted to. But his efficiency more than made up for
that problem, so he would deal with it. And if Dave had a problem with his
current interest in Katherine, he was just going to have to get used to it.
Because now that he’d set his sights on her, he wasn’t going to back down until
he got what he wanted.

And as everyone in this office new, Mark
Donaldson
always
got what he wanted.

* * *

Katherine spent the morning answering
phones, handling correspondence and doing the other myriad front desk duties
expected of her. Every time she sipped from her caramel macchiato her lips
curved into a small smile at the memory of Mark giving Dave a set-down. If
nothing else good ever happened to her again on this job, she would treasure
that memory forever. It was the first time Mark had ever really paid attention
to her.

Of course, it was probably going to be
the last time too. She knew from office gossip that the runway model he’d been
dating was old news, and he had been without a woman for over a week now. She
fully expected to see a new one on his arm by the time he came back from lunch
today. Sometimes she wondered how he ever got anything done with all the sex he
was obviously having. Her cheeks heated as they always did when she thought of
him screwing some woman in his office. Did he like for them to kneel on his
desk, doggy-style? Or did he sit back in his chair and let them ride him?

Blinking, she shook her head to snap
herself out of it and try and lower the color in her cheeks. It was
inappropriate for her to be thinking about her boss having sex with other
women… even if he did it during office hours. Why should it matter to her,
since she was never going to be one of those women? It’s not like his sexual
performance affected the performance of the company. Empire Creations’ stock
had risen ten percent in the last week alone. Mark was obviously very good at
what he did.

Her heart beat a little faster as she
heard the sound of Mark’s expensive shoes briskly hitting the tiled floors. He
always walked with a powerful stride and she’d learned to recognize when he was
coming by the sound alone. Self-consciously, she patted her hair and adjusted
her blouse a fraction, not wanting to look less than her best though she knew
he probably didn’t pay her any attention.

He came around the corner and she looked
up at him through the fringe of her bangs, admiring his powerful body. He was
six foot two with broad shoulders and a stocky build—he looked like he’d
probably played as a linebacker in college and had maintained the physique
despite being in an office position for who knew how long. Fully expecting him to
give her a polite smile and walk out the door, she was surprised when he
instead made a beeline for her desk.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Donaldson.” She gave
him a small smile, hoping to God her cheeks weren’t as hot as they felt. “What
can I do for you?”

He smiled warmly, placing a palm on her
desk. “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind coming out to lunch with me. There
are some things I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Lunch?” There was no helping
it—her cheeks flushed as her heart pumped faster to deal with the sudden
rush of hormones coursing through her body. “My lunch break isn’t for another
hour… Dave usually comes to cover for me at two o’clock…” Well, that wasn’t
particularly true. He usually was a half hour late at the earliest, but that
wasn’t something she was going to complain to Mark about. Most days she was
just happy to have this job.

Mark waved his hand. “Don’t worry about
it. I’m sure he’d be happy to move up his schedule. Ah, look, here he comes
now.” He shifted slightly as he turned and Katherine looked past him to see
Dave walking into the lobby, briefcase in hand. She saw his pale eyes flash
briefly before he fixed a polite smile on his face as Mark waved him over.

“What can I help you with, Mr.
Donaldson?”

“I’d like you to take over for Ms. Hewitt
for an hour,” he said, and Katherine had the pleasure of watching Dave’s face
turn pale with shock once again. “I’m taking her out to lunch so we can discuss
a few things.”

“Now?” His eyes flashed to Katherine and
then back, and she watched with interest as his color turned blotchy. “But sir…
I…” he trailed off as Mark’s eyes turned steely. “Of course. Of course I will.”

“Good man.” He turned toward Katherine
with a smile, who was staring at both of them. “Are you ready?”

“What?” she snapped out of it. “Yes, yes,
of course.” She reached down beneath her desk to grab her purse, then stood up
and nearly collided with Dave’s chest, who had come around the desk to take her
place.

“Have a great lunch,” he told her with a
sour smile, and the look in his eyes told her that she would pay for this if he
ever got the chance.

“Thank you.” Something stirred in her at
the look he gave her that demanded she do something else than just slink off
like a wounded animal. “Is there anything you’d like me to bring back for you?
I’m sure they have doggie bags at the restaurant for leftovers.”

Dave’s eyes flashed, and Katherine had to
bite the inside of her cheek to hold back her grin. “No thank you.”

She followed Mark outside to the Mercedes
parked out front, and allowed him to help her into the passenger’s side. He
chuckled, a rich deep sound that had her looking over in surprise as he started
the engine and headed down Central.