by K. R. Haynes
His Dark Promise
Holly Shepherd is gearing up to leave New York for a yearlong transfer to the London office. So the last thing she needs is to indulge in her dark desires for her coworker Travis Kane.
That won't stop Travis. He is a persistent man, one who never gives up on what he wants, and what he desires most of all is her. One night he whispers his dark promise to her, that he will make her his in every conceivable way by the end of the night.
Taking a gamble, Holly loses her tightly held inhibitions. Just once she wants to know what it would be like to spend one night in his arms and in his bed. What Holly didn't expect, however, was that one night of unadulterated bliss to turn into many nights. Now days from leaving the country, Holly must make a choice. If she chooses incorrectly, however, she risks not only breaking her heart but his as well.
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 31,827 words
HIS DARK PROMISE
K. R. Haynes
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
HIS DARK PROMISE
Copyright © 2013 by K. R. Haynes
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-360-6
First E-book Publication: February 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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DEDICATION
There comes a time in everyone’s life where you’ll need to put your heart on the line for a shot at love. So in honour of all those who have taken that chance to risk it all in the name of love I dedicated this book to you, enjoy!
HIS DARK PROMISE
K. R. HAYNES
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Holly Shepherd moved toward some free space in the center of the dance floor. Closing her eyes, she absorbed the rhythm of the music inside of her. Her hips swayed to and fro with the beat of the song. She could feel the eyes of all her male coworkers gravitate toward her, as she slid her hands seductively up and down her body.
Hearing a few wolf whistles and cat calls moments later, she opened her eyes and instantly her gaze found Travis Kane. He stood at the edge of the dance floor dressed in one of those devastatingly handsome designer suits of his, that made him look every inch the sex god he professed to be. Her mouth watered at the sheer sight of him.
Just staring at him now, Holly knew why Travis Kane seemed to occupy her sinful thoughts during the day, and tantalised her dreams at night. He was purely male, with his dark good looks and sinful eyes and that sexy smile that curved at his lips just like it did now as he stared back at her knowingly. Holly knew she should just stay away from him so her heart couldn’t get tangled up with his. If she kept her distance from him then she also wouldn’t have to acknowledge the way her body always reacted to him whenever he was nearby.
If the gossip she had overheard from all the other women in the office was to be believed about Travis Kane and his sexual prowess then it would be smart for her to avoid him at all cost. All she had to do was keep on doing what she has always had done with him and knock back all his advances and offers of a date so she didn’t become just another name he wrote down in that little black book of his.
Holly didn’t want to be just another conquest Travis gloated about to his mates. She wanted to mean more to him than just simply a one-night stand. After all, they both had to work with each other on a daily basis. They both had a reputation to uphold as corporate high flyers. So if they mixed business with pleasure and it all came undone, then how was she meant to face him at work while nursing a broken heart?
However, that would all change when she left New York, bound for London to join the office there for a twelve-month stint, while Travis remained here in the States. She had the next twelve days to be with him before her flight departed.
So now would be the perfect opportunity to take a chance on him and to lose all her inhibitions. For the next couple of weeks she could give in to her lustful desires for him and revel in the passion he could stir within her. For once in her life she could take a chance on a man who could arouse more passion in her than any erotic novel she had ever read or any other man she had ever been with before.
Plus, she was tired of having to resist his advances and his irresistible charm all the time. What she wanted was to be free to do the bed-sheet tango with him, and experience the pleasure of being in his arms and in his bed. It was something Holly had been dreaming about ever since the day their paths collided a mere six months ago.
Plus it was becoming more and more difficult to turn him down every time he asked her out. The word “no” was becoming increasingly harder and harder to say to him. Holly knew that it was only a matter of time before Travis conquered her resolve. But was she really prepared to be conquered by the sex god himself and risk losing her heart to him at the same time? On that question alone Holly wasn’t so sure she could, not when the chances were high that he would end up breaking her heart when there union had to end. She always knew there would be a time in her life where her heart would want something it couldn’t have and sometimes i
n life she had to go after what she wanted. So knowing this should she take the leap of faith and go after Travis Kane and give it everything she had? All the while knowing that at the end of their brief time together if she turned out to be not enough for him, she would have to walk away.
Holly was all too aware that if Travis was to make a move on her tonight she may not have the strength in her to resist him. And resist him she must, well at least try to, anyway. Her gaze lingered on him as he moved through the crowded dance floor to get to her. She could almost see the primal lust shining in the depths of his dark-amber eyes and all thoughts of not taking a chance on him evaporated. This was her chance and possibly her only one to be with him before she left. She couldn’t deny herself of this chance of being with him all because she was too afraid of getting hurt. Life was about taking risks and tonight she would take one and just see where it would take her. As he closed in on her, Holly decided to make him earn his prize of what was hopefully many nights of unadulterated bliss with her. Turning her back to him, she began gyrating her body up against the nearest hot-blooded male she could find, her boss. Oh hell, she was so going to regret that decision when Monday morning came around.
She knew the moment Travis had closed in on her. The fragrant notes of new leather and the rich woody scent of sandalwood from his expensive cologne surrounded her. She could feel the warmth of his body radiating from behind her. Holly almost jumped at the feel of his fingertips caressing down the length of her bare arms. The slow easy, glide of them on her skin had her body shuddering against her boss. Oh, crap that wasn’t a good thing. Not when her boss winked down at her just as Travis weaved his arms around her waist.
Travis rescued her from the clutches of her boss and further embarrassment by pulling her away and stepping back a few feet to immerse them both deeper into the crowd. His large hands gripped her narrow waist, drawing her flush against the front of his taut frame. She might not be able to see him with her back leaning into his chest. The feel of his hard muscles pressing into her sure made up for it though.
God, she was on the verge of whimpering in need for him. Never, in her life had she ever whimpered in need for any male. There was no way she could possibly even entertain the idea of resisting him now, not after discovering how good his body felt rubbing up against her own. She was both desperate and needy for him and him alone.
Her senses went off the charts at the feel of his warm breath skipping over the heated flesh on her neck, as he leant in to whisper his dark promise to her. “By the end of this night, Holly, you will be mine in every conceivable way.” Then just like that he released his grip on her and retreated back into the crowd, leaving her breathless and missing the warmth of his body instantly. Frantically, her gaze searched to find him on the dance floor. The sea of moving bodies surrounding her was too thick for her to see him anywhere.
Damn, she had lost him before she even had a decent taste of him. The brief encounter she had had with his hard, muscular body left her wanting more and aching in all those feminine places she had on her body. Her nipples were hard and straining against the bodice of her black silk dress. She swore the red satin G-string she had on was damp from the juices slowly easing from her pussy. She was one touch away from spiralling into full-blown ecstasy. All she needed was a single stroke or rub over her clit and she would explode like a firecracker. This so wasn’t a good thing, not here in public and not in front of her coworkers at the end of year break up party on the damn dance floor no less. Maybe in a darkened bedroom or on a private balcony with Travis then she could come, but not here.
When Jason, from IT, moved in to take over dancing with her after Travis disappeared, Holly knew it was time to leave the dancing to someone else for a while. Slipping through the crowd she made her way out of the ballroom and up the spiral staircase that led to the powder room on the first floor. All she needed was a few minutes alone to get her racing hormones under control. Then and only then she could head back out there and join the party and resume her search for Mr. Sex God himself and see where this night would take them and her.
Chapter Two
Travis leant against the back wall of the hotel ballroom waiting for Holly to return back to the party. She had scampered out of the room so damn quickly he hadn’t had a chance to stop her. That was almost an hour ago after delivering his dark promise to her. He was starting to think he had scared her off, that perhaps he had come on too strong. Had he misread her signals she had been throwing his way over the past few months? He knew they were both attracted to each other. The chemistry between them was unmistakable. Never in his life had he ever felt so strongly for one woman. Travis not only wanted Holly in his bed but also in his life as well.
Tonight he had every intention of making her his, by taking her in every way a man could take his woman. If he could just spend the next two weeks with her before she fled to London for a year, he would then have a chance at winning her heart. All he needed was a chance to prove to her that he was more than capable of having a long-term relationship with her. A relationship he would always honour and respect no matter how much distance the world put between them.
The first time he stared into those soft-green eyes of hers, Travis knew Holly was the woman for him. He had barely even glanced at another woman since that day. He sure as hell hadn’t slept with any other woman in the last six months, mainly due to the fact that a certain little stubborn minx had managed to entice him in every way known to mankind.
Even when she knocked him back time after time, Travis never gave up hope that one day he would overcome Holly’s rejections and make her his. He was that positive he could win her over that he kept on pursuing her, even though each time she turned him down it felt like he’d been kicked in the guts. But he never once thought about giving up on her. Now, seeing her standing on the threshold of the ballroom looking around nervously for him, Travis could feel the undeniable pull toward her. He smirked to himself when he caught sight of her frustration of not finding him. With so many coworkers and their partners filling the large ballroom, he was able to observe her without her noticing him. He would make good on his promise to make her his in every way tonight. By the looks of it, Holly just needed some more time to simmer in the heat he had built up within her from a few suggestive words. And when that same heat simmered to boiling point then he would make his move. So for now he would stay in the background to observe her from afar and wait patiently for that moment to come.
* * * *
Holly was having a devil of a time trying to locate Travis. It was like he just vanished into thin air. His promise of “you’ll be mine before the end of the night” sounded more like a fantasy of hers than resembling anything close to the truth.
Drawing in a deep breath, holding her head high, Holly placed one foot in front of the other and walked across the ballroom floor until she was standing up at the bar. “Champagne, please,” she told the barman when he asked what she would like to drink. As the strapping young man behind the bar poured her drink, Holly kept her eyes hovering over the dancing bodies and wondered if he was out there again. Was Travis out there even now teasing some other poor wanting female with his dark promise of making her his? God, she hoped not. Not that she had any say in the matter. He didn’t belong to her and he didn’t own her. There were both free agents, free to mingle with the opposite sex and flirt with them any way he or she chose to.
Maybe he changed his mind and was now hiding from her. That was the one question Holly didn’t have the answer to, and she hoped he hadn’t changed his mind to rock her world. He really didn’t need to tease her like this. Her mind was already filled with dark deeds he could tempt her with, and she wanted to be tempted. She wanted him to lure her into his world where only dark lustful desires belonged. She needed that from him and knew he could provide that to her.
Now that he had set the bait in the trap for her, Holly found herself wanting to take the bait. Stuff the whole “holding off things” if ton
ight was the night she would finally swap bodily heat and fluids with Travis Kane then she would take it with both hands. She would wrap her naked, writhing body around his and hold on for dear life.
Being in his arms while she was in the clutches of a diabolical orgasm would be the ride of a lifetime. One she would more than likely never get to experience again. Only a foolish woman would make the mistake of going back for seconds with Travis Kane. When it came to that man there were no seconds and there were definitely no thirds either. It was straight up a onetime deal with him. If you tried a second time or more with him you would ultimately risk your heart to him. Holly wanted to be that foolish woman who risked her heart to him. His commitment issues may have made her hesitant before now but not anymore. The thing that made Travis Kane so tempting to her wasn’t just his spectacular muscular physique or his sexual prowess that he had going for him. That man had charisma in spades and the looks of a Roman god too, all six feet four inches of him. Plus, he had the dark good looks to match it as well. His silky dark-brown hair he wore slightly longer at the back so it almost reached the collar on his shirt was so very sexy. His hair wasn’t too long either, just long enough to be able to run your fingers through it. His eyes, though, they were dangerous. They drew her in and made her knees weak and her feminine sensibilities quiver in anticipation of surrendering so completely to him.
