by Alisa Woods
He huffed out his frustration and rose suddenly from his desk. He couldn’t let that black void capture him again. He had responsibilities—to Lev, to the company, and now even to this girl, Mia. Keeping her safe was the only truly worthwhile thing he was doing now. Lucas strode to the window to look out over the city, only to be surprised to find the sun had set and the evening lights had begun to wink on. When had that happened?
He sighed. Avoiding Mia would only last so long. She was here for the duration, at the very least until he could be sure the Red pack had lost interest in her. Which could take longer than the summer term for her internship. Lev had set her up to analyze the LoopSource fundamentals, damn him. Lucas had a feeling Lev knew exactly how much he was tempted by her brilliant blue eyes and pale, silky skin. When he’d touched her face, he’d found it as soft as he had imagined all those times in his bed… his inner wolf whined its frustration.
It was tired of waiting.
Office romances weren’t forbidden at SparkTech—his father’s pack was filled with such pairings—but this was different. She was an intern, and a human one. Those other pairings had been long-term shifter employees and had his father’s approval… he would not approve of this, not least because the girl was under pack protection until the Reds grew tired of her. Or moved on to some other distraction.
Lucas had a fleeting thought of simply bedding her. Once. Get this insanity out of his system. The other girls had only ever lasted that long, the initial attraction quickly wearing off once his physical needs were sated. Perhaps that was it—he was overdue for a physical release, and once he had it, he could put this whole business behind him.
His wolf snarled and pushed against him from the inside. His hands curled, nearly forming claws as he resisted the strength of the impulse to shift. He shook his head, forcing his hands to relax and his wolf to settle. He was fooling himself with that kind of talk. Mia was far from a one-night deal already. He needed a more permanent way to ensure she was safe, yet safely removed from him and not a constant, daily temptation. Even a trace of her scent lingering in the common area could bring out longings that needed to stay deeply buried.
That was it: he needed to wind up the LoopSource deal. Now. Or as quickly as possible. He would bury himself in work, and that would get him through. Although it would also require that he worked with her, just on the off chance that she noticed something in the financials that he had missed. His wolf panted at that idea, and he knew he was lying to himself again. Yet as soon as the idea had been set loose, he couldn’t rein it back in.
He glanced at the gray-black sky—it was void of stars due to the light pollution of downtown, and as dark as the night would get. The hour was late, but his father was likely still working. Lucas would update him on the progress on the LoopSource deal, leave a note on Mia’s desk to see him in the morning, and then go home to hopefully sleep off this growing frustration. Maybe a few shots of vodka would ease his way into dreamland tonight.
He scooped up this tablet, gathered a few scattered printouts, and headed toward his father’s office at the far end of the space owned by SparkTech. Sure enough, his father’s office still glowed with the fluorescent lights within, but Lucas stumbled as he passed Mia’s office. The lights were still on there as well. Was she really working this late? How was she planning on getting home? The bus sure as hell wasn’t safe out of downtown at this time of night…
He kept walking, but made a note to hurry back to check on her.
He knocked on his father’s door and quickly entered on his command. His father looked up from a thick report he was wading through. Pages were spread across the desk, intermingled with several others.
Lucas eyed them. “Are you working LoopSource as well?” Sometimes his father would have multiple partners and principals studying all angles of a company.
“No, this is a separate matter.” His father sighed and leaned back in his chair, threading his fingers together and examining Lucas. “Speaking of which, how is our new intern working out?”
“Fine.” He tried hard not to look thrown by the sudden change in topic.
“She’s quite capable, from what I’ve seen so far.”
His father was studying his reaction, so he kept it cool. “Is that right?” Lucas could tell he wasn’t fooled by the dodge when his father raised a single eyebrow.
But he seemed willing to let it go. “More to the point, I haven’t heard from Crittenden recently.”
Lucas frowned. “That’s a good sign, right? Maybe they’re losing interest.”
His father gestured to the documents in Lucas’s hands. “What are you seeing? Is LoopSource worth funding?
“It’s looking good, but I still need more time. They’re dropping some reports off in the morning. I’ll need to wade through those. Or possibly get Mia to help with it.” He cringed internally that he let that slip out, but pressed on. “Either way, I’ll be working through the weekend to get some final numbers for you by Monday. But I’d be surprised if Red Wolf’s already turned them down. The Reds will want to analyze those reports as well.”
“Agreed,” his father said with a sigh. “I’m afraid it’s too early to hope they’ve given up—on LoopSource or your young intern. And even if they lose interest in that startup, they’ll likely reserve threats against Ms. Fiore for a future one. Have you moved her to a new residence yet?”
Lucas winced for real this time. “No, not yet.” He knew he needed to discuss that with Mia, but he’d been so busy avoiding contact with her all week that he’d never found the right time to bring it up.
His father shook his head. “Lucas, the University dorm system may be relatively safe, but once they find out where she lives…”
“I know,” he said quickly. “I’ll handle it.”
“Please see that you do.” His father gave him a nod that Lucas knew was a dismissal.
He stood straighter and retreated from his father’s office.
Thankfully, the lights were still on in Mia’s. He swung into her office, words on his lips to chastise her for working so late, but he stopped short. She had earbuds in and obviously didn’t notice him barreling into her office. She had one hand worked up into her long, deep-black hair, mussing it substantially as she hunched over her tablet. He blinked, imagining his own hand in her hair like that and feeling the surge of his wolf heartily agreeing with that image. He slowly approached her, trying to catch her eye without startling her, but she didn’t notice, just moved slightly in her chair, spilling open her jacket further to reveal more of her silky white blouse underneath. It was demure, but it still made his mouth water.
Finally, he was close enough for her to catch sight of him. She let out a shriek and jerked so hard, her chair slid on its wheels and went out from under her. In a flash, he dropped his stuff to the carpet and sped around the desk, where he hooked his arms under hers and scooped her off the floor. Her iPod was tossed to the floor, and the chair had slid away, but there she was, breathing hard and grasping onto his arms to stay upright, a wild look in her eyes along with that still-mussed hair…
Damn. He was in such trouble here.
“Oh my god!” she said, breathless. “You scared the shit out of me!”
Then she blushed, color rushing to her cheeks and making her pale skin blossom into something even more appealing. He was holding her far longer than necessary, but her scent was closing in on him—the normal light musk and crisp meadow flowers blended with a hint of sour panic that had him closing his arms tighter around her, his instinctual need to keep her safe pulling her closer when he should be letting her go.
“Are you all right?” It came out as a whisper. Mine, his inner wolf growled. Lucas’s heart stuttered. He shouldn’t feel this way about her. It made no sense…
“I’m… I’m okay.” She wasn’t pulling back, but she did move slightly in his arms. She was tall, but he was taller, and she had to look up into his eyes. Which she was doing right now. Her lips were slightl
y parted. Her chest was still heaving, pressing lightly against him with each labored breath.
He should turn away.
He should let her go.
Mine, his wolf insisted.
It wasn’t true.
He didn’t care.
He crashed his lips to hers, devouring them in a kiss so hungry it made his inner beast roar. He swept his tongue across her lips, tasting her, and she opened her mouth to him. He plunged in, claiming the sweet taste of her until she bent back with the force of it. Her taste was uniquely her, and he drank it in. His arms tightened around her body, molding it to his chest as his hands sought ways to bring her closer. His all-consuming kiss turned into many smaller ones, still hungry for her, but softer. Then he was nipping at her lips, taking them gently between his teeth and teasing them with promises of the sweet torments he wanted to lavish upon them.
The thud of a door closing jerked him out of the lust-filled haze that clouded his senses. He dashed a look to her door, but it had slowly swung shut, and they were only exposed to the nighttime skyline of Seattle, for any who wished to see the show they were putting on in the lighted office on the 32nd floor.
Lucas remained still, holding his breath, Mia safely caged in his arms as his father’s shadow passed by the frosted glass of her office. He waited, silent as prey hidden in the brush, until the outer door to SparkTech’s reception area clicked shut. When he finally looked to her, Mia’s face was flushed, her beautiful eyes wide, her lips swollen from his assault on them.
He drew in a breath, regret stabbing him, then released her and took a step back.
She teetered, and he almost came back to steady her, but he didn’t trust himself to touch her again.
“I’ll take you home,” he said, his voice thick.
Her shoulders drooped. She was disappointed. Her kisses in return had been no less eager than his. Her arousal perfumed the air and felt like a physical force pulling him back. His wolf raged against his skin, wanting out. Wanting her.
She was far too dangerously addictive for him. There was no way he could just have a taste. No way he could touch her again and have any hope of holding himself back.
It took a moment, but she recovered. “I… I can take the bus.”
“No!” His wolf surged, and he lurched forward with the force of it. He stopped himself just short of grabbing hold of her again. Slowly, with extreme gentleness, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Then he bore his stare into her eyes to impress upon her: this was not up for negotiation. “I will drive you home.”
She quivered under his hand, so he released her. But her jerky nod was all the assent he needed. He scooped her iPod off the floor, righted her chair, and busied himself with gathering her things off the desk and his off the floor.
He would get her safely home as quickly as possible. Then he would figure out some way to forget what had just happened.
And never let it happen again.
The scorching hot kiss and the long, silent ride home had Mia twisted in knots. She had apparently replayed some of it in her dreams that night, if her roommate Jupiter’s knowing looks and Mia’s tangled sheets were any indication. She was just relieved there were no rips in her bedding from any accidental night-shifting. That hadn’t happened in ages, but then she’d never had a kiss be so powerful that it possessed her: mind, body, and soul.
Lucas had insisted she no longer take the bus to work. He said he would send a car and driver, and sure enough, the next morning, a stretch limousine showed up at her dorm room bright and early, ready to pick her up. She was quickly exhausting Jupiter’s wardrobe, trying to find something appropriate to wear each day to SparkTech, but she took care to dress extra professionally that morning: a trim, black skirt, a muted-yellow light-weight sweater, and her long hair pulled back in a clip. Jupiter had laden her with a few gold bangles and pronounced her “perfect.” Mia couldn’t help hoping that would be Lucas’s evaluation as well. She certainly caught a few stares from her fellow McMahon dorm students as she stepped out Friday morning in her yellow-gold pumps and business-smart outfit. The high-class limo with the door held open by a black-tie driver in a Driving Miss Daisy cap only added to the effect.
On the drive in to downtown Seattle, the urban canyon streets were still gray, shadowed by the early morning sun. Mia couldn’t decide what exactly had happened the night before. Lucas kissed her—had thoroughly kissed her—and his rock-hard erection against her body said he wanted to do much more than press his lips to hers. It wasn’t just a kiss, either: more like a volcano of passion erupting. But then he had just… stopped. Was he afraid they would be caught by his father, the Senior Mr. Sparks, CEO of SparkTech? She had snooped a little online and found Lucas had graduated from the University of Washington four years ago, which made him at least twenty-six. Wasn’t that a little old to be worried about what his parents thought? Or was it because she worked for Lucas? She decided that had to be it—he was afraid she might cry sexual harassment or some such thing.
As if anything sexual involving Lucas could be termed harassment of any kind.
And then there was the whole shifter aspect. To be honest, that was the part that excited her the most. He was wolf. And after what she had seen in the alleyway, he was an extremely powerful wolf, in both his human and shifted forms. She had always been drawn to powerful men—at least the kind who wore their power in their broad shoulders and in the muscles underneath their t-shirts. But Lucas was the kind of man she was truly meant to be with: strong, overwhelmingly sexy, and able to handle her in the event her inner wolf became unleashed. The thought of that alone made her squeeze her thighs together and hope the driver wasn’t a shifter, wondering why his passenger was getting aroused by herself in the back of his limo.
The whole thing caught her completely off guard. She was trying to get her degree, get a job, help her mom… she had never imagined she would meet another shifter along the way, much less one who would be so profoundly protective of her. So insistent in ensuring her safety. And who lit her on fire like no boy ever had. But Lucas was no boy… he was most definitively all man. And when he held her in his arms last night… it wasn’t just the passion of his kiss that entranced her. It was the feeling of being utterly safe. Completely, passionately wanted. Of belonging in a way she had never felt with anyone else before.
Lucas seemed such a perfect match for her. It must have been fate—or something equally powerful, perhaps destiny—that had drawn them together. Only he seemed to want to resist it. Why? And why was he so driven to care for her in the first place?
As her limo arrived at the Russell building, Mia realized the things she didn’t know about Lucas Sparks far outnumbered the things she did.
She strolled into SparkTech, pleased she was one of the first to arrive, and immediately went to Lucas’s office. If she could just get him alone for a little while, have a chance to talk, maybe she could reassure him that he had nothing to worry about—he wasn’t just her boss, he saved her life! She would never repay that by jeopardizing him or SparkTech in any way. And maybe, just maybe, he would see that he didn’t have to hold back from her.
But as soon as she entered Lucas’s office, he shoved a pile of reports into her arms and sent her away. She spent the day going over every line: they were already into Stage Two of their due diligence on LoopSource, and these reports were supposed to help SparkTech determine the market potential of LoopSource’s new internet platform. It created apps that were super easy for casual internet users—basically it was a customization tool, but the tech part of this marketing report was thick with terms she didn’t recognize and struggled to piece together. The report itself glowed with numbers that seemed to say LoopSource was the next big thing in mobile computing, but the diligence part of due diligence meant evaluating the report as much as the data within it. No matter what else happened with her and Lucas, she needed to prove she could be an asset to SparkTech—so Mia rolled up her sweater sleeves and dug in. Lunchtime flew by, a
nd it was well into the afternoon before the grumbling in her stomach could no longer be ignored.
Just as she was ready to temporarily climb out of her analysis hole, Lev popped his head in her door.
“Hey, new girl!” he said cheerily. “You know, we’re not actually operating a sweatshop here. You’re allowed to take breaks for lunch.”
Mia let out a small laugh and leaned back from her desk. “Just trying to make an impression, I guess.” She rubbed her weary eyes, unclipped her hair, and shoved her hands through it, stretching out the kinks.
“Oh, trust me, you’re doing plenty of that.” Lev opened the door the rest of the way, letting himself in. He held up a white paper bag he was carrying, then set it on her desk. “Sustenance for the eager young intern.”
“You brought me lunch?” Mia blinked up at him, amazed. Was everyone at SparkTech determined to look out for her? It warmed something deep in her heart, something she hadn’t felt with anyone other than her mom: a sense of family. Of belonging.
“Well, big brother Lucas told me to take care of you.” He perched on one corner of her expansive desk. “I take those kinds of orders very seriously.” But there was mirth in his eyes, and he gestured for her to look in the bag.
Inside was a chicken salad sandwich, fruit salad, and the most enormous, gorgeous-looking chocolate chip cookie she had ever seen in her life. It all looked gourmet. And very expensive.
“Wow, Lev, I…” She doubted she could repay him—she hadn’t started getting checks from SparkTech yet—and she didn’t want to insult him by offering. So she just peered up at him as sincerely as she could. “Thank you so much.”
“Whoa! Hang on!” He chuckled and put up his hands as if to fend her off. “It’s just a sandwich. But if you’ve been giving Lucas half that big-blue-eyed treatment, I can understand why he’s smitten.”
Her hand froze halfway in the bag. “Smitten?” Suddenly the jitters in her stomach went into overdrive. “What do you mean?”
