Page 12 of His Dark Desire

I sense him as he takes a step closer to me and I can feel the heat radiating off of his body. My heart starts to race as I wonder what could possibly be wrong.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

There is a moment of tense silence, I raise my gaze and look at him. His dark eyes roam over me, heating every inch of my skin. I swallow hard, trying to regain control of my thoughts. How can one man have such a powerful effect on me with just a single glance?

“I need you to work through lunch with me,” he says, locking eyes with me. “Next week we have that event and you'll be accompanying me. This is your area of expertise.”

My mind races as I process his words and try to calm my racing heart. At the same time, my body responds to the intensity in his gaze, and I can feel myself getting flustered. But I force myself to plaster on a bright smile, the one that has become second nature over these past two weeks, and nod. “Of course,” I reply softly. “I'll order lunch to the office.”

“Already taken care of,” Joe replies, giving me a small smirk before turning on his heel and striding back to his office. My heart races as I watch him go, knowing that our time alone together will only fuel my growing attraction towards him.

It takes me a couple of minutes to regain my composure. I push to my feet and smooth down my skirt, I try not to focus on my shaky hands, but on what I need to do. I grab my laptop and hurry toward Joe’s office. Once I’m there, I hesitate, standing outside his office door, it takes a few moments before I’m able to gather the courage to knock.

“Enter,” he calls out.

Taking a deep breath, I push the door open and step inside.

Joe is already seated at the table, papers spread out in front of him. His intense gaze meets mine as I enter, and for a moment, we simply stare at each other in silence.

"Come in, Hazel," he says low, his gaze focused on me.

My heart races as I cross the room to stand in front of him, the air thick with tension between us. Joe's gaze never leaves mine, and I feel as though every secret I hold is laid bare before him. I try to steady my racing pulse, focusing on the task at hand despite his overwhelming presence.

"What do you need me to do?" I ask, my voice coming out softer than I intended.

Joe leans back in his chair, his eyes still fixated on me. "I have the finalized guest list for the event next week, it’s now in your inbox," he says, his tone firm. "I need you to go through and highlight anyone who's in the bourbon business."

I nod, placing my laptop on the table in front of me. As I sit down across from him, my fingers dance over the keyboard of my laptop, pulling up the necessary documents. The silence between us is heavy, and I hate it.

We work in silence and while things are tense and uncertain, I can’t help but feel safe as I work. Even though we kissed, he’s been professional ever since and I respect that but hate it all at the same time. I just despise how easy it is for him to act as though nothing happened between us.

I’m almost done with going through the list of attendees when I hear him clearing his throat, my gaze goes from my laptop screen to him and I see him shifting the papers in front of him, his gaze colliding with mine. "Hazel," he begins, his voice low and gravelly, sending shivers down my spine. "I know things have been... complicated between us lately."

I nod slowly, unable to tear my gaze away from his piercing eyes. His words hang heavy in the air, I have no idea what he’s going to say.

"But I need you to understand," he continues, his tone soft yet commanding. "There are things about me, about my world, that you don't know. And I can't risk putting you in danger."

His words send a chill down my spine, a mixture of fear and intrigue hit me. Being head of the Mafia would bring a lot of danger to his life, but I don’t understand why he’s telling me this.

“The past two weeks you’ve acted as if nothing has happened between us and now, you’re telling me you can’t risk putting me in danger?” I scoff. “Surely working for you would do that anyway?”

He tilts his head, conceding that I am in fact correct. “Maybe so, but as I said, there’s things about me that you don’t know and you’re my employee, what happened between us, shouldn’t have and for that I’m sorry.”

I nod slowly, his words hitting me deeply. I should have known that he regretted them, but damn, it hurts hearing him say the words.

“With that said, you are a great employee and I hope you’ll remain so.”

My brows furrow together. Does he think that I’ll quit?

“I need your expertise for this event,” Joe says, his eyes softening slightly. “We can’t let personal matters interfere with our work.”

I take a deep breath, trying to push down the emotions swirling inside me. Joe is right, we can't let our personal feelings get in the way of our jobs, no matter how much the kiss affected me.

“You’re right,” I say, meeting his gaze with determination. “I’ll focus on the task at hand and ensure you have the information you need for the event.”

Joe nods, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes before he masks it with his usual composed expression.

As we work through the guest list, highlighting names and making notes, I can't help but steal glances at Joe. His focused expression, the way he furrows his brow in concentration, it only serves to make him more alluring in my eyes. Despite the tension between us, I find myself drawn to him in a way I can't quite explain. And as the afternoon wears on, the air between us seems to crackle with unspoken words and unresolved feelings.

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