Page 9 of His Dark Desire

"Shit, Bri, what are you going to do?"

She lifts her shoulders and shrugs. "There's nothing I can do; I'm going to have to marry him. if I don't, I'm getting cut off."

I wince. Shit, that's not good, she's dependent on that money to help her and her younger sister.

"It'll be okay," I promise her.

She gives me a small smile. "Now tell me all about your boss, is he as sexy as he looks in the articles?"

I can't stop the smile that spreads across my lips. "Oh, Briar," I say low, "Even sexier."

Her eyes practically bug out of her head. "Holy shit. Really?"

I nod. Oh yeah, the man is fucking sexy, and I'm attracted to him and I don't think that's a good thing. But I can be professional, and I can keep my attraction hidden.

I hope so. God, I really hope that I can.

CHAPTER 3

Joe

The sound of the elevator doors opening has my gut tightening. Christ. it's been three days since Hazel started working for me and I'm about to lose my fucking mind. The woman is gorgeous, sexy as fuck, and so damn sweet. Those big smiles and fluttering lashes lets me know that she wants me. I don't fuck around where I work, that's a huge fucking no, no.

"Morning, Joe," she greets me as she sticks her head around my slightly ajar office door. "Did Mrs. Irvine contact you yet?" she asks with a bright smile.

I stare at the invitation on my desk, the one that I received on my way out of my house this morning. I owe Hazel a bonus that's for sure. "I did, she had this," I say, lifting the invite up. "Courier this morning. Great work, Hazel." I'm now officially invited to the next charity event that's taking place in three weeks time. I have a plus one and Hazel will be coming with me, she knows a fucking lot about the distilling world, she's worked there for summers and knows a lot of the ins and outs about the politics that happen.

She pushes the door open and saunters over to me, she's wearing a tight fucking pencil skirt that clings to her legs and hips with every movement that she makes. "Excellent," she breathes as she perches on the edge of my desk. "Now I need to get working on the list of potential sellers for you."

I chuckle, this woman is unexpected, but fuck, she's doing me a favor, one that'll allow me to stay in Kentucky and closer to Gabby and Anthony. My grandson is growing up, he's three now and he's amazing, but that's a given seeing who his mom is. My daughter is fucking amazing, she's proven over and over again just how great she is. She's given me more chances than I can count, the chance to be a better man, a grandfather to Anthony. It's a chance I've taken with both hands. Christ, I've made so fucking many mistakes in this life, but Gabby isn't one of them. No, she's my greatest gift.

"Are you ready to be back in Denver this week?" she asks, and I see the hesitancy in her eyes.

"Yeah," I reply as I throw the invitation back on the table.

I need to return to Denver, a problem has risen with one of my men, it'll take a couple of days to sort out. Being back in Denver means seeing Christina again. That's something I'm not fucking looking forward too, I haven't seen her since Anthony was a year old, the fucking bitch pushed him over when he was walking. I've never felt such rage as I did seeing that. The bitch knew that she fucked up and tried to claim it was an accident. Yeah right, the bitch is jealous of the attention that both Gabriella and Anthony get from people, she hates not being the center of attention.

Since Anthony's birthday, I've seen Christina maybe a handful of times. We're separated and she knows it, she's fucking other people—something I couldn't give a fuck about, let her fuck as many people as she wants, as long as she's away from me, I couldn't care less—from what my men have said, she's lording it up in my house, having parties and enjoying herself, she gets pissed if any of the men need access to my home and will pitch a fit. That's also something I need to sort out this week while I'm back in Denver. If the bitch wants to remain in my home, she'll do as she's fucking told and allow my men to do whatever the fuck they're instructed to do.

"You'll be keeping me apprised of what's happening here, Donavan will be here with you so if you need anything, you can go to him, but I expect daily updates."

She gets to her feet, leaning over my desk slightly, the top three buttons of her blouse undone so I'm able to see the black lacy bra she's got on under her top. "That's fine, I'll ensure that I take copious notes while you're gone. Is there anything else?" she asks, her gaze on me.

I raise a brow as I sit backward, crossing my arms over my chest. Does she think I don't know what she is up to? I spotted her interest in me the moment she stepped into the elevator on her very first day. "Now," I say thickly, dropping my voice, I watch as she shivers. "That's a loaded question, wouldn't you say, sweetheart?"

I watch as she takes a couple of death breaths. "Sweetheart?" she questions, her voice soft and breathless.

I rise to my feet, walking around my desk so that I'm standing behind her, my cock thick. Christ, she affects me and there's not a fucking thing that I can do about it. I can't and won't touch her. "Sweetheart," I say against the shell of her ear, loving the sharp intake of breath that she takes. "You're so fucking sweet, so damn pure."

She turns, our faces just inches apart. "Not pure," she tells me, and I grit my teeth. Fuck, I don't need to imagine her with another fucking guy. Hell fucking no. "You're playing with me," she says quietly. "Toying with me. You shouldn't do that."

"Why?" I ask. "You're doing it to me. You think I haven't noticed? The longing glances, the heated looks. I see it all."

Her gaze darts away. "I'm sorry," she says softly. "I didn't?—"

I run my finger along her jaw. "Oh, but you did," I say pointedly. "I'm trying real fucking hard here, Hazel. I don't mess with my staff. Fucking you would be phenomenal, of that I have no doubt, but it's a bad fucking idea."

She nods, a small smirk playing on her lips. "What would your wife say?" she asks, her eyebrow raising inquisitively.

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