Lucia Jordan's Four Series Collection: Chosen, Whipped, Lick, Risk (2 page)

“Read the files I left on your desk and be prepared to discuss them in my office at ten. I have a nine o’clock conference call and do not wish to be disturbed until after the call.”

She tipped her chin. “Yes, Sir.”

He returned to his office, shutting the door behind him.

Yes, Sir.
Her tone had been anything but respectful and submissive. An unexpected image of her on her knees, her shoulders back, tits thrust out, hands cuffed behind her back and head down in a very submissive posture flashed across his mind. He blinked. Where the hell had that come from?

He might be a Dom but he’d never brought his sex life into the office—he didn’t believe in mixing his personal life and business life. Besides, he’d met Karyn at several family gatherings and company functions and he’d never been the least bit attracted to her, never thought her more than passable in the beauty department. Yet, just now, he’d been struck by that same beauty that, before, had always left him cold.

There was no way in hell he could be attracted to her. His plan to seduce her was a purely business decision. Family came first and he’d do whatever it took to protect his own from the likes of Karyn. Yet he wanted to call her into his office and order her to kneel in front of him.

“Business,” he muttered, returning to his desk. Nothing more, nothing less.

***

Taryn let out a sigh of relief and plopped down into her chair. “Oh. My. God.” Over the weekend, she’d studied everything she could on Giovanni DeMitri, searching the Internet and the social columns of newspapers and magazines. She’d known that he was older than Stefano by quite a few years and that he was a very attractive man, but in person, Giovanni DeMitri was the hunk of all hunks, a dark eyed, dark haired god. He was every woman’s dream man—tall, dark and handsome.

“Damn, he’s a walking cliché!” But it was the truth. He had wide shoulders, a broad chest, and narrow hips. She’d bet her first paycheck that his chest was muscled, his belly, firm and his ass, rock hard.

“Get a grip,” she told herself. He wasn’t the first handsome man she’d been around but, hell, he topped the list.

Her heart pounded with both excitement and pure lust. “Down girl,” she murmured to herself.
Off limits. No touching. No fantasizing.
Totally off limits. Well, okay, she could fantasize, but not at work. Not only was Gio her temporary boss, he’d soon be her sister’s brother-in-law. Besides, she had a firm rule. No office romances. “Been there, done that.”

She placed her hands palms down on the desk and willed her pulse to slow. At least she’d passed the first test. God, she had to be out of her mind to have agreed to do this. But Karyn and Stefano had been desperate and, she admitted, she’d been furious at the high-handedness of one Giovanni DeMitri.

She grinned, admitting to herself that there was a bit of thrill in carrying out the deception. Like when they’d been children and fooled teaches and the parents of their friends. She glanced toward the closed door then at the clock on the wall opposite her desk.

Less than two hours before she had to brave the lion’s den. Taryn flipped on her computer, pulled the stack of files toward her and began reading. It didn’t matter that the job was temporary. Pride demanded she do her job to the best of her ability. Besides, she could also do her best to prove to Giovanni DeMitri that she, as Karyn, was a good person, a dedicated employee, and not out for his brother’s money.

And if he was the sweetest bit of eye candy on Planet Earth, well, she’d enjoy that as well.

***

Three weeks later, Taryn had to admit she was enjoying her new job—her temporary job—a lot. The work itself was challenging, interesting and totally new and different from her previous office and admin jobs. Though Giovanni DeMitri was demanding—even arrogant and bossy—he was also a genius and exciting to work for.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t like her, or that she disliked him every bit as much. He was a brilliant businessman and the job was fun and fulfilling. Too bad the man was a bully when it came to his family.

Taryn grinned. Karyn had called last night and her sister had sounded happy, which made her happy. She leaned back in her chair. She was also restless, already anticipating the fireworks when Giovanni discovered the truth. And he would. He watched her and studied her and she knew he was confused. Her first day, she’d forgotten her sister took her coffee light and sweet, while Taryn preferred black.

She bit back a chuckle. She’d told him she was on a diet in order to fit into the wedding dress she’d picked out. He’d been angry and distant since, which was fine with her. But she was feeling guilty. The man demanded honesty and loyalty from his employees. When he learned of her part in the deception, he’d never forgive her.

That shouldn’t bother her, but to her surprise, it bothered her a lot. She liked working for Gio, and would miss the work when Karyn returned. Even if Karyn returned to her former position as Stefano’s assistant, Giovanni wouldn’t keep an assistant who’d lied to him not once, but every single moment of every single day.

The door to Gio’s inner sanctum opened and his sister, Carmela, sauntered out. She’d just returned from a trip to New York. “Hey Karyn. How’s it going?” She winked, and then raised her voice. “Want to go shopping after work? Saw some great sale ads for bridesmaids’ dresses.”

“Carmela!” Taryn wanted to bang her head on the desk. Stefano and Karyn had told Carmela the truth, as Carmela and Karyn were close, and the woman thought the whole situation funny.

Carmela leaned down close. “Saw Kari and Stef when I was in New York last week. They’re so happy.”

Taryn grinned. “I’m so happy for them.” She grimaced as she shot a quick glance at the open doorway. “Your brother is going to be furious when he learns the truth.”

Carmela studied her blood-red nails. “I know. It’ll be fun watching Gio blow his stack.” Her eyes turned hard. “I love my big brother. He means well, but he takes his responsibilities a bit too far at times.”

“The man is an arrogant bully,” Taryn said, her voice low.

Tipping her head to one side, Carmela grinned with amusement. “You just might be the person to take him down a peg or two. I love Karyn like a sister already, but she’s afraid of Gio. You’re not and that’s good.”

Taryn couldn’t imagine her sister as Gio’s admin. The man would have scared her witless in two hours while she, herself, enjoyed rising to his every challenge. She smiled. “Go away, you troublemaker. I’ve got work to do.” She gathered her file and stood.

Carmela laughed. “Well-well, you actually like working for my brother.” She winked, and spoke again, raising her voice. “We’ll go shopping when you’re free.”

Watching Gio’s sister saunter out, Taryn shook her head and sighed. She did like her job. In fact, it was her dream job. Her boss might be a jerk when it came to dealing with his family, but he was a genius in the workplace. She loved the challenges he threw her way, even though she suspected he was deliberately making her job hard to get her to quit.

“I’ll show him that Taryn, er, Karyn Jones is no wimp,” she muttered. She gave the doorframe a knuckle rap.

“Yes?”

Taryn entered, eyeing the man behind the desk. He’d shed his suit jacket and had rolled up the sleeves of his green shirt. His gaze met hers. She swallowed hard. Why did the man have to be so damn good looking? Every time she looked at him, she had to fight a buzz of attraction.

Her heart sped up, and her insides felt like wax melting in a pool in the sun. It was hard to keep her expression cold and indifferent and hide the tremor in her voice around this man. Unlike her sister, she wasn’t much of a romantic. She believed in ruling with her mind, not her heart. Especially on the job.

Office romances spelled disaster. Her eyes dropped to his full lips.
Too bad.
What would it feel like to be held by him and kissed? Deep in her center, lust swelled to a dull throb between her legs.

Forget it
,
she told herself.
Giovanni DeMitri is off limits
. And not just because of the little game of deception. The man was way out of her league. Flirting or going out with this man would be like playing with matches in a forest during a drought.

She cleared her throat. “Legal sent up the Baker files. Everything is ready. Just need your signatures.” She set the large envelopes on his desk. “I also finished the report on Angelo’s business.” That report joined the pile.

***

Gio glanced up as Karyn set a file on his desk, then stepped back. “That was quick work.” He opened the file and took a quick glance. It looked thorough and complete. He was surprised and impressed by her ability to keep up with the brutal pace he set. She was every bit as intelligent and detail oriented as his last admin, who was out on maternity leave. Hell, truth be told, she was better.

A beeping sound came from her office. He lifted a brow when her features softened and a small smile tugged at her lips. “Another text from Stefano?”

She narrowed her eyes. “That is none of your business.”

Gio hid his grin at her contempt. The lovely Karyn Jones was still hopping mad and, he had to admit, she was even more beautiful when her eyes flashed sparks of blue fire. Which, he admitted, made him bait her just to get the reaction from her. He found he preferred her anger and heat to her cool indifference. Unfortunately, he wanted to see lust and desire there as well.

“It is my business during your work hours,” he retorted.

“You have no complaints about my work and you know it. Don’t even try to go there. Besides, it’s well past quitting time.” She tipped her chin, gathered a stack of files he no longer needed and turned. “I’ll file these and let security know you’re not to be disturbed. Then I’m leaving.” She widened her eyes. “I think I’ll take your sister up on her offer to go shopping for bridesmaids’ dresses.” She smiled nastily, and then swept out of the room, head high, shoulders back, and cheeks flushed with anger.

Gio grimaced at the reminder of the wedding. He’d spent the evening before listening to his mother talk about wedding venues. Should they get married in a church or wouldn’t an outdoor wedding at one of the vineyards the family owned be much nicer? And then there were color schemes, flowers, who to be sure was invited, and far too many other details.

Desperate, he’d fled. For reasons unknown, he couldn’t bear to think of his brother marrying Karyn…and not just because she was after his money. It went deeper, and Gio did not want to go there. Putting his worry aside, he read over Karyn’s report then sat back.

For three weeks, he’d put her through her paces, looking for faults to use against her, and he didn’t have a single complaint against her work or her work ethic. On top of that, she was punctual, even early, most days.

Was she trying to impress him? Was she attempting to put herself in good light so he’d forget his objections to her engagement to his brother? That wasn’t going to happen. Just because she worked hard didn’t mean she didn’t have her eye on a rich man. Still, he’d been forced to reevaluate his original opinion that she was a flighty, social butterfly.

She was a damn good employee, a true asset, and that irritated Gio, because he hated to lose good help…but there was no way she could stay. He shoved away from his desk, stood, swept the report into his hand and strode to the open doorway. And then he froze.

Karyn had her back to him, or rather, her sweetly curved ass. She was bent over one of the filing drawers behind her desk, knees locked, her long, shapely legs emphasized by her red heels. Her tight, red skirt had risen up in the back, revealing smooth thighs.

His gaze slid down over her rounded ass and latched onto the back of her knees. Was the skin there as soft as it looked? Would his kisses there send shivers of delight through her body? His gaze lifted slowly as he imagined himself kneeling behind her, spreading her legs apart and moving up to kiss even sweeter pastures. With her fair coloring, her ass would be white, her mound covered with tight blond curls, and her pussy, a sweet, pale pink, like the throat of a white daffodil with a pink center.

Damn it to hell, but his fingers actually twitched with the need to cup her ass and dig into her soft flesh, gripping her while he plunged his cock into her sweet, wet, pussy. His dick stirred at the image in his mind and the nearly constant ache in his balls sent shivers up his spine.

Ever since that first day when she’d glared at him with anger and contempt and told him off, he’d been intrigued. And attracted. His wealth and background often meant people were too intimated to speak their minds, but not Karyn. If she disagreed with him, she argued her case with thought and logic.

If he got too demanding, she let him know. She didn’t cower, kiss his ass, or simper and giggle. At work, she was different from the woman his brother had brought home at Christmas…and that thorn of attraction dug deeper beneath Gio’s skin, to the point he’d backed off his plan to seduce her.

Aside from admitting her value to the company—and to him—a big neon sign flashed danger whenever his fantasies took hold. And, fuck it—he had the most vivid fantasies when it came to Karyn Jones. Like draping her over his desk and burying his cock in her pussy. Or laying her flat on his desk, feet planted, his hands lifting her hips so he could taste and drink her sweet cream. And those were just a couple of the fantasies in his office. She haunted his mind wherever he went—elevator, conference room, and even in his own home.