Silk Stalkings: Episode 1 (3 page)

Fighting the wolf and his own libidinous urges while trying to carry on a business conversation was not going to work, he decided, so he had stormed off the floor with his entourage, leaving the bemused looking woman behind. Even now, the scent of her filled his nose, floral and sweet, and Rafe balled his fists to control the shaking.

“Rafe, are you listening to me?”

“Sorry, John,” Rafe smiled, trying to be genial. “I’m just not in the game today. If there’s a problem with the contract, let Seth know. I just make the deals. Seth picks the details.”

John studied his face, concern clear on it. “Are you feeling all right? You look… ill.”

“I’m fine, John,” Rafe ground his teeth. He briefly considered allowing the shift to happen, imagining the look on John’s face as his solid, staid boss really did turn into an animal. “Just…talk to Seth.”

He kept his gaze on the window, focusing his energy on tamping down the wildness inside. He barely noticed when the soft click of his door indicated he was once more alone. He allowed himself a soft growl, the low rumble flowing up from his chest and through his throat. His body shuddered involuntarily as his bones struggled to shift and meld, the wolf inside a breath away from escaping. Rafe’s eyes jumped around the large room. By business standards, it was huge, but right now he felt the walls closing in. He want to strip naked and race through the woods, shifting to his wolf form and howling at the sky. If he went out into the lobby, he might do just that, particularly if that woman was there.

He picked up his phone and punched in a few numbers, waiting for the ringing to end.

“Yeah.” The craggy old voice, rough with years of smoking and shouting, made Rafe smile.

“It’s Rafe, Uncle John.”

“I can see who it is. I know how to use a phone.” John was his father’s brother. After the triplets’ parents had been killed, John became the interim Alpha and the boys’ guardian. He had done a fine job raising them, but he was only too relieved to had the business over to the boys and run off to the mountains. That didn’t stop Rafe, Seth, or Ulric from calling him up when their tails got tied in knots.

“I’ve got a problem.”

“What?”

“I’m trapped in my office.” Briefly, Rafe outlined the situation to his uncle and was rewarded with a humiliating guffaw through the phone.

“You’re trapped because a bitty girl made eyes at you? You need to get laid.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got a date tonight which should remedy that.” Rafe sat at his desk and leaned back, a hand covering his eyes. His head was starting to pound.

“Is it that actress? The blond one with the big tits? She’s a looker.”

“Vanessa. Her name is Vanessa, Uncle John,” Rafe sighed. This phone call had been a mistake, but at least the wolf had lapsed back in to slumber.

“Listen, Rafe,” the old man said. Rafe could hear the grin through the phone and could almost see John and his wicked, toothy smile. “Bed one or the other, hell, bed them both at the same time, but remember, you’re 30 years old, boy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rafe scowled up at the ceiling. Age for wolves was generally irrelevant; 30 was about the same as mid twenties, and that gap would only lengthen as time went on.

“I mean, maybe it’s mating season.”

Lyssa rode down with Abigail at the end of the day, stopping at the second floor where she exchanged pleasant goodbyes before pulling the strap of her small black purse up on her shoulder and stepping out into the long, tan-carpeted hallway in front of the company bar, the Moonlight Lounge. She could her the low hum of chatter and laughter from inside the open portal leading into the dark room lit by blue neon lights. Lyssa walked through the entrance and felt the wave of relaxation spread over her like warm wool. She had survived her first day and sighed happily, peering into the dimly lit lounge for the familiar shock of dark hair. She didn’t have to wait long because she soon heard her friend’s voice cutting across the chatter.

“Lyssa! Lyssa! Over here!” Shannon was waving her hand wildly over her head from a table against the wall where she was seated with several other people. Lyssa’s lips curved into an unconscious smile as she made her way through the crowd to the table and slid into a seat next to a darkly handsome man.

“Guys, this is my friend Lyssa,” Shannon drawled, leaning forward, her glossy black hair sweeping across her face. “She’s new, so be nice. Lyssa, these are the guys.”

A rumble of laughter echoed across the table before most of the group returned to their own conversations. The man next to Lyssa turned to her, open curiosity on his face.

“My name is Ben,” his voice was exotically accented, and he offered his hand to the newcomer. “I work with Shannon in The Maze.”

“I just started on the top floor.” Lyssa shook his hand before flicking a questioning glance to her friend who was watching with interest. “The Maze?”

“It’s what we call the programmer’s floor,” Shannon waved over a waitress. “Thanks to the different doors and servers, it’s easy to get lost in that place. Ben is new here, too. Both to the company and the country.”

“Just a white wine,” Lyssa told the waitress before turning her attention to the man next to her. “Where are you from?”

“Eastern Europe,” the man laughed, revealing even, white teeth. “Over by the Black Sea.”

“That explains the accent,” Lyssa grinned.

“He’s from Romania,” Shannon leaned across the table toward Lyssa again. “Where the vampires are from!”

“And do you often feast on maidens,” Lyssa laughed.

“Not yet,” Ben’s mouth tilted wickedly. “I haven’t found the right maiden.”

“I told him I’d help him find a girlfriend,” Shannon’s voice took on a tone Lyssa feared. “In fact, you’re single now, aren’t you Lyss? Maybe you two should go out sometime…”

The look Lyssa threw her dearest friend would have had the other woman buried on the spot, but Ben laughed, breaking the tension.

“Shannon is a little sneak, is she not?”

“Hey!”

Taking a sip of the cold, sweet liquid, Lyssa grinned at the easy camaraderie around the table and found herself relaxing and, dare she say it, flirting. Other introductions were exchanged, and soon everyone was laughing and chatting like old friends. For the first time in a long time, Lyssa felt accepted. Ryan had never gone out with her friends, and when they had gone out with his, he invariably made a comment about her weight before blowing it off with a “Just kidding.” And Ben wasn’t bad looking, she decided, her cheeks turning a delicate pink. Getting back into the game was hard though. After a couple hours, people began to peel off for their nightly routines.

“We stop down here every night after work,” Shannon said, sitting back, an easy smile playing at the corner of her lips.

“I can see why,” Lyssa swallowed the last of her wine.. “It’s amusing that there’s a company bar. How much profit does Delun make off of this?”

“It’s wholesale prices,” Shannon twirled her glass between her fingertips. Her eyes jumped around the room. “But, you could always ask him yourself.”

“Yeah,” Lyssa smirked. “I don’t see us becoming buddy-buddy in the office. He didn’t seem particularly inclined to talk to me.”

“Maybe not, but he just walked in.”

Lyssa turned her head to see the handsome businessman enter. He stopped at the doorway, head tilted to the side, and then his eyes landed on her. Their eyes met across the room and Lyssa’s pulse jumped as an almost palpable connection linked them across the room. A muscle contracted on his jaw, and he turned on his heel and took a secluded stairway to a back room.

“Shit,” she hissed. “My first day and the boss catches me in a bar.”

“Relax,” Shannon laughed. “It’s his bar, and he’s here almost every night too. He likes to keep an eye on his peeps.”

“Peeps,” Ben sounded confused. “Aren’t those the candy birds and rabbits?”

“In this case, Shannon is referring to us,” Lyssa turned back to the table, her fingers drumming softly on the wooden top. “His employees.” She sighed. “I probably ought to go anyhow. My head is just buzzing with all of the information.”

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Ben said, jumping up. “I should go home too.”

“All right.” Lyssa delivered a kick under the table to the black-haired woman across from her. Shannon started snickering into her glass. Lyssa dropped a few dollars on the table and then they left.

The ride in the elevator was quick and quiet. The pair exchanged shy glances, but felt too self-conscious to start up a conversation. They got off together, their footsteps falling into an easy rhythm that echoed through the garage all the way to Lyssa’s beat up 2000 Chrysler. She rubbed at a smudge on the hood of her trunk before turning shyly to face Ben.

“Well, this is it, my ride home,” she offered him a tentative smile.

“So it is,” he looked around and than let out a bark of laughter. “So, uhh, will you come back tomorrow? To the Lounge, I mean. I expect that you’ll come back to work.”

Their nervous laughter echoed in the emptiness, but then Lyssa nodded, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I’ll be back. I had..fun.”

“Good, then. I look forward to seeing you there.”

“Me too. Seeing you, that is.”

Another round of nervous laughter and then Ben stuck out his hand. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See you tomorrow,” Lyssa’s palm fit snugly against his, the warmth passing between the two of them. Another shy smile and she climbed in her car and drove off. Tonight had been a good night. A new job, a drink, flirting with a cute guy, Lyssa adjusted her mirror. Things were definitely looking up.

Ben stood there, the awkward, shy smile on his face with his hands in his pockets until Lyssa’s car turned the corner to leave the garage. Then, the look on his face was replaced with one of deadly intensity, his dark brown eyes lightning to a brilliant gold color. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in a few numbers.

“Yeah, it’s Beniamin,” his voice deepened, the accent more pronounced. “I found us a way in. Delun’s new secretary.” He listened to the voice on the other end. “She’s apparently on the prowl. It shouldn’t be hard to get her to let us in. Give me a few days.” Another pause as a frustrated look crossed his face. “I can do it,
stăpân
.” He closed his phone with a click, walking back to the elevator, all his bumbling charm replaced with a wolfish smile.

An excerpt from the upcoming release of Episode Two

He stormed through his lobby on the top floor, and tried to make it past the pair of women working at their desks, but Lyssa’s sweet smell assailed his nostrils. It was floral and light and made him think of grabbing her and kissing her. He clenched his fist again, letting the sharp pain from the lengthening nails ground him to his human form.

"Ms. Shepperd," he barked. "My office. Now."

He didn't even pause to see if she obeyed. The sound of scurrying reached his sharp ears, and he knew. Her scent danced around him as they entered his office, calling to the animal inside.

"Please shut the door," he struggled to keep the growl out of his voice as he turned to face her.

Lyssa's face was pale as she shut the heavy wooden doors with a click. Her heart was beating in her throat. Mr. Delun seemed so angry today and while she didn't think she'd done anything wrong, he'd been so brusque and dismissive since she started that it was hard to think otherwise. Lyssa was already trying to budget her money from her last paycheck in her head when she turned to face him. Except instead of space between them, she found herself nose to chest with her boss.

The starched white shirt was just inches from her face, and she lifted her head slowly to meet the golden eyes of her Rafe Delun. Her breath constricted in her chest and her mouth dried up as the woodsy, musky scent of his cologne tickled her nose. He smelled so good, and something about him caused an almost painful tug of desire in her loins. Not even Ryan had caused this reaction in her.

Jesus, he's handsome, she thought as she stared wide-eyed at the tall man. He looks like he wants to eat me, was the confused second thought.

"M..Mr. Delun," she said hesitantly, her voice high-pitched.

His hands gripped her shoulders, and she found herself pressed against the door. He lowered his head until their noses barely touched, the heat radiating off his body contributing to the flush on Lyssa's cheeks. Their breath mingled and Lyssa took a shallow hitching breath. She felt terribly small and fragile in his grip. His head moved closer, his lips mere centimeters from hers.

Holy fuck, he is going to eat me, was her panicky thought, or kiss me.

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