Desired, Alisa Woods [ebook offline txt] 📗

Mia was dressed and ready to leave for the first day of her internship, but first she had to pass the Supreme Gatekeeper of Fashion, otherwise known as her roommate, Jupiter.

“Absolutely not.” Jupiter tsk tsked her plain black slacks and white collared shirt. It was perfectly respectable business attire—Mia had looked it up online—plus it had the benefit of pulling double duty on the black pants she would no longer be wearing for The Deviation.

“Jupiter, please.” Mia was already jittery enough, she didn’t need this. “I’m going to miss the bus.” The ride was only 23 minutes—she’d looked that up too—but if she didn’t leave in the next five minutes she would miss it and be late for sure.

“First day requires a higher dress code,” Jupiter admonished. “Then, if everyone else dresses like a bartender who just lost her job, then fine. Be that way.”

Mia had told her roommate she couldn’t go back to The Deviation because she would need help finding something new, but she’d been light on the details of why. She would keep her promise to Lucas, the hot shifter she spent half the weekend daydreaming about, but even without that promise, spilling to Jupiter about werewolves on the streets of Seattle was just a little too close to home for comfort. Mia had only had the weekend to look for a job, but so far no luck. If something didn’t turn up soon, she could still go back to The Deviation. She hadn’t technically quit, and her next shift wasn’t until Wednesday.

Jupiter rummaged through the closet that housed both their clothes, but mostly hers. Articles of clothing started to sail across the room.

Mia watched as most missed the bed and landed on the floor. “Jeeter—”

“Hush!” Jupiter said, her voice muffled. “I’m finding you something decent.” After a moment, she came out with a silky something in brilliant blue. She held it up to Mia. “Perfect! Matches your eyes exactly.” She tossed that to Mia and returned to the closet.

Mia pulled in a breath. “Fine.” She knew a losing fight when she saw it, and maybe if she hurried, she would still make the bus. She rushed through the buttons of her white collared shirt and threw on the blue silk one. It was sleeveless and made her arms feel naked. But it draped just right everywhere else and instantly made her feel more professional.

“Great! Jupiter, you’re the best. I’ll see you—”

Her roommate pulled back from the closet with a set of blue pumps in one hand and a black jacket in the other. “Oh, we are so not done.”

“Jeeter, I’ve gotta go.”

Jupiter thrust the clothes at her. “Change while I get the pearls.”

Five minutes later, Mia passed inspection and somehow ran the whole way to the bus stop in her roommate’s heels. Thankfully, they wore the same size. Or perhaps not: if Jupiter hadn’t been an exact fit, maybe Mia wouldn’t have to endure quite so many mandatory makeovers.

But she couldn’t argue with the effect the clothes had on her confidence. She was dressing the part of the business entrepreneur, and while she would probably spend the afternoon fetching coffee and making copies, she hoped there would be more to it than that. She’d taken quite a few classes in her major already, and she’d done her research on the company: at least as much as could be found on their website. She was there to learn, to make a great impression, and eventually, to score a real job. One that paid.

Her arrival at the Russell Investments Center downtown, as well as the long, slow ride up to the 32nd floor, were enough to bring her nerves raging back. SparkTech’s name and logo were etched into the frosted glass doors, and when she pushed them open, her jitters took another jump up the nervous scale. She had never been in an office that was so… luxurious. The off-white carpet felt like she was walking on a thick, padded cloud. The walls were illuminated along the ceiling and floor, giving the effect that they floated on a glowing cushion of light. The dark burnished wood of the receptionist’s desk shone with such a high state of polish that it reflected her unsteady approach in her blue heels. There was no one behind the desk, and the frosted doors off to the side weren’t inviting. Neither were the glass tables and trim, off-white couches. A small fan whirred in the corner, an air purifier, then she realized the office had almost no scent—as if the small device had scrubbed all the normal human and office smells from the room. It was refreshing, comforting in a way she hadn’t experienced since her last trip to the forest.

“Hello?” she called quietly. When no one answered, she teetered, uncertain. She almost turned around and headed back to the elevator, when the frosted doors swung open, and an impeccably-dressed mid-thirties woman strolled out, all smiles. She gave an approving glance over Mia’s attire.

Mia kept her sigh of relief inside and silently thanked Jupiter for her wardrobe assist.

The woman shook her hand. “I’m Lena. Welcome to SparkTech. You must be our new intern, Mia Fiore.”

“I hope I’m not late.” Mia looked nervously for a clock, but there wasn’t any.

“No, dear, you’re right on time.” Lena ushered her toward the door. She had a light citrusy smell that Mia was almost certain wasn’t perfume… just her natural, clean-scrubbed scent. Oddly, it helped her relax even more.

Lena steered her down the hallway. The wide-open floor plan left plenty of space in the middle for groups to meet, while the offices ringed the perimeter.

 “Most of the Managing Partners are out for the day,” Lena said, “but the Principals are all in, including the one you’ll be assisting for the term. You’re just with us for the summer, right?”

“Both summer terms, actually,” Mia said. “If that’s still all right?”

“I’m sure that it is.”

They stopped in front of an office at one corner with a name etched on the frosted glass. All the offices must have windows, or powerful internal lighting, because the same frosted glass that comprised both walls and doors seem to glow with an effervescent light from within.

Lena knocked.

A gruff male voice called, “Come in.”

Lena opened the door, and Mia put on what she hoped was a professional smile as she trailed behind Lena into the office. Mia kept the smile plastered to her face even as her eyes went wide at the incredible view out the windows. The city lay at her feet, with the Olympic Mountains in the distance. The noontime sun filled the lushly appointed office with natural light.

Belatedly, she pulled her gaze back to the man sitting at the desk.

Then the smile on her face died.

Lucas.

She struggled for something to say, confused, shaken, but it was nothing compared to the fire in Lucas’s eyes. He lurched to his feet but stalled out there, still standing behind his desk.

“Mr. Sparks,” Lena said, her voice wavering a little. “I’m sorry to disturb you. This is Mia Fiore. You said you wanted our new intern brought right to you as soon as she arrived.”

He knew? Mia’s eyebrows hiked up, but the pure shock on Lucas’s face said no, he was just as surprised as she was.

He was still frozen behind his desk. Finally, he said, “Right. Yes. Thank you, Lena. That will be all.” His gaze was locked on Mia, looking her up and down, like he expected to find something else, anything else, besides her standing before him in a suit and heels.

Lena seemed to sense the live-wire tension as well, but confusion ruled her face. Of course. Why would Lucas tell his office assistant that he had saved a college girl from two snarling wolves over the weekend? In fact, the freaked look on Lucas’s face had to be more than just shock at seeing her show up in his office. He had to be worried she was going to spill his secret—at his fancy investment job, no less. Mia force a brighter smile and tried to send him reassuring looks, but the intensity on his face just burned them away.

“Well,” Lena said, her voice strained. “I guess… just let me know if you need anything.” Surprisingly, she was saying this to Mia, as if she was hesitant to leave her alone with Lucas. But that was exactly what needed to happen.

Mia gave her a broad smile. “Thanks so much for your help!” The cheery enthusiasm was probably a bit too much. But it worked in nudging Lena to the door and eventually through it.

As soon as the door closed, Lucas tore around the desk toward her.

Mia threw her hands up, not so much to stop him, but to buy a second to get her apology out.

He still beat her to it. “What are you doing here?” His voice had growl in it, even more than she expected, and it sent a shiver through her. “How did you find me?”

That short-circuited her brain. “Find you? I wasn’t stalking you! I’ve had this internship lined up for months.” She snuck a look back to the door. Through the frosted glass, she could see his name etched there, in reverse: L. Sparks, Managing Partner. Her research came rushing back: Lucas Sparks was one of the founder’s sons in this family-owned business. Of course, she hadn’t thought twice that he might be her Lucas. Which made her frown even more: he wasn’t hers in any conceivable way. Except perhaps in her hot dreams about him over the weekend.

He was looming over her, emotions warring across his face, but he was holding something back. She jumped in with the apology, suddenly worried her internship might vanish in a puff of smoke, just like her job at The Deviation.

“I swear I didn’t know you were here,” she said in a rush. “I promise I won’t say anything to anyone. Please, don’t…” She swallowed as his frown just grew deeper. “Please don’t fire me. I need this internship on my resume. I promise I won’t be any trouble.”

At that, the expression on his face broke. It wrenched something inside her, but she wasn’t sure what, because he took a step closer and ran two fingers along her cheek, which completely stopped any thoughts in her head.

“Hey,” he said softly. “No one’s going to fire you. Stop worrying about that right now.”

His touch was a line of heat across her cheek, but his words worked through her, relaxing the tension that had hiked up her shoulders. That, and the nearness of him, was like a balm that washed away her concerns. His scent finally reached her over the near scentlessness of his office: a freshly-cut wood smell with a musky hint of baked-in-the-afternoon-sun. Her body was likewise warming to the richly masculine quality of it, completely without her permission. When she peered up into his dark eyes, they were hooded, and she could tell he was breathing her in