Black Mark Series Book 1: Black Mark's Resistance Read online

  “I’ve missed you. Let’s go back to my office.” He nuzzled my neck before biting my shoulder hard enough to bruise.

  I bit my lip and let my head hang back as his hands moved lower to arrest my hips.

  Jasper lifted his mouth to my ear. “I want to eat that sweet cunt of yours while you wrap that beautiful mouth around my hard cock.”

  I groaned. To say I was randy was an understatement. Jasper turned me to face him, his green irises barely visible by how large his pupils were. He wasn’t model good-looking, but he had confidence and charisma that was far more appealing. He was a successful nightclub owner, so women weren’t in short supply for him, and even in his early thirties, his body under those clothes was worth getting on your knees to worship.

  Jasper kissed me hard, his fingers threading into my long black hair. When he pulled back he licked over my lips. “My office, now.”

  I nodded as he took my hand and pulled me after him through the crowd. I looked back over my shoulder and waved goodbye to Darius Rafal and Warren Mann. They’d surely be gone by the time I made my way back out to the club. Considering they didn’t want our business, I’d probably never see them again.

  Chapter Two

  “What is that horrible noise?” Jasper groaned hiding beneath his pillow next to me.

  “My phone,” I growled, rolling over to collect it from the bedside table. “Hello?” I answered and gave myself points for sounding wide awake. I looked at the clock, saw the first number was seven and groaned internally.

  “Miss Ellis, I was hoping we could have breakfast this morning,” a mild Scottish accent came through the phone.

  I frowned. “Who is this?” I looked at the screen, it was a private number.

  “Darius Rafal. I’ll meet you at Lucina’s in an hour.”

  “What...” The dial tone came through the ear piece. “Son of a bitch,” I grumbled sitting up in bed. “I have to go.”

  “Since when does Stuart call you into work on a Saturday?” Jasper turned his face halfway to peer out at me from under his pillow.

  “Stuart is probably still passed out after his own celebrations last night.” I threw back the sheet and climbed out of Jasper’s bed. “That was a client. I need to meet them in an hour.”

  “Come back afterwards? I need some more sleep, but I’d like to spend the afternoon with you.”

  “Sure.” I shut the bathroom door with a smile. Jasper was my weekends. I lived and breathed work all week, but the weekends were my time. I remembered why I was out of bed so early and frowned. Why was I rushing off to meet with Darius Rafal just because he called? Because he hung up before you could tell him where he could stick his breakfast. Oh, well. At least I’d get a delicious breakfast out of it.

  I arrived at Lucina’s five minutes before the hour was up. Darius Rafal was already there sipping his tea and watching me approach. He wore a green polo shirt and chinos with what looked to be volleys, but a much more expensive version. This was Darius in casual mode. He looked like he was on his way to the golf club. He looked pointedly at his watch and set down the tea.

  “Well, that’s an improvement on yesterday,” he murmured.

  I bit back the retort on my tongue, only because I could see the jerk waiting for it. When I slipped into the chair opposite him without a word, he nodded as if approving.

  “Coffee?” he offered.

  “I don’t drink coffee, thank you.” Leaning forward I caught the eye of Jackie, who regularly worked Saturday mornings and waved. She smiled, signaled she knew I was there, and walked off into the kitchen. “What can I do for you so early on a Saturday, Mr. Rafal?”

  “Explain yesterday to me.”

  “Excuse me?” I asked utterly confused.

  “You were late. I’ve been told you are never late. You were rude. I was informed you are very well mannered. You walked away from the deal leaving someone who knew nothing about it to try and garner my interest. I’d like you to explain why you behaved the exact opposite to the way you do for every other client and your employer.” He picked up his tea and took another sip.

  Jackie put a glass full of green liquid in front of me. “Usual, Mora?”

  “Yes please, Jackie.”

  “And you sir?” Jackie eyed Darius like I would cheesecake.

  “The big breakfast please.” Darius handed his menu to Jackie and turned his attention to my drink. “What is that?”

  “Refreshing green goodness.” I took a large sip and smiled as the refreshing taste of mint, lime and apple tantalized my taste buds.

  “Also known as?” Darius pushed.

  “I don’t know. Lots of fruit and herbs that wake me up after a late night.”

  “I wouldn’t call ten late.”

  I smirked. “I didn’t get to bed until one.”

  “You and your friends hit the shots hard last night. Is that normal practice for you?”

  I raised a brow as I took another drink, pointedly ignoring his question. Darius Rafal watched me, his eyes turning hard as I drank in silence.

  “I should warn you, Miss Ellis. I am used to having my questions answered immediately upon asking.”

  “If you sign my pay checks, you get to boss me around, make demands, and ask me questions that are relevant to the job. As a nobody in my life, you are entitled to none of the above.”

  Darius sat back, fingers of both hands tapping on his tea cup. “I am a potential client and—”

  “No, you’re not. You were never going to give the contract to us. Stop bullshitting me. You’ve obviously been told my reputation, so here’s one you missed. I’m very forward and factual. Some people take my straight down the line attitude as being abrupt and forceful, but it’s simply that I am too busy to put up with shit. So cut the shit, Mr. Rafal. What do you want?”

  Darius met my eyes and I swear he was surprised. “Is that why you were so ill mannered yesterday? Because you were sure I was wasting your time?”

  “Weren’t you?” I lifted a brow. “You spent an hour and a half with Objective in the morning, and two hours with Elliptical in the afternoon. You gave us thirty minutes. We were fill-in-time. Horizon is small fry compared to Elliptical and Objective. So yes, Mr. Rafal, you were wasting my time. You are giving the contract to Elliptical. You and I know it.”

  Jackie slid two plates onto the table, her brows raised at the tension between us. “Can I get you anything else?”

  “No, thank you.” Darius smiled. He waited till Jackie was well out of earshot. “You are right. My being there about the contract was pretense yesterday. I was there to meet you.”

  I paused in picking up my cutlery. I watched Darius and sighed shaking my head. “No.”

  “No?” Darius lifted a brow and a smile filled his eyes. “You don’t even know what my real reason to be there was.”

  “You were either there to offer me a job or date me. Since you don’t date, it’s the job. For which my answer is no.”

  “You can read me that easily?” The beginnings of a real smile started on his face.

  “Look, normally I would have gotten up and left by now, but this is my favorite place to eat and I’m starving. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll finish my breakfast first.”

  Darius sat back crossing his strong arms across his broad chest. “Why such a stern no to working for me?”

  I swallowed my mouthful. “You have an executive assistant already and he’s damn good at his job. Whatever you are offering me isn’t going to be as good as I’ve got now.”

  Darius watched me eat for a complete minute before he picked up his knife and fork and started dividing the food on his plate. “You weren’t kidding about being forward, were you?”

  I didn’t bother responding. I ate my breakfast silently. Darius started eating, watching me with curiosity. I finished eating before him, finished my juice and went to stand. “Thanks for breakfast and nice meeting you.”

  Darius put out
his hand, catching my elbow to stop me sliding out of the seat. “Wait. Warren needs an assistant; his workload is too high to do by himself. I also need a personal assistant. My offer is for you to be my personal assistant. You will have your role split between my personal duties and assisting Warren.” Darius let go of my elbow as I settled back into the seat. “I know what you earn at Horizon. You will be paid more, almost a fifty percent raise actually, because your work day won’t stop when you get home.”

  I opened my mouth to object, but Darius gave me a level look and kept talking.

  “Your current living arrangements won’t be an issue either. Warren and two other staff live with me. There is a room currently empty. I will have it furnished for you ready to move in, which I will expect within the fortnight.”

  I swallowed. “How did you know my living arrangements?”

  Finally, Darius smiled. It took him from ruggedly good-looking to downright handsome. “You are not the only person who did their research before we met, Miss Ellis. The only surprise was your attitude yesterday, which contravened all reports of your professionalism, and your boyfriend at the club last night.”

  “My attitude yesterday was well deserved for the way you treated Melissa, Mr. Rafal. As for Jasper, I think boyfriend may be too strong a word.”

  Darius’s smile faded, his eyes growing darker by the second. “He bit you while pointedly looking at me, Miss Ellis. He was letting me know you belong to him. That is definitely the behavior of a boyfriend.”

  I dropped my eyes to the table while I thought hard about my words. When I lifted them, Darius’s darkness seemed to dissolve. “Jasper doesn’t want commitment, and with my work ethic that works for both of us right now.”

  “His seeing other women doesn’t bother you?” Darius assessed me.

  I shrugged. “I’m twenty-two and work twelve hour days during the week. I’m happy to have a regular guy to relieve my tension with every Friday and Saturday. Where he relieves himself any other day is none of my business.”

  I watched Darius’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard. “I hope you are taking precautions for the sake of your health then.”

  “Jasper is very careful. He doesn’t need some woman getting knocked up on purpose and trying to get child support out of him. He takes the precautions to protect himself and I take the ones to protect me. How about you Mr. Rafal? Do you take precautions with your parade of lovers?”

  That smile returned to his gorgeous face. “I can’t remember the last time I came anywhere but in a woman’s throat.”

  “You prefer oral?” I asked curiously, trying not to seem interested.

  Darius lent forward. “My preferences are different.”

  “Is that why you regularly have married couples over to your place till late in the evening?”

  Darius’s eyes popped. “How the hell do you know about that?”

  I suppressed the smile of victory and stood. “I’ll need to think about your offer. When do you want your answer?”

  Darius sat back, still shocked by my knowledge of his personal life. I can understand why, he worked very hard to keep his personal life out of the media. He’d not been seen with a woman on his arm since he left college.

  “I want your answer now, Miss Ellis.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not spontaneous like that.”

  Darius stood, his body so close I could feel the heat from it. “On the spot decisions would be part of your job description, Miss Ellis. Make this one now or forfeit the offer.”

  I swallowed at his closeness. “I make well informed decisions, I don’t just jump.”

  “Very well. Firstly, there are very few women in my company, and you will not be permitted to fraternize with any of your co-workers. Since you will be living with me, you will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement. You will not bring any lovers back to my place. You will occasionally need to travel with me and weekend work will happen time-to-time, as well. I expect you will put your job above your social life, and there is no consumption of alcohol allowed during work hours. Anything else you need to know?”

  He didn’t move away and I stood staring at the small scar to the left of his larynx, thoughts rushing through my head at high speed. All the possible benefits and downfalls of working for Darius Rafal.

  “Study leave?”

  I felt his intake of breath across the top of my head. “You wish to return to studying?” His voice was even, no judgment.

  “Not return, complete. I’ve never stopped.” I lifted my eyes to meet his now. “I’m doing the extended project in my Master of Philosophy in Music Studies.”

  Darius frowned. “You are a music major?”

  “I’ve nearly finished my project and dissertation, so it won’t take up too much of my time. I just couldn’t take a job that didn’t allow me the time to finish this qualification.”

  Darius looked down between our two bodies. I was conscious of the scoop neck top I wore and how his height and proximity gave him a perfect view, but I didn’t fidget.

  “Where are you doing your degree?”

  “Cambridge.”

  Darius’s brows jumped, his hazel eyes bored into mine. “Take the job, Mora. Working for me will open doors everywhere for you, no matter what future you plan.”

  ***

  “It cannot be true.” Alex rested his butt on my desk and looked down at me with hurt eyes. “Stuart just told me you handed in your resignation this morning. Two weeks’ notice given and you don’t even tell your bestie.”

  I ignored him and kept typing the memo I was working on.

  Alex dropped the hurt act and crouched down to create a false sense of privacy. “You left Friday celebrating you’d nearly singlehandedly closed that Sanderson deal, and today you give your notice. What happened over the weekend, Mora?”

  “I was offered a better opportunity elsewhere,” I answered still typing.

  “Where?”

  “Lynwood.”

  Alex’s jaw fell open. “Who did you blow to get that role?”

  “Hey!” I glared at Alex. “I was hired on my professional skills, asshole.”

  “I’m not kidding, Mora. I saw them at the club on Friday night. Jasper said you were good, but I didn’t think that would get you a job at one of the most successful companies in the northern hemisphere.”

  “I’m not kidding either. I did not blow, have sex, or any type of sexual conduct with either Rafal or his assistant to get the job. I went home with Jasper, as usual.”

  “Then how did this happen?” Alex asked, outraged.

  I looked at Alex exasperated. “Could you temper your attitude a little? You sound like I’m pregnant by a Columbian drug lord.” I pressed print on the document and turned to face Alex. “He called me Saturday morning and asked to meet me. Then he offered me the job. Apparently, Friday was my interview.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow. “Jeez, they must have some interesting standards over there. I’m pretty sure you less-than-subtly hinted your new boss was an asshole at that meeting.”

  “I called him one to his face at the club,” I frowned, remembering. “Did you smooth things over with Leila?”

  Alex blew out a breath. “I don’t know why she is so hung up on her jealousy of you.”

  “Yeah, me neither,” I replied, annoyed.

  “So, I guess you’ll be moving out of the loft?” Alex quirked a brow at me. “Where are you going to live?”

  I exhaled. Part of me was hesitant to reveal that truth. Only a handful of people knew I lived here at work. The loft access was from out the back, and was a studio apartment. It was used for storage till Alex cleaned it out for me to sleep there, with Stuart’s permission, of course.

  I liked the coziness of the space, plus, it was my own space. No CEO mother and no irritated bachelor father.

  Alex looked at his shoes. “You going to be okay out there in the big bad world by yourself, Mora?”
<
br />   I smiled and touched his cheek gently. “It’s time I found out, Alex. Thank you for taking care of me these last few years. You’ve been a good big brother. You should tell Leila the truth about us, it will put her at ease.”

  “If I tell Leila we share a father, I have to tell her who my father is. We both took our mothers’ surnames so no one would associate us with him. Leila wants money enough to push for marriage as soon as she knows about Marshall.”

  That Alex and I were both the illegitimate offspring of a wealthy and powerful London businessman was such a well-kept secret, that only our respective mothers, our father, his lawyer and his accountant knew the truth.

  Alex was nearly ten years older than me. His mother had a relationship with our father. They broke up and she found out she was pregnant afterwards. Our father organized child support to be paid and also paid for Alex’s schooling. Pretty much the same deal he set up with my mother when she informed him I existed.

  My story differed from Alex’s somewhat. My mother was a grad student interning at my father’s company when they had an affair. She graduated, packed up and moved home to Australia, only to find her boss had sent her home with a present to always remember him by.

  Alex and I were introduced shortly after I arrived in London, at a very private family dinner. Marshall Blake, our father, at least took interest in Alex growing up, taking time to watch his football games and graduation from college. Alex was delighted to find out he had a baby sister and took to the role of doting big brother happily.

  Alex stood up. “Give me a heads up next time. You making spontaneous life-changing decisions is like a marker for the apocalypse.”

  I stood with a smile. “Sure.” As I started walking away I looked back my shoulder. “Heads up, Sophie has decided she wants something permanent and is going to give you an ultimatum to choose between her and Leila.”

  Alex’s face lost all its color. I winked and turned the corner for the photocopier.

  Chapter Three

  The elevator doors opened. I opened my eyes and rushed forward, drawing in a deep breath, resisting the urge to drop to the ground and pass out. I was on the top floor of Lynwood enterprises in Clerken Well. If the receptionist four flights below was curious about the two bags of luggage, and aqua blue cello case I pulled behind me, or the box under my arm, she hid it well.