Black Mark Series Book 2: Black Mark's Secrets Read online

  I dropped into a squat, sliding his pants down his legs, boxers and all. I had to dodge quickly as his large erection sprang free and nearly clocked me in the forehead. Damn, that was a huge cock. I could probably sleep with a hundred men and not come upon a cock as beautiful and large as his.

  Once his pants were free of his bare feet, I stood back up again. Darius’ hand caught my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. "When we are naked together, you call me by my name, Mora."

  "When this is over tonight, so are we," I replied evenly. "What I call you then probably won't be acceptable in polite society. So, let's keep it formal tonight, Boss."

  I shoved him back into the chair, and his face showed his shock. I turned back to Cassandra, who was hungrily sucking her husband’s cock. I shook my head and grasped her hair, forcing her to stand gently, but with enough grip to let her know I meant business.

  "He wanted to watch, honey. That means he services himself," I explained.

  Cassandra turned to face me. I slid her dress from her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. She wore no underwear, and I smiled at her brazenness. She stepped in and we kissed again. Her lips were soft and full. Her hands slid under my singlet and started lifting it. I raised my arms and broke the kiss to allow the material to pass.

  I pulled my long hair up and wound it into a knot to keep it out of the way, then returned to kissing Cassandra. Our detour had swapped our positions, so I turned us slowly so she once again had her back to Darius. I took Darius’ tie and bound her hands in front of her with it. Holding her head, I started lowering myself, my strength from aerial training enabling me to take some of Cassandra's weight and lay her back beneath me.

  With one final kiss, I lifted her arms above her head so she was stretched out beneath me. I teased and sucked her breasts until she squirmed beneath me. At her abdomen, I kissed and licked every stretch mark earned from carrying the next generation into the world. As I slid between her thighs, I let my eyes observe Darius. He sat forward, comfortably watching us. His eyes latched to mine. I smiled and kept my eyes locked with his while I licked and sucked Cassandra into a screaming, bucking, orgasm.

  As Cassandra floated back to earth, I kissed my way back to her mouth and kissed her sensually. I felt the masculine hands on my hips gripping me through my pants. I didn't stop Jeremy when his fingers slipped around to release the drawstring on my pants; I'd told him he could try.

  Darius knelt by our heads, his fingers threading around my upper arms, lifting me away from Cassandra as Jeremy knelt between my thighs.

  "Jeremy, you have your wife. Mora is done for the night," Darius growled as he pulled me toward him.

  Darius stood, lifting me easily to place me on my feet. He held my body to the front of his, his rigid cock pressed tight between us. I held on tight to his shoulders until I could safely put my feet on solid ground again.

  I tried to step away but Darius held me to him a moment longer. I lifted my eyes to his lust-filled gaze. He kissed my lips lightly, licking the taste of Cassandra from my mouth.

  After a long moment, he released me. "Good night, Mora."

  I opened my eyes, savoring the feel of his lips against mine. I met his eyes. "Goodbye, Darius." I grabbed my clothes from the floor and made my way upstairs.

  "She said you would do that," Jeremy commented behind me.

  "Do what?" Darius growled.

  "Step in if I tried to have sex with her."

  I looked over my shoulder as I opened my bedroom door. Darius stood, beautiful and naked, looking up at me, sadness and disappointment clouding his features.

  I stepped into my room, closed the door, and took a deep shaking breath. The hunger in Darius’ eyes still played behind my eyelids and clawed at the ball of need inside me. Not my lust, but my need to be wanted. Darius Rafal woke a part of me I thought I'd long since buried. I wanted him to love me.

  Redressing, I walked into my room and started packing my stuff. Wound up and unable to sleep, I collected my cello and started playing “Jacqueline's Tears” by Jacques Offenbach. I put my heart and soul into it, every emotion I was feeling.

  When I played the last note, I wiped my tear-stained cheeks and packed my cello and its stand away. All I would need to do in the morning was change into my clothes, slip my pajamas in the bag, strap it all together, and call a taxi.

  Chapter Two

  "Good morning, Miss Ellis," Steffen greeted me in the foyer. "Will you have breakfast before you leave?" He noted my luggage behind me. "I have asked Clark to pick you up. I will call him and tell him you will be ready in thirty minutes. That should leave plenty of time for breakfast."

  I smiled sadly. I knew Darius would be at the gym or at least out running by now. "Thank you, Steffen. That would be nice."

  Setting my stuff aside, I followed Steffen into the kitchen. He placed a pot of the breakfast tea I liked in front of me with a cup and turned the stove top on to heat the pan. He made me French toast with a side of bacon.

  "I'm going to miss you, Steffen," I mourned, finishing the yummy breakfast he served me.

  "Then don't leave, Miss Ellis."

  I looked up, and his elderly gray eyes bored through me.

  I shook my head. "I can't do this anymore, Steffen. I don't know why he offered me the job. I don't understand what he wanted, what he expected, bringing me into his life like this."

  "My guess, Miss Ellis," Steffen offered, sitting next to me. "He wanted to get to know you. You had a boyfriend. His only reason to keep in contact with you was through work. Offering you the job was a spur of the moment decision to bring you into his life, into his home, to allow you both to get to know each other."

  "He avoided me for a lot of that time, Steffen."

  "And you lied to him for the entirety of it," Steffen challenged. I looked at him, offended. "You pretended you didn't remember him, you lied about your whereabouts after you and Mr. Jones parted company..."

  "How did you...?"

  "You never took a weekend bag to Mr. Jones’ house. You started taking one with you after it ended. My guess is that you were staying with family and friends rather than letting Darius know you were available."

  "But you didn't tell him that?" I checked.

  Steffen sat straighter. "No, he never enquired." He blew out a breath. "You have danced around each other for seven months, Miss Ellis. Stay and talk to him today. Be honest with him."

  I sucked in a breath over the tears threatening to fall. "He said something last night that really hurt, Steffen. About that night, that first night we met."

  "Miss Ellis. I was there that morning. I watched you sneak out the door of his place, and I saw the look on his face when he woke to find you gone and what you left behind." Steffen placed a caring hand on my shoulder. "He is angry that you could have forgotten him when he never forgot you. You need to tell him the truth and see where that leads."

  I placed my hand over Steffen's and looked at him. I kissed his cheek and stood up. "I'm sorry, Steffen."

  I left the kitchen as quickly as possible, and I was so busy wiping the tears from my eyes that I didn't see anyone else. An arm snaked around my waist and slammed me into the wall beside Darius’ bedroom door.

  I opened my eyes wide and saw Darius, bare-chested, just his boxer shorts on, hair a mess, having just got out of bed. The look on his face told me he'd heard everything. Damn, Steffen. I should have asked if Darius was there. I closed my eyes and hung my head.

  "You knew all along?" Darius asked, surprisingly calm despite the anger in his eyes.

  "From the moment I saw your name on the client list at Horizon’s," I sobbed.

  "Why didn't you say anything?" Darius lifted my chin gently.

  I met his eyes. "I didn't know if you remembered or cared. It'd been five years. It wasn't until I saw your reaction that night, when I told Alex the story, that I knew you knew who I was. By then you were my boss. You hadn't said anything, so I decided your interest was purely professional."
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  "Professional? Mora, I've been making love to you every time you walked in the room since we met again," Darius grumbled. "Do you have any idea what it took to track you down and find a reason to approach you?"

  I swallowed, remembering his reaction to Jasper being in my life. He hadn't planned on Jasper. "You meant to seduce me at JJ's that night, didn't you?"

  Darius dropped his eyes. "You forced me to find a different approach. I didn't realize the issue you would have with forming a romantic entanglement with your boss. By the time I did, we were in too deep. I couldn't just fire you, and seducing you went out the window." Darius shook his head. "I decided to wait this out, to get to know each other this way and see where it led."

  "And now I've resigned," I breathed. "You’re not my boss, and Jasper is out of the picture." I licked my lips nervously. "Where does that leave us, Darius?"

  Darius stepped closer, his fingers trailing across my jaw. His face turned to the foyer. I followed his gaze and saw my luggage. I looked back to Darius, and when he turned his face back to mine, I knew I'd lost him.

  Darius stepped away from me. "I do not know why you keep disappearing from my life, Mora. Perhaps you are not meant for me."

  I closed my eyes and the tears that had been brimming were now spilling free. Those were my father's words after he'd seen us dancing. I was not meant for a man like Darius Rafal.

  I'd taken it as an insult that night, since Darius had been a nobody. Only six months later, when the name Darius Rafal became synonymous with success, I'd understood. Marshall had known Darius was going places. Darius became somebody. Somebody too good for me.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I looked Darius in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

  Turning my back, I walked into the foyer and collected my things. Darius stood there and watched me walk out the door and out of his life.

  At the elevator, I pressed the call button and pushed my luggage inside. I couldn't bring myself to step in. Leaving my belongings in the safety of the elevator, I ran down the stairs to the ground floor and pressed the call button.

  I was outright crying by now and struggling to breathe. So, when the elevator doors opened, it took a moment to realize that my luggage was gone. In its place stood Darius. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me passionately.

  I was so confused. A moment ago, I was going, now his lips were on mine, his hands holding me firmly against his still semi-naked body.

  The elevator pinged and Darius walked us out, still kissing me fully. I hadn't even noticed the elevator moving, I was so caught up in the kiss.

  I was kissing him with everything I was, with everything that was in me to give. I jolted when my back hit a wall. Darius’ hands slid down my body to find my butt. He lifted me and I helped, wrapping my legs around him.

  Darius carried me into his apartment and into his bedroom, kicking his door closed behind us. Kneeling on his bed, he lowered me to lie beneath him. The moment my head hit the mattress, his mouth broke from mine. I sucked in a breath while his mouth trailed kisses down my neck. His hands slid under my dress and pulled my panties roughly down my legs.

  He stood to remove them. I watched him in awe as he lowered his boxer shorts past his hips to reveal his standing erection. The first night we'd been together, he'd spent a good hour on foreplay, preparing me for the size of him. The look on his face told me I wasn't going to be so lucky this time.

  "Stand up, Mora." He held out his hand to me. I took it and let him pull me to stand before him. He turned me away from him and slowly unzipped my dress. "You have not changed a bit in five years. I saw you that day at Horizon's and it could have been the same week I met you."

  He pushed my dress from my shoulders, letting it catch at my hips. A second later, my bra was unhooked and falling free. Darius’ hands smoothed down my waist and gave the dress one last push to free it. It dropped to pool at my feet as he pressed himself against me.

  "I should have watched you that night. I was young, and selfish, and so full of lust, that I closed my eyes to feel you." Darius slid his hands up to cup my breasts, holding the weight of them in his hands momentarily before massaging them.

  I hung my head back and rubbed myself against the hardness of him.

  "You were so tight, and as I slowly inched into you, your nails dug deeper into me, your entire body tensed around me. I could hear you struggling to breathe, your whimpers, but I was so caught up in being with you, I failed to recognize all the signs that should have told me what I was doing to you."

  Darius dropped a hand to my mound and pressed at the top of my slit. I bit my lip and pressed into his hand. "You gave me your innocence, and I did not even know. I woke up smug and looking for seconds, but you were gone. I saw the blood mixed with the stain of my cum on my sheets. That’s when I realized what I had done." Darius kissed along my shoulder. "In all honesty, I was surprised you could walk out of my place."

  I winced at the memory. "I actually hurt for a couple of days after. I went to see a doctor to make sure you hadn't damaged me. The worst was the lecture the doctor gave me for having unprotected sex. He made me agree to a form of contraception before he'd let me leave his office."

  Darius’ cock thumped against my back. "I was so young and stupid. I just assumed you were on the pill. When I told Steffen about the blood, he gave me a lecture. He explained that if you were a virgin, the chances were that you were not using contraception. I spent the next few months wondering if I was about to become a father."

  I cringed. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about it. I started university the week after and focused all my energy into my course work and performance."

  Darius kissed up my neck and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation. His mouth stopped and hovered over my ear as his finger slipped between my lips to find me wet.

  "To tell the truth, I half wanted you to get pregnant. I wanted a reason to force you to come find me, because I could not find you anywhere. I looked you up and found nothing. I searched the guest list for the event. Your name was absent. That is when I realized you were someone else's plus one, except I did not know whose.

  "I gave up, Mora. I believed you were a ghost. Then, after five years, your name was mentioned in passing. I thought I was hearing things. So, I stepped into the conversation. A client of Horizon was discussing how impressed he was with you, and he couldn't believe you were working for such a small firm."

  Darius bit my earlobe, causing me to gasp. His finger worked me closer to orgasm. "Darius," I gasped, grabbing his hips behind me for something to steady myself. "Please?"

  He nuzzled my neck. "Not yet. You need to know."

  "Know what?" I begged.

  "That it has always been you, Mora. From that very first night, I have waited for fate to bring you back to me," he murmured. "I had Warren organize the meet with Horizon. While we waited to meet you, Zander followed you to see what your life was like, where you lived, who your friends and family were."

  I struggled to hold myself upright as my body coiled tight, ready to orgasm. Darius felt it and took my weight into his supporting arm.

  "I had it all planned, Mora. Everything except your reaction to seeing me. You didn't flinch seeing me, and it angered me that you didn't recognize me. I didn't want to scare you off, so when the receptionist flirted, I cut her off quickly." Darius shook his head next to mine, his finger stalling finally. "Your reaction shocked me."

  I took deep breaths and planted my feet firmly beneath me, standing for myself again.

  "I am so used to being in control of the situation, but I could not control you." Darius smiled against my neck. "The one giveaway was when your brother nearly fell over when he heard the way you spoke to me. I thought then that maybe you remembered me after all.

  "You were so angry when I turned up at the club that night. I could not understand your hostility until Jasper Jones collected you. I knew then that my plans weren't going to work. I then spent the night discussing with Zander and Warren how to mak
e this happen."

  I tried to turn and face him, but his arms held me in place. "I didn't mean to cause you trouble, Darius. I went three years without a man in my life because no one compared to you. Not one man I met affected me the way you did. By the time I met Jasper, I knew I needed to let you go or I'd spend my life looking backward. He was a safe choice. I knew he didn't love me, so it didn't matter I was incapable of loving him."

  Darius tensed. "Why?"

  I smiled to myself. "Because, Darius, I've been in love with you for the past six years. There will never be anyone else for me. I knew that the night we met. I told my father exactly that when he warned me away from you. He told me it was just teenage hormones and I'd eventually forget you and move on. I never did."

  Darius growled behind me, his hands gripping me tighter. He held me to him. "Mora, I want you to be honest right now. Did Jones dominate you in every way?"

  I frowned. "I don't know what you mean?"

  Darius let go of me all of a sudden and I fell forward, catching myself on the bed. Darius grabbed my butt cheeks and separated them, letting his engorgement fill the space. He started rubbing himself there.

  My eyes went wide. "No!" I swallowed hard and pulled away, turning to face him. "Darius, you're too big."

  Darius knelt, caressing the side of my cheek. "You gave me your virginity, Mora, I want to be the man to own you entirely."

  "Darius, I can't," I sobbed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to try that, not without knowing this is going to work out between us."

  Darius looked hurt, but he met my eyes and I could see his brain working. "On our wedding night then?"

  I think my eyes bugged out of my head. "Excuse me?"

  Darius smiled, shifting to kneel between my thighs. "It is tradition for a woman to lose her virginity on her wedding night. Since you have already given me your virginity, I will own you entirely on our wedding night." Darius’ voice dropped an octave. "I will fill your womb with my seed first, get you with child, and then I will take that sweet ass of yours and fill that, too."