The Hunter (Orion the Hunter) Read online

  Finally, I found that I could breathe and I drew in a lungful of air and then swallowed, hard. I followed his gaze and tried to determine whether he was looking at the cardboard box at my feet or my knee length boot clad legs. Oh my god, my designs! I suddenly remembered where I was and what I was doing here and I bent down quickly to scoop up the box. Belatedly, I realized that he had crouched gracefully and was about to pick it up too. Our hands touched fleetingly and I felt a current surge through my fingertips, up my arms and straight to my chest, my nipples tightening instantly. I gasped and pulled back my hands, trying not to squirm as the sensation moved down between my legs.

  He lifted up the box effortlessly, tucked it under one arm and looked at me questioningly. I tried to speak to thank him but my lips felt sealed together. I flicked out my tongue to moisten my lower lip and felt my insides contract as his eyes darkened in response. Oh my god, I can feel myself getting wet! Could there be any more sexual tension between two people who have just met, well, almost met? I pointed dumbly along the corridor, towards my office and he nodded and strode confidently away from me. As I scurried to catch up, I noticed that he was dressed totally in black, as I was.

  As we walked the short distance, another of my senses began to operate and I drank in his delicious scent. It wasn’t just cologne. I couldn’t place it but it definitely all male because of the way my body reacted. As soon as my brain registered it, I felt my nipples harden further against the smooth satin of my cami. Oh my goodness, how could my body react to a stranger in this way? How could it betray my desire? I shook my head, trying to clear those thoughts as I fumbled in my purse trying to grab the door key. I inwardly cursed my temporary clumsiness, caused I realized, by my shaking fingers. Get a grip, Issy!

  “Shall I?” he enquired, holding up a key in his free hand. I frowned and cocked my head on one side, not understanding how he could open my office with his key.

  “It’s the master key,” he murmured in a voice that was so deep and sexy, it should be illegal. I felt a pull between my legs and realized that I was almost panting. I simply nodded, not trusting myself to attempt to speak. That voice! If he simply commanded me to orgasm - right here, right now - I bet that I would too.

  He deftly opened the door and held out the box to me. I took it, careful to avoid any contact with his hands. I stepped to the desk, put the box down and took a deep, steadying breath, preparing to attempt to thank the stranger although I still didn’t trust my voice to function correctly. I turned to find the doorway empty. I strode out into the corridor and found that it was deserted. What the hell? I quickly shook my head, thinking that my eyes must not be functioning properly now either and rechecked the corridor. Still empty.

  With still shaking hands, I managed to extricate my key from my purse and lock the office door. I walked back towards the elevator quickly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. I pressed the call button and felt so relieved when the doors opened immediately. I stepped into the car and had to lean against the wall to support myself as I realized that my knees felt week and that my heart was hammering in my chest.

  Chapter 2

  I stumbled out of the elevator into the lobby and almost walked into Angel. Her brow was furrowed and her features were taught.

  “What took you so long?” she asked crossly.

  “What do you mean?” I croaked.

  “You have been gone for like half an hour!” she exclaimed.

  “Oh, really?” I managed. “I’m sorry. Come on, let’s go.”

  “Is everything okay?” Angel demanded suddenly, concern replacing her annoyed expression.

  “Everything’s fine.” I said with more certainty than I felt. “Let’s go before we are late for the boys.”

  I felt her eyes on me as we sat in the cab. I knew that she was waiting for me to tell her why I had been so long at my office. I couldn’t believe that I had spent so long gawping at a perfect stranger. And boy was that face and that voice perfect! I rested my head on the seat and closed my eyes, recalling his face … recalling that voice. I felt desire unfurling and realized that I was on the verge of panting, just thinking about him. I shook my head, trying to clear those distracting thoughts.

  The cab pulled up outside the Queen’s bar where the boys were playing tonight. They had been trying to secure a regular slot at the bar since returning from college last fall. I had seen them perform at college many times and they were good. Better than good. And they were gaining quite a following according to Angel and I was looking forward to seeing them perform again.

  We slid out of the cab and immediately drew a few whistles from a group of guys standing by the entrance to the bar. I smoothed down my short skirt, still feeling more turned on than I had in a long time … if ever, and I was on a man ban! Argh!

  We walked into the bar and spotted the guys sitting at a table near to the stage.

  “Fucking hell,” shouted one. “Would you look at Issy? She is so freakin’ hot, she is smokin’! Come here baby, bring that delectable pussy to Travis - I’ll give you what you need!”

  I shook my head at his crassness then I realized that almost every guy in the bar was staring at us. I grinned and pointed to Angel so that everyone would think that he was talking to her. She blushed deep red and slapped my pointed finger away. I laughed at her embarrassment and began to relax. Perhaps a night with the boys was just what I needed after all.

  Chad grabbed two more chairs from the next table for us to sit with them.

  “I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to show,” he said as the guys all said hi.

  “Blame Issy,” Angel replied, pursing her lips. “It took her half an hour to drop off a box at her new office, although she said she would only be two minutes.”

  “Were you sitting in your chair, pretending to be the CEO of a global enterprise?” asked Scott, the band’s drummer.

  I smirked at him and his kind face creased into a grin.

  “Starship enterprise more like!” said Ethan, the band’s lead singer. “Beam me up, Scotty!”

  I stuck out my tongue at him, playfully as everyone laughed.

  “Nah, she was having rough sex across her desk, weren‘t you darlin‘?” quipped Travis, the bass player. “You should have called me, Issy. I would have slipped you one over your desk although it’s probably a good job you didn’t. You wouldn’t want to ruin your shiny new desk with those fingernails, would you?”

  I rolled my eyes. Typical Travis. “Knock it off, Trav,” I said, smiling.

  “Besides, Issy is on a self imposed sex ban,” said Chad, delighting in the look of genuine confusion mixed with horror on Travis’ face as he processed this piece of information. “Let’s get the drinks in. Give me a hand, Angel?”

  “Yeah, sure” she said and they set off to the bar.

  Immediately, Travis moved to sit in the chair next to me that Angel vacated. “God woman, every time I see you, you look hotter than ever. Tell me it isn’t true - tell me you aren‘t really on a sex ban. They are bad for your health, you know - just think of all that sexual frustration building up inside you. Let me give you a good seeing to before you spontaneously combust from lack of sex.”

  “Whoa,” said Ethan. “Big words! Have you been studying, Travis?”

  “Nah, it happened in this weirdo porno that I was watching a while back, this guy was just about to slam it into this virgin and she went up in flames,” he grinned. “Is it me or is it getting warm in here? Shall I take your jacket, Issy?”

  “Oh Trav, you are the perfect gentleman,” I purred as I stood, making as if to take off my jacket but cuffing him around his head instead. “Nice try but I know you only want to stare at my tits, you pervert!”

  As we all laughed, I felt myself relaxing further and all thoughts of an early night went out of my head when Angel returned and passed me a beer.

  The boys were up first and they were amazing. So much better than the last time I had seen them perform. Their newer songs were fan
tastic and their confidence had grown. I realized that it was probably thanks, in part, to the ever increasing crowd of fans that came to the bar to see them.

  I sat back watching Ethan as his sexy voice and bad boy looks, all leather and tattoos, made the girls swoon. I wondered which one of them would be accompanying him back to his flat later. I knew at least one of them would be. Then my gaze alighted on Travis making rude gestures with his tongue to a group of girls as he played. I glanced at Angel as she watched Chad playing his guitar skillfully and seemingly effortlessly. It always made me smile, the way she swooned when he performed, yet he did nothing to attract attention when he was on stage. He was there for the music, not the women. In fact, he and drummer Scott wrote most of the band’s material. They even shared an apartment now so they could write together whenever inspiration struck. I glanced over to Scott and something caught in my throat as I watched him close his eyes and surrender to the beat that was being crafted by the two sticks of wood in his hands.

  I felt Angel grab my hand and give it a squeeze and I knew that she had followed my gaze. “Come on, take off your jacket,” she said. “Let’s dance.”

  Frustratingly, guys seemed to think that if you were dancing, you were inviting their attention. Several attempted to dance with me but I knocked them back, one by one. None of them even tempted me to come close to breaking my ban. My mind wandered back to my run in with the gorgeous stranger. Now, if he were here, that would be a temptation that I doubted I could resist. As I danced, I could almost feel his hands on my body and I could definitely imagine that voice telling me what he wanted to do to me. And with a start, I realized that it was the type of voice that demanded obedience. Would I would be willing to obey his commands? Where the hell did that thought come from?

  We danced for the rest of the band’s set and collapsed back in our seats. The small crowd went wild as they left the stage and the girls surged forward to try to attract Ethan’s attention as he attempted to make his way back to our table. The guys reached our table with huge smiles on their faces. Well, except Travis who was shoving his tongue down the throat of a blonde who must have been twice his age. Typical Travis. Within minutes, Ethan was surrounded by a crowd of women, all desperate to get his attention.

  The other two bands were nowhere near as good and, remembering my early night plans, I decided to leave halfway through the last band‘s set.

  “I’ll come with you, Issy,” said Angel, pointedly ignoring Chad’s pout.

  “You don’t have to,” I replied. “No need for you to cut your evening short on my account.”

  “I promised that I would, so I will,” she countered. “I’m coming with you in the morning, to man the office while you have your big meeting, remember?”

  “Oh, don’t remind me,” I groaned. “I was just beginning to forget.”

  Angel and Chad engaged in a lingering goodbye kiss and I stood and grabbed my jacket of the back of my chair.

  “Good luck for tomorrow,” said Scott quietly as he looked up at me, his kind eyes sincere. “Although you don’t need it.”

  “Oh yes,” said Ethan, as he leaned around the eager brunette sitting on his lap. “Go get ‘em, Issy.”

  “Aww, thanks guys,” I beamed. “You must be the nicest rock band in history.”

  “Hey, Issy, you prick tease! Where do you think you’re going? You’re bringing that mighty fine, hot body home with me tonight and I’m going to take you on every surface, in every room of my place until you beg me to stop!” shouted Travis, just as the band on stage finished playing.

  All eyes were on me as I smiled sweetly and called back “In your dreams, Trav!” and the room was filled with raucous laughter, with Travis laughing as loud as anyone. Even the band on stage was laughing.

  “You know it! Wet, wet Issy dreams.” said Travis, as he thrust his hips suggestively. Then he turned to the small crowd of adoring fans and demanded to know which one of them would be taking my place. I shook my head as they all jumped up and down shouting “Me!”

  Back at our apartment, I removed my vampish make up and brushed out my hair, trying not to dwell on the meeting in the morning. Angel appeared, showered and dressed in pj’s, holding two mugs of hot cocoa. I took one and we clinked the mugs together and sat back on my bed, agreeing how great the boys’ band had gotten.

  As I lay down in my bed a short time later, one of the band’s ballads was quietly going around my head. It was perfect relaxation for preparing for sleep and I was grateful for Angel’s stipulation that Chad didn’t stay the night with her. I soon drifted off to sleep.

  I awoke earlier than usual the next morning, realizing that my hand was between my legs and that the image of the mystery man from The Orion Building was burned in my memory, behind my closed eyes. I realized that my heart was beating quickly and that my nipples were hard. Have I been dreaming about him? My cheeks burned as I realized that I had.

  I stumbled into the bathroom and straight into the shower. As I stood under the powerful jets of water, my thoughts strayed back to the mysterious, sexy stranger. How could he have disappeared so quickly? What was he, the Phantom of the Opera or something? That thought made me shiver and then I recalled those dark eyes that seemed almost menacing when I first looked into them. His angry curse in that almost brutal tone, flashed through my mind and I wondered who would get so angry just because someone had accidentally bumped into them. No rational person would, I was sure. The image of the Phantom dressed all in black began to form in my mind and I shivered and turned up the heat of the shower. Perhaps he was just a phantom of my imagination. I never expected to run into anyone in the building whilst wearing my rock chick outfit - I’d hardly looked like a professional interior designer. I began to hope that I had imagined our meeting. But how could I account for the half hour that I was missing? I sighed and began to wash my hair and the rich berry scent chased away any dark thoughts as I showered.

  “Argh! I hate my hair sometimes!” I moaned as I attempted to wrestle my long locks into a smooth chignon for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.

  “Here,” chuckled Angel as she breezed into my room. “Let me help you.”

  Ten minutes later, I stood admiring my perfect chignon in the mirror. “Oh thank you, thank you, Angel,” I smiled as I felt my tension begin to leave me. “That is amazing; look how sophisticated I look, and how my hair shines! How do you do it?”

  Angel grinned as she took a bow then she stood next to me as I continued to critically assess myself in the full length mirror.

  “Are you sure that I should wear the pantsuit and not the dress?” I asked.

  She rolled her eyes and sighed in mock annoyance. “You look amazing in either but that pantsuit fits like a glove and screams elegance and expensive tailoring. Take confidence from how good you look, how good your designs are and how talented your new assistant is.”

  I grinned at her in the mirror. “Modesty suits you madam,” I joked.

  We got to the office earlier than we needed to but I wanted time to go over my designs again before I went up to the 15 floor. An image of midnight blue eyes flew unbidden into my mind as I unlocked the door. I shivered and had to shake the image of my mystery phantom from my head. I couldn’t risk any distractions today.

  Half an hour later, Angel did her best to calm my nerves as she accompanied me to the elevator. “Don’t worry,” she said pushing my design plans and samples into my arms as the elevator doors began to close. “I’ll man the phone until you get back.”

  “Yeah, because that’s what I am fretting about,” I replied sarcastically after the doors had closed and then immediately felt a complete bitch. Why were my nerves so on edge? I hope they like my designs. Please let them like my designs.

  When I emerged from the meeting almost two hours later, I walked back through Norman & Wilde’s reception trying to maintain my dignity. I pressed the button for the elevator and struggled to hold it together as I waited for it to arrive. When
the doors opened, I was dismayed to find a small group of people were in there. I forced myself to enter calmly and was so relieved when the car stopped on the floor below and they all filed out past me. The second the doors closed, my composure left me and I threw my arms up the air and cried “Yeah!! Way to go, me! I can do this … I really can do this!” whilst punching my fist in the air. The management consultancy loved my designs and wanted to go ahead with the project as soon as possible. I was ecstatic and I couldn’t wait to tell Angel. One thing was for sure - we were going to celebrate tonight.