The first day Joel Cash met his boss Damon Raines, he knew he wanted Damon. Wanted Damon on a deep, unexplainable, and almost animalistic level Joel didn’t know he could feel for another human being.
Twenty-six and down on his luck after being laid off his last job from company cuts, Joel’s cousin Cindy had made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Cindy worked in HR management at one of the city’s top advertising agencies. She helped Joel land the position as Damon Raine’s personal assistant—a much coveted and enviable position Joel knew he couldn’t afford to screw up.
Refusing to be daunted by the sheer size and contemporary corporate cut of the office interior, Joel walked into the reception area. His polished leather Italian shoes barely made a sound on the plush carpeting. Joel took a deep breath. Ran a hand through his short and neatly trimmed auburn air, and gave the receptionist a professional mega-watt smile.
Make a good impression. Always sound and look confident, and never show weakness—was Joel’s personal motto.
Male personal assistants were rare, but he had worked as a personal assistant to the CEO of a major publishing firm before. This would be no different. Cindy might have done him a tremendous favor, but Joel had been equally qualified. Today marked his first day in Raines Advertising, and Joel didn’t intend to make a single mistake. Joel wasn’t a perfectionist, but he prided himself on his professional ethics.
The receptionist led him past a row of cubicles. Joel ignored the assessing and curious looks he received from the advertising juniors and the senior executives from behind their glass-enclosed private offices.
“Mr. Raines’s office is right through there. He’s expecting you,” the perky blonde quipped. She then left Joel to his own devices.
Joel glanced at the cleared and empty desk in front of Damon Raine’s office. Cindy had warned Joel that the personal assistants Damon previously hired had only lasted a couple of weeks. That was Joel’s risk to take though. They only wanted to get into the pants of the billionaire werewolf alpha. Joel came here to work.
“Come in,” came a deep male voice from inside.
Joel nervously tugged at the lapels of his blazer before entering. Damon’s private space markedly stood out from the sleek, metal, black corporate look of the rest of the office. Warm natural colors, wood paneling, matching furniture and a splendid view of the city looked back at Joel from the floor-to-ceiling glass windows behind Damon’s desk.
“Mr. Cash, please have a seat,” Damon said from behind his desk. The managing director of Raines Advertising looked busy. He didn’t even bother to look up from his laptop.
“How did you know it was me?” Joel asked.
The sound of fingers hammering on the keyboard stopped. Damon finally looked at him. Joel froze as Damon’s dark eyes pinned him down. It felt like poking a predator with a stick. Joel had seen pictures of Damon on business magazines and knew a bit of his background with a simple search on Google.
A small town boy turned entrepreneur, Damon hadn’t been hewn from the typical young billionaire model. He hadn’t come from an Ivy-league school, or from a wealthy family. Instead, Damon worked his way from the ground up, despite being bitten by a werewolf in his teens. Damon’s firm had been recently listed on Fortune 500.
Damon knew the value of hard work. He was also considered one of the city’s most eligible bachelors. Damon had consistently appeared on gossip columns and trashy magazines. He reputedly didn’t care about who he had on his arm during events—men or women, human or supernatural.
Decked out in a bespoke designer suit that perfectly fitted his large frame, Damon exuded quiet power. Power Joel attributed to Damon being an alpha werewolf. Damon had broad shoulders that tapered to a slender waist, and every inch of his sun-kissed skin looked layered with hard muscle. It was his face that captivated Joel though.
If Joel could categorize Damon, Joel would call him ruggedly handsome. Not beautiful or model handsome, like the cocky playboy CEO millionaires who’ve inherited their father’s businesses.
Damon had a roughly hewn face and high cheekbones. Light stubble coated his jaw and cheeks, but it was his eyes that held Joel in place. They were watchful, curious, filled with intensity, and dangerously capable of unearthing every secret and dirty confession out of him. Joel swallowed.
The longer Damon raked his eyes across Joel, the more Joel grew discomforted. Damon’s gaze melted him into jelly, seared into his skin until it heated. Joel consciously closed the last button of his blazer, hoping Damon didn’t see the way his cock suddenly perked in his trousers.
Joel was relieved he managed to look at Damon shrewdly without flinching or looking away, although his heart hammered painfully against his chest. If he didn’t wear a blazer, Joel knew Damon could see his hard-on.
Damn. This wasn’t good. Joel couldn’t remember the last time any other elicited this kind of reaction in his body. It should be illegal, the way Damon openly stared at Joel like he was something good to eat. Worse, Joel knew he wouldn’t say no. Suddenly, the air-conditioned room felt oven-hot.
“If I didn’t take a good look at the resume and picture of the guy who would be working directly under me, won’t that make me a bad boss?” Damon’s voice jerked Joel back to reality.
Damon had a slight mid-western drawl, a quality that made every syllable drip like liquid honey.
“And what’s your verdict? Do you have a habit of judging personal assistants from a couple of words on paper?” Joel quipped, getting back his momentum.
A part of Joel wished Damon would go back to doing whatever he was doing on his laptop, or assign someone else to show Joel the ropes. Dismiss Joel from his sight instead of looking at Joel like he was the most interesting prey on two-legs Damon had seen in a long time.
Joel had dated a few successful men, both of the mortal and shifter variety over the years. What Joel truly feared was being reeled in willingly—lured to the heat like a moth drawn to the flame.
“From a piece of paper, no. But meeting you face-to-face is an unexpected delight. I must confess, I had my doubts when the HR department chose a male PA among all the other viable candidates,” Damon explained.
Well, Damon was refreshingly honest at least.
“Because there are more attractive options?” Joel couldn’t help but ask, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Damon chuckled, the sound warming Joel’s insides.
“Let me assure you I don’t hire my personal assistants based on physical appearances alone, Mr. Cash.”
“Joel,” Joel corrected. “I’m not being judgmental, Mr. Raines. Simply observant.”
He would know. His previous employers fired Joel from his last job for a new platinum blonde graduate, whose pay was probably double of his.
“Damon,” he gently corrected.
Joel frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Please call me Damon, since we’re apparently on a first name basis.” Damon flashed Joel his slightly sharpened canines.
Joel couldn’t help imagine if Damon were any good with those sinfully tempting lips of his. How they would feel, pressed against his needy skin, or closed around his aching shaft...
Damon looked amused, as if he knew the dirty thoughts forming in Joel’s head.
Damon continued, “But I believe we’ll get along just fine, Joel. From what I’ve seen today, I heartily approve. I’ve also received nothing but positive references from your previous employers. They call you a problem solver and that’s what I need. A handsome young assistant able to handle anything—what more can I ask for?”
Joel flushed, but he refused to show his embarrassment. No one had ever complimented him on his skills before. “Well, thank you.”
“Then it’s settled. Let me call Cindy in, so she can get you acquainted with the rest of the office,” Damon said smoothly, professional mask back in place.
Joel rose from his seat when Damon did.
Damon walked up to Joel, and held out his hand. Standing, Damon towered a couple of good inches from Joel. The scent of Damon hit him—slight cologne mixed in with wolf musk, mint, cigarette smoke and something undeniably male. Joel shook his head.
He needed to focus, strategize, and keep his professional boundaries in place. Joel always prided himself on his work. Besides, it would reflect badly on both Cindy and Joel if anyone found out Joel was screwing around with his boss.
Sacrificing his entire career for a fling wasn’t an option. Damon was off-limits.
If Joel needed a man to take care of his needs, Joel would look elsewhere like he always did. Besides, he could think of this arrangement as an excellent opportunity. Damon didn’t do commitments. While Joel didn’t shy away from wild relationships and dangerous men, he was incapable of falling in love because of his trust issues.
He took Damon’s offered hand. Joel breathed hard when Damon squeezed to the point of delicious pain. It was only for a couple of lingering seconds, but sudden heat shot up Joel’s arm and right down to his cock. The rough pads of Damon’s fingers rubbed gently at his skin, creating sparks.
Damon’s jet-black eyes crinkled as if he sensed Joel’s reaction. “Welcome to Raines Advertising agency, Joel.”