For His Desire

Chapter 1

Elena applied her lipstick carefully, making an extra effort and wearing a brighter shade of red than usual. She wanted to keep her expectations realistic; chances were that her lipstick would remain undisturbed by the end of the night, but Elena still held out hope. The thought of being kissed forcefully enough to smudge her lipstick excited her.



She knew very little about her blind date, other than his name was Michael and he was a businessman. She was not even sure what the nature of his business but she was sure that she would learn all about him. Elena knew a certain amount of skepticism was healthy, but she wasn’t going to let that ruin her evening.



Elena decided at the last moment to wear her red hair down loose. Every day for work she pinned it up and she liked the way it fell past her shoulders. Overall, she felt that she presented a pleasing package in her short, black dress. One last look in the mirror and she felt ready to go.



The restaurant was very upscale, one with which Elena was familiar with although she had never eaten there. When she arrived, she easily found Michael, who was already seated. She noticed he was handsome -- quite handsome, in fact. His suit was expensive and he was obviously comfortable both in the suit and in his surroundings.



He greeted the staff by name and seemed to know the menu completely. He asked Elena if she minded if he ordered dinner for both of them and she did not mind. She was curious to see what Michael came up with.



Dinner was delicious, as was their conversation which consisted of brief talks about work. She learned that he was an entrepreneur, constantly busy with work though she sensed that there was a fun side to him as well. His smile was easy and his charm was contagious. Elena was transfixed with him and she had a sense that other women in the restaurant were looking at Michael as well.



When the last bite of dinner was finished, Elena couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment. It had been some time since she had truly enjoyed herself on a date and Michael was very easy to talk to. She couldn’t help but wonder about his lips as he spoke, wondered how they would feel pressed against her own. Before the night was over, she had to taste him.



Elena didn’t want the date to end and it appeared he was of the same mind.



“Would you like to go back to my place?” he asked.



Elena was impressed with his directness; they could flirt and dance around the issue for hours if they wanted, but they had an intense curiosity about one another and a heat between them both wanted to explore.



It was on the tip of her tongue to say something flirty and coy: “What makes you think I am that kind of girl?” perhaps, but it was unnecessary. He wasn’t playing games and neither would she.



“Yes, I would,” she finally answered, prepared to follow him to his home, curious about this man and about his life.



“I’ll drive,” he offered, not waiting for her to object. He helped her into his Lexus and buckled her into the passenger seat. She noticed that his hand lingered at her hip and she felt a surge of arousal at his touch. His manner was confident, as was his driving.



“Are you always this in control?” Elena asked. She couldn’t stop watching him, as he fascinated her.



“Yes. Always.” His attention was on the road ahead and she watched him as he drove. She relaxed into the comfortable seat and enjoyed their drive. She had to admit that she was curious about this confidence he exuded and the control to which he had alluded.



His house was located just outside the city limits and she saw it long before they pulled into his private drive.



Elena hadn’t quite been sure what to expect, but the obscenely lavish house spread out before her was beyond what she had imagined. “It’s beautiful,” she said, feeling even as she said it that ‘beautiful’ was much too weak a word to describe the opulence that surrounded them.



“It’s home,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. Of course he could be blasé about it; he lived there. To Elena, though, it was quite impressive. He invited her to look around as he offered to get some wine. Elena wandered from the foyer into a library, perusing the shelves and finding an interesting mixture of vintage books and expensive curios.



He returned with two wine glasses and a bottle itself. He showed it to her as though to get her approval. “Looks good,” she told him. It was wet and would taste of grapes; that’s all she knew of wine and all she needed to know.



“You have one of everything,” she remarked, looking around and smiling.



“Not everything,” he said. “I like to collect things from my travels.”