Secret: Passion (Submissive Romance) Read Free

anyway.”
                  “Who says I want to see you outside work?” Anna asked, but she was smiling as she picked up the leaflet. “You might have been a workplace conquest.”
                  “And I would believe you, if I didn’t believe in that sparkle I see in your eyes,” Mark replied smoothly. Anna blushed. “Still, I expect an answer tomorrow. If you decide to come, you’ll need a weekend bag, with at least one formal dress in it, and a bathing suit if you plan to swim. Towels are provided,” he checked his watch. “Good night, Anna,” he said, getting to his feet. She watched as he left and frowned.
                  Anna picked up the leaflet and turned it over in her hands. She would wait until later to read it.
     
    Chapter Three
     
    The booklet did not explain much. Aside from elegant photographs of the facilities, there was very little to explain what actually happened at the Retreat. Anna was forced to conclude that Maria had been wrong – this looked more like a spa resort than a seedy sex club. The bedrooms were typically hotel-ish, and even the gardens looked uniform and bordering on dull. She sighed and flung the paper into the waste bin. As she took herself to bed, she still was not sure whether she would go or not.
                  It was true – she did fancy Mark. Maybe more than that, but she wasn’t willing to admit that right now. And she did need a break. It seemed ideal, but what would be expected of her? More no-strings fucking? Well, she was ok with the occasional Christmas party fling, but Anna was a steady girl, despite her teasing, and liked being in relationships. She was not sure she could be her boss’ mistress.
     
    *
     
    She pulled the tiny weekend travel case along behind her, aware that curious (and jealous) eyes were watching her. She knocked on Mark’s office door and he opened it, a mobile phone clamped to his ear. Still talking, he beckoned her in and closed the door behind her.
                  “Right, I’ll have to call you back,” he snapped, clicking the phone shut. Anna smiled at the look on his face as he surveyed the case.
                  “Problem?”
                  “That’s a very small case,” he said. “Did you pack something formal?”
                  “Yes, it just needs pressing when we get there.”
                  “Well, I like a woman who can travel light,” he grinned. “You can leave the case here until the end of the day, if you like. The car is picking us up at four.”
                  “Four. Alright, boss,” she said, careful to include that last word. Mark opened his mouth as if to say something else, but then waved her out of the office. Anna avoided eye contact until she gazed at her own reflection in the black glass of her computer monitor.
                  “Are you fucking serious?” Maria asked her during their break. “Mark? For the weekend? A retreat?” her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Level with me, Anna – is there some sort of history here? Because one minute it’s like he doesn’t know you exist, and the next…”
                  “I wouldn’t call it ‘history’,” Anna snorted. “More like a mistake you don’t regret.”
                  “So you have had him. I fucking knew it!” Maria laughed. “Geez, and I thought I was good at keeping secrets. So how long has this been going on?”
                  “It’s not ‘going on’… It happened. Once. And that’s it,” Anna slopped her coffee as she stirred it. “And to be honest I thought he’d either forgotten or was embarrassed about it.”
                  “Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Maria shrugged. “We’ve all done it. Christmas party, was it?” Anna nodded. “I wondered where you’d gone. Still, makes for a good story. So what’s it