The Alpha's Hunger Read Free

meet hers.
    She caught her breath when their gazes locked and held, his dark-lashed green eyes melting her with each suspended moment. He looked back to the road and the spell broke.
    She exhaled and tried again. “I hope you’ll still consider me for the position. I mean, I’d like to interview for it, or submit my application or whatever the process is…” She trailed off. She wasn’t usually this tongue-tied, but she found the gruff CEO more than a little intimidating. Which was half of the appeal. The other half being his brooding good looks and the power of his position.
    “Three o’clock, my office.”
    “Really? For an interview?”
    He didn’t answer that question, as if he only had a certain allotment of words each day and he didn’t want to hit his limit answering stupid questions from her. She sat back in the seat and watched the skillful way he navigated traffic.
    “Thank you for picking me up today.” Lame, Ashley. Very lame.
    He didn’t even look at her this time.
    Right. Keep your mouth shut, Ash.
    When they reached the building, he pulled into his reserved spot, right by the elevators.
    “Thanks again,” she said as they stepped into the elevator together.
    He didn’t answer, but his eyes were on her face again, studying her. Her cheeks grew warm. His mouth twitched. “Where are you from?”
    “Oh,” she said, drawing a breath to recover from the scrutiny of his gaze. “Here. Lakewood,” she said, naming the suburb of Denver where she’d grown up.
    He nodded.
    “Sports? Activities?”
    “I took State in swimming in high school,” she offered hopefully.
    This won an almost smile.
    The elevator arrived on her floor. “Well, um, thanks again. I’ll see you at three. I mean, I’m looking forward to our meeting,” she said, backing out of the elevator.
    Only his eyebrow moved in acknowledgment. The doors slid shut and she exhaled, smiling as she walked to her cubicle. She had landed the interview. Now she just had to figure out how to impress him. What did Mr. Stone like in an employee? She feared there was no one at Stone Technologies who knew the answer to that question.
     
    * * *
     
    Ben didn’t have a clue what he would do with a personal assistant. He didn’t like anyone in his business or his space. He didn’t want to hear their whispers or smell their smells. He didn’t want to have to talk to them. What had possessed him to invent a personal assistant job? Ashley Bell, obviously. For whatever reason, he wanted to keep her close at hand.
    Her scent still lingered, filling his mind with images of stripping her naked. He wanted to sink his teeth into her shoulder while he plowed into her from behind, hard and fast. But she was human. Hell, even if she was a shifter, with Carlos Sandoval out to kill him, he was not mate material.
    He sighed and picked up his phone, asking Karen, his secretary, to make the arrangements to add a workstation to the office next to his.
    “Yes, sir,” she replied, knowing better than to ask him who or what it was for.
    He leaned back in his chair, put his feet up on the desk, and opened Ashley’s personnel file. It contained very little—her resume, application, references. Well, what had he expected, a life history?
    He opened his computer and searched for her name on the Internet. It produced three references—one from her high school swimming championship and two from her college academic achievements. He searched her name on Facebook and perused her photos, which she unwisely shared with the public. The same girl from the photo she’d flashed him in his office appeared in many of them—a sister almost identical to her, except for the cut of her hair. They must be twins. Her relationship status was listed as single and very few guys appeared in the photos, which was fortunate, because he might have hunted down any man pretending to be good enough for her.
    Karen called to say his top level management team had arrived for the morning