Bound

Tea is an important start to my day. I must have my jolt of caffeine to be able to function. That’s why I was running late. Not because I had slept through my alarm, or because I had to change my clothes because I dripped syrup on my silk blouse while I scarfed down the chocolate chip waffles I had been craving. I absolutely had to stop at the Starbucks across the street from my apartment building before I made my drive to work, and everyone knows that trying to cross a busy street in New York city without getting ran over is nearly impossible.

At least that’s what I tried to convince myself as I wove in and out of early morning city traffic. It’s annoying that trying to go 11 blocks at 7 am can take over an hour. The subway would have been so much faster, but I refused to take the subway. I hated the feeling of being underground. It felt too much like being buried alive, being under all that rock and steel. It made me feel like I was claustrophobic, even though I’m not. Either way, I drove, and I was good at it.

When the parking garage a block away from my office building came into view I sighed with relief. Pulling into the garage, I parked as fast as I could, slamming the door to my matte gray Charger, clicking my key to lock the doors. I bolted for the sidewalk, taking a right and speed walking toward my firm. I worked for a marketing firm for the partners Johnson, Taylor, and Bryant. I tried to keep from bumping into the other pedestrians as I made my way down the crowded sidewalk, some scurrying past me on the way to their own jobs and responsibilities, that I’m sure they weren’t running late for.

The front doors of my office building came into view, and I picked up my pace. I was supposed to be in my office ten minutes ago. I had a meeting with an important new hire. The doors that I made my way to, were a glass so thick they were tinted blue. The gold handle glinted in the sunlight and was warm to the touch when I grabbed a hold of it. It looked heavy, but it swung open with ease, and I bolted across the thresh hold. The cool air circulating through the building washed over me and gave me a little chill. The early June heat outside had been nice, not over whelming, but it was frigid in the large lobby, and it cause an army of goosebumps to march up my spine and down my arms.

I was halfway to the elevators when I first saw Jason Aldana. I ran right into him, actually, in my hurry to get up to my office. I mumbled an apology as I patted at the tea that splashed on my blouse with a little napkin, glad I was wearing all black. I hadn’t even glanced up in my haste to get to the elevator before the doors slid closed and left the lobby. I kept walking, my heels making sharp clicking sounds that seemed to echo throughout the lobby while I made my way across the red and black marble floors. I really should have looked up.

“Victoria!”

James, the daytime security guard, had called after me. James was a tall man, broad shouldered and narrow waisted, with salt and pepper hair, more salt than pepper. He looked like a swimmer that had aged well. His bright blue eyes, lined by thick black lashes, shined with his easy-going personality. It made him easy to talk to and a great people person which was perfect for the daytime guard position. His call had pulled my eyes to him, and I had noticed how well his guard uniform fit his body, and the black material seemed to make his eyes shine brighter. I thought for a moment what it would be like to peel that uniform off him, and then mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking? I know it had been a while with Marcus being out of town, but to mentally strip a random guy old enough to be my father was ridiculous, even for me. It made me flush with embarrassment.

“Hey, James, what’s up?” I slowed my pace so he could catch up to me but kept walking. I looked down at my phone to check the time as an excuse so he wouldn’t see my face right away and the color that still pulsed in my cheeks.

“Could you take the new guy through?” He pointed behind him in the direction that I came from, to the guy I had nearly run down. If he noticed the blush that was still fading from my face, he didn’t comment on it.

“New guy?” I asked, my attention peaked. Maybe this was my new guy?

“I am super busy,” James continued, “I have a huge stack of incident reports to go through, and he needs to go through to Johnson’s office. Since you’re going that way, I was hoping you could escort him. Pretty please?” He gave me his best puppy dog look, clasping his hands in front of his chest like he was begging, complete with a pouting lip. It made me laugh.

“Sure, I’ll take him.” I said with a smile, and waved James away.

“Thanks, Victoria. I owe you one!” James said and darted off without a backwards glance.

I hadn’t tried to get a good look at the man that I had plowed into because I was in a hurry, and I was embarrassed about doing a face plant into his broad chest. All because I wasn’t watching where I was going. When I was able to see him fully, things low in my body tightened and my breath stilled in my throat for a moment. The instant reaction my body had to this total stranger was uncalled for and completely mortifying. I thanked the Goddess that I was a woman, and my attraction could go unnoticed.

Damn, how desperate was I, I thought to myself, mentally smacking myself.

He was very tall, way taller than me. Maybe six foot four if I had to put a measurement to it. He had dark, almost black, wavy hair curling softly around his ears. His eyes were captivating, making it hard for me to look at anything else for a moment. They were a glittering sea green with a hint of blue, framed by long black lashes, and they held a sharp focus that seemed to scream with potential danger. My eyes trailed down his sharp nose to his lips. They were full and slightly wide set and looked soft. From there I noticed his perfect jawline, which led my eyes down his smooth throat to his body.

He wore a black jacket that had to have been tailored to his broad shoulders, and whether he was trying to show it off or not, you could tell he worked out. He was very fit. A deep blue shirt peeked out of the jacket and was tucked into his black slacks, bringing out the blue in his eyes, his narrow waist cinched by a thick black belt with a gun metal colored buckle. He looked like he belonged in a men’s magazine selling suits, his style was impeccable. I couldn’t see if he had any tattoos because most of his skin was covered, but I imagined slipping the layers off to see if he had any, then flushed at the thought. What was wrong with me today? I never noticed men this much before.

I switched my tea to my left hand and extended my right hand out to Jason as I walked back to where he stood next to the security desk, “Hi, I’m Victoria Marzetti, it’s nice to meet you. Sorry for almost running you down.” I tried for a light, joking tone but I’m not sure I was successful because he raised a questioning brow at me.

The pleasure is mine,” he said, “My name is Jason, Jason Aldana.” His voice. Let me just say, wow. It was rich and deep, almost vibrating, with a steely edge. Think fur lined hand cuffs. Even thinking that made my pulse race and the dissipating flush creep up my neck again.

He clasped my hand in both of his for a moment. His skin was firm and smooth and cool to the touch, but what made my breath catch in my throat as he clasped my hand was his power. When I darted my eyes up to meet his I could see that he had nearly the same reaction I had. It felt like a static shock, complete with a small dark purple spark. I pulled my hand away, glancing around to see if anyone else had seen or noticed. Luck must have been on my side in that moment because it didn’t seem like anyone had. My hand tingled like it had fallen asleep, not painful, just a little unnerving. I forced myself not to rub my palm down the front of my skirt in an attempt to get rid of the feeling.

Almost as if my discomfort summoned her, my best friend in the entire world walked in through the lobby doors. Margo saw me see her and wiggled her eyebrows at Jason’s back, grinning ear to ear. She made a face as she checked out Jason’s ass and I had to choke back a giggle.

“Vickie, hey!” Margo called out to me as she got closer, walking past Jason so he couldn’t see her face when she wiggled her eyebrows at me again. Margo was a tall plus sized woman, who carried her figure well. Her tight, black curls framed her pretty, heart shaped face, that had just a hint of makeup, real subtle. Her skin was the color of coffee with more cream than coffee, and black shapely eyebrows framing dark eyes. She wore an eye-catching red silk blouse tucked into a high waisted black skirt, and black pumps. She was gorgeous. If anyone knew how to catch a man’s eye it was her.

“Margo, hey. Meet Jason, he’s new. Jason, this is my best friend and co-worker, Margo Mazzoni. She works in the legal department.” I said and presented my ridiculously beautiful best friend.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” Margo looked like she was undressing him, dipping him in chocolate and licking it off. All with her eyes. Subtle, she was not.

“You as well,” was all Jason said back. Polite, but lacking any of the sharp focus that had been in his eyes when the jolt of power shocked our palms when we shook hands.

I was a little surprised he didn’t give her anymore acknowledgement than that. Margo always managed to get the sexiest guys when we went out together. I couldn’t even hate on her because she was beautiful and an expert flirt.

Jason missed the Flirty smile Margo has shot his way; his eyes having gone back to me. Most likely because I was who he was supposed to follow to get to the offices. He watched my face intently, like a lion watching a wounded animal. It was intense, and I could feel my face falling into my deer- in- the- headlights look. I did my best to fix my face into something more neutral before he really noticed.

I laughed nervously, and turned, motioning for him to follow me.

I could not for the life of me think of anything to say to Jason in that moment. I was trying desperately to remember the name on the email I received the previous Friday. I was informed that I was going to be getting, and training, my own personal assistant by my direct boss, Kent Johnson. My newest promotion dictated that having a PA was necessary, but why did it have to be someone like Jason? I was fairly certain I was going to have a tough time getting any actual work done with him around. Especially since I could still feel the pulse of his power marching up my arm from my fingertips like a trail of biting insects.

Margo was talking to him as we walked through the lobby, which I was grateful for due to my brain still not being able to produce something coherent to say. I felt his eyes on me as we walked though. It almost felt like that little zap of static shock you get from toughing someone’s hands everywhere his eyes landed. Every question that Margo asked he answered but it was as if she was background noise, and he was answering on autopilot.

He had to have felt the power spike between us. I had seen the look of surprise on his face before he managed to school his features. I have never had that happen with anyone else before, and it scared the shit out of me. I had heard stories, very old stories of this, but that’s all I thought they were. Just stories. I thought about giving my mother a call after I got off work. My mom happened to be the Grand Mistress of the east coast, so if there was any truth behind the tales she would know. I thought better of it though. She might demand to meet him, and I didn’t even know anything about him yet. I wanted to know what this situation could mean for me before I brought it up to my mother. I, at the very least, needed to know how this would affect me professionally.

I was so lost in thought thinking about the power flare between Jason and I that I almost tripped as we stepped into the elevator. I could still feel his eyes on me, and when I glanced up at his face, he was smirking at me. My face flushed with embarrassment, and I glowered at him. I turned from him, using the need to throw my cup of tea away as an excuse to hide my face. The half empty cup hit the bottom of the trashcan that was positioned right outside the elevator doors with a light thud. I was embarrassed that I had tripped, but I was more pissed about the fact that I was embarrassed. I turned back around with a forced smile, feeling the burn of defiance in my veins. He was extremely graceful as he stepped into the elevator next to me, invading the hell out of my personal space with that smirk still curving his lips.

I’ll admit I was slightly dazed as I watched him move in next to me, the sleeve of his shirt brushing against my shoulder, goosebumps raising the little hairs on my arm at the light contact. He moved with a feline grace that solidified the predatory image brought to mind. His smirk deepened as he continued to look at me, and suddenly all my hormone addled brain could think was how luscious his lips looked. They were full and looked soft like pillows, with a dark rosy tint, and they were moist, as if he had just licked them. As soon as that thought registered, I could feel myself also licking my lips. And then I realized I was licking my lips while staring at his and forced myself to stop immediately.

I felt his power flare out while my eyes still lingered on his lips, caressing warmly down my body, and lingering on my lips. It then trailed down my breasts, to rest on my hips, tendrils trickling down like rivulets of hot water to graze my buttocks and upper thighs. My body almost ignited with the heat that his power caused. He smiled at me, eyes open wide and sparkling with feigned innocence. I wanted to lean forward and kiss those lips so bad it was almost a physical pain to not do it. My inner battle with my hormones must have shown on my face because his smile turned knowing and condescending. I blushed scarlet, not liking that he could read my face so easily, I was better at hiding what I was thinking and feeling than this.

I kept my eyes solidly on his face and did my best to keep mine blank. I wanted to watch his eyes for reaction. He thought he was going to flex his power at me? I was pissed. He had no idea who I was, and he had the nerve to flex at me? He was going to learn who I was, and what it actually meant to flex power.

My power breathed out of the pores of my skin like invisible smoke, filling the bubble that his power was making around me. I was essentially creating a barrier between his power and my body. I felt instantly better, my body temperature slowly going back to normal. I was careful though; I didn’t want him to feel what I was doing yet. He knew I had power, so he had probably expected me to try and fail to fight back against his power. I wanted to make sure Margo was out of the elevator before I pushed back, she knew nothing about my powers, and I wanted to keep it that way.

The elevator dinged.

“This is me,” Margo said and edged to the open doors, “I’ll see you later Vickie, maybe you can invite Jason to lunch if he doesn’t have any plans.” She took a step back with a smile and a wave as the elevator doors swished closed.

The second the door closed I turned, my face calm and blank, my own version of innocent, to Jason and flung his power and my power back onto him. He visibly staggered at the thrust of power, mouth opening in a little oh of surprise.

I was pissed and I let it show all over my face, as well as the satisfaction I felt. How dare he attempt compulsion on me when he had no idea who I was. My hands went into fists at my sides, and I leaned into him, invading the hell out of his personal space.

“That was completely and totally inappropriate and unprofessional. If you try it again, I will shove your power so far down your throat you will be shitting it out. Do you understand me?” I hissed at him.

“So much power,” he mumbled to himself, “I apologize, Grand Mistress. When I first felt your power, you must have been shielding very hard. I didn’t realize whose presence I was in,” he did a quick kneel to show reverence with a closed fist to his chest. “Please excuse my gross over step. I was being arrogant and rude, and I offer my most humble apology.”

He thought I was the Grand Mistress. I was flattered by that but had to shake myself. The Grand Master or Mistress is the most powerful person in an area. For most it’s a city or a state. My mother, on the other hand, was the Grand Mistress for the entire eastern seaboard. If there was someone with more natural power than my mother, they never made themselves known. She had been the Grand mistress for over thirty years and had yet to be challenged. I was next in line to ascend that title if I had no outside challengers, so it wasn’t very farfetched that he would think I was her. The Grand could be a man or a woman, young or old, but in my family line, dating back to the time before Christ, the strongest members had always been female.

“I’m not the Grand Mistress, my mother is.” I stood up straight and unclenched my fists. “It’s good to see you have some manners, at least,” I said coldly. The rage I felt at his insolence was already starting to cool. He had thought I was the Grand Mistress, even though I wasn’t old enough. It made me want to smile, but I didn’t want him to think I was smiling at him, so I held it in. “I was shielding harder than normal because Margo, my friend you just met, is a sensitive. She’s attracted to magic. I don’t want her to get any more vibes from me than normal, hence the shielding.”

I knew something was off about Margo, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Sometimes I got flashes of something from her, but I could never pin down what it was. I knew there were a few of the magical community that worked in this building, but it was not my place to give them away or let them know I knew. It was an invasion of privacy. If they wanted me to know they would tell me. Margo was still an unknown, but I could tell when she sensed me using more power than normal. She always gravitated toward me, like a moon trailing a sun. So, I tried to limit myself when she was near. If she was just a human that was sensitive, then I did not want to be the one to drop the bomb of magic existing on her.

He stood back up quickly and as he moved, I felt his power brush me again. I don’t think he did it on purpose this time, just the air currents pushing and pulling the wisps of power as he stood up. If I had been weaker, his compulsion could have done me in. I let my power flare out to brush against his, more to ward him off than anything else. The sensation was like rubbing silk and fur against naked skin, exotic and erotic as all hell, but also very unintentional.

The sensation was amazing, if I was being completely honest with myself, unlike anything I had ever felt before. At that moment though, I almost hated it. I didn’t enjoy the fact that a man that I hadn’t known for more than five minutes could have this kind of impact on me. I withdrew my power suddenly, sucking it back into myself and even absorbing some of Jason’s power, the spike of energy making me almost giddy. Who needed caffeine? Not me anymore. Jason had stumbled forward as if the force of my power retracting had sucked him closer to me. His breathing was a touch ragged, too. Good, I thought.

“Impressive,” he breathed, more to himself than to me, I think. “Most people don’t have the ability to absorb the power of others. Are you also a succubus of some sort?”

I chose to ignore his question. I was not a succubus in anyway, I just had skills that most light magic users did not. Like being able to consume the magic and power of those around me. It was not something I was proud of, nor something I was going to explain to a man that I just met. No matter how delightful his power tasted on my tongue.

“Why did you try to compel me?” I asked, changing the subject. My voice had come out a little softer than I wanted it to, so I punctuated the question by crossing my arms over my chest.

His brows creased, the effort plain on his face. He was trying to resist giving me and answer. I raised an eyebrow and did my best to keep the rest of my face blank. I wanted to smirk but that would have been childish.

“I felt what little power was leaking through your shields and thought you were weaker than I am. I wanted to make it clear I was powerful and see if you would be able to resist my will, as well as exert my dominance. I also wanted to see if your lips felt as soft as they looked from the moment you walked into the building. A weaker being would not have been able to resist me.”

His answer startled the hell out of me for a second. My hand went to my lips out of shock, and I blushed. Jason looked just as startled as I had been, his truth being pulled from his lips against his will. My brain refused to function for a moment while I tried to process what he said. At first, I had trouble understanding what he said, but then my inner horny teenager screamed with glee that Jason wanted to kiss me enough to try and compel me. The rational adult side of my mind did not agree. I squashed that thought down and tried to think clearly.

I didn’t know this man. I had to be rational about this. He was an employee and a complete stranger. Just because he had a power that reacted to mine, didn’t mean I should let my guard down. I had no idea if he had sought me out and meant me harm, or maybe he was one of the many that wanted to try and take my power for himself. I didn’t notice because of the barrage of thoughts flowing through my mind, but Jason had been inching closer to me. I could feel tendrils of his power trying to feel mine, nothing invasive, just feather light touches. Suddenly another though occurred to me that threw a proverbial bucket of ice water over my head.

“So, you would have forced a human woman to kiss you just because you had the power to do it?” I asked, my tone cutting and harsh. I stepped closer, getting in his face as I spoke. I could feel the lines of anger my face fell into, and the anger made me push a little more energy into my question

“No, I only tried to compel you because I could feel your power and I wanted to exert my dominance,” Jason said, his teeth gritted in effort and sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. “What is that?” He asked me, his hands hovering, as if he could touch the pressure my power caused when forced him to answer my questions.

“One of my many skills. I can force the truth from anyone, if I will it. Bare that in mind for any and all future conversations we have.” I conveniently left out that if you were powerful enough you could fight it, but it would be painful. It didn’t matter though because I didn’t think he was strong enough to resist me if I really wanted answers. I thought less information would be better until I knew more about him and his intentions.

“Any other powers I should be aware of, since we are going to be working together?” he asked as he straightened and took a small step back from me.

“You came in here flaunting your power, not me. I don’t owe you any answers,” I scoffed. I drew my shoulders back and felt the fluttering of anger creep up my tense body, “And in case you forgot, I am your superior in both our jobs and in power. Remember your place or you’ll force me to remind you.” The sharp tone in my voice shocked me a little, I almost never got to this point of anger. Anger was a doorway in my mind, one I want to keep firmly closed. Jason did something to me that put me on edge and loosened my chains of control.

“I’m sorry again,” he said in a soft voice. “I have never met someone as powerful as you outside of my family. I’m not sure why I acted the way I did. I’m not usually one to show such arrogance and flash my power. I sincerely apologize for the disrespect I’ve shown you.” He took a breath and continued, “There is something about your power. I feel drawn to it on an instinctual level, and, pardon the word choice, I really wanted to taste it again.”

I was astounded for a moment. I noticed my mouth was hanging open in my shock, so I snapped it closed with an audible click of my teeth. I didn’t know him well enough to be certain, but I could feel the sincerity in his words. I also felt the draw of his power and I knew how seductive the pull of power felt, so I was willing to believe that he was telling me the truth. My anger toward him was softening, so I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders as I looked up into his eyes.

“I’m not the type to pull rank, but going forward you should make sure you remember who I am when we interact,” I said calmy with all the authority I could muster. “So, let’s put this behind us and we can continue on as if this didn’t happen. Just remember what I said and don’t let this become a habit and we will get along fine.”

Almost as if on cue, the elevator dinged, and the doors slid opened. One if the firm’s partners, Kenneth Johnson, was standing in front of the elevator doors as they opened. He happened to also be my direct boss. He took in the scene and raised an eyebrow at me, his curiosity evident on his face. I quickly took two steps away from Jason and towards Mr. Johnson, a professional smile slipping into place on my face. Mr. Johnson was an imposing man, at least 6 foot 7 inches with eyes the color of warm milk chocolate and hair the color of corn silk. He wore a navy-colored suit that was perfectly fitted to his body, with a brilliant red tie and a gold tie tack. He was broad, like he would have made a great football player, though he claims he never played.

“Is everything ok, Victoria?” he asked, amusement shining in his eyes.

“Absolutely, Mr. Johnson, everything is fine,” I smoothed my hands down my blouse and smiled brightly as I stepped out of the elevator and off to the side.

“And you are?” Mr. Johnson asked, turning to face Jason. Stepping out of the elevator, Jason extended his hand to Mr. Johnson.

“Jason, Jason Aldana. It’s good to meet you, sir.”

“Ah! You’re the new PA. Excellent.” Johnson turned to me and said, “I’m glad you two have already met. Ms. Victoria, please take him through the building and show him around. I know this is the first time you’ve had a personal assistant of your own, so make sure you are clear with your expectations. Also, stop at HR so they can take Jason’s picture and print him out a badge. I trust you can handle everything from here, yes?”

“Yes sir, I’ll handle everything,” I said with a nod of my head and a polite smile.

“Good, good. Now if you will excuse me, I have a meeting,” and with that my boss bustled past us and went into the elevator, his PA scurrying in right behind him.

Kendal, Johnsons PA, was a short, thin woman. Her rich chestnut hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that trailed to the middle of her back. It swung as she walked to land on the shoulder of her light blue business suit, which matched her eyes perfectly. She smiled at me and waved as the elevator doors swished closed. Kendal was a sweet woman who was easily the best at her job. I hoped that Jason and I could be as efficient as we worked together as Kendal and Mr. Johnson were.

I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself and getting into work mode. You do not become a Chief Executive of Design for a marketing firm this big by letting a little stress control you.

“Follow me, Jason” I said and waved at him to follow.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. I didn’t have to look back at him to hear the slight frown in his voice. He didn’t know what to make of me, I was sure. He was powerful, and I had nearly knocked him on his ass with barely any effort. It must have bruised his male ego just a little bit. That would teach him to flex his powers on people he didn’t know, I thought with a slight smirk, as I waltzed down the hallway to HR.