She was in the largest office she’d ever seen. Not even the Director of the CDC had an office like this. She’d been in the offices of the CEOs of huge pharmaceutical corporations and she’d never seen anything like this.
Here, too, like everything else in Black Inc., everything was sleek and modern and high-tech. One wall was covered in thin monitors, there was a conference table bigger than the conference table in the Situation Room of the White House, which she’d been in, a fully equipped kitchen and a living room suite for informal talks. One thing was missing. Though she knew, because she’d read it somewhere, that Jacob Black had been a highly decorated soldier, there was no glory wall. No citations, no photos of him with important politicians or generals, no medals. Nothing. Not one of those items that so fed the egos of important men. It could have been any man’s office, if that man ran one of the largest security corporations in the world and was one of the richest men in the world.
The office faced west and it was the moment when the setting sun’s lambent rays hit the eyes full on. The moment she hated when driving west at sunset. The ocean reflected the sunlight and was mirror-bright.
Alex held up a hand to shield her eyes. The man sitting behind the desk touched something and the window instantly polarized.
She dropped her hand as he stood up. Though the sun didn’t hurt her eyes anymore, he was hard to see as anything more than an outline. He was very tall and had extremely broad shoulders. His suit was expensive but it looked like a costume on a man built like that. A rich man’s costume over a fighter’s body.
“Alex,” he said. His voice was deep, rich.
Shock immobilized her. It was a voice she didn’t know but it reverberated through her, scaring her. What was wrong with her? It felt like a hand was squeezing her heart so hard it would burst. Her knees shook. She couldn’t breathe.
“Alex,” that dark voice said again, and all the breath rushed out of her body. She gasped for air, the sound loud in the huge silent room. Every muscle was frozen.
She didn’t know the man, how could she react like that to his voice? It was as if his voice had cast a dark spell over her that paralyzed her. Turned her to stone.
He moved out from behind the desk, walked toward her. His face came into the light and she was so unsettled that at first she couldn’t make sense of his features. His face was made of dark, hard slabs. Dark hair. Dark eyes, deeply tanned skin. One side of his face was badly scarred, both knife and burn scars. He wasn’t good-looking—no man who was as scarred as he was, who looked as dangerous as he did, could be considered good-looking—but he was compelling, fiercely focused on her. His dark eyes burned and he moved to her, coming right into her personal space. Her limbs wouldn’t work. She didn’t have the strength to take a step back.
He was so close she had to tilt her head back to see his face. He reached out a huge hand, cupped the back of her neck and she was shocked at the reaction her skin had to his touch. Heat shimmered over her, like she was burning up. She still couldn’t breathe.
Who was he? She didn’t know him, so why was she reacting so strongly to him?
“Alex,” he said again, and it was as if the spell he held her under shattered.
“You!” she gasped.
Jacob, Copyright 2024 Lisa Marie Rice
Black Inc. #1
You met the powerful and mysterious Jacob Black, of Black, Inc., in the celebrated Women of Midnight series. Now it’s time for Jacob to step to the fore, in the first installment of a scorching, heart-pounding all-new series from Lisa Marie Rice—Black Inc.
Years ago, he abandoned her, shattering her heart…
Alexandra Hethering lost her best friend, the boy she loved, at the lowest point in her life. Since then she’s forged a new life for herself as a top-tier scientist at the CDC. Yet her lost love haunts her dreams.
Now, eighteen years later, she’s facing down a world-wide threat that could kill billions. She needs help—expert, fearless, powerful help.
He’ll never leave her side again…
Jacob Black was a decorated soldier, then created a world famous security company. He is powerful and feared, but he has a single weak spot—the beautiful, brilliant girl he had to leave behind. Now Alex is in danger—the kind that could get her killed.
Not happening. Not on his watch. He’ll keep her safe at any cost…
Romance Billionaire | Action | Fiction Adventure [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: April 2, 2024, e-Book, / ]
Lisa Marie Rice is eternally 30 years old and will never age. She is tall and willowy and beautiful. Men drop at her feet like ripe pears. She has won every major book prize in the world. She is a black belt with advanced degrees in archeology, nuclear physics and Tibetan literature. She is a concert pianist. Did I mention the Nobel? Of course, Lisa Marie Rice is a virtual woman and exists only at the keyboard when writing erotic romance. She disappears when the monitor winks off.
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