Lose Control

By Donina Lynn

Myles Oliver Dayton likes control in every aspect of his life. He desires it, demands it in the board room and his bedroom. But when his teenage crush walks into his office to be his temporary assistant, the tight restraint he kept on his emotions starts to come undone. Something he couldn’t allow. His idea of love is demanding and possessive, and in the end there would only be pain—for both of them.

Cassie Sorrelson grabs onto opportunities when they come along and assisting Myles with all his demands is an opportunity she isn’t about to pass up. Sexy and controlling, he has her breathing hard and soon yearning for more than a few days together at the corporate retreat. When he suddenly pulls back, though, and refuses the desire she knows is running hot within him, Cassie is going to have to work at getting what she wants ... making Myles lose control.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: Apr 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781772333145

Book preview

Published by Evernight Publishing ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2015 Donina Lynn

ISBN: 978-1-77233-314-5

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Brieanna Robertson

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

Dedicated to everyone who has ever found love with someone who taught them that what might be considered to be an imperfection to one is actually perfection to another.

LOSE CONTROL

Donina Lynn

Copyright © 2015

Chapter One

Cassandra, are you even listening to me? What are you doing?

Cassie Sorrelson cringed at her mother using her full name. Any second, the usual lecture would come pouring out of the speaker of her cell phone. I’m sitting at a red light with my hands in the correct o’clock positions and looking both ways before I cross.

She glanced up through the windshield to make sure the light hadn’t turned green and quickly applied her mascara in the rearview mirror. Multi-tasking because she was royally running late was what she was really doing. Her mother didn’t need to know that, though. That would just start a whole other conversation and it was bad enough Cassie was about to get the you could have done something with your life speech—for the hundredth time.

Don’t be flippant, dear. Your father and I just want you to be happy.

Tossing the tube of mascara into her bag, she pulled her hair up into a messy bun and checked her reflection. Not bad for sleeping through her alarm and racing around her apartment to get out the door. If the light would actually change, she might even have a shot at being on time.

Cassandra?

Yes, Mom. I heard you, and I am happy.

No, you’re not. How could you be? You’re twenty-five years old and you have no job, no husband, no kids, and no prospects. You have so much potential. You are an intelligent, beautiful woman and could have done something with your life.

And there it was. Cassie hit the accelerator and sighed. She really didn’t want to have this talk. It always ended with her being more than frustrated and her mother in near tears, fearing for her daughter’s future. Expectations were a bitch, and her parents had plenty of them for her.

Mom, I do have a job. There was no way in hell Cassie was going anywhere near the husband or kids topics. She steered clear of them at all costs. They led straight into her obvious indecisiveness, fear of commitment, and Cassie’s favorite—how her carefree attitude and inability to settle down would only find her gray and alone. Not like talking about her employment—or in her mother’s mind, the lack there of—was any safer, but she’d take her chances. In fact, I’m on my way to a new assignment now.

That is not a career. That’s something to pass the time.

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, Cassie felt her patience slipping. I like what I do. Why is that so hard for you to accept? I don’t need or want some mundane position where I go to the same place, look at the same faces, and do the same thing each and every day. I’m happy right where I am. It was the truth. Cassie liked the diversity that went hand-in-hand with working for The Temporary Assistant. Every time she received a new assignment, she got the rush of excitement with starting something new. Nothing ever got stale or routine, simply because she was never at one place long enough for it to do so. She was constantly meeting new people, learning new skills, and even at times got the chance to travel and see new places. Which, she was lucky enough her current assignment just so happened to offer.

She didn’t have much information other than there’d been a request for a temp with the required background, and who could leave on a business trip for three days. She didn’t have a clue where she was going and didn’t care. As long as it had a beach, that is.

Cassie packed every bikini she owned, hoping for some free time to relax, catch some sun, and have a little fun—preferably with a toned, tanned, and tremendously hot man sporting a nice bulge in the front of his swim trunks. In Cassie’s eyes, all work and no play wasn’t even an option. And it had been a long time since she got to run around in a playground. Six months to be exact. If she went any longer, she’d have to add spinster to her name.

Cassandra, I’m well aware of how you think you’re happy, but at some point, you are going to have to realize there is more to life than having no responsibilities and your freedom. The financial security of having a steady income, the stability of having a home to call your own, and a family to share it all with is what true happiness is about. Just look at your father and me.

Cassie resisted the urge to bang her head against the steering wheel when she pulled into the parking space. Didn’t matter what she said or how many times she said it, her mom would never really hear her. There was no point in even trying. Sorry, Mom. I don’t mean to cut you short, but I’m here. Got to run. Love you.

Hitting the end button on her cell, Cassie turned off the engine and breathed out a sigh of relief. She loved her mother and father, but they just never understood why Cassie couldn’t fit into the life they’d carved out in their minds for her. Even young, she’d struggled trying to make them see what had worked for them didn’t automatically mean it would for her, too.

Struggled? Cassie smiled. It was more like rebelled. She’d acted out, got in trouble, spoke her mind and, as she was continuously told, was the sole reason why her mother had to start coloring her hair to hide the grays at such an early age.

Little had changed other than now her rebellious side took on a more independent, always keep your options open and grab on to opportunities when they presented themselves type of tone. Who cared if all her friends were getting married, having children, or had what most would consider a career? All of that would fall into place eventually. For now, Cassie was free to go where she wanted, do what she wanted and with whom she wanted. Variety, change, and excitement were what she craved. Heaven forbid she would ever settle down or—gasp—become boring. It wasn’t her. Never had been and, honestly, she couldn’t imagine it ever would be. What she could imagine, however, was her being unemployed if she didn’t get moving soon.

Leaving her luggage in the backseat to retrieve later, she grabbed her bag and sprinted for the parking garage elevator. Hitting the button for the floor the e-mailed instructions stated was her destination, she rode up and anxiously tapped her foot, waiting for the doors to open.

When they did, she immediately found herself standing in a reception area for the headquarters of The Mountain’s Peak, Inc., one of the largest outdoors and sporting equipment retailers in the U.S. You couldn’t go to a city without finding one of their stores anchored to a mall or popping up along the highway. By catering to anyone from the weekend camping warrior to the extreme sporting enthusiast, they’d cornered the market. They were large and in charge and Cassie would be working for the VP himself for the next few days.

Checking her watch to confirm she was on time, she walked over to the receptionist who was busy typing away at her computer.