Driven By The Hero (Hero Romance 1) by Kalena Lyons Read Free Book Online

was prepared to devour him alive. Jack gritted his teeth and smiled ahead. Both ladies got off with their luggage at the 9th floor without saying a word.
    It had been a habit of Jack’s to wake early, even on his days off, to go running in the early dawn. It never failed to amaze passersby that this older man could run upwards of three miles without seeming to break a sweat. It never ceased to amaze Jack knowing that he could do so while still being a regular smoker for over thirty years (although for the past few, he had narrowed it down to no more than four a day.) Yet Jack wasn’t simply running to stay in shape. It was his way of exercising—and exorcising—his own considerable energies. There was inner neutrality that had evaded him all these years, and he often felt as if he was chasing it well past his twilight. He would be turning 60 soon, and knew he could have easily retired in absolute comfort and leisure years ago; but he also knew that to do so would be to fulfill an absolute lie. He knew that something was compelling him, something much greater than he could comprehend; but he also knew that whatever it was could easily devour him whole if he didn’t keep himself occupied. So he continued with the charade of acquisitions, of endless prospecting, of wheeling and dealing, of three-martini lunches, of fake smiles and even more fake similes. He knew he was at an age where personal reinvention was out of the question; so he turned his energies to the only pass time that gave order to the endless frenzy of his day-to-day operations—collecting.
    He began to wonder sometimes if he viewed his objects in more human terms than he viewed people themselves. After all, an object could increase or depreciate in value given the whims and turns of the market; but they remained at heart, loyal. Tangible. Inert, but stable. They neither disappointed nor did attempt to ascribe to themselves anything greater than what they actually were. How many people could he say that about?
    Jack slid the card into the lock of his 10th floor room and shuffled inside, slightly out of breath. He switched on the news as he undid his running shoes. He didn’t necessarily want to catch up with the rest of the world while he was away from work, but the bubbly and blissfully vacant chatter of the local news anchors helped drown out his thoughts. He lay back on the bed and, though regretting it, casually reviewed the emails on his iPhone. Anything work-related, he marked as “read,” closed his eyes and let the drone of the talking heads lull him into memory.
    It had been almost two years since Jack had last been in any sort of long-term relationship. His own appetites matched his ambitions; a ravenous and inexorable need to devour, to consume, to contort, stretch and ultimately surpass the boundaries of his lovers until they were able to meet his boundless energies. The problem was that very few did. Jack’s sex drive was practically legendary, and very few women—if any—were able to meet his demands in the long run, no matter how youthful or seemingly accommodating. Most were simply too enchanted by the surface of Jack’s world—his looks, his empire, the very novelty of glamour they blithely assumed was their due right as his partner—to fulfill him absolutely. Renee, his last partner, had come close. An exotic looking creature, part Japanese and part Peruvian, with long, flowing hair cascading over delicate, round shoulders. Renee had been a model and actress of sorts whose struggle to make a name for herself was largely due to her ubiquitous and alluring looks. Her beauty was simply too peculiar (though undeniable) for conventional tastes. Equally as magnetic was the sexuality she exuded with each serpentine step.
    Her sultry demeanor and mannerisms alluded to her sexuality; in practice it was even more apparent. Renee’s lithe and powerfully energetic body was the ideal canvas for Jack’s erotic imagination, and soon proved a