Rick was a nice guy. Tall, handsome and humble, he was a popular figure around the office. The kind of guy that everyone gravitated towards when there was a problem to be solved or a committee to be formed. He rarely complained, and had one of those attitudes that bespoke of calm and careful consideration.
Many of the girls in the office would watch him as he strode purposefully from one end of the building to another. There was a lot of speculation about his romantic life but no one ever really pressed the matter with him. Rick was a really nice guy.
Rick's piercing blue gaze, his classic good looks, his well manicured grey hair and pleasant exterior was hiding a lust and powerful drive that would have surprised all these people he worked with.
Today the girl Katie who had just recently joined the company caught his eye as she worked her way through the cafeteria line and stopped to find a seat. He stood, his eyes drinking her in and gestured to her to come join him at the table in the corner where he liked to observe people as they socialized and ate. More than a few affairs were obvious in the close knit company group, the participants lingering over touches when they passed the pepper or the sugar.
Rick stood as the new girl approached his table, a small smile slipping over his lips and a gleam in his eye. Inside his body was aflame, the nearness of this woman triggering a hunger that would not be satisfied by the daily special or an extra cup of coffee. His nostrils flared, his neck throbbed with the flavor of her scent and his tight body tensed with every foot she came closer.
A shy smile appeared on her face as she reached the table and an odd look of consideration as he moved around the table to pull her seat out. By this time the entire cafeteria was quiet and watchful; Rick had never shared his table with anyone before, never mind invited them over.
As lunch progressed the two ate slowly and seemed to be carrying on a pleasant, quiet conversation. Rick would lean forward and make an observation and Katie would laugh, a happy ringing sound or she would turn her eyes to his and when a soft blush came over her face it made her glow in that crowded cafeteria.
The lunch hour ended much too quickly and Rick walked with her back to their respective offices. Rick turned once and started to stammer something, then thought better about it and quickly left her at her desk. He returned silently to his office and bent to the tasks at hand.
The afternoon sped on; Katie took a coffee break at 3:15 and looked around to see if Rick was also on break. Not seeing him she drank her coffee silently, leaning against a window sill looking out over the mountains. Her red curls shone bright in the afternoon sun, and her emerald eyes sparkled wildly.
Rick watched from the deck above. The girl made him feel things that he had long since quashed, strange lusts and passions, great hungers and desires that shook him with the ferocity of their onslaught. As the end of the day approached an emergency contract appeared in the office and several people were called in to try to deal with it. Rick, some of his staff and the Executive Vice President rolled up their sleeves. It could be a long night. Rick, his head bent to the documentation on the conference room table didn't notice when Katie entered and suddenly he heard her voice next to his ear asking if he had eaten or would like a drink. Her sudden nearness pulled him away from the documents and his head jerked up to look straight into her bright eyes from inches away. A slow smile crept over her full lips as she saw his tongue flicker across his dry mouth and she was fascinated by the shift in the blue of his eyes. She noticed a dark shadow run across the back of his pupil and then he said simply, "hello".