“But first…” he murmured.
She didn’t resist even though his kiss wasn’t something she wanted, and not because he wasn’t an attractive man. Despite still being angry with Blake for trying to manipulate the situation earlier this evening, she wanted it to be Blake’s lips—and only Blake’s lips—on hers.
Suddenly scared that she might never want another man to kiss her, she raised her mouth to Joel. Perhaps Blake’s attraction for her was merely in her mind? Perhaps she needed to be kissed by another man just to remind her—
“Don’t let me interrupt,” a male voice muttered.
Blake.
Samantha jerked back guiltily and Joel stopped, and they watched their employer stride past them and go inside Pine Lodge. He’d been walking from the direction of Jarrod Manor, where he must have gone after dinner.
“That was good timing,” Joel said, over her thudding heart. Unfortunately her heart’s thud wasn’t for her date. It was for another man.
“Now, where were we?” Joel murmured, lowering his head and placing his lips on hers, making her conscious of one thing. She’d have to stretch her neck higher if it was Blake kissing her.
Blake sat on the couch and tried to get the image of Samantha about to kiss another man out of his head. She’d been swaying toward the doctor like she’d needed a shot in the arm. If she didn’t get inside here pretty damn quick he was going looking for her. On the pretext of her safety, of course. And he was concerned for her safety. That and other things. She was clearly ready to jump into bed with the first man who looked twice at her, and all to get back at him for not letting her walk away from her job. Hell, if he’d agreed to that she would have already gone from his life. His gut twisted at the thought.The front door opened right then and in she walked. His pulse began to race when he saw she was alone.
Good girl.
She seemed distracted as she headed for the stairs, undoing the buttons of her coat as she walked. Then she saw him sitting on the couch and her eyes flared with pleasure before she seemed to catch herself.
For a moment his breath stalled. She’d never shown any sort of emotion toward him before. They got on well together but it had always been business between them. He should be perturbed, yet he knew he could use it to his advantage.
Then her mouth tightened as she came toward him. “Are you waiting up for me?” she said, her tone less than friendly, making him question if it had been a trick of the light before. He mentally shook his head. No, he knew what he’d seen.
“Can’t a man have a drink before bed?” he drawled, relaxing. She was home now…with him…and that’s all that mattered.
Her top lip curled. “You certainly didn’t have to worry about drinking and driving, did you?”
He pretended ignorance. “No, I didn’t.” He indicated another glass of brandy on the coffee table in front of him. “I poured a nightcap for you. Sit with me.”
An odd look skimmed across her face. “Perhaps I’d prefer to go straight to bed.”
If one of his dates had said that he would have taken it as a come-on. But Samantha was a challenge in a different way. Did she know what she was inviting in that dress? Did she have any idea what she actually did to a man’s libido? All at once he was enjoying what he now suspected to be her sexual naïveté.
“One drink,” he coaxed. “And you can tell me all about your evening.”
She paused, then put down her evening purse and began undoing the rest of her coat buttons. Slowly she began taking it off in an unintentional striptease, exposing the sexy pink material beneath. How had he never before noticed what a stunner she was?
She sank down on the opposite chair and gracefully picked up the glass, indicating the already poured brandy. “You were so sure I wouldn’t take Joel up to my room, were you?”
He hadn’t been, no. “Yes.”
She took a sip then considered him. “You certainly tried hard enough to make it not happen.”
“Did I?” He was feeling rather proud of himself for putting obstacles in her way tonight. It must have worked or she wouldn’t be here now. With him.
“You know you did, and I don’t appreciate it. You’re trying to make sure you get every last bit of work out of me before I leave.”
Is that what she thought? “Maybe I was protecting you?”
She gave a short laugh. “From what? Having a good time?”
He looked over at her kissable lips that had recently been beneath another man’s…and something became even more determined inside him. If she was going to have fun, she was going to have it with him.
He forced a shrug. “I just think you need to look at who you go out with in future.”
Her lips twisted. “Thanks for the tip.”
He’d never known her to be sarcastic, not like she was lately. It was…energizing, he admitted, watching as she eased back in her chair, the soft silk stockings making a swishing sound as she crossed her legs. He’d give anything to reach out and smooth those long legs with his hands. Or perhaps his lips…
Before he could put words to action, he told himself he had to slow it down. He didn’t want to frighten the lady by going too quickly. Time was running out but he had to let her lead. Tonight, anyway. Tomorrow—when she was in a friendlier mood—was another day.
He took a sip of his brandy and let it soothe his throat. “So. Did you have a good time tonight?”
Her eyes darted away briefly. “Yes, I did. Very much.”
She was lying. “I bet.”
She arched one of her elegant eyebrows. “I hope you didn’t put much money on that bet, Blake.”
“I didn’t have to.” He knew women, both in the business world and out of it. She was lying. And he was intensely relieved.
A soft smile curved her lips. “Joel really knows how to treat a woman.”
She was still lying. And he found that fascinating. “Sure he knows how to treat a woman. The guy’s a womanizer.”
“I suppose it’s easy enough to recognize one’s own sort.”
He had to chuckle. She made him laugh. Then he saw a touch of real amusement in her eyes and something connected between them. She quickly looked down at her glass, hiding her eyes for a second.
He started to lean forward. “Samantha…”
Her head snapped up. “For your information, Joel’s a very nice man,” she said, making it clear she was trying to ignore the sudden sexual tension in the room.
It was a wasted effort. “I’m sure he is. Ask any woman in Aspen.”
She sent him a defiant look. “Don’t think I wouldn’t go to bed with him if I wanted to, Blake.”
She was all talk, but his gut still knotted at her words. “Obviously you didn’t want to, or you would be in bed with him this very minute. Am I right?”
“No, you’re wrong. I mean, yes… I mean, mind your own business.” Her lips pressed together. “I’ll sleep with whoever I want when I want.”
“You’re being very contradictory tonight, Samantha. They’d eat you alive in the boardroom with that attitude,” he mocked.
She stiffened. “Listen, Blake, I’ll sleep with any man I want when I’m good and ready. Tonight I just wasn’t ready. And in case you didn’t notice, this isn’t the boardroom.”
No, but he did want to eat her alive right now. He wanted to kiss her and take away the imprint of another man’s lips, his hands itching to slide up over her hot dress and lift that hair off her nape himself, exposing the soft skin beneath to his lips.
Adrenaline pumping through him, he knew it was time to take action. He’d had enough playing games tonight. He wasn’t one to sit on the sidelines for long. He needed to know if her lips were as good as they looked, if her body would curve to his touch, if the skin at her nape was soft and sensitive.
Surging to his feet, he removed the brandy glass from her hand and put it on the table. He heard her intake of breath as he pulled her to her feet, but nothing would stop him now. Already he could feel a mutual shudder pass between them.
“Blake?” she said huskily as he brought her into the circle of his arms, leaving mere inches between them. He’d never been this close to her before. Not close enough to see the rush of desire in her blue eyes. It knocked the breath from his body.
And then a sudden flash of panic swept her face and before he knew it, she had pushed against him and spun away. Scurrying toward the stairs, she left him standing there, his arms never feeling as empty as they did right now.
As hard as it was, he let her go. He could follow her and she would take him as her lover, but he knew all he needed to know for the moment. She wanted him. And he wasn’t giving up. His plans for seduction were still very much alive.
Samantha closed the door behind her and pressed herself back against it, willing her racing heart to slow down so that she could let herself think. She’d gone and panicked just now. Blake had finally reached for her and she’d blown it.What was wrong with her! Being in Blake’s arms and in his bed was what she wanted most, wasn’t it? So why had she run away like a frightened deer? He must think her green when it came to relationships, which of course she was. One lover in high school, then falling in love in her mid-twenties, did not constitute experience. Not unless that included the pain of rejection, she decided, quickly pushing that thought away.
Then she knew.
Despite the spark of electricity when he’d grabbed her arm last night, this evening she’d managed to convince herself that his meddling was actually about the job and nothing more. But just now the desire in his eyes had thrown her for a loop again. He really did feel passion for her, and when he’d touched her they’d both felt that zip of attraction. It had overwhelmed her, that’s all.
Oh, Lord, what did she do now? Go back downstairs and beg him to make love to her? She couldn’t. She’d reached the limit to her little seductress act tonight. She didn’t have it in her to face him again so soon.
She took a steadying breath. Right, she’d messed this one up tonight, but something positive had come out of this. She now knew that Blake really did want to have sex with her. So if she wanted Blake, and he wanted her, then next time there should be no further problems.
She hoped.
Four
“Blake, did you get a chance to read those documents I gave you?”
Blake was in a good mood as he leaned back against the marble countertop. It was eight on Sunday morning and one of his younger brothers had come by Pine Lodge to discuss an upcoming project, but it was Samantha who was on his mind. Anticipation coursed through him as he remembered how sexy she had looked last night. Soon she would be his.“Blake?”
Reluctantly he dragged his thoughts away from his assistant who was still upstairs sleeping in her room, to look at the man propped against the kitchen doorjamb. He hid a smile as he raised the coffee mug to his mouth. Gavin may look laidback but he knew it was all a facade. Taking on the job of building a new and exclusive high-security bungalow for Jarrod Ridge meant a lot to his brother.