Love me if you dare Read online

  Her hand rose to the loose knot at the nape of her neck and she gaped at him. “You don’t like it? Take it down? Since when do you have the right to tell me how to wear my hair!

  Before he could answer Gertrude knocked briefly on the door and entered with the tray of coffee and biscuits.

  “Mmmm … Gertrude, that smells wonderful. Thank you.”

  “Gertrude, please arrange for an early meeting with all the Executives, no excuses please, then senior managers, them Departments, and so on. I’d like to introduce Samantha properly into the business before the end of day.”

  “Oh, this is going to be a very interesting day! I can just imagine some of those old coots’ reaction when you introduce her to them.”

  “Yes, I can’t wait. It will be interesting to see how she handles them. It will make for some interesting and fun days.”

  “And how! There is going to be big changes! Don’t imagine there will be dull moments around here ever again. She has always been a real spitfire and cheeky, even when she was young.”

  “I daresay not much have changed then. Do you think she will survive the first week, though?”

  “Oh, for sure. If nothing else, she’s got spunk. She’ll hang in there even if it kills her!”

  Samantha slammed her fist on the table and glared at them.

  “I’ll thank the both of you to stop discussing me as if I am not even here!”

  “She’s got spunk, all right…”

  “Nicolas Forrester!”

  He grinned, walked over to his desk and pulled his laptop from his bag and placed it on the shiny glass surface of his desk. Gertrude left and closed the door behind her. They watched her go before Nicolas turned back to Samantha.

  “I thought it a good idea as part of the introduction we talk to the staff and ensure them nothing is about to change. There are rumors that we intend taking out the old, to bring in the new.”

  “Whatever gave them that idea?”

  “I suppose it is a natural reaction, however I believe Elaine had a hand in it. She resigned three weeks ago, just walked out … will you do the honors or shall I?”

  She frowned up at him, only then realizing he was referring to the coffee. Before she could get up, he stood up. “Never mind, I’ll do it.”

  She stared at him in amazement pouring the coffee, as if it was the most natural thing for a man and a CEO to be doing. Without asking he added cream and a spoon of sugar to each cup. He handed hers over.

  She took one of the biscuits from the plate and bit into it. She realized after a while that he was watching her broodingly, his eyes locked on her lips.

  “You have crumbs on your lips.”

  Without thinking she ran her tongue over her bottom lip and his eyes hungrily followed it. Her stomach tightened at the look in his eyes, amazed at the electricity between them. There was no ways they could live together!

  As if reading her mind he demanded. “When are you moving in with me?”

  “I am not moving in with you! We will only be sharing a very large house … and be assured, that is the only thing we will be sharing … the house!”

  “Of course, only the house.”

  Gertrude stuck her head around the door informing them that the Executives will be ready in half an hour. Nicolas acknowledged her with a nod, his eyes still fixed on Samantha.

  “So, when are you moving in?”

  She sighed. “Now is not the time to talk about it.”

  “When?”

  “Tonight! Now are you satisfied?”

  “Shall we go?” A satisfied smirk played around his mouth and she wanted to slap it off his face all the way to Alaska!

  Chapter Seven

  Nicolas slammed his cell phone down on the dining room table for the umpteenth time. It was after eight already and Samantha still have not arrived. His mouth tightened in a grim line. The phone rang and her name flashed on the screen.

  “It’s about time! Where are you? I am getting worried.” There was a long moment of silence and he gritted his teeth.

  “My stuff is on its way and should arrive any time now. I am sorry, but something has come up that I have to deal with on …”

  “Where are you Samantha?” His voice was ominously quiet and she sighed heavily.

  “Nicolas, you are not my keeper nor do I have to inform you of my movements. Suffice it to say, I will not be moving in just yet. I will appreciate it if you can oversee the offloading of my stuff. It is mainly boxes, but some of them have valuables in them.”

  He heard someone call her name in the background, inciting his anger higher.

  “Again I ask where are you, Samantha?”

  “I am at ProcMerge. There is a crisis here that I have to resolve and …” Again her name was heard. “I am sorry Nicolas, I have to go. I will see you at the office in the morning.” And the phone went dead in his ear.

  He sat fuming. He had been looking forward to her moving in with him here at the ranch the whole day. He moved in after he returned from his quick trip to New York and was extremely frustrated that she procrastinated from her side.

  Mary, the housekeeper came bustling through the door, a frown pinching her brow. “There is a man at the door claiming he is delivering Miss DuPont’s goods. This time of night?”

  Nicolas rose and strode past her towards the door. “Samantha just phoned to tell me they were on their way. It is apparently only boxes, so it would probably be best to have them pack it in the spare room on this floor.”

  He was more relaxed after talking to her and overseeing her possessions being stored. At least it was proof that she had every intention of moving here … even though she delayed the actuality there off once again.

  By Friday afternoon Nicolas was not so sure the move was ever going to happen. Samantha went directly to ProcMerge every afternoon to spend another three to four hours to finalize the business strategy required for a prominent client of theirs. He could not even complain that because of her working such long hours she was slacking at Global. She seemed to be energized and excited by the pressure of dealing with the combined challenges of the two jobs.

  Mary put the final dish down on the build-in warm plate of the buffet. “I hope you’ll like the sauce of the fish. It is a new recipe I tried out.”

  Nicolas smiled at her. “I am sure it will be delicious, Mary. Everything you prepare is scrumptious!” Mary blushed at the praise and went back to the kitchen, ignoring the blond woman sitting on Nicolas’s lap.

  With a heavy sigh Nicolas pushed Liza off his lap, rose and dished up, watching her dishing up a minuscule amount of food on her plate. Eating alone every night was getting to him. Not that it was something new to him, he had been doing it for years, but since Jason brought the condition up of them having to share this house and live together, he had been looking forward to the companionship … her companionship.

  Inviting Liza to join him for dinner, however was a colossal mistake, which he realized the moment she came through the door. She immediately grabbed him around the neck and kissed him like a long lost lover … which he supposed he was, but he felt not even a small spark of desire when she pushed her tongue against his. He ended the kiss immediately and since then she had been all over him, trying to entice some arousal from him, to no avail.

  He finished his meal in silence not even making any attempt at conversation and just grunted in response to her questions. The moment he pushed his plate back, she jumped up and squeezed onto his lap, her arms around his neck. He pushed the chair back in an attempt to gain some space between them, but that only allowed her the freedom to swing around and straddle him. He sighed intending to push her off and ask her to leave, when she leaned in and kissed him passionately on the lips again.

  He gripped her arms and tried to push her away, but she ground her hips into his groin, desperate to entice arousal from him. Her lips slanted, licked and nibbled at his, all of which left him cold.

  He heard the front door open and
the sound of high heeled footsteps echoed through the wide entrance hall to smack him in the chest.

  “Hi honey … I’m home! Nicolas, honey…” Her voice as clear as the morning sun drifted into the room and her footsteps came closer and slowed slightly just outside the dining room entrance. At last Liza lifted her head, but still sat glued to his hips, her arms tight around his neck.

  He lazed back in his chair, his hands resting casually on Liza’s hips, his eyes trained on the wide arched opening.

  Samantha’s steps faltered when she walked through the arched entrance into the dining room and came face to face with his inscrutable stare. She looked back at him, irritation flashing in her eyes when the blond on his lap curled closer to his chest.

  “Oops … I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t realize you had company. Please, don’t mind me and carry on with … whatever it was you were doing …”

  Liza stiffened at being ignored and Samantha’s endearment for Nicolas grated on her nerves. She jumped up from his lap, and smoothed her short skirt down. Nicolas glared at her with an astonished look on his face. The devil on her shoulder cheered her on when she walked up to him and gave him a soft peck on the cheek.

  “As I said, please don’t let me interrupt, carry on with whatever you were busy with. Er … dare I hope that you saved me some dinner, darling?”

  She innocently glanced at him over her shoulder walking towards the buffet, smiling at his smoldering look.

  “What is the meaning of this? Nicolas, who is this … this woman and what the devil is going on here?”

  “Calm down, Liza, it is not what you think.”

  “Just how is it that you know what she’s thinking, honey?”

  “Samantha I am warning you …”

  “Well, I have never been so humiliated. You might believe in open relationships, but I surely don’t. If you think for one moment I’ll be the third wheel around you are sadly mistaken, Nicolas Forrester! I am leaving!”

  “Liza, don’t be so hasty. Let me explain.”

  “Forget it Nicolas. She grabbed her bag and stormed around the table nearly knocking Samantha over in her haste. She slammed the door so hard behind her, Samantha flinched.

  “Phew … I sincerely hope not all your lady friends are so bad tempered.”

  “You haven’t seen the beginning of bad temper, woman.” Nicolas growled at her and she wisely decided to stop taunting him.

  She took a deep calming breath and glanced at the buffet behind her, forcing her emotions under control. She refused to allow his stare to upset her. She opted to ignore it and turned to humor.

  “Something smells wonderful. Now I understand why you are so eager to rush home at night.”

  Still not looking at him she dropped her handbag and laptop bag on one of the chairs and turned to the buffet to dish up. Glancing at the still motionless man over her shoulder, she said with a small smile, “Please you don’t have to entertain me. Hmmm … this sauce smells divine!”

  “Seeing as you got rid of my … entertainment so eloquently, I think I’ll stick around, thank you. Would you like some wine?”

  The question rasped roughly from his throat. He clearly did not appreciate her ignoring him or not reacting the way he expected her to and she hid a small smile.

  “That would be lovely, thank you.” She turned and took a place on his left side, glad she remembered to bring utensils with from the buffet.

  “Is white fine?”

  “Yes, but only a small glass please.” He placed the glass in front of her and leaned down to place a whisper of a kiss on her cheek.

  “Welcome home … it is about time!”

  She froze and forced her traitorous body to calm down, the tingling on her cheek a continued reminder of the soft and fleeting caress of his warm lips. She took a deep breath and met his eyes when he settled back in his chair.

  “As long as you remember it is the house we share … nothing more!”

  His eyes blazed molten fire at her, slid down to hesitate on her full lips before he caught her gaze again, a sensual smile on his lips.

  “Oh, I will remember, darling … the question is, will you?” Her eyes flashed angrily at him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We both know how you react to my kisses … and there is still the promise I made to you …”

  “I am warning you, Nicolas, if you do …”

  He smirked at her. “Besides you will have to bear the consequence of your actions. You got rid of Liza … you will have to stand in for her.” She gaped at him and his smiled broadened, “Eat Samantha, your food is getting cold.”

  She shut her mouth with a huff and attacked her food with vigor, ignoring his soft chuckle mumbling to herself, “Not that you seemed at all upset about her leaving.”

  He of course heard her and laughed. “No, I am not, but she would have scratched the itc …”

  “Nicolas Forrester!” He burst out laughing and changed the topic, a smile playing around his lips the whole time.

  Later, after what turned out to be a pleasant dinner, Nicolas unloaded Samantha’s luggage from her snazzy SUV, grumbling as he lugged yet two more suitcases up the stairs to her room, which he had decided was to be the one next to his with an interconnecting door.

  “Heaven alone knows what females need this many clothes for!”

  Samantha giggled. “Stop complaining Nicolas, this is all my stuff; at least the ones that did not come with the boxes. And it is your due … you are the one that forced me to move back here.”

  “You could have brought one or two suitcases worth of clothes and bought new ones here.” Her eyes flared indignantly at that.

  “What! Do you have any idea how many Gucci, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Christiaan Dior, Armani, Galiano, Vercase, Stella McCartney’s are in those suitcases? And even more designers’ items that are not even available here in South Africa! No, my love, you will have to grin and bear it. Or are those muscles in your arms only for show … no power below the appea … eeeehhh”

  Her tirade ended in a shriek when those muscled arms she was busy belittling grabbed her around her waist from behind and lifted her effortlessly high in the air. She twisted her neck to order him to put her down when he suddenly bit down sharply on her bum. The temptation of her sweetly rounded behind in front of his face too much to resist. She shrieked and slapped at his hands around her waist.

  “Your fiend! Put me down this instant!”

  He lowered her immediately, but so slowly she wanted to scream. His hot breath and tantalizing lips tortured her through the thin silk blouse all the way up her back to lazily caress and kiss the sensitive area at the base of her neck. He was now holding her tight against him with his one arm clasped around her waist, the other caressingly roaming up her arm, her feet still dangling in the air. His hard and fully aroused body pressed into her soft curves.

  Heat swirled inside her and when he stroked the tip of his fingers over her nipple as softly as a butterfly’s touch, her nipple shriveled immediately into a hard nub and liquid heat rushed straight to her core. Her breath caught and she bit back the moan just before it exploded from her lips. The next moment she was standing by herself and felt bereft without his heat and hard strength around her. Her passion induced mind took a moment to realize that the hurrying footsteps Nicolas must have heard, but she surely did not, had come to a stop behind them. She took a deep breath to bring her traitorous body under control.

  “Nicolas, Sam, is everything alright? I thought I heard a scream.” Her concerned eyes swung from the one strained body to the next. Samantha cleared her throat and turned to face the anxious Mary, but her gaze was caught by eyes that smoldered so much heat at her, she nearly melted. Then he smiled, turned and grabbed the suitcases in his hands.

  “Of course we are, Mary. Samantha demanded I demonstrate the power of my muscles, and I was only too happy to oblige.” She sputtered indignantly but he laughed and easily ran upstairs with the two massive suitcases as if
they were lightweights.

  “Show off.” She grumbled which only served to increase his laughter and Mary to smile broadly.

  Nicolas was already in bed reading a sales report, anticipating Samantha’s blow up any moment. He didn’t have long to wait and smiled broadly listening to her ranting at Mary.

  “Who gave him the right to decide which room I stay in? I am going to stay in my room and that is the end of it!”

  “But Sammy, Nicolas is correct. That room is too small for you and was suitable when you were a child, but this room is airy, has its own balcony and a small alcove with reading chairs. You know how you like to read.” Mary tried her best to console Samantha.

  They passed his door and he heard the door next to his open and the sliver of light under the interconnecting door told him she had switched on the light. He knew what she would see. He had the room redecorated and he prayed she would like it.

  Samantha stopped just inside the door. Her eyes scanned the room in amazement. Everything was new; from the heavy oak sleigh bed to the dressing table with its three-way split mirrors. Two plush white arm chairs with a small oak table in between sat in the alcove giving an inviting and cozy look. A narrow writing desk with a white chair rounded off the picture. There was a small lamp, with a white shade and similar but bigger lamps on the bedside tables, which casted the room in a soft romantic glow. Thick duck feather duvet and cushions were covered in pristine white Egyptian cotton covers, complemented by the flowing white extra-long curtains draping negligently over the floor. A plush deep purple carpet covered the floor, accentuated by the same color scatter cushions on the bed and arm chairs.

  Two big crystal vases filled with white Casablanca lilies finished the breathtaking room. She blinked slowly and released the breath she was holding.

  “Who … who redecorated this room?”

  “Oh, Nicolas did. He did his too, you should see, it complements this one so you won’t believe. As light, airy and romantic as yours are, just as sunny, warm and …” Mary swallowed her words at the look on Samantha’s face when her eyes lit on the interconnecting door. She pointed towards it, her eyes flashing fire.