Love me if you dare Read online

  Elaine snorted and Shona gripped her hands on her lap. Her eyes rose to Nicolas.

  “I had … hoped she would be here. How is she? Is she coping? Have all the board members accepted her?

  “She is more than fine, and those old coots are already eating out of her hands. You probably don’t even know this, but she is now managing the ProcMerge Southern Hemisphere division from here; The Company she is a partner in. All the work seems to energize her.”

  “Then she takes more after her father than he could ever have hoped for. Does that mean she is back permanently?” Hope was evident in Shona’s soft voice.

  “It seems so. All her things were delivered here.”

  Elaine was livid. If they did not stop singing her praises, she was going to scream. She was hardly back and all they could talk about was Samantha, Samantha, Samantha!

  “Well, let us hope her string of lovers is not going to walk holes in your carpets.”

  “Elaine! That was uncalled for.”

  “Was it Mother? We were all witness to how she … enjoyed men and that she was not very particular in the choosing either!”

  Nicolas growled and wanted to strangle her. “That is enough. If you have nothing good to say about your sister, rather keep quiet. I for one do not wish to be reminded of that day.”

  “Oh please! Don’t tell me she has you wrapped around her little finger as well? You were there Nicolas, you saw her, the satiated rapture of what she just did on her face! And she had no regrets, no matter how much it destroyed us. Why would it bother you?”

  “Because when I look at her, I see only what she has become and what she could be for …” he hesitated and frowned at Elaine. “How do you know what she looked like when we found her? It was only Alexander and I.”

  She paled and stuttered, “Dad … must have told me.” Nicolas looked at her so sharply she squirmed under his direct stare.

  “Somehow I doubt it very much that your father would have noticed that much, he was too angry. I also find it very hard to believe that he ever told anybody about how we found her.”

  Both Shona and Nicolas now stared at her, awaiting an explanation, but she huffed and nearly shouted at them, “I am not the slut who destroyed our family! Why am I the one under crossfire?”

  Nicolas pinned her down with an icy glare, his voice hard as steel. “Call her a slut one more time, and I will not be responsible for my actions. Is that clear Elaine?”

  She nodded angrily, whereby Nicolas ignored her flatly thereafter, and was glad when they left not long afterwards.

  Somehow Elaine seemed to be very knowledgeable on what occurred the night of Samantha’s’ twenty first birthday. He would place his head on a block that the knowledge did not come from Alexander. One way or the other, he was going to find out the truth.

  Samantha spend the day at her office at ProcMerge finalizing some planning and strategies Charles and her discussed earlier in the week. When her phone rang she wearily glanced at it, expecting to see Nicolas’s name flash at her, but it was Charles and she smiled. She actually missed him. They were a good team and worked well together, but he was also a good friend.

  “Hi, Big C! I did not expect to hear from you so soon.” His short laugh sounded warm and rich in her ear.

  “Hi Sam. Just thought to catch up before your week starts. I realize you are quite busy having to deal with two jobs, so perhaps we should make a definite Skype meeting weekly whereby we can catch up?”

  “I agree. I have decided to spend every Tuesday and Thursday at ProcMerge, I just need to discuss it with Nicolas. How did the negotiations with Plasticor go?

  They chatted for another thirty minutes finalizing decisions on their strategy and agreeing on their Skype meeting time, which Samantha scheduled in their calendars immediately. She incorporated some of the changes they discussed and by the time she was finished, her stomach growled loudly. With a start she realized that it was already after six, and the last time she ate was at breakfast.

  She packed up, neatened her desk and by the time she drove out of the parking garage it was already nearly seven. Hopefully there were some leftovers from lunch at home, she was starving!

  She made the trip in record time, walked straight to the kitchen and praised Mary for leaving her a heaped plate of food in the microwave. She heated it and sat at the kitchen table eating when Nicolas walked in. She had just stuffed her mouth full and could only grin at him, noticing his tightly pressed lips in passing and sighed softly.

  She swallowed slowly, took a sip of soda and smiled at him. “Please do not start fighting with me again. I really am tired. I only want to enjoy the food and then soak in a long bubble bath.” His eyes lit up.

  “May I join you?” She pretended to misunderstand and gestured to the chair across from her. “Please do.” At which Nicolas burst out laughing, causing a blush to creep up over her cheeks.

  He pulled a soda can from the fridge, opened it and took a swig as he sat down, still grinning at her.

  “So, is this invitation extended to joining you in your bubble bath as well? Which you very well are aware is what I asked in the first place.” Devilry danced in his eyes and she shook her head at him, but continued eating.

  “Pity. I am quite good at washing backs.”

  “Really? By whose estimation?”

  “Oh, you know, all those hundreds of females you seem to think lust after me.” She colored again but refrained from commenting. She took her plate and rinsed it before placing it in the dishwasher.

  “We never finished our conversation this morning.” She gripped the edge of the sink and sighed heavily. Clearly it was too much to hope for that he would let sleeping dogs lie.

  “Nor are we going to now. I do not have the energy now, Nicolas.”

  He got up from his chair and walked slowly towards her, turning her around when he reached her. He slowly stroked her hair from her face and circled her face with his palms, lifting it so she had to look at him.

  Her hands rose automatically to grip his forearms. The look in his eyes confused her. It was warm, tender and … loving. She swallowed and the heat from his hands around her face fused with the pulsing of her blood through her veins.

  “Nicolas, please don’t. I can’t deal with this now. You can’t just say things and look at me like … like …”

  “Like what?” Her eyes searched his, but she refused to continue. His attitude tonight perplexed her. She watched his head lower and his warm lips caressed softly over hers, gently exploring the edges of her lips with his tongue, to sweep past her lips to engage with hers in a dance of passion. The kiss was sweet, tender, passionate and so loving she wanted to cry. It was as if he treasured her with his kiss.

  He lifted his head and his eyes burned into hers. “One thing I want to make very clear to you, Samantha, is that I do not want a fling from you. A few romps between the sheets will not satisfy this yearning I have for you in my body, my soul and I want more, much … much more.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I want you to come with me on this trip, Samantha. It is the ideal opportunity to meet the Exco team in Cape Town, and besides, as COO you will play an integral part in the project set up and choosing the best team to run with it. This could mean even further expansion for us into Namibia”

  Nicolas leaned back in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him, and his hands clasped behind his neck. He appeared a lot more relaxed than he actually was. His body was wired tight, he was always aroused when Samantha were near and knew that the game he allowed her to play had to come to an end … and soon. Else he might just grab and ravish her, with or without her consent!

  Samantha knew the relaxed stance was a front and that his body was as taut as a stretched wire. She felt it every morning and evening when he pulled her close to kiss her passionately. His sexual frustration was intensifying and for that matter, so were hers, yet she still battled to just give in and jump into his bed. The past two months in such c
lose proximity to him, had been torture.

  She sighed and met his eyes pleadingly. “Nico, please understand. Charles will be here next week and it will be our first shareholders meeting with the Southern Hemisphere since we split the responsibilities.”

  He sat up, his hands slammed down on his desk and he glared at her, ignoring the warmth that flooded his heart at the shortened name she used to call him years ago. “I told you if your responsibilities with ProcMerge interfere with your performance here, it will have to stop.”

  “Are you claiming that there is a problem with my performance?” He refused to answer, but stared at her stonily and she continued, “Apart from not being able to join you on this trip, which we both know is not detrimental to the success of the trip, or me getting on top of running the project soon enough? Even if it means I have to take a trip to Cape Town a few weeks from now? What is really the issue?”

  He stared at her, heated emotions running through his mind. The he recalled what she had said and a frown slashed into his forehead.

  “When is Jones coming?’

  “He is arriving on Wednesday.”

  “After I have left, very convenient!” he barked and scowled at her.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Is he going to stay at the Ranch?”

  “No! This is a business trip, Nicolas, and we are Business Partners!” She was amazed at his assumption.

  “I don’t like you being alone with that man. I do not trust him!” His eyes bored into hers as if he tried to see inside her soul.

  She sighed, her heart fluttering at his possessiveness. The sensual dance they have played with each other over the past two months had strengthened the bond between them and she accepted that she would be his eventually. Maybe it was time to show him she wanted him too.

  “Do you trust me?” His gaze softened, yet his mouth remained pressed in a tight line. Hell, what a question! Even though she accepted his kisses every time and even returned them just as passionately, she has never taken any initiative, showing him that she wanted him too.

  She rose and went to stand behind his chair, her arms folding around him from behind, to lightly caress his bulging chest. His breath caught in his throat and he nearly choked. Good Lord! She wanted to kill him! When her warm breath caressed his ear, just before her lips closed around the earlobe, all the blood in his body rushed south and his shaft were immediately fully aroused.

  “This is a business trip, Nico, and he is my business partner. We are also very good friends, but that is all it ever was and all it will ever be.” Her roaming hands stroked lightly over his nipples and he could take no more.

  He grabbed her hands and lifted them slightly to allow him to turn his chair, pulling her around at the same time to haul her onto his lap. Before she even settled his lips were on hers, slanting over hers, driving his tongue deep, deeper, devouring her and when she brought her tongue into play to spar with and stroke his, he growled.

  His one hand lowered to knead her buttocks and the other slowly stroked the outside of her thigh, over her waist to close around her breast, which had already shriveled in anticipation. She moaned into his mouth when his fingers closed over her distended nipple and he stroked, kneaded, twisted and pulled mercilessly at first the one and then the other. Heat curled through her veins, setting her blood to boil and she was ready to explode. Never had his kisses and caresses been this passionate, this heated … this wild.

  His lips left hers to softly trail down her neck to kiss the rapidly pulsing vein at the base. The soft mewling sound that escaped her lips increased his desire and his arousal swelled even more. He pressed upwards against her bottom and she gasped, “Nicolas!”

  A soft, sexy laugh exploded from him. “Well, what did you expect, Samantha? You can’t seduce me in my office chair and not expect to arouse me.”

  He pushed hard up against her again and had to bite his lip at the agony of the restriction the office offered to what he wanted to do with her right at this moment.

  Her breathing was haggard and turned even more so with every upward thrust of his big and hard arousal she could feel pressed against her soft buttocks. When his hand pushed up below her blouse she shuddered in desire and need to feel his touch against her naked breast, but reason prevailed and she locked her hands over his hand, her eyes wild and smoky with desire when she gazed into his.

  “Stop, we can’t … please!” He growled and buried his face in her neck, then lifted his head to look deep into her eyes, his voice hoarse.

  “When? Good God, Samantha, I can’t stand much more of this! I am in a constant state of semi arousal, sometimes full arousal. Damn it Woman! I am in pain! You have to … give me … something!”

  His arms clamped her and he kissed her hard, but briefly and then pushed her off his lap, gulping in deep breaths. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and grasped his head between his hands. Playing the gentleman by allowing her to set the pace was killing him, but it was over … he could take no more!

  Samantha walked around the desk, tugging her blouse back in her skirt, struggling just as much as he did to get her desire under control. This was crazy; she should never have done this. Now he would be merciless in slicing through her defenses. This time she was the instigator and fueled his fire, and she knew he would not tolerate her hiding her true desires from him again. She glanced back at him and faltered when his eyes glowed like two globes of fire at her.

  “Samantha, when I return from Cape Town …”

  “Why do you always call me Samantha? Everyone else call me Sam or Sammy.” He sighed at her untimely interruption.

  “Because it is your name, and to me you are not a Sam – whom would indicate you are mannish, nor a Sammy – whom would indicate you are a young girl, which is one way I would never think of you! Samantha is you - beautiful, sexy, wanton and passionate; all woman.” She blushed at the deep emotion in his voice, her gaze caught by his, refusing to release her.

  “No more hiding, Samantha, no more running away. When I am back our relationship will take another direction. You just proved to me how much you want and desire me, and I will not move backward or sideways. Now, there is only forward!”

  Over the next few days leading up to his trip to Cape Town, Nicolas kept his distance from Samantha. The emotions were running too high between them and he had no intention of taking their relationship to the next level and leave for a week and a half. A week and a half would give her more than enough time to build her defenses and him, having to break them down from the start upon his return.

  He even refrained from the morning and evening kisses that had become the norm since her second week at the Ranch. Samantha missed those the most. It had become like a sustenance that she needed to start her days with, to slip into a deep sleep at night.

  She trotted downstairs barefoot dressed in a satin dressing gown pulled over her usual sleepwear of jockey top and shorts. She yawned and threw her hair over her shoulder as she walked onto the patio for breakfast, her steps faltering when her gaze were immediately caught by Nicolas’s hot eyes.

  His eyes slowly moved downwards, his hands fisting where it rested on the table as his eyes took in the enticing flesh peeking through the open dressing gown. Her breasts pushed against the tight top, the nipples shriveling and tightening under his stare. He salivated at the sight, desperation flowing through him to taste her soft eager breasts in his mouth again. He noticed her tight, sculptured stomach and down to where it softened, gently curved to the flat plane leading to the juncture of her legs.

  His gaze put Samantha’s blood to boil and she pulled the gown close against his further invasion. He closed his eyes and his soft curse shattered the silence around him. She sat down with her breakfast she just dished up, taking a few sips of her strong, hot coffee, willing her traitorous body to cool down. He had such an effect on her with only a gaze, what would he do to her if he really got her into his bed?

  She felt his eyes on her
again and glanced at him. He smiled wryly. “It is getting harder and harder, isn’t it?” He didn’t expect her to answer, but was satisfied with the pink flush spreading over her cheeks.

  “This is quite late for you, isn’t it? You are usually at work by now.”

  “And I thought you had already left?”

  He laughed at her sulking reply. “Do you really think I would have left without saying goodbye?”

  “You haven’t bothered for the past few days.”

  His smile widened. So his gamble had paid off. She missed his kisses!

  “After what happened in my office I had to keep my hands off you. When we take our relationship to the next level, a week of interrupted presence would be detrimental to cementing it. No, my baby, when I make you mine, I need enough time to ensure you feel you’re mine and not believe it is just a fling.”

  Mary arrived and put an end to the discussion and Samantha sighed in relief. Mary clucked like a mother around Nicolas and Samantha smiled at his tolerant replies to her questions.

  “Yes, Mary, I packed enough socks and handkerchiefs.”

  “Don’t worry, Mary, there is a laundry service at the hotel that can iron my shirts if it is necessary.”

  She cleared the dishes and hurried back inside, Samantha’s heart tightened at the indulgent smile on his mouth as he watched her leave. Suddenly his eyes smiled at her.

  “Will you worry about me too, I wonder?” Samantha smirked.

  “Hardly, you are a big boy and I am sure you can look after yourself.” His smile widened.

  “Will you miss me?” Her eyebrows lifted sardonically.

  “Miss you? Not likely. At long last I will have some peace and quiet!” He laughed at her.

  “And what if I take a busty blond to my bed while I am there?"

  Her eyes darkened and her mouth tightened. “That is not funny, Nicolas and the type of joke I do not appreciate. Do not play with me.” His heart soared at her passionate response.