Access Granted (2 page)

Chapter Two

The second she kicked the four inch heels off her worn-out, swollen feet, Sabrina Watley sighed. The thick cream-colored living room carpet eased between her toes.  Walking across the carpet, she collapsed on the huge dark brown sectional couch and sent up a silent prayer of thanks her day was finally over. Unbuttoning the two buttons on her dark pink jacket, Sabrina took it off then tossed it into the chair across from her.

Next, she worked on removing the hairpins from her hair, flinging them down on the table. Several times she had thought about cutting off the mass of hair because it was such a hassle to take care of but in the end she always changed her mind.

Lying back on the cushion, Sabrina threw her arm across her eyes and tried to relax her tired aching muscles. What she wouldn’t give for a good massage. Every inch of her body hurt beginning at her eyelids and working its way down to the bottom of her feet.

Why did she let Brent talk her into going out with him after work? Instead of making a trip to the local pool hall and then getting dragged to a dance club, she should have told him no and came straight home, but she hadn’t wanted to run into Zander. He was the main reason she’d decided to spend some extra time with Brent tonight.

Brent was a good friend to her and there wasn’t
ever
going to anything deeper between them. No matter how hard he pushed, Brent wouldn’t ever be spending a night in her bed. She was still mourning the death of her brother Avery. Getting into a relationship wasn’t something she could think about doing at the moment, not with Brent or anyone else for that matter.

Her big brother’s shoulder was the one she’d cried on when their father died suddenly from an aneurysm two days before her sixteenth birthday. Avery had been the best older brother a girl could have asked for and now he was gone forever. He wasn’t ever coming back and the thought of never seeing him again killed a part of her that Sabrina wasn’t sure she would ever get back.

Why hadn’t he listened to her when she warned him about his racing obsession? Avery loved living on the edge and he was dead because of it. She knew why her stubborn brother hadn’t taken heed to the warnings from his friends and family. Avery Watley didn’t like being told what to do when it came to his new hobby.

It was like all of their warnings went in one ear and right out the other. The last ditch effort came from their mother who begged him to stop, but not even her pleas made any difference to him.

God, even Zander, his best friend and business partner, couldn’t talk him out of racing. Thinking about Zander, Sabrina’s heart sped up. He was a constant diversion anytime he came within touching distance of her body.

He was the
sexiest
man she had ever laid her eyes on.  Dropping her arm down on the couch next to her side, Sabrina blew out a deep breath as she tried to get Zander out of her thoughts, but it was too late. He was there now and the stubborn asshole wasn’t about to go anywhere anytime soon.

Zander would be haunting her every waking thought if she hadn’t purposely been avoiding him for the past two weeks. Anytime he was around her she didn’t know to act. Her body got all hot and sweaty; it was like she couldn’t help her attraction to him. Today, she’d been thrilled that she might actually get a break from all of his hotness until Zander made an unexpected appearance at the courthouse.

She had come out of the courtroom for a quick lunch break and found Zander standing there waiting for her in the hallway. At first, she hadn’t even noticed him because she was hunting through her purse for her car keys.  It seemed like they had a bad habit of hanging out in the very bottom.

If Zander hadn’t stepped in front of her path, she would have walked right past him because her mind was in a totally different world.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Sabrina apologized when she ran into someone and they grabbed her by the arms. “I should have been looking where I was going.” She glanced up and found him standing there. “Zander, what are you doing here?”

“Hi, beautiful,” Zander said, smiling down at her from his impressive height showing off his perfect white teeth. “I need a date for Sahara’s CD launch party tonight. What time do you want me to pick you up?”

His thumbs made lazy circles on her bare arms, sending the familiar pool of moisture rushing into her panties. People rushed past them in the courthouse’s hallway, but Sabrina couldn’t drag her attention from Zander and the sound of his rich, alluring voice.

Sabrina didn’t understand her strong pull towards Zander. Never in her life had any man turned her on so much from an innocent touch. All he had to do was stand in front of her and she wanted him with a longing that scared the hell out of her.

“You smell delicious,” his rich voice complimented as Zander tugged her closer to his hard body.

Her eyes widened from Zander’s comment. Could he actually smell her desire for him? She shook the sudden thought from her head. Of course not, that was a crazy thought. Why would she even think something so stupid?

“Umm...thank you. It’s my new perfume called
Provocative
. I bought a new bottle yesterday,” Sabrina answered, softly. She tried to move away but Zander only tightened his hold slightly making it impossible for her to go anywhere.

The grin on his handsome face spread even further if that was possible and his eyes seemed to grow a shade darker. As much as she wanted to, Sabrina couldn’t look away from Zander. He seemed to be drawing her into him with his beautiful eyes.

“Sabrina, I wasn’t talking about your perfume,” Zander said, shocking her as he drew her even closer to him. “I do know the difference. What time should I pick you up for our date tonight?”

Pick her up? What was Zander talking about?

“Why do you want to pick me up?” For the life of her, Sabrina couldn’t even remember anything Zander told her before he made the comment about her scent.

How did he expect her to stay focused after something like that?

“Remember, I told you that I wanted you to be my date for Sahara’s party. How about we get something to eat first and then sneak into the party? I don’t think Jax will care if we are a little late. He’s so in love with Sahara that he most likely won’t leave her side at all during the party.”

Date! Zander wanted her to go on a date with him? She couldn’t go out with him. Not now...not ever. They didn’t have that kind of relationship. He was like her adoptive brother or something.

Keep telling yourself that lie
, her mind taunted at her.

“Zander, I can’t be your date,” Sabrina said, clearly surprised that Zander had even asked her. He knew how she felt about them dating. It was
never
going to happen.

“Why in the hell can’t you?” Zander demanded as he let go of her arms and took a step back to glare at her. “What other plans do you have that I don’t know about? Tell me.”

As their eyes met, Sabrina felt a shock run through the entire length of her body at the spark in his eyes. Honestly, she had never seen Zander’s eyes look so
alive
before.

She knew better than to tell him she already had plans with Brent tonight. The first time Zander had accidentally met Brent it hadn’t turned out very good for him.  They were like oil and water. They didn’t mix well with each other.

“I already have plans with someone tonight,” she answered, hoping that Zander would drop it. “I’m sorry, but I’m sure you won’t have a problem getting another date. You’re a very good-looking guy. Without a doubt, there are probably a line of women just waiting for you to call them.”

Zander stiffened as though she had struck him. “Cancel the date,” he whispered in a low voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

Sabrina stared at Zander in complete and utter astonishment. She couldn’t believe what she just heard come out of his mouth. She wasn’t about to cancel her date with Brent or anyone else. He didn’t have any power over her love life. Who she dated wasn’t any of his damn business!

Why did he even think it was?

“Stop demanding that I do things because you know every time you get all controlling on me, I’ll do the exact opposite. I know how to live my life, Zander Irizarry, without you interfering.  I swear you’re worse than Avery.”

A sudden light smoldered in Zander’s blue gray-eyes. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, only to be replaced by a lethal calmness that made Sabrina swallow hard. She knew Zander would never harm her but he was scaring her a tiny bit.

However, she had seen firsthand how hard it was for him to keep his temper in check.  Zander was a man who liked to get his way no matter what the situation might be.

“I’m not going to tell you again about comparing me to Avery,” Zander warned softly. “I’m not related to you at all. I will never be a brother to you, Sabrina. Stop trying to use me as a replacement for Avery in your life. We will never have that kind of relationship. I won’t ever think of you as my little or adoptive sister.”

Sabrina didn’t miss the lingering threat in his tone. Zander didn’t want to be considered like a foster brother to her.
Why not
?  She respected him as much as she had her brother and that was a compliment. There weren’t many men she regarded as highly as she had Avery.

“Why not?” she questioned, utterly confused. “It’s a compliment to you on every level I can think of. You know how much I loved the close relationship I shared with my brother.”

“You should have been close to Avery because he was your brother, but I’m not. Nor will I ever allow you to place me in that category anymore. So, cancel your date and come with me to Sahara’s party,” Zander told her again in a calmer voice. “I promise you will have a better time with me anyway. I can offer you more than you could possibly imagine in your wildest dreams. All you have to do is give me a chance.”

“No.” Her answer was swift and final.

Zander slowly kept coming towards her until he was in her personal space making sure not an inch separated them. The warm inviting heat from his tall, well-muscled body wrapped them up into their own personal bubble.

“Brent isn’t the man for you. Stop leading him on before I have to take matters into my own hands,” he warned her. “We both know you’ve belonged with me from the moment I met you. You always have and you always will. I’m not about to allow someone like your weak friend steal you away from me.”

Sabrina’s mouth fell open in shock from Zander’s arrogance. How in the hell did Zander know her date was with Brent? She’d never mentioned his name...not once. Sometimes it was frightening the way he could read her thoughts before the words left her mouth.

How could a man do something like that
?

“Why do you think my date is with Brent?” she questioned, wondering what his answer was going to be. “I could be going out with someone else for all you know.”

Zander gave her a slow secretive smile like he knew something she didn’t. “Your date is with Brent,” he said with utter confidence in his voice. “I thought after our confrontation in Avery’s office that he might have learned his lesson, but I can see I was mistaken. I need to find Brent and get my point across to him better than I did before. He seems to have a hard time understanding to stay from what is mine.”

Sabrina’s heart jumped in the middle of her chest at Zander’s possessive tone, but she pushed the emotion away.  Zander was her brother’s best friend and she cared about him dearly. She didn’t want to mess up their closeness by smearing the lines of their friendship with a romance and sex. She wasn’t going to allow it to happen. Zander would get upset with her or maybe even be pissed off for a while, but in the end he would see it her way.

“I really need to leave. I’m running late for lunch. Have a great time at Sahara’s party; also tell her I said congratulations.” Sabrina tried to walk around Zander’s towering frame, but his hand shot out stopping her.

Her pulse jumped at Zander’s sudden touch. She glanced down at the tanned long fingers wrapped around her upper arm.  He applied enough pressure to stop her from leaving, but not enough to hurt her.

What was going on with him? Why was he so keen on keeping her here?

“This will be the last time I’m going allow you to go out on a date with your
friend
Brent. He isn’t going to come between us. He isn’t the man you are destined to spend the rest of your life with.” She felt his warm breath against the side of her ear.

How dare Zander tell her who she could and couldn’t be friends with? She could go out on a date with Brent three hundred and sixty five days out of the year if she wanted. He had no control over her and anyone else in her life.

Just as she about to tell Zander what she thought of his rules a voice interrupted them.

“Ms. Watley, is there a problem?  Do you need some help with this man?”

Glancing to her side, Sabrina spotted Sean Dexter, a sheriff’s deputy from the courtroom she worked in making a beeline towards her. She knew he wanted more than a professional relationship with her but he wasn’t her type.

Sean spent way too much time checking himself out in the mirror and flirting with every single woman that crossed across his path for her ever to take him seriously. He was a playboy in every sense of the word which meant he would
never
see her outside of these four walls.

“No, Sabrina is just fine,” Zander answered as he let go of her arm and faced Sean. “She doesn’t need your help, especially when she’s with me. I have more than enough skill to protect her.”

Sabrina wondered when Zander was going to realize that she could actually speak for herself. Sean was her problem, not his.

“How about you let Sabrina tell me that, sir?” Sean tossed back, looking around Zander to her. “If I’m not mistaken, I was addressing her and not you. How do I know you aren’t harassing our court reporter?”

The tension in the hallway was so thick Sabrina felt like she was going to pass out from it. Zander wasn’t the type to back down from a fight which meant she had to put a stop to this disagreement before it escalated any further.