Heart & Soul: The Meeting (Heartland Series) (3 page)

She had certain rules that she’d lived by ever
since she’d entered the dating scene back in college.
 
Sam had lived by those rules ever since her
first stab at a relationship, if you could call it
that,
ended badly.
  
At 18, she’d fallen for a
guy in her class and she’d fallen hard.
 
Pretty quickly, Sam realised that she’d mistaken lust for love and all
the guy was interested in was getting inside her pants.
 
Unfortunately, she’d given him what he wanted
within a couple of days of meeting him and once she had, he’d lost all interest
and moved on to the next unsuspecting girl.
 
Since then, she’d lived by three rules:

1.
   
Make the guy wait at least a month before having
sex.
 
She figured if that’s all he’s after,
he’ll get bored and move on. Any genuine guy would be prepared to wait until
she was ready

2.
   
Never kiss on a first date.
 
No point letting them think it may lead to
something more

3.
   
Always be in control of any sexual situation.
 
She liked to make sure things were happening
on her terms and at her speed

Those three little rules had worked for her for
the last seven years.
 
She’d stuck to
them rigidly, unless you counted one drunken night on her last night in New
York, but apart from that, she’d been in firm control of her love life, never
getting in too deep too quickly.
 
Of
course, with Alistair, she’d jump in feet first and throw all rules out the
window, no matter how reckless it may be.

Dragging her brain out of the gutter and back to
the present, she realised that Alistair had stopped talking with David and both
men were stood watching her.

“And who might this be?” Alistair said, his bright,
blue eyes connecting with Sam’s, those perfectly formed lips curving into a
smile.

“Alistair Lockwood, this is my PA Samantha Westfield.”

Sam vaguely heard David introducing her to the
gorgeous hunk of manliness in front of her.
 
Now it was her turn to speak and she threw up a silent prayer that her
voice sounded as normal as it could, under the circumstances.

“Mr Lockwood. It’s very nice to meet you.” Sam
said, pleased that she’d managed to say it without stuttering or tripping over
her words, making a note to thank the big man later.

“The pleasure is all
mine
,
Miss Westfield.
 
Please, call me Alistair.”

“As you wish, Alistair.”

“May I call you Samantha?
Or
Sam?”

“Sam is fine.”

“Very well, Sam.”

Sam felt him take her hand in both of
his,
the contact sending what she hoped was a not so
noticeable shiver from her head right down to her toes.
 
She felt the spark of electricity as he
touched her and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d felt it too.
 
The way he said her name had her all but
melting into a puddle in front of him. She was acutely aware of her own femininity
as he stood so close that she could smell the alluring scent of his cologne. It
was soft and subtle but at the same time there was a masculinity about it that
only served to draw her in further.
 

Her guess about his height proved to be accurate.
 
Sam was five feet eight in heels, and he was
at least a head taller than she was.
 
She
glanced up into his eyes and she swore they were several shades darker than
when he had entered the room.
 
Sam knew
she should say something, anything as long as it meant he wasn’t looking at her
and seeing what she was sure was a nice rosy blush on her cheeks.

She had heard the words he’d just spoke, but for
some reason, her rampant imagination had zeroed in on the word “pleasure,” making
her wonder exactly how much pleasure those sensual lips could give her. Images
of her and Alistair sprawled on that large couch as his lips teased and
tormented her body flashed through her mind.
 
 

Feeling someone take her elbow, she realised that
Alistair had released her hand and was now headed in the direction of that same
couch, giving her a near perfect view of his tight ass beneath the dark pants.

Lord have mercy the man was fine.

“Please, take a seat.” Alistair said as he
gestured to the blond they’d met when they’d arrived. “Can I get either of you
a drink?
A glass of wine perhaps?”

“That would be lovely Alistair. Thank you.”

“Kelly, three glasses of the Shiraz
please
.”
 

Sam watched as the blond nodded and then glided
from the room on her towering heels.
 
She
knew it was bitchy, and she was conforming to the blond stereotype, but part of
her wasn’t surprised she had a name like Kelly.
 
She fought a smile as she wondered whether it was spelt with an “I” or a
“Y”.

She was pleased that David had accepted the offer of
drinks on behalf of them both. Her thoughts were all over the place and she
wasn’t sure that she could trust her voice to be either stable or coherent, not
for a second time.
 
Sam had never considered
herself to have an active imagination, but all that seemed to have changed
since she’d met Alistair.
 
It was
currently conjuring up all sorts of racy images, all of which involved her and
Alistair in many delicious positions that would put the Karma Sutra to shame.
 

Kelly with the “I” or “Y” returned a few moments
later, carrying a tray laden with three sparkling crystal glasses half filled
with a deep red liquid.
 
Taking the glass
that the blond offered her with a smile, Sam took a long sip, finding the crisp
liquid a welcome contrast to her slightly heated skin.
  
Placing their glasses on what she was sure
was a very expensive coffee
table,
the two men began
talking business.
 

Sam knew that she should listen as this was a valuable
learning experience for her, but it was so hard to concentrate on anything
other than the dark haired Adonis that sat a few feet away.
 
At least, with the way they were sitting, Sam
was able to look in his direction and take in his gorgeous appearance without
it seeming too strange.
 

Now that they were all seated, she could see his
face more clearly, admiring the strong, square jaw line, the brilliant blue
eyes shielded by long, dark lashes most women would kill for.
 
A lock of his hair had fallen over his
forehead and her fingers itched to push it back into place.

As far as he would know, she was listening
intently to what he was saying.
 
Part of
her was doing that, the part that cared about her work, but she found all the
words were merging into one as the softness of his voice swam through her mind.
 
The part of her that cared about her dormant
libido and her currently stagnant sex life was only thinking about one thing; what
it would feel like to be lying naked beneath Alistair whilst he fucked her into
oblivion.

The images her mind was creating did nothing to
help Sam get through the meeting in one piece and she took another long drink
of her wine.
 
Taking a breath she looked
up, seeing that both David’s and Alistair’s eyes were fixed on her, realising
she’d done it again.
 
She’d missed
another conversation between the two men and she had no idea what they’d been
discussing.
 

Was the meeting over and they were now waiting for
her to finish her wine?
 
Quickly flicking
her eyes over to the coffee table, she dismissed that idea when she saw both of
their glasses were almost untouched, whereas hers was one mouthful away from
being empty.
 
She shuddered to think what
he thought of her almost finishing her wine so quickly.
 

Sam’s gaze returned to the two men, lingering on Alistair
longer than it should have, but she was sure there was a ghost of a smile on
his lips. Could he tell how distracted she was? How affected she was by him?

“Will that be okay Sam?” She heard him say in that
oh so sexy voice.

Would what be okay? Sam inwardly kicked herself,
knowing that she should have listened to what they were saying instead of
losing herself in fantasies about Alistair Lockwood; fantasies that she had no
right to be thinking and would, in no way shape or form, ever come to
fruition.
 

The question hung in the air as she silently
chastised herself for getting so caught up in this man; this beautiful, gorgeous,
hotter than hell man.
 
Sam knew she needed
to give an answer, but not knowing the reason for the question, she took a stab
in the dark and hoped for the best.
 

“That will be fine.”

There was silence as both men watched her take a
sip of her remaining wine.
 
When neither
man said anything, Sam began to think she’d said the wrong thing, that was
until David and Alistair turned back to each other and their conversation
resumed.
 
She breathed out slowly as they
moved their attentions from her.
 
It
appeared that she’d avoided that pothole, although she had no idea what she had
just agreed to.

To
be Alistair Lockwood’s sex slave.

Sam closed her eyes and squeezed her thighs
together to try and dull the ache that was steadily increasing at the apex of
her thighs.
 
She had to get these rampant
thoughts under control before they overtook all rational thought and she jumped
Alistair where he sat.
 
That definitely
wouldn’t look good for the company.

Their conversation continued for a further few
minutes before she heard Alistair calling the meeting to a close.

“It’s been lovely to have met you David. I’ll
consult with my team and I shall get back to you as soon as I can. What you
have to offer sounds good.
 
I hope I can
give you some good news when we speak again.” Alistair said as he clasped
David’s hand in his.

They all stood together and Kelly in the bright
red suit reappeared as if from nowhere, ready to escort them back to the
elevator. Sam began to wonder exactly who she was.
 
She always seemed to appear when needed.
 
Was she Alistair’s girlfriend? Sam hated the
fact that the possibility of Alistair having a girlfriend troubled her.
 
She had no hold over this
man,
she’d only just met him for Christ’s sake, yet for some reason, just the
thought of a woman being him that intimately disappointed her more than she
would ever admit.

Knowing that she needed to regain control, Sam
followed as David walked ahead of her.
 
She was suddenly pleased that she’d worn low heels, three inches was low
for her considering what she normally wore, as she felt the wine begin to go to
her head.
 
She inwardly scolded herself
for two things; One for not having breakfast that morning and two, accepting
the wine on an empty stomach.
 
It was
never a good combination for anyone, but for her, it could be downright lethal.

Keeping her focus on David’s back, Sam stumbled
slightly before she felt a strong hand at her waist.
 
She didn’t have to turn to know who it was, the
fire shooting through her veins and the quickening of her pulse told her that it
was Alistair who was holding her up, anchoring her tightly at his side as they
moved across the room.

“You’re not used to wine I see.” He said with an
amused smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

“I’m fine. Thank you.” Sam said, taking a reluctant
step away, forcing him to release his hold on her waist as she tried to put
some space between them, sighing in relief.

Her reprieve was short lived as Alistair didn’t
stay away long. He was soon at her side, his hand gently cupping her elbow,
leading her across the room.
 
It was a
simple gesture and Sam knew Alistair was just trying to be a gentleman by escorting
her to her destination, which in this case was the exit to the suite.
 
But the contact, even through the material of
her blouse, was making her body react in ways that, no matter how much she
tried, she couldn’t control.