Love me if you dare (7 page)

“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!

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.