Love me if you dare (9 page)

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.”

“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 close 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.

“Ah
… at last!  You’re jealous.”

“Of
someone that does not as yet exist?  Don’t be silly!”   She realized how her
previous response sounded but her annoyance was clear in her eyes.  If she had
to find out he slept with someone whilst there … she would … she would …
castrate him! Not even realizing how possessive that made her of him.

“Besides,
your sexual frustration is for me.  A busty blonde won’t satisfy you.”  His
eyebrows rose at her blatant reminder and a slow smile curved his lips.

“And
should you decide to … indulge yourself whilst you are there … frustrated is
what you will remain.  Then you can forget about ever … how did you put it …
making me yours!”  She jumped up and taking her plate and coffee mug stormed
back into the house, leaving an astounded but elated Nicolas behind.

Her
passion and possessiveness thrilled him and he ran up the stairs humming
happily.

Mary
managed to calm Samantha down by her obvious concern over Nicolas going away so
far and alone.  She was smiling when she walked up the stairs.

She
laid out her outfit for the day on her bed, quickly undressed and armed with
her dressing gown headed for the shower.  Being the master suites, the two
rooms also shared a bathroom and so far it had been easy not to cross paths
with Nicolas as she usually finished in the bathroom whilst he went jogging in
the morning.

It
has been close to an hour since she left him on the patio, so she was
relatively sure he was finished in the bathroom.  With no sound permeating from
within, she opened the door and walked in naked, aiming for the shower, only to
freeze on the spot as she caught Nicolas’s burning gaze in the mirror, where he
stood frozen with a towel in his hand, in the process of wiping his face clean
of the remaining shaving cream.