LITMIR.BIZ

      Blake sat in the back of his corporate limo at the small private airfield just outside of Deadwood as he waited for his pilot to taxi his Learjet up to the tarmac. After talking with Sasha, he’d spent the past couple of days working with the contractors and decorators responsible for putting the finishing touches on his newest and most luxurious hotel casino yet.

      He was determined to see that Fortune’s Gold was the premier place to stay in Deadwood and a welcome addition to his newly formed Fortune Casino Corporation. Along with the Belle of Fortune, his hotel casino decorated like an 1880s riverboat, and the Lucky Fortune, a family friendly establishment where parents could drop off their kids at a supervised indoor playground while they gambled without worry, he would be able to successfully offer something to suit everyone’s tastes and needs.

      Mentally reviewing what still needed to be done, he concluded that he only had a couple of more details to nail down, then he’d have the rest of the weekend to concentrate on Sasha and his mission. He’d told her the truth about his PR man being on leave of absence because of his wife having a set of twin girls. He had, however, omitted that the man had only taken the time off because Blake had insisted on it. A promotional campaign for Fortune’s Gold wasn’t the real reason behind his calling Sasha or his wanting her to join him for the weekend in Deadwood.

      When Blake had attended his oldest brother Case’s wedding reception back in February, he’d noticed that Sasha had been Creed’s date. Then, thinking back on it, Blake remembered seeing her with Creed at several functions and family gatherings over the past year. It was clear there was something going on between the two of them and spoke volumes of how special Sasha was to Creed. Blake knew for a fact that his brother was notorious for never dating the same woman more than a few times before he moved on to his next conquest. But Creed obviously felt differently about Sasha and that was what Blake found more than a little interesting. And quite useful.

      Sasha had been a freshman when he’d been a senior in high school. Although they hadn’t been friends, Blake had a photography class with the shy auburn-haired girl and could have sworn she’d had a crush on him. To his recollection, they’d never spoken back then, but several times he’d caught her watching him, and when his gaze had locked with her pretty green eyes, Sasha had turned several shades of red and glanced away. But in recent years she’d apparently gotten over her schoolgirl crush and turned her attention toward snaring the middle of the Fortune brothers.

      Blake smiled. It was past time he rectified that situation and reclaimed what was rightfully his.

      When the pilot brought the jet to a halt several feet from the limo, then lowered the door, Blake got out of the car and walked over to offer Sasha his hand as she descended the built-in steps. The moment her soft, delicate palm touched his, a jolt of electric current zinged straight up his arm.

      “It’s good to see you again, Sasha,” he said, dismissing the sensation as some kind of static electricity.

      Once she was standing on the pavement beside him, he pulled her into his arms for a lingering hug. When he felt her slender body shiver against him, he concentrated on keeping his expression passive. No sense giving away his intentions before he had the opportunity to ensure their success.

      “Did you have a nice, uneventful flight?”

      Stepping back, Blake could tell his familiar manner confused her, just as he’d intended. Good. Throwing her off guard and keeping her there was exactly what he wanted to do.

      “Y-yes, the flight was blessedly calm.” The slight blush on her porcelain cheeks was an encouraging sign and he was confident his plan was going to go off without the slightest hitch.

      “I’m glad. At this time of year, turbulence can be a problem.”

      The early April sun shone weakly through a bank of clouds, but did little to take the chill from the stiff breeze ruffling the soft auburn curls that had escaped the tight knot of hair at the back of her head. Turning her toward the limo, Blake slipped his arm around her shoulders on the pretense of shielding her from the wind and motioned for his driver to take care of her small travel case.

      “Let’s get you into the car before you freeze,” he said, ushering her over to the long, black sedan.

      She drew her coat a little closer as they walked the short distance. “It is rather chilly.”

      Once they were comfortably seated inside the warmth of the limousine, it wasn’t lost on him that she scooted all the way across the bench seat to the other side. He clearly made her nervous and Blake had a good idea why. There was no doubt in his mind that bastard, Creed, had warned her to be wary of him.

      “We’ll go on to Fortune’s Gold from here,” Blake said, deciding

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