LITMIR.BIZ

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of the food on her plate.

      When she’d been a teenager, she’d fantasized about him holding her, kissing her. But she’d never thought the dream would come true. Nor could she have imagined eleven years ago how his kiss would affect her. It had been at least fifteen minutes since they’d sat back down for dinner and she still felt as if every cell in her body tingled.

      “How is your steak?” he asked, pointing to her plate.

      She stared at the filet mignon, amazed that she’d eaten almost half of it without recalling a single bite. “Uh … very good.”

      His pleased smile caused a little flutter deep down in the most secret part of her. “I had the new chef I hired for Fortune’s Gold prepare the meal for us. I intend to include an intimate dinner for two as part of the high-end package I’ll be offering and wanted your opinion on ways to improve it.”

      Glancing at the table, Sasha shook her head. “I can’t think of anything to improve on this. The food is delicious and the use of fine china, instead of the heavier restaurant plates, is a wonderful idea. I also think the sterling-silver candle holders add an elegant touch. I’m sure this will be quite popular with honeymooning couples.”

      “Or lovers wanting a romantic weekend getaway,” he said, lowering his voice as he placed his hand atop hers where it rested on the pristine tablecloth.

      The suggestive sound of his smooth voice and the promising look in his dark-blue eyes set her pulse racing and caused a delicious little shiver to slide up her spine. Everything she thought she’d wanted at the age of fifteen was coming true. Blake Fortune had not only noticed her, it appeared that he intended to sweep her off her feet.

      But she was finding it extremely difficult to believe that the object of her adolescent dreams had finally noticed her. “What do you really want from me, Blake?” she asked as she carefully placed her fork on the edge of the delicate china plate.

      “I told you, sweetheart. I need your help with the ad campaign.” He gave her a smile that made her feel warm all over. “And I’m using it as an excuse to get to know you better. Something I should have done a long time ago.”

      He seemed sincere enough, but Creed’s warning that Blake couldn’t be trusted continued to whisper at the back of her mind. Had her friend been right about his brother? Could Blake be up to something underhanded?

      But it made no sense. What would he possibly stand to gain? She certainly couldn’t give him any information about Dakota Fortune that he didn’t already have access to.

      The feel of his palm gently caressing the back of her hand sent the fluttering in the pit of her stomach into overdrive and ended all speculation about his possible ulterior motives. “I … um, think I’d … uh, better go back to my room,” she said, extricating her hand from his. She suddenly found it extremely hard to form a coherent thought and she needed to put some distance between them in order to regain her equilibrium. “I’m really tired and I think it’s time for me to call it a night.”

      She could tell by the expression on his handsome face that he wasn’t buying her excuse for a minute, but scooting his chair away from the table, he rose to his feet and offered her his hand. “I’ll walk you back to your suite.”

      “Th-that won’t be necessary.” His much larger hand enveloping hers as she stood up made her feel as if the temperature in the room had gone up a good ten degrees. “I’m pretty sure I can find my way to the other end of the hall.”

      Putting his arm around her shoulders, he shook his head as they walked to the door. “If there was one thing that Nash Fortune taught his boys, it was proper date etiquette.”

      “D-date?”

      Guiding them out into the hall, he chuckled. “Whether it’s business or pleasure, when a man asks a woman he has more than a passing interest in to have dinner with him, it’s a date.”

      She shook her head as she pulled her key card from her small evening bag. “You didn’t ask me to have dinner with you. It was more of a command.”

      He took the card from her, fitted it into the lock, then after opening the door, stood back for her to enter the suite. “Considering you were about to take off, I didn’t feel that you gave me much of a choice.”

      Turning to face him, she asked, “In other words, as a board member of Dakota Fortune, you were pulling rank on me?”

      Shrugging one shoulder, he gave her a lopsided grin and pulled her into his arms. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but whatever works.”

      Sasha caught her breath at the feel of his solid strength pressed against her from her breasts to her knees. “Wh-what do you think you’re doing?”

      “I’m going to kiss you good-night,” he said, his voice so low and hypnotic that she felt as if she’d spontaneously combust at any moment. “That’s usually the way a first date ends, honey.”

      Before she could remind him that she didn’t consider their dinner a date, he lowered his head and captured her lips with his. That was when Sasha ceased thinking altogether and gave in to the temptation of once again experiencing the power of Blake’s sultry kiss.

      Firm and commanding, his mouth moved over hers with a masterfulness that caused her head to spin. But when he parted her lips with his tongue to slip inside, he not only robbed her of breath, he left her with nothing but the ability to respond.

      Tasting of wine and pure male desire, he explored her thoroughly as he stroked and teased. Sasha wondered if she’d ever be the same again when he slid his hands from her back along her sides and up to the swell of her breasts.

      Her skin tingled when he broke the kiss to nibble his way to the sensitive hollow at the base of her throat. “Y-you’re taking this … farther than a simple … good-night kiss,” she said, struggling to breathe.

      “Do you want me to stop?”

      His warm breath and the vibration of his masculine voice against her skin had Sasha feeling as if a spark ignited within her soul. But when he covered her breasts with his hands to test their weight and tease the suddenly tightened tips through the layers of her clothing, her body began to tremble and she had to force herself to concentrate on what he’d asked her.

      “N-no … Y-yes.”

      Why was she having such a hard time gathering her thoughts? And why couldn’t she tell him outright that she wanted him to stop?

      “You want to know what I think, Sasha?”

      “Not … really.” Drawing air into her lungs was becoming decidedly more difficult with each teasing brush of his thumbs over her taut nipples. And like it or not, she really didn’t want him to stop.

      Moving his hands to her back to draw her more fully against him, he nuzzled the hair at her temple. “I think you need to get a good night’s sleep. If we’re going to visit a couple of museums and spend some time introducing you to some of the casino games, you’ll need your rest.” Kissing her forehead, he released her, then walked to the door. “Good night, Sasha.”

      As she stood there waiting for her head to quit spinning, he turned to give her a smile warm enough to melt her bones. Then, just when she thought he was going to cross the room and take her back into his arms, he walked out into the hall and quietly pulled the door shut behind him.

      Staring at the closed door for several long seconds, she finally managed to breathe normally as she slipped off her pumps and slowly made her way into the bedroom. She wasn’t certain her rubbery legs would support her for the short distance, let alone allow her to balance herself on a pair of high heels.

      She should have left earlier in the evening as she’d intended, she thought as she changed out of her jade silk pantsuit and into her baby-doll pajamas. She was so far out of her league with Blake, they weren’t even in the same ballpark.

      But as she unfastened the clip holding her hair in its tight chignon, then

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