he said, sounding a little more at ease. “Just remember, if you have any problems all you have to do is give me a call. I’ll be more than happy to fly down to Deadwood and give that jerk an attitude adjustment.”
“Thank you, that means a lot, Creed.” She couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s concern. “I’ll see you Monday morning.”
When she hung up the phone, Blake’s expression was congenial enough, but there was a spark of anger in the depths of his blue gaze that sent a chill coursing through her. “Your boyfriend checking up on you?”
“Creed and I are good friends, but that’s as far as it goes,” she said, wondering why she felt the need to explain her relationship with his brother.
He stared at her for several more seconds before he spoke again. “I have a couple of things I need to take care of,” he finally said. “Change into something more casual and I’ll come back in about an hour to take you to dinner.”
“Is that an order, Mr. Fortune?” Her irritation with his high-handedness returned tenfold.
His expression became unreadable a moment before he shook his head and pointed to her black suit. “I just figured you’d want to trade your skirt and heels for something more comfortable.”
“There’s no need for you to come back up here. I’ll meet you downstairs in the restaurant,” she said when he turned to leave.
He looked as if he intended to say something. Instead, he gave her a short nod and without another word left the room.
When Sasha heard the outer door close, she finally released the breath she was certain she’d been holding from the moment they’d entered the suite. What on earth had she done? More importantly, why had she let Blake get to her?
She’d had every intention of leaving when they’d walked into the suite. And if she hadn’t let his goading rile her, she’d be on her way to the airfield at that very moment.
But no. She couldn’t leave well enough alone. He’d been so sure of himself, she’d taken up the challenge and had been determined to prove him wrong. Unfortunately, the only thing she’d accomplished was doing what he wanted her to do in the first place—to spend the weekend with him in Deadwood.
Shaking her head, she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d gotten herself into. Or, more importantly, how she was going to get out of it.
The second Sasha stepped off the elevator and walked toward the entrance of the Golden Belle Restaurant, Blake watched several men in the lobby turn to stare at the auburn-haired beauty in the jade silk pantsuit. Her slender body moved with a sensual grace that he found absolutely fascinating and he took a moment to enjoy the view.
Blake was going to enjoy sharing a physical relationship with Sasha. The chemistry between them was utterly amazing. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. And her reaction to his touch, her breathlessness whenever he came near her, indicated that she found him to be every bit as compelling.
But he’d have to be careful not to put too much pressure on her, too soon. He’d have to take his time and romance her in order to prove that whatever Creed had told her about him had been erroneous.
Gritting his teeth at the thought of Creed’s interrupting phone call, Blake had to force himself to calm down. He’d thought that by acting like Creed, it would win her over. But it was clear she was tired of the bulldozer approach to romance.
All Blake had to do was change tactics, turn on the charm and Sasha would be his for the taking. He could be himself and old Creed would take care of the rest. Knowing his half brother the way he did, Blake was confident that Creed would keep reminding her of his suspicions, continue to make phone calls to check up on her and ultimately push her right into Blake’s waiting arms.
He smiled as he watched Sasha standing by the entrance to the restaurant, obviously waiting for him. She was a captivating woman and he wasn’t the only one who thought so. Apparently, the men who had turned to watch her walk across the lobby found her just as mesmerizing. One in particular caught Blake’s attention when the man approached Sasha to strike up a conversation.
For reasons he didn’t care to analyze, a wave of possessiveness shot through Blake and he wasted no time in moving in to stake his claim. “You’re late, sweetheart.” He met the interloper’s curious gaze with a cold smile as he slipped his arm around Sasha’s shoulders. “You’ll have to excuse us. We’re on our way to dinner.” He nodded toward the casino. “And I’m sure you’d like to get back to the action.”
The man returned Blake’s stare for several silent seconds, then lifting the drink he held, he nodded a silent concession. “Have a nice dinner.”
As the man descended the steps into the casino area, Sasha turned on Blake. “Are you always that rude to your guests?”
Sliding his hand down her back to cup her elbow, he steered her back toward the elevators. “Are you in the habit of encouraging men to hit on you?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but all he wanted from me was to see if I knew what time it was,” she said, clearly exasperated.
Blake grunted. “Yeah, and I’m Buffalo Bill Cody.”
When the elevator doors opened, she stopped dead in her tracks. “Why are we going back upstairs? I thought we were going to dinner.”
“We are.” He urged her forward, then pushed the button for the top floor. “I had the staff set up our dinner in my suite.”
“Why?” If her expression was any indication, she was anything but happy about the arrangement and more than a little suspicious of his motives.
“I thought it would give us a chance to talk uninterrupted and catch up on old times,” he said, shrugging.
She looked at him as if she thought he might be a few cards shy of a full deck. “Catch up on old times? Since I started working at Dakota Fortune, we’ve only spoken briefly at the office and a few times at the social functions I’ve attended with Creed.”
His gut burned at the mention of his half brother’s name, but Blake stifled the urge to curse aloud. The success of his mission depended on him keeping a cool head.
When the elevators doors opened, he guided her down the hall toward his suite. “You’re forgetting that we attended the same high school.”
She shook her head. “Don’t feed me that line, Blake Fortune. You didn’t have the slightest notion that I existed back then.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Sasha.” Opening the door to the Admiral’s Suite, Blake stood back for her to enter his private domain. “I would have had to be as blind as a damned bat not to have noticed one of the prettiest girls in school.” He smiled. “And I’ve never had vision problems.”
“Give me a break.” She rolled her eyes. “We had a photography class together for one semester and in that whole time, I don’t remember a single instance of you speaking to me.”
Walking up to stand in front of her, he touched her soft cheek with his index finger. “Believe me, sweetheart, I found out all I could about you after that first day of class. But you were too young for me back then.”
“There’s
