after discussing the possible source of his sister’s despondent mood with Sasha, he had an overseas phone call to make. He knew it was probably the middle of the night in New Zealand, but he didn’t care. Zach Manning could haul his sorry butt out of bed and explain what was going on between himself and Skylar. And it had better be good.
Closing the door behind him, Blake walked straight to the telephone on the mahogany credenza at the back of the conference room and dialed the Dakota Fortune operator. After instructing the woman to place his call, he waited for the connection to go through.
A few moments later, a sleepy male voice answered after several rings. “What!?”
“Zach? Blake Fortune here.”
“Do you know what time it is here?” Zach demanded, his New Zealand accent thickened by sleep.
“Since you’re half a world away, it’s probably the middle of the night,” Blake said, not at all concerned by the man’s obvious displeasure at being awakened from a sound sleep.
A guttural curse crackled over the long-distance line. “I assume this isn’t a social call. What do you want, Fortune?”
“An explanation.” Never one to mince words, Blake couldn’t see any reason to do so now. “What happened between you and Skylar when you were here in February for Case’s wedding?”
Dead silence reigned for several long seconds and Blake knew he’d discovered the reason behind his sister’s withdrawal.
“Why do you ask?” Zach finally responded, sidestepping an explanation.
“She hasn’t been herself for the past couple of months and I want to know the reason why.”
“Is she all right?”
The concern Blake detected in the man’s voice was genuine enough, but that did little to appease his building anger. “Something is bothering her and it’s my guess that you’re behind it. I also figure you know what that something is and will be able to rectify the situation.”
“I’ll speak with her,” Zach assured him without hesitation.
“Consider yourself warned, Manning. I don’t like seeing my sister hurt.”
“I’ll set things right with Skylar immediately,” Zach promised. To his credit the man didn’t sound nearly as irritated as when he’d first answered Blake’s call. In fact, Zach sounded rather enthusiastic about getting in touch with her.
“See that you do,” Blake said, hanging up the phone without bidding the man farewell.
With the matter of his sister’s broken heart resolved, Blake smiled as he checked his watch. Sasha’s hour was almost up and he had every intention of taking her to her apartment and distracting her until they both collapsed from exhaustion.
Six
Dressed in nothing but Blake’s white shirt, Sasha stared into the freezer compartment of her small refrigerator. “What would you like for dinner?”
Blake walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him to kiss the side of her neck. “You’ll do just fine.”
She laughed as a familiar heat began to flow through her. “You have a one-track mind, Mr. Fortune.”
“I can’t help it.” He tugged the collar of his shirt from her shoulder to allow him better access, and the feel of his firm lips on her sensitive skin sent tiny electric impulses skittering over every nerve in her body. “You bring out the best in me, sweetheart.”
“More like the beast,” she said, turning to face him.
When they’d arrived at her apartment, she’d barely managed to close and lock the door before Blake had them both stripped of their clothes and had carried her into the bedroom. That had been several hours ago and the passion arcing between them was every bit as strong now as it had been earlier in the day.
His sexy grin caused a familiar fluttering in the pit of her stomach. “If I remember correctly, you weren’t exactly complaining when I—”
She placed her index finger to his lips. “Point taken,” she said, blushing furiously.
His deep chuckle vibrated against her chest and caused the most interesting tingling in the tips of her breasts. “I love seeing you blush.”
“That’s apparent.” She circled his bare shoulders with her arms and threaded her fingers in the dark blond hair at the nape of his neck. “You’ve been making me turn as red as a lobster all afternoon.”
“That wasn’t embarrassment, Sasha. That was the blush of desire.”
As if to prove his point, he pressed his lower body closer and the feel of his strong arousal against her lower belly caused her to go warm all over. “If you keep this up—”
“Interesting choice of words,” he said, sliding his hands down to cup her bottom and pull her even closer. “As I’m sure you can tell, that’s not a problem.”
She gasped from the waves of renewed need that flowed through her when she felt the strength of his arousal against her lower belly. “We’re never going to find time to go over my ideas for your promotional campaign.”
He kissed her collarbone, then began to unbutton his shirt to nibble at every new inch he exposed. “Is that what you really want to do right now?”
When he parted the garment and covered her breasts with his hands, her knees began to wobble and her heart pounded so hard against her ribs, she felt as if she’d run a marathon. “Wh-what was the question again?”
“Damned if I know,” he said as he lowered his head to take her nipple into his mouth.
Teasing her relentlessly, Sasha wasn’t at all surprised to feel a delicious need begin to tighten her womb. After making love the entire afternoon, how could they possibly be hungrier for each other now than before?
“This … is insane.”
He raised his head and the intensity in the depths of his eyes, the sparkle of heat, told her in no uncertain terms what he wanted. “We’re about to go crazy together, sweetheart.”
Fully expecting him to pick her up and carry her back into the bedroom, she tightened her arms around him in surprise when he lifted her to sit on the edge of the counter. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“I want you here.” Buttons skittered across the tiled floor when he jerked the lapels of his shirt open the rest of the way to give him better access to her body. Then, shoving his boxer briefs to his ankles, he entered her in one smooth stroke. “Now.”
The feel of him filling her completely, the heat that threatened to consume her when he began to rhythmically thrust into her and the fact that they were making love somewhere other than the bedroom heightened her excitement in ways she could have never imagined. The urgency arcing between them was more powerful than ever before and Sasha felt as if she would burst into flames at any moment.
Tightening
