She was fairly certain the whole thing had started as a pity kiss, but somewhere along the way, he’d actually gotten involved. So had she, but that was not so surprising.
She’d wanted to kiss the tycoon for the better part of three years. It had been an impossible fantasy…until tonight. Then a combination of events had led to a kiss so devastating, it would haunt her dreams for years to come.
She plopped down onto the side of her bed and grabbed a throw pillow, hugging it to herself.
He had tasted wonderful.
Had felt hard and infinitely masculine against her. Had smelled like the lover she desired above all others.
And then he had thrust her from him like a disease ridden rodent. She punched the cushion in her lap. He had been enjoying the kiss. She was sure of it, but then her father had interrupted and Dash had acted embarrassed to be caught kissing her.
Neal Patchett tossed a report on the desk. “Read it.” he said.Dash hid his mounting fury as he crossed the room and then lifted the report to read. He did not sit down, but flipped through the pages while still standing. Outraged pride grew with each successive page and coalesced into lava like fury when he read the final page.It was a recommendation by Neal Patchett to merge with Black Shipping’s number one competitor. If that were not bad enough, it was clear that while the other company would maintain their business identity, Black Shipping would cease to exist.He tossed the report onto the gleaming surface of the walnut desk. “You are not trying to buy your daughter a husband, you are trying to blackmail one.” he said angrily.Neal shrugged broad shoulders, not even slightly stooped by his more than Sixty three years. “Call it what you like, but
“Not anymore you don’t. You’re out of here.” Lamar said.Savannah paled and stared at him as panic rolled through her chest. “You’re firing me?” she asked, dreading his reply.“You walked out yesterday during our busiest time. No word, no nothing. You didn’t come back. What the hell did you expect? And now you’re back here this morning and I have a diner full of pissed-off customers because you don’t have your head on right. You did the same thing two weeks ago and I decided to ignore that.” Lamar hissed.She took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. “Please Lamar, I need this job. Yesterday… Yesterday I got sick, okay? It won’t happen again.” She said.“Damn right it won’t. I never should have hired you back in the first place.” He curled his lip
Neither of them said a word as Matt drove to her apartment. Which was fine with Savannah. The last thing she wanted was to have any kind of conversation with him. The earlier she got away from him the better.She was glad she accepted the ride home though. She felt tired and emotionally drained, but she wasn't going to tell him that.As soon as he parked the car in front of her apartment she got out and slammed the door shut. Then she proceeded to go into the apartment."You are welcome" Matt said sarcastically as he got out too. Wondering how her getting fired was his fault. He hadn't even seen her for two weeks. He couldn't bring himself to leave though, so he followed her into the apartment.It annoyed him that her door wasn’t locked. Anyone could just walk in. He pushed it open to find her on her hands and knees, peering under the rickety recliner. She made a sound of frustration and then pushed hers
“If that’s what you want to call it. I really don’t care. You need a job. And a better place to live. To be honest I'm glad you don't work at that diner anymore. They don't pay you enough and I know you wanted to finish your classes back then. I don't know if you still do, but I want to help. I'm not sure why, but no matter what has happened between us, I still care about you and I want to help you”Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You just want to help? Just like that.”He nodded, not bothering to tell her that there wasn’t any opening at his firm and he planned on creating one just for her. After what she did to him, he knew he was the biggest idiot on the face of the earth for wanting to help her but he couldn't help it. Dash was right. He was an idiot.Savannah hesitated for a while. Working for him was not a good idea. She was sure of that. She could barely stand seein
Surprised by the aggressive tone in her friend’s voice, Tess said, “Yes. He’s a business associate of my father's.”“He looks more like a don in the Mafia to me.” David replied.“Well, he is not,” she teased, “he’s a tycoon, not a loan shark.”“Is there a difference?” David asked.She didn’t get a chance to reply because Dash had started walking toward them the moment David stopped and he arrived at her side just as David finished speaking.Regardless of her wish to never see the man again, her eyes hungrily took in every detail of his face, the strong squarish jaw, the enigmatic expression in his dark brown eyes and the straight line of his sensual lips.“I have come to take you to dinner,” he said without preamble or indeed even the semblance of having aske
David was too young to realize the long term impact on his future business dealings such an action might have. Though she was irritated by David’s behavior, she liked him too much to let him do something so stupid.Besides, if she went with Dash, she hoped David would get the message she wanted his friendship, but wasn’t interested in anything more. She couldn’t be. She might want to hate Dash Black, but he remained the only man she could think of in that way... At least for now.She had no experience with brushing off a man’s interest and this seemed the easiest way.“I’m sorry. Can we make it another night?” she asked David by way of atonement.“We won’t be here another night,” he reminded her.“I know.” She said.He would probably have said more, but the bus driver called the fin
She allowed his tongue inside her mouth after the first gentle pressure applied to the seam of her lips. He tasted like she remembered. Hot. Spicy. Masculine.When he pulled away, she was too lost in her own sensual reaction to his kiss to even notice he was leading her anywhere. It wasn’t until he stopped at the waiting limo and rapped out instructions to the ever-present security team, that she once again became aware of her surroundings.Mary, mother of Joseph, it was just like at the party.He could have done anything to her and she would have let him. She was also aware that while she’d been completely lost to reality, he had been in absolute control.She tried to tell herself she was letting him hand her into the car because she didn’t relish riding public transport alone at night. But she knew the truth.If she didn’t sit down soon, she’d fall
“It is not ridiculous for me to think this. He looks at you with the eyes of a man who has claim to you.” Dash said.“There is such thing as the claim of friendship.” Tess replied.“And friendship requires late night visits to his hotel room?” he asked, making Tess even more angry.“I’ve never been to his hotel room late at night, for goodness’ sake. I’m hardly the type to carry on a brief affair, or did you miss the hopeless-in-bed description?” she said. As the words left her mouth, she realized with chagrin she’d given Dash what he wanted—a definite answer to whether or not she was sleeping with David.He didn’t look smug, however. He was too busy glaring at her. “Stop repeating that bitch’s words as if they are gospel. She knows nothing of you or your passions. You will be a consuming