“It’s absolutely insane and you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway,” she answered, placing her warm palm on his bare chest.
He liked the way her touch felt on his skin and he covered her hand with his to hold it there. “Why don’t you tell me and see if I believe you.”
Her sigh feathered over his shoulder and sent an awakening wave of heat straight to his groin. “They weren’t you.”
She spoke so softly that he wasn’t entirely certain he hadn’t imagined her confession. “You saved yourself for me?” he asked incredulously.
Raising her head, she met his questioning gaze directly. “It wasn’t a conscious decision to wait for you, but I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you back in high school. Since then, I’ve compared every one of my boyfriends to you and found them lacking in one way or another.”
“Even Creed?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? Creed and I are just good friends.” When she started to get out of bed, he held her to him. “Creed asked me to accompany him to social functions in order to discourage some the more persistent women looking for a great catch. There was never anything more to it than that.”
Blake knew all too well the lengths some women would go to in their quest to catch a man with money and social status. “So you were helping him fend off the gold diggers?”
“Yes.”
“And you never entertained the thought of becoming romantically involved with him?” Blake asked, needing to know.
She shook her head. “He wasn’t you.”
The clarity in her guileless green eyes verified her claim and rendered him absolutely speechless. From the moment he was born, he’d been compared to his older brothers and always seemed to fall just short of everyone’s expectations. Even his father, the high and mighty Nash Fortune, had held him up to Case and Creed’s achievements, both personally and professionally. But for the first time in his life, someone had compared him to one of his older brothers and Blake hadn’t come up second-best.
As he continued to gaze at Sasha, a feeling like nothing he’d ever known filled his chest. For reasons he didn’t dare contemplate, he never wanted to let her down, never wanted her to find him lacking in any way. Nor did he ever want another man touching her.
The sudden desire to brand her with his kiss became an undeniable need and Blake didn’t think twice about pulling her beneath him to once again claim her sweet body for his own. She was his now and he had no intention of ever letting her forget it.
When Sasha went into work on Monday afternoon, she wasn’t at all surprised to find Creed standing in her doorway less than five minutes after her arrival. To anyone else his demeanor would probably appear casual and unperturbed. But in the past year, Sasha had come to know him too well. He definitely had something on his mind and unless he’d undergone a radical personality change in the past few days, he was there to let her know exactly what it was.
“Did you enjoy your weekend in Deadwood?” he asked, walking over to ease himself down into the chair in front of her desk. His question was innocent enough and his tone casual, but she knew it was Creed’s way of diplomatically bringing up the subject of her time with Blake.
“It was nice to get away for a while,” she said, careful to keep her own tone as neutral as possible. Aside from the fact that she didn’t feel like listening to Creed’s repeated warnings about Blake, it was none of his concern what she did or with whom. “I especially liked visiting some of the museums and learning more about the town’s colorful history. It really is fascinating.”
He stared at her for several long seconds before his eyes narrowed and he shook his head. “You fell into his trap, didn’t you?”
“I don’t have the slightest notion what you’re talking about,” she lied, averting her gaze.
“Damn.” Creed rose to his feet and began to pace the length of her office. “I knew I should have gone with you to keep that bastard from pulling a fast one.” Stopping suddenly, he turned to face her. “Did you sleep with him?”
Angry with Creed for prying, as well as with herself for being so transparent, Sasha shook her head. “What I do on my own time is none of your business, Creed. And I don’t appreciate being treated to the third degree. If you want to keep our friendship intact, you’ll drop this right here and now.”
He let loose with a creative curse. “You don’t know him like I do, Sasha. He’s just like his mother—selfish, opportunistic and trouble from the word go.” He released a frustrated breath as he shook his head. “The son of a bitch will only end up hurting you and if it’s within my power to prevent it from happening, I will.”
Sighing, she leaned back in her chair as she continued to stare at her friend. “I appreciate your concern, Creed. But I’m a grown woman and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. I can take care of myself.”
As if cognizant of the line he was about to cross with their friendship, he walked to the door, then turned back to face her. “I realize you think you know what you’re doing. But becoming involved with Blake Fortune would be a huge mistake.”
“That may be,” she said, careful to keep her voice as even as her emotions would allow. “But it’s my mistake to make, Creed. Not yours.”
He looked as if he’d like to argue the point further, then giving her a short nod, he warned as he walked out, “Just be sure to watch yourself around him, Sasha.”
Long after Creed had left her office, she continued to stare at the open doorway. She was having a difficult time believing that they’d been talking about the same man.
She’d spent the weekend with Blake and found him to be nothing like the man Creed described. If Blake was selfish, she hadn’t seen it. With her, he’d been kind, caring and extremely attentive. Her body heated in a very interesting way as she remembered just how much attention he’d given her.
After learning that she’d come to his bed a virgin, he couldn’t have been more gentle or understanding. He’d not only been sensitive to the tenderness of her body and her lack of experience, he’d assured her pleasure before his own. That certainly negated Creed’s claim that Blake was self-centered.
And after watching him interact with his employees and guests, it was easy to see why he’d been so successful with his venture into the gaming industry. Although he demanded his employees give one hundred and ten percent to their jobs, he’d earned their loyalty and respect by asking nothing more of them than he was willing to give himself. That didn’t sound like a man who took advantage of others.
As she sat there contemplating why Creed felt the way he did about his brother, Blake entered her office and closed the door. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him and she couldn’t believe how much she’d missed being with him in such a short time. After flying back to Sioux Falls together on his private jet that morning, they’d parted ways at the airport. And while she’d returned to work, Blake had gone to his family’s estate to visit his sister, Skylar.
But something about his expression warned her that things might not have gone well. “Was everything all right at home?”
“I’m not sure.” He walked around the desk, pulled her to her feet and kissed her until they both gasped for breath. Then sitting in her chair, he settled her on his lap. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.
They sat in contented silence for several long moments and she could tell he was troubled by something. “What happened?”
He shrugged one broad shoulder. “As usual, Dad and Patricia were