Heart & Soul: The Surprise (Heartland Series) (4 page)

"Why are we whispering?" He
asked, looking deadly serious before a smile broke out on his face.

He was so close, his breath skimming
across her skin.
 
Looking down, she saw
his lips were slightly parted and all she could think about was feeling those
lips on her, just like they had been only minutes ago.
 
Shaking her head at him, Sam stepped out into
the hallway and turned to face Alistair.
 
A confused expression crossed her face when she saw he too had stepped
out and the elevator doors had shut.

"Aren't you headed up to the
penthouse?" Sam asked, assuming that was the reason he was there.

"What gave you that idea?"
Alistair replied, a quizzical look on his face.

He wasn
’
t heading up to the penthouse? Then why was he here?
 
She was sure he'd been the movie star that had
bought the penthouse.
 
Obviously she
’
d been wrong and the disappointment that she felt pissed her
off.
 
Why should she be bothered whether
he bought the penthouse or not? It was no skin off her nose if some other
celebrity bought the place.
 
At least that
was what she was going to keep telling herself.
 
All she had to do now was figure out a way to believe it.

When Alistair stood still and didn't
elaborate, Sam straightened her back and smiled, just as she heard the chirping
of a cell phone.
 
She was about to reach
into her purse when she watched Alistair reach into his pants pocket and pull
his out, answering quickly.

“
Hey Chris.
 
Yeah, we
’
re all
good,
there was a problem
with the elevator.
 
Broke down I guess.
”
 
Sam felt her cheeks
flush as he grinned at her as he spoke, waggling his eyebrows as he conversed
with the caller.
 
“
Yeah I
’
m on my way now, should be there in a
few minutes. Right.
 
Bye.
”

Alistair ended the call and slipped
the phone back in his pocket. What did she do now?
 
Shake his hand?
 
Kiss his cheek?
 
She had no idea how she should handle the
situation after the intimacy they
’
d
just shared so she was pleased when Alistair seemed to take the lead.

“
Shall we?
”

Sam watched as Alistair swept his hand
forward and she gave him a small curtsey as she grinned at him, the one he gave
her in return making her stomach do a flip flop.
 
Starting down the hallway, Sam couldn
’
t stop her eyes from flicking around them as they walked,
staying alert in case anyone saw them.
 
At any other time, being seen with Alistair Lockwood would have made her
feel great, now she just felt nervous.

Alistair fell into step beside her and
she felt his hand rest at the small of her back.
 
Her skin had cooled since their earlier
antics, but his touch soon ignited the fire within her and she began to wish
that her shirt wasn
’
t in the way.
 

As they rounded a corner, he remained
by her side and kept his hand on her back.
 
It didn
’
t take long before Sam realised he was headed to the same
place she was. She turned her head slightly, seeing him looking straight ahead,
his lips curved up slightly, his body relaxed and at ease.

Sam could see the doors to Robinson,
Morgan and Green quickly approaching and suddenly the nerves that she
’
d felt earlier came flooding back.
 
She could feel her body begin to shake
slightly as she continued onwards, hoping Alistair wouldn
’
t notice.
 
As they
neared the doors, Sam slowed her step until she came to a stop a few feet away
from her office.
 
Breathing deeply, she
just stared at the door, feeling Alistair
’
s
eyes on her.

“
Hey, you okay?
”

Sam heard his deep voice and flicked
her gaze to him, seeing the concerned look on his face.
 
How could she tell him what was wrong?
 
She
’
d
worked here for six months.
 
She enjoyed
her job, for the most part anyway.
 
Hell,
if it hadn
’
t been for her job, she wouldn
’
t have met Alistair.
 
But if she
’
d never met Alistair she wouldn
’
t be stuck outside her office worried about going inside
with Alistair by her side.
 
Damn it, she
knew she was over thinking things, but she couldn
’
t help it.

Surely everyone would know what had
happened between them just by looking at her face.
  
She was pretty certain her lips were still
swollen from their kisses and there was no way that her appearance was as put
together as it had been when she left her apartment that morning. Everyone
would know.
 
There was no way they wouldn
’
t.

“
You look fine, no one will know a thing.
”
 
Alistair said,
causing her to turn fully to him.
 
How
did he know what she
’
d been thinking?
“
If it helps, I can wait out here for a few minutes while you
get settled.
”

All Sam could do was stare at him as
she took in his words, realising how silly she was being.
 
Of course no one was going to know what had
happened between them.
 
She didn
’
t have
“
I almost fucked Alistair Lockwood
”
tattooed across her brow.
 
She needed to suck it up, pull on her big girl panties and go for
it.
 
Shaking her head and smiling, she
turned back to the doors.

“
Nope, let
’
s go.
”

“
Yes Ma
’
am.
”
 
Alistair said with a salute and a grin as the
two of them moved forward into the office of Robinson, Morgan and Green.

~ 3 ~

He
could tell that, despite his reassurances, she was still nervous.
 
Alistair could feel the slight shaking in her
body and the way she kept flicking her tongue out across her lips betrayed how
she felt.
 
Her stance was tall and
confident as she strode towards the large glass doorway, but he could tell she
was anything but.

Reaching
the doors, he saw her hesitate slightly before putting her palms onto the glass
doors and pushing them open.
 
As soon as
they stepped inside, the entire room fell silent.
 
He was used to this reaction when he walked
into places, but he knew Samantha wasn’t.

The
whispering started almost immediately as they continued to move forward.
 
Samantha still looked as confident as ever,
yet he knew it was just an act, a very good act.
 
As soon as he left her at her desk, he knew
she would be surrounded by her colleagues wanting to get the gossip, to find
out why she’d walked in with him and what had happened to cause it.
 
As he glanced at her, he found himself
feeling something he’d not felt in a long time.
 
Pride. She was handling the situation better than most women would,
especially after what had just happened between them.

He
could tell she was uncomfortable with the situation they found themselves in
and he had to admit, cornering her in an elevator hadn’t been where he’d wanted
their first intimate encounter to take place.
 
He’d had visions of a nice romantic meal, dancing, roses,
the
whole nine yards.
 
That hadn’t been the way it had turned out but that was the position
they’d found
themselves
in and he hadn’t been able to
pass it up.

When
she stopped suddenly, he saw that they’d arrived at a small desk that looked
like any other desk you’d find in an open plan office.
 
There was a computer, telephone and a series
of stacking trays for files, yet nothing personal to denote that it was Sam’s
desk.
 

Is
this how this company treats the Personal Assistants?
 
He furrowed his brow as he wondered why that
was. Lifting his eyes, he looked at her and found her expression
unreadable.
 
Gone was the soft, yielding
woman he’d been with only minutes ago.
 
In front of him was Samantha Westfield, PA.

“Thank
you for escorting me Mr Lockwood.”

So
it was back to Mr Lockwood now?
  
The
professional mask was firmly in place, yet he saw her eyes widen slightly as
she tilted her head just a fraction.
 
He
smiled as he realised she wanted him to play along.

“It
was my pleasure Miss Westfield.
 
I hope
you have a productive day.”

Alistair
had to fight the urge to lift his hands to her neck and pull her lips to
his.
 
He wanted to taste her again, hell
he
needed
to taste her again.
 
He could still feel her on his lips and his
mind was flooded with images of how she’d felt in his arms, the soft moans that
she’d made as he’d kissed and caressed her skin.
 
Pushing his hands into his pockets he took a
step back, hoping the further he moved away from her, the easier it would be to
not
touch her.
 

It
wasn’t.

He
kept his eyes on hers as she returned his stare.
 
If they kept looking at each other like this
he couldn’t guarantee that people would continue to think nothing had happened
between them.
 
Alistair was only moments
away from backing her up against her desk and devouring her.
 
He wanted to feel her legs wrapped round him
again, her hands running over his body, her tongue tasting his skin, but above
all else, he wanted to feel what it would be like to have his cock buried to
the hilt inside her pussy.

Taking
a deep breath, he turned his head slightly when he heard footsteps heading
towards them.
 
Tearing his eyes from her,
he saw Anthony coming in their direction, an amused look on his lips as he
raised an eyebrow at him.
 
He might not
have seen him brother in almost three years, but he still recognised the look
in his eyes.
 
He knew he was in for a
grilling when they were alone as he cleared his throat and turned to his
brother.

“Anthony.
 
I told Chris I’d be there in a few minutes.”

Alistair
hadn’t meant his words to come out harsh, but he knew that was how the words
had sounded when his brother’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

“Easy
bro, I’m just making sure everything’s okay.
 
You’ve been gone a while.” Anthony said with his hands up in mock
surrender.
 
Alistair watched his brother
as he came to stand in front of him, his eyes flicking between him and the
redhead who still stood by her desk.
 
“And now I see why.”

Alistair
knew he should introduce them, but that was the last thing he wanted to
do.
 
For some reason that he didn’t
understand, he wanted his brother nowhere near Samantha.
 
Alistair knew his brother’s reputation with
women.
 
He was definitely the “love em
and leave em” kind of guy and, whilst he didn’t think Samantha would be
interested, it was clear from the look on his brother’s face that he definitely
was.

“Everything’s
fine.
 
Let’s not keep him waiting.”
 
Alistair said as he reached to take his
brothers arm, missing when he reached it out towards Samantha.

“Anthony
Lockwood, Alistair’s, younger, more handsome brother.”
 

Alistair
rolled his eyes as his brother introduced himself, using the greeting he always
used whenever the two of them were together. As Samantha extended her hand to
him, Alistair found himself holding his breath.

“Samantha
Westfield. Nice to meet you.”

“The
pleasure is all mine.” Anthony said as he lifted her hand to his lips, placing
a soft kiss on her knuckles before releasing it.

Alistair
was pleased that Samantha didn’t appear to react to his brother’s actions, more
pleased than he would ever admit to anyone.
 
She took back her hand and smiled sweetly at his
brother before turning back to him.

“It
was nice to see you again Mr Lockwood, I hope your meeting goes well.”

With
those last words, Sam turned away and pulled out her chair before seating
herself at her desk.
 
Releasing his
breath, Alistair walked away with Anthony by his side, only now realising that
Sam turning her back on him actually hurt.
 
Whilst it was something he knew she had needed to do, it still tore at
his insides that she could just turn from him that easily.
 

What
the hell was wrong with him?
 
He never
let women get to him like this.
 
Whilst
he didn’t treat women the way his brother had a habit of doing, he’d never been
the kind of guy to get attached to a woman and certainly not after only twenty
four hours.
 
This woman was affecting him
in ways he had always thought was possible.

As
he and Anthony walked the length of the office, he could feel all eyes were on
them, all female eyes anyway.
 
On their
own, he and his brother garnered attention, but the two of them together? That
was another matter entirely.
 
Add Chris
to the mix and the entire female population would be at their feet.

Hating
the fact that he had to leave Sam to deal with the inevitable fallout of being
seen with him, he continued until he heard Chris’ booming voice from one of the
offices.
 
Following Anthony into the
room, he stopped and shook his head when he saw Chris working his moves on the
girl sat behind a large wooden desk.
 
The
petite blond was just Chris’ type of girl and he wasn’t surprised that he was
trying his best to get her attention and, judging by the way the blond was
leaning towards him, her eyes firmly planted on his face, he was succeeding.

Clearing
his throat, he grinned as Chris turned to him and moved his large frame from
the desk he was perched on and the blond jumped to her feet.
 
He wasn’t sure if it just his presence or the
fact that he’d caught them eye fucking each other, but both she and Chris had
guilty expressions on their faces.

“Mr
Lockwood.”
 
The blond said as she hurried
around her desk to the door of the connecting office.
 
“Mr Hughes will see you as soon as you’re
ready.”

Nodding
his thanks to the blond, he approached the door as she opened it for him,
seeing David Hughes sat at his desk.
 
He
was typing furiously on his keyboard and his desk was littered with
papers.
 
It was hard to see if there was
actually a desk there as none of the wood was visible.

Like
the blond had a few moments ago, David jumped to his feet when he saw Alistair
standing in front of him.
 
As he rounded the
desk, Alistair turned to Anthony and Chris who stood in the doorway.

“I
should be fine from here.
 
You two can
head off.”

“Where
exactly are we headed?”
 
Chris said with
a grin on his face.

Alistair
sighed deeply as he glared at his friend.
 
He knew damn well where he was referring to.
 
After all, it was where he’d originally
intended to go when he’d decided to come to the Heartland Building.
 
When he’d arrived there, he hadn’t made a
decision about the offer David had presented to him only yesterday, but seeing
Sam, feeling Sam had changed his mind.
 
If being represented by this agency meant he got to see her again, then
it was a done deal.

He
didn’t have to say any words, his look saying it all as he received a nod from
the two men as they took a step back and closed the door, leaving him with
David.

oOo

As
she turned on her computer, Sam didn’t have to look up to know all eyes were on
her.
 
The silence that had descended on
the office as soon as she’d stepped in with Alistair had now been replaced with
whispering and giggles.
 
She knew that
everyone was dying to know how she’d met him and what he was like.
 
Sam inwardly chuckled as she wondered which
of the women would have the bottle to come and ask her.

Risking
a glance down the office, she saw the door that Alistair and his brother had
vanished behind and couldn’t help but wonder what was happening within those
four walls.

Whoever invented
frosted glass should be shot.

Her
thoughts shifted back to what had happened between them in the elevator and her
whole body instantly warmed.
 
How he did
it, she had no idea, but no other man had caused such an intense and instant
reaction in her.

Pushing
her errant thoughts to the back of her mind, Sam was determined to get on with
her work as if nothing had happened between her and Alistair.
 
Determination was one thing, actually being
able to do it was another.
 
All she could
think about was how it had felt to have his lips on her body, how good it had
felt to see his skin bared to her eyes and to have the ability to touch
him.
 
The way he had reacted to her touch
had made her feel so powerful.
 
That a
normal girl like her could bring out that kind of reaction in Alistair Lockwood
was amazing.
 

No
one had ever made her lose control like that.
 
Being in control was something she had fought so hard to achieve, yet
she’d thrown it away as soon as Alistair had touched her.
 
When he’d kissed her, well, all she could say
was that the man knew how to kiss.
 
The
way he had worked her lips into submission as his tongue stroked across her own
had her panting all over again.

Closing
her eyes tightly, she found she was squeezing her thighs together in an attempt
to dull the ache that still resided there.
 
She knew that she would have an appointment with her vibrator tonight,
although, in her head, it would be Alistair that would be bringing her to an
earth-shattering climax.