Heart & Soul: The Surprise (Heartland Series) (9 page)

"So, what do you guys
think?" Alistair asked as he stretched his arms out and turned in a full
360.

"Honestly bro? I think you're
nuts if you're just gonna buy this place because of Red."

Anthony could tell that this wasn't
the response he'd been hoping to hear, but what had he expected?
 
There was no way he was just going to stand
by and let his brother drop millions on a place he would hardly use just
because his latest fuck buddy happened to work in the same building.

"It's not just because of Samantha.
 
I need a base when I'm home and what better
place than Toronto?
 
This place has
everything I need when I'm between movies." Alistair explained but Anthony
wasn't going to be deterred.

"I agree you need a base brother,
but come on, this place could house half the population of Canada.
 
It's a complete waste of money. You should
find something else."

"Bit late for that bro, I've just
authorised the funds transfer, this place is mine pending a signature on the
dotted line, which will be done as soon as the documents come through."

Anthony couldn't stop his jaw from
dropping at his brother's words.
 
If he
already had every intention of buying the place, then why the fuck had he asked
them to go see it?
 
Turning, he looked to
Chris for help but the big guy was just sat on the couch, arms stretched out
across the back.
 
The grin he sported was
almost as big as his brother
’
s and Anthony felt like wiping it off
his face.

"You're not gonna say
anything?" Anthony demanded.

Chris just shrugged his shoulders and
continued grinning.
 
Turning back to his
brother, he sighed.

"Well I hope you know what you're
doing Alistair.
 
Red had better be worth
it otherwise you've just blown millions on a girl who
’
s probably just gonna fuck you and sell her story to anyone
who'll listen."

Before Anthony realised what was
happening, he found himself pinned against the wall, the angry face of his
brother glaring at him as he held him in place with his forearm across his
chest.

"Samantha isn't like that and the
next time I hear you mutter anything remotely negative about her, you won't
know what hit you. Got it, bro?"

As he began to realise that his
brother may actually be serious about this girl, Anthony nodded.
 
Alistair released him and stepped back.
 
His anger was rolling off him in waves and he
knew he'd definitely under estimated his brother's attraction to this girl .

"Look, I'm sorry bro. I just
assumed she was just another girl you'd picked up. I didn't realise you
actually felt something for her."
 
When his brother remained silent, Anthony continued. "Do you need
us to stay here or shall we go wait for you in the car?"

The silence in the room was deafening
as all that could be heard was the breathing of the three men.
 
It was a few minutes before Alistair spoke.

"You can go.
 
I'll call when I need you to come get
me."

Flicking his eyes over to Chris, he
watched the big man unfold his large frame from the couch and stand, crossing
the room until he stood next to him.
 
As
Anthony looked at his brother, he saw the anger slowly dissipate as he nodded
at him.
 
Along with Chris, he walked
towards the elevator and punched the button, the doors slid open and they
stepped inside, the doors closing almost immediately as they descended to the
foyer.

~ 6 ~

As soon as the doors closed, Alistair
turned to survey what's he'd just spent a large chuck of his fortune on.
 
He could understand his brother's concern
about the money, he'd expected it.
 
Yet
he hadn't expected the hostility towards Samantha.
 
Anthony had never been bothered about the
women in his past, why this one?

Making a mental note to discuss it
with him later, he pulled out his cell phone.
 
Checking the time, he saw he had ten minutes left before he had to
return to the twentieth floor to meet with Samantha.
 
He
’
d
only been away from her for a short time and he knew it was crazy, but he had
missed her.
 
It was irrational and
stupid, but he really did miss not being with her and for the life of him he
didn't understand why.

He had never been the kind of guy who
fell over themselves to impress a woman, yet, as he thought about his brother's
words, he couldn
’
t help but wonder if that was that the
reason he'd gone and bought this place.
 
There were plenty of other places he could have bought, even others in
this building, so why had he just shelled out millions on somewhere he would
probably only visit a few times a year for a few days at a time.

Pushing his hand through his hair, he
realised something. He hadn
’
t done it to impress her; he
’
d done it to be near her.
 
Just the thought of being all the way across town from her made him
shudder.
 
He wanted to be as close to her
as possible and if things went the way he planned, when he was here, she would
be spending all her time here with him.
 

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he
looked at his surroundings. He knew the place was a blank canvas, as his
realtor had put it, and he would have to shell out more money to update the
place to his requirements, but the more he looked around, the more he wondered
how Sam would decorate the place.
 

Was she a shabby chic or ultra modern
girl?
 
Did she go for traditional or
contemporary.
 
If she
was going to be spending as much time here as he hoped, he wanted her to feel
comfortable.
 
He would need to get her
opinion on what he wanted to do to the place.

Sighing as he began to think he really
was going crazy, he turned and punched the call button on the elevator.
 
The doors slid open a moment later and he
stepped inside, hitting the button for the twentieth floor.
 

oOo

Checking her watch for what must have
been the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, Sam frowned when she realised
she was actually waiting on a guy.
 
She
never waited like this.
 
What was it
about Alistair that had her all but counting the seconds until she could see
him again?
 
Oh yeah, thats right, the man
is fucking hot, looks at you like he wants to devour you and kisses like he's
going for gold in the Olympics.
 

Shaking her head, Sam knew she had to
get herself together.
 
She wasn't going
down that road again.
 
Going gaga over
the guy wasn't an option.
 
Been there,
done that, bought the tee-shirt.
 
Jumping
in with both feet only wound up with her getting her heart broken.
 
It had happened before and, considering who
Alistair was, it would more than likely happen again.
 

There was no way anything between them
could be a long-term thing and she knew that her heart wouldn't be able to get
through it in one piece if she let him get any closer.
 
Now that she effectively worked for him,
their relationship needed to be strictly professional.
 
She knew plenty of women who lusted after
their employers.
 
She would just become
one more in a long list.

When she checked her watch again, she
grumbled to herself and jumped up from her desk.
 
Spinning around quickly, she found herself
face to face with a too familiar solid wall of muscle, encased in the same dark
blue shirt.
 
His scent filled her nostrils
and she felt herself go giddy as his fragrance seeped into her.
 

God he smelt good.

Resisting the urge to take a deep
breath and breathe him in, she instead took a step back.
 
Her first instinct had been to put her hands
on his chest and push him away to create some space, but she knew that if she
did that, she'd feel the hard muscles beneath his shirt and her little pep talk
from earlier would have been for nothing.
 
No matter how much she wanted to touch him, she couldn't, not if she
wanted to keep her heart in one piece.

Taking a brief moment to drink him in,
he saw that he still wore the same pants and shirt as he had earlier, yet he'd
discarded the jacket.
 
The shirt sleeves
were rolled up to reveal strong forearms covered in a sprinkling of dark
hair.
 
Looking up, his hair was still
pushed back off his face, apart from one stray strand that was being awkward
and fell over his eyes, eyes that were looking at her mischievously.
 
There was a smile in his face and those
dimples were on full display.
 

God damn him and those dimples.

"Mr Lockwood, you're back."

Sam knew how stupid her words
sounded.
 
Of course he was back, he was
stood right in front of her, looking downright edible.
 

"That I am Samantha.
 
Are you ready to start work?"

His tone was professional, but his
expression was anything but.
 
He still
had that grin on his face and there was a glint in his eyes.
 
She could tell that he had something in mind
other than work and, even though she knew she shouldn't, she couldn't wait to
find out what that was.
 

Sam mentally chastised herself,
knowing that even if he did want more to happen, she couldn't let it.
 
No way no how.
 
Alistair Lockwood was off limits.
 
Their encounter earlier in the day was just a
blip on the radar.
 
He wouldn't be
getting any action from her. No Sirree.
 
Now all she had to do was convince herself.

oOo

Alistair could see everyone watching
them, just like they had been the last time there were together by her
desk.
 
Sure, everyone was trying to look
busy, like they actually didn't care about their colleague talking with a movie
star, but he knew the opposite was true.
 
Any one of these people would love to know what was going on, what they
were talking about.
 

He didn't want to make things
difficult for Sam, but he was so tempted to just back her into her desk and
crush his mouth to hers.
 
Now that would
give people something to talk about.
 
The
more he looked at her, the more appealing his idea became and he began to
wonder how far he could push her before she either gave in to her desires or
slapped him across the face.
 

Sweeping his eyes around them, he saw
that no one could see them below their chests due to the height of the
soundboards that closed in Sam's desk.
 
An idea began to formulate in his brain.
 
He knew it was risky. There was a very good chance they would be seen if
anyone came in the office behind him, but he needed to touch her.

Taking a step closer, he kept his eyes
trained on her face, seeing her moving backwards as he moved forwards.
 
Clearly she was trying to stay away from him
and he knew that it wasn't because she was unhappy he was there, the quick rise
and fall of her chest told him that.
 
When she hit her desk, he saw her look behind her then back at him, her
eyes wide.
 

"What are you doing?" She
asked him in a hushed voice.

Alistair stopped moving when she
spoke, confident that she wasn't going anywhere, at least not without brushing
her chest against his.
 
He wasn't
touching at at the moment, but it wouldn't take much for him to do so.
 
The heat radiated from her body and he
glanced down noticing that her knuckles were white from gripping the edge of
her desk.

Keeping his eyes on hers, he reached
out his hand, his fingers playing with hers until she loosened her death
grip.
 
Taking her hand in his, he brushed
his thumb across her knuckles, hearing her breath catch as he did so.
 
Mimicking his actions on her other hand, he
was pleased when she didn
’
t resist and allowed him to entwine
his fingers with hers.
 
The contact was
small, but it was just what he needed.
 
Just
being close to her was enough, at least for now anyway.
 
However, he couldn
’
t guarantee how long it would be before he needed more from
her.

“
What do you think I
’
m
doing?
”

As she looked at him, he could see her
bright eyes were wary with questions.
 
She still looked beautiful, even though she had no clue just how desirable
she was.
 
He would be prepared to bet his
entire fortune that at some stage since meeting him, she'd given herself the
talk about how he would never be interested in a girl like her, that he could
get any woman he wanted and he wouldn't look at her twice.
 
She couldn't be further from the truth.

How could he not be interested in a
girl like her.
 
She was beautiful, funny
and wasn't afraid to tell him what she really thought.
 
Honesty was a big thing for him.
 
He'd been burned too many times in the
past.
 
Liars didn't get a second chance
with him.
 
If someone broke his trust,
that was it, they could never get it back.
 
He had a feeling that this would never be a problem with him and Sam.

His grip on her hands tightened when
he felt her try and pull away.
 
She was
still breathing quicker than what would be considered normal and he knew that
she was trying to get things back on track, back into work mode.
 
Clearing her throat, she gave her hands a
harder tug, giving him no choice but to release them.
 
The other option would have been to fall
against her, sprawling them out over her desk.
 
Whilst that did hold some appeal, he doubted she would appreciate him
taking advantage in front of her colleagues.

"Ready when you are Mr
Lockwood."

Alistair couldn't stop his smile from
spreading even bigger as she still refused to call him by his given name.
 
He didn't see it
an
an annoyance, to him it was a challenge.
 
One way or another, she would call him Alistair, even if it was only
whilst she was in the throes of passion.

"Shall we?"

Alistair watched as she moved along
the edge of her desk, trying her hardest not to touch him again. He should be a
gentleman and take a step back to give her room, but he was having too much fun.
 
He heard her sigh deeply with frustration
until she finally worked herself free and headed towards David's office.
 
Oh, no.
 
This wouldn't work.
 
If he wanted
to get to know her, he couldn't do it with her boss present.
 
This wouldn't do at all.

"Um, Samantha, where are you
going?"

He saw her turn to face him and place
one hand on her hip.
 
The look on her
face held a hint of annoyance, but he found that she looks really cute when she
was steamed.

"I thought you wanted to start
work?
 
All of the contracts and
information are on David's computer."

"I've already signed the contract
Samantha.
 
I returned it to David with my
electronic signature earlier."
 
Alistair took a few steps closer to her as the hand resting on her hip
dropped to her side.
“
I guess that means you officially work
for me now.
”