Late Nights

by Marie Rochelle

  “Yes, I had a wonderful time last night, but I didn’t make it a secret. I told you more than once how much I loved our date.”

  “Since we are on the same page, how about we do something special this weekend? I know we are in getting to know you stage of our relationship, but we haven’t had any time alone. I really want to do that with you.”

  “We have only been on one date. Are you sure we’re at the stage of going away together?” Sasha questioned, surprised by Sterling’s suggestion.

  “I can’t help it. I feel like we need to make up for all of the time we missed out with each other because of so many misunderstandings. Honey, can you really blame me? When I see what I want I grab it with both hands.”

  Sterling’s endearment threw Sasha for a minute. It was the first time he had called her anything but her name. She couldn’t get over how his idea seemed totally crazy and wild. If she agreed to go away with him, it would be so out of her character.

  Did she want to take such a huge jump this soon?

  “Hmmm…I’m not quite sure about going away with you. How about we do something else? I would love to spend more time with you.”

  A mischievous look came into Sterling’s eyes and Sasha wasn’t too sure if she liked or not. “Alright, I’ll drop the idea about the trip, but I’ll think of something else we both can agree on. I’m not giving up on us getting more alone time. So, have you decided if you’re still going to give that seminar to the employees? I heard some of them talking about it in the break room last week.”

  New and unexpected warmth surged through her at how Sterling hadn’t pressured her into going away with him. He proved how much he wanted more than just sex from her.

  “I’m still not sure what I want to cover yet, but I’ll have some suggestions for you by the middle of next week.”

  “Great. I know whatever you have in mind will be fine. But, I guess we can’t have any fun at work today. I was really hoping we might make out in my office since the closed sign is hanging on the door. We could find a place to ourselves and have some fun,” Sterling said, stepping back from her. “However, I can tell your mind is strictly on business instead of play.”

  “Oh, I want to play with you a lot,” she flirted back. “Just not at work. I would like a little more privacy.”

  “Baby, we can leave here and go back to my place for all the privacy in the world.” His voice, deep and sensual, sent a ripple of awareness through her.

  “Will you stop?” Sasha laughed as she walked past Sterling, than gasped when he wrapped his hand around her upper arm.

  “How can I stop when I’m in the presence of the most stunning woman in the world? But I’ll wait until I get you out of the office,” he said, letting go of her arm. “Since you aren’t ready to tell me your ideas how about I tell you what I’ve been thinking.”

  As much as Sasha wanted to laugh at Sterling’s line, the silliness of it made her smile instead. He was the only guy she knew who would say those words to her with a straight face.

  “Okay, I’m ready to hear what you have,” she answered.

  “Let’s take a seat over there at the table in the corner and I can tell you what I have been mulling over in my head.” Spinning around, Sasha headed in the direction of the table and took a seat. “I took over my family business recently and since then I’ve come to realize how much care and commitment Comforts Sleep Company puts into their products. Every single customer gets the finest in design, durability, and value. Everything is made with the highest quality materials, we offer comparable prices of standard size bedding along with customer bedding for special needs mattresses, and most of all it’s made in the USA.”

  “You’re right. I’ve noticed the excellent feedback on the website I go there. I seldom see consumer complaints anymore,” Sasha agreed. “For a while there, I think we were getting about at least eight a month.”

  “Honestly, I think I might have seen ten grievances some days on our feedback link,” he admitted. “I was about at the end of my rope until I started working on pleasing our clientele more.”

  “Sterling, I know all of this already,” Sasha cut in, wondering where he was going with this. It really didn’t have anything to do with her job description, so she was getting a little confused.

  “I know, but what I was thinking is we could have a buy one and get another at fifty percent off sale for the remainder of the month for all of our customers. I thought it might be nice way to thank them for staying with my company through the revolving doors of managers that have passed through here. What do you think? Is it a good idea or not?”

  Leaning forward, Sasha gave Sterling a quick kiss on the mouth and then moved back. “I think this is a great idea. I don’t know how you thought of it, but I love everything about it.”

  Sterling winked at her. “Wonderful, I’ll ask my friend Holden to design some flyers. After they are finished, I’ll check and see if the newspaper will place some inside the Sunday paper to draw more customers to the sale. In addition, tonight I’ll work on getting a link added to the website so our regular online customers will find out about it as well.”

  “Fantastic ideas,” she said. “If you give me some, I will take them to Luxury and see about putting some at the front desk for you. I want to help you out anyway I can.”

  “God, you are just too good. I will make sure that I never do anything to lose you. I want you in my life for a very long time.”

  She ran her finger over the back of his hand. “If you treat me with respect you will never have to worry about me going anywhere, ever.”

  Sterling was so unaware how much his words were turning her on. Absolutely, the sexiest thing he could do was take care of her every emotional need by making her feel special. Way before trying to seduce her into his bedroom.

  “Thanks for that tiny bit of insight. I will make a note to never disrespect you,” he said right before he captured her mouth with his.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hawaii…

  “Baby, tell me again why you want to cut our honeymoon short and go back home,” Cash complained, kissing the back of his new wife’s neck. “I’m not ready to share you with your family yet.”

  Spinning around in her husband’s arms, Rachelle smiled at him. She loved the way he still wanted to keep her to himself, but it was time for her to go back home. She needed to know what was going on with her sisters. She hoped they had been staying out of trouble, but there was no telling what they might have been up to while she was on her fantastic honeymoon with her gorgeous husband.

  “Sweetheart, you know I would love to spend another month here with you,” she admitted. “However, I’ve been away from Luxury too long. You know how I am when it comes to my little sisters running the business. I don’t like leaving them there for too long by themselves. It’s like giving them too much control, which is something that I can’t do.”

  “Honey, you have to realize your sisters are adults,” Cash pointed out to her. “Why don’t you think they can’t take care of themselves? They can handle the responsibility of Luxury while you are with me.”

  For such a long time she thrived on being in control, organized and on time for everyone. If she stopped being the leader of the family, it would be hard for her to give up, but she could do it.

  “You’re right,” Rachelle agreed reluctantly. “I need to let my sisters live their own lives now. But, ever since our childhood, I’ve felt like I was the responsible one. I’m their big sister. I was the one who never said the word no when it came to helping to my mother when she needed it from me.”

  Her husband held her even tighter to his body. “Baby, I love that you’re such a high achiever with everything you do. I think the extraordinary expectations you have is such a wonderful quality to possess. I’m very proud of the way you get things done.”

  “You do?” Rachelle questioned as she wrapped her arms around Cash’s wide shoulders.

  “Yes, baby. I do. I love how
detailed you are. It’s something that makes me want you even more. I hope you keep those qualities.”

  “Cash, your belief in me is very touching. I think I can keep part of it tucked away for later. I mean I will need to have some of it for our children.”

  Tenderly, Cash’s eyes melted into hers. “Rachelle, you want to have babies with me? We have never talked about this before.”

  “How could we? I think we fell in love and got married in record time. I would love to have at least four. What about you?”

  Instead of answering her, Cash swung her up into his arms. “I think if you want four kids then we better get started on the best part first.”

  Turning on his heel, he carried her into the direction of their bedroom and she couldn’t get over how much she loved that her husband’s mind was on the same track as hers.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Come over to my house tonight for dinner,” Sterling whispered by Sasha’s ear as she hung up the phone in his office the following night.

  He and Sasha had been working nonstop since yesterday, and tonight was the last leg of the promotion. He was tired of only seeing her during work hours, because after leaving this job she was usually rushing to Luxury since her sister Rachelle was still on her honeymoon.

  Why wasn’t she longing to be around him like he was with her?

  For months, he had yearned for a deeper connection with her, and now that he was almost there she was still holding back on him. He couldn’t fix it unless Sasha spent more of her free time with him.

  “I can’t,” Sasha apologized. “I just got off the phone with Genise and she has a surprise for me. Rachelle caught an early flight with Cash and they are back early from their honeymoon. She wants all of us to have dinner at her home tonight.”

  He couldn’t believe this! What was going on?

  How could another obstacle get shoved in his way?

  Sterling was more than pissed with the situation, but he wasn’t going to let it deter him from his goal of winning Sasha’s heart. He really wanted to spend more time with her outside of the workplace.

  It was going to be now or never.

  “Can’t you just stay for a little while at your sister’s and then come by my place later?” Sterling suggested again. Grabbing Sasha by the shoulders, he spun her around in his arms and stared down into her wide eyes.

  “Don’t you want to spend more time with me? I thought our first date was better than any date I’ve ever been on and I’m dying for a second one.”

  Sasha smiled at him, then gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. “Sterling, you know that I do, but I just can’t abandon my sister and my new brother in-law Cash on their first night back in town, can I?” she asked. “How about you come with me? I’m sure that Rachelle wouldn’t mind at all. She would love to get to know you better.”

  Go with her?

  He wasn’t comfortable with big family gatherings because he didn’t experience them too much growing up, but he would deal with it to spend time with Sasha. He wanted to show her how much he cared about her.

  “I’m not that fond of family dinner parties,” Sterling admitted, “but I’ll do this for you.”

  Leaning back in his arms, Sasha stared up into his eyes a slight frown etched across her beautiful face. “You know that you can open up to me about anything. You didn’t talk about your childhood much to me over dinner. What else happened with your father that you aren’t telling me?”

  Opening up about his father wasn’t something he wanted to get into right now. This was his time with Sasha and he wouldn’t ruin it with memories of his father. He gave up on having the storybook thing with his dad a long time ago. It was a good thing Victor Hamilton was dead because he wouldn’t listen to his complaints about his relationship with Sasha.

  In the short time he had known her, Sasha and her sisters had shown him what a loving and caring was really about. He knew Sasha might fight with her siblings, but he heard the love in her voice anytime she spoke about them.

  Sterling knew Sasha would welcome him into her home with open arms, but how would the rest of her family treat him?

  Akisha and Genise shared a connection with her. They could have a huge influence over her when it came to him, but it didn’t matter what they did. He had gotten the dinner invitation from Sasha and he was going to be there whether they liked it or not.

  “How about you hear stories about my childhood another time?” he suggested.

  Titling her head back a little more, Sasha continued staring at him with real concern in her beautiful eyes. “I can cancel my dinner with Rachelle and stay here with you if you need to talk. My family means a lot to me, but you’re important to me as well.”

  Family stability was a big part of Sasha’s life, and Sterling had known this for a while. Her willingness to cancel her plans with her sisters showed how much he was beginning to mean to her. However, he’d rather be with Sasha tonight as her boyfriend to prove to everyone that they were more than boss and employee.

  “No, you aren’t,” Sterling corrected, then kissed the corner of Sasha’s mouth.

  If he kissed her on the mouth, he didn’t want to start something he couldn’t finish. He moved back, putting some space between them since he was already so close to losing control.

  “Why don’t you go home and get ready for our first appearance as a couple? What time should I pick you up? I can’t have Rachelle hating me by making you late for dinner,” he teased.

  “Rachelle won’t hate you,” Sasha replied as she walked away from him. “She might give you a look, but I’m pretty sure she will keep her opinion to herself until I’m alone with her.”

  Sterling watched as Sasha picked up jacket off the chair in his office. He couldn’t believe that he was so close to having everything he wanted. Growing up, he never thought a woman as beautiful and loving as Sasha would be a part of his life.

  After Sasha put her jacket on, she spun back around to him. Sterling couldn’t keep his pulse from speeding up. God, he still was trying to wrap his mind around how hard and quickly he had fallen for her.

  She was perfection in every sense of the word. Sasha was an intelligent woman with a knockout body, and she only had eyes for him.

  Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Sasha pulled him down until they were eye level. “I just had the most amazing idea while I was getting ready to leave.”

  Whatever Sasha’s proposal was, he would agree to it without a second thought. How could he not do it?

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “How about I think of an excuse so we can leave early and go back to my house for a nightcap?” she suggested then gave him a sexy wink.

  “Sweetheart, I think I love, and I do mean love, the way your mind thinks,” he breathed against Sasha’s plump lips before capturing them for a kiss.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Taking a sip of her drink, Sasha watched Sterling joke around with Cash near a small table across the room filled with her big sister’s famous finger foods.

  She touched her hair, making sure that it was still in place since Sterling decided he wanted more than a kiss when he picked her up at home. If she hadn’t come to her senses rather quickly the two of them wouldn’t be at her sister’s dinner party.

  Turning away from Cash, Sterling gave her a huge smile and then waved before he looked back at her new brother in-law. Sasha couldn’t keep the smile off her face, even after Sterling was now looking in her direction.

  Was this what it felt like when you were falling in love with another person? If it was she didn’t want it to end anytime soon.

  “Care to tell me why a huge smile is plastered across my little sister’s face? Did something happen between you and Sterling while I was away on my honeymoon?” Rachelle asked. “The last time we spoke about him, Sterling Hamilton was an asshole and you wanted nothing to do with him.”

  Spinning around, Sasha grinned at her big sister. She loved Akisha and Genise dearly,
but she was so delighted to have Rachelle back home. Rachelle was the one she could always talk to about anything.

  “Sterling and I are dating. We’re trying to see where things can go with us.” She hoped everything would only get better and better.

  “Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you,” Rachelle said, giving her a hug and then moving back. “I was wondering what was up when Sterling came to dinner with you, and I couldn’t get anything out of Akisha or Genise when I asked them in the kitchen.”

  Grabbing Rachelle by the arm, she dragged her away from the other guests. She wanted to her sister alone. She always gave her the best advice, out of anyone in the family. She kept walking until they were in the kitchen.

  “Do you know how glad I’m that you are finally home? I’ve needed your guidance so badly lately,” Sasha admitted. She really hoped Rachelle could finally make her stop worrying about her relationship with the man standing across the room.

  “Sasha, what’s wrong?” Rachelle asked, pulling out a chair from the kitchen table and taking a seat. “Sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

  Grabbing a chair, she joined her sister. “You know how I can be. I’ve waited to be with Sterling for so long, and now that we’re dating I’m just wondering how things will turn out between us.”

  Linking her fingers together, Rachelle leaned forward across the glass kitchen table, giving her full attention to her. This was the one thing she loved the most about her big sister. No matter what was going on around her, if she needed Rachelle’s help anywhere, anyplace, and anytime, she got it.

  “First thing you should do is stop overthinking everything so much. You know that I’ve told you this before. Don’t worry about your future with Sterling. Just enjoy the journey of falling in love with him.

  “Honestly, I think getting to learn more about the man you’re falling in love with is the best part. You have to take the good with the bad. Remember how I didn’t want anything to do with Cash? Especially after I found out what he did for a living, because I hate when a person profits from someone else’s misery.