Heart & Soul – The Surprise
By Nicola C. Priest
Copyright © Nicola C. Priest
Other Books by Nicola C. Priest
The Heartland Series
Heart & Soul: The Meeting
Disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Dedication
To the one person I know I can always depend on to be there when I need them. Thank you for your ongoing support and friendship.
Dad. MYALYF
XXX
~ 1 ~
Sam couldn’t quite believe what was happening. Her breath caught and her pulse quickened as a storm of butterflies took flight in her stomach. The sheer beauty of the man who stood in front of her was astounding. His blue eyes twinkled as he made no attempt to hide his interest in her. As he leant against the wall, he looked her up and down, taking in every inch of her body. The concentration on his face gave her the impression he was committing her every curve to his memory.
Pushing his jacket to the side, his hands nestled in his pockets as he crossed his feet at the ankles. It was a casual pose, yet it still did delicious things to her insides as she felt the familiar heat begin to spread throughout her body, heading south to the place she could only dream he would touch. After all the fantasies she’d had about him in the last twenty four hours, he was here. He was actually here, with her, in an elevator.
Alone.
She watched as he reached out and pushed a button on the console, the elevator coming to a smooth stop. He resumed his relaxed position and Sam swallowed. He looked as sexy as sin and the realisation she was alone with him had suddenly made her feel very self conscious and hyper aware of his male potency.
Sam was drawn to him, no matter how much she wished she wasn't, she was, and for the life of her she couldn’t fathom why. She never reacted this way to a guy, even the hot ones. She’d met her fair share of good looking men, some she’d been attracted to, others she wouldn't give a second glance, but she’d always been able to control herself around them, especially how her body reacted to them.
Not this man.
Alistair was different and her traitorous body never failed to let her forget it. It would be easy for her to put it down to his movie star status, but she knew that would be a poor excuse. Deep down it was more than that. There was just something about him that she was finding increasingly difficult to resist.
As he continued to watch her, he saw him pull his cell from his inside jacket pocket. He spent a few moments sending what looked like a text before sliding the device away, all the while acting like she wasn’t there. That soon changed as his eyes continued their perusal and she began to see a hint of the arrogance she’d heard so much about. He found her attractive, of that she was sure and he wasn’t doing anything to make her believe otherwise. His eyes were taking in every aspect of her face, her body, lingering longer than was polite on her chest, causing her to narrow her eyes slightly at his audacity.
Normally, if a guy eyed up her chest like he was doing now, she would be offended. There was nothing like holding a conversation with a guy whose eyes were looking several inches lower than hers. Guys that saw women as nothing but a pair of boobs irritated her, yet with him, it gave her a thrill like nothing she’d felt before.
Sam began to take in his appearance for the first time, the sight of him only serving to make her already laboured breathing almost non-existent. He was dressed in charcoal grey pants with a matching jacket. The dark blue shirt he wore only made his eyes look brighter and more vibrant. Never before had she seen such a stunning pair of eyes. His ensemble probably cost more than her monthly salary, but she had to admit, he looked good enough to eat and downright dangerous to her health.
Sam felt the familiar tingle in her fingers as she flicked her gaze upwards, seeing his dark hair was swept back of his face. Yet again she found herself wanting to run her fingers through those silky strands and hold him tight against her while his mouth plundered her own.
Sam had always found kissing to be the best kind of foreplay. The right kind of kiss could arouse her more than any other kind of oral stimulation. She could imagine how Alistair kissed, guessing he was the kind of guy who spoke volumes with just the briefest caress of his lips. Tender yet hard, soft yet powerful, telling her how much he wanted her with just his lips and talented tongue.
Sam had to stop thinking like this. It was not doing her heart any good, not to mentioned completely destroying her panties. She was pretty sure they were already ruined with the amount of moisture she could feel; moisture that had begun to gather there since he'd stepped foot in the elevator.
Forcing herself to calm her breathing, Sam knew she needed to say something. They'd only been in there for a few moments, yet she’d still not said a word to him. What could she say that didn’t sound inane and ridiculous? She couldn’t exactly tell him to drop to his knees, drag her pants down her legs and use his tongue to fuck her pussy.
Could she?
The way he was looking at her, his eyes several shades darker than when he'd entered, had her believing he may just take her up on her suggestion. Just the thought of the possibility caused an involuntary shudder to wrack her body. She knew he'd seen her reaction as his sensual lips curled into a small smile, revealing two deep dimples in his cheeks. He would have to have dimples wouldn't he? Her one weakness in a man and he had to have them.
God this man is hot. Say something Sam, before you make a complete idiot of yourself.
“Mr Lockwood.”
Good start Sam.
She inwardly chuckled to herself as he continued to watch her. What was running through that impossibly handsome head of his? He was probably trying to figure out what he was doing willingly getting himself stuck in an elevator with a woman who was doing nothing but gawp at him, something she was sure he was used to in his line of work.
He remained silent as he shifted position and crossed his arms over his chest, the movement causing the fabric of his jacket to stretch across his biceps. Sam forced herself to swallow, only now realising that her throat was bone dry. This man unnerved her like no other.
“It’s good to see you again Samantha. I had hoped I would, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.”
His voice was just as deep and sultry as she remembered and it was doing wondrous things to her insides, not to mention intensifying the tingle she’d felt building between her thighs as soon as she’d clapped eyes on him again. He’d hoped to see her again? They’d barely said two words to each other when they’d met yesterday, what could she have possibly done to make him want to see her again?
Probably the same thing he did to you to make you want to see him again.
Silencing her inner voice, Sam knew it would be easy to succumb to his charms; to let herself get swept away in the sensations his presence created, but she also knew it was something she couldn’t do, no matter how earth shattering she was sure it would be. She needed to pull herself together and behave like the confident, independent woman she’d fought so hard to find again since moving from New York.
"Really? I can’t say I’d thoug
ht about it Mr Lockwood."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt the twinge of regret twist at her gut. She was lying. She’d done nothing but hope to see him again since she’d left him at the hotel the day before. She was almost 100% certain it had been him at the club last night and even though she hadn’t seen him, her body had known without a doubt.
Sam watched as he pushed off the elevator wall and took a step closer, a small smirk on his lips. Her comment had amused him, and something in the way he looked at her told her he didn’t believe her. He was now only a foot away and Sam realised if she stretched her arms out she would be able to touch him. It would be so easy for her to grab hold of that expensive jacket of his, pull him to her and crush her lips to his.
The image of her doing just that sent a shot of pure heat through her body, halting between her thighs as Sam shifted restlessly in her heels. Trying to put some distance between them, she found her back connecting with the hard steel wall of the elevator. She was trapped, in a confined space, with a drop dead gorgeous man.
The possibilities were endless.
Sam could think of numerous ways that this scenario could play out but the only ones filling her mind ended up with them wearing a lot less clothing than what they wore now. She felt her nipples tighten at the thought and hoped that her reaction wasn’t obvious to his perusing gaze.
Knowing that she was taking a huge risk, she looked up at him. As soon as their eyes connected, she knew her initial assessment had been right. Humongous mistake. His eyes were almost black and for a brief moment, she could have sworn he was holding his breath. Could he be as affected by her and she was him?
Whether he was or not didn’t matter. She was definitely attracted to him, she couldn't deny it, didn't want to deny it. She knew what would happen if he so much as touched her; she would surrender everything to him in a second, rules be damned, even if it meant losing who she was in the process.
oOo
God she was more beautiful than he remembered. It had been several hours since he’d seen her at the club, but she'd been a fixture in his dreams all night. He'd had the best night’s sleep he’d had in a long time, not to mention one of the most painful morning hard-ons since he'd been a teenager and hadn't yet discovered the wonders of a woman's body. Sam was the physical embodiment of everything he wanted in a woman and she was right here, standing in front of him, watching him with those beautiful emerald eyes.
He began to wonder what was running through that pretty head of hers, and what a pretty head it was. As before, her makeup was simple, just mascara to emphasise her bright eyes and a pale pink lip gloss adorned her soft lips. He felt his breath catch as her tongue flicked out and ran across the curve of her mouth. It appeared to be an unconscious action as her eyes were still fixed to his. A nervous reaction maybe?
He wasn’t sure if the thought of him unnerving her was good or bad. One thing he did know though, she’d been lying when she’d said she hadn’t thought about seeing him again. He’d always believed that if you really wanted to know how a woman felt, just look in her eyes. They responded involuntarily and they couldn't be controlled. Alistair knew without a shadow of a doubt that his eyes told her how much he wanted her and, judging by the now deep, green shade of hers, she wanted him just as badly.
He didn’t care how obvious he was being as he let his eyes slide from her lips, down to the creamy skin exposed by the open neckline of the red shirt she wore, the silky material skimming over her breasts. He had to hold in a groan as he saw the tight buds of her nipples through her shirt. Oh yeah, she was clearly affected by him. The question was, what did he do about it?
His head was screaming at him to reach out and touch her, to see if her skin was really as soft as it looked. Stretching his fingers, Alistair fought the urge to run them along her cheek, down her slender neck and along her collarbone. Did she have any idea how much she affected him? Taking a breath, but maintaining his position, Alistair spoke.
"Why Miss Westfield, you wound me, and please, call me Alistair."
When her position didn't shift and her expression didn't change, he began to wonder if she had heard him. That was until he saw her lips begin to curve into a slight smile, one that he could tell she was fighting to hide.
"You don't strike me as the kind of man who wounds easily Mr Lockwood. In fact, you strike me as the kind of man who appreciates honesty."
"Oh I do Samantha, honesty is a rarity in the showbiz industry. Of course, it only really works if you're actually being honest."
Seeing his words register with her, he grabbed the opportunity when it presented itself and took a step closer, closing the distance between them to just a few inches. He'd been correct in his belief that she'd been lying. If this woman hadn't thought about him since yesterday, then he had seriously underestimated his attractiveness to the opposite sex.
Her breathing had quickened, so much so that he had to fight hard not to lower his eyes to the rapid rise and fall of her chest. There was a rosy flush to her cheeks and her eyes were practically smouldering. What would she do if he just kissed her right now? It was a very tempting idea, one that he thought she would welcome, if her current state was anything to go by.
"That's rather arrogant of you Mr Lockwood, to presume all I've been doing since I saw you yesterday is thinking of you."
He smiled, he couldn't help it. For a fleeting moment, he thought he may have been wrong, but he dismissed that straightaway when she folded her arms across her chest, a defensive gesture if ever he'd seen one. She was trying to put a barrier between them.
He had to give her credit, she was nothing like the other women he came across in his work. Everyone fell over themselves to give him what he wanted, telling him what they thought he wanted to hear to make him happy. Samantha had been right when she'd said he appreciated honesty and right now she was being brutally honest with him.
He found it hotter then hell.
"I never presume Samantha, I just say it like I see it and right now...." he said as he lifted his hand to play with the collar of her blouse, his fingers brushing against the skin of her neck, causing her at gasp at the sensation "....I'd say you're being less than honest about how being around me makes you feel."
Alistair didn't move his hand as he let his fingers lightly graze the skin of her neck. It was taking everything inside him not to haul her against his body and devour her. He could see her breathing had quickened still and the pulse in her throat was visible as it beat rapidly. Moving his fingers round he slowly ran them across the throbbing pulse point, feeling her swallow under his fingertips.
He could tell she was fighting the attraction just as much as he was. The air was thick with sexual tension and he knew in that moment that something would happen between them. When, he didn't know but like snow in winter, it was inevitable.
oOo
Sam was falling under his spell and falling fast. She could barely breathe as she fought to remain steady. Just the gentle caress of his fingers was playing havoc with her body. Her heart was pumping so hard she was sure it was visible through her shirt. Her breathing was all over the place, her nipples were tight to the point that the contact with the lace of her bra was causing her body to tingle. She was also pretty sure her panties were now completed soaked. What this man could do her to with just a few well chosen words and a gentle touch was beyond anything she'd ever felt before.
Sam was just minutes away from begging him to take her. She didn't care that they were in an elevator in the building where she worked, all she cared about was alleviating the ache that she felt between her thighs. The throbbing there was immense and she knew it wouldn't take much to bring her to climax.
Her eyes were locked onto his as Sam unfolded the arms that were still crossed over her chest. Dropping them to her sides, she pressed her palms against the the cold metal wall, hoping the contact would cool her overheated skin.
It didn’t.
There was a part of her that w
as screaming for her to put an end to this and just walk away. There was no way this going to end well. Yet the other part was urging her to go for it, take a risk. Plenty of women just had sex with a guy and remained friends. It wasn't like she was actually friends with Alistair, but she guessed the principal was the same. No strings, mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex. With no feelings.
Yeah right.
No strings sex was something Sam had never been able to do. She knew that if anything happened between her and Alistair, feelings would almost definitely be involved. On her part at least. Already she felt something towards him. Granted it was probably pure lust at this stage but still, there was definitely something brewing beneath the surface.
Her breath hitched as his fingers stopped their downward trajectory and moved upwards. Sam watched as she slowly turned his hand before grazing his knuckles across her cheek. Against her wishes, her eyes slid closed and she couldn't stop the yearning groan that slipped passed her lips. The tension between them was palpable as she forced her eyes open, seeing he'd moved closer still. They were now only millimetres apart.
Heart & Soul: The Surprise (Heartland Series) Page 1