Late Nights (7 page)

She was very flexible about certain things. She possessed the wonderful ability to fit in anywhere or with anyone for any situation. Sasha wasn’t against adapting, but she wasn’t going to be anyone’s doormat.

Sterling was done using her for her keen business sense while ignoring the rest of her. All of those qualities came inside the same cute, sexy package. If he couldn’t appreciate her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, then he didn’t need to be in her world.

“Here you are. I was headed to your office to see you until a guy pointed me in this direction,” a male voice said behind her.

Sterling! Why was he here? Why couldn’t he have stayed away? She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him today.

Taking a deep, unsteady breath, Sasha slowly turned around and glanced up at Sterling, noticing the serious look on his handsome face. “Mr. Hamilton, what are you doing here? You wouldn’t come by
Luxury
unless it has something to do with your business. I can’t come into work today if that is what you want. I’m very busy here taking over for my sister Rachelle.”

Sterling shook his head, causing a lock of his hair to fall against his forehead, which gave him a sexier appearance. “No, I’m not here about you coming into work today. I need to speak to you about something else more important. Do you have a few minutes to spare back in your office?”

“Sorry, I can’t do it. I should get back to work at the front desk to greet the guests,” Sasha answered.

She strolled away from Sterling, nodding at a few people as she moved back towards the sign-in desk. Before she got too far she was abruptly caught up by the elbow and firmly escorted in the direction of her office before she could utter a word of protest.

Chapter Ten

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sasha snapped at Sterling the second he slammed her office door closed. She jerked her arm away, shooting him a hard glare. He couldn’t come here and manhandle her like this!

He came closer, looking down at her intensely. “You weren’t being reasonable out there, so I brought you back here so we could talk in private.”

“What is so important that you had to embarrass me in front of my employees and the guests standing out there?” Sterling better tell her quick, or she was out of here faster than he dragged her inside.

“This!” He yanked her hard against his chest and kissed her. Sterling’s kiss wasn’t demanding or forceful—instead it was slower, more stimulating. His tongue brushed the top of her mouth, silently seeking entrance.

Despite the fact Sasha wanted to deny Sterling, she couldn’t because she wanted him too damn much. She opened her mouth wider, allowing him the access he was seeking from her.

With a growl coming from deep within his throat, he pushed her against the wall, trapping her between it and his hard body. Grabbing her hips, he wrapped her one of her legs around his waist and ground his hard cock against her damp underwear.

“Baby, you feel so good in my arms. I knew that you would,” Sterling whispered against her mouth before trailing hot kisses down the side of her neck.

“No… stop,” Sasha protested, but even the request sounded weak to her ears.

A deep masculine laugh came from Sterling’s mouth as he raised his head and his mesmerizing eyes locked with hers.

“Sweetheart, I don’t think so.” He recaptured her swollen lips and continued his sexual dominance of her senses. She finally gave in and wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders, drawing his body back against hers.

Cupping her aching breasts in his hand, Sterling brushed his thumb back and forth across her right nipple, sending her body into overdrive with racing sensations. Eyes slipping shut, Sasha moaned softly. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had made her feel so dangerously close to losing control and blocking out everything around her.

“Baby, I need to taste you.” Lowering his head, Sterling’s opened mouth hovered above her nipple and was about to draw it between his lips when someone knocking at the office door jerked them apart.

Sasha only had a few seconds to shove Sterling away before Akisha sauntered in carrying a medium sized box. “Hey, Sasha, what are you doing back here in the office?” she asked, not noticing Sterling near the side of the door.

“I wasn’t sure if anyone was in here or not so that’s why I knocked first. You’re usually out in the main entrance greeting our guests and getting to know them better. What’s up with you today?”

Sasha started to answer her sister’s nosy questions, but Sterling cut her off before she could do it. “I believe that’s my fault.”

Her sister jumped at the unexpected sound of Sterling’s voice. Her eyes darted over to him then back at Sasha. “Sorry. I didn’t know Mr. Hamilton was in here with you,” Akisha apologized, but a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

“Hmmm, it’s okay,” Sasha replied.

She could barely think straight. How was she supposed to carry on a conversation like Sterling’s tongue wasn’t in her mouth only seconds ago? She wasn’t able to pull something like that off under the keen eye of her little sister.

“Just let me set down this box Rachelle sent to us on the desk and then you can get back to whatever you were doing with Mr. Hamilton.”

“Mr. Hamilton is here because he needed to talk to me about something concerning work. You didn’t interrupt anything important,” Sasha lied, hoping she sounded convincing. Akisha was sharp and it would take a lot to fool her. “You can stay here while I open this. There’s no telling what is inside of it. You know how Rachelle is when it comes to sending us gifts.”

Akisha glanced at her, then back at Sterling from the corner of her eye. “Sure, I didn’t,” she chuckled and walked over to the desk, placing the box in the middle.

“Well, I need to head back to work. Please stay out of trouble and remember to lock the door next time, so no one else will interrupt your
talk
. See you later, Mr. Hamilton, and that shade of red by the corner of your mouth is very becoming.” Akisha spun around and made her way back towards the open door.

“Bye, Akisha,” Sterling told her sister, but his eyes were still on her as he wiped her lipstick from the side of his mouth.

Sasha felt her face glowing warm from embarrassment as Akisha glanced over her shoulder. She winked at her before leaving the office and closing the door behind her. God, there was no way her baby sister wasn’t going to tell Genise about catching her making out with Sterling in the office.

Now that she was alone with Sterling and her mind had cleared away his kisses, she wondered what in the hell had come over her earlier. She never allowed herself to do something like that, especially at work.

What if it had been a supplier or guests walking in on them instead of her sister?

She would never live the gossip down. One wrong word to the right person and everything Rachelle had worked so hard for would be ruined because of her lack of judgment.

One minute she was pissed at Sterling for acting like he didn’t want her touch and now, not even twenty-four hours later, she allowed his tongue inside her mouth. Honestly, if Akisha had walked in five minutes later there was no telling what she might have caught the two of them doing.

Sasha had to get rid of Sterling because she needed time to think. There was no way she could do that with him so close. He was looking at her like he wanted to start up from where they’d left off before Akisha’s surprise appearance.

“You should go. I have to get back to work,” Sasha said, fixing her clothing. “I don’t know how I let this even happen between us, but we
need
to make sure it doesn’t again.” She really needed to have her head examined by a professional. Turning around, Sasha headed for the door, but Sterling blocked her path.

“No, I’m not going to let you leave without saying more than that to me,” Sterling complained, staring down into her face. “We need to discuss what happened at work, along with what happened a few minutes ago. I know you were into the kiss as much as I was. If your sister Akisha hadn’t walked in on us, we would still be going at it and you know I’m telling the truth.”

Stepping back, Sasha thought about walking around Sterling again and leaving the room, but after seeing the determined look on his face she knew he wasn’t about to let her leave until she gave him some kind of answer.

“Mr. Hamilton.”

“Sterling,” he corrected, shooting her a look, daring her to argue with him.

Sasha took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. Tuesdays were the busiest of the week at
Luxury
. She didn’t know why, but they were and she should be at the front desk dealing with the chaos and making sure everything ran smoothly.

Therefore, she had to deal with Sterling as quickly as possible and then leave so she could get back to work. She couldn’t think about how good it finally felt to have him kissing her.

“Sterling, we don’t have time to discuss what occurred between us right now. I need to be out front helping my sister.”

“When do you think we should have a talk about it?” he asked, crossing his arms over his wide chest. “Give me a time and day then I’ll be ready, but I’m not going to let you brush it underneath the rug. You liked it when I was kissing you. Don’t you dare tell me you didn’t.”

Sasha was momentarily caught off guard by the demand in his voice. Sterling really wanted to talk with her. What was he up to now? Had she bruised his ego, and he wanted to get the upper hand over her? She wasn’t going to be all into him anymore the way she used to be. He better understand that or he was in for a lot of trouble.

“We can meet after I’m off work, but I have to get back out to the front desk. Please move out of my way.” She impatiently waited for a few more seconds as Sterling thought about her answer.

“I’ll be back here for you around six o’clock. We can go out to dinner.” Moving away, Sterling opened the door and but paused halfway, taking a quick look back at her. “Don’t try to leave without waiting for me. If you do, I will come to your house looking for you.”

“You can’t make any kind of demands of me. I will do as I please, Mr. Hamilton,” she flung back.

“Sasha, test me if you want, but you won’t like what happens if you do.”

Spinning back around, he left her standing in the middle of the office staring at his back until he disappeared around the corner at the end of the hallway.

Great
!

How did Sterling know she was planning on seeing if Akisha would stay and work her shift? Now she had no other choice but to stay here and not think about the hot kiss planted on her. She had been totally taken back by it. She had dreamt about it for so long. She never thought it would happen, but she wasn’t mad it did, no matter what lies she told Sterling. The kiss was better than anything her mind could have dreamt up at night when she was alone in her bed.

What the hell was going with Sterling?

Sasha was so confused by Sterling’s surprise appearance at her job and everything that occurred between them while he was here. The only thing that made it worse was she didn’t have a clue what she was going to do about it

She hated confusion, and after dealing with Sterling she was beyond dazed and confused about what he wanted from her. Did he kiss her as an apology for his earlier behavior or did it mean something more? She would have to wait and find out the answer to her questions over dinner.

Chapter Eleven

Sterling tossed his car keys on his bed as a newfound excitement raced through him. Sasha actually kissed him back. He couldn’t believe it. They had so much to discuss over dinner tonight. She would give him a chance to explain how he felt about her and she wasn’t going anywhere until he was finished.

Walking around his bedroom, Sterling couldn’t believe how much things had changed in his life over the past several months. At first, he’d come home to take over as CEO of his father’s nearly bankrupt business to shove it in his old man’s face. But, the bastard died before he could gloat.

He didn’t want to think about his childhood or his father, but he couldn’t push the unwanted memories away. They were always there in the back of his mind, taunting him like a bad dream.

As soon as he graduated from school, Sterling took the first flight he could get from England. His decision to leave home at seventeen shocked most of his friends, but deep down he knew he wouldn’t make it another night in his father’s home.

He didn’t allow the asshole the satisfaction of tossing him out on the streets. Instead, he waited until Victor Hamilton went out on a date and left during the night with only the money he had saved up working odd jobs.

The first job he landed was as a dishwasher at a hotel in Houston, Texas. As the years passed, he worked his way up to become a bellboy and then a front desk clerk. Sterling continued working hard, building up his reputation until he was able to buy the hotel twelve years later, because he had something to prove.

His father had been a mean, unfeeling asshole who only cared about himself, but all that was in the past now. Hearing his authoritative father’s voice calling him worthless for so many years started fading into the background the more he brought in capital to Comforts Sleep Company.

After he accomplished his goal, Sterling stayed focused, doing what needed to be done. Eight years later, he was the proud owner of six smaller hotels around Texas and four more in Florida. After having so much success in the States, he made the decision to stay here instead of going back to England.

Yet, he still wasn’t content with all the money and power that surrounded him. Something significant was absent—he felt the emptiness every morning when he woke up and nightly when he went to bed.

His dear old father was never interested in being a parent. All he wanted was a pretty woman on his arm as eye candy. He never made the time to watch him play different sports at his boarding school. He would send one of his secretaries or drivers to report on how well or bad it had gone for Sterling.