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She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he unhooked her bra, but she would remember forever the first time his hands cupped her breasts. His touch was reverent but firm. His fingers, when they caressed her nipples, teasing but gentle. Unable to help herself, Sally arched her back, pressing herself against his palms, eager to feel more. She was no shrinking virgin, but she’d never experienced this kind of responsiveness before in her life. Right now she was lost in sensation and anticipation of his next move.
When he lowered his mouth to capture one taut nipple, she keened softly in response. Her legs felt like jelly, as if they could barely support her, and at her core her body had developed a deep, drawing ache of need.
“Perfect,” he whispered against her wet and sensitive bud, sending another shiver through her body that had nothing to do with cold and everything to do with an inferno of heat and desire.
Kirk’s hands were at her hips a moment later, easing her panties down over her thighs. She stepped out of them, for the first time in her adult life unembarrassed by her nakedness.
“It seems you have me at a slight disadvantage here,” she said with a teasing smile.
“I’m all for equal opportunity.” He smiled in return and spread his hands wide so she could reach for his belt buckle.
She wasn’t sure how he did it, but he managed to make shedding his shoes, socks, trousers and boxer briefs incredibly sexy. Or maybe it was just that she was so looking forward to seeing him naked, to having the opportunity to investigate every curve of muscle and every shadow beneath it, that every new inch of bared skin aroused her even more.
His skin peppered with goose bumps as she trailed her hand from his chest to his lower abdomen. His erection was full and heavy, jutting proudly from his body without apology or shame.
“You do that to me,” he said as she eyed him.
Again he made her feel as though she was the strong, desirable one here. The one with all the authority and control. Without a second thought, she wrapped her fingers around his length, stroking him and marveling at the contradiction in impressions—of the heated satin softness of his skin and the steel-like hardness beneath it.
Somehow they maneuvered onto the bed. Again an exercise in elegance rather than the convoluted tangle of limbs she’d always experienced in the past. Sally had never known such synchronicity before. Exploring his body, listening to and watching his reactions as she did so, became the most natural thing in the world. Despite the sense of urgency that had gripped her at the bar, right now she wanted to take all the time in the world. Kirk, too, seemed content to go along for the ride, to allow her the time to find out exactly what wrung the greatest reactions from him, how to take him to the edge of madness and how to bring him slowly down again.
And then it was his turn. His hands were firm and sure as they stroked her, his fingers nimble and sweet as they tweaked and tugged and probed until she was shaking from head to foot. Wanting to demand he give her the release her body trembled for, yet wanting him to prolong this torturous pleasure at the same time. And all the while he murmured how beautiful she was. How perfect. It was the most empowering experience of her life.
When he finally sheathed himself and entered her body, it was sheer perfection. Her hips rose to greet him, and as he filled her she knew she’d never known anything quite this exquisite and might never know anything to match it again. Tonight was a gift. Something to be cherished. All of it—especially the way he made her feel so incredibly wanted when he groaned and gripped her hips as he sank fully within her.
“Don’t. Move,” he implored her as she tightened her inner muscles around him.
“What? Like this?” She tightened again and tilted her hips so he nestled just that little bit deeper.
“Exactly not like that.”
She did it again, savoring the power his words had given her. Savoring, too, each and every sensation that rippled through her body at how deliciously he filled her. He growled, a deep, guttural resignation to her demands and began to withdraw. Then he surged against her. This time it was Sally who groaned in surrender. Her hands tightened on his shoulders, her short, practical nails embedded in his skin. She met him thrust for thrust, her tension coiling tighter and tighter, until she lost all sense of what was happening and felt her entire being let go in a maelstrom of pleasure so mind-blowing, so breathtaking she knew nothing in her life would ever be the same again.
As she lay there, heart still hammering a frantic beat, her nerve endings still tingling with the climax that had wrung her body out, she thought it such a shame that this was to be only a one-night stand. A woman could get used to this kind of lovemaking. But not a woman like her, she reminded herself sternly. She had a career path to follow. A life to build and a point to prove, to herself if to no one else. Throwing herself into another doomed attempt at building a satisfying relationship would only distract her from her goals. She had to take this rendezvous for what it was—a beautiful anomaly—and then thank the nice man for the lovely ending to the night before getting dressed and going home.
She couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. To pull away and leave the welcoming warmth of his embrace, to end the age-old connection of their bodies. Kirk murmured something in her ear and rolled to one side, bringing her with him until she was half sprawled over his body. Oh, but he was magnificent, she though as she studied his upper torso. How lucky was she to have met him tonight? She lowered her head on his chest and listened to his heart rate as it changed from racing fast to a slower, more even beat. His breathing, too, changed, and his fingers stopped playing with her hair.
He was asleep. Five more minutes and it was time to go. Gently she extracted herself from his arms and tiptoed around the bedroom gathering up her things. A quick trip to the bathroom to tidy up and get dressed and she was out of here. No sticking around for embarrassment in the cold light of morning. No recriminations or awkwardness over breakfast.
She let herself out of the apartment and slipped her phone from her bag. She’d just opened an app to order a cab when her phone—put on silent when she’d gone out to meet her friends—lit up with an incoming call. She recognized the name on the screen immediately. Marilyn had been her father’s PA since before she was born and had become a mother figure to Sally after her own mother’s death. But it was late, after midnight. What on earth was Marilyn doing calling her now?
“Hello?” Sally answered as the elevator doors opened onto the lobby.
“Where are you?” Marilyn asked sharply. “I’ve been trying to call you for the past two hours.”
There was a note to the older woman’s voice that Sally had never heard her use before. She identified it immediately as fear and felt her stomach drop.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, getting straight to the point.
“It’s your father. He came back into his office tonight, and security found him while they were on their rounds. He’s had a heart attack and he’s at the hospital now. It’s bad, Sally, really bad.”
A whimper escaped her as she took a mental note of the details of which hospital he was at.
“Where are you?” Marilyn asked. “I’ll send Benton with the car.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not far from the hospital. I’ve got a cab coming already. Are you there now?”
“Of course,” the PA answered. A note of vulnerability crept into her voice. “But they won’t tell me anything because I’m not next of kin.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. I promise.”
Waiting for the cab was the longest five minutes of her life, and as it pulled away from the curb, Sally wondered how life could turn on the dime like that. How, in one moment, everything could be perfect and exciting and new, and in the next all could be torn away.
She should never have left her father after dinner tonight, especially on the eve of something as big as tomorrow’s merger announcement. But how was she to know he’d go back into the office and, of all things, have a heart attack? And why had the security guards called Marilyn instead of her? Surely she, as his daughter, should have been listed on the company register as his immediate next of kin? But then, he’d always sheltered and protected her, hadn’t he?
She remembered how drawn he’d looked tonight. How she’d dismissed it so easily as nothing out of the ordinary. She hadn’t even asked if he was feeling ill. Guilt assailed her. He hadn’t wanted to worry her about the merger, so why would he worry her about not feeling well? Suddenly her decision to be bold and chase after her own pleasure without thinking of the consequences tonight seemed horribly pathetic and selfish. If she’d simply gone home after her friends had left the bar, she’d have gotten the call and been at the hospital hours ago. What if she arrived too late? She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost her dad. He was her rock, her mainstay, her shelter.
“Hold on, Daddy,” she whispered. “Please, hold on.”
* * *
Always an early riser, Kirk woke as sunlight began to filter through the blinds, his body satiated like it had never been before. He took a moment to appreciate the feeling and decided he could definitely go for another round of that. He reached across his sheets for Sally’s warm, recumbent form beside him and came up with empty space. When had she pulled away from him? It wasn’t like him to sleep so deeply that he couldn’t remember his bed partner leaving, but then again he’d all but lost consciousness after the force of passion they’d shared.
Maybe she was in the bathroom. He looked across the bed to where light should have gleamed around the bathroom door frame, but there was only darkness. He sat up and cast his gaze around the room looking for her clothes. They were gone, as was she.
It shouldn’t have mattered—after all, he knew he’d see her again at the office, even if she wasn’t aware of that little detail just yet. But there was something almost shameful in the way she’d slipped out of his room without saying goodbye. As if she was embarrassed by what they’d done or wanted to pretend it hadn’t happened.
Well, maybe it hadn’t been as good for her as it was for him. He shook his head and told himself not to be so ridiculous. He knew she’d been there with him, every step of the way. Sometimes leading, sometimes allowing herself to be led. In fact, just thinking about her reactions—the sweet sounds she’d made, the responsiveness of her body beneath his touch—brought his desire immediately to full, aching life again.
Kirk groaned and pushed back the covers, remembering he hadn’t rid himself of the condom he’d miraculously had the presence of mind to slip on last night. The groan rapidly turned into a string of wild curses when he realized the condom wasn’t intact. He went to the bathroom and took care of what was left of it.
Now wide awake, several scenarios ran through his head. Of course, she could be on the Pill. Goodness only knew he hadn’t stopped to ask. He’d barely stopped to put on protection himself, for all the good it had done. Either way, he had to tell her, and soon. He wondered how that would go. It’s not like he could wait for her dad to introduce them at the office and shake her hand and say, “Hi, about last night...the condom broke.”
He heard his cell phone ringing from the sitting room and walked, naked, to retrieve it from his suit jacket. He recognized the number as Orson Harrison’s private line and answered immediately, surprised to hear a woman’s voice, though she quickly introduced herself as Marilyn, Orson’s assistant, and explained the medical emergency from the night before. His blood ran cold as he heard the news.
“Assemble the board as quickly as you can,” he instructed Harrison’s PA. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Three
Kirk’s head was still reeling. At the emergency board meeting, everyone had been shocked to hear the news of Orson’s heart attack, but all had agreed that the company could show no weakness, especially when Orson’s confidential report on his reasoning behind the merger had been presented to them. Therefore, they’d appointed Kirk interim chairman.
The new responsibility was a heavy weight on him, along with worry for Orson Harrison’s health. And on top of all that, he still had to tell Sally about the possibility she might be pregnant. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. He’d been such a fool to allow desire to cloud his judgment. It was the kind of impulsive emotion and need-driven behavior he’d always sworn he’d never indulge in. And now look where it had landed him.
He was investigating her, just as he was investigating every staff member here—he never should have allowed sex to muddy the waters.
He had no doubt she wouldn’t be happy to hear his news. Who would be, especially while her father’s life hung in the balance? So far the hospital had released very little information—only that Orson was in critical condition. Even Marilyn, who’d known Orson for almost thirty years, had been trying on the phone all morning, and remained unable to get past the gatekeeper of patient details at the hospital. To be honest, Kirk had been surprised to see the woman at her desk this morning and he’d expressed as much. She’d curtly informed him that someone had to hold the place together in Orson’s absence and had been ill-pleased when she’d been informed of his appointment as interim chairman.
Kirk flicked a glance at his watch. Perhaps she’d gotten ahold of Sally again by now. He hit the interoffice button to connect with the prickly PA.
“Any updates regarding Mr. Harrison?” he asked.
“No, sir.” The woman’s voice was clipped.
She’d made it quite clear that she wasn’t happy about him using Orson’s office—interim appointment or not. She was even less impressed when he’d ignored her protests and taken up residence. It made sense to him to stand at the helm right now, when he was supposed to be steering this particular ship. It would help the staff to see someone visibly taking charge. Well, the staff except for Marilyn.
“Thank you, Marilyn,” Kirk replied, keeping his voice civil. “And Ms. Harrison? Has there been any communication with her yet?”
“I believe she’s in the building but I haven’t spoken to her myself, yet.”
Kirk looked at his watch. Two thirty. They were going forward with the planned announcement of the merger—it was, after all, the only thing that would explain why Kirk had taken temporary leadership—and the video link announcement was scheduled to commence at three sharp. Did Sally still plan to be there? He knew her father had wanted her by his side, but in light of recent events, he wouldn’t blame her for skipping out. Coming into the office at all couldn’t have been an easy decision to make with her father so desperately ill.
“Could you get a message to her and ask her to come to my office as soon as possible? I want to brief her before the video link.”
“Certainly, sir.”
Again there was that brief hesitation and slight distaste to her tone as she said the word sir. He’d already asked her to call him by his first name, but it seemed his request had been ignored. That, however, wasn’t important to him right now. He had a far greater concern on his hands. Like, how the hell did he tell Sally about the condom?
It was only a few minutes before he heard women’s voices outside the office door. The double doors began to swing open, and he heard Marilyn’s voice call out in caution.
“Oh, but there’s someone—”
And there she was. Sally Harrison appeared in the doorway, her head still turned to Marilyn, a reassuring smile on her face. A smile that froze then faded into an expression of shock when she saw him rise from behind her father’s desk.
“K-Kirk?” she stammered.
Her face paled, highlighting the dark shadows of exhaustion and worry beneath her eyes that even makeup couldn’t disguise. Kirk moved swiftly to her side, aware of Orson’s PA coming up behind Sally. He gently guided Sally into a chair.
“A glass of water for Ms. Harrison, please, Marilyn,” Kirk instructed the PA, who raced to do his bidding.
She was back in a moment, and Kirk took the glass from her before pressing it into Sally’s shaking hand.
“Mr. Tanner, it’s really too much to expect her to attend the video link,” Marilyn began defensively. “She shouldn’t have to—”
“It’s entirely up to Ms. Harrison. Marilyn, perhaps you could get something for her to eat. I bet you haven’t had anything today, have you?” he asked, looking at Sally directly.
Sally shook her head. “No. I couldn’t bear to think about food.”
She tried to take a sip of the water. Her hand was shaking so much Kirk wrapped his fingers around hers to steady her and keep her from spilling. She flinched at his touch, a reaction he was sure Marilyn hadn’t missed.
“You need to eat something,” he said. He turned to the PA. “Could you get a bowl of fruit from the executive kitchen for Ms. Harrison and perhaps some yogurt, as well?”
“Is that what you want, Sally?” Marilyn asked, moving to Sally’s other side. “Perhaps you’d rather I stayed here with you while Mr. Tanner got you something to eat.”
Kirk bit back a retort. He wasn’t about to enter into a battle of wills with Marilyn here and now. And given the time constraints that now faced them, he wouldn’t be able to have the discussion with Sally that they really needed to have. He studied her from the top of her golden head to her sensibly clad feet. Even in a demure pale blue suit and with her hair scraped back into a ponytail that gave him a headache just looking at how tightly it was bound, she still affected him.
Could she already be pregnant with his child? The thought came like a sucker punch straight to his gut.
“Good idea,” he said, making a decision to leave their discussion until they could be guaranteed more privacy and uninterrupted time.
Of greater importance was letting Sally come to terms with his presence here—and the fact that he’d kept it from her last night. Once the shock wore off, he had no doubt matters between them would be less than cordial, especially once she discovered that he’d known exactly who she was all along.
Sally looked from him to Marilyn. “It-it’s okay, Marilyn. You know what I like. Perhaps you could get it for me? I really am feeling quite weak.”
“Of course you are,” Marilyn said in a more placatory tone and patted Sally on the shoulder. “You’ve always had a delicate constitution. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Marilyn closed the door behind her with a sharp click, leaving Kirk in no doubt that even though Orson’s PA had left the room to do his bidding, she certainly wasn’t happy about it.
“Have another sip of water,” he urged Sally.
He was relieved to see a little color coming back into her face.
“How is your dad doing?” he asked, determined to distract her until Marilyn’s return.
She drew in another deep breath. “He’s in an induced coma and they say he’s stable—whatever that means. It’s hard to see it as anything positive when he looks so awful and is totally nonresponsive.” Her voice shook, but she kept going. “They’re hoping to operate tomorrow. A quadruple bypass, apparently.”
Kirk pressed a hand on her shoulder. “I know your dad. He’s strong, he’ll come through.”
She looked up at him and he saw a flash of anger in her blue eyes.
“Just how well do you know my dad?”
Kirk felt a swell of discomfort, with just a tinge of rueful amusement. Trust Orson’s daughter to cut straight to the chase. “I’ve known him most of my life, to be honest.”
“And how is it I’ve never met you before last night?”
There was still a slight tremor to her voice, but he could see her getting stronger by the minute.
“Our parents were friends until my father died. After that my mom and I moved away. I was a kid at the time. There was no reason for you to know me before last night.”
He kept it deliberately brief. There wasn’t time for detail now.
“And now you’re back.” She fell silent a moment before flicking him another heated look. “You knew all along who I was, didn’t you?”
Kirk clenched his jaw and nodded. He’d never been the kind of person who lived on regret, but right now, if he could have turned back the clock and done last night over again, he absolutely would have. Or would he? He doubted she’d have come home with him if she’d known he’d soon be her boss. Would he have missed the chance to lose himself in her arms the way he had? Never have known the perfect passion they’d experienced together? Never had the broken condom, the snarky voice in the back of his mind sharply reminded him. Okay, so he’d have skipped that part.
“I see.” Sally swallowed another sip of water before speaking again. “She called you Mr. Tanner. That would be the Tanner in Harrison Tanner Tech? The new vice president?”
He nodded.
She pressed her lips together before speaking. “It seems you had me at a disadvantage right from the start. Which asks the question why you’d do something like that. Did it give you a kick to sleep with the chairman’s oblivious daughter? Never mind—don’t bother answering that.”
Sally waved her hand as if to negate the words she’d just uttered.
“Look, can we talk about that later, over dinner?”
“I do not want to go out to dinner with you. In fact, I don’t even want to be in the same room as you.”
Her cheeks had flushed pink with fury. At least that was better than the waxen image she’d presented to him only a few moments ago.
Marilyn returned to the office and set a small tray on Sally’s lap.
“There you are, my dear. Goodness knows, with your father so ill, the last thing we need is you collapsing, too. I’ve been telling your father for years now that he needs to slow down, but do you think he listens to me?” As if suddenly aware of the leaden atmosphere between Kirk and Sally, Marilyn straightened and gave Kirk a pointed glare. “Is there anything else...sir?”
“No, thank you, Marilyn. That will be all for now,” Kirk replied. He flicked a quick look at his watch. “Eat up,” he instructed Sally. “We have fifteen minutes.”
“I don’t feel like eat—”
“Please, Sally, at least try. It’ll boost your blood sugar for now and hopefully tide you through the next few hours,” Kirk said. “Whether you like it or not, we have to work together, today in particular. The last thing I want—and, as Marilyn already pointed out, the very last thing Harrison Tanner Tech needs—is you collapsing live on camera, especially during the merger announcement and even more so when news of your father’s heart attack becomes public knowledge.”
They locked gazes for what felt like a full minute before Sally acceded to his request and began to spoon up mouthfuls of the fruit.
“I still don’t want to go out for dinner with you,” she muttered between bites.
“We need to talk about last night, and we don’t have time now.”
“I don’t particularly wish to discuss last night. In fact, I’d rather forget it ever happened.”
Her words were cutting. Her anger and distrust right now felt like a palpable presence in the room. Such a contrast to the sweet openness she had shown him last night. And the tension between them was only going to get worse when she heard what he had to tell her. There was a knock at the door, and one of the communications team popped his head in.
“Ten minutes, Mr. Tanner! We need you miked and sound checked now.”
“And me, too,” Sally interjected in a shaking voice.
“Are you sure, Ms. Harrison?”
It wasn’t Kirk’s imagination—she paled again. But in true Harrison spirit, she placed her bowl on the desk in front of her and rose to her feet. She straightened her jacket and smoothed her hands over her rounded hips. Yes, there was still a tremor there.
“Absolutely certain. Let’s get this over with,” she said tightly.