Free Heart & Soul: The Surprise (Heartland Series) by Nicola C. Priest Page A

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