The Ultimate Merger (3 page)

****

They fell into an easy
conversation. She forgot all about her previous plans and spent the next forty
minutes listening to Renaldo talk mostly about his business and the stress to
close the deal he was working on. He was successful, but not quite where he wanted
to be. One of his goals was to expand into the U.S. market. In between the
business talk, they flirted and bantered back and forth, and he educated her on
the culture of his country.

“I’m doing all the talking,”
Renaldo said. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a financial analyst for a firm
named Global Investments. My focus is mergers and acquisitions.”

“Really? Maybe I can steal you away
from your firm. I could use a knowledgeable analyst on my team, and you’re
based here in Chicago, where I hope to begin my expansion into the U.S.”

“If I didn’t think you were
kidding, I’d take you up on the offer,” Sabrina said dryly.

Renaldo frowned. “You’re not
happy?”

“Let’s just say things could be
better. I’m out tonight to drown my sorrows in red wine and forget my problems
at work.” She pushed a lukewarm mushroom around on her plate with the fork. “I
sound bitter, don’t I?”

What was she thinking? Sitting here
with an attractive man paying her attention, and all she could do was complain
about her job. She should be thinking about engaging in more pleasurable
activities with him, because right now the alternative—going home to an empty
apartment and Netflix—did not appeal at all.  

“If you’re unhappy, why don’t you
leave?”

“Yeah, I’ll just walk out of there
and find another job just like that.” Sabrina snapped her fingers. “I’ll suffer
through it.”

“Like you’re doing now?” he asked
pointedly. “Spending a Friday night alone at a bar?”

His questions hit home in a way she
didn’t like. “I’m not really alone, though, am I?” She shrugged. “I wanted to
unwind before going home. It’s been a long week and an even longer day. Actually,
I had plans, but my friend cancelled at the last minute.”

“And this friend…was it a man?”

She eyed him from the corner of her
eye, surprised he’d deduced that so easily. “Yes.”

“Foolish man,” Renaldo said in a
low tone.

“He’s usually dependable. I’m sure
he has a good reason why he couldn’t make it.”

“I’m sure,” Renaldo said, sounding
unconvinced. “Fortunately, he’s not here, but I am.”

Sabrina ran her tongue along the
inside of her upper lip. “What does that mean?” she asked.

“It means I’d like to take his
place.”

Chapter Five

He watched the play of emotions
across her face.

“Excuse me?” she said.

Although she feigned ignorance of
his intentions, he didn’t believe it for one minute. If they offered degrees in
reading women’s body language, he’d have a Ph.D. There was no misunderstanding
the flirtatious smiles or sidelong glances as they’d conversed. If her body
burned for his as much as his burned for her, they could both get the release
they craved.  

“Are we going to pretend we don’t
want the same thing?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but refrained
from doing so. She swallowed and turned her attention back to her dish. It had
to be cold and unappetizing by now, but she placed another mushroom into her
pretty mouth in an obvious effort to keep herself busy.

His mind conjured an image of her
putting him in her mouth. The vivid thought caused his muscles to seize, and
for a moment he couldn’t move. When he regained his motor skills, he knew there
could only be one outcome. He desperately wanted this woman. Tonight.

“I’ve spent the last forty-five
minutes thinking about what I would have to say to make you feel comfortable
enough to leave here with me,” he said.

His eyes lowered to the fast-beating
pulse at the vee of her blouse. His own breathing became irregular, as if he’d
exerted himself in some form of physical exercise.

“Nothing you say will convince me
to leave with you,” she said in a husky undertone. She drained the last of her
second glass of wine and reached for her purse.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving.”

“Why?”

“Why?” She laughed, and it sounded
uneasy. “Because something’s wrong with me. I should be offended, or disgusted,
or something. But instead—” Her light brown eyes scanned his face, and then they
darted away again. She got down off the stool.

He stood, too. “Instead what?” he
prompted.

She shook her head vigorously and
grabbed the blazer from the back of the chair. Automatically, he helped her
into it. Once it was on, she clutched the open edges like a safety jacket.

“Instead what?” he whispered in her
ear. She smelled good. Not the scent of perfume or lotion. It was just the
scent of a woman. Her natural, sweet fragrance.

“Instead…” Color blossomed in her
cheeks. “Instead…I’m considering it.”

The noise from the bar disappeared;
the sound of silverware hitting plates disappeared. The chatter and laughter of
patrons became nonexistent. All his senses became attuned to the woman standing
before him.

“What do you need?” he asked,
because he didn’t know what else to do. He was accustomed to negotiations, but
right now, a compromise was the furthest thing from his mind. He wanted her to
come with him, and he didn’t care what he had to do or give up to make it
happen. He wanted her to feel comfortable enough to leave a crowded
establishment and go back to his room and let him have his way with her. “My
identification, a fingerprint, a blood sample? Whatever you want, I will give
it.”

****

His persistence turned her on. She
liked persistence in a man—a man who knew what he wanted and pursued until he
captured it.

Perhaps it was the wine, or the
loneliness she felt, or the disappointment about her job. Perhaps it was a
combination of all those things. Whatever it was, it prompted Sabrina to say, “That
won’t be necessary.”

A weight seemed to have been
lifted. The tension left over from the stressful day at work oozed from her shoulders.
Now that she’d made the decision, she actually felt better.

She swallowed down the last
remnants of her unease. “Where are you staying?”

She saw the flash of hunger in his
eyes, and a spark of desire emerged in her belly.

“The Drake.”

She nodded and reached inside her
purse to cover the tab.

“Allow me.” He pulled out his
wallet.

“That won’t be—”

“I insist.”

He called over the bartender and
handed him some bills. He didn’t bother waiting for his change, giving more
than enough to cover both checks and leave a generous tip. He moved quickly, as
if he didn’t want to give her the opportunity to change her mind.

Not that she would. She figured she
probably should, but what she knew to do and what she did were two separate
things. What she knew to do was turn around, walk away, and embrace her empty
life. Like always.

To hell with it.

She placed her hand in his.

She didn’t want to be alone
tonight, so she followed him out into the night.

Chapter Six

The door of the suite clicked shut.

“Would you like a drink?” Renaldo
asked behind her.

“No.” Sabrina’s heart was beating
so fast she almost couldn’t speak.

He came closer in the dark, so
close the heat from his body warmed her back. The drapes opened to the night
outside, and she could see the lights from the other buildings. The large room
was filled with shadowy furnishings—lamps, a desk, sofas, tables. A door to the
left led into what she assumed was the bedroom.

He rested his hands on her
shoulders. “Relax.”

“Maybe this was a bad idea.” The
fierce beating of her heart indicated she might be in over her head.

He massaged the knot at the top of
her spine. “You still do not trust me. You’re second-guessing yourself.” The
whispered words in her ear made her skin come alive with tiny pinpricks of
heat.

“And you’re not? I could be a thief
or a murderer.”

The circular motion of his thumbs
continued to caress through her clothes, turning her limbs to liquid so that
her purse slid from her shoulder to the carpet.

His arms folded around her and he
pulled her tighter to his body. “I’ll take my chances.”

His mouth drifted up the side of
her neck, delivering little kisses that made her shiver and ache. The soft
pressure of his mouth inflamed her skin, and she almost melted into a puddle at
his feet.

“From the minute I saw you,” he
said, his voice gruff, “I knew.”

“How did you know?” she asked in a
husky whisper.

He turned her in his arms and
gently tugged the tail of her blouse from the waistband of her skirt as he
gazed into her eyes. “The same way you did.”

He took his time undoing her top,
the silence troubled by the sound of her uneven breathing. When he’d released each
button, he kissed the crests of her breasts and pressed his face to her
cleavage, inhaling deeply.

His mouth moved to her neck, and he
whispered in a rasping voice, “This is no mistake.”

Squeezing her breasts together, his
thick thumbs teased her nipples with firm, insistent strokes through the black
lace until she gasped and arched into his hands.

No, this was no mistake. Such
delicious pleasure could not be wrong.

With deft fingers, he undid her
skirt, and it fell quietly onto the carpet. Her blouse followed suit. He
caressed the newly exposed skin of her hips in a pair of lace panties, warming
the flesh and making her ache.

The way she responded seemed to
start a fire in him. He pulled her into the power of his body and lowered his
head to take her mouth in a passionately bruising kiss. Prying her lips apart
with his tongue, he stole her breath and demanded more in a hungry invasion
that left her wanting more. 

One hand at the back of her head
fumbled with the clip until he’d loosened it to run his fingers through the
short, spiral strands of her hair. His right hand palmed her buttocks and
forced her to acknowledge his hard erection.

Sabrina wrapped her arms around the
wide trunk of his body, feeling his heart pound against her chest. When he lifted
his head, she looked up at him in amazement. 

“I think I’m wearing too many
clothes,” he said.

“We both are.”

They stripped in the near-darkness
and tossed their clothing and shoes aside, unconcerned about where each item
landed.

Renaldo slipped on a condom and
then bent his head to her breasts, sucking her nipples and gently biting them
until she cried out, digging her short nails into his broad shoulders. He
smoothed his hand down her buttocks and between her thighs, letting his fingers
slide through the slickness to test her readiness.

“Turn around.” He took her by the
shoulders and twisted her to face away from him. Her heart raced, unsure of
what to expect next.

“Bend over,” he said, his voice a
dark rumble.

“Wh-what?” Sabrina cast a glance of
alarm over her shoulder at him.

He pressed his lips to her ear.
“Relax. Trust me. You’re going to love it. Place your hands on the floor.”

One muscular arm curved around her
waist, and he grasped the back of her neck. Easing her forward, he forced her to
bend at the hip. His foot shoved her feet apart, spreading her legs wider for
him. Her breath stuttered in her chest and her body trembled in the vulnerable
position in which he’d placed her. With her hips elevated against his groin, he
found the wet entrance to her body and pushed in all the way—uttering a low
groan—lodging deep inside of her.

Sabrina’s eyes squeezed shut as she
savored the sensation of his deep penetration. He eased out slowly and then
shoved back in again.

“
Oh
,” she moaned, her legs
shaking as pleasure soared through her, her palms pressing down onto the floor
to help maintain her balance. 

Holding her in place, he pulled
back and plunged downward repeatedly, skin slapping against skin with each
thrust.

He muttered in Portuguese. She had
no idea what he said, but it didn’t matter. His beautiful voice made her sex
convulse while he drove into her, stirring the flames of passion into a
frenzied flash-fire that burned hotter than she’d ever experienced.

This was exactly what she needed.
This intensity. This release.

Inside, she tightened, nearing an
internal explosion. A sob fled her lips. Pressure mounted, and his continued
whispers in his own language urged her closer to the edge.