Page 26 of Sasha’s Secret

“I’m sorry to have interrupted you, Miss Morgan. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

And with that, he left, before he did anything even crazier.

* * *

After allowing her pride to get the better of her the moment she’d laid eyes on Rocco that morning, Sasha had not expected the day to end like this.

Until that moment, she hadn’t realized exactly how deep the impact of his entrance into her orderly existence was. He’d left her a churning mass of frustration and conflict, torn between running after him to climb him like a tree and running after him to punch some sense into him and make him acknowledge their mutual attraction. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, and now that she had an idea what he was packing in those tailored pants of his, she wanted him tonight.

But not like this. She’d thrown herself body and soul into her dance session, leaving her hot and sweaty. Her hair was a mess, and her outfit, while scanty, was hardly a seductive little number. There was no way she was getting any more up close and personal until she’d cleaned up and changed into something far more suitable. She pulled on her yoga pants, pushed her feet into her sneakers, and crouched to tie the laces.

Fully intending to dive under the shower when she reached her apartment, Sasha jogged back to the main house, keeping a watch out for Rocco as she did so. There was no sign of him, but she was banking on him sequestering himself in his quarters after he left her. If he’d gone anywhere else, it would derail the wild plan taking shape in her mind.

However, at the door to her apartment, she hesitated. What if he was there right now, but disappeared while she was getting cleaned up? She ducked inside and considered her options.

There was no time to lose. A shower would take too long, so she washed her face and brushed out her hair instead, before darting back to the bedroom, stripping as she went. Clothes flew in all directions. Determined to waste as little time as possible, she didn’t replace her sports bra and panties, pulling on a clean top and another pair of yoga pants instead. After stuffing her feet into a pair of ballet flats, she paused briefly to check her appearance in the mirror, and seconds later, she was knocking on Rocco’s door.

Her heart thudded in her chest. If anyone had been within six feet of her, they’d have heard it pounding against her ribs. She hadn’t been this nervous in years, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her now.

The door opened and there he stood, his brow furrowed in a questioning frown. She waited for him to ask her what she was doing there, but then she noticed something. His jaw was rigid, as if he were fighting to maintain control.

Or was he fighting the memory of what he’d felt with her body pressed up close to his?

“May I come in?”

For a fraction of a second, indecision flared in his burning gaze, but then, without a word, he stepped back and opened the door wide enough to allow her to enter. She heard it close behind her and turned to face him.

Rocco’s expression communicated only one thing—that he was a man whose will power was being tested to its limits. Maybe even beyond. All because of her. Didn’t he understand she wasn’t here to disrespect his boundaries, but to tell him they weren’t necessary?

Rocco broke the silence. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

His voice was as taut as the atmosphere surrounding them like an invisible firestorm. She closed the gap between them and placed a butterfly-light kiss at one side of his mouth. “This.”

She repeated the action with a second kiss at the other side. “And this.”

Then she placed the third directly on his lips. “And you.”

He didn’t know the effect he had on her. He couldn’t. Just as he couldn’t know she’d been waiting all her life—for this moment, for him, the man who could make her heart race the way no other ever had.

And having come this far, she had to continue. If she was wrong… well, she could only die of embarrassment once when she had to face him the next day. She laid her palms on his chest, waiting for him to flinch or move away.

He did neither.

He was still wearing the white dress shirt and tailored black pants. The combination suited him—masculine, uncompromising, confidant. Dominant without needing to prove it. He let her unfasten the top two buttons of his shirt before he manacled her wrists with his hands and lowered them to her sides.

Even as she waited for him to reject her, every feminine instinct Sasha possessed responded to the light dusting of dark hair on the V of flesh exposed by her efforts. The urge to plaster herself to him came back with a vengeance. When he didn’t push her away, just held her there, she leaned forward, trying to tempt him with another kiss.

His gaze glittered with intensity, as if he were searching her face for the answer to a question that was tearing him apart. Then, as abruptly as if he’d been stung, he released her hands and framed her face with his palms, to tilt her head so she was looking directly into his eyes. The need in them swept through her like a tornado, accelerating her pulse to breakneck speed. Heart racing, Sasha stood on her toes, placed a hand either side of Rocco’s head, and urged him to lower his head for a kiss.

His mouth was lethal—what he could do with it, deadly. He kissed her like no other man had ever kissed her before, and it was intoxicating. She parted her lips to invite him in, and his response was immediate. His tongue flirted with hers, teasing and tasting, luring her to a place she was only too eager to go.

He walked her back until she hit the wall. Before she could recover her breath, he had her wrists pinned against the wall above her head. His lips crashed into hers again, and wave after wave of desire rolled remorselessly through her body, leaving her gasping for breath when his mouth moved to the side of her neck. “Rocco…”

“Shh.”

Using one hand to keep her wrists tethered to the wall, he used his free hand to lift her top and palm her breast, growling his satisfaction when his flesh met hers. Tempestuous and demanding, the contact gave her a thrilling glimpse of the rough soldier beneath the urbane exterior. He pinched her nipple hard and her pussy throbbed in response, preparing for the cock she needed with increasing desperation. In her mind, she begged him to thrust his fingers between her legs, to do whatever it took to banish the agony of unfulfilled desire.

He didn’t heed her silent plea. Instead, his hand stroked down her side and found the top of her yoga pants. He pushed the material down over her hip and groaned when he discovered the absence of panties. Strong fingers squeezed her bottom, then his hand moved to her lower belly, never losing contact with her skin. Instinct tilted her hips up, trying to coax him into doing what she craved, what her body cried out for.