Page 41 of Sasha’s Secret

“The length I have in mind has nothing to do with swimming, and you can have it inside you as many times as you like.”

His low voice, full of intimacy and promise, and the images it conjured up curled her toes and made her squirm with a sudden desire to straddle his lap and grind herself against him until they both saw stars. “You’re leading me astray, Mr. Equizi.”

“Glad to hear it, Ms. Morgan. My plan is working.”

She lifted her face, and with perfect synchronicity, her lips were ideally placed for Rocco to kiss them. She cupped the back of his head, increased the pressure of her demand, and was rewarded with a deepening of the kiss that intensified her craving to climb all over him to the limit of her self-control.

His hand landed on her hip. “Damn skirt,” he growled into her mouth.

Her instincts had protested when she’d chosen the pencil skirt in her closet that morning. The fit was so tight, it looked as if she’d visited a paint shop and had it sprayed on. Her instincts had been proved right, and as Rocco’s fingers squeezed her ass, she offered up a silent apology for ignoring them.

“Patience. You can take it off later,” she promised.

When lunch was ready, they sat opposite one another at the counter. Sasha was especially pleased when Rocco signaled his approval of her cooking, but what startled her was the thrill she experienced simply having lunch with him in her apartment. For a wild, reckless moment, she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like if they could do this for the longer term… maybe even permanently… as if Rocco was going to stay and they were in it for the long haul.

It was complete and utter fantasy, of course. She waited for common sense to tell her not to be so silly, but that inner voice remained silent.

“Sasha? Are you all right?” The genuine concern in Rocco’s words was mirrored in his frown.

She gave herself a mental shake. “Yes, of course.”

“Are you sure? It’s just that—”

“Believe me, it was nothing. Cramps in my leg. It’s gone now.”

The excuse sounded so lame. For a second or two, she wondered if Rocco would press her further, but after a second or two, he continued to eat his lunch.

When they returned to her office after lunch, Sasha was for once glad that where she’d set up desk space for Rocco, he had to sit with his back to her. It made it incredibly easy for her to carry on with her work and steal surreptitious glances at the same time. He almost caught her, though, when he turned to her during a phone call with Nick Blackmore.

“Sasha? Nick would like a word with you, if it’s convenient?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Rocco came to her to hand over his cell phone. Their fingers touched briefly, and the look on his face told her it wasn’t by accident. Sasha’s pulse jumped, then she greeted Rocco’s boss.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Blackmore. What can I do for you?”

She listened intently as the Brit explained what he needed and why. During the conversation, she glanced over at Rocco. He was watching her with a neutral expression, but it was clear he was waiting for something.

“I have to admit, Nick, this isn’t what I expected when Gerry told me he was bringing your company on board, but if you really think there’s a problem, I’ll get something set up for you as soon as we finish talking. Thanks for taking a look at this. I never imagined anyone would steal from Linzi like that. I’ll pass you back to Rocco and get onto it now.”

Rocco took the phone from her, and while he carried on his conversation, Sasha logged into the administrative module of the web-based financial system and created a superuser login for Nick. She wrote the details on a note and took it to Rocco, who was still talking to his boss.

Back at her desk, Sasha stared blankly at the computer screen, unable to concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing. If Rocco and Nick were right, two of the most trusted employees on the payroll were committing embezzlement on a grand scale, and possibly had been for some time. She still didn’t know for certain who they were, but the list of candidates with access to the financial system was small—small enough for her to zero in on two names.

Her first thought was that she was wrong—completely and utterly wrong. It couldn’t be them. However, the more she brooded about it, the stronger her anger grew, and without thinking, she started taking it out on her keyboard.

“Come with me.”

Rocco was standing by her desk, holding out his hand. Her first response was automatic, then she found her voice.

“What?” She stared at her hand, now firmly enclosed in his. “Why?”

“If you hit those keys any harder, you’ll break your keyboard. I’m taking you to bed—whatever you’re feeling right now, you can take it out on me.”

Sasha’s jaw dropped as her lady parts rippled and all but purred. For a second, the stark declaration took the wind out of her sails and all the fire out of her temper, but then something much more primitive kicked in. Having her wicked way with that gorgeous body? She could get on board with that. “Your place or mine?”

“Whichever you prefer.”