Sadie's Surrender by Afton Locke Page A

reached for his trousers, anxious to unleash the painful-looking bulge. She needed his erection inside her.
    He batted her hand away. “I hear something.”
    “Me, too.” Her heart raced as she pulled down her dress hem and buttoned her bodice.
    After a few seconds, his shoulders relaxed. “It’s downstairs. Probably just the floormen cleaning up.”
    “Do you want to take that chance?”
    He shook his head. “I need to make love to you, but we can’t do it here. And not tonight. I want to plan it. Take my time.”
    She stood, looking at the important papers she’d rumpled by sitting on them. Imagine that. Experiencing joy all day doing what she loved, followed by pleasure at night with the man she was falling for.
    But she was a realistic woman. Doing only one of these activities would be a full-time risk. Attempting both would be suicide. The sober expression in Henry’s dark-blue eyes told her he’d just realized it, too.
    “We’ll finish this,” he promised.
    “Which?” she asked, her bottom lip trembling with…something. Fear? Hope?
    “Maybe we can have it all, Sadie. I’d sure like to try.”
    But there was so much at stake. Not just the company, but the safety of their families. If anything happened to Mama, or Pearl’s baby… She couldn’t bear to even think about it. They had to be extremely careful.
    She closed her eyes and gripped his hands. Why couldn’t she be practical like Jimmy, admiring what she wanted from afar while staying safely in her place?

Chapter Seven
     
    On Sunday afternoon, Henry sprawled in one of the seats on the Rockfield II , Caleb’s fishing boat. After the week he’d had with Sadie, he needed to return to the sea. Because it was springtime, the water was a little choppy but streaked with bright sunlight. He closed his eyes, inhaling the salty air. The breeze jingled the fishhooks on his lucky cap. Music to his ears.
    Caleb cast his line into the water. “I hate to ask, but how’s the business going?”
    “Good. We…I’ve cleaned up the books. Ironed out some discrepancies. That kind of thing.” Henry gripped his pole, hoping his brother wouldn’t ask too many specific questions.
    “Really?” Caleb’s eyebrows lifted. “Did you have any help?”
    With his free hand, Henry pressed his fingertips to his palm. “Not really. Your books helped a lot.”
    “Wonderful!” A grin broke out under Caleb’s dark moustache. “I always knew you could accomplish a lot if you applied yourself.”
    Henry grinned, too. “I want to keep the business in the family as much as you do. I’ve missed the water, though.”
    After spending a couple of hours in the boat, it would be even harder to drag himself back to the plant tomorrow. Fortunately, he had Sadie to look forward to. Remembering what they’d done in her small office covered his face with sweat. Her womanly scent was so…what was the word…ripe? Like a piece of fruit—heavy, full, and ready for harvest. He laid the fishing pole across his trousers so Caleb wouldn’t spot his erection.
    He shouldn’t have messed around with her. Helping him with the business was risky enough, especially with sharp-eyed Jonathan Carter sniffing around the plant like a bloodhound. Henry must have been out of his head to half undress her on company property. What if someone had broken the lock on the door? Seeing both of them leave together would be enough to arouse suspicion.
    We’ll finish this.
    Why had he told her that? In the heat of passion, unfortunately, his mind was even denser than usual. Intercourse was out of the question, but they couldn’t go on the way they were, either. Every time he looked at her, he couldn’t think of anything else but rubbing himself all over her, and in her.
    Something tugged on his line, but he barely noticed. What if he got her with child? He couldn’t go through that again, but Sadie seemed convinced she wasn’t beautiful. Changing his mind about making love to her would infuriate