Chapter 1
It was time, Sid Matthews thought.
The woman crossed the elegantly decorated lobby and his eyes watched, his body instantly reacting to her lovely, innocent looking face and lush body. His eyes continued to follow her as he watched the computer screen which was connected to the security cameras all over the Solara Resort and Casino. His dark, intense eyes never left the image of the petite, red haired woman who was currently crossing the lavish lobby of the resort, the sophisticated cameras catching even the flash of fire that sparked through her hair as the light glinted off the fiery strands. It had been six months since she’d started working here. Six months since he’d sat in this very office, interviewing the woman and being distracted by her long, sexy legs the whole time. He’d known as soon as she’d walked into his office what his plans were for her. And it wasn’t as the Special Events Coordinator for which he’d hired her.
She was going to be his. Sabrina Charmichael was everything he knew he wanted in a wife.
As she continued her elegant, purposeful walk across the lobby, she fell out of site in one camera. He pressed a few more buttons on the computer keyboard and the next camera picked her up. Crossing his arms over his chest, he considered the way she moved, with grace and style. She was unlike any other woman he’d ever known and Sid had known many. Too many, he thought dismissively. With Sabrina, Sid had discovered she was more than just looks. Behind that beautiful façade, the woman was smart, compassionate and friendly with everyone and her staff raved about her ideas.
Sid couldn’t argue with them on the smart and creative side of the equation. Her ideas had increased room bookings at the resort by twenty five percent in the short period of time she’d been working here. Before her arrival, the Solara Resort and Casino had already been one of the most successful establishments on the Las Vegas strip. Sid had seen to that through unrelenting ambition and nursing his plan, overcoming the harsh opposition and beating the impossible odds. At the age of thirty five, he sometimes looked back at his beginnings on the dirty streets of Las Vegas and …but he rarely had time to look back. The future was much more interesting.
Sabrina Charmichael, the petite and vivacious woman with a figure that made him forget to think at times, had energized his staff behind her ideas and had created a buzz around the strip unlike anything Vegas had seen in a long time.
Sabrina Charmichael had been working for him for six months. The moment he’d interviewed her, he’d known that he was going to make her his wife. He took a deep breath and gazed through the one way mirrors that looked out onto the main casino floor. The lavish casino and resort was all his doing and he was proud. It was now time to make a queen to help him with his empire. And that queen was going to be none other than Sabrina.
He smiled as he saw her wave to someone in the lobby. His smile was almost harsh as he considered the battle ahead of him. She’d fight it. He knew that. She was afraid of him for some reason. But he also knew that she was attracted to him, just as much as he was to her. He was glad for that. He suspected that he and Sabrina would probably set fire to each other once she got over her initial inhibitions and he would be more than happy to teach her how to light that spark. He didn’t want a cold wife to grace his table and raise his children. He wanted Sabrina with all of her energy and fire.
He pressed another button on his desk and his secretary immediately answered. “Yes, Mr. Matthews?” Liz Walters asked efficiently.
Sid’s normal decisiveness came through in his voice. “Call Sabrina and ask her to meet me here in fifteen minutes,” he said then released the button to disconnect the call. He hadn’t waited for Liz to agree. Sid knew that all his requests were immediately taken care of with the maximum amount of professionalism. He’d expect nothing less from anyone on his staff.
He turned back to the security cameras and watched as Sabrina answered her cell phone. She listened intently and Sid imagined that she was listening to Liz convey his instructions. He saw Sabrina nod her head and hang up her phone. then waited another fraction of a second before he saw what he was waiting for. He wasn’t disappointed; there was the sign, he chuckled. Sabrina hung up her phone and immediately ran a hand along her hair and smoothed her jacket. He’d seen it every time he’d had Liz call Sabrina to his office for various conferences. He suspected it was only when she was about to meet him that she primped slightly. He’d seen her answer her phone for others and rush off but she never cared about her appearance. In fact, once she entered the hotel each day, he never noticed her caring about her appearance in any way. Except when she was about to see him.
He liked that about her. He didn’t like the fact that other men turned to stare at her lovely face or spectacular figure as she made her way through the casino toward the management offices. Sid sighed deeply. He supposed he would have to get used to that feeling. If he was going to marry someone as stunning as Sabrina, he would have to allow that others felt the same way he did each time she came into view.
As long as they didn’t do anything about it, he could deal with it. But she was his, he thought to himself with deadly determination. And he protected what was his.
Moments later, Liz buzzed through to inform him that Sabrina was waiting for him. Sid pressed several buttons which turned off the monitors of the security cameras in his office. “Send her in,” he said and turned to watch his future wife walk through the double doors.
Sid could feel his body harden in anticipation and he enjoyed the gentle sway of her slim hips. Would he ever get used to her bright, trusting smile and sexy, graceful walk? He hoped not.
“Good morning, Mr. Matthews. I was going to brief you about the details for the car show later today,” she said and walked efficiently toward him.
“I thought I told you to call me Sid. Have a seat,” Sid said and waited until she was seated in one of the chairs in front of his desk before he sat down. “Tell me what’s going on,” he said. He already knew everything he needed to know about the car show. He’d gone over everything with her on several occasions and knew that she was in control of the situation. The car show would showcase one hundred and fifty cars from different periods in history. The cars would be parked in various places within the resort or casino, encouraging people to wander through the numerous areas of the resort and see the cars. There would be car races and various competitions, and of course betting on the races. The show would start in two days, the day after Christmas and he had every confidence that it would be yet another huge success.