Page 39 of On the Fly
Emma laughed at him, shaking her head. “You certainly are sure of yourself.”
“Hopeful, not sure.” Ander moved in and Emma smoothed her hands up his chest to his shoulders then wrapped them around his neck as he captured her lips with his. They had really found their groove, or her way just did it for him, but her mouth opened and her tongue met his, guiding him inside.
He lost track of his intention, too caught up in the moment to care about the agenda he’d set out on. He tightened his arm around her, locking her against his chest as he threaded his fingers in her hair to shift her for a better angle. But he kept up the shuffled steps toward the desk.
“Oh.” Emma jerked back. Ander had misjudged the distance and ran her into the edge. “Ow.”
He ran his hands down her back, squeezing her butt before lifting her and placing her on the desk. He leaned forward again but got nothing but cheek as the clanking of his landline crashing to the floor drew her attention that direction. He didn’t give a damn about the detritus littering the top. He wouldn’t be delayed another moment. He tilted his head, mouthing the tender flesh under her ear while he swept a hand over his desk, clearing enough space to lower Emma to her back. Right where he wanted her.
“Wait, Ander.”
“No waiting,” he whispered in her ear, pushing a hand under her skirt, skimming his fingers up her thigh. She hadn’t worn anything underneath. Damn, “turned on” didn’t cover what he felt. His rigid cock pressed against his zipper, begging to join in the fun. “Emma, why did you keep that a secret?”
“Ander, stop. What is that?” Emma pushed at his chest. No matter how many times he’d had her over the last week, he craved her as if she were a new partner. That lust of first conquest had yet to yield to the boredom that always accompanied every relationship he’d ever engaged in. Emma did it for him. He’d lost himself in his desires for her more times than he could count over the last five days, and he needed inside her right this minute.
He locked a hand behind her head, turning her attention back to him, and pushed his tongue inside her mouth, moaning at the taste of her. He worked his belt buckle free. But then Ander was back to sucking air. Emma pressed her hands on his cheeks, using her leverage to push him backward. Even then, it took a second to understand this was more than her token resistance, their give and take. She seriously wanted him to stop.
“What?” Thinking didn’t come easily yet, his attention on the pounding of his heart and the desires of his dick. But Emma scooting out from underneath him brought reality crashing down. “Where are you going?”
“Is that a safe?” She smoothed down her skirt as she went to one of the paintings his father had commissioned years ago—this one of the original design of the Rora corporate offices. He moved his gaze from the painting to Emma’s sexy ass in that snug pencil skirt. God, his dick hurt with need to conquer her, and it didn’t help that while she’d tried to smooth down her skirt, he could still see those sexy thighs. And now that he knew she’d gone commando…
“What? What’re you doing?” he said irritably. He followed her over to the painting for no other reason than to drag her back to the desk—or down to the floor—and start the whole process of foreplay again. “There’s no safe in here. Come back.”
She pulled at the frame of the picture and a latch gave way. He snapped his gaze to the large, wall-mounted safe built into the wall.
“Did you know this was here?” Emma tossed a speculative glance over her shoulder and Ander’s raging lust vanished. His ready cock deflated as he moved past Emma to inspect what she’d found. He glanced at her a second before wrapping his fingers around the handle of the safe. It didn’t budge. Nothing he’d looked through and no one he’d spoken with over the last month had given him any indication that this safe existed, and he had no clue what code would unlock the door.
Had the code died with his father? No, surely not.
“It’s six numbers, right?” Emma asked, standing beside him as they inspected the code pad attached to the front of the device. “Do you know it?” She glanced his way.
He drew in a deep breath. Think, Ander. His mind raced through possibilities. His father would pick something easy to remember… He hadn’t spoken to the man for more than polite required conversations in years. What fuck would the old man use?
Chapter 20
“You’ve tried dozens of combinations. You aren’t getting it.” Emma stated the obvious while Ander ignored her and tried another set of numbers.
Ander’s tension filled the room. His body stiffened when he tried the latch again, and it didn’t give…again. A string of curse words followed a roll of his head between his shoulders before then rolling his tight shoulders. The wound up, angry man she’d first met on the plane had reappeared before her eyes, and Emma had no idea how to help the situation.
“Maybe you should call your siblings. Would any of them know and not realize that everyone doesn’t know?”
“Of course, they don’t know,” Ander snapped.
She had to bite her tongue not to remind him who found the dang safe in the first place. Luckily, before a full-out verbal brawl erupted between them, Ander pivoted and slid past her where she’d sat in his office chair after the first fifteen code-breaking attempts. He snatched his cell off the conference room table and dialed. Only after putting the phone to his ear did he turn back to Emma, striding over to where she sat.
“I’m sorry. I know you’re just trying to help.” He ran a finger down the side of her face, and she turned her face into this palm and gave it a quick kiss to show that she understood his frustration.
Ander’s attention shifted as a voice, faint to Emma’s ears, answered his call. “You own the fucking airline, tell them to hold the flight. There’s a safe in Dad’s office. Did you know about it?”
Emma guessed Ander had directed the question to Erik. He was supposed to be on a flight scheduled to arrive in California that evening.
Again, Ander’s pause in questioning his brother lasted only as long as the need to take a breath. “What’d you think the code is to unlock the damn thing?” Ander’s brow furrowed, his face turning fierce. “I’m not a fucking idiot, Erik. Of course I tried Mom’s birthday—eleven-seventeen-fifty-six.” Whatever Eric said had Ander’s gaze popping up toward the safe, a scowl on his face as he stalked toward the wall. “Are you sure it’s fifty-seven?”
He punched in the numbers and Emma watched the handle finally turn. She darted up from her seat to stand beside Ander as the door opened wide. Stacks of cash lined the safe’s back wall, but the three large manilla envelopes held her interest. They reached for those at the same time, but Ander shoved the cell phone into her hand. “Tell my brother to come straight here when his flight arrives.”
Ander tore into the first envelope, the other two under his arm as he walked toward his desk. She couldn’t help but follow him, curious to see what they’d uncovered.
“Hi, Eric, it’s Emma. Did you hear him?”
