tabloid probably wouldn't bode well for Blake or Samantha.
Samantha shut the door and kept Vanessa from walking further in the room. "That's far enough."
"This won't take long." Vanessa's voice held tightly controlled anger, her eyes kept a constant surveillance of the room. "What could Blake possibly see in you?"
Sam crossed her arms over her chest. "Are your claws always out? Or do you put them away at night?"
"Clever. Do you know I slept with him just two weeks ago?"
Several retorts came to her lips, but Sam squelched them. "Blake and I never wanted to hurt anyone." Sam did her level best to avoid the image of the two of them doing the naked tango.
"Blake hurts everyone... eventually. You'll discover that soon enough."
"I really think you should leave." Samantha was ready to stop playing nice. This wasn't a woman who was in love with a man; this was a snake coiling for a strike.
"Does he know about your father? About the sordid family you have hiding in your past?"
Samantha's jaw tightened and her nails dug into her arms. "Blake knows everything."
The cold calculated stare in Vanessa's eyes held a hint of knowledge. "Everything? Are you sure about that?"
She had nothing to hide... well, almost nothing to hide. Samantha's sins were buried so deep, not even her connections could find them. "You sound like a desperate woman, Vanessa. I have to tell you, it doesn't look good."
The smirk on the other woman's face fell. "There is nothing about me screaming desperation. You, on the other hand, are a poster child for the word."
"Ding, ding, this round's officially over." Samantha opened the door wide, not caring who snapped the shot. "Move it, or I'll be forced to shove my Nikes up your Pradas."
Her rapid heartbeat was aching to do some serious kicking.
"Careful, you don't know who you're dealing with."
Samantha shoved her frame as close to Vanessa as she could without touching her. "Lady, you've no idea what I'm capable of. To think, when Blake told me about you, I actually felt sorry for you. What a waste. I'm not sure what he was thinking."
Venom spiked from the other woman's eyes. Turning on her heel, Vanessa slid on dark glasses and marched to a red sports car parked on the street.
Slamming the door would have proven how far the catty woman had dug herself under Samantha's skin. Instead, she closed it and slumped against the frame. Her hands started to tremble as the force of the encounter raced through her bloodstream.
The sound of gravel being kicked up from a car met her ears. "That was pleasant." Sam pushed away from the door and reached for her purse. Not wanting to talk, she opened up her text messaging and pressed Blake's cell number.
Do I win a prize for being right? She text her husband.
While waiting for his reply, she locked the door and made her way up the stairs to the shower.
Her phone buzzed on the top step.
Right about what?
Just met your blonde viper. Not sure what you saw in her past the obvious. And because she really didn't trust herself to speak, she added. Getting in the shower, talk later.
Sam tossed her phone on her bed and strode to the bathroom. Her nerves started to settle, slowly. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. The morning mist played havoc with her hair, her face held a hint of chapped-red on her cheeks. "What a mess."
In the other room, her phone rang.
She ignored it.
Samantha tugged her shirt from her body and tossed it in the hamper. Her high-school friend's words rang in her ears. "Full arsenal."
"You know something, Blake. I think I'll take you up on your open credit card." With women like Vanessa showing up, she might as well suit for battle. Having been born with a proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, she knew how to play. She'd just chosen not to.
Until now.
Chapter Five
Blake rubbed his hands over his face for the umpteenth time that day. Samantha's text message shook him and he hadn't been able to speak with her since.
What the hell was Vanessa thinking? What did she say to his wife? Married less than a week and already Blake found himself trying to find ways of keeping his lover and wife separate. Blake hadn't even spoke with Vanessa since he put the ring on Samantha's finger. He'd tried to call her, once. But when her housekeeper said she wasn't taking his calls, he didn't think they had anything more to