Читать книгу It Started With... Collection - Miranda Lee - Страница 31

KANE rarely felt panic, but he felt it now. She was running out on him. Again!

He couldn’t let that happen. Not now that he’d found her. The thought that he would never see her again had haunted him all weekend.

Of course, it would help to know why she’d run out on him in the first place. The only reason he could imagine was that he must have come on too hard and too fast for her.

Now he didn’t know what to think.

All he knew was that nothing had changed for him since Friday night. One look from those incredible eyes of hers and he’d been right back there on that dance floor, his body consumed by the need to sweep her off into bed.

Bed? He almost laughed at that notion. A bed would not do. This all-consuming passion he was suffering from demanded a much faster, harder surface to pin her to. A wall. A floor. This desk, even.

Kane swallowed. He was really losing it!

And he’d lose her again, if she knew what was going on his head.

‘Last Friday night has no relevance whatsoever to today,’ he said with astonishing composure. Lust was a very powerful motivation. ‘That was pleasure. This is business. But perhaps we should get the past out of the way first. Would you care to sit down and tell me why you left the way you did?’

She frowned, but stayed standing. He tried to stop his eyes from continually raking her from head to toe, but truly she was a magnificent-looking woman. And so sexy in those tight jeans, it was criminal.

‘What’s the point?’ she said sharply, brown eyes flashing. ‘I can’t work for you. You must know that.’

He didn’t, actually. Was she worried about sexual harassment in the workplace?

Perhaps she had just cause, given how much he craved her right now. But Kane could exercise control and patience when necessary. And when she wasn’t touching him. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her off. She was the first woman in a long time who had made him feel what he’d felt on Friday night. To be honest, he couldn’t recall ever feeling quite what he’d felt on that dance floor.

Usually, he could stay in control. Usually, his brain was always there in the background, analysing the situation, making judgement calls, warning him when the momentary object of his desire was another waste of his time.

But it hadn’t on that occasion.

Maybe that was why she’d obsessed about him all weekend. The way she’d made him forget everything but the moment. He hadn’t known anything at all about her, except that she went into sleazy bars alone, dressed to thrill. Not a great recommendation.

Yet he’d still wanted her like crazy.

He still did.

No way was he going to let her escape from him a second time. He wanted to experience the magic he’d felt in her arms once more. Too bad if it didn’t go anywhere. He was sick and tired of thinking about the future and working his life to a plan. He’d got into a rather boring rut over the years. He’d forgotten how to be impulsive.

He wanted this woman, and he was going to have her, whether she was good for him or not.

‘But you won’t really be working for me,’ he replied smoothly. ‘You’ll be working for Harry Wilde. I’m just the caretaker manager till Christmas, which is less than two weeks away now. After that, any boss-employee relationship between us is over.’

She still stared at him with wary eyes and he wondered why. Damn it all, she fancied him. He knew she did. She’d been with him all the way on Friday night, till she’d gone to the ladies’.

He’d been stunned when she hadn’t showed up again.

‘So what did happen on Friday night?’ he asked, his teeth clenched firmly in his jaw. ‘Did you just change your mind? Was that it?’

‘I…I…’

Her fluster was telling. And quite enchanting. Maybe she wasn’t the tease he’d been thinking she might be. Or a serial good-time girl, the kind who cruised bars at night looking for some cheap fun and excitement.

‘It’s not a crime to change your mind, Jessie,’ he said gently. Though it had felt like it at the time. He’d been furious.

‘I didn’t change my mind,’ she said, which totally confused him.

‘What, then?’

Jessie felt she had to come up with some explanation, or look a right fool.

‘A girl in the ladies’ told me you were married,’ she blurted out. ‘I…I don’t sleep with married men.’

There was no doubt her excuse startled him. His head jerked back and he blinked a couple of times. But then he did the strangest thing.

He smiled.

‘Married,’ he said with a low chuckle. ‘How come I didn’t think of that? Married!’ And he laughed again.

‘I don’t think it’s funny,’ she snapped. She knew a lot of modern people didn’t take marital vows seriously. But she did.

‘Aah, but it is funny. Because I’m not married,’ came his astonishing announcement. ‘My brother is, however. My twin brother. My identical twin brother. He’s been frequenting that particular bar every Friday night for a while, so it’s understandable that someone made a mistake, thinking I was him.’

Jessie opened her mouth, then closed it again. The man she’d flirted with, and wanted so badly on Friday night, hadn’t been her target at all. It had been this man, Kane Marshall, Curtis Marshall’s twin brother!

As amazing as this revelation was, it did explain the small differences between the target’s photograph and the man in front of her. His hairstyle. The colour of his eyes. And his whole personality. The man in the photograph had seemed softer.

There was nothing soft about Kane Marshall.

A second realisation hit Jessie with even more force. Kane Marshall was single. And available. There was absolutely no reason why she couldn’t say yes if he ever asked her out.

Which he would. She could see it in his eyes.

A thrill—or was it a chill?—rippled down her spine. So much for her decision not to have a man in her life.

Of course, she hadn’t anticipated at the time that she could possibly have this man. He was a whole different ballgame.

‘You’re definitely not married?’ she asked.

‘Definitely not. My divorce came through a few months ago.’

This added news didn’t thrill her. She wasn’t sure why. Perhaps because most of the recently divorced guys she’d met were always on the make. It was as though after casting aside their wives, sex was the only thing on their minds. They were always on the hunt for new prey. She’d met quite a few newly divorced men at the restaurant and they usually gave her the creeps, the way they looked at her, and the way they assumed she’d be easy meat.

Was that what Kane Marshall had thought of her on Friday night, that she was easy meat? She’d gone into that bar alone, after all. Why would a girl go into a bar alone on a Friday night, if not to pick up some guy? The only excuse she’d given him for not going to a hotel room with him was that someone had told her he was married.

Now that he knew she knew he wasn’t, he had to be assuming she’d fall into bed with him next time without a qualm.

As much as the idea of falling into bed with him was incredibly exciting, Jessie knew that the reality might not be wise.

‘No wife,’ he stated firmly. ‘No children. And no current girlfriend. Just so we don’t have any more misunderstandings.’

Jessie blinked. That was sure laying his cards on the table. Next thing he’d be telling her if he had any communicable diseases!

‘So are you quite happy to work here now?’ he went on.

‘Are you offering me the job?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘But you haven’t even looked at my portfolio!’

‘No need. I trust Karen’s judgement regarding your creative talents. She has much more experience in this field than I do. I just wanted to see you in the flesh, to make sure you had the presence and style that Harry requires in his executives.’

Jessie frowned over his words, ‘in the flesh’. Maybe his offering her this job had nothing to do with her talents and everything to do with his wanting to see more of her in the flesh, so to speak.

Still, if she was strictly honest with herself, she wanted the same thing. Whenever his eyes were upon her—which was all the time—she could think of nothing but being in his arms once more.

Hadn’t she come to the conclusion at one stage over the weekend that she needed a man in her life? A boyfriend? A lover? Why not Kane Marshall? He wasn’t married. Clearly, he fancied her as much as she fancied him. Crazy to fight an attraction as strong as this was. She would only lose.

‘Even if I wasn’t comparing you to the last applicant,’ he went on suavely, ‘I would be suitably impressed, and very happy to offer you the job. If you’re still interested, that is.’

Jessie suspected he was asking her if she was still interested in him, as well as the job.

‘Yes, of course I am,’ she said, deciding it would be hypocritical to say anything else.

‘Good,’ he said, then delivered another of those dazzling smiles of his.

He was smooth! And incredibly confident.

He both excited and rattled her. A strange combination. She’d always been attracted to physically strong men, but Kane Marshall represented more than just physical strength. His persona carried exceptional charisma. A magnetism which perturbed her. His steely gaze had the capacity to sap her will-power. But it was his sexy smile that could do the most damage. She suspected that if they became lovers, he could make her do things. Wild things. Wicked things.

Her thoughts sent an erotically charged quiver rippling down her spine. Suddenly, her knees felt like jelly.

‘I…I think I’d better sit down,’ she said, reefing her eyes away from his and pulling up one of the upright wooden chairs adjacent to the desk. She sank down onto its solid surface, grateful not to have to look at him for a while. But eventually, she had to face him once more. When she did, her shoulders were rammed back against the chair-back, her back was as stiff as a board and her legs were tightly crossed.

Her rigid body language was wasted, however. He wasn’t looking at her. His handsome face was down, and he was going through what looked like her résumé.

‘I see here that you’re a single mother,’ he remarked before finally glancing back up at her.

Jessie’s chin lifted defiantly. ‘Is that a problem?’

‘Absolutely not. I admire unmarried women who keep their babies,’ he added with warmth in his voice and another of those winning smiles.

‘I meant, is that a problem with my job?’ she bit out, irritated with herself for going to mush inside again.

‘I don’t see why it should be. You have your little girl in day-care, it says here.’

‘Yes, but there will be times when she gets sick. Or I might have to attend a school concert. Or some emergency.’

‘Work conditions here at Wild Ideas are very flexible. You can work your own hours, or at home if you want. All that is required is that the work is done, meetings are attended and deadlines met. Your immediate boss is the mother of a little girl herself, with another baby on the way, so I’m sure she will be very understanding about such matters. Speaking of Michele, I think perhaps I should take you along to meet her shortly. She rang earlier with instructions to have someone sitting at the computer by her side before lunchtime. Or else.’

‘You mean you want me to start straight away, today?’ Jessie gasped.

He raised a single eyebrow at her. ‘I thought you understood that. Is there any reason you have to leave?’

‘No…no, I guess not. But I will have to ring the day-care centre and tell them I’ll be a bit later than usual picking Emily up.’

‘Will that worry your little girl?’

‘No. But it might worry me. I’m not sure how often the trains run and how long it will take me to get there. I have to pick Emily up before six. They close at six.’

‘You don’t have a car?’

‘No,’ she admitted. ‘I haven’t been able to afford to run one.’

‘You should be able to now. Your pay is sixty-five thousand dollars a year, with bonuses.’

All the breath was punched from Jessie’s lungs. ‘You’re joking! Sixty-five thousand?’ Before she’d had Emily, she’d only been on forty thousand.

‘That’s right. Your basic salary will be reviewed every six months, with rises given on performance.’

‘That’s incredible.’

‘Don’t worry. You’ll have to deliver.’

‘I’ll deliver. Don’t you worry about that.’

Their eyes met once more, with Jessie wondering if their conversation still carried a double meaning. She hoped not. She’d hate to think that underneath his impressive surface, Kane Marshall was just another divorced creep.

‘You should consider leasing a car,’ he went on. ‘Curtis always tells me that leasing is a much more sensible option in business. My brother is an accountant,’ he added.

Unnecessarily. Jessie already knew that. But she could hardly say so. Still, it sent her wondering exactly where Kane Marshall usually worked. Karen had said he was an excellent manager and motivator. But for what company?

‘If you like,’ he was saying, ‘I could get Karen to organise the leasing for you. All you have to do is tell me what kind of car you’d like.’

‘I…I don’t really know. I’ll have to think about it.’

‘If you tell me the make and model in the morning, it can be ready for you by the time you finish up tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’m quite happy to drive you home after work tonight. I wouldn’t want you to worry about your little girl.’

Jessie stared at him. He certainly wasn’t wasting any time in making his move.

‘You don’t have to do that,’ she said. ‘I do have a friend I could ring to pick Emily up if I think I can’t make it.’

‘A man friend?’

The question sounded casual, but Jessie could see more than curiosity in his eyes. Insane to imagine he was jealous. But it felt as if he was.

‘No,’ she said, and was sure he looked relieved. ‘An elderly lady. My landlady, in fact. I rent a granny flat from her. But she’s also a good friend.’

‘It’s no trouble for me to drive you home, Jessie,’ he said. ‘You don’t live that far away. Besides, I’d like the opportunity to talk to you some more. Out of the office.’

‘All right, then,’ she agreed, if a bit stiffly. She wished she could get the thought out of her head that she was being weak. ‘Thank you.’

‘It’s my pleasure.’ And he smiled at her again.

Jessie suppressed a moan. Oh, he was just so gorgeous. How could she possibly say no?

Yet she hated for him to think she was easy.

Jessie was well used to the way most men thought about single mothers. They were considered desperates. Desperate for sex. Desperate for company. Desperate for some man—any man—to give them the emotional and financial support they obviously weren’t getting from whoever had fathered their child.

In truth, there were quite a lot of single mothers who did act that way.

But Jessie wasn’t normally like most single mothers. She’d always prided herself on her self-sufficiency. After Lyall, she’d never wanted to rely on any man for anything. Not even for sex.

Not till she’d met Kane Marshall.

Now he was all she could think about. Already, she was looking forward to his driving her home. Her skin actually broke into goose-pimples at the thought.

Yet she should have been concentrating on the job she’d just been given.

Jessie jumped to her feet. ‘Now that that’s all settled, I’d better get started, don’t you think?’

He was much slower in rising, buttoning up his jacket as he did so.

His action drew her eyes to his suit. It wasn’t the same pale grey number he’d worn on Friday night. This one was a darker grey. But it was just as expensive-looking and stylish. Not a wrinkle marred the line of its sleeves, or where the collar sat neatly around his solid neck.

He was a big man, she noticed once more. Not overweight. Just tall, and strong, with the broadest shoulders.

He would look good, naked. Feel good, too.

Oh, dear, Jessie groaned to herself. I’m in trouble here. Big, big trouble.

‘This way,’ he said as he walked around and gestured towards the door.

Thankfully he didn’t touch her. His eyes were bad enough. The way they kept running over her.

He wasn’t all that different from those other divorced creeps who’d pursued her, Jessie realised as she bolted through the door ahead of him.

The difference lay in her. Those other men hadn’t made her tremble with a look. They hadn’t made her forget every wise word of warning her mother had ever given her about men.

No, that wasn’t true. She hadn’t forgotten any of her mother’s warnings. She knew what Kane Marshall was, and what he wanted.

The difference this time was that she wanted exactly the same thing he did.