Читать книгу In Bed With Her Tall, Sexy Handsome Boss: All Night with the Boss / The Boss's Wife for a Week / My Tall Dark Greek Boss - Natalie Anderson, Anna Cleary - Страница 14

INCREDIBLY Rory laughed. He threw his head back and laughed, really hard. ‘You’re kidding, right?’

Lissa stared at him, shocked.

He sobered and stared back. ‘You’re serious.’ The wonder in his tone did nothing for her confidence. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. ‘Lissa, don’t you get it? It’s too late. The volcano’s erupted, the dam’s burst, the horse has bolted. The genie is out of the bottle—’

‘Enough with the clichés.’ she interrupted sarcastically.

He carried on, ignoring her. ‘There’s no going back. We’re on a runaway train, darling. There’s nothing you can do but hang on for the ride.’

And wait for it to crash? No, thank you. She inhaled deeply and spoke sharply. ‘Stop it. Next you’ll be talking in management speak. All about low-hanging fruit and synergy.’

‘Well, we do have the most amazing synergy.’ He sighed. ‘Lissa, you can’t be serious. We’ve just had the most incredible weekend together. I know you haven’t wanted to talk about it, but you can’t deny it. This isn’t just anything. This is special. Why can’t we enjoy it while it lasts?’

For once it was panic rather than lust speeding up her pulse. ‘Rory, it was just great sex.’ She stared at the motorcycle. How could she ever have thought this was going to be easy? This was Rory, champion charmer and people manager.

‘That’s bull and you know it.’ He seemed to be going for the less charm, more honest approach. ‘We made love, Lissa. Your words. Remember?’

She gulped and tried to ignore the direct hit. She couldn’t let it work. ‘No, Rory, it finishes. You know you’re the same. You never blur the line between your private life and your professionalism.’

‘Professionalism?’ He swore sharply. ‘This is crazy. You’re wanting to throw this away on some temp job?’

She clenched her teeth together. The panic receded and anger ran icily through her veins. He thought it was just some temp job, did he?

‘Yes, I am,’ she said coldly. ‘Because that temp job is important to me.’

She saw anger flash in his eyes. ‘Don’t you think it’s just a little too late for this?’

‘It’s never too late. These things can be contained. It was a fling, Rory, that’s all.’

‘Really?’ His eyes glittered and she realised she’d just made him very, very angry.

Before she could move he’d leaned across and pressed his lips to hers. Not hard and fierce, but gentle and tender. Taken by surprise, she let her guard slip. Her mouth softened and, oh, so skilfully he parted her lips with his tongue, slowly deepening the kiss. It was beautiful. Absurdly she wanted to cling to him. Why did he have to make this so hard? He lifted his head, his eyes still flashing fire.

She looked back at him, willing the silly tears in her own eyes to disappear. The awful tiredness had returned and she just wanted to crawl off into bed. With him, but that was something she could barely admit to herself.

‘Why do you want to stop this?’ he asked softly, and she closed her eyes against the desire she saw in his and summoned the anger and hurt she’d felt in the past.

‘Just because you’re my boss at work doesn’t mean you can boss me about here. You don’t call the shots.’

She heard his sharply indrawn breath. ‘Now, hang on, Lissa. It really bothers you, doesn’t it? The fact that I’m your boss.’

She clenched her teeth. The whole thing bothered her. How had she let this happen? She beat her head back on the headrest of the car seat.

‘Look, if it makes you feel any better I can arrange it so we’re not assigned to the same team again. I won’t be your direct manager.’

It was like Grant all over again. She couldn’t stop the barrage.

‘You think that makes it OK? That it’s fine that you can rearrange my career for me? That who I get to work with, or what project I’m on, is down to you. That my work options are limited because of an affair that we’re having?’ She’d had one boss who had unfairly controlled her employment options. She refused to have another.

‘Well, what would you have me do, Lissa?’

‘The situation is impossible. It will never work. We stop this thing now.’ The anger was all to the fore now; she could ignore the icy pain in her chest.

‘So you’re telling me that for as long as we’re working together we can’t be together.’

‘That’s right.’

He stared down at her thoughtfully. ‘OK, beautiful, have it your way.’ His face had hardened and remoteness replaced the tenderness in his eyes.

She opened the door and stepped out into the chilly night only just catching his low murmur, ‘For now.’

She trudged up to her door feeling as if she’d just ripped out her heart, stuck it in a Ziploc bag and shoved it in the bottom of the freezer.

Rory strode down the corridor unable to stand it any longer. He hadn’t seen her for two days and it was killing him. He’d purposely avoided the information centre. She obviously needed time to cool off and think about things. Maybe the weekend had been too overwhelming. It sure had blown him away. Maybe they should have talked about things earlier instead of leaving it till that car ride home. But he’d known she hadn’t wanted to talk much and, to be honest, nor had he. He’d just wanted to go with the moment and had hoped that every time they’d made love she had sunk deeper into his web as he had hers. Magic—no other word for it. But doubt gnawed at him. For the first time in his life he felt uncertainty. He couldn’t see where this was going. Wasn’t sure he wanted to. All he knew was that he wasn’t ready for it to end. Not yet.

His gut tightened. But what about her? Could she switch off just like that? Maybe it had just been a weekend of wild sex and nothing more. Maybe it was all over as far as she was concerned. She pushed him away at every corner.

He thought back to that parting kiss. She’d wanted more then. No, he couldn’t believe it was finished, but he needed to know for sure she still wanted him. He stopped off at the Gents on the way to calm down and get a grip. He couldn’t exactly just march in, grab her and kiss her senseless even if that was all he wanted to do. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. Something was bugging her. She’d said she didn’t like being talked about. That was why her behaviour was usually so circumspect in public. He grinned; she wasn’t quite so circumspect when she was dealing with him. In public or private. She couldn’t seem to stop herself from reacting to him—teasing him as much as he loved to tease her. He got to her and he needed to play on that for all he was worth.

She hated that they worked together. Hated that he was her boss. He frowned. She hadn’t been impressed when he’d suggested he arrange it so they were no longer on the same team. Too late to change things now, but he was sure she’d be pleased when she learnt what had been done. And at least it removed that particular obstacle.

The fact was he wanted to spend more time with Lissa. And not just time in bed. She was beautiful, smart, funny and he loved the way she teased him. He loved the way she laughed at his lame jokes. He found her zest for life intoxicating. She was fun to be around. And then there was the sex. Spectacular. He’d known she was passionate but, flu or not, she was amazing. Every waking moment of that weekend she’d been at him. It made him want to throw his head back and roar like a lion. It made him want to stake his claim big time. He wanted to go exploring with her. He wanted to tag along on her tourist outings. Laugh with her about being ripped off by ice-cream vendors in Italy. He couldn’t believe she hadn’t been to Florence. He wanted to take her there. Stand with her when she saw Botticelli’s Venus for the first time, wink with her in front of Michelangelo’s David. Drink wine, eat lots and make love morning, noon and night. It was as if he’d come home to a holiday romance.

His heart beat faster with every step nearer her desk. She was looking magnificent in a red suit, the jacket buttoned up. She’d swept her hair back into a severe style, the golden tresses locked away. He grinned. She looked the über-professional ice queen. She would. She didn’t look up as he approached. Only when Gina said, ‘Hi, Rory,’ did her head fly up. He watched her intently. No mistaking the flash of fire in her eyes. She quickly dampened it but he took perverse satisfaction in watching a slow tide of colour rise in her cheeks. An uncomfortable silence prevailed.

‘How can we help you?’ Gina finally broke it.

He thought about his reply a second, wishing he’d had the nous to actually think up an information request before charging up here.

Lissa suddenly stood. ‘I’m going to sort out those CDs,’ she muttered.

Rory wasn’t sure to whom. She marched down to the other end of the room behind the book stacks to where the search computers were. So she wanted to get away from him did she? Tough. He couldn’t help but watch her as she moved. Her red skirt ended just above her knee. He mentally slid a hand under the skirt, imagining the stockings and suspenders he knew he’d find underneath. He drew in a sharp breath and studied the painting on the wall nearest him. Geometric blocks of colour sploshed haphazardly over a white canvas. Thank God. A nude or even a still life with ripe, round fruit would have been a problem. He needed to think neutral thoughts or he’d be in big trouble.

Equilibrium restored, he turned to follow Lissa. He found her viciously shoving CD cases back into their respective shelves.

‘You know—’ he forced himself to speak lazily ‘—for someone who wants to avoid attracting gossip, you’re going the wrong way about it.’

She didn’t look up. ‘If you’re wanting some information, Gina can help.’ Her hands continued sorting the CD-Roms.

‘I don’t want information.’

She hesitated. ‘Then—’

‘I want you,’ he interrupted. He watched happily as she stood breathing shortly in front of him. Puffed from handling a few CD cases? No, that was him; this thing between them. Electric. How it had always been. He stepped closer, she didn’t move away.

‘I missed you.’ He spoke honestly. He didn’t know what else to do. He saw indecision on her face and offered a smile.

‘Rory, please.’

She didn’t smile back; if anything she looked more distressed. Then he recognised it—fear.

After a couple of false starts he managed to say the words he hoped would reassure her. The words he meant with all his heart. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’

Her lashes swooped down, hiding her response.

He didn’t know if it had been a dumb thing to say. He waited another second, watching the tide of colour in her cheeks flow and then slowly ebb.

She opened her mouth and suddenly he knew he didn’t want to hear what she was going to say. He put his fingers on her lips and before he could stop himself he swooped and stole a quick kiss. It blossomed immediately. His heart thundered. He felt her soften and he swore he heard a soft moan escape her. His hand lifted to hold her head to his and he felt her tremble. Hurriedly he pulled back. They would go from naught to two hundred in a nanosecond, but not here.

She stared up at him. He watched as emotions warred within her. He decided to relent for now. He’d found out what he needed to. The rest could wait. She’d come to it soon enough. There was no reason they couldn’t be together until she left. They needed to have a big talk, preferably one that ended up in bed, but now was not the time.

He smiled at her. ‘That was a freebie. Next time you ask. See you ‘round, beautiful.’

He turned and walked away, only just winning the battle not to swing back and take another look at her. It might only be lust, but she couldn’t deny that she had feelings for him and those feelings would win out. Rory one, Lissa nil.

Having the most orgasms in her life in a three-day period had the most unfortunate after-effects for Lissa. It was as if now she’d been switched on she couldn’t be switched off, walking around in a permanent state of semi-arousal. It took only the slightest friction or most fleeting thought of Rory to result in a flood of heat and the mad desire to go find him, press against him and take him in. She could only be thankful that their two-week period confined in a room was over. There was no way she could hold fast to her resolve if he were in such close proximity. She tried to concentrate on the information request before her, but every time someone entered the information centre she looked up—the original rubberneck.

She tried to blame her struggle for concentration on the after-effects of the flu, but her heart knew better. She kept replaying that morning’s all too brief kiss with Rory at the other end of the library. He’d completely ignored her call to end it. He wasn’t giving up on her. The knowledge made her giddy. He’d sought her out and proved to her that he could move her. What the hell was she going to do? The fact that they could have been seen by anyone wandering in the library hadn’t occurred to him. Maybe the thought of people knowing they were an item didn’t bother him. Grant would never have taken such a risk. In a perverse way this pleased her. Here was Rory, the one and only, the guy who never fooled around in the office, messing with her, Lissa, the temp from New Zealand.

He’d said he wouldn’t hurt her and maybe he genuinely meant it. But he would hurt her, whether he meant to or not. She was already hurting and the only thing she could do now was lessen the severity.

Gina and Lissa logged off simultaneously and called into the bathroom to fix their hair and make-up. Lissa refused to spend these last few weeks moping. She was going to go out tonight, drown her sorrows and resurrect her party spirit. She was going to plan some mini-breaks for her last few weekends and see some of the sights and she was determined to enjoy it. She would not let her flingette with Rory ruin her last weeks of tourism.

Gina turned to face her and shook her hair. ‘Am I OK?’

Lissa appraised her. She was wearing a baby-blue pencil skirt teamed with a white roll-neck cashmere sweater that hugged her curves in all the right places. She’d applied a soft pink gloss to her lips and brushed her curly blonde bob so it shone. Her blue eyes sparkled and silver earrings hung from her ears. She shone from the inside out. A petite firecracker. ‘You’re a doll.’

‘Yes, but am I a sexy doll?’

Lissa laughed aloud. ‘Absolutely. What about me?’ She adopted a mock-model pose for inspection, smoothing her hands down the black silk shirt she’d just changed into and down her slim red skirt. She tossed her freshly loosened hair with a feeble laugh.

Gina rolled her eyes. ‘Lissa, you exude sex. You’ve got legs to your armpits, boobs to match, long golden hair and this haughty ‘look but don’t touch’ façade. Now with this flu thing you’re all pale and fragile-looking too. It’s a killer combo. You’re irresistible.’

‘Ha!’ Lissa snorted. She knew Gina was over-egging it, but her ego needed the boost and she was happy to receive it.

They quickly walked through the cold rain, sharing Lissa’s umbrella, and climbed the steps leading into the pub. A nauseous feeling rose as the combined smell of beer, wine and perfume met them at the door and Lissa knew the idea of drowning her sorrows was a dumb one. But nor did she go for pineapple juice. Too many memories there. She opted for cranberry, alone and on the rocks.

Lissa was chatting to a young consultant about bungee jumping in New Zealand when Karl made an appearance. He wandered over to Lissa and surprised her completely by snagging her hand and tugging on it. She looked up at him in query. ‘What?’ she asked.

‘Come here, I’ve got something to show you.’ He pulled her over to a quiet corner and turned her so she stood facing the room and he stood with his back to it.

‘Jeez, Karl,’ Lissa began. ‘What’s going on?’

His eyes were dancing, but she noted a steely determination shining underneath. He stood with his hands on his hips, and she could feel the pent-up energy within him.

‘You’re going to do something about Gina?’ Lissa asked.

‘Uh-huh.’ He nodded decisively.

‘What?’

‘In my book, actions speak louder than words. I’m going to show her how I feel.’

She watched in amused surprise as he undid the top few buttons on his shirt, opening it just enough to reveal the tight tee he wore underneath. Emblazoned across his chest in bold type were the words ‘satisfaction guaranteed’. Subtlety wasn’t something that Karl did. She looked back up at him and the giggles burst out of her. ‘Perfect.’ It was as outrageous as he was, as Gina was. The two beautiful flirts were definitely a dream match.

He grinned wickedly back at her, doing the buttons back up. ‘I thought so too. Time to make a move.’

‘Go get her.’ She laughed. ‘But, Karl!’ He stopped and looked at her. ‘Don’t forget we chicks need the words too.’

He grinned and saluted and wandered in the direction of the bar. Lissa looked about, trying to spot Gina. She caught sight of her, cornered by a couple of consultants as usual. Lissa watched with satisfaction as Karl approached her. She glanced away and found herself looking at James, who had somehow appeared right in front of her without her noticing.

‘What are you doing standing in this dark corner all alone?’

‘Oh.’ She didn’t know what to say and took a quick sip.

‘Waiting for someone?’ James asked.

‘No, I was just talking to someone, but…’ She let her voice trail away. James didn’t seem overly interested in her reply. He stared at her. She coloured a little, not sure what he wanted. She held her glass in front of her with both hands, hugging it against her body in an unconsciously protective gesture.

‘Seems funny to be back at the usual desk, doesn’t it? I miss our little team. It was very illuminating.’ He paused and looked her over.

Lissa shifted on her feet uncomfortably. She definitely didn’t like the way this was heading.

‘There’s a whole lot more to you than meets the eye. I miss you, Lissa. I liked sitting near you. You’re a pleasure to be around, you know that? A pleasure to look at, a pleasure to talk to, and I bet you’d be a pleasure to kiss.’

Whoa, this was too much. The last thing she needed tonight was a charm offensive from James. Hadn’t he got the message the last time he’d asked her out? Obviously not. Maybe he thought the two weeks in close quarters with him had made her radically change her assessment of him? She nearly laughed aloud. She’d barely noticed him. She’d felt nothing but awareness of Rory.

Lissa glanced around, half hoping for a saviour. There didn’t seem to be anyone near enough to draw into the conversation; most of the crew were over by the bar. She took another sip of her drink. She’d just have to straighten him out. Trouble was, she knew from past experience he was fairly resilient.

‘James, I’m sorry, but—’

‘But nothing, Lissa. Come on, give me one date. Come to dinner. Get to know me. You might even be pleasantly surprised.’ He gave her a charming, overly confident smile that did nothing for her.

Yes, he was persistent, she’d give him that.

She looked over to where Gina had been and saw that Karl had managed to despatch the two consultants who had been loitering earlier. He had Gina alone and both looked serious.

She looked back at James, trying to get him to listen to what she was saying. ‘James, I already know you and you’re a nice guy, but I’m not interested.’

He frowned. ‘You’re not interested.’ He said it as if there were something wrong with her. ‘How come you don’t date anyone? Got a murky past?’ He moved closer to her, invading her space.

She tensed. How dared he start prying into her personal life? His arrogance astounded her and she felt it time she made herself understood clearly. She was unable to manage polite rebuff, her emotions too on edge. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when suddenly an arm snaked around her waist and firmly pulled her back against an extremely taut body. Her own body flared and fitted against it perfectly. Rory. She hadn’t even seen him approach. His arm reached right around her and his hand spread wide and firm on her lower abdomen. His other hand reached to her shoulder, holding her back against him length to length. A ripple of awareness shivered through her entire body. He couldn’t have adopted a more possessive stance if he’d tried. The shock temporarily robbed her of speech.

‘She’s seeing me, James,’ his voice rasped. Lissa felt his anger and her insides melted. He was jealous.

James stood back and looked them over. ‘So I see. I wondered about that, but I thought maybe not.’ He took a swig of his drink. ‘Still, can’t blame a man for trying.’

Rory said nothing and Lissa couldn’t think of a thing to say either. The uncomfortable silence hung over them, but James didn’t take the hint and move off. Rather he looked at them for a few moments. Malice glittered in his eyes.

‘Well, Rory, no wonder you had Lissa ditched from the team.’ He spoke with a confident swagger. ‘Shame for you, Lissa, missing out on the biggest deal Franklin has seen in years, especially when you helped win the contract. Still, now Rory’s free to concentrate on the mega project and have you as recreation on the side, while you’re stuck doing the filing or something boring back in the library.’

Lissa felt her jaw go slack. What had he just said? She replayed his words. Their meaning sank in. Rory had ditched her from the project? Back to boring library work? So he could have her on the side?

A wave of shock flooded through her. No, no, no. He wouldn’t have done that, would he? It was Grant all over again, controlling her career, manipulating her life for his own purposes.

She needed to get away from him. Away from them both. From the whole damn lot of them. She tensed and made to pull away, but Rory’s arm was like a steel band pinning her to him. She turned her head to look up at his face, but he held her so close and tight against him all she could see was the clench in his jaw.

She felt the animosity ignite between the two men. They were like two lions, circling around the kill. She certainly felt as if she’d been mauled. Why would Rory treat her like that? Just so he could keep sleeping with her? Horrified, she felt tears prickle the backs of her eyes and angrily she summoned control. Icy, icy control. She would not be humiliated like this. Not here, not now.

‘Things are never quite that simple, James,’ Rory said curtly.

James shrugged. ‘If you say so.’ He gave Lissa a penetrating look, and with a nasty smile he departed.

Rory’s arm didn’t loosen one iota.

‘Let me go.’ Her voice dripped with venom.