Anna Cleary – 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 (страница 3)
Lissa breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t do ‘a little fun’, as Gina had urged. Now was definitely a good time to escape. Deep in thought, she marched out of the lift and straight into the figure standing before it. Firm hands grasped her upper arms and her nose was sore from bumping against the hardness underneath the wool jumper, which was all she could see ahead of her.
‘Oh, I’m so—’ She stopped short as she looked up at whom she’d just cannoned into. Mr Green Eyes himself. She frowned deeply as she watched his smile widen with quite obvious amusement. ‘What?’ she asked, unable to stop the rude bite. He nettled her, put her off balance.
‘I’m going to drive you home.’ The easy note of authority irked her more.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Yes, I am.’
She frowned at him again. ‘You can’t drive; you’ve been drinking.’
‘I’ve had one drink the whole evening and had food earlier. I’m fine to drive.’
Her frown morphed into a glower. ‘My mother taught me not to get into cars with strangers.’
‘I’m not a stranger. We’ve just spent the past half-hour getting to know each other.’
She thought about it for a moment, knowing she was weakening. Gina knew this guy well, and quite frankly, the idea of a ride home in a car was appealing. It would beat a crowded tube and ten minute walk at the other end. The strappy shoes weren’t great long distance, not even medium distance.
Even more tempting was the idea of spending another ten minutes in his company. Just a little more practice? Sharpen the flirt claws?
‘Besides,’ he continued to persuade—she knew he could sense success, ‘you’ve made your lack of interest very clear. So you’ve nothing to fear.’
Have I? she thought. Damn. Seeing all of him properly for the first time in the lit foyer, she realised her instincts had been right. He was one sexy animal. She stood staring up at him, her mind refusing to compute as quickly as usual. All she could seem to focus on were those fabulous green eyes. She saw the amusement in them. Why it didn’t bother her, she couldn’t say. Rather she simply felt the urge to lean in and share the joke. He stepped closer and held her arms tighter. The contact broke through her clouded mind.
‘Well, if you insist.’ She attempted a laconic drawl.
‘I do.’
She raised her eyebrows slightly and allowed herself to be guided back into the lift. She looked at him in query.
‘There’s a car park in the basement.’
Leaning back against the lift wall she avoided his gaze and speculated on his choice of car. It would definitely be fast and flashy. Hell, probably a convertible with heated leather seats.
He took her arm again as they exited the lift and steered her through the line-up of closely parked cars. She tried to ignore the sensations that his thumb and every one of those fingers were causing. They were needles of electricity, points of awareness pressing into her. She pulled her lips into her mouth and pressed on them hard.
She wasn’t at all prepared for the slightly dented, giant maroon people carrier that he stopped beside. The seven-seater was obviously used to being full. There was the unmistakable smell of infants. An assortment of papers and candy wrappers was scattered on the floor and two of the rear seats were fitted with child restraints.
‘Are we expecting anyone else?’ she asked blandly.
‘No,’ came the equally bland response. She sat down and made to fasten her seat belt. Suddenly she stopped. Reaching underneath her, she pulled out a half-eaten pack of now very squashed raisins. Wordlessly she passed them to him.
‘Oh, good,’ he said, taking them with a pleased smile. ‘I was wondering where they went. Supper.’
She couldn’t help but glance at his left hand resting on the steering wheel. No ring, no obvious tan mark. Beautiful long fingers, neatly trimmed nails, a broad palm. She shivered and looked away. This was Karl wasn’t it? The incorrigible flirt? Confirmed bachelor and man about town? This definitely didn’t go with the image.
‘It’s my sister’s car.’ He finally offered an explanation. ‘Mine wasn’t available and so I borrowed hers. She has three kids. Messy ones.’
‘Oh, nice for you.’ She clicked her seat belt into place. ‘So what kind of car do you usually drive, then?’
‘What do you think?’
‘Oh, I dunno. Some sporty thing. Fast, flash, something to wow the ladies.’
‘I don’t need to rely on a car to wow the ladies,’ he said suavely.
‘Oh, really?’ She couldn’t help laughing.
He shook his head at her, laughter lighting his eyes so they glowed, burning into her.
‘So what?’ she asked with tart humour. ‘You just rely on your dashing good looks, amazing physique, rapier-like wit and charm?’
‘D, all of the above.’ He nodded seriously.
She bet he did. He had all of those attributes in abundance.
‘Now, where are we going?’
She looked at him in confusion before realising they’d been sitting there a couple of minutes and he hadn’t started the engine yet.
‘Oh, St Katharine’s Dock, Tower Hill.’
He looked at her with raised brows, turning the key in the ignition. ‘I thought it would have been Earl’s Court or Shepherds Bush. Isn’t that where all you Kiwis and Aussies hang out?’
‘Maybe.’ She shrugged. ‘I’m not into that scene.’
‘Avoiding your country folk?’ He edged the car out of the garage and into the line of traffic.
‘No, but if I wanted to spend all my time going to antipodean pubs and hanging out with other New Zealanders I wouldn’t have bothered leaving New Zealand in the first place.’
‘Running away from something?’
‘Running to something,’ she corrected. ‘Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like New Zealand, I love it, but I wanted to travel and experience London. It’s such a great city.’ She sighed happily.
‘So you chose St Katharine’s Dock?’ They were driving along Embankment, and she couldn’t help but enjoy the famous buildings as they slid past.
‘Yeah.’ She smiled. ‘Not in one of those amazing waterside warehouse conversions though. There’s an old estate just at the back of them. I have a teeny flat there. It’s fantastic. You know, I walk past the Tower of London every day on my way to work and every time it just hits me: I’m in London! It’s awesome.’
‘It’s really such a dream for you?’
‘Oh, yeah. It’s all those years of having to watch
She giggled. ‘Oh,
He looked at her and smiled straight back into her eyes, and her breath caught, he had the most magnificent smile. Her heartbeat accelerated alarmingly. She looked away, hurriedly dampening the attraction raging in her.
‘You sound like such a tourist, all that fresh-eyed enthusiasm,’ he teased.
‘What’s wrong with that? It’s good to have some passion.’ Flirt alert—she willed serenity to return to her mind and body.
‘I agree. Are you as enthusiastic and passionate in other areas of life?’
She threw him a mock-evil look knowing she’d asked for that one. He grinned wickedly back at her.
She took a breath and played safe. ‘I love walking past the Tower each day, laughing at those other tourists getting ripped off by the most expensive ice-cream man in the world!’
‘Really?’ He laughed.
She nodded. ‘He has his van there by Dead Man’s Hole. The most shocking prices.’
‘Hmm. But I bet he’s not as expensive as the gelato man by Ponte Vecchio in Florence.’
‘Really? In Florence?’ She sighed longingly. ‘I didn’t make it there. I’d love to go.’
‘It’s beautiful. I’ll take you.’
She raised a brow at him, hoping her façade was as cool as her insides were hot. ‘Will you, now?’
He nodded. ‘You have to see Botticelli’s Venus. You’re a dead ringer.’
There was a silence as she absorbed the compliment. Botticelli’s masterpiece hung in the Uffizi gallery. His depiction of Venus was one of the world’s most famous works of art. Generation after generation admired the beauty of her. Lissa was amused, ‘incorrigible flirt’ was definitely the way to describe this guy. The trouble was, she couldn’t help but enjoy it.
‘Oh, you are good,’ she cooed.
He smiled back winningly. ‘And is it working?’