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 9)
‘I’m sorry. We’ll try to be friends.’ She looked around the room, wishing for another exit. ‘Are we done?’
He looked at her sardonically. ‘Not by a long shot.’ But he stood aside and opened the door for her. She made her escape knowing he was only two steps behind.
Lissa rubbed at the pain in her temples. Last night she and Gina had spent a reasonably quiet couple of hours over a bottle of wine, and a plate of pasta in the corner of their favourite bar alternately discussing men—Gina’s favourite topic—and travel opportunities—Lissa’s. She’d needed to escape the office and her own thoughts and had hoped that a night out with Gina would help her achieve just that. She frowned as her computer clunked through processing her latest request. It hadn’t worked. She utterly distracted; the cause of her headache was over six-feet in height and a force looming beside her, captivating her thoughts to the exclusion of all others. It was so frustrating. She sighed. Marnie noticed and guessed about her head.
‘You’ve had your hair scraped back so tightly all week it’s no wonder you have a headache.’ Without further ado she came and stood beside Lissa, undid her clip and loosened her hair so it tumbled around her shoulders.
‘Marnie!’ Lissa protested.
‘It’s for your own good. Now…’ Marnie sank her fingers into her hair and pressed on her scalp. Lissa had to admit it felt fantastic.
‘I did a massage course to learn to relax.’ Marnie explained. ‘Is that OK?’ she asked Lissa as her hands kneaded her skull right where the bands of pressure had been building.
‘Oh, it feels great.’ Lissa closed her eyes, the pain receding. ‘That’s amazing.’
‘Don’t I get one too?’ James asked with a randy light in his eye impossible for anyone to ignore.
‘No.’ Marnie was basically rude.
‘I can just watch,’ he said, unabashed. ‘I’m happy to watch.’
I bet you are. Lissa glanced at Rory to see what he was making of this bizarre situation. He was resting his jaw in his hand and watching too. A small smile flickered round his mouth.
Marnie finished. ‘There you go. All better.’
‘Can I have my clip back?’
‘No, I’m confiscating it. You should wear your hair down. It looks nice.’
She didn’t want it to look nice.
Rory looked thoughtful. ‘Anyone got special plans for lunch?’
No one answered in the affirmative. Lissa assumed he wanted them to work through, again.
‘Right, we’re going out, then. Our missed team-building date.’
Lissa suppressed a sigh. Marnie and James were already grabbing their jackets and heading out the door, eager to escape the dungeon. Lissa sat fiddling with her mouse. Rory looked at her in inquiry.
‘Do you need me?’ she asked. ‘I mean,’ she continued hesitantly as she watched the dark look grow in his face ‘you guys are the consultants. I’m just here to research and type.’
‘I’ve told you already, Lissa—’ his eyes glinted as he walked towards her ‘—you’re not
He would make her come, all right. Of that she was certain. She sat stunned at her thoughts. Cursed that her mind should interpret his words in such a James-like fashion. She simply couldn’t stop the wry twist to her lips. He saw it and his attention dropped to her mouth. Her lips softened and parted under the heat of his gaze. She heard his indrawn breath. She badly wanted to lick them they felt so dry and needy. Even more badly she wanted to taste his. Every fibre in her sprang to life as he inched tantalisingly closer.
Marnie popped her head back around the door. ‘Coming?’
Rory’s head lifted sharply. Their eyes met again and Lissa saw her own amusement reflected. He spun round. ‘Just as soon as we can.’
Marnie glanced at Lissa. Lissa smothered her appreciative chuckle, met her gaze as coolly as she could and walked out the door after her.
They went to a small Italian restaurant not far from the office. James sat next to Lissa while Marnie and Rory were across from them. It was not a large table and as they sat Lissa felt Rory’s knee press against hers. Hurriedly she moved back a little, studiously perusing the menu and avoiding the smile she knew would be on his face.
They ordered and ate and Lissa sat quietly letting the leisurely work chat wash over her. The food was delicious and she was starving. The main course passed by in a flash. She smiled at the waiter hovering near, nodding for him to hand her the dessert menu. She licked her lips as she mentally debated between the white chocolate and raspberry torte and the lemon syrup cake with raspberries. She adored raspberries. She perked up the instant the waiter reappeared, welcoming him with a beaming smile. With his eyes on her he asked if they wanted dessert or coffee.
Forgetting about the others, she ordered immediately. ‘Can I have the lemon syrup cake with raspberries and boozy cream please? And—’ with a conspiratorial smile she looked up at him ‘—can I have a little extra cream?’
The waiter smiled back. ‘Of course.’
Lissa looked around the others expectantly and was disconcerted to find them all staring at her with slightly shocked expressions. She felt like a bug under a microscope.
‘What?’ she asked in confusion. ‘Is that OK? I’m sorry. Don’t we have time for dessert? Do we have to get back to the office?’
‘No, it’s fine,’ Rory answered. He picked up the menu and glanced at it swiftly. ‘I’ll have the white chocolate and raspberry torte.’
‘Just an espresso for me,’ Marnie chimed in.
‘Ditto,’ added James.
‘You’re not having dessert?’ Lissa asked Marnie incredulously after the waiter had left. ‘I
Marnie laughed. ‘Well, now we know how to keep you happy. You’ve been quiet as a mouse all lunch and now dessert’s on its way you’ve sprung to life.’ She gave her a critical look. ‘How do you stay so slim if you always eat dessert?’
Lissa shook her head with a smile. ‘I’m not slim. I’m tall—more room to hide it.’
‘No, you’re slim,’ Marnie disagreed. ‘Do you work out?’
‘No, I’m not a gym fan. I just walk the streets looking at things.’
She stole a quick glance at Rory and saw him smiling at her. ‘Playing the tourist?’
‘Absolutely,’ she replied, tilting her chin.
James looked from Rory to her and back again. ‘What do you do to keep fit, then, Rory? You’re in good shape and still knock back dessert.’
‘Rugby,’ came the reply as Rory sat back for the waiter to present the dish.
‘Rugby? You’ll appreciate that, Lissa, coming from the land of the All Blacks,’ James said, smiling at her with a touch of malice. ‘Don’t all Kiwi girls play rugby now too?’
‘Actually, I think of it as Thugby,’ Lissa said, concentrating on slicing her cake with a fork. ‘All that macho male aggression, jumping on each other, mucking around in mud.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Aren’t you comfortable with macho men?’ Rory challenged. ‘Rugby is a good sport for us Neanderthal types. It provides a safe environment for us work off our energy and frustration.’
Her skin prickled. Frustration, huh? She couldn’t stop raising her brows slightly. She glanced up at him and caught his fiery gaze on her.
‘I can think of better ways to do that,’ James said with his all too familiar lecherous tone.
Lissa ignored him, fascinated instead by the expression on Rory’s face. Amused, heated, knowing. They could all think of a better way to ease frustration, but, while it was James who would express it, it was Rory and Lissa who wanted to do it. She knew it and he knew it. But she couldn’t let that happen.
Marnie filled the sudden silence. ‘Are you looking forward to going home, Lissa?’
Rory looked back to his plate.
‘Yes, I haven’t been back since I left. It’ll be nice to catch up with friends. There are still a million places I want to go to, but I can travel again some time.’
‘You don’t want to stay in London?’
She shrugged. ‘Even if I wanted to I couldn’t. My working visa expires in two months and then I’ll have to leave.’
‘You could always find yourself a British husband, Lissa. Then you could work anywhere in Europe for as long as you like.’ James waggled his eyebrows. ‘If you need someone for the job, just let me know.’
The expression of distaste Rory flicked at James was comical. Lissa gave them both a saccharine smile. ‘Why, thank you anyway, James, but as I only intend to do it the once, if and when I marry it will be for love.’
She looked back at her plate, deciding to get what pleasure she could out of the wonderfully syrupy cake. The citrus scent reminded her of being in Rory’s embrace and she indulged in the headiness of it. She ate each mouthful with relish until she was left with just a few berries and a pile of cream. Throwing all good manners aside, she put her fork down and picked up a single raspberry, swirling it in the cream, covering it completely. Happily she put it in her mouth and licked the remaining cream off her fingers. It was delicious. Just the right amount of liqueur had been added to the cream to give a sweet, warm tingle in the mouth. The tartness of the raspberry a perfect foil. Ignoring the others completely, she repeated the procedure until the last of the berries was gone. Then she dabbed her finger in the cream and licked it off, glancing up and meeting Rory’s eyes as she did so. The burning intensity of his gaze shocked her and she lowered her hand nervously. Desperately she tuned back into the conversation. Marnie and James seemed to be talking tennis.