Free Propositioned by the Billionaire by Lucy King Page B

jeans for a pair of khaki shorts. Phoebe couldn’t help running her gaze over his legs: tanned and as muscled as she’d imagined. A vision of them entwined with hers charged into her head and her mouth went dry.
    This was ridiculous, she scolded herself, swallowing hard. It was just a pair of legs. Everybody had them. Nevertheless it took every drop of strength she possessed to drag her gaze up his body and reach his face. A tiny smile hovered at his mouth and Phoebe instantly realised that he knew she’d been checking him out.
    If he mentioned it she’d attribute the pinking of her cheeks to the sun, she decided, pushing herself to her feet and brushing the sand off her skirt. ‘What’s up?’
    ‘Nothing’s up. I’m going for a sail. You’re in my way.’
    Phoebe glanced round at the acres of sand that surrounded the spot where she’d been lying. ‘It’s a big beach. Is that yours?’ She pointed to the gleaming white yacht moored up against the jetty that stretched out from the beach into the sea.
    ‘It is.’
    ‘Pretty.’
    ‘I think so.’
    ‘What’s it called?’
    ‘ She is called the Phoenix Three. ’
    ‘Sounds like a pop group. What happened to the Phoenix One and Two? ’
    ‘They sank.’
    ‘And each one rises from the ashes of the previous?’
    ‘Soggy ashes, but something like that.’
    ‘Can I come?’ While she’d learned every possible thing she could about his guests, she’d found out precious little about him. How could she do a proper job this evening without knowing as much as possible? Alex had so far proved remarkably adept at dodging her questions. Trapping him on a boat would be ideal.
    ‘Shouldn’t you be working?’
    ‘I’ve done as much as I can from my notes,’ she said. ‘The rest I’ll just have to pick up as I go along.’ She smiled winsomely. ‘I promise not to get in the way.’
    Alex ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration. He clearly didn’t want her on board his yacht. Well, that was tough. She was coming along for the ride whether he liked it or not.
    Phoebe glanced down at the cool box he was carrying and decided that she wasn’t above a little manipulation herself.
    She stared at it longingly. ‘Is that lunch?’
    ‘A very late one, yes.’
    She widened her eyes and gave him a doleful look. ‘You know, I haven’t eaten anything all day.’
    Alex frowned. ‘Didn’t you have something up at the house?’
    Phoebe bit on her lip and shook her head forlornly. ‘I’m ravenous.’ She waited and, when Alex didn’t look as if he had any intention of taking her hint, she swayed a little. ‘Do you realise that if I pass out this evening as a result of lack of sustenance it’ll be entirely your fault?’
    ‘How do you figure that?’
    ‘You didn’t give me time for breakfast, so if there’s enough in there for two…’
    ‘There’s plenty.’ He set the box on the ground and took the lid off. ‘Help yourself.’
    Oh. Phoebe peered into the cool box and her mouth watered. Lunch looked and smelled delicious. But however tempting his suggestion was, nibbling on a chicken leg alone on the beach while Alex did whatever he did on boats had not been the plan at all.
    ‘I’d much rather join you,’ she said with a little pout.
    Alex’s jaw tightened but he remained stonily silent.
    ‘Fine,’ she said sadly. ‘I understand. I just hope your hosting skills improve by tonight.’
    Alex let out a resigned sigh. ‘OK. That’s enough. You can come.’
    Phoebe beamed. ‘Great.’
     
    Letting Phoebe on board his boat had been such a bad idea, Alex berated himself for the hundredth time.
    He should have thrown her a sandwich and left her on the beach. Better still, he should never have disturbed her in the first place. He wasn’t sure why he had.
    But even though he’d known perfectly well what she’d been up to with those big eyes and the pout it didn’t negate the fact that she was right. The catering staff had gone on a break