Free Reckless Runaway at the Racecourse by Ros Clarke

have. They’re lovely.’ They really were. Long, lean fingers which hinted at their underlying strength. They were the kind of hands that sent a girl’s imagination flying. Clever hands, gentle hands, powerful hands.
         ‘I’m not sure my secretary should be noticing things like that.’
         ‘I’m not your secretary yet,’ Fliss pointed out.
         ‘Fair enough. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me now?’
         Fliss thought about this for a minute. ‘I won’t be getting up to wave you off to work at five o’clock in the morning.’
         Luke nodded. ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’
         ‘Luke, don’t you think this is a bit odd?’
         ‘What is?’
         ‘You and me. I mean, we’re barely… well, whatever we are, it’s only casual. And yet we’re going to be living together and working together. You don’t think that could be a problem?’
         ‘Only if I’m a terrible boss.’
         I’ve never slept with the boss before,’ Fliss mused. ‘Will I get perks?’
         ‘What sort of perks?’
         ‘Oh, you know, sitting on your knee while I take dictation. Or being sent home early when I claim to have a headache.’
         ‘Is that what happens?’ Luke was clearly fascinated by this insight into office life.
         ‘I don’t know, I told you I’d never slept with the boss before.’

Chapter Five
     
      
         Black, shiny, spiky, ridiculously high heels.
         Short, tight, barely-decent skirt.
         White, figure-hugging, too-many-buttons-undone shirt. Or not enough, depending how you looked at it.
         Luke was looking at it from every angle. Fliss’s outfit was clearly designed for distraction, having the merest semblance of office attire and all the seductiveness of a stripper’s outfit. To match her clothes, her shiny chestnut hair was neatly twisted up into a severe bun, as if deliberately tempting him to pull out all the pins and let it tumble around her shoulders.
         Luke closed his eyes, counted to ten, then opened them again. She was still there. Still dressed like the object of any red-blooded male’s fantasy.
         Though this fantasy woman she wasn’t even looking at him. Fliss was perched on the kitchen counter, cradling a cup of coffee and chatting nineteen to the dozen with his housekeeper.
         Luke coughed.
         Fliss turned instantly to greet him with a wide smile and a knowing twinkle in her eyes. ‘Morning, boss.’
         He frowned sternly at her, then turned to smile at his housekeeper. ‘Morning, Mrs Ricks. Felicity, I’d like a word with you. In my office. Now.’
         ‘Certainly.’ She slid off the counter, tugged ineffectively at her skirt, managing for an instant to give Luke a perfect view down her cleavage. Then she picked up her coffee and smiled at the housekeeper. ‘Cheers for the coffee, Annie. Let me know how you get on with that website.’
         Luke held the door open and waited for her to pass through. She was near enough that he could smell the scent of her. This had been a really, really bad idea.
         In his office, Fliss had taken possession of the desk chair. She pushed it back and crossed her ankles. She held a notepad and pen and looked up at him in anticipation.
         ‘All ready, boss.’
         He didn’t smile back. ‘This isn’t going to work.’
         She pretended to look confused. ‘I haven’t even started yet. How can I be fired?’
         Luke shook his head. ‘You’re not fired. Yet. But if you’re going to work here, you have to take it seriously.’
         Fliss pulled the chair up to the desk and cocked her head at him. ‘What makes you think I don’t?’
         Luke looked at her. Again. She was the very image of temptation. Worse than in his t-shirt and borrowed socks. Worse even than in the blue dress she’d been wearing when he first saw