Free Hired for the Boss's Bedroom by Cathy Williams Page A

with her. In fact, it was all part and parcel of the package that was so irresistibly attractive. Those first signs of irritability vanished before the pleasing prospect of harnessing all that fire and making it his; a change from cool, intellectual, sophisticated power women was long overdue.
    ‘Good,’ he said with satisfaction. ‘So…where do we go from here? I suggest somewhere a bit more comfortable than the kitchen.’
    Heather looked at him, at the lazy smile curving his lips, at the unspoken suggestion behind his fabulous eyes, and the vague questions she had asked herself were suddenly answered in an instant of comprehension.
    Leo hadn’t politely taken rejection because he was indifferent, and he hadn’t accepted a cup of coffee because he was eaten up with curiosity to hear why she had pushed him away.
    How could she have been foolish enough to think that? He just wasn’t built that way. He had accepted a cup of coffee because he had assumed it heralded her acquiescence, and he wouldn’t have been in the least surprised at that because he was so used to getting what he wanted.
    ‘Where do you have in mind?’ she asked with a shuttered expression.
    ‘Well…we could start in the sitting room and progress to the bedroom. Although, if you’re really stuck on staying here…’ He shot her a wolfish smile that made her stomach do a back flip and reminded her powerfully of why, exactly, he was so dangerous for her.
    ‘If we stay in here?’ she prompted. ‘What? A quick romp against the kitchen units?’
    The smile dropped from Leo’s face. ‘Poor use of words.’
    ‘It doesn’t matter how you wrap it up, that’s what you’re suggesting, isn’t it? Or we could go upstairs to the bedroom. Might last a bit longer there.’ She thought of them together on her king-sized bed with its floral duvet; she thought of the floral duvet being kicked off in the heat of the moment and shakily closed the door on the image. It was way too easy for her imagination to break its reins and run rampant.
    ‘Why don’t you let me show you? You can tell me afterwards whether you have any complaints. I guarantee you won’t.’
    ‘Because you’re so sure of yourself?’
    ‘Correct.’
    ‘Conceited, aren’t you?’
    ‘Not conceited. I just don’t see the point of hiding behind false modesty.’
    Two patches of bright colour had appeared on her cheeks, and the hand wrapped round the mug was trembling. She set the mug down and clasped her hands together on her lap out of sight. The atmosphere between them sizzled like a live wire. She had expected him to be enraged by her slurs on his skills as a lover, and was now disproportionately shaken by the fact that he hadn’t been.
    ‘And then, after we’ve made love, what happens next? You return to London, feeling refreshed? Just out of interest, do you return to London to share your fabulous love-making skills with another woman? Maybe more than one?’
    ‘Do you want a fight, Heather? Is that it?’
    ‘I’m just curious.’
    ‘Well, to satisfy your curiosity, I don’t happen to be involved with anyone else at the moment, and in case you’re not getting the message loud and clear I don’t spread myself thin when it comes to women. The idea of having a harem of women on the go is repugnant.’
    ‘So what does happen, in that case—after today?’
    ‘Is that what’s worrying you? You think that you might be a one-night stand? Well, let me put your mind to rest on that score—I don’t do one-night stands. I don’t do flocks of women because they happen to be available. I have a libido but I also have self-control.’
    ‘But you don’t do permanence, either.’
    ‘No. I don’t.’
    ‘And how have all those women you’ve dated felt about that? Have they all conveniently shared your aversion to taking the plunge?’ Like a dog with a bone, she was finding it difficult to let it go. She wanted him gone, but she didn’t. She wanted to tell him her point of