found it fascinating to watch him in action. The master of charm and attention, he seemed to enchant the others, made them want to do their best to please him. Slightly distanced, Lissa watched him weave this magic, witnessing their seduction. It totally irritated her.
When it came to giving Lissa instruction there was a flash of unholy enjoyment in his eyes that she couldn’t miss. And a slight chink in her professionalism where she couldn’t help but feel as if she wanted to do the exact opposite of what he requested.
Late on Tuesday afternoon only the two of them worked in the room. The silence sat heavy. Lissa tapped the keyboard and frowned at the screen, determined to pretend he wasn’t there. As if.
Suddenly he stood. Well, she had to look then, didn’t she? He stretched a little, the gesture emphasising his length. She knew she should look away, but it was impossible. He smiled at her—and the need to look away became imperative. Instead she couldn’t help the small smile back.
‘Come on, team-building.’
Her surprise must have been evident.
‘Team-building,’ he repeated, the dizzying smile widening. ‘Some corporate R’n’R.’
She didn’t trust him; that smile had turned a little wicked. ‘Half the team isn’t here.’ She felt nervous about alone time with him outside the office. Memories of that hot embrace flooded her. Excitement trammelled through her, but she bolted it back down in her emotional cellar labelled ‘do not enter’.
‘They’re coming once the meeting is over. Shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes. We’ll only have time to get there and order the first round.’
It sounded harmless enough. They were meeting the others there. Besides, he was the boss. She didn’t really have much choice. She nodded acquiescence and logged off her computer while he did the same. She got her jacket from the stand in the corner. She pulled it around her and secured the belt firmly, looking up in time to catch him watching her. A definitely sinful smile played on his lips.
Provoked, she deliberately pulled the ends of the belt a little tighter, pinching her waist, emphasising her curves, defiantly holding his gaze. Desire washed over his face, his eyes burning, the skin across his high cheekbones reddening, and she knew her own face mirrored his reaction. Her head tipped back a fraction, she felt the pulse in her lips, felt the longing for him to touch her bared neck. Sharply he turned to exit the room.
They walked to the lift in a silence that hummed with awareness. Mentally she berated herself for the flaunting gesture. Only the tiniest spark could cause an inflammation. Her lower belly and her breasts felt tight from the moment of blatant sexual encouragement. For an instant she’d let her control lapse and now she was paying for it. With every step she felt conscious of his nearness, knowing she wanted to be closer. Much closer. Bad, bad, bad.
Out on the street he surprised her by heading away from the usual company haunt. She tried to recover her equilibrium.
‘We’re not going to Jackson’s?’
‘Well, it wouldn’t be much of a team-building exercise if we went to the local and had the whole company join us. This is just for us, Lissa.’
Just for us? Her pulse raced, beating off kilter again.
He kept walking, and talking. ‘We’re going to be working in close quarters for long hours. We need to be a tight unit. There isn’t room for any issues or…’ he paused ‘…distractions.’
Despite her flirt moment minutes ago, she had no intention of being a distraction. Nor was she going to be distracted. Uh-uh, no way.
‘Marnie and James are competitive with each other. For the most part this is good, but I want the quality of our work to be the primary goal, not one-upmanship or point-scoring or—’ he cleared his throat ‘…scoring at all, for that matter.’
‘Scoring?’ She stopped and stared at him.
His face was slightly reddened, but he met her look squarely with a gleaming one of his own. ‘Lissa, I’ll be honest with you. I’m attracted to you. Have been since the minute I laid eyes on you. That attraction only seems to grow the more I’m around you. But I cannot afford to screw up this project by spending my time chasing you when I should be working. Believe me, it’s damn tempting. So I’m telling you now. I’m interested in you. If you feel the same, then let me know.’
Vaguely she sensed the movement of people passing them on the footpath, of buses and taxis slowly advancing along the street, but it was as if the world had subsided into fuzzy focus leaving only Rory before her, impacting on her with brilliant clarity.
Time held suspended as she saw him watching her as her brain ran through every ugly reason why she couldn’t be honest with him or herself. She couldn’t let anything happen, even though minutes ago she’d practically asked for it. He was her boss. Power plays couldn’t help but enter the equation and she knew nothing about him. She couldn’t risk it.
Finally she spoke, the raw sound embarrassing her. ‘Rory, I can’t. I just can’t.’
He stepped an inch closer. ‘Is that can’t or won’t, Lissa? I know you’re single. I know you enjoyed kissing me.’
Denial was futile, her flush confirmed everything, and so silently she waited him out.
He blew out a deep breath. ‘I’m taking it as a won’t, Lissa. That’s fine. So for now we concentrate on work. But once this project is wrapped then I think we revisit this conversation.’
The blood pounded through her body, her cheeks were still hot, her lips felt full. But she couldn’t be a slave to her desire like this. She’d screwed up one good job already. She wasn’t going to do that again.
He took her arm and gave her the benefit of a full-wattage Rory Baxter smile. ‘Don’t look so worried. It’ll all work out just fine.’
He ushered her into the bar.
‘You choose the table. I’ll get the drinks—apple or cherry?’
She frowned at him.
‘Alcopop? Which flavour?’
‘Oh.’ She felt the heat in her cheeks increase and the small smile popped out without her permission. ‘Actually, I’ll just have a lemonade, please.’
‘Going straight tonight?’
Yes. Straight home. Alone. She nodded. She watched his authoritative stride to the bar. The barmaid leapt to attention, flicking her hair and offering a flirtatious smile.
Turning away before she acknowledged the sudden burst of irritation, Lissa chose the table under the brightest light in the middle of the room. No tiny dark corner to be secluded in, no hint of romance, of intimacy or intensity. She should have known it wouldn’t work. Her brain had slipped a gear out of professional mode and into seduction. Her seduction. His approach on the street had surprised her, his unashamed acknowledgement of his attraction to her. But he had made it clear; work came first. This was good. What had he called it? A ‘distraction’. That was all it would be. She needed to remember that. Men who had office affairs weren’t thinking marriage and kids. More a bit of fun to liven up long hours at the office and more often than not they’d say anything to get it.
