‘We can’t always have what we want or—or need, Hal...and perhaps giving in to our base desires isn’t the best thing to do for either of us. I won’t deny that I find you attractive, but if you seriously think about this you’ll know it isn’t a good idea to take things any further. We’ve already crossed a boundary I vowed never to cross with a client. You’ve been hurt in an accident and forced to take a much slower pace than you’re used to while you recuperate, and I’ve been hired to help you.’
Reaching up, she gently freed his hands from round her face and sat back against the couch’s sumptuous leather upholstery, a shapely leg tucked beneath her.
‘It’s understandable that you’re feeling frustrated and lonely, but I’m not the cure for either of those states—even though you might think I am.’ Visibly blushing she added, ‘Your kiss was lovely, and so are you. But I’d rather you remembered me as a reliable and competent help when you most needed it than some convenient woman you took to bed simply because you were feeling horny.’
As shocked surprise eddied through him Hal hardly knew what to say. Kit had told him he was ‘lovely’ and yet she clearly didn’t trust his motives. A thought that might explain why she was so uneasy about taking things further suddenly struck him.
‘You think I’m just the same as one of those low-lifes who used your mother then abandoned her. That’s it, isn’t it?’ He cursed out loud because he knew it was true.
‘No. Of course I don’t think that!’ Her mouth shaping a painful grimace, Kit folded her arms over her chest and dipped her head. The sudden movement caused her glorious hair to tumble forward onto her shoulders in a riot of silken burnished waves.
Hal sucked in a breath. The sight was so beautiful...
‘I know you’re not like them,’ she declared. ‘But I have to protect myself. There’s no one else looking out for me but me. I’ve got a reputation for being competent and reliable at the agency and I need a good reference when I leave you if I’m to get another job as good as this. Don’t you understand?’
Starting to feel a little calmer, Hal was thoughtful. ‘I’ve given you my word that you won’t lose this job, and if you see it through to the end of course I’ll give you a good reference...the best. I want to reassure you about that. But I can’t pretend it’s going to make me want you any less, Kit, or that you’ll stop thinking about that kiss we just shared.’
‘Okay.’ She smiled, but it was plain to see her expression was still guarded. ‘I’m flattered that you want me—I really am. I know that you could probably just pick up the phone and have any woman that you want. And I’m sorry if I offended you with what I said about you being—’
‘Horny?’ he finished helpfully.
‘Sometimes I’m a little too quick to speak my mind.’
‘Do you think I don’t know that by now?’
‘Anyway...’ Uncurling her leg from beneath her, Kit ran her hand over her hair, as if to tidy it, then positioned herself more comfortably against the cushions. ‘Why don’t we just finish watching the film? I was really starting to enjoy it.’
Hal’s strongly defined jaw clenched ruefully. ‘There’s something else I’d much rather do, but seeing as I’m a gentleman this time I’ll give you the prerogative of choosing the evening’s entertainment. Next time it will be my turn.’
‘If you’re no longer so keen on watching the film perhaps you might like a game of chess instead?’ The look she gave him was innocence personified. ‘But if we play I warn you I’m no push-over. I don’t take any prisoners. I play to win!’
His blood heated again, painfully reminding him of what he’d given up in deference to reassuring Kit that he was no ruthless playboy who believed it was his God-given right to take what he wanted. Lowering his voice, he remarked, ‘So do I, sweetheart. I don’t see the point of playing a game if I don’t come out on top. After all, being on top is what I do best.’
Hal couldn’t deny the sense of satisfaction that pulsed through him when her pretty cheeks turned revealingly pink...
* * *
Over the next few days Hal played the part of the gentleman he professed to be to the max. Gone was the teasing, provocative banter that Kit had come to love and expect, that suggested he was more bad boy than gentleman. A much more sedate, thoughtful man took his place. In fact he’d become so quiet that she fretted his leg wasn’t healing as well as it should be and that it was seriously bothering him. When she checked with him he always immediately denied anything was amiss and returned to the book he was reading, or to his study to work, with an expression that told her friendly conversation was off the agenda and he would prefer not to be disturbed.
There was no more talk of him choosing their nightly entertainment either. Kit couldn’t deny she wasn’t upset about that. Her nightly dreams were all about Hal. So much so that she sometimes woke up in a sweat, with her heart racing dizzyingly. Her visions of him and her together were so real that she was crushed when she woke up and realised they were just nocturnal fantasies. She might get to the end of this job with her self-enforced celibacy intact, but that didn’t mean she would be remotely happy about it—not when her heart already ached at the mere idea of parting from Hal for good.
When the nurse paid her next visit to examine his injured leg and with a cheerful smile declared it to be ‘healing nicely’, adding that it was just a matter of time before he would return to full strength, to Kit’s mind Hal didn’t seem entirely convinced. When the nurse went on to say that he should take advantage of some regular physiotherapy before seeing his consultant again, and that Kit should make sure to keep up the RICE treatment, he gave a brief nod of agreement, thanked her for the advice and saw her to the door in his wheelchair.
He still wasn’t in the mood for conversation, it seemed...
The night after the nurse’s visit Kit lay in bed, staring up at the shadowed ceiling in her bedroom for what seemed like hours, because she’d been alternately teased and tormented by the memory of Hal’s taste in her mouth and his hands on her body and as a result sleep evaded her. But eventually she fell into a fitful doze.
A loud shout woke her up. Immediately responding, she hurriedly pushed aside the sheets and counterpane and scrambled to her feet. Without even pausing to grab the striped cotton robe she’d draped over the back of a slipper chair, she ran outside into the corridor and pushed opened Hal’s bedroom door.
The soft light in the hallway more than adequately illuminated the room. Wearing navy silk boxers, Hal was positioned half in and half out of the voluminous bed, gripping onto the oyster-coloured silk sheets for grim death as his cast-covered leg precariously slid towards the floor.
Kit grabbed hold of him to prevent him from falling just in the nick of time. His broad, hard-muscled back was slippery with sweat and it was no easy feat to lift and push his heavy masculine frame safely back onto the bed, because he was clearly still half asleep and in no position to help her. Thankfully her reaction had been lightning-quick and had saved the day. A heavy fall onto that broken bone of his would have set him back several months at least, she was sure.
As he fell back against the pillows and stared dazedly up at her she gently ran her hand over his forehead, pushing back the rebellious dark curls that brushed against it.
‘Are you okay? You gave me an almighty shock when I heard
