Heidi Rice - Out of Hours...His Feisty Assistant - The Tycoon's Very Personal Assistant / Caught on Camera with the CEO / Her Not-So-Secret Diary

Zack clicked off the button, settled back in the seat. ‘As I recall, we’ve got some unfinished business, you and I.’ He toyed with one of the curls that had escaped Kate’s pony-tail, loving the soft, silky texture of it. He was already anticipating the feel of it draped over his chest.

Panic closed Kate’s throat. She could see from the possessive look in his eye exactly what he had in store for this afternoon and lunch didn’t have anything to do with it.

She swallowed heavily. As much as she craved the thrill of what they could get up to in the privacy of his penthouse, she had to start setting some boundaries. For herself as well as for him. The limo, the designer clothes, the casual, proprietary way he looked at her, touched her, had already thrown her off balance.

If they leapt straight back into bed, it would only make that harder. She had to establish herself professionally, start showing him what she was capable of as his PA before she became anything else. Maybe it was pride, but she wanted him to see that he hadn’t made a mistake hiring her, even if he had done it for all the wrong reasons.

He tucked the tendril of hair he’d twirled round his finger behind her ear. ‘If something’s bothering you, why don’t you spit it out?’ he said indulgently, putting his hand on her knee.

Her back went up even more. That confidence of his really did need to be taken down a notch. Another good reason not to go straight back to the penthouse and do just what he wanted, however hard it was going to be to say no.

She bit into her bottom lip, trying to find the right way to tell him. ‘In the words of the great Mick Jagger,’ Kate began, grasping for something approaching gravity, ‘“you can’t always get what you want”.’She lifted his hand off her leg, shifted away from him. ‘And in some cases it’s better if you don’t.’

He laughed. ‘Mick sure as hell never said that last part.’

‘That’s not the point,’ Kate continued, determined not to be sidetracked. ‘You hired me to do a job. I want to get a chance to do it before we…I mean, if we decide to…’ She sputtered to a stop. Great—she sounded like a complete ninny now.

He was grinning at her, as if he found her incredibly amusing. ‘If we decide to what?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow. He placed his hand on her waist, stroked warm fingers under the hem of her T-shirt. ‘If we decide to do this, you mean.’

Kate shuddered at the contact. She grabbed his hand, pulled it out. ‘I’m trying to have a sensible discussion here,’ she snapped.

‘Your idea of a sensible discussion is misquoting Stones lyrics?’ he asked.

Right, that wasn’t a smile on his face any more. It was a smirk. She wasn’t putting up with it any longer. ‘I’m being serious.’

‘Are you playing hard to get?’ He leaned closer. ‘Because I’ve got to tell you, it’s turning me on.’

She put her hands against his shirtfront, pushed him back. ‘I’m saying I don’t want to make love with you this afternoon.’ The words were shaky but distinct. She could see he had got the message when he frowned.

He sat back; his glance flicked down to her nipples. ‘That’s not what your body’s saying,’ he remarked calmly. Reaching up, he touched one rigid peak through the cotton of her T-shirt. She gasped as the spear of need shot straight down to her toes.

He dropped his hand, having made his point. Blast. He was still smirking.

‘Why don’t we cut to the chase?’ he said. ‘We both know you want me as much as I want you. We’re two healthy, consenting adults who happen to be great in bed together. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t mix business and pleasure over the next few weeks.’

She took a deep breath, tried to steel herself to be as honest as she could. ‘It’s just…’ She hesitated. ‘I don’t think jumping back into bed with you is a good idea.’

‘I disagree.’ He tugged on one of her curls again. ‘I think it’s a great idea.’ He watched the tendril as it sprang back before looking at her face. ‘Why don’t you?’ he asked so bluntly, she flushed.

She forced herself to ignore the fluttering in her stomach at the determination in his gaze. ‘You said yourself you have a strict rule against sleeping with women who work for you.’

‘Rules are made to be broken,’ he countered.

‘You’ll be my boss—sleeping with you will complicate our working relationship.’

‘No, it won’t,’ he said without a moment’s pause.

Could he really not see the problem at all?

She was at a complete loss about what to say next when the chauffeur swung open the door to the limo and tipped his hat at Kate. ‘We’re here, ma’am.’

She stepped onto the pavement, heard the door slam behind her as Zack got out on the other side. He walked round the car to join her. ‘I say we go up to the penthouse and discuss this further,’ he said as he put a possessive hand on her back and led her towards the hotel’s entrance. She obviously hadn’t got through to him at all, she realised.

She stopped and turned, dislodging his hand. ‘I’m not going to the penthouse with you.’ There, she’d said it. Now all she had to do was stick to it.

His eyebrow lifted. ‘You sure?’

From the self-assured look on his face, it occurred to her she absolutely had to win this round if she was going to maintain any kind of control on this relationship at all. She might be deluding herself about being able to resist him for two whole weeks. But she needed to prove to him she wasn’t a pushover. He liked to dominate. She had to show him that he couldn’t dominate her. ‘Yes, I’m positive,’ she said as firmly as she could manage.

He pushed a fist into the pocket of his trouser. ‘All right. We’ll leave this discussion for another time.’

‘And until we go to California,’ she announced hastily, ‘I’d like a separate room, please.’That got another raised eyebrow, but nothing more. If he was annoyed, he was hiding it well.

‘I guess that can be arranged,’ he said, calmly.

‘Thank you,’ Kate murmured, feeling oddly dispirited. But as she went to walk into The Phoenix ahead of Zack he snagged her wrist and pulled her back. He leant over her, the whisper of his breath against her ear making the sensitive skin of her neck tingle.

‘You can have it your way for now.’ He pushed her hand behind her back, trapping her against him. ‘I can wait,’ he murmured, his lips inches from hers. ‘I’m very good at waiting, until the cards fall the way I want them.’There was no mistaking the sensual threat before he pressed hot, firm lips to hers.

Her lips parted and his tongue thrust into her mouth, devouring her as her body moulded to his. Just as she felt herself losing control, the heat scorching her insides, he stepped back. He held her steady as her breath gushed out. Taking her hand in his, he pressed his lips to her hair, whispered against her ear. ‘But I won’t wait for ever.’

The kiss had been quick, fleeting even, but also devastating. Kate trembled as she walked across the lobby to the reception desk, unbearably aware of the man beside her.

Good Lord, she’d just been branded. Again!

‘HE WANTS TO PAY ME four thousand dollars for two weeks’ work! But that’s completely ridiculous.’ Kate gaped at the contract Monty had given her to sign.

Zack’s business manager chuckled. ‘I told you, he’s a generous employer. Don’t worry—knowing Zack you’ll be working your socks off for it.’

Which was exactly the problem, Kate thought, slapping the pen down and thrusting the contract back across the desk. ‘I can’t sign it. That’s far too much money.’

Monty looked at her for a moment, then grinned. ‘You know, it’s funny, but he said you’d say that.’