Secretary on Demand by Cathy Williams Page A

back here in the evenings.’
    â€˜Why haven’t you eaten?’
    Oh, Lord, here we go again, she thought. More lectures, this time about the importance of nutrition.
    â€˜Because I was having such a brilliant time at the pub that I just didn’t give it a moment’s thought!’
    â€˜Well, we’d better rectify the situation.’ He stood up and Shannon scrambled to her feet in pursuit.
    â€œâ€˜We’d” better rectify the situation?’
    â€˜That’s right.’ He began rummaging through her cupboards, then he opened the fridge and scanned the contents with a critical eye.
    â€˜Not much here, is there?’
    â€˜Do you mind?’ Shannon spluttered to his back, finally slipping past him and slamming the fridge door shut.
    The fridge, as she had known, was virtually bare. No cheese, just some butter and some milk, but whoever heard of spaghetti and milk? Or spaghetti and chocolate mousse? With a few mouldy onions thrown in for good measure?
    She closed the fridge door and faced him with quiet dignity.
    â€˜I may have forgotten do go shopping recently,’ she agreed loftily, catching his amused eye for a few seconds then looking away. ‘As a matter of fact, I’ve never been one of these people who is obsessed with food.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t call having more than three items in a fridge being obsessed with food ,’ he murmured. ‘Go and get changed, reds, and we’ll go out and have a quick meal. ‘I’ll turn my back while you get dressed, if you like,’ he added gallantly, and she snorted with laughter.
    â€˜OK, then, I won’t.’ He looked at her slowly, from her feet upwards, taking his time, arms folded, until every nerve in her body was vibrating with tension.
    â€˜I don’t suppose you’ll just go away?’
    â€˜Now, why would I do that when I can stand here and watch you change?’ He smiled at her blushing outrage as she pulled open the door to the small wardrobe, wretchedly conscious of the man peering curiously over her shoulder. She extracted the first things that came to hand and stormed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
    â€˜No need to lock the door, you know,’ his voice came from very close to the door indeed. ‘Don’t you trust me?’
    â€˜You’re a man, aren’t you?’ Shannon retorted, struggling out of one set of clothes and into another—this time jeans, a long-sleeved green jumper and a pair of thick socks.
    â€˜Now, why do I get the feeling that underneath that liberated, feminist remark is an incurable romantic?’
    â€˜Because,’ she said, yanking the door open and, as she’d expected, finding him standing two inches away from it, ‘you don’t know me?’
    Instead of answering, Kane located her coat hanging from a hook behind the door and held it out for her. The brief contact of his fingers brushing against her arms felt strangely like an invasion of her privacy and she stepped away, fumbling with the buttons, aware that in her haste to get dressed she had omitted a bra, so that now her breasts felt heavy and her nipples tingled against the rough grain of the jumper. She had a fleeting reckless thought that he might very well be aware of her bra-less state, and hot on the heels of that came the even more reckless thought of his hands caressing her bare breasts under the jumper, seeking out her sensitive nipples, playing with them with his fingers. Just imagining it, it made her body feel hot and feverish.
    â€˜I hope I’m well dressed enough for this little meal you’ve insisted on taking me for.’ She had thought that a sparky comment from her might re-create some vital distance between them but, instead of rising to her bait, he smiled and raised his eyebrows in an unnervingly knowing way.
    â€˜It makes a delightful change to see you out of work clothes,’ he said, opening her door and then