in this dimly lit state-of-the-art modern living room, she was very glad that he wasn’t. She had no desire to share him with anyone...let alone the whole world.
‘Well, then, I suppose we’d better just watch the movie.’
Glancing away, she attempted to focus on the large screen facing her instead of on Hal, in a bid to not to be so distracted by him. But he was right. It was hot in here—and it wasn’t just down to the very efficient heating system.
‘Kit?’
‘Yes?’
‘Why don’t you move a little nearer? It’s a big couch and it feels like you’re miles away.’
‘Why do you need me to move nearer? Are you in pain? Shall I get your medication?’
In answer his golden eyes transmitted the kind of simmering heat reserved for burning embers, and the raw, impassioned hunger Kit saw reflected there was impossible to ignore. Her slender thighs, clad in black leggings beneath a matching roomy sweater, clenched defensively together. But in truth she knew she was on a hiding to nothing. A shiver convulsed her slender frame. If she hoped to be able to ride out the merciless electric storm confronting her, then it was already clear she was odds-on to lose.
‘I’m not in pain, but if I was the only thing that would help ease it is you , Kit.’
Her eyes widening, she replied tremulously, ‘Don’t say that—at least not in that way. You hired me to work for you. Nothing else. I would never jeopardise my job by—by...’ Embarrassingly, she ran out of the ability to finish her sentence.
Lifting a wry eyebrow, Hal sighed. It didn’t help Kit’s case that the gesture made him look irresistibly endearing...almost boyish.
‘What you’ve said is true,’ he said. ‘But in the past couple of days I’ve developed feelings for you that go beyond just wanting you to work for me and they won’t go away. I may have a broken leg, but that doesn’t stop me from having the same needs as any other able-bodied red-blooded man.’
Curling her hair behind her ear, Kit knew it was a delaying tactic, but still she asked softly, ‘Exactly what kind of needs are we talking about?’
‘Scoot up next to me and I’ll tell you. Better still, I’ll demonstrate.’
‘No.’
‘Come on. I dare you. I want to try an experiment.’
She wanted to say something... anything. But forming words seemed impossible when her mouth had suddenly gone dry as sand and her tongue didn’t respond in tandem with her brain. Hal Treverne had put her in a dizzying spin and it wasn’t a state she was familiar with. She’d frequently anguished about her mother not having any common sense when it came to men, but where was hers now, when she needed it? Perhaps more than she’d ever needed it before?
Moistening her suddenly dry lips with her tongue, she made herself ask, ‘What kind of experiment are you talking about?’
Hal’s glance was unwaveringly direct.
‘I want to kiss you, Katherine with a K. Properly this time. And I want you to kiss me back. If neither of us enjoy the experience then there’s no harm done. We’ll simply carry on as before. I want to reassure you that there’s no danger of your job being jeopardised. I give you my word on that. You’ll stay until our arrangement naturally comes to an end—when I’m completely mobile again. Agreed?’
The silence that followed this inflammatory statement was deafening .
Hal was gesturing for Kit to move closer, and when she gazed back into his eyes the sight was akin to gazing into a mirage of mesmerising crystal waters after she’d stumbled through a burning hot desert without hope of ever having a drink again.
How could she possibly ignore the chance that her mirage might turn out to be a genuine vision and that it would save her life if she drank from it?
She reached out her hand to slide it over Hal’s. His skin was silkily smooth and warm, as it always was. But this time she had permission to actively enjoy the experience—not just tend to his practical
‘Well, then, I suppose we’d better just watch the movie.’
Glancing away, she attempted to focus on the large screen facing her instead of on Hal, in a bid to not to be so distracted by him. But he was right. It was hot in here—and it wasn’t just down to the very efficient heating system.
‘Kit?’
‘Yes?’
‘Why don’t you move a little nearer? It’s a big couch and it feels like you’re miles away.’
‘Why do you need me to move nearer? Are you in pain? Shall I get your medication?’
In answer his golden eyes transmitted the kind of simmering heat reserved for burning embers, and the raw, impassioned hunger Kit saw reflected there was impossible to ignore. Her slender thighs, clad in black leggings beneath a matching roomy sweater, clenched defensively together. But in truth she knew she was on a hiding to nothing. A shiver convulsed her slender frame. If she hoped to be able to ride out the merciless electric storm confronting her, then it was already clear she was odds-on to lose.
‘I’m not in pain, but if I was the only thing that would help ease it is you , Kit.’
Her eyes widening, she replied tremulously, ‘Don’t say that—at least not in that way. You hired me to work for you. Nothing else. I would never jeopardise my job by—by...’ Embarrassingly, she ran out of the ability to finish her sentence.
Lifting a wry eyebrow, Hal sighed. It didn’t help Kit’s case that the gesture made him look irresistibly endearing...almost boyish.
‘What you’ve said is true,’ he said. ‘But in the past couple of days I’ve developed feelings for you that go beyond just wanting you to work for me and they won’t go away. I may have a broken leg, but that doesn’t stop me from having the same needs as any other able-bodied red-blooded man.’
Curling her hair behind her ear, Kit knew it was a delaying tactic, but still she asked softly, ‘Exactly what kind of needs are we talking about?’
‘Scoot up next to me and I’ll tell you. Better still, I’ll demonstrate.’
‘No.’
‘Come on. I dare you. I want to try an experiment.’
She wanted to say something... anything. But forming words seemed impossible when her mouth had suddenly gone dry as sand and her tongue didn’t respond in tandem with her brain. Hal Treverne had put her in a dizzying spin and it wasn’t a state she was familiar with. She’d frequently anguished about her mother not having any common sense when it came to men, but where was hers now, when she needed it? Perhaps more than she’d ever needed it before?
Moistening her suddenly dry lips with her tongue, she made herself ask, ‘What kind of experiment are you talking about?’
Hal’s glance was unwaveringly direct.
‘I want to kiss you, Katherine with a K. Properly this time. And I want you to kiss me back. If neither of us enjoy the experience then there’s no harm done. We’ll simply carry on as before. I want to reassure you that there’s no danger of your job being jeopardised. I give you my word on that. You’ll stay until our arrangement naturally comes to an end—when I’m completely mobile again. Agreed?’
The silence that followed this inflammatory statement was deafening .
Hal was gesturing for Kit to move closer, and when she gazed back into his eyes the sight was akin to gazing into a mirage of mesmerising crystal waters after she’d stumbled through a burning hot desert without hope of ever having a drink again.
How could she possibly ignore the chance that her mirage might turn out to be a genuine vision and that it would save her life if she drank from it?
She reached out her hand to slide it over Hal’s. His skin was silkily smooth and warm, as it always was. But this time she had permission to actively enjoy the experience—not just tend to his practical
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