by Miranda Lee
Damn and blast! It wasn’t Harriet who was sitting here in a turned-on state. It was his own stupid self. He should never have asked her about her sex life with Dwayne. He never should have organised this whole fiasco of a trip in the first place!
‘I’ll put the radio on,’ he said brusquely. That way he wouldn’t be tempted to ask her any more inappropriate questions. ‘Do you want a news and chat channel? Or just music?’
Chapter Eight
‘WHAT?’ HARRIET COULDN’T think for a moment, her mind still on that look Alex had given her a moment ago. Had she imagined it or had he stared at her breasts?
Of course you were imagining it, you idiot, came the stern rebuke. Why would he be ogling your very ordinary C-cups? They can’t compare with Lisa’s double Ds. Stop focusing on sex and just answer the man.
‘Just music, thanks,’ she said, pressing her thighs together tightly in a vain attempt to bring her body under control, her silly, traitorous body which had become all hot and bothered. Talk about pathetic!
‘Music,’ Alex said to the computerised dashboard and a woman’s voice came back with a request for more information. Whilst Harriet was technically savvy, her four-year-old car didn’t have such advanced technology. She recalled Alex saying something about updating his SUV when he’d come back from London recently. So this had to be it.
‘What kind of music do you like?’ Alex asked her.
Harriet didn’t really have a favourite style of music. But she supposed she had to say something. ‘Country and Western.’
‘Country and Western,’ he commanded the computer and almost immediately a song came on that she liked.
‘Amazing,’ she said. ‘You don’t even have to insert a flash disc or a CD.’
‘It’s almost as brilliant as my PA.’
Harriet flushed with pleasure. This was another part of her job she liked—the way Alex would compliment her. Her previous bosses had never done that. Clearly, their fragile male egos had been threatened by her. Not so with Alex. Of course, there was nothing fragile about his ego. Or about him. He was a big man in every way.
‘You did a brilliant job on our website, by the way,’ he went on. ‘I had a look at it last night and I was very impressed. It’s better laid out and more user-friendly. And I like the way you included photos of the staff. Nothing like the personal touch.’
‘That was Audrey’s idea,’ she admitted, not being one to take credit for something that someone else had suggested. ‘We went out for drinks after work on Tuesday, and when I said I was going to revamp the website, she had quite a few excellent suggestions. She’s an online shopping addict, so she knows what works and what doesn’t.’
‘She’s a smart lady, Audrey. But inclined to gossip. Did you remember not to tell her we wouldn’t be staying up here overnight?’
‘Like you just said, Alex, she’s smart. Audrey had already concluded we’d be staying somewhere overnight. But I let her think we’d be bunking down in separate rooms in an ordinary motel, not in an apartment at a five-star resort.’
‘Good thinking. Did you organise someone to feed the cat while you’re away?’
‘Yes, Audrey’s doing it.’
‘That’s good. Can’t have the poor old thing passing away from starvation while we’re away. You’d blame me, and I don’t think I could live with the guilt.’
‘Don’t be silly. You have nothing to feel guilty about where Romany is concerned. Did I ever thank you for letting him be the office cat?’
‘Only about a hundred times.’
‘Oh. Yes, well, it was still very good of you. Poor Romany,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I dare say he’ll die soon. Still, at least we made the last part of his life a little happier.’
‘You do spoil him rotten, Harry. Sometimes I almost feel jealous of that cat. Now, I don’t want to stop again till we get to Port Macquarie, probably around eleven. I want to make the golf estate by two o’clock at the latest. Is that all right with you?’
‘That’s fine,’ she agreed.
‘If you need a break before then, just say so.’
‘I’ll be all right.’
‘Good. Now, just settle back and relax and listen to the music. Eventually, though, I’ll have to make some business calls. But not yet. It’s still early.’
Harriet doubted that she would relax, but amazingly she did, the heated seats and the music melting away her earlier tension. She even drifted off to sleep, jolting awake when Alex started talking more loudly than the music. She listened, amazed at how much he could achieve on the phone in just a couple of hours, contacting all the foremen on his current building projects, demanding updates on their progress, giving them a hurry-up when needed.
Eleven saw them eating a disgustingly fattening lunch in the service centre near the turn-off to Port Macquarie, Alex scoffing at her comment that she’d end up with a backside the size of a bus if she ate that for lunch every day.
‘No worries there, Harry. You would starve rather than eat this kind of food every day.’
‘True,’ she agreed.
‘It doesn’t hurt to bend your rules every once in a while, you know.’
She stared at him across the wooden bench, wondering what rules he was referring to. Probably that silly checklist of hers. Not that all of it was silly. In fact, a lot of those rules made perfect sense. The trouble was that men weren’t perfect, so finding someone to fit all her far-too-many requirements was doomed to failure. All she could hope for was that the main ones might be fulfilled. The ones about love and respect and money and, yes, sex.
‘You could be right, there,’ she mused.
‘I am right,’ he pronounced. ‘Now, drink up that cappuccino. Time to get going.’
He was back on the phone again as soon as they hit the road, chatting away with the sales team in the office, finding out how things were going and how many sales they’d had off their various plans. They had several blocks of units in a developmental stage, all of them in the far western suburbs and very reasonably priced. Most were likely to be sold before a single brick was laid. They also had a housing estate near where the new Sydney airport was to be built, which was proving popular with first-time buyers and builders. Harriet listened as Alex told each of the boys personally about his having to go away the week after next. When he finally finished talking, Harriet turned to glance his way.
‘By the way, will we be handling the sales of the housing blocks on the golf estate, or are you going to give that job to local real-estate agents?’
‘Both. And we’ll advertise extensively online. That will be your job, Harry. Perhaps you can think about that while I’m away, since you won’t be running around all the time getting your boss bagels and doing myriad other jobs which the lazy so-and-so could possibly do himself.’
Harriet laughed. ‘I don’t mind, really.’
‘I know you don’t. You are indispensable to me, Harry.’
‘No one is indispensable, Alex.’
‘You are to me. As selfish as it sounds, I’m almost glad that you’ve broken off your engagement. The thought of you getting married and leaving me to become a mother was filling me with dread.’
Harriet rolled her eyes. What a hopeless exaggerator he was! But, yes, it was selfish of him to say that. And rather insensitive.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘But I still intend to get married and have at least one baby, so you’ll just have to cope when that day comes. But don’t worry. I have no intention of giving up my day job just because I’m pregnant. I’ll waddle into the office right up to the last second. You might even have to drive me to the maternity ward if my husband is unavailable,’ she added with a straight face.
Chapter Nine
ALEX WAS HORRIFIED at the thought, plus the image of Harry waddling into the office at some future date with a huge baby bump. He could see it now. Her desk would be littered with magazines that told you everything you needed to know about pregnancy and motherhood—plus everything you di
dn’t need to know. She and Audrey would talk babies ad infinitum, spending every lunch hour buying baby clothes, not to mention oodles of those hideous stuffed toys. And, yes, there would be a bag packed and sitting in the corner, ready for the emergency of her suddenly going into labour.
‘That won’t be happening,’ he ground out. ‘Audrey can take you in a taxi.’
Harriet laughed. ‘You should see your face. What’s the problem, Alex? You’re not afraid of babies, are you?’
‘Immensely. They’re noisy and messy and have no concept of doing what they’re told.’ He’d visited Sarah once or twice when she’d had newborns and had hardly slept a wink, what with the crying all night. It certainly wasn’t something he craved for himself.
‘No wonder you’ve stayed a bachelor if that’s what you think.’
‘It’s what I think. Now, tell me what you think.’
‘About what? Babies or bachelors?’
‘No. About your surrounds. We’re here.’ And he pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the engine.
* * *
They were on the crest of a hill. Harriet’s head swivelled round as she took in the land which would one day be an eighteen-hole golf course surrounded by privately owned homes and some holiday apartments. There would be a well-appointed club house, of course, as well as a small chapel with a lovely garden where weddings could be held. Big money in weddings, Alex had told her during the planning stage.
The land, she knew, had once been a banana plantation that had gone bust when the trees had developed some kind of fungus. A would-be entrepreneur had snapped it up for a bargain price, clearing the land before he himself had gone broke when his financing had fallen through and the stock market had crashed. Alex had stepped in, and here they were today.
She climbed out so that she could have a better look, standing on the grass verge with her hands on her hips whilst assembling her thoughts. The golf course itself looked nearly finished, but the buildings were still at the foundation stage, the rain obviously having held up that part of the project.
‘Well?’ Alex said as he came to stand beside her.
‘It’s going to be great. I love the artificial lakes. And the trees. But it’s never going to be finished by Christmas,’ she added.
Alex frowned. ‘You’re probably right. God, but I hate it when the weather works against me.’
‘You can’t control the weather, Alex.’
‘I don’t seem to be able to control anything much these days,’ he muttered.
And then it happened. He turned towards her and she saw it in his eyes—the very thing that she thought she’d imagined this morning. But she wasn’t imagining this. The desire—no, the hunger—glittering in his sky-blue eyes was very real. Her hands slipped from her hips as she stared back at him, her heartbeat quickening.
Part of her didn’t want him to want her like this. It would make Alex like all the other too-tall, too-handsome, too-successful men she’d slept with in the past. But there was no denying what he wanted, his hot gaze coveting her the way the big, bad wolf had coveted those three plump little pigs.
Unfortunately, Harriet knew she wouldn’t prove to be the sensible pig who’d built his house out of bricks. She was the silly pig who’d built his house out of straw. One puff and it had fallen down.
Or one kiss, as it turned out.
He didn’t say a word as he strode over and pulled her into his arms, all her defences dissolving well before his lips met hers. Her eyes closed as she lifted her mouth and her arms, sliding them up around his neck, pulling him close, her breasts flattening against his chest. Harriet could not recall a kiss affecting her as much as this kiss from Alex. Her head swirled as passion erupted within her like a volcano, her mouth gasping open. His arms tightened around her and his tongue delved deep.
Harriet had been kissed many times before—and by men who were good kissers. But Alex kissing her was something else entirely. His tongue moved back and forth in her mouth, then up, rubbing over the sensitive surface of her palate. She moaned with pleasure and excitement. She didn’t want him ever to stop. She loved the way his hands started roaming over her back, sliding up and down her spine. One hand finally settled like a collar around the nape of her neck whilst the other splayed over her bottom, pressing her firmly against his erection. It blew her mind, just how hard he was.
The loud tooting of a horn plus some raucous catcalls had Alex wrenching away from her, his breathing ragged as he glowered at the passing car full of teenagers. Her eyes had flown open with the shock of his abandoning her so abruptly, leaving her still panting and flushed with heat.
‘Damn,’ he muttered, running his hands agitatedly through his short fair hair whilst scooping in several deep breaths. Shaking his head, he spun away from her, striding over to stand on the edge of the hill, his legs spread wide, his fists balled by his sides.
Harriet stayed where she was, staring over at him, dazed and more than a little shaken. It wasn’t every day that she ached to have sex with a man within moments of their first kiss. Not that this was just any man, of course. This was Alex, her boss.
After staring down at the valley for several seconds, he whirled back to face her once more, though still keeping his distance.
‘That shouldn’t have happened,’ he ground out. ‘I never meant for that to happen.’
‘No,’ she said. Harriet didn’t imagine for one moment that he had. ‘Why did you do it, then?’
His laugh was very dry. ‘Come now, Harry, don’t play the ingénue with me. You’ve been around. You know how this works. If truth be told, I’ve been wanting to do that since the first day you walked into my office.’
Harriet blinked. ‘What? You mean at my interview?’
‘Yes, at your interview. Even then, I had some misgivings. But I fooled myself into thinking I could keep my hands off. I’ve never been partial to pursuing women who were in love with someone else, no matter how attractive I found them.’ He dragged in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, his expression self-mocking. ‘But fate conspired against me this week. I broke up with Lisa and you broke up with Dwayne. If I hadn’t hugged you, then taken you out for coffee, none of this would ever have happened. I certainly wouldn’t have organised for us to be alone like this.’
The meaning behind his last words took a few seconds to sink into Harriet’s somewhat scattered brain, any flattery she’d been experiencing over his confessed attraction soon obliterated by shock.
‘Are you saying that this so-called business trip was a deliberate ploy on your part to seduce me?’ She’d imagined it might be for a brief moment earlier in the week, before dismissing the idea as ludicrous. ‘You never really needed me to oversee this estate while you’re away, did you?’
Alex shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘No, I didn’t need you to oversee this estate for me while I was away—and, yes, it was just an excuse to get you alone. Though I’m not keen on the word “seduce”.’
‘What else would you call it?’ she threw at him angrily. ‘You know full well I would never want to have an affair with you. You’re my boss!’
‘You didn’t mind my kissing you just now,’ he reminded her with brutal honesty. ‘But all that is beside the point. I saw the folly of my ways in time and changed my mind about trying to seduce you, since you seem to like that word. Perhaps because it stops you from taking any responsibility over what just happened.’
‘You kissed me, Alex. I didn’t do a thing!’
‘Nothing except look so deliciously sexy this morning that I haven’t been able to think of anything else but making love to you all day.’
An already flustered Harriet homed in on his patently false words.
‘You don’t want to make love to me at all,’ she snapped. ‘You want to have sex with me. That’s a totally different scenario.’
‘True,’ he said before walking slowly back towards her. ‘But nothing changes the fact that we can’t go back to the way it was betwe
en us, Harry. You want me as much as I want you. Don’t deny it,’ he said, close enough now to reach out and place his large hands on her suddenly trembling shoulders.
Harriet somehow found her tongue, despite it lying thick and dry in her parched mouth. ‘That doesn’t mean I have to do anything about it.’
‘True again. But why deny yourself something which can give you pleasure? And I can give you pleasure, Harry,’ he murmured, his right hand lifting off her shoulder to trace circles around her gasping lips. ‘Lots of pleasure.’
‘I didn’t realise that you could be this wicked,’ she choked out.
‘There’s nothing wicked about sexual pleasure, Harry,’ he said, his bedroom-blue eyes going all smoky with desire. ‘And there’s nothing wrong with our having a sexual relationship, provided we keep it out of the office.’
He could say that, but she knew that if she did this—and her body was screaming at her to surrender—it might eventually cost her her job. Harriet knew of other women who’d had affairs with their bosses and they never came out on top. Never!
But her days of being weak where men were concerned was over. Harnessing every bit of backbone that she possessed, she stepped back, far enough to force his hand to drop away from her mouth and her still-burning lips. Her action surprised him, which made her smile a wry smile.
You don’t know what you’re dealing with where I’m concerned, Alex. But you’ll learn.
‘You’re right,’ she said crisply. ‘About everything. But if we’re going to have an affair, then I must set some rules.’
‘Rules?’ he echoed, his brows lifting skywards.
‘Yes, rules.’
His rueful smile annoyed her, but she didn’t let it show. She kept her cool and her resolve. Amazing, really, considering what she was about to do. Dwayne had been a big mistake, but Dwayne didn’t have the power to hurt her as much as Alex could. Harriet had a history of falling madly in love with men like Alex. No matter how careful she was, it would probably still happen. But no way would he ever know that. The moment she felt even a smidgeon of love for him, her resignation would be on his desk.