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Authors: Daphne Clair
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its principles here, but the old guard are a bit suspicious of anything new.”
“I’ve noticed,” he murmured.
She sighed. “And I can’t sack people who worked for my father for thirty years.”
Jase flicked her a brief but intent glance, perhaps surprised, then his gaze shifted to the window. The temperature in the building wasn’t uncomfortable, but outside high humidity mixing with heat made for a warm, muggy afternoon. A few wispy clouds hung motionless in the slivers of blue sky visible between the city buildings.
He said, “I could do with a cold beer and a long walk on the sand, with a cool breeze coming off the sea.”
The image reminded Samantha she hadn’t spent time at the beach for…so long she couldn’t remember when she’d last felt sand between her toes.
He turned to her and must have seen something in her face. His strongly marked brows lifted. “You too?”
She gave a little shrug. “It’s a nice thought.” Her tone implying, but of course you’re not serious .
“Why not?” he said as if making up his mind. “Are you ready?”
“Ready?” she returned blankly. “I didn’t think you meant it.”
“You said it was a nice idea,” he reminded her.
“I can’t afford to take off on a whim. Anyway, I need to work.”
“Why? It’s almost five o’clock.” It was actually not yet four-thirty. “Will the business collapse without you in the next half-hour?”
She didn’t bother to answer that, nor tell him she seldom left the office at five. “I just thought you’d want to be alone. Or at least, not with me.”
His eyes gleamed derisively. “You need to do something about that inferiority complex of yours.”
“What?” Samantha took a sharp inward breath. Then she saw the curve of his mouth and realised the remark had been gently sarcastic.
“You’ve got a mobile phone,” he said. “If anything happens you’ll get told.”
A wayward urge to surrender to temptation struggled through her sense of responsibility. She tried to suppress it, but temptation won. So what if Jase had a knack of ruffling her feathers, if he didn’t quite trust her? He was offering a stolen hour or so of peace and pleasure. It wouldn’t hurt the business.
“If you mean it…” She still hesitated.
“I don’t usually say things I don’t mean.” Something crossed his face. She wondered if he’d taken himself as well as her by surprise with the invitation. The gleam in his eyes intensified into something that aroused in her a treacherous awareness of his formidable masculine aura, fatally tempting. Softly, seductively, he said, “You know you want to do it, ice lady.”
CHAPTER FIVE
H IS smile—wicked and knowing and dangerous—dared her.
Samantha imagined him with a cutlass in his hand and a bandanna tied about that unruly hair. Jase didn’t look in the least like her mental picture of a man who sat before a computer all day. Perhaps he had a secret yen to command a pirate ship, and had let his fantasies run amok in the games he’d created.
“All right,” she heard herself say, feeling as though she was agreeing to some risky voyage of discovery rather than a simple trip to the seaside. “I’ll have to change.”
She gathered the jeans and flat-heeled shoes that she kept in a small closet behind the door and excused herself before disappearing into her private bathroom.
In less than two minutes she emerged, collected her bag from the lower drawer in her desk, flicked her jacket off the hook behind the door and turned to him.
Her secretary looked up as they left. “I won’t be in again today,” Samantha said, ignoring Judy’s astonishment. “You go home and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll drive,” Jase said as they left the building, and he ushered her to a four-wheel-drive vehicle parked in the visitor’s bay.
After leaving the car park he made a right turn, taking them away from the central business district and onto a motorway.
Samantha
“I’ve noticed,” he murmured.
She sighed. “And I can’t sack people who worked for my father for thirty years.”
Jase flicked her a brief but intent glance, perhaps surprised, then his gaze shifted to the window. The temperature in the building wasn’t uncomfortable, but outside high humidity mixing with heat made for a warm, muggy afternoon. A few wispy clouds hung motionless in the slivers of blue sky visible between the city buildings.
He said, “I could do with a cold beer and a long walk on the sand, with a cool breeze coming off the sea.”
The image reminded Samantha she hadn’t spent time at the beach for…so long she couldn’t remember when she’d last felt sand between her toes.
He turned to her and must have seen something in her face. His strongly marked brows lifted. “You too?”
She gave a little shrug. “It’s a nice thought.” Her tone implying, but of course you’re not serious .
“Why not?” he said as if making up his mind. “Are you ready?”
“Ready?” she returned blankly. “I didn’t think you meant it.”
“You said it was a nice idea,” he reminded her.
“I can’t afford to take off on a whim. Anyway, I need to work.”
“Why? It’s almost five o’clock.” It was actually not yet four-thirty. “Will the business collapse without you in the next half-hour?”
She didn’t bother to answer that, nor tell him she seldom left the office at five. “I just thought you’d want to be alone. Or at least, not with me.”
His eyes gleamed derisively. “You need to do something about that inferiority complex of yours.”
“What?” Samantha took a sharp inward breath. Then she saw the curve of his mouth and realised the remark had been gently sarcastic.
“You’ve got a mobile phone,” he said. “If anything happens you’ll get told.”
A wayward urge to surrender to temptation struggled through her sense of responsibility. She tried to suppress it, but temptation won. So what if Jase had a knack of ruffling her feathers, if he didn’t quite trust her? He was offering a stolen hour or so of peace and pleasure. It wouldn’t hurt the business.
“If you mean it…” She still hesitated.
“I don’t usually say things I don’t mean.” Something crossed his face. She wondered if he’d taken himself as well as her by surprise with the invitation. The gleam in his eyes intensified into something that aroused in her a treacherous awareness of his formidable masculine aura, fatally tempting. Softly, seductively, he said, “You know you want to do it, ice lady.”
CHAPTER FIVE
H IS smile—wicked and knowing and dangerous—dared her.
Samantha imagined him with a cutlass in his hand and a bandanna tied about that unruly hair. Jase didn’t look in the least like her mental picture of a man who sat before a computer all day. Perhaps he had a secret yen to command a pirate ship, and had let his fantasies run amok in the games he’d created.
“All right,” she heard herself say, feeling as though she was agreeing to some risky voyage of discovery rather than a simple trip to the seaside. “I’ll have to change.”
She gathered the jeans and flat-heeled shoes that she kept in a small closet behind the door and excused herself before disappearing into her private bathroom.
In less than two minutes she emerged, collected her bag from the lower drawer in her desk, flicked her jacket off the hook behind the door and turned to him.
Her secretary looked up as they left. “I won’t be in again today,” Samantha said, ignoring Judy’s astonishment. “You go home and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll drive,” Jase said as they left the building, and he ushered her to a four-wheel-drive vehicle parked in the visitor’s bay.
After leaving the car park he made a right turn, taking them away from the central business district and onto a motorway.
Samantha
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