скачать книгу бесплатно
However, she let it slide for now, the sadness creeping across his face telling her how much he sympathised with the orphans.
‘Still the same old Ty? Always out to save the world.’
‘It’s what I do. Why do you make it sound like I’m on an ego trip or something?’
‘Aren’t you?’
He swore softly and she changed tack. ‘Are you on leave?’
‘Yeah, one week.’
‘Why didn’t you just donate money rather than giving up your week?’
The thought had niggled since she’d seen his name on the list of prospective guys for sale. His job had always come first and she doubted that would have changed. After all, it was one of the things that had driven them apart.
He shrugged and looked away. ‘I thought the auction might raise more money than I could give.’
He was lying.
She knew it the minute he glanced away. Ty was as straight as they came. He always looked a person in the eye and called a spade a shovel, which made his reticence to discuss this all the more intriguing. He’d been a stand-up guy when they’d first met, too much so if his blunt declaration their marriage would never work with one absentee partner all the time had been any indication.
‘There’s more to this. You’re hiding something.’
‘Still the snoop, eh? You won’t find your next story here.’
This time he looked straight at her, something akin to challenge etched in the darkening depths of his eyes.
If there was one thing she thrived on it was a challenge and sailor boy knew it.
‘Maybe not, but you can’t blame a girl for trying. Perhaps I should just let it all go and agree to this crazy scheme, and then use it to my full advantage.’
Not that she’d seriously contemplate spending the week with him, but it was nice to gain the upper hand with Mr Confidence.
His voice dropped, low and husky, eliciting a whole host of visceral reactions she’d rather not decipher.
‘Now you’re talking. If you let it all go this week could be more fun than I thought.’
He ran his hands lightly over her upper arms in a soft caress and her legs trembled, her desire needing little to rekindle. One touch. That was all it took to make her burn for him just as she used to.
So much for gaining the upper hand.
‘Goodnight, Ty.’
She spun on her heel and strode away, eager to put as much distance between them as possible.
His taunting laughter followed her down the long corridor. ‘You can run but you can’t hide.’
‘Wanna make a bet?’ she mumbled as she lengthened her stride and hoped to God that Di had waited for her.
CHAPTER THREE
‘AREN’T you the dark horse? Fancy waiting to the end to bid and snaffling the best of the lot.’
Kate had been grateful Di had waited for her after the auction. And, clearly realising her boss needed some space on the trip back to the office, Di hadn’t asked her any questions. Apparently now, though, she was fair game.
‘Don’t you have work to do?’ Kate shuffled papers around, hoping to get rid of Di pronto.
Predictably, it didn’t work. The woman had an inquisitive nature worthy of an up-and-comer in the publishing business.
Di perched on the edge of her desk and shoved aside the papers Kate had been fiddling with. ‘Nothing that can’t wait. Come on, spill the beans. Where did you two disappear to after the show? In a cosy little friendship bracelet, no less.’
Kate sighed, pushing the thought of Ty’s dynamic kiss to the far recesses of her mind.
‘There’s nothing to tell. We unlocked ourselves, had a chat to establish boundaries and that was it.’
Di pounced on her. ‘Aha! I knew it. Why would you need to establish boundaries? Did something happen between the dishy SEAL and my intrepid boss?’
‘Ex-SEAL,’ she corrected automatically.
‘How do you know that?’
Great, she thought. Slip up number two in less than a minute. Di was no slouch, which was why she’d hired her.
She could’ve fluffed her way out of it and rambled on about the announcer saying he was an instructor these days, but she knew Di wouldn’t let up until she had nothing less than the truth.
‘I know Tyler James.’
A deafening silence followed her revelation till Di let out a squeal. ‘Ooh, I knew there was more to you than meets the eye. Here I am feeling sorry for my workaholic old boss and she’s out there running around with hot sailors.’
‘Hey! Enough of the old stuff and I’m not running around with anybody. I met Tyler about six years ago when he was a SEAL. He isn’t just an instructor. He’s had his fair share of action.’
Both in and out of uniform and lucky for her she’d been privy to Ty at his best.
‘I just bet he has,’ purred the younger woman.
‘For heaven’s sake, get your mind out of the gutter.’
‘Why, when it’s so much fun?’
Di slid off the desk and wandered around the office, trying to look nonchalant and failing miserably. ‘Is that why you put in a bid, boss? Looking for a little action?’
Kate threw a pencil at her. ‘Out. Now. Get back to work before you’re fired.’
‘You wouldn’t dare. I’m your right-hand gal.’
Di smirked and flounced out of the room, her bright orange skirt swishing around her ankles.
Kate sat back and laughed. Di was right. She was the best PA she’d ever had and, what was worse, the young woman knew it. However, why did she have to be so accurate in her assumptions about Kate’s nonexistent love life?
Seeing Ty had awakened her dormant hormones in a big way; her skin still tingled at the memory of his hands rubbing her wrist. No man had ever affected her as he did.
He’d been a dynamite lover, her first, but despite that mind-blowing kiss earlier she had no intention of revisiting that part of her life.
Though in all honesty if she hadn’t been bound at the time there was no telling what her hands would’ve been tempted to do and she squirmed in her seat at the recollection. For a twenty-seven-year-old at the top of her game, her little ‘let’s get reacquainted’ experience with Ty had hot-wired her libido and how.
The phone ringing brought her back to the present.
‘Kate Hayden speaking.’
‘So, you did go back to the office. I thought that was just an excuse to escape.’
Ty’s husky tone did little to calm her racing pulse. If anything, the sound of his deep voice fuelled the fantasy she’d just been indulging in. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
‘You think I was trying to escape?’
His low chuckle fired her nerve-endings. ‘Oh, call it a feeling. You weren’t exactly falling all over me earlier this evening.’
She kept her voice deliberately cool, trying to ignore the erotic memory of their entwined bodies reflected in the mirror that leaped to mind. If that wasn’t falling all over him she didn’t know what was.
‘It isn’t every day a girl acquires an Odd Bod. Perhaps I was just nervous?’
She doodled on the pad in front of her, almost falling off her chair when she realised she was drawing large hearts with the initials K.H. and T.J. intertwined.
‘Yeah, right. The Kate I know is never nervous. Confident and bossy maybe. Nervous? No way.’
‘You forgot gorgeous,’ she murmured, wondering where the breathy voice came from.
She shouldn’t flirt with him, she really shouldn’t, but somehow he brought out that side of her without trying and she heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.
‘That goes without saying.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Are you flirting with me, sweetheart?’
The endearment thrilled her, though she knew it was a game with him and suddenly, just like the old days, she joined in with gusto.
‘What if I am? I’m a woman, you’re an Odd Bod. Why not?’
‘Lady, you’re a chameleon. One minute you can’t get away from me quick enough, the next you’re sounding like Mae West. Why don’t I come up and see you some time?’
She leaned back in her leather chair, crossed her ankles and stared out at the twinkling lights of downtown LA, spread out like a fairyland forty storeys below. She adored this view, loved the hip city vibe, yet somehow sitting here chatting to Ty inspired her more than the vista she admired on a daily basis.
Playing with him was fun, even if she had no intention of following through, and it had been so long since she’d had any fun. How far could she push him?
‘What are you doing right now?’
Once again, silence greeted her.
‘Ty, still there?’
‘Yeah. Where did you say your office was?’
His voice dropped lower, reminding her of the intimacy they’d shared all those years ago when she’d hung on his every word.
‘I didn’t. Though if I let it all go like I mentioned earlier, I could invite you for a coffee at my place…’
Yeah, like that was going to happen. There was only so much her hormones could take and teasing him like this, flirting with him, was bad enough.
‘Do you mean coffee…or coffee?’
A delicious tingle ran up her spine and she knew for a fact he would give her a better buzz than any caffeine fix: rich, warm, addictive. And the high would last a heck of a lot longer.
‘Boss, I’m leaving.’ Di’s voice startled her as she stuck her head around the door.
Kate sat up straight. ‘Can you hold on a sec?’ she said into the receiver and covered it with her hand.
‘Sure thing, Katie,’ he murmured, sending heat flooding into her cheeks.
‘Who’s that?’ mouthed Di.
‘Nobody important. You head off.’
‘Whatever you say, boss.’ With a wink and a blown kiss, Di left the office.
Kate took a steadying breath, almost relieved at the reprieve, and removed her hand from the phone. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘So, I’m nobody, huh? Nice.’
She smiled at the thought of bruising Ty’s ego. ‘I didn’t mean it like that.’
‘What did you mean, then? If I’m not nobody I must be somebody?’
His probing question sent doubt spiralling through her. What was she doing encouraging him when she’d already made up her mind to ditch him first thing tomorrow morning when she’d had time to gather her wits?
Damn it, he’d always had the power to do this, to tie her up in knots till she couldn’t think straight.
‘Look, I’m tired. It’s been a long night and I’ve got one more article to edit before I leave. We’ll catch up tomorrow, okay?’
His silence did little to soothe her frazzled nerves.
‘Ty?’
‘You’re running scared.’
She swallowed, trying to ease the sudden dryness in her throat. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
He chuckled, deep and low, the familiar sound skittering across her skin, raising tiny goose-bumps.
‘Yeah, you do. Shame. I thought you might want to pick up where we left off.’
‘You wish.’
