Page 22 of A Wedding Negotiation with Her Boss

She had moved towards the door but he was blocking her way out and, knowing that, he shifted because he didn’t want her to feel cornered.

He really didn’t know what the hell he’d been playing at. He just knew that he found her physically compelling and that attraction had wreaked havoc with his usual ferocious self-control.

‘I could apologise till the end of time but you should know that I find you physically attractive.’

‘No! I don’t want to hear this!’

‘Because it’s out of order? Or because you’re terrified that it’s returned?’

‘Gabriel, I don’t know what’s happened over here...’

‘Life got in the way of common sense. Neither of us can take back what has been shared. I want you.’

‘You can’t say stuff like that.’

‘What would you do if I kissed you?’

‘I would... I would...’

‘Kiss me right back?’

He leant into her and Helen knew what was going to happen next. He was going to kiss her and she wanted him to: wanted that with every ounce of her being; wanted to feel the coolness of his mouth heating her up; wanted to feel his touch rouse her even further. She was so wet for him right now that her mind was alive with images of his hand down there, cupping her wetness, exploring her with his fingers.

She stood on tiptoe, her eyelids fluttering, and put her hand behind his neck to draw him down to her, losing herself in the sweet taste of his mouth as it met hers with a hunger that matched her own.

She stifled a cry of pure, forbidden pleasure.

Their tongues meshed and he propelled her back against the door, breathing hard, his hand contouring her waist and pushing up under her top, finding her breast sheathed in its cotton bra and caressing it until she wanted to wrap her legs around him and have him take her right here, back to the door.

He pushed the bra down, his mouth never leaving hers, found her nipple and she whimpered with uncontrollable pleasure. She wanted nothing more than for his mouth to leave hers, to move to her breasts, to suckle on her nipple.

The knock on the door was so shocking that it took a few seconds to penetrate the haze of lust, but it did, and Helen scrambled back and looked at him with wide, horrified eyes.

Neither said a word and there was another knock, this time a little harder. Gabriel raked his fingers through his hair and stared at her, but then he opened the door a fraction—enough for him to see who was out there and for Helen to hear them. The soft, confused Italian accent apologised for dropping by.

She straightened herself, breathed in deep and stepped around Gabriel, because she couldn’t hide in the bathroom, duck under the bed or try an escape route out back.

It was perfectly acceptable for them to be doing some work together. She tried a smile as she met Arturio’s gaze, but she could feel red-faced guilt stamped all over her face. She had met him a couple of times. He was as old-fashioned as they came and the look he was giving them both now bore that out.

‘Have I interrupted something? Please accept my apologies.’

‘Work!’ Helen’s eyes glassed over. ‘It’s—great to see you.’ She tugged at the tee shirt as she felt the blazing heat in her cheeks.

‘You two... My dear, I didn’t know.’ He turned to Gabriel. ‘You should have mentioned that you were going out, Gabriel!’

‘We’re...we’re...’ Her voice petered out...

Arturio’s surprise had turned to delight: he and Helen had hit it off the first time they’d had met months ago.

She glanced across at Gabriel and he returned her gaze but only briefly, for a few seconds. He knew what she was going to say. The truth—that they weren’t going out.

But then, what were they doing? She was in his room and any idiot could see from the flare of hectic colour in her face that, whatever they’d been doing, going over the books hadn’t been top of the list.

A little bit of ‘hanky-panky’... Arturio would get it. He might be a traditional Italian family man but he was also a man of honour and, if he disapproved of a little bit of ‘hanky-panky’, then it wouldn’t stand in the way of their deal.

Or would it? There was nothing wrong with fooling around between two consenting adults although, frankly, that brief moment hadn’t felt like it at all. Not as far as his definition of it went. In fact, several months with his ex had felt more like fooling around than ten seconds with his secretary... What was that all about?

For the first time in his adult life, Gabriel was lost for words. Realisation surged through him with force, a realisation of how much he wanted this old man’s approval, of how much he wanted this deal...and of just how much this deal was more than simply the purchase of some vineyards that belonged to a distant relative.

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