Page 25 of The Rancher's Secret Relationship

Blue eyes blazing blatantly with hunger raked her from head to toe, slowly and thoroughly, lingering on her breasts until they grew swollen and shamefully prominent against her apron.

"You seem to get sexier and more beautiful every time I see you," Slade said thickly.

"I'm not—-" A finger pressed against her lips, and she fell into startled, wide-eyed silence.

"Rule #1 to enslave guys like Humbug—-"

Her shoulders shook, Kady recalling the too-many times her boss had successfully baited Eric every time he deliberately misremembered the latter's name.

"Take every compliment like a queen," Slade murmured. "Just smile and don't say a single word."

The moment his finger lifted, she couldn't help blurting out, "But wouldn't that make me rude?"

The billionaire smirked. "Exactly. Boys like him only pretend they want to be in control. But what's really going to make him wag his tail is to have someone treat him like dirt."

"So you're saying he’s a masochist?"

"I'm saying idiots like him think women being bitchy to him make them seem more unattainable, and that's where the attraction lies."

Kady's mind was reeling once more, but for once, it had nothing (or at least not completely) to do with her boss' recent tendency to exhibit his skills in foreplay. Instead, her thoughts were busy rewinding back to the past, and things that she had once found odd were now making painful sense.

Even now, she couldn't make herself believe that Eric hadn't loved her at all. Hehadloved her once, had loved her at first, and it was probably because at that time, he hadn't yet realized that he was the kind of guy that Slade had described.

And guys like Eric, apparently, were prone to fall for women like Margaux.

The billionaire noticed the way Kady suddenly started gnawing on her lip as her gaze warily darted to his, and he said softly, "You can ask me anything, little chick."

Color stole into her cheeks at Slade's intuition, and Kady wondered glumly if she would ever be able to keep a secret from someone so consummately experienced.

"Kady..."

Unable to help fidgeting even as she avoided his gaze, she said haltingly, "You told me if men like Eric say I'm beautiful or something, I should just take it as my due."

"That's right."

"But what if men like you say it?"

Slade couldn't keep his lips from twitching.

So that was what had been bothering her.

"First of all..."

Kady's gaze flew up to his, and seeing her look at him hopefully, like he was about to give her the secrets to the universe, almost had him losing it.

Clearing his throat, he said solemnly, "There aren't any men like me."

What in the—-

But then she saw the laughter in his eyes, and she realized he had simply been pulling her leg. "Oh my God, you're impossible—-"

"Irresistible," he corrected her mildly. "You keep forgetting 'irresistible' is what you genuinely intend to say."

Kady tried her very best not to laugh, but this, too, proved irresistible - no, wait,impossible!

"Secondly—-"

"If this is another joke," she muttered warningly.

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