Page 34 of Tempting Her Forbidden Boss

‘Every family has its secrets, Dani.’ His smile twisted.

‘But not every family uses a PI to find them out.’

He went quiet as he turned into the car park in the front of Lorenzo’s warehouse. She knew he was waiting but she’d never told a soul about Eli. He wasn’t her secret, he was her mother’s.

Finally he shrugged and switched off the engine. ‘The offer is there.’

‘I’ll think about it,’ she lied out of politeness. She wasn’t sharing that with him—way too personal. ‘Thanks,’ she added as an afterthought.

He’d got out too, walked round to her side of the car, suddenly looking fiery. ‘Do you have to wear those shirts?’

‘What’s wrong with my shirts?’ They were beautifully fitted, hand-stitched in parts, and conservative. ‘They’re not too tight.’ Not like some of the numbers she’d seen around his office.

‘Theyhint.’

Hint? She frowned at a small noise. ‘Are you grinding your teeth?’

‘Now I know what’s underneath...’

She looked at him as his voice trailed off, her gaze colliding with his. Longing tumbled over her and her legs went new-foal wobbly—she was feeling desperate for him again already? ‘I’ll dig out my caftan later.’

‘Don’t bother. I’ll still see your curves.’

He claimed her hand with a ‘don’t even try to stop me’ grip. So she didn’t try, because the need in her body for some kind of touch was too strong.

‘What are you doing?’ And why did she have to be so breathless around him?

‘Proving a point.’

But the last word never made it out because he pressed his lips to hers, his body pushing her back against the car, his hands sweeping over her. Dani’s body both melted and went bowstring taut. So much for sex snapping the tension.

Alex lifted his head and smiled. She was flushed, soft in his arms and unbearably tempting. ‘You’d better go in, sweetheart. You don’t want to be late, do you?’

He laughed as she gave him a glare. Then he got back in his car and gunned it.

Sweet, mindless sex. Hours and hours of hard, physical, frisky distraction. That was what he needed and all he wanted. It was the one thing guaranteed to take his mind off his nightmarish family crisis. Images from last night flashed in his head—the shock he’d felt when he’d seen him: Patrick. He’d stared at him, searching for the familiar in his features. Hating himself for not having seen it before. Hating the man more for the years of lies.

Alex had worked and worked and worked for years—and for what? He had no right to the name, his mother had had no right to raise him thinking he did. No right to instil in him the sense ofdutythat had meant he’d never considered any other option—that his life had become the business.

He couldn’t believe the extent of the deceit. Couldn’t bear to think of the betrayal. It made him glad Samuel was dead—glad he’d never know the truth. Because it really sucked.

So Alex deserved some fun, didn’t he? On tap in his own house. He wasn’t going to let any stupid regrets take hold of Dani. He knew she was full of it—there weren’t any joy boys. But he’d been blowing the hot stuff too—wasn’t the total playboy he’d let her believe. Sure, he’d had a rampant phase for a few years there, but he’d matured. Only the occasional date had made it to first base, let alone third, recently, hardly any home runs. Okay, he’d got bored.

But he wasn’t bored now.

He’d help her with her search if she’d let him. He wanted her to get the answers she needed—he knew all too well how horrible it was not to have those answers. And while she might not want a relationship she was a touch romantic—with her pretty candles and lacy underwear—so he’d do some romancing. Because he wasn’t letting her deny them the physical fling that he was sure would make them both feel fantastic, and let him forget everything else. Even if only for a while.

* * *

Cara was at her desk, her smile sly. Dani glanced out of her window—yeah, it overlooked the car park. Okay, so that was embarrassing. Thank goodness Cara was too well bred to comment on anything so personal. There was a part of Dani that would have loved to share her anxiety and excitement—to have a good girly chat about it as she would have done with her mother or her old schoolmates. But she’d lost touch with those friends when her mother was so sick and her father had made it so much worse. Now her mother had gone and Dani didn’t know Cara anywhere near well enough to confide.

Instead she got on with her work—sneaking time to post a question on one of the adoption boards. She’d left messages on a reunion site for him but had no reply. What could she do next given she was unable to request his full file from the authorities?

And after Cara left in the early afternoon, Dani went back online. She wasn’t into the whole online social networking thing. Even less so since she’d starred in a downloadable clip of her own. But right now she was a glutton for punishment. She typed in his name. And hers. Found the elevator kiss clip. Winced at the number of hits it had received and blushed beet red when she read some of the comments. People needed to get their own lives. She quickly logged back into the message board, hoping someone might have an answer for her. There was only one.

If he hasn’t replied to the ads, there’s not much else you can do without professional help. Hire a PI

EIGHT

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