Page 23 of The Boss's Forbidden Assistant

‘That wasn’t my intention.’

‘Wasn’t it?’ she shouted, then squeezed her eyes shut as emotions rolled through her again. ‘You’ve been acting like I’ve done something wrong, like you’re angry with me. And maybe you are, but if you’re angry it’s because of what happened between us. And that’s not my fault.’

He was close now, so close. She swiped her key card over the door but it didn’t work. Her fingers were shaking. She tried again and the light flashed red. Harper cursed silently.

‘Allow me.’ His voice was gruff, hoarse, those same dark emotions she’d seen on his face evident in his tone now.

‘I can do it,’ she snapped, pulling her hand away from his.

‘Damn it, Harper, for crying out loud, this isn’t a big deal.’

‘It is to me.’

‘You’re overreacting.’

She whirled around to face him but, just as on the plane, he was right behind her and this time there was a door at her back, so she was all but trapped between Salvador’s rock-hard chest and the door’s firmness at her spine.

‘Don’t tell me I’m overreacting,’ she said unevenly. ‘You made me feel... You treated me...’ She glared up at him but, close like this, it was almost impossible to hold onto her anger. She needed it, like a shield to keep her safe. ‘You’re a jerk,’ she repeated.

‘Yes.’ His eyes narrowed, his pupils huge in his golden eyes. She swallowed, staring up at him, unable to look away, barely able to breathe. ‘I know.’

‘So how about you try not to be?’

‘And then what happens?’ he asked darkly, leaning closer. ‘What if I tell you I think you’re the smartest person I’ve ever known?’ She gasped. ‘What if I tell you I’m blown away by your attention to detail, your planning, your reporting?’

Her heart thumped hard into her rib cage, his praise like warm treacle on her flesh. Of their own volition, her hands lifted to his shirt, pressing to the starched fabric there, the fabric that had seemed so incongruous by the pool, when they’d been surrounded by happy holiday makers, but which now felt like the best thing ever.

‘Are you?’

‘Yes.’ The word was a whip in the air between them. ‘I think my admiration is very obvious.’

She snorted. ‘Yes, of course, how silly of me not to realise when all you do is berate—’

He pressed a finger to her lips. ‘Once. And it won’t happen again.’ Their eyes met and something passed between them. ‘I’m sorry. I was...’

‘Frustrated,’ she mumbled against his finger, eyes blinking up at his. When he didn’t remove his finger, she pursed her lips, kissing it, and when he still didn’t pull away opened her mouth to take the tip between her lips just a little way. Nerves were flooding her, because it was so out of character to act like this, and at the same time it felt sorightandnormal, as though she had no choice but to act on the feelings that were pulling her towards him.

Salvador groaned, dropping his head forward.

‘Yes,’ he said unevenly after a moment. It took her a second to realise he was agreeing that he had indeed been frustrated.

He pulled his finger out of her mouth, but not far. He let it rest on her shoulder and slowly, as if a magnetic force were drawing Salvador down and he was desperately fighting it, his head dropped lower and lower, hers tilting upwards until their lips met. It was like a thousand lightning bolts had speared the earth around them.

Harper felt it all through her body, in the air, in the way Salvador shuddered, the kiss shifting tectonic plates and everything in between.

His mouth was firm and insistent, just as she would have expected, his trademark confidence meaning he kissed arrogantly, demandingly, and it was incredible. She surrendered to the kiss, her lips parting beneath his, her hands bunching in his shirt, the power of that connection burning her to the tips of her toes. His tongue flicked hers hungrily and she kissed him back, tangling their tongues, her hands moving from his shirt to the back of his neck, fingers curling in the hair at his nape, her breasts crushed to his chest where her hands had been, her thighs pressed to his.

His body pushed forward so the door was hard at her back, and she was aware of every inch of his muscular frame. The hardness of his groin made her breathless with need, stars of desire filling her eyes, every bit as bright as the night sky on Ilha do Sonhos.

She kissed his name into his mouth, delighting in the way it tasted, in the feel of his hands on her body as he kissed her senseless and breathless.

And then he stopped, pulling away from her, his eyes glittering when they met hers, his expression hard, shocked and possibly even afraid.

He swore under his breath, staring at her, breath uneven, and she stared back, the world tilting off its axis and everything moving beyond her control.

‘Do you see why I cannot say nice things to you, Harper?’ he demanded, his hands impersonal now as he straightened her clothes, tucking her shirt back into her skirt.

Hurt, she pushed his hands away, face pale. ‘I can do it.’

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