Page 20 of Unbuttoning Her Brooding Boss

No phone. No internet. No contact. No care. Just a long stretch of road. And freedom.

She rested her elbow on the car door and rested her head on her hand, studying him from behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses. He turned to look at her, as if he were aware of her secret scrutiny.

He smiled.

It wasn’t that wicked, teasing smile. Nor was it some politeAre you doing okay?kind of smile. It was genuine, intimate. And gorgeous.

The last block of tension within her crumbled. Her skin tingled and without thinking she smiled back—a mere curve of her lips. She didn’t speak. There was nothing to say in that simple, perfect moment.

And slowly, as she basked in the warmth, her vision softened around the edges.

Vaguely she heard a low, muttered half-laugh. ‘Yousurethere isn’t something you want to run away from, fairy princess?’

She was too drowsy to bother answering. The plain truth was that she liked to look.

At him.

FOUR

There was no light.She couldn’t see him... She could only hear his cry for help, the sharp thump as he fell. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—get up, and she didn’t have the strength to lift him on her own. And they were so alone.

‘Dan, please...’ She begged him to try. ‘Please!’

‘Steffi?’

A deep, abrupt voice, right in her ear, yanked Stephanie from the darkness.

She sat up so quickly her seatbelt jerked and pulled her back against her seat with athwack.

‘You okay, there, sweetheart?’

Jack Wolfe was leaning over her, looking at her, his intense sky-blue eyes filled with concern and something she wasn’t willing to name. He lifted his hand to her shoulder, holding her still so she didn’t jump again. A calming, reassuring gesture. Only it made her heart thunder more.

She blinked, gazed into the deep blue of his eyes.

‘Sleeping Beauty isn’t supposed to have nightmares.’ He spoke quietly, but she heard the question in his tone.

Her wariness mounted as she wakened fully. What had she said? What was he thinking?

‘I’m no Sleeping Beauty,’ she muttered.

He sat back, giving her space, breaking the spell.

Good Lord,howhad she fallen asleep? And how freakingmortifying.She was so embarrassed she didn’t know what to say or where to look. Had she called out—given herself away? What else had she said or done? Snored? Drooled? Quickly she glanced down, checking her dress.

‘Relax, princess, you look as perfect when you’re sleeping as you do when you’re awake.’

‘You think I lookperfect?’ She tried to tease back, but she was too breathless and it came out all weak and woebegone and pathetic, embarrassing her even more.

‘You know I do.’

She couldn’t stop a small smile at that low-voiced growl. A glow of pleasure lit her up from the inside and eased the panicked pace of her pulse. She sneaked a glance at him.

He was smiling back at her—a small smile that barely broke through his seriousness. The curiosity in his gaze faded as another kind of emotion swirled and the heated intensity built, turning the atmosphere in the car sultry. She felt sucked into the centre of a burning bubble. Her brain rendered only one thought—move closer.

Uh...No.Bad idea.

She cleared her throat, embarrassment returning now she was wide awake and practically drooling over him. ‘What time is it?’

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