Page 7 of Unbuttoning Her Brooding Boss

‘Is it?’ His lips curved. ‘What do you suggestItaste?’

She wasnotresponding to the suggestion in that question. She was ignoring it altogether. ‘And there was me thinking that the Wolfe way was to take the route less travelled—to put yourself in the care of thelocals...’ Coolly she spouted his own travel tips at him.

‘You want to take care of me?’ He laughed.

That genuine sound surprised her into silence. He was a different man from the one she’d first laid eyes on. Had she dreamt the terse way he’d spoken into the phone and that bleak expression? And then that naked hostility? Because nowhewas all charm.

He turned the key and the car purred. Slowly he pulled out into the lane of traffic.

‘Who’s Dan?’ he asked.

She gritted her teeth, holding back theWhat business is it of yours?bite that had leapt to her throat. ‘My cat.’

‘Cat...?’ he echoed. His eyes narrowed on the road ahead. ‘You don’t look like a cat lady. I’d have thought you’d be a handbag dog diva.’

‘Solast decade,’ she murmured. ‘And you know I live to subvert your stereotypical assumptions about vapid creatures like me.’

‘I never said you were vapid.’

‘You didn’t have to. It was all in the look.’

‘Look?’

‘The look you sent me when I first arrived.’

‘How did I look at you?’

‘Like you couldn’tbelieveyou were going to have to sit through a boring business meeting with a brainless piece of fluff like me.’

He pulled up at a red light and turned to meet her eyes. ‘How am I looking at you now?’

Meeting his eyes, she couldn’t think at all. Then she remembered his contortionist comment and his taste comment and saw the unrestrained provocation in his eyes. ‘Like you’re hungrier than you claim to be.’

An electrical charge pulsed in the resulting silence.

‘All big eyes and sharp teeth?’ he finally responded. ‘You’re afraid I’m the Big Bad Wolf?’

‘Aren’t you?’

‘You’re confusing me with my brother George. I’m no wolf—not really.’ For a second that bleakness flashed into his eyes again, but he blinked and it was gone.

‘How disappointing,’ Stephanie murmured.

‘You were looking forward to the chase?’ he challenged. ‘Did youwantto be caught and devoured?’

‘I was looking forward to running away.’ As she answered she realised it wasn’t a mere Steffi Leigh come back but the honest truth. Shehadbeen looking forward to running away for a couple hours this afternoon. Escaping her tiny flat, her brother, her blog. Taking Jack Wolfe on a tour had been an excuse, so she wouldn’t feel guilty about walking out for a little while.

He looked at her more thoughtfully. More intensely. ‘You surprise me.’

‘I’m so pleased,’ she replied, far too politely. And far too falsely even for Steffi Leigh.

‘Stephanie—’ He broke off at the sound of a phone ringing. He looked at the phone, his face becoming that rigid mask again as he glanced at the name on the screen. ‘Excuse me a moment. I need to take this.’

He pulled over to the side of the road, ignoring the blare of the horn from the car behind.

‘Well?’ he asked tersely. There was a moment as the caller replied. Then, ‘Fine. I’ll be there.’

Jack tucked his phone inside his jacket pocket, but didn’t pull back into the line of traffic. His hand on the steering wheel clenched into a fist. Stephanie ran her tongue over her dried lips, unsure whether or not to speak. She knew he was looking at her—she wasn’t sure she wanted to look back at him.

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