Her Secret Weapon

Burke scraped the underside of her chin with his curled index finger, tilting her head upward and aligning her gaze with his. “There are many, many more things I like about you, Callie. Too many to name. Everything from your sweet smile to your sharp mind.”

When Burke grinned at her, she went weak in the knees. This must stop, she told herself. She couldn’t continue letting his sexy smiles and dreamy gazes make her heart flutter. And she couldn’t allow her feelings for this man to get out of control. She had to remember that she couldn’t do anything foolish because she had a child to think about. An affair with Burke, no matter how appealing, would affect not only her life, but Seamus’s life, too.

She couldn’t allow Burke Lonigan to know that he had a son—not until she was certain that he was the type of man she wanted to introduce into Seamus’s life as his father.

“Now who’s woolgathering, Ms. Severin?”

Callie stepped backward, putting some distance between them. “We really should get to work, Mr. Lonigan.”

“Why won’t you call me Burke?” he asked, walking toward her. “I’ve asked you several times to stop calling me Mr. Lonigan.”

As he drew near, Callie eased back farther and farther until her hips encountered the paneled wall behind her. When Burke reached her, he spread his big hands, palms open, on either side of her. She sucked in her breath as he lowered his head. His warm breath mingled with hers. His lips hovered ever so close.

“I want to hear you say my name,” he told her.

She had refused to use his given name because when they’d made love that night, she had sighed his name, whispered his name and cried out his name. Referring to him aloud by his name seemed far too intimate. The name on her lips would conjure up anew the heated passion they had shared.

“Come on,” he cajoled, his lips almost touching hers. “Say my name.”

“I—I prefer to call you Mr. Lonigan.” She couldn’t allow him to kiss her. A kiss would take their relationship out of the strictly business area and into something far more personal. She wasn’t ready for that—not yet. Maybe not ever. She laughed nervously. “After all, as my employer, I owe you a certain amount of respect, don’t you think?”

“I respect you, Callie.” His lips brushed hers ever so lightly. “And I’m beginning to think of you as much more than just my assistant.” Although only mere inches separated their bodies and he kept his hands in place on the wall, he lifted his head. “If I’m making unwanted advances, please, tell me now and I’ll back off.”

Tell him! her mind screamed. Tell him that you aren’t interested. “I—I…well, you see…I am interested. Oh, dear. What I mean is that I think you’re terribly attractive and I find you…. But we shouldn’t. We really shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t what?” Burke’s heated gaze forced her to confront him directly.

“Shouldn’t become more than employer and employee,” she said.

“Something tells me that we’ve already moved beyond that point, my darling.”

She gasped. “Why did you call me that?”

“Call you what?”

“My darling. Why did you—”

“Because you look like a darling to me.”

“Is that your standard endearment for your lady friends, Mr. Lonigan?”

“As a matter of fact, it isn’t.” Lifting one hand from the wall, he eased it behind her head and pulled her to him. “My favorite pet name for the ladies is love.”

“You’ve never called anyone else my darling?” Callie held her breath, waiting for his reply.

“Not that I recall.”

“Oh, Burke…”

Then he kissed her.

Chapter 2

Burke’s lips covered hers with a tender urgency. Soft, yet demanding. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of his mouth on hers. How many long, lonely nights had she dreamed of this moment? How often had she shuddered with desire at the memory of the hours she had spent in this man’s bed? The rational part of her mind warned her of danger. Burke Lonigan was a man of mystery, perhaps a man with a deadly secret life. She shouldn’t become involved in an affair with a man who might well be an international criminal.

As Burke deepened the kiss, his tongue seeking entrance, he leaned forward until his body pressed hers against the wall. A shiver of recognition rippled along her nerve endings. This is the way she had felt the night she had given herself to a stranger and he had given her his child.

Resist him, her mind screamed. Don’t do this! But her body refused to listen. She melted against him, loving the feel of his hard chest pressed into her breasts and his lips devouring her. Of their own volition, her arms lifted up and around his neck, drawing him even closer. When her mouth opened invitingly, Burke delved within to explore and pillage. A gentle humming rose in her throat and turned into a soft moan when it reached her lips. He captured that moan with his mouth, diffusing it into fragments of minuscule sounds.

Callie’s nipples peaked. Her femininity clenched and unclenched. Heaven help her, she wanted Burke. Now. This very moment. Here. Up against the wall.

Don’t do this! You’ll be sorry if you do! her conscience warned. Don’t forget you have more to consider than yourself—you have Seamus. Whatever happens between you and Burke will ultimately affect your child.

Callie forced herself to end the kiss. When she did, Burke groaned and rubbed himself against her in a doesn’t-this-feel-good way that elicited a whimper from her. In order to avoid him instigating another kiss, she turned her head, eased her arms from around his neck and gave him an insistent shove.

Burke lifted his head and stared into her beguiling gray eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ached so to make love to a woman. Since the first moment he’d seen Callie Severin, he’d been attracted to her, but he never mixed business with pleasure. A cardinal rule that he had just broken.

Undoubtedly she had the same reservations as he and that’s why she’d ended their kiss. He knew damn well that she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. His instincts had been telling him for weeks now that Callie felt the same sexual tension that he did. But she was his employee, the best PA he’d ever had. An affair that might end on a sour note could wreck their perfect working relationship.

Burke lifted his hands from the wall and stepped backward, placing a couple of feet between them, but he kept his gaze riveted to hers. She smiled weakly. Burke swallowed hard. Just the sight of her did crazy things to his libido. Callie possessed a fragile beauty, an old-fashioned loveliness that drew him to her. Her curly auburn hair couldn’t be confined within the neat bun at the base of her neck. Flyaway tendrils curled about her ears and forehead. Her flawless peaches-and-cream complexion complemented her dark fiery hair and her cool, storm-cloud gray eyes.

His gaze traveled to her lips and lingered. Her mouth, devoid of lipstick, was full and slightly swollen from his kiss. He wanted to kiss her again. Wanted to pull her into his arms. Wanted to strip her naked and make mad, passionate love to her.

Burke shut his eyes, hoping that by blotting out Callie’s pretty face and luscious body, he could control his desire for her. She’s just a lovely lady, like so many others, he told himself. There’s nothing special about her.

Ah, but that wasn’t true. There was something special about Callie. He couldn’t explain what it was about her that made her unique, different from the other women he’d known.

But there had been one other woman—a woman he could barely remember—who haunted his dreams. A faceless memory. A soft voice. A sweet body. And a scent of flowers. His mind alternated between wanting to remember and trying to forget.

“Mr. Lonigan…Burke?”

His eyelids opened to reveal his brilliant blue eyes. Callie sucked in a deep breath. How was it possible that one night with this man had spoiled her for any other man? She compared every male that entered her life with the indomitable Burke Lonigan, a man of strength and courage and an unconquerable spirit. An expert lover. Passionate. Considerate. Powerful.

“If you keep looking at me that way, I’ll have no choice but to kiss you again,” he said.

“Oh, I—I didn’t realize…I’m sorry that—” She averted her gaze.

Tucking his fist under her chin, he lifted her face so that her gaze met his. “We have a problem, don’t we, Callie?”

“Yes, sir, we do.”

He caressed her cheek with his fingertips, then withdrew his hand. “I’ve never become involved with an employee. Keeping my business life and my personal life separate has been a cardinal rule. One that I’ve never broken. Until you.”

Callie’s mouth rounded on a silent sigh. “I was engaged to my boss and the relationship turned out badly. I swore I wouldn’t become involved with my employer ever again. And I haven’t. Not until… What are we going to do about this?”

Burke wondered if her former employer was the father of her child. Had her boss been a married man as his own father had been? Had he refused to acknowledge his son as Burke’s father had done?

“I’m not sure how we proceed,” Burke admitted. “I’ve never been in this position before, so I have no frame of reference. But I do know one thing—I want us to become lovers.”