His Darling Valentine

‘A kitten?’ Ross repeated incredulously. ‘I had no idea you liked cats.’

‘I’m not sure that I do,’ she answered slowly, at the same time aware that the defenceless ball of fur left on her doorstep earlier had already made a dent in her heart. ‘I told you, it was a present,’ she added.

A Valentine present …

But who from? Oh, she had dated often before coming to work for Ross Valentine eighteen months ago, occasionally accepted invitations even now, if only to stop other people from drawing their own conclusions concerning her single status when her boss was so obviously an extremely eligible bachelor of thirty-seven. But the fact that she rarely dated the same person twice meant that she now had no idea who could have placed the kitten outside her front door!

‘What are you going to do with it?’ Ross looked amused.

Good question. The truth was, she had no idea, very much aware that her job as Ross Valentine’s Personal Assistant, travelling around the world with him, did not even allow for the luxury of owning a goldfish.

But, at the same time, she couldn’t shake off the vision of that endearing little face, the tiny black nose, those beautiful blue eyes that had gazed up at her so appealingly earlier as she’d left the kitten in the warm snugness of her kitchen.

But, tempted as she might be, there was no way she could keep it!

‘I have no idea,’ she answered honestly. ‘Try to find someone who will take it in, I suppose.’

‘I’ll take it if you don’t want it,’ Ross offered.

Tazzy stared at him in surprise. Admittedly, he had the luxury of a housekeeper who could look after the kitten any time he had to be away on business. But even so …

‘I haven’t definitely decided what I’m going to do with him yet,’ she resisted.

‘Or her,’ Ross pointed out.

Tazzy frowned. ‘Or her,’ she acknowledged slowly, having no idea whether it was a she or a he! ‘But its name is Shadow,’ she added without thinking.

Now exactly where had that come from? She hadn’t even been aware until the word had come out of her mouth that she had actually named the kitten!

When she had finally left the house this morning, the kitten safely ensconced in the kitchen, she had had every intention of delivering it to a cat sanctuary when she returned home later on this evening. Ross’s offer to take the kitten off her hands seemed to have brought out a possessive streak in her.

Ross smiled, brown eyes warm. ‘You named it already.’

Tazzy once again felt flustered. ‘Not really. I—Shadow would do for a boy or a girl, though.’

‘So it would,’ he agreed, standing up.

Allowing Tazzy to breathe normally once again. Outwardly, she managed to remain efficient and professional in front of this man, but inwardly, whenever Ross was close, she felt a constriction in her throat, a fluttering in her chest. It didn’t exactly make for calm working conditions—but the thought of not working for Ross was completely unacceptable to her.

‘I’ll bring your coffee through in a moment,’ she told him with cool dismissal.

‘Thanks.’ He nodded. ‘Could you bring the e-mails through when you’re ready, too?’

‘Of course, Mr Valentine,’ she answered briskly, finding her usual confidence in adopting her role as his PA.

‘Oh, and Tazzy …?’ He paused before moving away.

She looked up at him with calm enquiry, deciding to ignore his slip of addressing her by her Christian name in preference to hastening his departure.

‘Happy Valentine’s Day,’ he murmured huskily, bending his head and briefly brushing his lips against hers. ‘Mmm, nice,’ he said appreciatively, hands lightly cupping each side of her face. ‘In fact, it was so nice, I think I’ll do it again,’ he added softly before his lips claimed hers a second time, a lingering kiss this time as he tasted and sipped the softness of her lips.

Tazzy was too stunned to do any more than kiss him back, her lips tingling from the touch of Ross’s, her body trembling with rising desire, breasts up-tilted as they pressed against the hardness of his chest.

Finally, when Tazzy felt as if her knees were about to give way completely, Ross raised his head to look down at her. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, Tazzy,’ he murmured again before moving away to leave the room, softly closing the connecting door behind him.

Leaving Tazzy in a state of total shock!

CHAPTER TWO

WELL—!

For the second time that morning Tazzy found herself at a complete loss for words. And it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet!

She moved to sit down abruptly in her chair behind the desk, moving a hand up to tentatively touch lips that still tingled from contact with Ross’s.

Not by word or deed had he ever before stepped over that line between employer/employee. Leaving Tazzy to wonder why he should have done so now … She didn’t—

‘Tazzy, could I have the file on the Hanson hotel chain?’ Ross stood in the open doorway between their two offices, his manner completely businesslike now.

Just as if those kisses, that melting touch of his lips on Tazzy’s, had never happened!

He raised dark brows at her silence. ‘Today, if possible?’ he teased.

She stood up abruptly, inwardly urging herself to pull herself together; Ross Valentine was far from the first man to kiss her, for goodness’ sake. But at the same time, he was the first man she had ever been in love with who had kissed her!

‘Yes, of course, Mr Valentine.’ She moved to one of the filing cabinets that stood along one wall of her office.

At least, that was what she intended doing—until she sensed that Ross still stood in the doorway, leaning nonchalantly against the frame as he made no effort to hide the fact he was watching her every move.

Making Tazzy feel extremely self-conscious! ‘I’ll bring it through once I’ve found it,’ she assured him sharply.

‘Fine,’ he accepted, making no effort to move. ‘You know, Tazzy—’

‘I thought we had agreed that it was much more suitable, during our hours of working together, if we stick to Mr Valentine and Miss Darling?’ she reminded him coolly. Goodness knew it was strange enough actually working in this man’s house, without being any more familiar with each other.

She had thought it an unconventional arrangement when she’d first come for her job interview eighteen months ago, but once she had met Ross Valentine she would have agreed to work out in the garden shed!

‘As I remember it, you were the one to come up with that particular rule,’ Ross drawled. ‘Personally, I’ve always thought it sounded very unfriendly.’

‘Unfamiliar,’ Tazzy corrected briskly, at the same time whipping the appropriate file from the drawer and holding it out to him. ‘I really do think that it’s best during office hours.’

He took the file, his expression one of reproach. ‘Well, as we don’t seem to have any “out of office hours,” when do I get to call you Tazzy?’

Her eyes widened with impatience. ‘You don’t.’ That was the whole idea, for goodness’ sake!

She wasn’t sure, spending as much time as she did in his company, often travelling abroad together for several days at a time, if she would be able to cope with working for him at all if she hadn’t put up some sort of barrier of formality between them from the first.

‘I’m not sure I particularly care for that,’ he pondered.