Taken by the Boss: His Very Personal Assistant / In the Banker's Bed / The Takeover Bid

‘Are lovers?’ Kit finished forcefully, way beyond being reasoned with.

Marcus shrugged. ‘Well, you have to appreciate that it’s good of him, given the circumstances, and the amount of other people here for the weekend. After all, this isn’t a hotel; I could hardly phone on ahead and book two single rooms!’

She didn’t have to give Desmond Hayes anything. Or Marcus Maitland, either, for that matter!

‘You wouldn’t have done it anyway—I would!’ She sighed, her nerve endings feeling so frayed she wanted to scream.

The hour since they had arrived at Desmond Hayes’s home had been filled with one shock after another, so much so that all Kit wanted to do right now was lock herself in the en suite bathroom and stay there until it was all over. She certainly wasn’t in the mood to be teased and cajoled!

She glared at Marcus, her hands clenched at her sides, so agitated that she felt as if she wanted to hit someone, if not physically then verbally would do. ‘Is this the usual practice when you’re away with your PA? Was that the reason that Angie Dwyer told me about you, the reason she decided to leave? Did she object to—?’

‘Careful, Kit,’ Marcus cut in with quiet intensity, his eyes narrowed. ‘I may be feeling pretty mellow at the moment, but I would advise you not to forget exactly what the two of us are doing here.’

She breathed deeply. ‘That’s the problem; I’m no longer sure what I’m doing here. If this really is a working weekend, then that’s okay. But if you expect me to—to—’ she made an agitated gesture towards the rumpled bed that he still sat on ‘—then I’m afraid you’re going to be sadly disappointed, because I—’

‘Stop right there,’ he commanded harshly, standing up so abruptly that Kit took an involuntary step backwards. He gave a humourless smile as he saw the movement. ‘To put the record straight, the reason Angie Dwyer decided to leave had nothing to do with my behaviour—and everything to do with her own!’ He grimaced. ‘To be ungentlemanly about it—’

‘Oh, do!’ Kit invited agitatedly.

He gave her a warning look. ‘To be ungentlemanly about it,’ he repeated tautly, ‘Angie was the one who decided our relationship could be a little more—intimate, shall we say? I don’t get involved with employees. For goodness’ sake, Kit,’ he implored as she still looked unconvinced. ‘Need I remind you that until a couple of hours ago you looked as desirable as someone’s maiden aunt. I certainly didn’t give you the job because of the way you looked!’

Of course he hadn’t, she realised self-disgustedly. She was just so upset by whom she was expected to spend this weekend with that she had gone completely off on a tangent. As if Marcus would ever find her attractive, even without the severe hairstyle and glasses, when there were women like Andrea Revel falling all over him.

And that was something else…!

‘Okay,’ she dismissed tautly. ‘I suggest we forget about that side of things for the moment.’

Especially as she had been completely wrong in her conclusions about his relationship with Angie Dwyer. She should have known from her conversation with Angie that she’d had some sort of chip on her shoulder about Marcus. From the other woman’s catty remarks about his private life, namely the women who populated it, perhaps it should have been obvious what that chip had been.

‘Big of you,’ he muttered.

Her eyes glowed deeply grey. ‘You have no idea how big.’ She sighed, remembering only too well those awful months she had spent working for Mike Reynolds. ‘But what are you going to do about Andrea Revel?’ she challenged.

Marcus raised dark brows. ‘Do about her?’

Kit gave him a frowning glance. ‘As in her being here this weekend at all.’

‘But she’s not here with me, is she?’ he reasoned. ‘You are.’

‘Yes, but—but—’

‘We’re back to that broken record again. The fact that Andrea is here has absolutely nothing to do with me,’ he told her clearly. ‘She came with Derek Boyes; she’s his problem.’

Kit couldn’t agree with him, on either statement; he and Andrea had ended their relationship because he had told her he was bringing Kit instead of her, and if Andrea was anyone’s problem, then she was definitely Marcus’s!

‘Mr Maitland—’

‘I thought we had agreed that, for this weekend at least, it’s to be Marcus and Kit?’ he reminded her dryly.

‘But that’s my whole point!’ she said frustratedly. ‘Andrea—Miss Revel—knows that the two of us aren’t a couple.’

‘Does she?’ He looked at her with steady blue eyes.

Kit blinked. ‘Doesn’t she?’

He shrugged. ‘A little hard to tell, wouldn’t you say, considering the changes in your appearance, and the fact that we’re sharing a suite?’

‘Yes, but—okay, let’s just forget the broken-record remarks,’ she offered. ‘Until yesterday the two of you were—well, you were!’ she accused.

‘And now we’re not,’ he dismissed unconcernedly. ‘Life moves on very fast sometimes, doesn’t it? And at other times…’ he stood up, moving purposefully towards her ‘… it moves very slowly…’ Before Kit even had time to gauge what he was doing, his head lowered and his mouth claimed hers.

There was no thought of denial on her part as she melted into his hardness, her lips parting beneath his.

She had longed for this all those months of working beside Marcus, had lain awake at nights wondering what it would be like to be kissed by him. And now she knew.

It was wonderful!

His arms moved about the slenderness of her waist as he moulded her body against his, his tongue moving in exploration of the sensuous warmth of her bottom lip, her groan of capitulation all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss.

Kit felt like liquid fire in his arms, her body pressed against his, groaning low in her throat as she felt the caress of his hand against the curve of her breast.

Quite what would have happened next, Kit had no idea, if a door banging noisily shut further down the corridor hadn’t made her start back guiltily to stare up at Marcus with disbelieving eyes.

His expression was unreadable, his blue eyes shuttered as he looked back at her.

Kit swallowed hard, her tongue moving to moisten her lips as she searched for something to say. What could she say? Except the obvious!

‘Didn’t you just violate your own rule where employees are concerned?’ she ventured—desperately hoping to divert his attention from the fact that she had very definitely responded to him!

His mouth quirked. ‘I read somewhere once that “rules are made for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools”!’

Kit raised auburn brows. ‘And which are you?’

‘At this moment? Anybody’s guess!’

She couldn’t help it—she laughed. A light, relieved laugh that seemed to release some of the tension that had surrounded them.

Marcus’s smile was sheepish as he ran a hand through the dark thickness of his hair. ‘I apologize, Kit. I suppose it’s no good asking you to forget it ever happened?’

Well… she could try. But did she really want to? As regards the two of them continuing to work together, she knew that she had to, but as Kit McGuire… she had enjoyed the kiss too much to ever really want to forget it had happened.

‘We could try,’ she answered as noncommittally as she could, her gaze not quite meeting his now. ‘But for the moment,’ she added briskly, ‘shouldn’t we be changing for dinner?’

Marcus sighed heavily. ‘That was the plan.’

‘Well…?’ she prompted as he made no effort to go to the adjoining bedroom.

He gave a perplexed frown as he looked at her. ‘Incredible!’ he exclaimed. ‘And after my self-righteous claim of never becoming involved with my employees…’