Out of Hours...Her Ruthless Boss: Ruthless Boss, Hired Wife / Unworldly Secretary, Untamed Greek / Her Ruthless Italian Boss

Jan was advising everyone on the best areas to dive and snorkel, a pile of masks and flippers near his feet.

‘Careful over by the rocks,’ he warned, ‘there’s a bit of an undertow. Nothing too dangerous, but you should be cautious, especially if you’re not a strong swimmer.’

First, however, they ate. Staff had set up a delicious repast on a folding table and everyone helped themselves to fresh conch salad, warm bread and sliced mango and guava.

The tropical tastes were new and tangy on her tongue and Lizzie dug in with gusto, the sun warm on her shoulders, the breeze caressing her face.

She saw Cormac watching her, a strange, speculative look on his face, and she wondered what he was thinking…feeling.

A few days ago she wouldn’t have cared. She would have said Cormac Douglas didn’t feel much of anything.

Now she wondered. What?

Lizzie turned back to her plate of food.

‘Care to snorkel, Elizabeth?’ Geoffrey had moved next to her when she wasn’t looking and now stood above where she was seated, his cynical gaze resting on her cleavage. ‘Lara’s not interested so perhaps I could show you some of the marine sights.’

The last thing Lizzie wanted to do was spend any time alone, anywhere, with Geoffrey, so she felt only relief when Cormac walked over and replied smoothly, ‘Actually, Lizzie and I are planning to snorkel together. That quality time, you know, is so important to couples.’

Lizzie nearly choked on a disbelieving laugh. Cormac talking about couples and quality time was too ludicrous to be believed.

And, by the looks of it, Geoffrey didn’t believe it, for his cynical smile widened and he raised his eyebrows.

‘Indeed.’

Cormac laced his fingers with Lizzie’s. ‘Tend to your own wife, Stears,’ he said pleasantly, and drew Lizzie towards the beach.

‘You shouldn’t antagonise him,’ Lizzie said in a low voice.

‘I wasn’t.’ Cormac sounded supremely unconcerned and, Lizzie thought, rather arrogantly so. Didn’t he realise what a danger—a threat—Geoffrey was?

‘Geoffrey already suspects,’ she said in a furious whisper. ‘If he mentions something to Jan, we could both—’

‘Jan will never listen to the likes of him,’ Cormac said dismissively. He bent down to sort through the pile of snorkelling gear. ‘The problem with Geoffrey is he thinks he can get what he wants by sneering and looking down his nose at everyone. I’ve seen it before. He’s lost more than one commission to me, you know.’

‘Is that why he’s out for your blood?’ Lizzie asked with a touch of acid, ‘or is it because you’ve slept with his wife?’

Cormac only chuckled. ‘Jealous, Chandler?’

‘Not on your life,’ she snapped, too quickly.

Cormac shrugged. ‘I’m not worried about Stears, at any rate. He’s too stupid to realise how you play someone like Hassell.’ He stood up, a mask dangling from his fingers. ‘Here, this should do nicely for you.’

Lizzie stared at him, suddenly feeling icy cold despite the blazing sun on her body. How you play someone like Hassell. The words echoed in her mind, reminding her that, whatever she thought—believed, hoped—Cormac didn’t care about anyone. He played people…was playing her.

Don’t ever forget it.

She shook her head. ‘Is everyone just a pawn to be used to you?’

He cocked his head, his eyes vivid and alert, yet with a certain hardness to his face, his mouth. ‘What do you think?’ he asked.

Lizzie was compelled to admit, ‘I don’t know. I was beginning to think…to wonder…’

He stared at her and Lizzie saw irritation flicker in his eyes. He thrust the mask at her. ‘Try this on.’ He turned away to sort through the rest of the gear and Lizzie was left to slip the mask on—just one more layer hiding her from the rest of the party…and the man before her.

A few minutes later they stood at the edge of the sea, Lizzie feeling both absurd and nervous in her snorkelling gear.

‘I’m not much of a swimmer,’ she reminded Cormac, nudging the gentle waves dubiously with one flippered foot.

‘Then we’ll just stick close by the shore.’ He reached a hand out, tugging on her fingers as a smile tugged on his mouth—and Lizzie’s heartstrings. ‘Come on, Chandler. I promised I’ll keep you safe.’

She bristled even as she moved forward, reluctantly and inexorably pulled towards him.

‘Why should I trust you?’ she muttered, and his deepening smile went right through her soul.

‘Because you can.’

It wasn’t a reason. It wasn’t even close to a reason, considering how he’d lied, cheated and manipulated his way this far.

Yet somehow it was enough.

The sea water was as warm as a bath as Cormac led her in, the waves lapping at her legs, the sand soft without being squishy between her toes. They’d only gone a few feet, the water just at Lizzie’s waist, when he said, ‘Look down.’

Lizzie did…and gasped. A rainbow coloured fish darted between her feet. Another silver fish, banded with black, slipped between her and Cormac. Lizzie laughed aloud in sheer amazement.

‘I’ve never seen anything like…’ she began, and Cormac tugged on her hands once more.

‘Come with me.’

And Lizzie came, slipping into the water, following Cormac’s lithe, powerful body as he sliced through the sea, his hand still firm on hers, keeping her safe just as he’d promised.

It took Lizzie a moment to accustom herself to keeping her face in the water, breathing through the snorkelling tube, but once she was she found herself transfixed by the underwater world opening below her and the man who pointed out each colourful fish, swimming confidently next to her, never letting her go.

She didn’t want him to. She wanted this moment to last for ever—the easy intimacy, the sun warm on her back, its light dancing on the surface of the sea, a dazzling rainbow of blues and greens.

She wanted it to last for ever, even as she wanted more.

Why not? a voice whispered in her mind, her heart. A treacherous, tempting little voice. Why not? You’ve had so little love in your life, so little affection. Maybe it wouldn’t be love with Cormac, maybe it wouldn’t even be close, but it would be something.

Something she’d never had.

Something she wanted.

They swam all the way down the reef, amazed at the fish, anemones and other small sea creatures, taking turns to point at each new discovery.

Finally they stopped waist-deep at a rocky outcrop out of view of the beach and the others. ‘We should take a break,’ Cormac said, slipping his mask and tube down around his neck. ‘We’ve been at it for over an hour. You’ll get tired out if you’re not used to swimming.’

Lizzie slipped her own mask down. ‘It’s been amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this before.’ She glanced at him, water glistening on his bare chest, tiny droplets clinging to his closely cropped hair, even his eyelashes. His eyes were bright in his tanned face.