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

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‘Cormac…’

‘We have time, Chandler,’ he said with a little smile. ‘Lots of time.’

His hand drifted lower, to the apex of her thighs. He cupped her breasts in his hands, kissed her navel. Moved lower. She shuddered.

He was wicked with his tongue—wicked and wonderful. She gasped as he touched her, tasted her where no one had ever been before, the very centre of her, melting with sensation…

She’d never felt so much before—piercing, painful, too much to bear. Too wonderful.

And yet…

‘Cormac…’

‘Yes.’ She felt him smile against her middle.

‘Look at me.’

He paused, and then Cormac kissed her again, deeper, his tongue so knowing, so clever…

She arched instinctively, her hands threaded through his hair. ‘Cormac,’ she gasped, ‘I want to see you. I want to see your eyes.’

He stilled for only a second. Then, as if he hadn’t heard her, he began his delicious onslaught again. She couldn’t keep the waves of pleasure from racking her, a sweet torment she didn’t want to stop.

But she wanted to see his eyes. She didn’t know why, only felt. Felt it with an instinct, a deeper need than even what her body craved.

She pulled on his shoulders and, with a little laugh, he kissed his way upwards, his head bent, his face averted.

‘Cormac…’

‘Just let yourself enjoy it, Lizzie,’ he murmured, his hand drifting down once more, gently stroking her. ‘Let yourself go.’

Her body was desperate for release, but her mind resisted. So did her heart.

And still, she felt herself reaching the edge, teetering on it, her body opening, her breath hitching, her fingers clenching, everything straining towards that point…

‘Cormac,’ she gasped, ‘Please…’

Then a phone rang.

CHAPTER NINE (#ulink_b00074dc-8016-56ca-8bbf-d6ee2c11a77f)

THE sound was unfamiliar at first, a tinny bleating that had Lizzie stiffening, then suddenly twisting away from Cormac. Her body still tingled with an unquenched fire but her mind was cold. Clear.

‘That’s my mobile.’

‘Let it ring.’ Cormac smiled, his hands reaching for her once more. ‘Lizzie…’

She shrugged him off, icy dread pooling where desire had only moments before. ‘No, Cormac. Only Dani has my number. Only for emergencies.’

He stilled, his face turning blank as she scrambled off the bed and dug through her bag for the phone.

‘I’m sorry…’ she breathed as her fingers curled around the mobile. Then she spoke into the phone. ‘Dani?’

A hiccupy sob greeted her.

‘Dani!’ Lizzie’s voice was sharp with fear. ‘What has happened? What’s wrong?’

‘Oh, Lizzie, I’m in such a mess.’

She sank on to the bed. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart. Tell me.’

‘You’ll be angry…’ Another pitiful sob.

‘No, I won’t,’ Lizzie said firmly. ‘No matter what it is.’ It was a promise she’d always given, would always give. She would be there for her sister. Always.

Behind her, she heard Cormac shift. She felt him kiss the back of her neck and she barely suppressed a shiver.

‘Come back to bed,’ he whispered. ‘Come back to me.’

Knowing how tempting his offer was, Lizzie moved from the bed to a chair. ‘Dani, tell me,’ she urged.

‘I’m in trouble,’ Dani admitted in a low whisper, and Lizzie’s heart lurched.

‘All right,’ she said, striving to keep her voice neutral, matter-of-fact. ‘What happened?’

‘It was so unfair.’ Dani’s voice was high with sudden indignation. Whenever Dani was in trouble—for poor marks, bunking off class or being caught smoking behind the school sheds—she always tried to justify it. It wasn’t fair. They didn’t understand. It hadn’t happened the way they said.

Lizzie knew she had sometimes been too lenient with Dani, not knowing how to act like a mother, feeling somehow guilty that Dani had been forced to grow up as an orphan.

‘Tell me, Dani,’ she interrupted her sister’s mournful litany of excuses.

‘I’ve been expelled,’ she finally admitted sulkily.

‘Expelled?’ Lizzie repeated in numb disbelief. ‘You’ve only been there a week! What on earth happened?’

‘I was at a party…’

‘And?’ Lizzie drove a hand through her hair.

‘I was drunk,’ Dani continued reluctantly, ‘and a friend and I got a bit…silly.’

‘They don’t expel you from uni for being silly,’ Lizzie retorted sharply. ‘Tell me the truth, Dani.’

‘A group of us broke into the photography lab, meaning to take some pictures and well…a few things got broken. Expensive things.’

Lizzie closed her eyes, wondered how much they would be liable for.