‘Thank you, but you needn’t worry. Zack Stone won’t even get to first base with me.’
‘Do you have a boyfriend already?’
‘No. No boyfriend.’
‘Girlfriend?’
She blinked her surprise at the question, one which no man had ever asked her before.
‘No,’ she replied.
‘I probably shouldn’t have asked,’ he said, his smile wry.
When their eyes met and held for a long moment, suddenly, something like an electric current zapped across the space from his eyes to hers, revving up her dormant libido, tightening her stomach with the most amazing sexual awareness.
Dismay overwhelmed Ruby as she reached the stunning realisation that she just might want sex again after all. With this man. Her boss!
Ruby smothered a groan as she struggled to gather herself. But gather herself she did.
After all, wanting sex with Sebastian Marshall was only wanting, thank heavens. Ruby believed she could ignore it. Of course she could!
It was as well, though, that he didn’t want her back. That much was quite obvious. His concern about her looks had not been personal. It had been professional. He’d been looking out for her, worried that his womanising star might make a pass at her.
‘Is that all, Mr Marshall?’ she asked, perversely irritated by his own lack of interest.
You should be grateful. Not annoyed.
‘Sebastian, remember?’
‘Right,’ she said, and smiled a stiff smile. ‘Is that all, Sebastian?’ Lord, but he really was very handsome. And he had a very good body. Without his suit jacket on she could see the breadth of his shoulders. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, giving her a glimpse of dark hair. She didn’t mind a bit of hair on a man’s chest. She actually found it sexy. Or she had, once upon a time.
Stop looking at him, she lectured herself. But where else could she look?
‘Could you make dinner for eight tonight?’ he said.
Ruby took a deep breath. She had to cook him dinner. Which was only logical. She was his housekeeper. But she didn’t want to cook him dinner tonight. She needed some time away from him, time to come to terms with the effect he was having on her.
‘What would you like?’ she asked, surprised at how cool she sounded. Yet she didn’t feel cool inside. She felt all jumbled and jumpy.
‘Surprise me,’ he said and actually smiled up at her. Not a sexy smile. Just a polite one.
Ruby swallowed the huge lump in her throat, thinking that she was the one who was surprised. Though the word surprised didn’t quite cut it. More like shocked. Stunned. Shattered.
Her dream job was turning into a nightmare.
Oh, dear...
CHAPTER SIX
‘SOMETHING SMELLS NICE.’
Ruby spun round from the stove top, startled by her boss’s sudden appearance in the kitchen. Startled, too, by his compliment. She tried not to stare, but he looked altogether different in casual clothes. Clearly, he’d showered and changed at some stage since she left him in the study a couple of hours ago. His dark hair was still damp, his tall, well-built body now housed in stone-washed jeans and a pale grey T-shirt.
Strangely, she preferred him in his business clothes, perhaps because it made him more out of her league. At the moment he looked like a guy she was allowed to fancy.
And fancy him she did. Big time.
‘What are you cooking?’ he asked before she could think of something to say.
‘Beef stroganoff,’ she told him matter-of-factly. ‘Surely you’ve had beef stroganoff before?’
‘Possibly. I’m not a foodie.’
‘My version is hardly cordon bleu,’ she said, wishing he would go back to his former rude self so she didn’t have to secretly drool. ‘I made it from a packet.’
‘Well, it smells great.’
Ruby turned back to stirring, rattled by his unexpected pleasantness, not to mention her increasing awareness of him. Better she not look at the man any more than was strictly necessary. Talking was okay, as long as it wasn’t accompanied by ogling.
‘It was one of my brothers’ favourite meals,’ she threw over her shoulder. ‘Along with spaghetti bolognese and a lamb roast.’
‘I like the sound of all of those,’ he said, that gorgeous voice of his making even the simplest compliment sound sexy. ‘How many brothers do you have?’ he asked, clearly intent on having a chat.
Oh, Lord, she thought, annoyed again by this totally unexpected attraction. Ruby wished he would just take his hunky body back to his study and wait there till she called him for dinner.
But no, that wasn’t going to happen, was it? Out of the corner of her eye she saw him pull out one of the kitchen stools and slide onto it. If she was going to stay working for this man, she had no option but to turn round and answer him.
Clicking off the gas ring, she whirled around and dredged up a face that she hoped betrayed nothing but civility.
‘Two,’ she replied coolly. ‘They’re twins. Three years younger than me.’
The microwave pinged, letting her know the rice was ready. Good. Now she could serve him dinner and escape to her room.
‘Identical?’ he asked as she turned away to take the dish out of the microwave.
‘No.’ She placed the hot dish on a cutting board then looked up at him. ‘But very similar. Do you want me to serve your dinner in the dining room or outside on the terrace?’
‘I usually have dinner on a tray in my study when I’m alone here in the evenings. That way I can work or watch TV as I eat.’
Ruby should have guessed. Georgia had said he was a workaholic.
‘That’s fine. You’re the boss. I’ll just have to find a tray.’ And she started rummaging around in the cupboards, banging a few doors as she did so.
Ruby hated the way she was acting. This wasn’t like her. She was usually relaxed with people. But not with this man. He made her want to be stroppy. She hated that she fancied him. Hated that he made her heartbeat quicken by just being there.
She noticed him frowning, which in turn made her feel guilty.
‘I think I need to apologise,’ he said after she’d found a suitable tray.
‘For what?’ she replied, unsure what he was on about.
‘For my attitude when I first came home. I had no right to imply that your looks could pose a problem. Or assume you couldn’t handle yourself where Zack is concerned. I can see you’re a very capable person who wouldn’t accept unwanted attention from any man.’