Page 9 of In Bed With the Boss

There was a flicker of hope in her eyes. ‘You’re prepared to give me more time?’

‘Providing you agree to let me show you the magic of our rainforest.’ His silky tone didn’t appear to ring any alarm bells because she gave him a warm, trusting smile.

‘Thank you so much.’ She clasped her hands in front of her.

‘You won’t regret it. We can chat on the journey.’

Chat? Wondering whether to point out that the word didn’t actually exist in his vocabulary, Rafael shot her an incredulous glance and then realised that she truly had absolutely no concept of what lay in store for her.

By the time he’d finished with her she was more likely to be screaming than chatting.

‘I look forward to showing you some of the rare and beautiful sights of my country,’ he purred. ‘I would relish the opportunity to take you to certain parts which I think would be of interest.’

One of which might well be his bedroom, he thought idly, watching the colour that touched her cheeks. It was true that he preferred to keep his business life and his sex life separate, but Grace Thacker couldn’t really be counted as business because he was going to see to it personally that her business was finished. Which meant that he could legitimately turn his attention to pleasure.

‘I hadn’t planned on sightseeing.’

‘I’m talking about visiting the fazenda. The coffee farm that supplies your chain. It’s right that you should know more about the product you sell.’ He watched her carefully but she simply smiled and the smile put dimples in her cheeks and made her seem even younger.

‘I couldn’t agree more. I’d love to visit the coffee growers. My father insisted on doing that bit when we originally set up the deal. What a great idea.’

Ignoring the dimples and the sudden heat in his loins, Rafael suddenly wanted to laugh.

For sheer bald front, you couldn’t fault her. By now she had to be wondering just how much he knew about her and yet there wasn’t even a flicker of guilt in her eyes. Or concern about his proposal to take her deep into the jungle. She just stood there in her perfectly cut Armani suit, balancing on four-inch heels, as if tramping through the Brazilian rainforest was something she’d packed for and which she frequently did in her spare time.

She clearly had no idea what it took to walk through the jungle in the heat and humidity.

Five minutes, he said to himself with grim satisfaction. Five minutes was all it was going to take to have her shrieking about snakes and insects and clinging to him.

Without the heels, the suit and the lip-gloss she’d be lost and vulnerable.

And she’d turn to him.

And then he’d move in for the kill.

‘Then I will arrange it for tomorrow.’ He rose to his feet. ‘In the meantime one of the staff will escort you to a room so that you can change into something more comfortable.’

‘Staff?’

‘Of course, staff.’ He raised an eyebrow in mockery. ‘You thought this was a one-man band? You think I swing through the trees in a loincloth and eat pineapples?’

‘Pineapples don’t grow in the Atlantic rainforest.’

She knew that much, then. Which was more than the previous female he’d brought here, who had clearly been painting her nails through all her geography lessons.

‘I keep a team of staff in all my houses. It makes my working life more efficient. Your bag has already been taken up. I’ll see you at dinner. Maria will prepare some local delicacies.’ He waited for her shiver of apprehension but she merely smiled.

‘Delicious. Thank you. You’re very kind.’

Kind?

Over the years women had called him many things but never that. Rafael searched her face for irony but saw nothing except a frank, ingenuous smile.

The smile raked at his nerves. If she was worried then she wasn’t letting it show and suddenly he was even more determined to put a serious dent in her composure.

By the time he’d finished with her, she wouldn’t be smiling. She’d be wet and uncomfortable, her feet would be blistered, her skin covered in insect bites and she’d think twice before she ripped anyone off again.

But if she played her cards right, he just might be prepared to offer some physical consolation.

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