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The note of arrogance, of entitlement, reminded her he was still the boss.
‘I’d rather he didn’t know, though. Don’t worry, I’ll think of something.’
‘No, you won’t. If he hasn’t guessed already, I’ll tell him.’
She stopped to stare at him. ‘But you can’t.’
‘Why can’t I?’
‘Because I work here.’ Was he really that dense?
‘So?’ He shrugged. ‘You’re entitled to a sex life.’
‘Even so …’ She scrambled for another reason. She needed to keep their fling private. However casual it had been for Rye, it hadn’t been quite as casual for her. She intended to work on that. But she couldn’t bear it if they became the subject of kitchen gossip. ‘I don’t want Phil to know.’
She took a careful breath, but came up short when he took hold of her arm.
‘Maddy,’ he said curtly, ‘don’t tell me you’re under the impression this is over?’
‘But …’ She saw the muscle twitch in his jaw, which she already knew signalled his arousal. And, just like that, her thigh muscles melted and the still tender spot between her legs began to throb. ‘But why would you want to do it with me again?’
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to claw them back and bury them in a very deep hole.
He’d taken her to nirvana, more than once. But she wasn’t about to delude herself that she’d done the same for him. She wasn’t that good at sex and she knew it. Still, she wished she hadn’t told him as much. It made her sound needy and pathetic.
She winced. ‘Could you pretend you didn’t hear that?’ she said, hideously humiliated.
He shook his head slowly, studying her with what, she had an awful feeling, might be pity.
She waited. So mortified she wanted to die on the spot. But, instead of laughing at her, or saying something condescending, his eyes narrowed and, for an insane moment, she thought she saw a flash of fury.
Rye curled his fingers into a fist. What he’d like to do right now was hunt down the bastards who had destroyed Maddy’s confidence and throttle them on the spot. He shoved his hand into the back pocket of his jeans.
She was actually serious. He could see it in her face, and the flush of embarrassment lighting up her cheeks. She had no idea she’d blown him away. He wanted to tell her that she was the most refreshing, the most artlessly sexy and seductive woman he’d ever encountered, but how could he do that and not make this sound like more than it was?
Something he couldn’t afford to do.
Because he’d already made a mess of this. He was usually so clear with women about what he wanted out of a relationship. And what he didn’t. He set boundaries and he never crossed them. No point in confusing things and setting yourself up for an ugly scene further down the line. But he’d crossed those boundaries with Maddy. In fact, he’d never even set them. Because he’d been distracted by his own needs.
After their little heart-to-heart in Phil’s office, when he’d blurted out that rubbish about his parents, he’d known he needed to start setting those boundaries now. And make it clear he wasn’t comfortable with that level of intimacy.
But she was looking at him now, her eyes shadowed with embarassment. As if she couldn’t believe he really wanted to sleep with her again. And he didn’t have a clue how to say what he had to without knocking her confidence even more.
‘Maddy.’ He cupped her cheek, felt the instinctive tremor of response and knew he wasn’t finished with her. Not by a long shot. But he had a tightrope to walk now. And he was doing it blindfolded. ‘I thought you enjoyed yourself this time?’
Those luminous green eyes widened even more. ‘I did. You know I did.’
‘Then what’s the problem with us enjoying more of the same?’
He settled his hand on her shoulder, skimmed his thumb across her collarbone and felt the flutter of her pulse.
‘But …’
‘I’m not looking for anything serious,’ he said casually, but watched her reaction like a hawk.
She seemed more confused than upset by the suggestion. ‘I know that,’ she said, surprising him a little.
‘I’m going to be in Cornwall for another month or so,’ he added, careful not to imply that he would be around indefinitely.
