Christmas tree and his smile went so wicked she wouldnât have been surprised if he had a doorway to a den of sin hidden behind his desk. Or maybe that was wishful thinkingâbecause when he looked like that all she could think about was bad, bad behaviour. Then she mentally replayed what sheâd said and suddenly felt a need to clarify. âScreaming in horror .â
âRi-i-ight.â He nodded as if she were a delusional diva he had to humour. âAll outrage rather than ecstasy.â
She opened her mouth but before sheâd thought of a comeback heâd lifted his hand from the door, and was holding it and the other up in the âdonât shootâ position, his mouth in a smile too cheeky to resist.
Heâd be dead if her eyes had ammo. Sadly her eyes weretoo busy gobbling up the gorgeousness before her to execute the death look. Her failing brain managed one last attempt to control the weakening of her body and she tried the door again. It still didnât move. She glanced down. His foot was jammed against it.
âI really have been overseas. I left the afternoon we were in the lift. The trip was unavoidable. I expected to see you when I got back. To talk to you.â His hands had dropped to his hips. She couldnât stop looking at his long fingers.
âWhat were you going to say?â
âIt doesnât matter.â His fingers curled into fists. âWhat matters is that I found out about the clip this morning and I found out about you being dismissed two minutes ago.â
She took a step back from the door so she could look into his face from a safer distance. âYou didnât know?â He hadnât ordered it?
âNo. The clip was taken from the security camera in the lift. I donât know who did it yet, but when I find out you can be certain that that person will be in danger of dismissal.â
That sharp edge sliced back into his eyes for a second. She wanted it to stayâwanted him to truly understand the impact. âItâs had hundreds of hits. It got sent to the agency. I got a warning for it but by some great coincidence they canât complete the necessary verification on my paperwork.â Shaking her head, she walked into the middle of the roomâthe greater the distance between them, the better she could think.
âI know.â
âSo what are you going to do?â It wasnât the unfairness of the ramifications that had brought her here, it was that she needed help and had nowhere else to turn. And she hated it.
âIâm not sure yet.â
That wasnât good enough. She spun and saw the wickedsmile was back on his face. He thought this was funny? He still didnât get how serious it was for her? She walked back to stand right in front of him, whipping the words out.
âThanks to you I have no job and no hope of getting another one. Thanks to you I am flat broke. Iâm in a strange country, I donât know anyone and suddenly Iâm starring in some local sex clip and all you want to do is laugh it off.â Breathing hard, she glared at himâher eyes filled with the ammo theyâd lacked before.
His grin was wiped. âI donât think itâs funny.â
âOh, really? So thatâs why youâre smiling like some satyr and watching replays like itâs the joke of the century.â
âIt wasnât a joke.â His eyes bored into hers so intently she couldnât move. His face hardened in the long seconds of silence. She sensed the rest of him becoming tense tooâhis body sending such strong vibes of tightly leashed energy that she could feel them pressing on her.
For a second her instinct screamed at her to run, but just as fast the urge was squashed. Other urges began to surge insteadâand she needed a strong leash of her own to control them. Her whole body was aware of him, her whole focus was on him. His gaze dropped to her mouth and