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neutral. “You can’t walk. You
need someone to take care of you.”
    He stood up. “Stay here. I won’t be long.” With that he
disappeared back into his office.
    Beth sighed. She wasn’t used to being taken care of like
this. A solitary tear trickled down her cheek and she swiped it away with the
back of her hand. Now she was just feeling sorry for herself. She had her bus
pass, it was in the same pocket as her keys and she was sure she could get to the
bus stop.
    She slipped her feet back into her shoes, wincing when it
came to the right one, then stood up somewhat gingerly, taking her weight on
her left foot.
    Her brief cry of pain and collapse back onto her chair were
timed beautifully for Adam emerging from his office. He was pulling on his suit
jacket. The shirt was buttoned now, although he had left it undone at the
collar and his tie was looped loosely around his neck.
    “What the hell…? Beth, for once in your life, will you stop
being so bloody stubborn and independent and let me take care of you? You’re
staying with me tonight and that’s final! And stop bloody apologizing!”
    The words died on her lips. How had he known what she was
about to do?
    “Take these.” He held out his keys—office, car and she presumed,
the keys to his apartment. “I need you to lock up—I’ll have my hands full.” And
with that he slipped one arm under her legs and the other around her back.
Automatically, her arms went around his neck.
    With her face inches from his, Beth almost stopped
breathing. Her senses were overwhelmed by the feel of his arms around her,
holding her effortlessly to his chest, the clean, masculine scent of him. And
then all the visuals—dark eyes framed by thick, black lashes that women would
kill for, clear skin stretched taut over cheekbones that would challenge the
skill of a master sculptor and the rugged hint of five o’clock shadow clinging
to the firm lines of his jaw.
    And his mouth. What she would give to be the woman entitled
place a gentle kiss to those lips…
    The office secured for the weekend, they rode in the lift
down to the basement car park. Beth expected Adam to let her down while they
were in the lift but she remained securely in his arms. Neither of them spoke,
but to Beth it felt like there was a whole subtext going on. It had to be her
imagination working overtime, painting Adam into the role of the Dom in her
manuscript again.
    At this time on a Friday night it wasn’t surprising to see
only a handful of cars there. Adam installed her in the passenger seat of his
black Aston Martin and moments later the car’s powerful engine roared into
life, taking them out of the subterranean cavern and into the bright lights of
London.

Chapter Three
     
    There was something surreal about travelling through the
bright lights of the city, in a breathtaking car driven by an equally breathtaking
man, so it was hardly surprising that Beth’s mind was a million miles away in a
secret place that was warm, dark and intimate—and she’d taken that man with
her.
    In the darkness her imagination was in danger of running
wild. No one could see the way she moistened her suddenly dry lips or the way
her expression changed with what was going on in her mind.
    The journey didn’t last long. An expert driver, Adam guided
the expensive car through the traffic with cool confidence, heading for an
equally expensive part of town. She stole the occasional glance at his hands on
the steering wheel and the gear stick, picturing those hands on her own body,
his touch arousing her and giving her pleasure such as she’d never experienced.
The effort to drag herself back to reality required a huge intake of breath
that finally broke the silence.
    “Are you all right, Beth?”
    Not trusting herself to speak coherently, she nodded, then realized
he probably wouldn’t be able to register such a response in the darkness. She
had to speak. “Fine, thanks.” How did she manage to sound so relatively