Beguiling the Boss(10)

"I don't mind you taking care of lunch at all," Jen replied, trying to  sound as normal as possible though being close to him was making her  body vibrate with the need to kiss him again. "I think I'll have a  grilled cheese sandwich with my soup. Would you like one, too?"

"Sure." He gave a shadow of a smile. "Thanks." Marsh seemed as cool as  could be. Obviously that kiss hadn't had half the effect on him that it  had had on her.

Concentrating on the job at hand, she removed the bread from the  cabinet. The faint sizzle that was still running laps up and down her  spine slowly began to ease as she got to work-until she couldn't help  but look over at Marsh, and found him looking right back at her with  that impenetrable silver gaze.

Jen felt it all the way down to her toes.

She was in deep, deep trouble.





     Four

"How many horses do you have?" Oh, how brilliant, she thought.

"Six," he answered.

"Do...er...you take care of them yourself?" Again, brilliant, she chastised herself.

Was the slight smile he gave her holding a tinge of ridicule or was it pity?

"No," he said. "Ted, a retired wrangler, cares for them. If you want to ride, see him. Whenever you're free."

"Oh, I see, thank you."

"Any other questions of the equine variety?" he asked, that smile twitching his lips.

Of course the twitch drew her attention to his mouth, which made her suddenly warm with memories of his kiss.

She wet her lips.

His gaze zeroed in on her mouth.

She grew warmer.

"No." Her voice was subdued.

They ate the rest of their meal in absolute silence.

"Coffee?" Marsh finally said.

"I'll get it." Jumping up, Jen went to fill two mugs with the steaming  aromatic brew. He chuckled at her, that attractive masculine sound  making her ache all over even as it annoyed her-he clearly felt he had  the upper hand. She decided to throw him a curveball, just to see how  he'd react.                       
       
           



       

"My mother called me last evening."

"That's nice."

"Well, actually it wasn't very pleasant," she admitted.

"Problems on the home front?"

"Yes," she said, eyeing him carefully. "My parents are having a problem with my living alone in this house with you."

He laughed outright.

Jen's insides went all soft at the sound. "You find that amusing?"  Well, it was pretty funny. Her mother and father, of all people. Of  course, he was unaware of that nasty situation.

"My reputation precedes me," he said, his laughter fading. "I hope you assured her you're safe here."

Without pausing to think, Jen said, "Am I?"

"I assume you're referring to that kiss earlier." His tone was dry.

"Yes," she answered, meeting his steady gaze with a challenging stare.

"There was a reason for it," he said, suddenly all business.

"What reason?" Jen couldn't imagine what he was referring to.

"It was a test." His silvery gaze held her in confused thrall.

She frowned. "I don't understand."

"I want a child, an heir-better yet two."

He spoke so calmly, Jen was stumped for a moment. When his meaning sunk in, she actually yelped. "What?"

"Oh, don't be alarmed, you passed."

"What do you mean, I passed?"

"The kiss test," he said. "You passed with flying colors."

"I still don't get it. What is a ‘kiss test,' and what does it have to do with heirs?"

"I've decided you'd make not only a good lover but a good wife and  mother," he explained casually. "Of course there's more to good sex than  a great kiss."

Jen was flabbergasted. Her throat had gone so dry she had to pause to  swallow. "Are you proposing to me...or propositioning me?"

He gave her a wicked smile, his silver eyes shimmering. "Both."

Jen glanced around the room as if seeking help. Finding none, she  picked up her mug, unsure whether she wanted to drink from it or throw  it at him. "This is insane."

"What's insane about wanting a child?" He stood, and came to lean against her side of the table. He was close-too close.

Jen had to raise her head to look at him. "Nothing," she said. "It's your way of going about it that's strange. Now back up."

"What?" He frowned.

"I said back up." Jen's tone was more order than request. "I want to  stand up." He obliged, and she stood and turned but he caught her arm,  bringing her to a halt.

"I'd much rather we go upstairs and test our physical compatibility."

Jen stared at him a moment as she would a being from another planet,  torn between wanting to shut him down-and wanting to go upstairs with  him so she could have his mouth on hers again. Finally she asked, "Are  you nuts?"

Rather than the anger she expected, Marsh treated her to his insides-melting laugh.

"I like you," he said. "You're as prickly as I am. I believe we could make a go of it."

"Of what? A marriage of convenience?" Jen somehow managed to keep her voice calm.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Whose?"

"What do you mean, whose?" He appeared perplexed.

"My convenience...or yours?" She lost the battle for control of her  voice. "Are you looking for a ‘me Tarzan, you Jane' kind of  arrangement?" She gave a quick, firm shake of her head. "No, thank you."

She pulled her arm from his to walk away. He grabbed her again.

"Damn you, let me go." She yanked her arm only to almost fall as he  released her at the same instant. Reacting at once, he caught and  steadied her.

"I'm sorry, was I hurting you?" His expression held genuine concern.

Jen drew a deep breath before answering. "No, but you're ticking me off  big-time." She took another quick breath. "Now, like it or not, I am  going to do some work." She glared at him. "Got that?"

She could tell he held back another laugh. "Yes, I think I've got that."

"Good." She studied him for a second. Damn, why did those lips, that  mouth, those hands make her so crazy? And why did those very attributes  tempt her to agree to his outrageous suggestion? "Please," she said,  cringing at the near plea in her voice, "go somewhere, anywhere but  here. I don't need an audience to clean."

With that, she strode to the laundry room, dumped the first load of  wash from the washer into the dryer and got her cleaning supplies from  the storage closet. A combined sigh of relief and regret whispered  through her lips as she walked back into the kitchen to find he wasn't  there.                       
       
           



       

She came to a dead stop when she found him waiting for her in the living room.

Eyeing him warily, she arched one brow.

"First, I am not looking for a ‘me Tarzan, you Jane' relationship." He  took a step closer to her and stared down at her. She felt her face  flush against her will. "What I'm looking for-"

Jen knew she couldn't let him finish that sentence.

Dropping the cleaning products where she stood, she headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Out," she called back, taking the stairs two at a time to get away  from Marsh Grainger and his too-tempting proposition as fast as she  could.





     Five

"The hell with it," Marsh muttered as he strode through the house, seeking refuge in his office.

Dammit, the woman was driving him crazy. Was she coming back for  dinner? Was she coming back at all? For an instant Marsh felt his  stomach tighten at the idea of her leaving for good.

She was great at her job-all her jobs. He couldn't afford to lose her.

What had he done?

He sighed. He had spooked her by jumping the gun with his "test kiss"  business. Well, in all honesty, he had startled himself, as well. He had  never been the impulsive type. But ever since she'd walked into his  life, he'd been doing nothing but acting on impulse. The idea of the two  of them getting together on a permanent basis had been brewing at the  back of his mind for days-and getting stronger with every touch, every  conversation.

Why not? he had asked himself. She obviously wasn't involved with any  other man, seeing as how she never mentioned anyone and hadn't left the  house except to go shopping since she had started working for him.

Still, he probably should have given the idea more thought, given her  more time to get to know him, which was his reason for inviting her to  ride with him that morning in the first place.

And why was he beating himself up like this? It was so...so not like him.

Facing the bare truth, Marsh admitted he was burning to be with her, to  make love to her. He had been observing her from the very beginning.  Along with a growing respect for her, along with the feelings he  experienced listening to her sing softly while she was working... He had  entered the house from the stable one very warm Saturday afternoon and  stopped in his tracks as he passed through the dining room. Hot and  sweaty, he had stood there, transfixed by the sight of Jen getting out  of the pool, water sluicing the length of her slender body barely  covered by a string bikini.