Even when she’d believed herself in love with Carl, he hadn’t affected her like this—such a strong physical tug that inspired lustful thoughts. Sex with Carl had been more a natural progression of romance, not some primitive form of sheer wantonness that kept pleading for connection, eroding the common sense she had to hang onto.
She knew Ethan Cartwright was too much of a high flyer to ever consider her as a possible wife. She wasn’t beautiful. She had no outstanding talent to lift her above her very ordinary background. Her circumstances were such that she was no match for him on any level, and no match meant no serious relationship.
Playing with her…that was something altogether different. She strongly suspected he enjoyed doing that already and wanted to push it further, but since Daisy couldn’t see herself becoming the main event in his life, pride wouldn’t allow her to fall into the role of a bit on the side, not even for the satisfaction of knowing what it would be like to have an intimate connection with him.
Most likely this was a case of her being on the spot and him not having chosen another sexual partner since breaking up with his fiancée. He probably viewed her as a nice little tonic for his hurt pride—a good dose and he’d feel on top of his world again. Which would make Daisy just another feather stuffed in his winner’s cap. Her self-esteem insisted she was worth more than that. She’d been used once. She wasn’t going to be used again. Despite the fact that Ethan Cartwright left Carl for dead in the attraction stakes.#p#分页标题#e#
As she rang the doorbell on Thursday morning of the third week of working for him, Daisy was thinking she had to find a new job. Fast. With a boss who didn’t agitate her so physically and make her dream impossible dreams.
The door opened and she was confronted by another strong blast of sex appeal, though at least it was encased—enhanced?—by a superbly tailored business suit. ‘Ah, Daisy!’ Ethan Cartwright rolled out in his rich voice. ‘I have a special task for you today.’
The twinkling anticipation in his gorgeous green eyes made her heart flutter. She had difficulty catching enough breath to produce a querying ‘Oh?’
He flashed a teasing grin. ‘You’re so good at leaving me lists of things to note, I thought you’d appreciate getting a list from me. It’s in the kitchen. Come on in.’
He set off down the hallway and she followed him at a safe distance, fiercely telling herself not to get besotted by a silly grin. Despite this stern resolve, her stomach was mush and her pulse was pounding at her temples so distractingly her mind barely registered the words he tossed back at her.
‘You know the tennis court people and the guys who’ve done such a great job with the swimming pool…’ he cast a sparkling glance back at her ‘…with your eagle eye upon them will all be finishing up tomorrow.’
She nodded.
‘Well, I thought I’d give them a barbecue lunch in appreciation of the fine work they’ve done,’ he continued cheerfully. ‘Send them off with good feelings so they’ll be happy to return if any problem arises.’
‘You want me to do it?’ Daisy asked, not expecting him to be on hand during the day.
‘No. I want you to shop for it today and help me with the preparation tomorrow morning. I’ll do the cooking.’
Surprise tripped her into saying, ‘You’re going to feed a group of tradesmen yourself?’
He paused at the kitchen doorway, shooting her a quizzical look. ‘Why not?’
She almost bumped into him. Heat flooded into her cheeks as she reared back a step, wishing she could evade the riveting intensity of his eyes, but determined not to appear even more disturbed by him than she had already revealed. Since it was impossible to voice her assumption that he wouldn’t mix socially with ordinary people when he obviously planned to, she had to come up with something else.
‘I thought you’d be occupied with your important clients.’
He lifted a hand, featherlight fingertips grazing her hot skin. ‘Everyone is important, Daisy,’ he said softly, his eyes smiling at her confusion. ‘And I believe in rewarding good work.’
Her heart was thundering. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the caring in his, or her face away from his mesmerising touch. She liked him. She really, really liked him. And she wanted…but she couldn’t let herself want that.
‘Right!’ she managed to mutter.
For a long, long, moment he said nothing. Her toes curled with tension. Her mind whirled with dangerous possibilities. What if he stepped forward and kissed her? What would she feel? The terrible part was she didn’t want to resist if he did make the move and that could land her in all sorts of trouble.