shirt popped open. "Sleeping with me is not part of your job description."
"I hardly expected it would be." Amanda heaved a silent sigh of relief. That statement had been clear enough. If she felt a twinge of disappointment, she masked it. His familiarity hadn’t meant anything. Big deal. She hadn’t taken this job to find a boyfriend.
She had to be careful not to offend him, though. She had to remember that he was the boss.
He stopped in front of her, crowding her. The relaxation of his attire hadn’t subdued his magnetism. His high-planed cheekbones, well-defined jaw and slash of black eyebrows still marked him as a strong, damnably attractive man. She could smell him, his faint, spicy cologne overlaid on a trace of soap.
"May I help you off with your jacket?" He touched her shoulder. "You don't look comfortable."
She stepped away from him. "You shouldn’t make personal comments." Why did she feel and sound like a maiden aunt? "Though I know we’ll be working together closely, I expect both of us to maintain a professional attitude."
"A professional attitude," he repeated. He placed his drink down on the glass dining table beside her, and the little clinking sound chimed like a warning bell. He began rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.
Amanda stared at him. She could tell his actions were automatic, but they still made her uneasy.
There were only two possibilities here. Either her vivid imagination had run away with her, drawing a scenario of sexual attraction where none existed. Or, she stood in danger of succumbing to the dangerous appeal of this man, a course of action which would jeopardize everything she intended to achieve. Either way, she could only lose if she didn’t keep her wits about her.
"I intend to perform this job to the best of my ability," she said. "As I told you before."
"You take an unusual amount of pride in your…ah, profession."
Her back stiffened. "I work hard."
His lips twitched. "Don’t worry about my ego."
She barely restrained a snort. He had enough ego for ten men. "The agency told me you were a demanding boss." Let his ego take that.
Surprise flitted across his face. "I suppose that’s true." He smiled at her. "Though I save the rough stuff for my business adversaries."
"I don’t mind a tough boss. You warned me that this was a job, nothing more."
"I have every intention of treating you with respect. So forget the tough boss routine."
"What do you mean?" Now she was surprised.
He took a step toward her. "I’d prefer to show you what I mean."
She froze in bewildered shock as he folded his arms around her. He bent his head, and before she knew what he meant to do, he touched his lips to hers. Just a soft, warm brush of his mouth over hers. Nothing threatening at all. If she didn’t count the buzz that ran over every one of her nerves.
"Logan!" She tried to step back, but his arms didn't release her.
Instead, he reached up and massaged the back of her neck. Pleasure sizzled over her skin and she dropped her shoulders to allow him more access. Oh, that felt good.
His long fingers explored an inch or two down into the back of her blouse. "You’re very tense," he said. "It will be better for you if you can relax."
"I don’t need to relax." She needed to breathe. Before she collapsed at his feet, and he got the wrong idea about how he made her feel. Because this wasn't right.
He didn’t seem to be getting the same message.
"I told the agency I wanted someone different," he said, licking the edge of her mouth with his hot tongue. "But I didn’t expect them to be so successful." He angled his head and kissed her neck.
"I hardly think the agency had anything to do with this."
"Mmmm." He dropped another light kiss on her mouth. "Physical attraction is hard to predict."
"I’m not attracted to you!" Her breath strangled in her throat as she fought a moan. His hands were very close now to the undersides of her breasts.
"Are you sure about that?"
His tongue licked her lips and her mouth fell open, without any decision on her part. He swept in, and this time he kissed her hard. So hard she had to kiss him back. So hard that their tongues couldn't avoid tangling. So hard that it was only natural for his arms to sweep around her and crush her to him.
She tasted whiskey on his tongue, smelled heat on his