voice and cringed, wishing she didn’t sound so insecure and jealous.
“No. You have a different position entirely.”
She licked her lips nervously, wondering what she’d done wrong. Why had he hired a secretary. Wasn’t that her position now? “I don’t understand.”
Dimitri smothered a smile and knew he would have to explain this carefully. He couldn’t reveal his plans for her until he had her away from the London office. He suspected that she was going to rebel and climb back into her shell. He didn’t know why, but Helen had a very precarious self-esteem and he wanted to protect her feelings and her growing confidence in herself as a woman.
As it was, he was having a very hard time controlling his raging libido with her new wardrobe. Helen had taken to wearing tighter, shorter skirts in lighter, more feminine colors that were very sophisticated and shoes with slender, sexy heels. Today’s little floaty number was a complete deviation from the norm but he liked it just as much as the slim fitting skirts. Hell, there wasn’t much about Helen he didn’t like, he knew.
Her shirts were made of soft, silky material or sweaters that clung to her voluptuous curves. All of which he was aching to touch and not just because the clothes revealed her figure more prominently. Just a few more days, and his plan would be put into place he reminded himself.
“So how about that dinner? Go get your purse and I’ll take you out.”
Helen shook her head nervously. “You don’t have to do that,” she instantly replied.
“Of course I do. How are you going to know what your responsibilities are going to be if I don’t tell you more about the job? But right now, I’m hungry and you haven’t eaten since that half sandwich you ate for lunch so we’re going out. Get your purse and shut down your computer. Don’t bring anything home to work on either,” he warned.
Helen nodded her head efficiently and walked out to shut everything down. She picked up a notebook despite his claim that she shouldn’t bring any work home with her. She’d just take notes during dinner, she thought, and then tonight she could mull over her new duties and figure out how to get them organized in her mind.
Dinner that evening was delicious but they didn’t talk about her job at all. Instead, he made her laugh by telling her silly stories about the people in the Athens office. She ate more than she needed to and by the time the raspberry tort with thick cream was devoured, she was feeling very content.
“Thank you very much for dinner,” she said softly as he walked her to her door.
Dimitri stared down into her soft, smiling features and wished he could bend down and kiss her full lips that were sweetly parted. She wanted him to kiss her. He could sense it just as thoroughly as he knew that he was a male and she a female. It was in the air and the tense moment spread out. Somehow, Dimitri wasn’t sure where he found the energy, but he managed to resist the temptation. That would be bad, he reminded himself. Because once he started kissing her, he didn’t intend to stop. And knowing that her pretty bed in the soft yellow room was only a few feet away, he had to step back quickly or be tempted to pull her into his arms.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Helen. We’ll celebrate your last day in London with a shopping spree, okay?”
“Oh, no need!” she said quickly, forcing her mind to back away from the fantasy of having this gorgeous man kiss her and show her what sex was all about. For a moment, she’d forgotten that he was her boss and she would be starting a new job with bigger responsibilities in just a few hours. It was humiliating to think that he might be able to see the desire on her face but she was grateful for the dim light overhead. “I’ve already purchased everything I’ll need for Greece. Besides, I have to go over the details of my job to my replacement who is arriving tomorrow morning. I hope you’ll like her,” she said as professionally as she could.
Dimitri sighed. One more day, he reminded himself. There would be no more work she could hide behind and she’d just have to face up to what she felt for him and let him show her what he felt in