‘I’m aware of what my job description is. But, if we’re being pedantic, you’re not part of the crew either. And yet here you are.’
Sakis felt a shake of surprise. In all her time with him, she’d never raised her voice or shown signs of feminine ire. But in the last few minutes, he’d seen intense emotion ream over her face and through her voice. Right now, Sakis had the distinct feeling she was extremely displeased with his directive. A small spurt of masochistic pleasure fizzed through him at the thought that he’d unruffled the unflappable Miss Moneypenny.
‘I’m the boss. I have the luxury of doing whatever the hell I want,’ he said softly, his gaze raking her face, secretly eager for further animated reaction.
What he got was unexpected. Her shoulders slumped and she shrugged. ‘Of course. But, just in case you’re worried about the corporate risks, I signed a waiver before coming aboard. So you’ll suffer no liability if anything happens to me.’
Irritation returned, bit deeper. ‘I don’t give a damn about personal liability or corporate risks. What I do give a damn about is your ability to function properly tomorrow if you don’t get enough sleep. You’ve been up for over eighteen hours. So, unless you have super powers I’m not aware of, put that hose down and get down here.’ He held out a hand, unwilling to examine this almost clawing need to take care of her.
She didn’t put the hose down. Instead she handed it over to a salvage crew member. Finally, she faced Sakis.
‘Fine. You win.’ Again he saw the tiniest mutinous set to her lips and wondered why that little action pleased him so much.
He was tired; he must be hallucinating. He certainly wasn’t thinking straight if the thought of getting under his executive assistant’s skin held so much of his interest.
She swung long, slim legs over the side of the boat and dropped into the dinghy. The movement made the vessel sway. She swayed with it, and threw out a hand to steady herself as Sakis turned.
Her torso bumped his arm and her hand landed on his shoulder as she tried to find her feet. His arm snagged her waist, encountered firm, warm muscle beneath his fingers.
Heat punched through his chest and arrowed straight for his groin.
‘Stasi!’
‘I...I’m sorry,’ she stammered, pulling away with a skittishness very unlike her.
‘No harm done,’ he murmured. But Sakis wasn’t so hot on that reassurance. Harm was being done to his insides. Heat continued to ravage him, firing sensations he sure as hell didn’t want fired up. And especially not with his PA.
A quick glance showed she’d retreated to the farthest part of the small dinghy with her arms crossed primly around her middle and her face averted from his. He tried not to let his gaze drop to her plump breasts...but, Theos, it was hard not to notice their tempting fullness.
With a muttered curse, his hand tightened on the rudder of the dinghy and steered it towards shore.
This time she didn’t refuse his offer of help when they stepped into the shallow water. After making sure the vessel was secure, he followed her onto the floodlit beach.
When he neared, he caught another glimpse of distress on her face.
‘What’s wrong? Why were you on the salvage boat? And, before you trot out “nothing”, I’d advise you not to insult my intelligence.’
He saw her hesitate, then shove her hands into her pockets. This time, he couldn’t stop himself from staring at her chest. Thankfully, she didn’t notice because her gaze wasn’t on him.
‘I was talking to the some of the locals earlier. This cove was a special place for them, a sanctuary. I...I felt bad about what’s happened.’
Guilt lanced through him. But, more than that, the rare glimpse into Brianna Moneypenny’s human side intrigued him more than ever. ‘I’ll make sure it’s returned to them as pristine as it once was.’
Her gaze flew up and connected with his, surprise and pleasure reflected in her eyes. ‘That’s good. It’s not nice when your sanctuary is ripped away from you.’ The pain accompanying those words made him frown. Before he could probe deeper, she stepped back. ‘Anyway, I assured them you would make it right.’
‘Thank you.’
She started to walk towards the fleet of four-wheelers a short distance away. Their driver stood next to the first one.
‘I reserved a suite for you at the Noire. Your case was taken there a few hours ago and your laptop and phones are in the jeep. I’ll see you in the morning, Mr Pantelides,’ she tagged on.
Sakis froze. ‘You’ll see me in the morning? Aren’t you coming with me?’
‘No,’ she said.
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’m not staying at the hotel.’
‘Where exactly are you staying?’
She indicated the double row of yellow tents set up further up on the beach, away from the bustle of the clean-up work.
‘I’ve secured a tent and put my stuff in there.’
‘What’s wrong with staying at the same hotel I’m staying in?’
‘Nothing, except they didn’t have any more rooms. The suite I reserved for you was the last one. The other hotels are too far away to make the commute efficient.’
Sakis shook his head. ‘You’ve been on your feet all day with barely a break— Don’t argue with me, Moneypenny,’ He raised a hand when she started to speak. ‘You’re not sleeping in a flimsy tent on the beach with machines blasting away all around you. Go and get your things.’
‘I assure you, it’s more than adequate.’
‘No. You say I have a suite?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then there is no reason why we can’t share it.’
‘I would rather not, Mr Pantelides.’
The outright refusal shocked and annoyed him in equal measures. Also another first from Brianna Moneypenny was the fact that she wasn’t quite meeting his gaze. ‘Why would you rather not?’
She hesitated.
‘Look at me, Moneypenny,’ he commanded.
Blue eyes... No, they weren’t quite blue. They were a shade of aquamarine, wide, lushly lashed and beautiful...and they met his in frank challenge. ‘Your room is a single suite with one double bed. It’s not suitable for two, um, professionals, and I’d rather not have to share my personal space.’
Sakis thought of the countless women who would jump at the chance to share ‘personal space’ with him.
He thought of all the women who would kill to share a double bed with him.
Then he thought of why he was here, in this place: with his oil contaminating a once incredibly beautiful beach; his crew missing; and the tabloid press just waiting for him to slip up, to show them that the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree.
The sick feeling that he’d forced down but never quite suppressed enough threatened to rise again. It was the same mingled despair and anger he’d felt when Theo had been taken. The same sense of helplessness when he’d been unable to do anything to stop his mother fading away before his eyes, her pain raw and wrenching after what his father and the media had done to her.
‘I don’t give a damn about your personal space. What I do give a damn about is your ability to fire on all cylinders. We discussed this—you being up to standing by me in this situation we find ourselves in. You assured me you were up to the task. And yet, for the last ten minutes, you’ve shown