I shifted uneasily, glancing around to make sure there was no one close enough to overhear. "I am with my grandfather, but he can't acknowledge me publicly. No one in the family knows he and I are in contact. It would cause problems."

Caine looked past me to where my grandparents had departed. "Yet another reason you shouldn't be here."

His rejection on top of my grandfather's was too much. I took a step toward him and I saw something flicker in his gaze. I wanted to hiss and insult him and make him feel as bad as I felt right then ... but as I stared up into those dark eyes I slumped with disappointment.

I shook my head, words failing me, and I pushed past him, hurrying to Henry's side.

"You okay?" Henry frowned when I reached him.

My cheeks flushed with anger and wounded pride. "I'm fine."

"Do you want to get some air?"

No, I wouldn't be chased from the ballroom by Caine's insensitivity and determination to make me feel unwelcome. "Let's just dance, okay?"

Henry led me onto the dance floor and expertly maneuvered me into the slow dance. He held me close but not too close, and I knew without a doubt that Henry and I were just friends. When a guy danced with you and held you, you were supposed to feel tingles and butterflies and go all melty inside. I just felt comfortable with Henry. I guess that was nice in its own way.

"He has spent most of the night scowling and brooding and ignoring his date," Henry murmured suddenly, obviously talking about Caine. "Last time I saw Marina she was flirting with Governor Cox."

I wrinkled my nose. "Isn't he married?" And why, oh, why, would you flirt with Governor Cox when Caine Carraway was your date?

"Yup, but his wife is flirting with Mitchell Montgomery."

"The toilet paper guy?"

"The one and only. Although we have a different name for him in our circle."

"And that would be?"

"The Asswipe."

I burst out giggling at the hilariously childish moniker. "How fitting."

Henry grinned. "What it lacks in sophistication it makes up for in entertainment."

I leaned into him, laughing harder.

"Sorry to interrupt." Suddenly Caine was there, towering over us both. He fairly bristled with impatience. "I need Alexa."

"What for?" My momentary amusement was gone.

"That was Arnold. He's got a colleague in Sydney on the phone, and it's important I take this conference call. We need to get to the office."

"We?" I shook my head. "Do you really need me for this?"

He bent his head toward mine, thunderclouds in his eyes. "I will need coffee and assistance for whatever else might be needed this evening. That's what I pay you to do. To assist me."

I could not believe it!

Was he kidding me with this crap?

I glanced back at Henry to apologize, only to find him wearing this weird, triumphant little smirk on his face. He quickly smoothed his expression. "I'm sorry to have to leave you," I said, eyeing him in confusion.

He further confused me by shrugging nonchalantly. "When work calls you've got to go."

I decided to ignore his weirdness for now. I could only deal with one puzzling man at a time. "Thank you for understanding." I kissed his smooth cheek. "And for a lovely evening."

He gave my hip a squeeze. "You're very welcome, beautiful. Thanks for classing up the place."

I laughed, my amusement dying another quick death when the impatient Caine whirled around and strode through the dance floor. I gathered my own worn-out patience before hurrying after him.

CHAPTER 9.

The atmosphere between us was fraught to say the least as the limo driver took us back into Boston, heading for the financial district.

Caine obviously wasn't in the mood to chat and I definitely wasn't either after the way he'd treated me this entire week. His behavior had gone from being overbearingly bossy to downright insulting.

We made it to the office without uttering a word to each other. I tried to keep up with his long strides, but I was struggling in my heels and long dress.

I drew to a halt outside Caine's office. The entire floor was empty.

No Arnold.

Nobody.

Caine unlocked his door, flicking on lights as he strode inside his office. I followed him in.

He turned and looked at me blankly. "It appears I missed it. I'll take you home."

Uh ... what? I held my hand up, palm facing out to stop him. I gestured around the room, my agitation mounting. "Where is Arnold? Where is this conference call?"

He shrugged. "Obviously I missed it and Arnold locked up."

"Without calling you?" I asked, incredulous.

He shrugged again. "Let me take you home."

"Did you lie? Did you lie to get me out of that party?"

"I don't lie," Caine said, sounding affronted. "I manipulate. It's how I got rich. Now let me take you home."

No. We weren't going anywhere until I got to the bottom of this. It felt like I had fire in my blood, I was that angry with him. Suddenly I didn't care if he fired me. "You lied to get me out of a party and away from my date. Are you that much of a snob?"

"It wasn't about that," he snapped, his eyes sparking with his ire. "I didn't want you there and I made that clear. When I want something a certain way I get it. I thought I'd also made that clear by now."

"You son of a bitch!" I shouted, losing all cool. "All week you've made me feel like I'm nothing, like I'm worthless. And now this crap!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Monday afternoon. Henry came to your office and you forgot to switch off the speakerphone."

The air around him crackled dangerously. "You were eavesdropping?"

I flushed. "I was going to tell you, but then I heard ... Henry started talking about me and it's only natural to listen in to a conversation about yourself," I argued. "And you were beyond insulting."

His expression cleared. "Is that why you said yes to Henry? To piss me off?"

"I said yes because he was complimentary. And yes, I have to admit to getting some satisfaction out of irritating you since it was so clear you think I'm beneath you."

His nostrils flared. "Bullshit."

I blinked rapidly at the denial. "Seriously? You've been treating me badly all week. Not to mention how you were tonight? You're not a stupid man, Caine, so you had to know I was hurt when my grandfather chose to ignore me, and you just dug the knife in deeper. You're never going to see me for me, are you?" I clenched my hands into fists. "You're just going to wound me and humiliate me. You're determined to make me pay for what he did." At his silence my anger increased. "Aren't you!" I yelled.

Suddenly my back hit the wall behind me as Caine moved me there, caging me in as he crowded me against it, his hands pressed to the wall above my head. Emotion blazed from his eyes. "I don't think you're beneath me," he hissed.

The surprise of finding myself barricaded in by him had knocked my attitude down a few levels. "Then why were you cruel?" I whispered.

Remorse flickered in his eyes. "I didn't mean ... I just didn't want you there. With him."

And the shocks just kept coming.

I sucked in my breath and then slowly exhaled. It isn't possible ... I didn't think so, but ... I took in the aspect of his dark gaze that hinted at another emotion besides anger. "You're jealous?"

The muscle in Caine's jaw flexed.

My heart started to slam against my ribs and I couldn't seem to get control of my rapidly increasing breathing. With our eyes locked, our bodies touching, the heat around us blazing off the charts, I forgot where we were. I forgot everything but him.

"Cai-"

He crushed his mouth over mine, swallowing my gasp of shock and excitement. His cologne, the heat of his skin, and the taste of him, hot and sharp ... it all overwhelmed me as he gripped the back of my neck with one hand and slid the other down my stomach ... He smoothed it down my hip and under my thigh.

Realizing his intent, I kissed him back harder and clung to him, my fingers digging into his back, as he tugged my thigh up so he could press deeper between my legs. My lips parted on a whimper of lust and triumph. Caine growled. The sound caused a ripple of arousal in my lower belly and I pushed into him.

His hand tightened around my neck and he groaned again, the vibration of it causing more heat to shoot through me, tugging at my nipples, melting through my belly, and exploding between my legs in a burst of needy tingles. His kiss grew more demanding, long, drugging kisses that muddled my head and took me with him to somewhere else entirely. We were panting and pulling at each other's mouths like we couldn't get deep enough. Caine crushed me harder against the wall, grinding his erection against me. My belly squeezed again, and it occurred to me I'd never been this turned on from just kissing someone in my life.

It was him.

I slid my hands up his back and over his shoulders, my fingers sinking into his hair as I silently begged for more, for harder, for deeper ... for everything.

From him.

Caine released his hold on my neck only to trail his fingers along my collarbone. As he skimmed his fingertips slowly over the silk of my dress, shivers cascaded down my spine, giving me goose bumps and causing my nipples to peak against the fabric of my dress. His thumb brushed lightly over my breast and stilled at the evidence of my arousal.

He broke the kiss, pulling back only an inch to gaze into my eyes. His lashes were low-lidded with lust as he studied me. I held his heated gaze, my lips swollen and stinging, my whole body taut with need.

Caine slowly lowered my leg and for a few awful seconds I wondered if that was it.

"Take off the dress."

His voice was thick with need, but still there was authority in it-bossiness.

Turned out in the right situation, Caine being bossy was less annoying and actually very, very hot.

Slowly, I let go of him, and still holding his gaze, I reached behind my neck for the crystal clasp on the halter.

Caine took a few steps back, allowing cool air to rush in around me.

I'd undressed for boyfriends before. It wasn't something I'd ever been shy about, because unlike most of my friends I didn't really have any body hang-ups. But it was different standing in front of Caine, preparing to bare myself to him. For some reason it didn't just feel like I was taking off a dress. It felt like I was letting him see me naked.

And there was a difference.

I hesitated, my fingers fumbling on the clasp.

Caine saw it. His answer was to tug at the bow tie around his neck. I watched him as he removed it and then he began to shrug out of his jacket. As he started unbuttoning his shirt, he said in a low, deep voice that made me pop the clasp, "I fantasize about fucking you in this office a hundred times a day."

His confession made me breathless.

I'd wondered if he was attracted to me, but I never thought he'd admit it or act on it.

But to know he was as attracted to me as I was to him ... well, that made me brave again.

I pulled the halter of the dress down and watched Caine's eyes grow impossibly black with heat as I bared my breasts to him. My nipples pebbled under the kiss of the cool air, and gaining my confidence, I tugged down the dress and shimmied out of it. I lifted it up off the floor and draped it across the back of the sofa. Caine's gaze devoured every inch of me.

I was left in only my jewelry, my underwear and my heels.

I curled my fingers into my panties.

"Stop." Caine took a step toward me and I let my own gaze eat him up. His shirt was completely unbuttoned, revealing a sliver of his tan skin and hard abs. "Leave them on. Sit on my desk." He moved aside of it, leaving me a clear path.

He could hear how breathless I was when I asked, "Are you this bossy with all your women?"

Caine grinned, a wicked full-on smile that made my heart palpitate. "No, you just bring it out in me."

I smiled back. "You're saying you have a thing for bossing me around?"

"Just like you have a thing for being a smart-ass. Now sit on my desk and spread your legs."

My whole body zinged with anticipation and I released a hitched breath.

Caine's eyes gleamed at my response.