Ruthless boss boyxboy

Chapter 7

As soon as their dinners had been cleared-beef fillet and truffle-studded potatoes- Cormac turned brisk and businesslike.

After the few terrifying moments when he'd been so soft, so seductive, Li was grateful for the change.

Brisk he could handle. Businesslike he could do.

"So..." Cormac turned to him. The flight attendant had left them with a pot of coffee, two delicate cups and a plate of petit fours. Cormac pushed the sweets aside and took a sip of strong black coffee. He hadn't touched any alcohol during dinner, Li had noticed, and he'd eaten lightly, despite the many rich offerings.

He was, Li realised, a man of incredible restraint. Control. Which made what had happened before- the teasing, tempting breath of a kiss- all the more worrisome. Cormac was just flirting with hi,, teasing him as a form of amusement. Intimidation. Cormac had obviously seen how affected he was, just as he'd realised how affected Cormac wasn't.

"We need to get our stories straight," Cormac said now. He took a sip of coffee before reaching for some papers from his attaché case. "If you're telling my family we met at a wine bar and I say we met at work..." he glanced up briefly, eyes lighting with rare humour "...even the most trusting saints would start to wonder."

Li nodded. He stirred a spoonful of sugar into his coffee and thought of the silly films she'd seen where just that scenario had occurred. Then had it been funny; now it was frightening. No matter how exciting it might be, they both still had so much to lose.

"You've thought of a story?" Li asked, nodding at the papers.

"Best to keep to the truth as much as possible. Then we're less likely to trip ourselves up. Now, the facts." He gave Li a glimmer of a smile before he began the recitation. "We've been dating for three months now. You've always worked for me, and one day..."

Suddenly Li couldnt help himself. It was agame and he wanted to play. Flirt, even if just dor pretend. He wanted to have fun. To seize life. "One day," he interrupted, smiling with coy promise, "I walked into your office with some letters for you to sign and you just *realised*."

Cormac glanced at him eyebrows raised in amused query.

"You looked into my eyes..." Li leaned forward and fluttered his lashes "...and realised that your life had been so cold, so empty, so meaningless without me. Didn't you?"

"It was so sudden, of course. I never thought my seemingly heterosexual boss would be interested in me for one second...But you insisted on taking me out to dinner, and the rest..." he ran his fingers along Cormac's cheek, giving a little laugh, "...is history. Isnt that right darling?" Li smiled triumphantly.

Li had meant to take his had away from his cheek but Cormac was too fast. He grabbed it, held it to his lips. "That's just how it happened, sweetheart. I'll never forget the moment I realised how hopelessly I'd fallen in love with you." Cormac kissed the tip of his finger, nibbled on the sensitive pad. Li gasped.

Aloud.

Cormac smiled and continued nibbling. "And you," he murmured in a lower, more seductive voice, "fell rather hopelessly in love with me." He was sucking Li's fingers, his tongue flicking along the skin, the nerve endings, his teeth tenderly biting into the flesh. His mouth curved into a smile that was all too knowing, and amusement lit his eyes.

Li had been playing a game and he had the feeling he'd just lost.