Bedded by Blackmail / Millionaire's Secret Seduction: Bedded by Blackmail / Millionaire's Secret Seduction
if dreams could come true…
A knock on her bedroom door made Ella jump.
Tristan’s familiar, deep voice reached her from beyond the timber frame. “The reservation’s at eight. We need to leave soon.”
Swallowing against the knot of nerves stuck in her throat, she called back, “Be right there.”
She grabbed her clutch bag then took one last look at her cocktail-length white dress and matching sling-backs. Socialite material? Not even close. But, as Mr. Barkley had said, this wasn’t a date. It was a thank-you from employer to employee…infatuated with her boss though that employee may be.
“Ella?”
She blew out an anxious breath. Here goes.
When she entered the kitchen—the room adjoining her own—Tristan’s expression opened in surprise then appreciation, and delicious warmth washed from Ella’s perfumed crown all the way to her polishtipped toes.
One corner of Tristan’s perfectly sculpted mouth hooked upward as his hands slipped deep into his trouser pockets. “Sorry. I’m still not used to seeing you out of uniform.”
Crossing to join him, she fought the urge to smooth the jacket that adorned the magnificent ledge of his shoulders. In an open-neck collared shirt and impec-cably tailored trousers, he was tall and muscular and held himself as a powerful man would—with a casual air of authority and an easy yet mesmerizing gaze. She’d always felt so safe here in his house. So appreciated.
As a housekeeper, at least.
She pushed the silly pang aside and straightened her spine. “I’ll be back in my uniform tomorrow.”
He withdrew his hands from his pockets and moved to join her. “But you really don’t like your uniform, do you, Ella?”
No use fibbing. “Not especially.”
“My parents’ house staff wore uniforms, so I’ve always provided them, too. But if you’d rather wear regular clothes these last three weeks, I don’t know a reason you shouldn’t.”
Ella’s heartbeat fluttered.
Wear above-the-knee hems? Pretty colors? Fem-inine heels that echoed as they clicked upon these imported marble tiles?
She shook her head. “It wouldn’t feel right.” Wouldn’t feel…appropriate.
“It’s up to you, but don’t think I’ll object.” The lines bracketing his mouth deepened more. “Really, it’s not a big deal.”
Maybe not to him.
Absurd, but tonight, more than ever, she couldn’t help but compare herself to the glamorous sorts with whom Tristan had been pictured in glossy magazines. Eleanor Jacob was an ordinary woman who was destined for an ordinary life. She’d best remember that.
Still, this weekend her relationship with her boss had changed, if only slightly. Soon their association would end and it was likely they wouldn’t see each other again. In fact…
She let out a breath.
Heck, maybe he was right. Doing away with her uniform wasn’t such a big deal.
She smiled. “If you’re sure.”
She couldn’t quite read the look in his dark, all-knowing eyes before he moved away to check the back door. “I’m sure.”
As he rattled the handle, she let him know, “I locked it earlier.”
He worked the blinds shut. “Can’t be too careful.”
It was obvious what lay behind his security consciousness tonight. Her impetuous behavior the day before apparently made him concerned that she might have been harmed in some way.
She apologized again. “I’m sorry about giving you that fright yesterday, Mr. Barkley.”
“It’s forgotten.” But he checked the windows, too.
What must he have thought finding her clothes strewn across the room, her handbag dumped inside out? But she’d had no idea he would return a day early from Melbourne or she wouldn’t have donned that swimsuit. Some women didn’t mind flaunting their bodies, but she wasn’t one of them. She was mortified by the thought of exposing herself to her boss, although he clearly didn’t share her reserve.
That day a week ago in his bedroom when he’d turned to face her—muscled, bronzed and breathtakingly bare—he’d seemed surprised by her unexpected appear-ance, but not the least bit self-conscious. And why the heck would he be, with an amazing body like that?
Tristan left the last window and joined her, his face almost grave. “There’s one more thing we need to get straight.”
She held herself tight. What had she done now? “Yes, sir?”
“No more sir or Mr. Barkley, particularly tonight. We don’t want to confuse the waitstaff.” His dark eyes crinkled at the corners. “Deal?”
Returning the smile, Ella relaxed and nodded.
His hot palm rested lightly on the curve of her arm as he motioned her toward the connecting garage door. He couldn’t know the wondrous sizzle his casual touch brought to her blood.
Minutes later, she was buckled up in his sleek black Bugatti, surrounded by the smell of expensive leather and another intoxicating scent—woodsy, masculine, clean. Whenever she changed his bed linen, she was tempted to crawl over the sheets, bundle a pillow close and simply breathe in.
She stole a glance at Tristan’s shadowed profile.
What would it be like to have that beautiful mouth capture hers? Be held against his hard, steamy body?
When a bolt of arousal flashed through her, her heart began to pound and her hands fisted in her lap. That kind of make-believe could only get her in trouble. She needed to keep her mind occupied—needed to talk.
Pinning her gaze on the passing pine trees beside the drive, she put a bright note in her voice. “So, how was the function last night?”
The automatic gates fanned open and the European sports car purred out onto the street. “If you want to know, it was boring.”
She smiled to herself. No interesting women, then.
She sank back more into the leather. “I thought you were home early.”
“You waited up for me?”
When he grinned at her, his dark eyes gleamed in the shadows and her cheeks heated all over again. “I was watching an old movie and heard your car.”
She hadn’t been waiting up for him. Not really.
“Don’t tell me you like those Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers kind of flicks.”
She grinned. “Not that old. Do you remember Love Story?” The score of that classic weepie was enough to give her goose bumps.
“I know it. You’re a romantic, then?”
“Most women are.”
He coughed out a laugh. “You think?”
She blinked over at him. What an odd thing to say. Women daydreamed about meeting Mr. Right. They imagined bouquets and church weddings and sparkling diamond rings. It was usually men who had a hard time committing, particularly when they were so desirable they could enjoy a veritable smorgasbord, Tristan Barkley case in point.
The car pulled up at an elite restaurant, which sat on the fringe of their exclusive Sydney neighborhood. When Tristan opened her car door, Ella asked, “Did you have a reservation already made for tonight?”
It was common knowledge bookings here were as rare as hens’ teeth.
He winked. “I said I knew some good chefs.”
And she wasn’t the