His Irresistible Darling Read Online Free Page B

she said, putting her hands up as she accepted defeat. “I always struggle to get to sleep. This is just the ticket.”
    “Good. You ready to go home? I think we’ve worked late enough. Looks like we’re the last ones here,” he noticed, glancing around the empty office. “I’ll drop you at home on the way.”
    “Oh, don’t put yourself out,” she mumbled not even trying to hide her sarcasm but then winced at his ice-cold stare.
    “Okay, okay, thanks,” she conceded shutting down her laptop.
    “Here.” She was startled as Jumal took hold of her jacket and held it open for her arms. She quickly grabbed her bag and the file.
    “Lead on, chauffeur
,
” she added, mischievously.
    He simply shook his head at her and headed over to the lifts to press the call button. She finally joined him, muttering under her breath about his lack of a sense of humour but trying to keep her distance and stare down at the floor. Hmm, funny she’d never really noticed the colour of the flooring before and she’d never been more grateful for the soft ping announcing the arrival of the lift.
    “After you,” Jumal said, standing back and holding out his arm before following her in and pressing the button for the underground car park.
    Pip huddled up against the mirrored wall at the back of the lift and took a deep breath. She hated lifts—hated being enclosed anywhere she couldn’t easily get out of but especially when said enclosed coffin was fifty floors up.
    “Are you okay?”
    She looked up at Jumal’s question, momentarily surprised by his concern.
    “Yeah. I just don’t like small, enclosed places. Childhood trauma caused entirely by your friend aka my brother.” She dropped her head to stare again at the floor.
    “Why, what—?” Jumal’s query was suddenly interrupted by the lift plunging into darkness and coming to an abrupt halt.
    “Jumal!?” She couldn’t hide the distress from her voice as she fumbled in the dark and dropped her bag and the file to the floor; her hands reached out desperately towards him.
    She suddenly felt his hand clasp hers and pull her body towards him.
    “Hey, it’s okay. We’re fine. The emergency lighting will—ah, there you go. See?” he assured her as the dim overhead emergency lighting came on.
    “Look at me,” he demanded, still holding one of her hands and reaching for her chin with his other, gently raising it to meet his eyes.
    “Really, we’re fine. They’ll have us out of here in no time,” he said, clearly trying to calm his hysterical employee and rubbing her hand, which she knew was shaking.
    She nodded but couldn’t speak or bring herself to let go of his hand as he reached over with his other hand to push the emergency contact button on the brass panel. She looked down at his hand holding hers; she’d never touched his hand so intimately and was surprised at the hard feel of his hands. Where would a man who spent his life in offices and meetings manage to get calluses?
    A few moments later a male voice acknowledged their call and assured them that the engineer would be dispatched immediately.
    “I guess we wait then.” Her voice still trembled slightly.
    “Hmm, better make ourselves comfortable.”
    She gulped as he dropped her hand and pulled off his suit jacket to spread it out onto the floor and gestured for her to sit.
    He joined her on the floor of the lift and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his tanned, toned forearms and a vintage watch with a black alligator leather strap.
    She’d often wondered how he managed to have such a trim, highly toned body. Even through his custom-made designer suits she couldn’t help but notice his fine physique. No woman could and she’d been aware of it since she was twelve and hormones had flooded her body. But Jumal always seemed to be at work, never taking much time off save for his passion for riding his horses and horse racing. Surely you couldn’t get a body like his from just riding horses? Did that have