The Pleasures of Summer Read Online Free

wooden staircase drew his eyes upwards and a movement at the top caught his attention.
    A blonde, wearing only a skimpy towel tucked around her breasts and which barely covered her hips, fussed with her damp hair as she descended. ‘Malcolm,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘I’m going to the sauna. Send someone with towels.’
    Flynn whistled in appreciation. The legs revealed by that inadequate towel were spectacular, long and shapely and lightly tanned. Her feet were elegant and high-arched, with nails painted silver and pink. Those luscious thighs were the stuff of fantasy, and Flynn allowed himself a brief vision of how she would look without the towel.
    She stopped on the last step, artfully widening her eyes as if she was surprised to see him there. Yeah right, as if she hadn’t been aware of him from the moment she turned onto the landing.
    She looked him up and down, examining him, and then turned away dismissively. ‘The servants’ entrance is around the rear,’ she said, pointing to the front door.
    He laughed and moved closer, onto the step where she stood. This close, he could see the individual lashes around her dark blue eyes. She wore no make-up, but smelled of something exotic and expensive.
    She took a half step back before she halted, staring up at him defiantly.
    ‘I usually have to pay someone to say something that corny. But don’t worry, I won’t forget.’
    On impulse, he moved in and gave her damp hair a slight tug. Something about the texture was wrong; it wasn’t vibrant enough for her personality. For an instant, she softened, swaying slightly in his direction, before indignation stiffened her spine and she snapped, ‘Take your hands off me.’
    Flynn let go. He’d had the answer he needed.
    ‘Just checking if the curtains matched the carpet – since you so kindly gave me a flash of the carpet on your way down.’
    She gasped in outrage, yanking the towel tight around her. ‘How dare you?’
    He laughed. ‘You can ask that after parading in front of a strange man wearing only a towel? You must be kidding.’
    ‘I’ll have you fired, just like the others.’
    ‘I’m disappointed. I didn’t think you’d give in so easily. That’s blondes for you, I suppose, even fake ones.’
    The flash in her eyes made him chuckle.
    ‘You stink!’
    He hadn’t had a chance to shower since leaving the boat, so it was true. ‘That’s the best you can come up with? What are you, five?’
    A cough from the side of the hallway interrupted him. ‘Ahem. If you two are finished flirting, I need to speak to Mr Grant.’
    Flynn gave her a half smile, one that promised interesting things in the future, before turning away.
    ‘Teflon’ Tim O’Sullivan was shorter than he had expected. On television, where he was frequently seen exhorting the government to get out of the airline business and stop interfering with him, he was larger than life. In his office, surprisingly modern for such an ancient building, he was small and wiry, full of nervous energy and an air of ferocious intelligence.
    He waved Flynn to a seat, a large leather armchair that looked at least a hundred years old, while he sat behind a heavy mahogany desk. Instead Flynn took a modern wooden chair, one that would allow him to spring up without fighting his way out of a pile of horsehair. O’Sullivan said nothing, but his shrewd eyes took note.
    ‘I’m sorry about that little episode,’ he began. ‘But I’m glad I saw it. As you’ll have gathered, Summer is a bit of a handful and she resents having a bodyguard. She’s developed a talent for getting rid of them. I’m glad to see that you’re not so easily intimidated.’
    Flynn smiled briefly. ‘No, I think it’s safe to say that I don’t scare easily.’
    O’Sullivan flicked a glance at his laptop screen. ‘Niall Moore gave me some of your background. You sound more than capable of taking care of my daughter.’
    ‘I’m happy you think so.’ Of course, Niall