I swallowed and scrolled to the next one, where we stood by the studio window, King’s arms around me and his lips at my ear. Seriously, this was more like porn to me than fashion. Without consciously realising it, I was squeezing my thighs together, my skin growing hot as I sat there, remembering. There were about ten pictures in total, and I flicked through them more times than bears mentioning. I was studying the one of me on King’s lap again when someone suddenly spoke low in my ear.

“What are you looking at?”

Startled at hearing his voice, I jumped and turned around, clutching my phone tightly to my chest. King chuckled and gave me a suspiciously amused look as he held out his hand. “Let me see.”

I snorted. It was pretty fucking elegant. “Noooo.”

A moment later, I took in his appearance properly, noticing that he was still wearing the same suit from yesterday. He looked more tired than I’d ever seen him, and he smelled like a brewery. It was so disconcerting that I failed to notice him lunging for my phone and pulling it from my grip. I watched as his fingers zipped across the screen before he handed it back to me. Forcing myself to look down, I saw he’d forwarded the pictures to his own email.

“That was a dirty move,” I complained.

He gave me a wry look. “I’m in those pictures, too. I have every right to see them.”

Well, he had me there. Still, it didn’t take away my embarrassment. Those photos were verging on soft-core porn, and he was my boss. It was so many levels of wrong, I couldn’t even begin to count.

This was why I needed to say no to Bradley’s propositions in future. Note to self: Don’t give in to the mischievous pixie boy next time. My cheeks began to flush as King came and sat beside me, pulling out his phone. It was ridiculous, because I was never normally embarrassed about sex stuff, but with King everything was just opposite land. I never quite knew where we stood with one another. I was silent as he focused on his phone, and I didn’t even have to look to know he was accessing his email and downloading the pictures he’d just forwarded.

God, I kind of hated him in that moment.

I tried to ignore him, but as the minutes ticked by, I lost the battle. Turning, I found his lips curved in what appeared to be a smug smile. The photos were displayed on the screen of his phone, and King kept scrolling back and forth, perusing them at his leisure as though taunting me to say something.

“Just delete them,” I sighed.

He glanced at me, brow arched. “Why would I do that?”

“Because we look stupid,” I huffed. We didn’t look stupid. We looked insanely hot for each other, which was exactly the problem. King was about to speak when an air hostess’s voice announced the flight was ready to board. I picked up my carry-on, noticing that King hadn’t brought anything with him other than a slim black briefcase. All of his things were in his checked luggage.

He gestured for me to go ahead of him, and I self-consciously smoothed my hands down the back of my skirt, wondering if I had a visible panty line. I’d always had this sixth sense for when someone was looking at my arse, and right then it was telling me that was exactly what King was doing. Was he actively trying to make this trip more difficult?

He leaned close, his mouth at my neck as he said, “I think we look fascinating.”

Fascinating. Right. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Once we were seated on the plane, King closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Despite his earlier playfulness, something was obviously up with him. I studied him a moment, then asked, “Care to share?”

One eye opened. He didn’t say a word, so I continued, “You’re wearing the same suit from yesterday, and you smell like you took a swim in a brewery. This isn’t like you.”

He sighed. “You’ve known me a couple of weeks, Alexis. You have no idea what is and isn’t like me.”

“Look, I’m not trying to be nosy. I’m just concerned, that’s all. You’ve been drinking a lot, and coming from someone who used to work in a bar, I know a problem when I see one.”

“There’s no problem,” said King.

I stared at him, disbelieving. If he wanted to fool himself into thinking he didn’t have a problem, then fine, I wasn’t going to push it. Getting up from my seat, I reached up to the overhead compartment and pulled out my carry-on. It had a brand new set of travel toiletries inside, including a mini-toothbrush.

“You can use these if you’d like to go freshen up,” I said stiffly, holding the set out to him.

He looked up at me, not taking it. A long moment of silence passed, his light eyes turning stormy. Finally, and without saying a word, he took the toiletries and left to use the bathroom. About ten minutes later he returned, looking a little better than he had. Though if the smell of him earlier was anything to go by, he must have been suffering from one hell of a hangover. The flight progressed in silence, as I focused on reading a magazine I’d brought with me. When the air hostess stopped by to ask if we’d like anything to eat or drink, I practically held my breath. There was an array of alcoholic beverages available to order, and I just knew King was considering them. Instead, he shook his head, and the woman moved on to the next passengers. Well, that was a relief.

Before I knew it, we were landing in Rome. After we departed the plane, I went to collect our bags from the carousel, while King excused himself to the bathroom. By the pale look on his face, I thought he might be going to throw up. I knew I was right when he found me several minutes later, a little of the colour having returned to his cheeks. Perhaps he’d now learned his lesson not to overdo it in future.

A car was waiting for us outside, and drove us to a hotel a distance from the city near a place called Ostia. King had insisted on staying there because it was one of his favourites, and I could see why. It had an outdoor swimming pool and beautiful gardens, which got me excited. I had to remind myself I was there to work, not for a fancy holiday.

Rummaging for the folder of documents Gillian had sent me via email last night, I retrieved our booking and presented it to the receptionist, while King stood back, his phone held to his ear as he carried out a work conversation. I was vaguely aware of the receptionist informing me we had adjoining rooms as she handed me the key cards. King must have seen the WTF look on my face, because he lowered his phone for a second to explain, “It’s easier this way. Gillian always books adjoining rooms so that we don’t have to go traipsing halfway around hotels to find one another.”

And then he was back on the phone. Well, that was…convenient. A bellboy came to take our bags, and before I knew it, I was alone in my room, flopping down on the bed and wondering what I’d gotten myself into. We didn’t have to meet with the clients until dinner, and Italians ate late, so that gave me a couple of hours to rest up. I lay there for a while, tired, because no matter how short the journey, flights always seemed to drain me of energy.

In the end, I decided to treat myself and run a bath. I enjoyed a nice long soak and got out only when my fingers had started to turn to prunes. Wrapping a white fluffy towel around my body, I grabbed another and scrunched my hair dry. Usually, if I just towel-dried my hair and didn’t brush it, it went really curly. Just as I was laying the black dress I planned to wear to the business dinner out on the bed, I heard a soft knock on the door that led to King’s room.

Before I had the chance to react, the knob turned, and my boss stepped inside.

Eleven

Why hadn’t I thought to lock the door? Jesus, though, he could have waited for me to call him in before opening it.

I stood there, frozen to the spot in my short towel and damp hair. King had clearly showered and changed into a new suit. In fact, he looked like a whole new man, no longer rumpled and hungover. The moment he saw me, he glanced away. Well, no, that’s not quite what he did. His gaze made a quick perusal of my body, paying particular attention to the swell of my breasts. His jaw ticked, and then he glanced away. His close attention literally made me flush from my cheeks to the tips of my toes.