Too Proud to be Bought by Sharon Kendrick Read Free Book Online Page A

process that, like all women, she was driven by nothing more complicated than greed, no matter how strong the attraction which burned between them?
    ‘No, don’t go yet,’ he said softly. ‘You see, I have a proposition to put to you.’
    Zara eyed him warily. ‘A p-proposition?’
    ‘That’s right. How would you like to come and work for me in my villa in the South of France?’
    Uncomprehendingly, she stared at him. ‘You mean as a waitress?’
    He bit back a cynical laugh. What did she imagine—that he was asking her to act as his hostess? His partner for the weekend? ‘Of course. I always need staff and I’m having a very small, very casual house-party. Often I just use people from the nearby village—but you speak English. Any other languages?’ He wasn’t surprised when she shook her head. ‘No? Well, that’s precisely what I want. You could be useful.’
    Useful?
‘Why?’ she questioned slowly.
    ‘I have a Russian colleague who likes to do business when nobody around can understand what he’s saying.’
    Zara frowned as she tried to make sense of his offer. ‘I didn’t mean that—I mean, why me? Why offer me the job?’
    His icy eyes mocked her. He was finding a way to see her again, surely she realised that—or was she playing another game by pretending she didn’t? ‘Are you inthe habit of quizzing prospective employers about their objectives?’
    ‘Obviously, it’s slightly different in your case.’
    ‘Obviously,’ he echoed sardonically. ‘You’re one of the best waitresses around, aren’t you? At least, that’s what I was told when I booked through your company for this party. That’s reason enough. And of course, I pay well. Very well.’ Softly, he mentioned a sum and saw her eyes widen, saw the pink tip of her tongue snake out to run its way over her lips, and he felt a powerful mix of disdain and desire. How exquisitely avaricious she was, he thought—and that realisation was curiously liberating. He need not be troubled by his conscience, he thought—for she clearly wasn’t. ‘So what do you think, Zara—do you think I could persuade you to take the job?’
    Zara hesitated, unbearably tempted by the amount of money he was offering. Why, a sum like that would write off most of her debts. Would allow her to shake off the burden of responsibility which weighed so heavily on her shoulders. Would mean that she could start living like a normal twenty-something instead of someone who was worried sick about the future and all it entailed. Wouldn’t she be out of her mind to turn down an opportunity like that? Even if it meant working for a man who made her skin shiver with desire?
    ‘When is it?’ she questioned.
    ‘Next weekend.’
    ‘But that’s the weekend I’m …’ Her voice trailed off as she thought about the date with a sweet but unexciting man which Emma had lined up for her.
    ‘The weekend you’re what?’ he prompted.
    ‘I was supposed to be…seeing someone.’
    ‘Ah.’ Idly, he wondered who the poor fool was. ‘Thentake a rain check. Work comes first.’ His mouth hardened. ‘Happens to me all the time.’
    Temptation washed over her in a renewed wave, yet still Zara hesitated. She might be naïve about certain aspects of the world, but she certainly wasn’t stupid and she knew perfectly well that Nikolai Komarov’s offer wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed.
    Because he wanted her. She knew that, too. She could sense the sexual hunger which shimmered off his powerful frame—matching a need which burned deep inside
her.
Could she really go and work for him, knowing all that?
    She lifted her eyes to his, remembering all the women he was reputed to have dated and cast aside, and she felt the stir of challenge. Couldn’t she be strong enough to resist him if he came onto her? As strong as she’d been for her godmother—though in a different way? Surely it couldn’t be difficult to keep at arm’s length a man who treated women with such