www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CHAPTER ONE

      THIS was an unbelievable opportunity, thought Kara. Flying to Italy with her boss for the firm’s annual conference was any woman’s dream. She would have liked it to be hers, but unfortunately—sadly—it wasn’t. It never could be.

      Not that Blake Benedict was a man who could be so easily dismissed. He was aggressively handsome, with strong dark features that guaranteed a second look. And she had stolen many of those. According to gossip he was divorced—acrimoniously—and had sworn never to get married again. But he was not short of girlfriends. Far from it! They vied for his attention like bees around a honeypot.

      Not so Kara. She did not want him to notice her, and had always tried to make herself invisible by wearing dark classical suits and little make-up, dragging her hair back unbecomingly. Her hair was actually her crowning glory, a deep, rich auburn, but there was no way she could wear it loose for the office.

      The fact that he never gave her a second look told her that her efforts to hide her sexuality really did work. She made a point of being extremely efficient, and even though he rarely heaped praise on her shoulders she knew that he was more than satisfied.

      But the very thought of joining him in Italy sent unease curling down her spine. It was impossible. And yet how to tell him? What if he insisted? What if he said that it was part of her job?

      She had felt very fortunate when she’d got the position as PA to Blake Benedict, head of the Benedict Corporation—a worldwide organisation whose head office was in London. The agency had lined up another girl, but she had fallen ill at the last minute and Kara had been sent in her place. The first time she had set eyes on him she had felt a whoosh of something dangerous slide through her body. Never, ever in her life had she felt anything like it.

      Blake was head and shoulders taller than most men, with a square dimpled jaw and dark, closely cut hair that held a hint of silver at the temples. His grey eyes were deep-set and his nose looked as though it had been chiselled out of fine stone—as did his lips. They were so beautifully moulded that Kara occasionally found herself holding her breath as she envisaged being kissed by them. This feeling was something entirely alien to Kara and unnerved her greatly. She had never kissed a man, never even been out with a man—her father had seen to that! And even though her domineering father was no longer alive his presence still hung over her.

      Not that Blake would ever be interested in Kara. She was not beautiful; she was not blonde or gorgeous. She was an ordinary woman with ordinary features and no man ever looked at her twice. But she was the luckiest woman in the world to have landed this job. It had come at just the right time.

      ‘It’s not a problem for you, is it?’ Blake was surprised that Kara did not look excited. She had not said that she did not want to go, but the look in her eyes reminded him of a doe in a car’s headlights and he could not understand why. Their yearly convention was an opportunity every one of his other personal assistants had jumped at.

      He had to admit that Kara was different, and if he hadn’t been desperate after Olivia had left he would perhaps not have hired her. He liked beautiful women around him and Kara was—well, she made no effort to make herself look glamorous. But she had come with good references and she was damned good at her job. In fact she had made herself indispensable.

      And he needed her in Milan. She had dealt with every aspect of the conference; she had practically organised it herself. She knew exactly what the agenda was. So he was going to make very sure that she went with him no matter what excuse she came up with.

      She looked extremely nervous, perched on the edge of the chair, and for the first time he noticed what delicate ankles she had—it was all he could see of her legs in the ridiculous long skirts she insisted on wearing. And her flat shoes were the most unflattering things he had ever seen. But her ankles? Why had he never noticed them before? ‘Are you going out tonight, Miss Redman?’ He had no idea what had prompted the question, but it suddenly seemed important for him to know.

      ‘Is the question relevant, Mr Benedict?’

      It was not the answer he’d expected and it amused him. He even thought that he heard fire in her voice, and there was certainly a spark in her blue eyes. An almost violet-blue. Something else he had never noticed. They were totally amazing when she widened them, when her long silky lashes fluttered as she waited for his reply. This was a new and interesting side to his PA. A side that he felt himself wanting to explore.

      Despite that, though, it didn’t please him that she was not readily agreeing to his wishes. ‘If I am holding you up then perhaps we can have our little talk another time?’

      ‘You’re not holding me up.’ Kara did her best to ignore the sarcasm he had injected into his voice. ‘But there really is nothing to talk about. I can’t join you in Italy—it’s as simple as that. I’m sorry.’

      She held her breath as she waited for his response. She imagined that no one had ever said no to him before. Blake Benedict was law. Everyone jumped at his bidding. And why not, when he was the successful owner of one of the largest IT solutions companies?

      Blake’s was a success story beyond most people’s wildest dreams. It was a story that every member of staff knew. From a little boy of five who’d been able to use a computer better than most adults, he had started his first business venture at the age of sixteen, writing troubleshooting computer programs, and now he had thousands working for him. He was revered by all and no one ever thought of saying no to him. This was why Kara had taken him by surprise. But she simply could not leave her mother even for a few nights. It would be far too dangerous.

      Her daring clearly astonished him, though. A deep frown grooved his brow and narrowed his grey eyes. And when he spoke his voice had developed a hard edge that she was not accustomed to hearing when he spoke to her. ‘There is no such word as can’t in my vocabulary, Miss Redman. I’m sure you’ve worked for me long enough to know that.’

      Of course she had, but her priorities were equally important. ‘I—I appreciate what you are saying, but I do have a life outside work and—’

      ‘And that life is so important that you cannot dedicate yourself to your job?’

      Kara quivered at the caustic harshness, at the bullet hardness of his eyes, which had turned almost silver, but nevertheless she stuck to her guns. ‘Mr Benedict,