Chapter Two

' It's Badmus. Toyin Badmus. She said using her mother's surname.

' Would you like some tea , Mr Carter? '

'Call me Massimo and yes to the tea.'

'I'll make some right away. Andy, how about you? '

'No for me, thanks.' Andy the station manager shook his head. 

Andy heads out, leaving her with Massimo

So tell me Toyin, where are you from? 

'Greek', she said without thinking.

God no I can't believe I just said that, now he's going to ask more questions and what am I gonna tell him

 "'am a princess who doesn't want to be a princess anymore. I'm a woman who's been brought up in a palace who has never had to cope with real life before. A woman who has been hurt and humiliated. Who has struck out to discover if she can cope with life without the protection she's know all her life.'" she thought

She met the cold gleam of his gaze. 'My grandmother was Greek, ' she said

He was even more watchful now. 'Any other languages? '

 'English. Obviously' 

 'Obviously. ' His eyes glinted. ' And that's the lot? '

 She licked her bottom lip. ' I can get by in Yoruba, Italian, French, too. '

 ' Well now, aren't you the clever one? ' he questioned softly. ' You certainly have a lot of qualifications for someone who spent the last few months frying steak and buttering bread for a bunch of station workers. '

' I didn't realize linguistic ability was a bar to being a cook on a cattle station. Mr Carter. ' 

 Their gazes clashed and Massimo tried not to be affected by the sudden challenge sparking from her eyes. Which was easily as distracting as the pert thrust of her breasts.

On one level he was aware she was playing games with him by avoiding his questions and he wasn't sure why.

But plenty of young women come from abroad to work in remote parts of this country, but he'd never come across anyone like Toyin Badmus before. 

Andy had told him when she'd first arrived she was green and naive, but had been eager to learn. 

Massimo had wondered why his gruff Australian station manager had employed someone without even the basic skills, but now he'd seen her ----- he had a pretty good idea why.

 His throat grew dry.

 Because she was beautiful.

 Really beautiful.

Her cheekbones were high, her eyes as blue as the sky, not to talk of her black shiney skin that gleams .

She wore no makeup, but with lashes that long, he guessed she didn't need to, and her luscious lips. His groin hardened. 

Just a glance at them and he could think of a million different X-rated ways he'd like her to use them.

But she seems wary of him, this wasn't the usual reaction of girls towards him. 

He took another sip of his tea

' no ', he conceded dryly. 

'your linguistic ability is to be commended, even if you haven't have much chance to practise your language skills out here in the bush.'