The #1 Bestsellers Collection 2011(91)

She inclined her head and he let her go, one part of him amazed that for the first time he was letting a woman walk away from his bed while he still wanted more of her.

That’s the way it had to be.

With Lana it was a necessity.

There was always a price to pay for happiness, Lana reminded herself as she sat on her bed and pressed her fingers to her temples.

And she’d just paid it.

Heavens, had she really made love with Matt again? Really melted at his touch? Had she really reached out and touched him like that?

Oh yeah.

It hadn’t been quite as fast as the last time they’d made love in the office. Back then there had been no time for more than quick touches and furtive glances. No time for savoring each other. He’d thrust inside her before she’d known it and she’d welcomed him, joining him in a long, simultaneous climax. It had been the most incredible feeling she’d ever experienced.

Tonight had been just as incredible.

More so.

A mistake, he’d called it.

She winced. Yes, it had been a mistake. She’d reached that conclusion herself the moment he’d left her alone and sanity had returned. Oh, there’d been no doubt he’d wanted her and she’d wanted him and it had been enough at the time.

But now she had to wonder about the true reason behind it all. Had it merely been masculine pride? His friends had liked her and he’d said others would expect they’d have a physical relationship.

Or perhaps she’d been a convenience more than anything? She’d been unwittingly available when he’d wanted a woman.

Any woman.

Maybe her handing in the wallet had convinced him for a short time that she wasn’t capable of stealing? And afterward reality had hit him with a thud and he was back to believing the worst of her again.

And now his guard was truly up.

Except the reality was that she hadn’t expected anything more.

And he had no need to be on guard.

They’d merely been a man and woman in the wrong place at the right time. That’s how she’d look at it. No need to get worked up about it all, right? She’d simply be grateful Matt wasn’t feeling guilty and wanting to rectify the situation by insisting their marriage become permanent.

Thank God he hadn’t.

Flinging aside her thoughts, she put on her nightgown, slid beneath the covers and turned off the light. And she’d try not to go over their lovemaking in minute detail. From now on she’d try and forget it ever happened.

Tomorrow they’d both move forward like mature adults.

Thankfully Lana was kept busy over the weekend. They both slept late in their separate beds, so that by the time they went to pick up Megan it was almost noon and Isabel insisted they stay for lunch.

Lana felt uncomfortable with Isabel’s and Cesare’s eyes on them, even guilty. If she and Matt had been on friendlier terms, she’d jokingly confess she felt like a teenager who’d had sex with her boyfriend and was trying not to let her parents know it.

As it was, they acted civil to each other until it was time to go home. She fully expected him to go out that evening, but to her surprise he went to the study. It was as if he was showing her he could be around her without making love to her again.

Or perhaps he was trying to show himself.

And that made her wonder, especially when she caught him watching her at odd times, his eyes darkening before he’d blank them out, as if a dial were turning on without his permission and he had to turn it off deliberately.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from turning to their lovemaking. If only she could turn that part of her mind off, perhaps she could get some peace. If only Matt didn’t affect her, she might have a chance at it. Truth to tell, she was dismayed at the way her body continued to want him again. It was as if there were still lively little sparks of desire floating in the air between them, in spite of her best efforts to put them out.

Her only consolation was that both of them were fighting this thing. She knew for sure that Matt wouldn’t attempt to make love to her again.

And she wouldn’t let him.

Thank heavens by midweek they were almost back to normal. Normal for them, that is.

Subsequently, when Matt walked into her office before lunch on Thursday she pretended she could ignore him.

“What are you doing?”

She glanced at him, then back to the computer screen. “Guess.”

He expelled a breath. “Lana, I’ve checked those old accounts and there’s nothing else there. If there was, I would have found it.”

“No, there’s something more. I can feel it. I—” She fell back in her chair as a thought made her heart skip a beat. “Are you saying you believe I didn’t do it?”