The Billionaire Boss's Bride(32)

When she finally did raise her eyes Anna was pushing open the kitchen door and Curtis was back in his chair, outwardly as collected as she was torn apart inside.

‘It’s finished,’ Anna said, yawning. She had brought through the remaining pizza in its box on the tray and she deposited it on the kitchen counter, resoundingly unaware of any atmosphere in the kitchen.

Tessa was deeply and profoundly grateful for the inherent selfishness of most adolescents, who rarely noticed anything that didn’t pertain to them.

‘Really?’ Tessa’s mouth ached as she forced herself to smile and appear relaxed. ‘Who won?’

‘The gigantic one with the straight black hair.’ Another yawn. ‘She had the muscles of a body-builder.’

‘You’re tired,’ Tessa said lightly, arms folded, holding herself in and still not daring to look across at Curtis, who was sitting forward with his elbows resting on his thighs. ‘So am I. In fact, I’m really going to have to be very rude and insist you both go home so that I can get some sleep.’

‘Dad?’

‘Uh. Yes.’ He glanced at his daughter, then seemed to give himself a mental shake before he stood up and stretched, an unconsciously graceful movement that Tessa resentfully thought summed him up. The way he looked, the way he spoke, the way he moved, it was all a work of Art and she had succumbed with shameful alacrity.

‘I’ll be out in a minute, Anna. I just want to have a quick word with Tessa about some work stuff she needs to do for me on Monday.’

There was nothing Tessa could do to prevent Anna from leaving the kitchen and, since she would have to face him, this seemed as good a time as any. At least the experience wouldn’t last longer than a few minutes, not with his daughter waiting outside and twiddling her thumbs.

‘That should never have happened,’ was the first thing Curtis said when the kitchen door had closed behind Anna. He stood up and crossed the small distance separating them while Tessa steeled her features into a mask of frozen impassiveness. ‘And I’m sorry.’

He raked his fingers in angry frustration through his hair. He had wanted and he had just gone right ahead and taken, he thought, sickened by himself. He hadn’t stopped to think that this woman was different, that this woman made him feel as though that whole-relationship-thing, as he cynically referred to it, might just be possible. If he could have turned the clock back, he would have, but he couldn’t.

And now she was freezing him out. He gently placed his finger under her chin and, with a sharp flick of her head, Tessa backed away and looked at him coldly.

Hadn’t he called her poor baby? Before he had touched her? Poor little Tessa, all alone on a Saturday night, with nowhere to go. Had he thought that seducing her might have been an act of kindness? He wouldn’t even have had to go down the complete road, just a kiss and a grope, enough to inject a little colour into her drab life and a little amusement into his. The pain of humiliation raced through her, making her giddy.

She would hate him, she thought, but only after she had hated herself. For closing her eyes and sipping from the poisoned chalice. It was no good telling herself that her body had let her down, that her emotions had been too awesomely powerful for her to withstand.

‘I think we should both forget what just happened.’ She was surprised at how composed she sounded. ‘Things got a little out of control, that’s all.’

‘That’s all?’

What more did he want her to say? she wondered savagely. Did he want her to confess how much he had blown her over? Did he want her to massage his already mightily healthy ego by agreeing that she had very nearly become yet another notch on his much-indented bedpost?

‘That’s right. I may not be as old as you or as experienced…’ she shuddered at the dreadfully personal confidence she had shared with him in her heady moment of passion ‘…but nor am I a silly little fool.’ She dismissed the unfortunate incident in a casual shrug. At least, she desperately hoped that she gave that impression. ‘These things happen.’ Except not to her. To him, yes. To those women with their short, short skirts and come-to-bed eyes, yes. But she knew herself well and the unfortunate incident went far beyond just being unfortunate. It was something that had opened her eyes to the very real fear that she was falling for her boss. Her wildly exciting, unorthodox and utterly unsuitable boss.

‘These things sometimes happen, but—’

Tessa saw the yawning, hideous chasm open up in front of her and rushed in to cut him off in mid-correct assumption.

‘Never again.’ She drew herself up to her full height and mutinously stuck her chin forward. ‘It was a mistake and I have to have your word that it will never happen again or else I shall have no option but to leave your company immediately.’