The Billionaire Boss's Bride(42)

Her eyes were slumberous when he edged himself up so that he was lying next to her.

‘That wasn’t quite what I had in mind,’ she whispered, drawing him to her with drowsy contentment, ‘but it felt… well…’ Modesty deprived her of voicing a suitable description and Curtis smiled.

With reality weaving its tentacles around him, that uneasy, dangerous feeling was back, although he couldn’t put his finger on where it came from.

‘I should go…’ he murmured.

‘But…’

‘But you need to get some rest, and, Lord knows, the taxi’s probably come and gone.’

Shouldn’t he want to stay with her? Tessa suddenly felt very vulnerable. She consoled herself with the thought that she was a modern woman and there was absolutely nothing wrong in fulfilling her needs, especially with the man she loved. Even though he didn’t love her back. Still…she pulled the duvet cover from one side to partially cover her exposed body.

When he heaved himself off the bed, the vulnerability feeling grew stronger. This time she swamped herself under the duvet and pushed herself into a sitting position, leaning back against the headboard so that she could watch him as he slipped back on his shirt and slowly began doing up the buttons.

‘I never got to mention why I came back into your room,’ Curtis said roughly. ‘I meant to ask whether you and your sister would like to come over on Boxing Day. Anna wants to see you and it makes even more sense now that you probably won’t be able to do very much with your foot.’ He grinned crookedly at her. She looked so damned edible lying there, all bundled up under that duvet. His hands itched to rip it away but he knew that if he did, he would be lost, would end up never wanting to leave. No, he corrected uncomfortably, not wanting to leave in a hurry…

He took one step back, as though he had been standing too close to an open fire, and then turned at the sound of the doorbell.

‘Your taxi awaits you,’ Tessa said.

‘Hang on. I’ll just tell him that I’ll be down in a minute.’

‘It’s Christmas. He may not be prepared to wait that long.’

It was suddenly chilly in the room the minute he vacated it. In fact, it had become pretty chilly in the bed the second he had got out, but there was no point moaning about what had happened or about the fact that she felt a great deal more vulnerable now than she had before.

She had wanted him. She had wanted to feel his big body next to hers. Just thinking about it now made her shiver.

And she was a realist, wasn’t she? Had she really expected declarations of love in the heat of passion? The cold clutch of uncertainty gripped her and she fought it off, listening for the sound of his footsteps approaching.

When she finally did hear him, she felt her body tense.

‘No taxi,’ Curtis said, standing by the door for a few moments before coming into the room and gently pushing the door shut behind him. ‘I phoned for another, but there’s a waiting list, apparently, as long as the Great Wall of China.’

‘Then who was it at the door?’ Tessa asked, forgetting what he had said about the non-appearing taxi.

‘Your sister.’

‘Oh!’ She froze while a thousand possible scenarios raced through her head like a swarm of bees. ‘Oh. I thought…I wasn’t expecting her to come home until tomorrow,’ Tessa said breathlessly.

‘Seems she decided that an all-night drinking binge wasn’t such a good idea.’

‘Oh, right.’ She looked anxiously at Curtis, wondering how to phrase the unavoidable question, but in all events he read her mind and answered it without having to be asked.

‘I told her that you had sprained your ankle and I had done the good employer thing and brought you back. I told her that you were up in bed, nicely settled, and that I was on my way out.’

What did you think of her? Tessa wanted to ask him, but she bit back the temptation. Instead, she said, ‘I must get up and go down to see her.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. Your foot needs rest. The last thing you want to do is leap down the stairs to make sure your sister is all right. Trust me, she’s fine.’

‘I wasn’t planning on leaping anywhere!’ Tessa retorted. ‘Would you mind passing me some clothes if I tell you where to find them?’ Before he could answer, she was pointing to her chest of drawers, directing him towards her underwear, a long-sleeved tee shirt and her most comfortable pair of jogging bottoms. All items of clothing that the fashion police would have her hung, drawn and quartered for wearing, but she needed to get changed quickly, something that she did with his help. Lord, but it was difficult, when her body kept having a mind of its own and, as much as she kept hurrying him up, so he took his time. She protested but could hardly prevent the groundswell of excitement every time his fingers brushed against her skin.