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Tall Dark and Hungry(43)

By:Lynsay Sands


Cripes! Half the office was a bachelor's living room, with an entertainment console and a bar, and the other half was business-related with a desk, computer, fax machine, filing cabinets, and a large table for meetings.

"Jeez,"Terri murmured, then gave her head a shake. She really shouldn't be impressed. After all, the penthouse was rather impressive too. Still, to work in an office like this? Man, she wished her own was half as nice. Or even a quarter. Her office at the university wasn't much larger than a closet. There was barely room for her desk and a chair for visitors.

Terri moved to the chair in front of Bastien's desk and sat down, setting her purse on the floor as she did. After sitting there, staring for a moment, she shifted restlessly, stood, and walked to the bookshelf Meredith had pointed out. Terri scanned the book titles with interest, noting that-as in most things-Bastien's taste didn't vary much from hers. But starting a book that she was only going to have fifteen minutes to read seemed a bit silly. Turning away, she crossed the room to the coffee table in front of the couch to go through the magazines lying there. There was quite a selection: women's magazines, men's magazines, business, fashion, celebrity gossip.

Terri picked up one of the women's magazines and sank onto the couch, then recalled her purse. She carried the magazine with her to collect it, then carried her purse back to the couch, set it out of the way by her feet, and started to leaf through the magazine again. Terri had only turned a couple of pages when she became aware that she was thirsty. It must have been all that walking. Lifting her head, she glanced toward the bar and hesitated. Meredith had said to help herself.

Setting the magazine down on the coffee table, Terri stood and moved behind the bar. There were countless bottles of liquor on a triple set of shelves with a mirror backing on the wall. It almost looked like a professional bar. But she wasn't interested in alcohol. Turning, she surveyed the area behind the bar, noting that there were two refrigerators. One was small, and one large. Terri tried the small one first and found it locked. She tried the larger one and it opened at once. This fridge was packed with liquid refreshments of every variety. Juices, pops, even milk made up its contents. But there were also two small vials of a clear liquid.

Terri picked up the small containers curiously. She recognized the vials. She'd seen enough of them-first, when her mother had been ill, then when Ian had been dying. They were medical vials, and both had the same long incomprehensible term and medical symbol on them.

Terri set them back, confusion reigning in her. Why would Bastien have medical vials in his refrigerator? It only took her a moment to come up with the answer. Medical laboratories were one of his company's interests. Blood banks, medical research, and medical labs were specialties of Argeneau Enterprises. In fact, Meredith had said Bastien was at a meeting right now with lab guys. This was probably something to do with that.

Satisfied, Terri set the vials back in the refrigerator and surveyed the beverages. She settled on a Diet Coke, grabbed a glass from the collection under the bar and poured her drink, then carried it back to the couch. Of course, Terri forgot all about her purse, which she'd set on the floor out of the way. But not out of the way enough. She tripped over the darn thing, and stumbled forward.

She managed to save herself from falling any farther than to her knees by catching herself on the couch, but she had to let go of the pop to do it.

"Darn,"she breathed, staring at the puddle of liquid on the carpet. She followed that with a stronger curse and leapt into action. Pushing herself to her feet, she whirled back the way she'd come and hurried behind the bar in search of a towel or rag. But, of course, there was nothing. Terri turned back to the room, her gaze shooting around until it landed on a door on the opposite wall.

"Please be a bathroom,"Terri prayed as she hurried in that direction. She could have cried with relief when she saw that it was. And there were towels. Expensive, fluffy white ones. She'd replace them if she had to. It seemed better to ruin the towels than the carpet.

"Are the caterers here with lunch yet, Meredith?"Bastien asked as he walked into the outer office, loosening his tie. He hated wearing the bloody things, and he took them off every chance he got. He'd undo it now and not put it back on until necessary.

"No, sir, but Terr-I mean, Miss Simpson arrived a bit early. She's in your office, sir.»

"Is she?"Bastien smiled at the news, then added, "If she's told you to call her Terri, then you're welcome to do so, Meredith. There's no need to call her Miss Simpson on my account.»

"Yes, sir."His secretary smiled. "I'll be heading to lunch in a minute. Shall I switch the lines over to the receptionist's desk so that she can take messages?»

"Yes, please,"he said. "Have a good lunch.»

"You too, sir.»

Bastien nodded as he walked to his office door, but waited there for Meredith to collect her purse and leave the office before he opened it and stepped inside. The sight that met his gaze made him pause in the doorway and stare. Terri was on her hands and knees, her behind barely covered by a dark blue skirt, wagging from side to side as she scrubbed a towel over the carpet. His entrance didn't faze her. She hadn't heard the door open, because she was muttering.

Bastien was so distracted by the view, it took a moment for her words to register. She was mumbling something about what an idiot she was. That was enough to make him tear his eyes away from her behind, close the door quietly, and move forward.

"Terri? What happened?»

She stiffened, her body stilling, then she glanced sharply over her shoulder at him and groaned. "Oh, Bastien, I'm sorry. I'm such a clutz. I tripped over my purse and fell and spilled my Coke all over your lovely carpet. I-"

"Shh, shh, shh. It's all right,"he interrupted. Moving forward, he took her arm and urged her to her feet.

"No, it's not all right. Just look at it. I've-"

"It will clean,"Bastien assured her, taking her towel away and dropping it on the stain without even really a glance. "You didn't hurt yourself when you fell, did you?»

"No. But I-I don't know if Coke stains, but if it does, I think I've ruined your rug.»

"Terri, it's just a carpet. A thing. Things are replaceable. As long as you're okay, that's all that matters.»

"But-"

When her gaze dropped to the stain again, he took her arm and urged her away from the couch. He moved her toward his desk to keep her from looking.

"Don't worry about it,"Bastien said again, but he knew his telling her wasn't going to accomplish the task. Terri would worry; she couldn't seem to help herself. It was as much her nature to be responsible for her own actions and worry about things as it was his. If he gave her half a chance, she'd be insisting on paying for cleaning or replacing the carpet. He wasn't going to give her the chance. A distraction was needed, and Bastien decided that, if he had to sacrifice himself to the cause, he was more than willing to do so.

"Why are you grinning?"Terri asked.

"I was just thinking a distraction is the only thing that will keep you from worrying about spilling that pop.»

"A distraction?"She seemed perplexed.

"Mmmm. And I decided that I would just have to sacrifice myself to the cause.»

Terri blinked at that announcement, and at the cheeky way he said it; then her lips twitched with the beginnings of amusement. "You're 'willing to sacrifice yourself to the cause,' are you?»

Bastien congratulated himself. His distraction was already working. Easing closer, he raised his hands to either side of her waist. "Yeah. I'm willing to go all the way, if necessary, to accomplish the task.»

"All the way?"Terri was definitely distracted now, and amused.

"All the way,"he assured her, leaning in to kiss her cheek by her ear.

"That's pretty selfless of you,"she breathed. He moved to kiss her other cheek.

"Mmmm,"Bastien murmured. "I'm a selfless kind of guy."Then he kissed her properly, covering her mouth with his. Terri opened to him, a little sigh slipping out and rolling lightly across his lips. He loved it when she did that. Bastien loved it when she sighed, and when she moaned. He loved it when she shifted, or arched, or writhed against him. He loved how he affected her, and he loved the effect she never failed to have on him. Heck, he just plain loved her.

That thought made Bastien pause. He loved Terri. It was a wonderful thing. If she didn't turn from him as Josephine had.

Terri pulled back as Bastien suddenly stilled. She peered at him quizzically, wondering at the expression on his face. It looked pained. Beginning to worry, she raised a hand to caress his cheek. "Are you all right, Bastien? Is something wrong?»

He blinked, as if coming out of a trance or back from deep thought, but rather than answer her, Bastien kissed her again. This time it wasn't the gentle coaxing kiss of a moment before, it was desperate and a little rough. Caught by surprise, Terri fell back a step, coming up against the edge of the desk. Bastien immediately eased up slightly, but didn't stop kissing. Not that she wanted him to. After a week of having him at her side every waking moment, the last two days had been distressing. Terri had missed him-his company, his laugh, the way he gestured with one hand when emphasizing something, the way his eyes sparkled when he was teasing, the half grin he always got on his face upon first spotting her. She'd missed talking to him, and listening to him. And though it had only been two days, it felt like forever since they had been together like this, in each other's arms, bodies pressed close together, mouths meshing.