Книга - The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge
Linda Howard


From New York Times best-selling author Linda Howard comes a fan-favourite tale of romantic intrigueBrett Rutland is the top trouble shooter at Carter Engineering, and he's used to getting his way. When he's tasked with cracking an internal embezzlement case, he meets firm accountant Tessa Conway. She's beautiful and interested, but falling for her will not only test Brett's control, it may also jeopardise the case—especially since she's the prime suspect.







From New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard comes a fan-favorite tale of romantic intrigue

Brett Rutland is the top troubleshooter at Carter Engineering, and he’s used to getting his way. When he’s tasked with cracking an internal embezzlement case, he meets firm accountant Tessa Conway. She’s beautiful and interested, but falling for her will not only test Brett’s control, it may also jeopardize the case—especially since she’s the prime suspect.


The Cutting Edge

Linda Howard






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)




CONTENTS


Cover (#udd66589c-d526-5ad4-b24b-80b8e7d70bc8)

Back Cover Text (#u4cc9168d-f131-59c5-8491-92d683e2f05b)

Title Page (#udb54712a-109a-570f-9e87-49a0f898f0db)

CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_4368fe62-6b59-507b-93aa-693f19b0554c)

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_6bddb4d8-2ef6-513c-a464-a1e3410943cc)

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_7ae65126-a64e-55ec-bef5-7fccdf15137c)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)




CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_ed9878a0-e514-54b4-9863-b9c6d5998dd7)


“THAT,” SAID BRETT RUTLAND in a quietly appreciative voice, “should be illegal.”

Evan Brady had been watching the young woman who had just walked past them, too, and he could only agree. He’d already been in the Los Angeles office for a week, and he’d seen her several times. “You’ll have to get in line, along with the rest of us,” he advised Brett dryly. “Her social life would make a Philadelphia debutante green with envy.”

A cool, hard smile touched Brett’s lips. “Sorry; I think I’ll cut in and go to the head of the line.”

Evan was a little startled, for he’d never known Brett to become involved with anyone in the company before, and he’d really only been teasing. Still, when a man looked at Teresa Conway, other considerations tended to fly right out of his mind. Then he shrugged. “She doesn’t look like the general idea of a bookkeeper, does she?”

Brett’s dark blue eyes cut sharply to him. “Bookkeeper?”

“And damned good at what she does, too. She has to automatically be considered a suspect.”

Brett nodded, turning his gaze once again to the slim back of the woman and watching until she entered the elevator and he was no longer able to see her. He and Evan were in Los Angeles to quietly investigate the mysterious discrepancy that an internal audit had turned up in the Los Angeles office of Carter Engineering, which was under the corporate umbrella of the Carter-Marshall Group. When Joshua Carter had heard of the possible embezzlement in his base company, he’d been livid, and Joshua Carter in a rage was something to behold, even though he was now pushing seventy. He’d called in his prize troubleshooter to investigate and handle the problem, and he’d instructed Brett to prosecute to the full extent of the law. Nobody stole from Joshua Carter and got away with only dismissal and a slap on the wrist! Bad publicity could go hang, for all he cared.

Brett shared with Joshua Carter the same cold distrust for a thief; he’d worked too hard to achieve his success to feel anything but contempt for anyone who tried to do it the easy way, by stealing the fruit of someone else’s labors. It might take a while, but he and Evan would find the thief, and their handling of the situation would make everyone else in Carter Engineering think twice before they took so much as a pencil home.

Computer theft, by someone who really knew computers, could be a real bitch to track down, but Brett had full confidence in Evan’s skills. There were few other people in the United States who could match Evan’s expertise with a computer. With Evan working on the technical end, and Brett investigating the people, they’d have this wrapped up before the thief even knew they were coming. The cover story that had been given out was that they were in Los Angeles to investigate the feasibility of a new computer system that was being considered. Evan could make that look legitimate for an indefinite length of time.

Brett rubbed his jaw consideringly. “Do you know her name?” he asked Evan in an almost absent manner.

“Every man in this building knows her name,” Evan replied, grinning. “Teresa Conway, but everyone calls her Tessa. She isn’t married; I…uh, pulled her personnel file.”

“Interesting reading?”

“Depends on what you’re looking for. No obvious skeletons in her closet, though.”

“I think I’ll combine business with a little pleasure, and take Miss Conway out to dinner,” Brett drawled. “I’ll pump her for information on the rest of the department; she may know of someone with financial problems, or have noticed any sudden riches.”

“I hate for you to have to work so hard.” Evan lifted his eyebrows sardonically. “I’ll pull night duty for you and take the lady out, so you can get a good night’s rest.”

In admirably succinct language, Brett told him what he could do with his suggestion, and Evan grinned. He was thin and dark and intense, and he’d never suffered from a lack of female companionship. Probably he would have asked Tessa Conway out himself before the assignment was finished, but he’d been too busy and now Brett was stepping in, which meant that no one else would have a chance with her until Brett decided to walk away. Women didn’t deny Brett Rutland; nature had given him a burning sexuality, a rawly demanding virility that drew women like moths to a candle, but his physical appetites were tempered by the icy control of his brain. Evan had never met a man more in control of himself than Brett Rutland.

Joshua Carter couldn’t have picked a better choice than Brett to send in; he was cool, alert, and he didn’t become emotionally involved. Evan had heard it said that Brett Rutland didn’t give a damn about anyone, and on occasion he’d thought that the rumor just might be right. The clarity of Brett’s thought processes was never clouded by sentiment or emotion. He had a guarded personality; he kept his thoughts well hidden, though most people never realized that, because he was so adept in handling them and bending them to his will.

“When we get back from lunch, I want to read her file,” Brett said now. His navy blue eyes were intent, and Evan felt a moment’s pity for Tessa Conway; she didn’t have a chance.

* * *

AS TESSA REENTERED the building after lunch, she smiled at the security guard at the front door, earning an ear-to-ear grin from him and an exasperated snort from Martha “Billie” Billingsley, who worked in the payroll department of Carter Engineering and who was also Tessa’s closest friend.

“You’d flirt with a dead man,” Billie growled.

“I wouldn’t,” Tessa defended herself good-naturedly. “Besides, there’s a difference between flirting and just being friendly.”

“Not where you’re concerned, there isn’t. You have every man in this building falling all over himself whenever you’re anywhere near.”

Tessa laughed, not taking Billie’s charge at all seriously. She was a cheerful flirt, laughing and teasing, but doing it so lightheartedly that it was almost impossible not to laugh with her. Most people liked Tessa—even women—because she wasn’t a poacher, despite the sunny charm that drew men to her like iron filings to a magnet. She was always the first person invited to a party because she was so lively. She had a sharp but kind wit, the sort that had people hanging on her lazy words, waiting with almost painful anticipation for her to get to the punch line, then exploding with mirth when she finally got it all said. Tessa’s drawl would have driven everyone crazy months ago if the lazy music of it hadn’t been so distracting. She was originally from Mobile, on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, and Billie had long ago concluded that it would take an earthquake to make Tessa hurry. It was really odd how she managed to accomplish so much on her job, because she approached it with such calm laziness, never appearing ruffled or frantic no matter what crisis was crashing down on the office. Tessa just sort of strolled around, and things somehow got done. It was a complete mystery.

They entered the elevator, where they were joined by the company’s computer genius, Sammy Wallace. Sammy was tall and thin and blond, with vague, sweet blue eyes behind horn-rimmed glasses that made him look like even more of a genius. Put him at the keyboard of a computer and he could practically make it sing opera, but he was almost painfully shy. Tessa felt protective of him, even though he was actually a few years older than she, and she greeted him warmly. He still blushed whenever she spoke to him, but he’d learned that the kindness in her eyes wasn’t a lie, and he returned her smile. He might usually have his mind on computers, but he’d noticed how men looked at Tessa, and he felt a little proud that she always spoke to him.

“Do you have a free night for another chess lesson?” she asked, and he blushed a little more at the way she suggested that his social life was so busy that his free nights were few and far between. He liked that, and he gave her his sweet smile.

“How about tomorrow night?”

“Wonderful!” She rewarded him with a dazzling smile, her deep green eyes sparkling. “About seven?”

“Sure. Do you want to play poker again, too?”

“Now, you know I never turn down a poker game.” She winked at him, and Sammy winked back, surprising even himself. He was teaching Tessa chess, and in return she was teaching him poker. He was so good with numbers that he was picking up the basics of poker far more easily than she was handling chess. Tessa played chess with verve and dash, going on instinct rather than strategy, and the board was often chaotic before her adversary figured out what was going on and began methodically boxing in her king. On the other hand, she was very good at poker; she liked the sheer exhilaration of blending skill and luck.

The elevator stopped at the next floor, and several men entered; Tessa moved toward the rear, holding the rail as the doors closed and they all moved upward again. It was lucky that she did hold on to the rail; when the elevator reached the next floor, it lurched violently before shuddering to a stop. Ted Baker, the man standing in front of her, lost his balance and flailed wildly in an effort to keep from falling. He succeeded, but his elbow crashed against Tessa’s cheekbone, and she staggered from the force of the blow. Instantly, the man beside her had his arm around her waist, holding her up, and he swore softly.

The man who had hit her turned around, apologizing profusely. “It wasn’t your fault,” Tessa tried to reassure him.

“Baker, have a repairman called to check out the elevator,” the man holding Tessa ordered, and Baker quickly murmured an acknowledgment.

Tessa had already recovered from the brief dizziness caused by the blow, and she tried to move away from the man, but he held her firmly within the hard circle of his arm. Billie squeezed over to them, her eyes anxious. “Tessa? Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” But she probed her cheekbone gingerly with her fingers, not certain if she was being truthful or brave. Her face felt a little numb.

“I’ll take her up and put ice on it,” the authoritative voice above her head said, and she doubted if anyone ever disobeyed that note of command. Certainly no one in the elevator made any other suggestion. Billie got off at their floor, looking back worriedly at Tessa, but she didn’t try to accompany them. Little by little the elevator emptied as it rose higher and higher in the building, and Tessa pursed her lips thoughtfully at what that meant. She wanted to tilt her head back and get a good look at her rescuer, but he was standing slightly behind her, and she really didn’t feel safe in moving her head that much. Sensation was returning to her face, and her cheekbone was throbbing painfully.

They exited on the executive floor, where Tessa had been only a few times in the past, since there was seldom any need for someone from bookkeeping to venture that far afield. He opened a door that had no name on it, but a secretary sprang to attention at her desk.

“Helen, do I have any ice in my office? There’s been a slight accident.”

“Yes, sir, I’m certain you do.” Helen jumped to open the door for him, then walked straight to the small built-in bar in the corner of the large office to check the supply of ice. “Yes, there’s ice. Do you need anything else?”

“I’ll get a towel from my washroom,” he said easily. “That’ll be all, thanks.”

The secretary left, closing the door behind her, and Tessa was alone in the big office with a man she’d never seen before. “Sit here,” he instructed, easing her into the huge leather chair behind the desk that stretched out like a football field. He turned away to fetch a towel from his private washroom, and Tessa promptly got to her feet, propelled by both curiosity and an instinctive wariness of a man so used to giving commands and having them obeyed. She walked to the wide windows and looked out at the almost endless vista of Los Angeles. She heard him when he came back into the office, but she didn’t look around.

“I told you to sit down,” he said abruptly to her back.

“Yes, you did,” Tessa agreed in a mild voice.

After a moment, he walked over to the bar, and she heard the clink of ice cubes as he got them out. “I’d feel better if you sat down; that was quite a crack you took.”

“I promise I won’t faint.” She could hear him approaching…no, the thick carpet muffled his footsteps. She sensed his movements, as if her skin had become acutely sensitive to him; she actually felt the warmth of his body as he came closer. Turning, she faced him for the first time.

While he’d been holding her so closely against his side, she’d noticed several things about him. The first was that he was very tall, probably six-four, and very strong. She was of medium height, but her build was delicate and graceful, and she’d had the feeling that he could have lifted her with one hand. The heat and power of his hard-muscled body had been almost overpowering. She’d also noticed his clean male scent, and felt the lean strength of his hands.

Now he stood before her, looking at her with narrowed, intent eyes, and Tessa looked back.

A curiously light-headed feeling began to creep over her, and she wondered for a moment if she might have a slight concussion; then she realized that she was holding her breath. She let it out in a soft sigh, still staring up at the hard, distinctly unhandsome, but remarkably sensual and arresting face. He had the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen on anyone: navy blue eyes, fringed by thick dark lashes, a blue as pure and deep as she could ever imagine. His hair was tawny brown, with strands of gold running through it, and verging on shagginess. He looked hard and sensual and perhaps a little cruel, and Tessa couldn’t look away from him.

His chin was a little too prominent, his jaw a little too long, his cheekbones a little too high and raw and hard; his nose could almost be called beaky. His features were so roughly hewn that he might even have been called homely if it hadn’t been for the dark blue beauty of his eyes and the sensually chiseled perfection of his mouth. That mouth was positively wicked, and she stopped breathing again when she looked at it. His mouth was just the right size, neither too wide nor too small, and his lips were mobile and clear cut, with a small curl to them that could be either cynicism or amusement. It was the mouth of a man of wide and varied experience, a man who knew how to kiss, how to savor the taste of a woman’s skin. Tessa found herself suddenly shaken by the compulsion to rise on her tiptoes and find out for herself just how well he could kiss.

Very gently, he put one finger under her chin and tilted her face to the light so he could examine her cheek. “You’ll have a bruise,” he told her, “but I don’t think your eye will turn black.”

“I hope not!”

Cautiously he placed the makeshift ice pack against her cheek, and Tessa reached up to hold it in place. Her hand touched his, and she noticed that his fingers were slightly rough, not the hands of a man who never did anything more strenuous than sign his name. He didn’t drop his hand, but kept it under hers, and he looked down at her with such calm, self-confident awareness in his eyes that Tessa automatically wanted to put a safer distance between them. She was used to charming men so easily that it wasn’t even a conscious effort, but it was a lighthearted charm, and she always danced away before emotions could become intense. She couldn’t have said how she knew it, but every bone in her body, every fiber of her flesh, every instinct of her very female personality, recognized him as being more than she could handle. He wasn’t a man of easy charm; he overwhelmed women with the intensity of his maleness. He wouldn’t let the butterfly flit away after dancing tantalizingly before him; he would reach out and capture her, and hold her for as long as her beauty intrigued him. Tessa knew that she had to go, then, in order to protect her own best interests. But she didn’t want to go, she thought wistfully. She wanted to stay near him… .

Beneath all the light and laughter, Tessa had a strong streak of common sense, and it surfaced now. “Thank you for the ice,” she murmured as she stepped away from him. “I’d better get back to my job before I’m fired for being late. Thanks again—”

“Stay,” he commanded softly, and it was definitely a command, despite the evenness of his tone. “I’ll call your department head and cover for you.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m really all right, so I can go back to work.”

“If you insist.” His lids dropped lazily over his deep-sea eyes. “I’d like to talk to you, though, so I’ll take you out to dinner tonight. Will seven-thirty suit you?”

“Whoa!” she said, startled. “I don’t even know you!”

“That’s easily remedied.” He held out his hard, sun-browned hand. “I’m Brett Rutland, from Carter-Marshall.”

Tessa’s eyes widened fractionally. She’d heard the name so many times during the past week, and so many people seemed to be a bit cautious of him that she’d begun actually to believe all the things she’d heard about him. Just the rumor that he might descend on Carter Engineering had made a lot of people nervous. He must have arrived that morning. But he was still holding out his hand, and slowly Tessa put her hand out to clasp his. His fingers wrapped gently around hers, as if he were very aware of the difference between his strength and hers.

“Tessa Conway,” she said as a self-introduction. “I work in the bookkeeping department.”

He didn’t release her hand. “Well, Tessa Conway, now you know who I am and I know who you are. Dinner?”

She eyed him warily for a moment; then her natural sense of humor began to surface. Was this man the ogre everyone had been telling horror tales about? He was no one’s tame pussycat, that was for certain, but he didn’t look as if he ate raw meat for breakfast, either. Teasing lights began to dance in her green eyes. “I’m not certain I’d be safe with someone known as the Ax-Man,” she pointed out cheekily.

He threw back his head and laughed, a good, deep sound, and a warmth began to grow inside her. “Ax-Man? That’s better than what I’d thought! But you won’t have anything to worry about, Tessa Conway. I won’t chop you up into little pieces.”

No, but he was a man who could put a woman’s emotions through the meat grinder. Just standing there in the office with him, Tessa could feel her heart beating a little faster, and the way her blood was humming through her veins made her feel warm all over. Temptation was weakening her because she really wanted to go with him, but she knew that the smartest thing to do would be to run, not walk, to the nearest cover.

“If we went out together, the grapevine would short-out from the overload of gossip. I really don’t—”

“I don’t give a damn about gossip, and neither do you.” His fingers tightened over hers. “Seven-thirty?”

She looked up at him again, and that was a tactical error. With a low, musical laugh, she cast caution to the winds. “Make it six-thirty. I’m the original sleepyhead; if I don’t get my eight hours, I’m incapable of functioning. During the week, I don’t even stay out as late as Cinderella did, and we all know she was a party-pooper.”

Brett veiled his eyes with his lashes, not letting her see the predatory gleam in them. He’d be glad to make certain she was home in bed at an early hour; letting her sleep was something else entirely. “I’ll be there. Write down your address for me.” He planned to read her file, and he could get her address from there, but she didn’t need to know that.

Tessa held the cold compress in place with her left hand while she scribbled her address on a scrap of paper, along with her telephone number. Then she looked at him again, and shook her head a little. “I must be out of my mind,” she murmured to herself, and walked quickly out of the office before he could somehow entice her to stay even longer.

Brett sat down at his desk and toyed idly with the scrap of paper that contained her address. That was just how he wanted her: out of her mind, totally senseless with the pleasure he intended to give her. He’d had a number of affairs, enough that the prospect of another woman in his bed should produce only a feeling of mild anticipation, but the way he felt could never be described as mild. Whatever it was about Tessa Conway, he wanted her. He couldn’t really remember a woman he’d wanted whom he hadn’t eventually gotten, and usually within a fairly short length of time. There was no reason for things to be any different with Tessa. He thought of the way she walked, her slender hips moving in a way that made sweat pop out on his forehead. It might take a while for him to tire of her.

“I’m an idiot,” Tessa told herself over and over as she returned to her office, still holding the ice-filled towel to her bruised cheekbone. She’d actually agreed to go out with a man who occupied a rather high rung of the corporate ladder in her company, and that in itself could give birth to a bumper crop of gossip. Not only that, the man had a horrible reputation; whenever he appeared, people lost their jobs. “Ax-Man” was a singularly appropriate nickname. But all of that aside, he was also the sexiest man she’d ever seen, or imagined. It wasn’t his looks particularly, though his eyes were almost stunning in their beauty. It was the way he looked at a woman, as if she were his for the taking, and as if he knew all sorts of delicious ways to do the taking, and would linger over every moment of it. The eyes of a rake…except that there was something cool and controlled in his gaze, too, as if he held a part of himself aloof, totally untouched by the heat of his own passion.

What was a woman supposed to do with a man who would want more of herself than she felt safe in giving? Her heart had never been broken, but it had been battered badly enough that she didn’t want to risk her emotions again, especially with a man like Brett Rutland. He’d ignore the barriers of laughter and lighthearted teasing, knocking them aside to get to the woman behind them. Tessa loved flirting and partying; it was a lot of fun, and frequently made people feel better about themselves. But the thought of getting serious with anyone was a little scary, and she was very much afraid that keeping things cool with Brett Rutland was only a remote possibility.

After two broken engagements, Tessa no longer had so many stars in her eyes. She was optimistic and levelheaded enough not to condemn all men because of two failed relationships, but she was also more cautious now in the way she handled romantic entanglements. She knew danger when she saw it, and that man flashed danger signals like a neon sign. So why was she tossing aside all caution now, agreeing to go out with him when she knew better?

“Because I’m an idiot,” she muttered to herself as she sat down at her desk.

Perry Smitherman, head of the bookkeeping department, came out of his office and approached her small cubicle. His high forehead was knit in a perpetual frown. “Billie Billingsley called to say you’d had a small accident. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Tessa removed the cold compress and explored her swollen cheekbone with a light, cautious touch. “How does it look?”

His frown pulled even tighter as he bent down and examined the bruise as thoroughly as he would check the books. “Painful,” he finally pronounced. “Do you need to go home?”

Tessa concealed her startled laughter. “No, I’m able to work,” she assured him demurely. Perry was a fussbudget, but he was kindhearted enough, and she liked him, for all his fussy ways.

“Did you go to the infirmary?”

“No. Mr. Rutland took me up to his office and put this compress on it—”

“Brett Rutland?” Perry asked sharply.

“Yes, he was in the elevator—”

His high, white forehead began to glisten with sweat. “Did he ask you anything about the department? Did he say anything about going over the books?”

Anxiety was evident in his face and his raised voice. Soothingly, Tessa said, “Not a word. He simply got the ice from his bar and wrapped it in the towel.”

“Are you certain? He never does anything without a reason. He can be subtle, when it suits him. I’m sure he’s going to go over everything; but he’ll ask around first, and try to find out if we’re slack or careless in any way.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about; the department is in good shape, and you’re a very competent manager.”

“You never know,” he said, wringing his hands. “You never know.”

He was determined to think the worst, and with a sigh Tessa gave up the effort of cheering him; he was probably happier looking for a dark lining in a silver cloud anyway. Some people simply had a melancholy outlook, and Perry was one of them.

Billie popped in during the mid-afternoon break to check on Tessa. The other woman was full of curiosity about Brett Rutland, her big brown eyes even rounder than usual as she stared at Tessa and shot questions at her faster than they could be answered. “What did he say? How long did he keep you? Were you scared? My gosh, of all the people who could have been in that elevator! Did he say why he’s here?”

Tessa picked out one question and ignored the others. “Why should I have been scared? I didn’t know who he was.”

Billie gaped. “You didn’t know Brett Rutland?”

“I knew the name, but I’d never seen him, so how could I have known him?”

Looking impatient with such logic, Billie still tried to pry more information out of Tessa, who could be infuriatingly hard to pin down when she wanted to be. “What did you say? What did he say?”

“Among other things, he told me to sit down while he got a towel,” Tessa murmured. She wasn’t going to tell Billie that he’d asked her out to dinner; just the thought of going out with him affected her nerves, jarring her out of her usual lazy contentment and making her feel jittery, and both afraid and excited at the same time. She was still tingling from the sizzling electricity of his masculinity.

Aunt Silver would adore him.

Just the thought of her aunt made Tessa smile, because Silver was the warmest, liveliest, most lovable woman in existence, and if there was anything Silver appreciated, it was an exciting man. “Sugar,” Silver had told her more than once, “if I ever stop man watching, you’ll know to bury me, because that’s a sure sign that I’m dead.” Since Silver was prospering with her small, exclusive doll shop in Gatlinburg, Tessa was certain that her aunt was still happily man watching, too.

“You’re smiling,” Billie accused. “Teresa Conway! Don’t you dare try flirting with that man! I know that look in your eyes; have you been batting your eyelashes at him?”

“With my face looking as if I’d just gone ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer?” Tessa asked in a mild voice.

“Would you let a little thing like that stop you?”

“I promise, I haven’t been flirting with Mr. Rutland.” Her eyes twinkled; evidently Mr. Rutland didn’t wait for a woman to flirt with him before he made his move. “I hope not! He’s been known to tear strips of flesh off people who have looked at him wrong.”

Several things about Brett Rutland alarmed Tessa, but not the fear that he’d tear strips of flesh off her. No, what he’d do to her flesh wouldn’t be painful at all, and that inner certainty was probably the most alarming thing she felt about him. Whenever a woman looked at a man and knew, instinctively and without doubt, that he would be able to give her exquisite pleasure, her defenses against that man were dangerously weakened. Tessa didn’t want her defenses to be weakened; she’d been hurt badly, not once but twice. Later, after time had completely healed all her emotional wounds, she wanted to try love again. But not now, she thought despairingly. I’m not ready now.

She managed to assure Billie that she hadn’t done anything shocking that could cost her her job. Billie was an uneasy mixture of laid-back California casualness and a surprising streak of prudery that was frequently shocked by Tessa’s flirtatiousness. Because she was also a loyal friend, Tessa looked out for Billie in subtle ways that no one had ever realized, though many thought that Billie had guided Tessa through the mazes and pitfalls of life in Southern California, where the normal flow of traffic was practically a death sentence for a young woman used to using a much more leisurely pace in getting from one place to another. Since Tessa had become Billie’s friend, Billie’s clothes had become simpler, more classic in style, and more suited to her short, rather rounded figure. Billie’s hairstyle now flattered her face, her makeup accentuated her large brown eyes and camouflaged her rather sallow complexion. Before, Billie’s taste in jewelry had run to heavy, clunky pieces in neon colors that had tended to make her look like a midget in the circus. Now she wore smaller pieces, well coordinated with her clothing. Billie’s social life had picked up considerably in the last year, but she never wondered why. Tessa knew why, and the knowledge filled her with quiet satisfaction. She’d been lucky; she’d had Aunt Silver to guide her in her confusing teenage days, to teach her how to dress and use makeup; not many girls were so lucky. Spreading around a little of Aunt Silver’s knowledge was the least she could do.

She’d have to remember to write to Aunt Silver about Brett Rutland; her aunt would definitely enjoy hearing about a man with navy blue eyes and a mouth that made a woman go a little crazy.

* * *

BRETT LEANED BACK in his chair, his eyes narrowed as he flipped through the scanty information in Tessa’s personnel file. There wasn’t a lot in there: She’d never been arrested, never been married and had no identifying scars or birthmarks. Her supervisor, Perry Smitherman, had given her a good evaluation, but Brett thought cynically that any normal man would find it difficult to say anything unfavorable about Tessa, even an old-maid type like Perry Smitherman.

He tossed the file onto his desk; its contents were useless. He’d find out more about her tonight.




CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_42a47ec4-3c1b-5142-9a3c-f064f76778e0)


TESSA LEANED CLOSER to the mirror and examined her discolored, swollen cheekbone, then frowned. Her normal makeup hadn’t covered the bruise as well as she’d hoped; she carefully applied a concealer, and blended it until she was satisfied that the bruise was hardly noticeable.

She’d gotten caught in the snarled traffic, and as a result had only arrived home a mere half an hour before, but the situation was well in hand. She’d plugged in her hot rollers, then stripped and taken a fast shower and washed her hair. By the time she’d blown her hair dry, the rollers were hot, and she’d set a few of them in her hair for lift and control. Makeup had taken an additional ten minutes. Now she took the rollers from her hair and deftly brushed it into a casually sophisticated style that swirled about her shoulders. A glance at the clock told her that she had twelve minutes left, ample time to get dressed.

Tessa disliked hurrying, but she seldom had to hurry, because she had everything organized. Organization was insurance against haste. She knew where everything was, and had her routine well planned; if circumstances conspired against her and she was thrown off schedule, she would hurry, if work were involved, but she never hurried for personal reasons. Oddly, she was almost never late, as if the little gremlins who disrupted schedules realized that they wouldn’t get any satisfaction from watching her dash around madly, so they seldom bothered with her. At least, that was the explanation she’d worked out in her mind, and it suited her as well as any other.

She sprayed herself lightly with her favorite perfume, then put on her underwear, her hosiery and her dress. The dress was cream-colored silk, with a slim skirt and a wrap bodice, and long sleeves to keep her arms warm in the April night. She slipped pearl studs into her ears, then fastened a single long strand of creamy pearls around her neck. Pale beige sling-backs lifted her a few inches higher, giving her a willowy, swaying grace. Just as she picked up her matching beige evening purse, the doorbell rang, and she nodded in satisfaction. “Right on time,” she told herself in congratulation, and she meant herself, not him.

She opened the door to him, and as soon as she met his dark blue eyes she felt a sudden rushing warmth inside. Darn, but the man packed a wallop! All he had to do was smile and a woman was reeling on the ropes. But none of what she felt was in her lazy smile as she invited him inside. “Would you like a drink before we go?”

“No, thanks.” He looked around her small, cozy apartment, full of comfortable furniture and warm lighting, with her many unrelated collections filling every nook and corner. “Nice. It looks homey.”

With some people, “homey” would have been a polite way of saying “cluttered,” but somehow Tessa felt that he meant it. Andrew would have turned up his nose at the comfortable but definitely unfashionable decor, but then Andrew was very much concerned with keeping up his image. She sighed; she’d promised herself several times that she’d never think of Andrew again, but somehow he sneaked back into her mind at odd times. Why should she think of him now, when she was going out with a man who put Andrew completely in the shade? Perhaps her subconscious was dredging up Andrew’s memory in an effort to put her on her guard and protect her against a man who was so much more dangerous than Andrew had ever been.

His car was a rental, but a luxury model for all that. She’d heard it said that Brett Rutland was Mr. Carter’s fair-haired boy, and perhaps he was. After helping her into the car, he walked around to the driver’s side and folded his long length behind the wheel. When she considered his height, she realized that he had to have a large car; a man with legs that long would never be comfortable in a sports model.

“I made reservations for seven o’clock,” he said, and she caught a glint of amusement in his normally controlled expression. “You should be home by ten-thirty; can you stay awake that long?”

“I might,” she drawled, not giving him an inch.

A tiny smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“I’ll try to make sure you stay awake,” he said in a voice that almost purred with sensuality.

Oh, she’d just bet he would! Probably the only time any woman had gone to sleep on him was in his arms, after the loving was finished.

“What part of the South are you from?” he asked casually, as if he hadn’t read her file.

“I was born in Mobile, Alabama. But when I was thirteen my mother and I moved to Tennessee to live with her sister.” Those were the bare facts; they didn’t tell of her mother’s long battle with ill health, the poverty they’d endured, the times when there simply hadn’t been anything to eat because her mother hadn’t been able to work. Finally her mother had given up and swallowed her stubborn pride and asked her sister to drive down from Tennessee to get them, and even then she’d asked for Tessa’s sake, not her own. It was just that her mother’s entire family had been against Tessa’s father, and they’d been proved right, for he’d walked out on his family when Tessa was too young even to remember him. Tessa’s mother had lived barely a year after the move, and after that there’d been only Tessa and Silver in the old farmhouse just outside of Sevierville.

“What made you move out here?”

“I wanted to see something of the country,” Tessa replied easily. She wasn’t about to tell him about Andrew. She’d hated the idea of leaving, but Aunt Silver had talked her into it. She wasn’t running, Aunt Silver had said; she was turning her back on a bad situation and walking away from it. Well, Andrew thought she’d run, but eventually Tessa had come to realize that what Andrew thought didn’t matter worth a hoot. If only Andrew hadn’t been a hot, rising young executive at the company where Tessa had worked!

“Do you like it?”

“Well enough. What about you? You have a bit of a drawl yourself, but I can’t place it.”

He looked surprised, as if she wasn’t supposed to ask any of the questions. “I’m from Wyoming. My father and I own a ranch there.”

“A real ranch? Don’t you miss it?” Her eyes had brightened with interest, and she’d turned in her seat to face him, a movement that made the draped bodice of her dress gape open just a bit, enough to allow his quick glance to caress the soft, beginning curve of her breast. He wanted to put his hand inside her dress and feel the satiny swell, to make her nipple pucker against his palm. The jolt of pure desire that hit him took him by surprise, and he had to force himself to concentrate on her question.

“Yes, I miss it.” The admission surprised him, because he’d been ignoring the increasing need to walk away from the whole rat race and go back to what he’d grown up doing, ranching. Old Tom was proud of his son for making it big in the business world, and Brett had to admit that he’d enjoyed the challenge of it himself. But now…he was getting older, and so was old Tom, and when it came down to it there was nothing that gave him the satisfaction of a hard day’s work in the saddle. He wondered what this soft, sleekly sophisticated creature beside him would say if he told her that more and more often he wanted to go home, to Wyoming and the growing Rutland spread.

“I’m going to go home, someday,” she said softly. “This isn’t going to be my permanent home. Home is an old farmhouse that needs a coat of paint, and a dilapidated barn behind it that even the old cow was afraid to go in.” She laughed a little at her memories, but they were good, warm memories, because Aunt Silver had filled that old farmhouse with enough love to completely shelter her young, confused niece. Aunt Silver had left the old farm now, though she still owned it, and moved to a modern house in Gatlinburg, but Tessa meant to fix up the old farmhouse and live in it someday. The best times of her life had been spent there.

Looking at her now, Brett found it hard to believe that her childhood had been a deprived one. She looked as expensive as a woman from a moneyed, blue-blooded background, educated in a private school in Virginia. Why would she want to go back, if she had it so much better here?

Tessa thoroughly approved of the restaurant he’d chosen; she’d never been there before, but the interior was dim and the diners were all discreetly isolated, while the music was low and pleasant. They were shown to a private little alcove, where a candelabrum with three tall white tapers was the only light. The table was small, and she found that when they were seated their knees bumped. Their eyes met across the table, and a slow, sleepy smile touched his lips and made his eyelids droop heavily. He spread his legs until they were on either side of hers, then gently closed them so that his calves clasped hers. Her heartbeat bolted into a faster rhythm as she felt the warmth of his legs, the muscular strength of his calves. He’d have legs like a linebacker, she thought suddenly, and her legs felt burned from his heat.

Over a glass of very good wine, he continued questioning her, small, innocent questions that she answered willingly. She was too bemused by the possessive clasp of his legs to really pay any attention to the polite, getting-to-know-each-other questions that he gently posed to her every so often. Inevitably, they talked about work, since that was a common ground for them. He didn’t seem to be digging for any dirt, and he was so knowledgeable about the firm anyway that she found herself telling him funny anecdotes about the people she worked with, nothing that would get anyone in trouble, but the humorous little things that happened to everyone. She didn’t spare herself, either, and laughed as hard at the spots she’d gotten herself into as she did at any of the other stories. He countered with his own tales of the things that had happened to him during the years he’d been with Carter-Marshall, and Tessa completely relaxed.

Brett was too coolly controlled ever to be a social lion, but in a private situation with a woman he wanted, he was unrivaled. He charmed without threatening, making her feel appreciated without coming on too strong, skillfully wearing down any inner defenses. He wanted Tessa very much. It wasn’t that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen because she wasn’t; but she was almost certainly the sexiest woman he’d ever met. It wasn’t anything he could really put his finger on; she was slender rather than voluptuous, though very shapely indeed. But her soft green eyes sparkled with teasing amusement, and her wide, generous mouth was made for passion. Her dark brown hair looked like thick silk as it curled around her delicate shoulders. With those high, beautiful cheekbones, she looked exotic and a little foreign. She teased and flirted…oh, she had flirting down to a fine art. Every time her long dark lashes languorously swept down to veil the cheerfully wicked glint in her eyes, he felt his body tighten with need. She played at being the vamp, but she did it so boldly, laughing at herself and enjoying the role so much, that it was unbelievably effective. She invited everyone else to enjoy themselves as lightheartedly as she did, but she didn’t seem to realize what a challenge she was. Brett thought of having her beneath him in bed, that full mouth no longer laughing but swollen from his kisses, and her sweet, satiny body accommodating his passions. He’d have to be gentle with her, at least at first, he thought as his eyes narrowed intently on her. She was delicately built, with slender, fragile bones.

Tessa looked up from the prime rib she was devouring with elegant greed, and found him watching her with sexual intent burning with obvious fire in his eyes. She went suddenly still, her mouth soft and a little tremulous. Without taking his eyes from her, he lifted his wineglass and drank the rich red liquid.

“Finish eating,” he said gently.

“I can’t.” Despite the way he made her feel, so shaky inside, she smiled at him. “You’re staring at me.”

“I know. I was thinking how much I’d rather be having you than this roast beef.”

His voice was so tender and low that it was a moment before she realized exactly what he’d said, and her eyes widened even more. She felt utterly hypnotized, sitting there and staring at him as helplessly as a rabbit must stare at a lion about to pounce. Giving herself an inner shake, Tessa gathered her senses. “Finish your roast anyway,” she admonished him. “Aunt Silver always told me that the only thing worth betting on was a sure thing, so don’t turn down your bird in the hand…or in this case, beef on the plate.”

His hard mouth curved in amusement. “Do you really have an Aunt Silver, or do you just use the idea as a diversion?”

Feeling more on top of the situation again, Tessa gave him a look so innocent that it should have been patented. “Now, could I really make up an Aunt Silver?”

“If it suited you.”

“You’re probably right,” she agreed comfortably, smiling at him. “But in this case, I don’t have to rely on my imagination. Aunt Silver is my actual, living, breathing aunt.”

“The one you and your mother went to live with?”

“Yes. Mother died not long after we moved to Tennessee, so Aunt Silver and I were closer than we’d normally have been. All we had was each other. She’s fantastic; she’s my aunt, my mother and my best friend all rolled into one.”

“Does she still live in Tennessee?” That was another bit of information that he’d already gotten from her file, but Brett’s cool attention to detail never faltered. He wanted her to give the details of her life herself, partly to account for the knowledge he already had, and also to give him the chance to see if she told it exactly as she’d put it in her file, or if she was reluctant to answer any personal questions. So far, she was an open, warmly responsive woman, and he wanted her more and more as the minutes passed.

“She owns a doll shop in Gatlinburg; she lives there now. The old farmhouse needs a lot of work done on it, and the only heat is the fireplace and old woodstove, so it was a lot easier on her just to move to Gatlinburg, as well as being safer during the winter. Now she doesn’t have to drive on those icy roads.” Tessa gave her slow smile. “I hope she’ll close the shop for a couple of weeks of vacation this winter, during the slow season, and come out here to visit.”

Brett’s eyes sharpened with interest. “Slow season?”

“The Smoky Mountain park headquarters are in Gatlinburg. The summer months, and through October, are the busiest, though a lot of people go during the winter, too, for the snow.”

He shook his head. Wyoming born and bred, he still couldn’t understand why anyone would actually want snow. It seemed to him that every winter they’d always had more snow than anyone could want in a lifetime. He skied, and did it well, but he’d never been enthusiastic over the sport or the snow necessary for it. But more and more he found himself missing Wyoming, even those god-awful winters.

Tessa laughed at his expression. “Listen, when you live in the South, snow is rare. I’d never seen snow at all until we moved to Tennessee.”

They finished their main courses, and the waiter promptly cleared the dishes away, while they lingered over the wine. Tessa had thought that she wouldn’t be able to eat any dessert, but when the waiter brought the dessert cart, she stared at the scrumptious pastries until her mouth was watering. “I can’t resist it,” she sighed, choosing her dessert.

Brett declined a sweet, but they both ordered coffee, and he slowly drank his as he watched her attack the pastry. She certainly enjoyed her food, for someone so slim. She glanced up at him and caught his gaze, and smiled as she read his thoughts. No words were necessary; it was one of those strangely intimate interludes when two minds march together, and she felt closer to him at that moment than she ever had with anyone else.

His gaze lowered. “You have a crumb on your lip,” he said softly, and Tessa ran her tongue slowly, searchingly, over her lips in quest of the errant crumb.

His navy eyes darkened to black. “You missed it. Lean over and I’ll get it off for you.”

Obligingly Tessa leaned over, smiling at him, so he could flick the crumb off with his finger. He paused for a moment, searing her with the dark heat of his gaze, then leaned over slowly, like a man moving at the command of a force stronger than he. As the distance between them lessened, Tessa’s eyes widened until they were large green pools, soft and deep. Surely he wasn’t going to kiss her, was he? Lightly his mouth touched her, found the crumb, and his tongue captured it. Tessa quivered under that light touch, filled with his taste, the heat and smell of his skin surrounding her. She felt almost paralyzed, totally unable to move away from him. She was as overwhelmed by him as if he’d put his arms around her and was holding her tightly to his lean, hard frame, though he’d touched her only with his mouth, and that so lightly and delicately that she’d scarcely been able to feel it.

He moved away, and the heat in his eyes had intensified, his gaze locked on her face. His expression hadn’t changed, but Tessa’s tingling nerve endings picked up the small, almost imperceptible signals of his growing arousal. His skin seemed to be pulled tighter over his fierce cheekbones; his lips were redder, a bit fuller. Tessa’s body throbbed in rhythm with his thundering heartbeat, as if his body set the pace for hers. His heat lured her, pulling her closer.

“Are you ready to leave?” he asked, and his raspy voice was even rawer than usual.

Tessa had a mental image of herself cheerfully, blindly wading ever deeper into the dark sea of temptation. In over my head, she thought with faint despair, then threw caution to the wind and nodded. “Yes. I’d like to go home now, please.”

He didn’t even take her arm as they walked back out to his car, but tension vibrated between them. Tessa glanced up at his controlled face, wondering how a man with such steely self-control could at the same time project the raw, steamy sensuality that was overwhelming her own instinctive caution before he’d even made a real move toward her. That fleeting brush of lips in the restaurant hadn’t qualified as a real kiss, but even that had sent rockets of pleasure zinging through her body.

She was a little stunned by the intensity of her feelings. Not even with Andrew had she wanted so badly, and she’d loved Andrew. Nor had she been physically attracted to Will, but Will had been an infatuation, not love. She was accustomed to attracting men; it was effortless on her part, and she simply accepted it as part of her personality. She kept it light, enjoying herself and enjoying the knowledge that the men in her life had fun when they were with her. Life was for laughter, for teasing and joking and dancing, for feeling good. It was for love, too, but she knew that love didn’t come as easily as laughter.

Tessa was a creature made for the sunlight, warm and bright; the man beside her was controlled, even a little grim, though she’d been able to bring the light of laughter to his eyes several times. For all the warm golden streaks in his hair, for all the heat of his sexuality, he was a man who held himself aloof mentally, whose emotions were cool and even. But he made her heart jump at the sight of him, as no other man had ever done. He made her ache, as if she were suddenly incomplete, and yearning to be a part of a whole, with him.

What if I fall in love with him? she thought in sudden panic, and looked at him with apprehension plain in her eyes. He wasn’t like other men; with him, she wouldn’t be able to control the relationship as she’d always done before. He would take everything she had to give, all of the sunlight and sweet secrets, and she wasn’t certain that he would give her anything in return. Oh, she knew that he was physically attracted to her, but he kept his emotions, his thoughts, carefully shielded. She was totally uncertain of herself in that regard, and she wasn’t used to feeling as if she was walking in emotional quicksand.

Brett had seen the brief moment of fear that had glimmered in her eyes, and he wondered what had caused it. What was she afraid of? She certainly wasn’t afraid of him as a man; she was too damned enticing and flirtatious. His brows pulled together in a momentary frown, before he smoothed them again. He’d solve all her riddles, eventually.

As he pulled the car to the curb at her apartment, he glanced at his wristwatch. “Ten o’clock, Cinderella. You’re safe for the night.”

She chuckled, then quickly sobered. Was she safe? She wasn’t certain yet, and she wouldn’t be until she’d seen him on his way. What if he wanted to stay? She’d already learned that her toughest problem with controlling him would be controlling herself. If he could make her melt with a barely-there kiss, what would she do if he turned his charm on full power?

His hand rested lightly on the small of her back as they went up the walk, but even that touch affected the rhythm of her heartbeat. “Let me have your key,” he murmured. She got it from her purse and gave it to him. He unlocked the door, then stepped inside the apartment before she could think of a way to keep him from coming in. She stood just inside the door and watched as he turned on the lights and checked all the rooms. “All secure,” he said, smiling a little.

“Is this security check standard?” she asked, curiosity momentarily taking her attention.

His eyes were like the deep Pacific, with golden lights dancing on top of the blue waves. “Yes,” he said simply, and came over to her where she still stood by the door. Taking her arm, he drew her farther inside and pushed the door closed. He cupped her face in his hard, warm hands, turning it up and studying the generous mouth, the languid sweep of her thick dark lashes. It was a passionate face for all its delicacy, and he wanted the taste of her mouth on his.

She clasped her hands around the thickness of his wrists, and he felt the faint quiver of her body. Without a word, he bent his head and covered her lips with his mouth, feeling the sweet softness tremble and part, and he kissed her harder, tilting her head back even more so he could slant his mouth across hers and deepen the caress. Tessa helplessly opened her mouth to his tongue. No man should taste this sweet and heady, but he did, and she cried a little inside because she was afraid he would hurt her if she gave him any opening into her emotions, but she was also afraid that she wouldn’t be able to protect herself.

He lifted his mouth from hers a fraction of an inch, and his wine-sweet breath wafted over her lips as he demanded in a low, harsh voice, “Kiss me the way I’m kissing you. Give me your tongue. I want it now; I want you to kiss me the way I know you can.” Almost fiercely, he put his mouth over hers again, and with a little sigh Tessa gave in to the delicious, erotic demand. She kissed him as if he were hers, as if she had every right to him, every right to demand everything from him. With her lips and tongue she claimed him, kissing him deeply, forgetting the need to protect herself. His frank, heated sensuality overcame the barriers of laughter that she used to keep people from becoming too intimate, and tapped into the deep, passionate core of her womanhood. Tessa was a woman with a deep reservoir of love and passion waiting to be given to the one man who would be the love of her life. She knew the worth of her love; she wasn’t about to waste it on a casual, fly-by-night relationship no matter how attractive the man. Always before, she’d been able to keep the necessary mental control to ensure this, but now she felt her control slipping away, felt herself giving him the first taste of the searing magic of her passion.

His hands left her face; one arm went around her rib cage, locking her to him with a steely strength that made her shiver as she realized how very strong he was. His other hand went to the back of her head and seized a handful of hair, exerting just enough pressure to hold her head back without hurting her. He lifted his mouth from hers again, and his breathing was ragged, his eyes burning with need.

Tessa quivered against him, well aware of his need; pressed against him as she was, she could feel every taut line of his body. She knew that she should say something light, something to make him laugh, to break the mood, but she couldn’t seem to think of anything very effective. “Was that what you wanted?” she finally managed, but her voice was so low and whispery with her own need that the words were more of an invitation than the light mockery she’d intended.

“That was part of it,” he said in rasping admission, and began kissing her again. Her senses noticed the roughness of his voice, and she knew the more aroused he became, the lower and rougher his voice was, until he spoke in little more than a growl. She clung to his heavy shoulders, helplessly giving his mouth everything it sought, the freedom and depth and response of her own mouth. He was teaching her the power of physical desire, making her want him in a way she’d never wanted a man before, so deeply and powerfully that it was becoming desperation.

In Brett’s experience, the unguarded response she was giving him meant that she was his for the taking. Though his loins were throbbing heavily, his mind was cool as he deliberately put his hand inside the wrap bodice of her dress, cupping the warm silk of her breast in his palm and discovering with delight that the curves of her breasts were lusher than he’d expected, given her almost fragile slenderness. His slightly rough thumb moved over the velvet nipple, gently turning it into a firm, impudent little nub.

Tessa jerked away from him.

Her instinctive action startled her as much as it did him. She blinked in bewilderment, then stared at him as she wasn’t quite certain what had happened. Her eyes were enormous, her face a little pale. “I wasn’t expecting that,” she said a little helplessly.

Brett ground his teeth in mingled rage and frustration. His entire body ached; his hands twitched, wanting the sweetness of her flesh beneath his fingers again. “Damn you, I ought to—” he began gutturally, then stopped before he said too much, before his male frustration led him to say things he didn’t mean. He meant to see her again, even if tonight wasn’t ending the way he’d planned. He’d have her yet, and he also thought he might be able to get more information about her fellow employees from her.

Tessa pressed shaking fingers to her mouth. “I know. I’m sorry,” she said weakly. “I never meant to let things…that is, you startled me when you touched…oh, damn it.”

He looked at her sharply. She was visibly trembling, and something very like fear was in those wide eyes as she stared at him—fear like he’d seen before, during dinner, and he felt a sudden, keen curiosity. No, he had to reassure her, calm her down so she wouldn’t refuse to see him again.

He took a deep breath to calm the ragged pace of his breathing, and to bring his voice back to normal. “It happened too fast, didn’t it?” he asked quietly.

Tessa brought herself back under control, too. “I’m not a tease, but I don’t sleep around either. I don’t believe in casual encounters. We just met today, after all. I didn’t mean to let this happen.”

“I understand.” He managed a smile, a brief, grim smile. “Not that I think there would be anything casual about our encounter. We’d probably blow the needle off the Richter scale.”

Tessa had thought herself long past the blushing stage, but the color that rose to her cheeks was from excitement, not embarrassment. He was looking at her in a way that almost scorched her, and the painful part of it was that she still wanted him, too, in just the way he was imagining. Her body had reacted instinctively, independent of her mind and common sense, and her flesh had recognized him immediately as a worthy partner.

“Tomorrow night. Dinner again.”

She couldn’t take her eyes from him. “I can’t. Sammy Wallace is trying to teach me how to play chess.”

Brett remembered overhearing her make the date in the elevator, and his almost photographic memory dredged up an image of Sammy Wallace: thin and blond and no match at all for this sweet little Southern Delilah.

“All right,” he allowed grimly. “The night after, then. And don’t tell me no.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Never off stride for long, Tessa felt enough like herself to give him her slow-breaking smile that held him breathless as he watched the beginning curve of her lips and waited for the smile to reach full bloom. “I must have more courage than brains.”

He didn’t feel like smiling, but the twinkle in her eyes invited him to share in the laughter at herself. He didn’t want to laugh; he wanted to take her to bed, and the coiled tension in his body told him that he’d have to take a cold shower before he could sleep. “I’ll see you Thursday night. Six-thirty?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

He’d turned to the door, but he paused and glanced back at her, his face grim. “This Sammy Wallace, is he special to you?”

“He’s a very sweet and very shy man, and he’s also a genius. He’s teaching me chess.” Why was she explaining herself to him? But from the way he was looking at her, he didn’t think that was explanation enough.

“Don’t make any more dates with him, or with anyone else except me.”

The possessive order made her eyes widen. “Are you going Neanderthal on me?” she asked suspiciously.

“If I have to. You shouldn’t have kissed me the way you did if you didn’t want me to lay claim.” Very calmly, he caught her chin in his hand and kissed her, slow and hard. “Remember that.”

When he was gone, Tessa creamed off her makeup and brushed her hair, then pulled on her light nightgown and tumbled into bed. She was a hard sleeper; nothing interfered with her rest, and tonight was no exception. She went immediately to sleep, but her subconscious played the night for her again and again in dreams that didn’t stop with the touch of his hand on her body.

* * *

EVAN’S EYES WERE tired and red-rimmed from the work he’d been doing at night as well as the bogus work necessary during the day, but his mind was still running at full speed. He was totally caught up in their covert search for the embezzler. “Did you get any useful information from Miss Conway last night?” he asked absently when Brett entered the office.

“I’ve made notes,” Brett answered, taking a small notebook from his inside coat pocket. The details he’d noted were insignificant, except to himself and Evan. He’d had to be careful in his questioning, since Tessa wasn’t a gossip, but he’d gotten a surprising amount of information from her humorous tales.

Evan read the notes, frowning as he added the information to the profiles he was compiling on each employee under suspicion, which was, at that point, virtually everyone.

“What do you have on Sammy Wallace?” Brett asked slowly, frowning at himself for asking the question. He didn’t like the possessive jealousy he was feeling; he’d never felt it for any woman before, and he didn’t want to feel it now.

Evan’s head snapped up. “He’s a computer genius,” he said slowly. “He has a system at his apartment that the CIA could use. From what I’ve found so far, he has to be the prime suspect. What made you ask?”

Brett shrugged, his eyes intent. If Wallace was the prime suspect, he’d make damned sure Tessa didn’t have anything else to do with him.




CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_2af07043-bf89-528e-909e-71e8b3ab7fa9)


ALL DAY LONG, Tessa had looked forward to Sammy’s undemanding company as an antidote against the tension that curled in her stomach at just the thought of Brett Rutland, and Brett had occupied her thoughts so much that day that she wondered if she’d made a mess of everything she’d done.

“Aunt Silver, you never warned me about men like him,” she grumbled aloud, as if her aunt were in the room with her instead of almost an entire continent away. “I think I’ve met the man I could really love, but it’s not safe to love him. He’s a real heartbreaker. So what now?”

Take it as it comes.

That was exactly what Aunt Silver’s answer would be. She was a wonderfully romantic woman, but soundly based in common sense. Silver had probably faced the same dilemma when she met the man who would eventually be her husband. From what she’d heard from both her mother and Silver, Tessa had surmised that her uncle had been as wild as a mink, with charm to burn and an itch for Silver that Silver had been determined he wasn’t going to scratch. Their running battle had lasted for almost two years and kept three counties enthralled, wondering who would win. Silver had won, and their marriage had been as temptestuous and as loving as their courtship. It must run in the family for the women to fall in love with rakes and rascals, she thought.

“I won’t fall in love with him!” Tessa said fiercely as she took the stairs up to Sammy’s apartment, then admitted to herself that she was whistling in the dark.

When he answered the door, Sammy’s face was flushed with excitement and his hair was mussed. “Tessa, just wait until you see the new computer we’ve put together! It’s a real honey.”

Tessa was thoroughly familiar with computers, but only from a user’s standpoint. She knew absolutely nothing about microchips or interfacing, and wasn’t interested in learning, but she smiled at the enthusiasm on Sammy’s face. “Tell me about it,” she invited.

“See for yourself. Hillary’s here, too.”

Tessa had never met Hillary before, but Sammy had often talked about her. Hillary lived on the floor above him, and she was as wild about computers as he was. Tessa supposed it was a case of kindred spirits. The young woman she saw seated at the display terminal and practically attacking the keyboard only reinforced that original supposition, for Hillary was as blond as Sammy. Her slim figure was encased in jeans and a jersey, and her long blond hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. Glasses perched on her small nose as she peered at the monitor.

“Hillary, this is Tessa Conway. I’ve told you about her; she works with me. Tessa, Hillary Basham.”

Hillary looked up, vague surprise in her brown eyes. “Oh, yes, I remember. How are you?”

“Fine, thank you,” Tessa said gently.

Sammy launched into a spirited explanation of his new computer, and Hillary was as carried away by it as he was. Tessa listened and nodded, trying to make sense of what they were telling her. They both seemed very excited, and because of that she asked questions, letting them enjoy the moment. Intuitively, she realized that Hillary was so much in love with Sammy that the girl was almost sick with it, but was too shy to let him know. Of course, with Sammy, a woman would have to put up a billboard and point it out to him to get him to notice it, and even then it might be a week before he realized he was the man involved. He was so deeply involved with his computer that everything else passed him by.

She didn’t get her chess lesson that night; Sammy was so high from whatever great strides he’d made in the computer industry that there was no question of settling him down. He and Hillary played with the computer as if it were human, and they devoted over an hour to the naming of it before they finally settled on Nelda. Tessa groaned when she heard the name, and Sammy looked hurt, since it had been his idea. Hillary jumped in immediately in favor of Sammy’s choice, and Nelda it was. Shaking her head, Tessa looked around at all of the equipment that Sammy had in his apartment. He must sink most of his salary into his hobby, she thought. In fact, she wondered how he even had money left to eat on.

Sammy wasn’t a complete social wasteland; he eventually realized that he was hungry, and evidently recalled the manners his mother had tried for years to drill into him. Blushing, he jumped to his feet and offered to fix sandwiches and cold drinks, and refused Hillary’s quick offer to help. He rushed out of the room and left a pool of silence behind him.

Tessa looked at Hillary’s downcast eyes and saw the way the girl had suddenly withdrawn. “Where do you work?” she asked, since it was evident that Hillary wasn’t going to begin the conversation.

“At a bank.” Hillary gave her a shy look, then quickly looked down again. “Sammy talks about you a lot. You’re…you’re as beautiful as he says.”

Tessa wondered if she’d gone too far in her friendship with Sammy, trying to make him more comfortable in female company. “That’s sweet of him, but I’m not beautiful at all,” she said honestly, and that brought up the bent blond head. “It’s just that he’s shy with women, and I talk to him and make him laugh. He talks about you a lot, too.”

“Yeah, but that’s different. I’m a buddy, someone to talk computers with.” For a brief moment, hostility was plain in her brown eyes.

“Then talk about something else when you’re with him.” The last thing she wanted was to get involved in some sort of triangle, especially when the man in question couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

“That’s easy for you, but not everyone’s a…a flirt like you!” As soon as she flared up, hot color rushed into Hillary’s rather pale face and made it rosy. She looked down again, as if appalled at her rudeness, and Tessa sighed.

“Hillary, I’m not a threat to you. Please believe me. Sammy’s just a friend to me, nothing else.”

“But what about the way he feels about you?”

“He’s definitely not in love with me; I promise!” Before she could say anything else to reassure the girl, Sammy came back into the room with a tray of drinks. He carefully set it down away from his equipment.

“I’ll be right back with the sandwiches.”

“I’ll help!” Scrambling to her feet, Hillary hurried after him.

Feeling definitely de trop, Tessa called after them, “Just one sandwich for me; I have to be leaving soon.”

When they came back into the room, Sammy frowned at her. “But we haven’t played chess yet.”

“It’s later than I thought, and tomorrow is a working day,” she reminded him.

He looked guilty. “I guess I got carried away over Nelda.”

“I enjoyed hearing about Nelda,” she reassured him.

“I know you’ve probably been bored, but really, I think we’re going to be able to market Nelda. Hillary and I have put a lot of time and money into her; she’s really something.”

Was he talking about the computer or Hillary? Probably the computer. Deciding to give him a nudge in the right direction, Tessa said blandly, “It must be marvelous to have someone like Hillary, someone who understands your work and wants the same things you do.”

Hillary flushed, but Sammy wasn’t paying any attention. “Yeah, she’s really great.”

As quickly as she could without appearing rude, Tessa downed her sandwich and drank her cold drink, then gathered up her purse and light coat. “I really have to be going now.”

Sammy walked her to the door. “I owe you a chess lesson,” he said, smiling. “How about tomorrow night?”

For some reason, Tessa thought she’d probably had her last chess lesson. It was better not to cause trouble. “I already have plans for tomorrow night, and I know you better than that, anyway! You’re still going to be playing with Nelda to see if she can do everything you think she can.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging his shoulders to work out the kinks. “You’re probably right. We still have a lot of work to do on her. Maybe next week?”

“Maybe,” she said, giving him a smile. He’d be so involved with his work that he’d never notice; she had been the one who had pursued their friendship, easing him out of part of his shyness.

Later that evening, when she was ready for bed, she sat with pillows behind her back and a pad of writing paper on her knees. Her weekly letter to Aunt Silver was its usual mixture of news and comment, and at the end of it she mentioned Brett Rutland. As she sealed the envelope she smiled to herself. She’d deliberately been casual in her mention of him, knowing that Aunt Silver’s antennae would begin quivering as soon as she read the name.

* * *

BILLIE HAD BROUGHT coffee and doughnuts for their midmorning break, and they had just begun their second doughnut when Tessa’s phone rang. She answered it absently.

“I just want to confirm tonight. Six-thirty.”

She hadn’t heard his voice on the phone before, but there was no mistaking his identity. She closed her eyes briefly at the pleasure that rippled through her at just the sound of his voice. “Yes. Six-thirty.”

“Do you like to dance?”

“Did granny wear garters?”

His low, rough laugh filled her ear. “Wear your dancing shoes.”

When she hung up the phone, Tessa was aware that her heart wasn’t beating in its regular rhythm, and she felt a little breathless. Even over the phone, his impact almost knocked her down. She thought of his thick, tawny brown hair and navy eyes, and it became even more difficult to breathe.

“Don’t you ever stay at home?” Billie said automatically. It was practically standard procedure for Tessa to have at least one offer to go out every day.

“Of course I do. You know Monday night is laundry night.”

They laughed together, but Tessa’s mind was already on the coming night. They would have dinner, go out dancing…and then what? Would he try to make love to her again? She was afraid that he would, and even more afraid that he wouldn’t.

Billie regarded her friend thoughtfully. “You know, this is the first time I’ve seen you get cloudy-eyed over a man. Is this one special to you?”

“I’m afraid he will be.” Well aware of the admission in those few words, Tessa wound her suddenly shaking fingers together.

“You don’t want to fall in love? Sometimes I think I’d give anything I own to find the right guy, the real McCoy.” Why should Tessa, of all people, be nervous about a man? Of all the people Billie knew, Tessa was the most comfortable with men, a woman who honestly enjoyed a man’s company. It didn’t make sense for her to be so wary.

Tessa didn’t volunteer Brett’s name, and Billie didn’t ask, for which Tessa was grateful. She didn’t know how Brett felt about their connection being known, but she knew she wouldn’t like the gossip that would flow as surely as the tides followed the moon if it became known that she was seeing Brett Rutland. His position automatically made their relationship difficult. She was totally uninterested in climbing the corporate ladder, but that wouldn’t keep people from saying that she was trying to get ahead on the strength of her performance in the bedroom rather than in the office.

Because of her uneasiness at both the way she was beginning to feel about him and the difficult situation she could find herself in at work, she was quiet that night. She could feel his cool gaze dissecting her, trying to probe her thoughts. Over coffee, he asked, “Has something upset you?” His voice was so even that it took her a moment to hear the steel in it.

She blew across the steaming surface of the coffee, then sipped it. “Not really. I’m a little at a loss. Would you rather not have people from the office know we’ve been out together?”

“I don’t give a damn who knows.”

“I know I’m being premature in worrying about it. After all, we’ve only been out twice, and that doesn’t mean—”

“Yes, it does mean,” he interrupted, reaching for her hand. He put his hand on the table, palm up, and looked at her slender fingers as they lay across his palm. The contrast in their hands was striking, in ways besides the obvious one of size. His hands were powerful, lean and hard, with long fingers and short clean nails, his fingertips rough, his skin bronzed. Her hands were slim and delicate, the bones so fragile that her fingers were almost translucent, her oval nails polished. Her hands bore no rings.

“Have you ever been married?” he asked abruptly, looking at her bare fingers.

“No.”

“Engaged?”

She sipped her coffee for a moment before replying. “Twice.”

His eyes narrowed. “What happened?”

“I found out that I didn’t love either of them enough.”

“You must have thought you did, at one time.”

She sighed and looked away from him. She didn’t particularly want to talk about her failed engagements, which to her were almost as bad as failed marriages, but she could sense his determination to get the details out of her.

“The first time, it was an infatuation that I took for love, that’s all. I was in college, and Will was a medical student. He wanted us to get married right away; he’d already planned for me to quit college and put him through school. I gave him his ring back.”

He was watching her very closely, reading every nuance of expression that crossed her face. “And the second time?” he asked, dismissing Will as unimportant because he sensed her reluctance to continue.

“Andrew,” she said slowly, somehow feeling compelled to answer him. “He did something that hurt me, and I didn’t love him enough to forgive him.”

After several moments of silence, Brett realized that she wasn’t going to enlarge on her explanation. His hand tightened on hers. “Tell me,” he insisted. The dim light above his head turned his tawny hair into dark gold and cast shadows on his face that made it seem harder, more dangerous.

Her hand moved restlessly in his. “I don’t believe in raking over old coals. I don’t think about it anymore. I picked up the pieces and moved on.”

“Tell me,” he whispered, his eyes as dark as midnight.

“He was unfaithful.” Simple words, old-fashioned words, but for her they were the epitaph for a romance. With her heart, Tessa gave fidelity, and she expected the same in return. Andrew had cheated her, promising her faith and giving her only deceit.

Brett’s eyes brushed over her throat and shoulders and breasts, his gaze as hot as a touch. “He was a fool. Why would any man want to sleep around when he could have you in his bed every night?”

Tessa looked up at him, and color rose in her cheeks at the way he was looking at her. Still holding her hand, he rose to his feet. “Dance with me,” he invited.

She went willingly into his arms, grateful for the hard strength that enfolded her, for the warmth of his body. The virile impact of his masculine appeal made her tremble, but being in his arms also made her feel safe, as if his strength held the rest of the world at bay. She put her arms around his shoulders, sighing a little in contentment.

“Did you enjoy your chess lesson?” he murmured, brushing her soft hair and temple with his lips.

She laughed against his throat. “We never got around to it. Sammy was so excited over his new computer that he couldn’t think about anything else.”

“What sort of new computer?”

“Nelda. He swears it’s going to revolutionize the personal computer industry, and maybe it will. For his sake, I hope so. He has to have a small fortune sunk into all of that equipment he has in his apartment. I don’t see how he can afford to eat.”

Above her head, Brett’s eyes narrowed as he filed that bit of information away in his memory. Automatically his arms tightened about her, pulling her closer so that her breasts flattened against his muscled chest. “Did you tell him there wouldn’t be any more chess lessons?”

“No, there was no need. He’s so involved with Nelda, he won’t even notice.”

“Why did you get involved with him in the first place? He isn’t your type.”

Tessa stiffened a little in his arms. “He’s a nice man; why isn’t that my type?” She seldom bothered herself enough to take offense at anything anyone said, but she couldn’t ignore Brett. She was vulnerable to him in ways she didn’t even want to think about. Just what did he think her “type” was?

“He’ll never be the life of the party,” Brett said coolly. “And for all his electronic genius, you could wind him around your little finger and he’d never realize it. If you had him as steady company, you’d be bored to tears within a week.”

She stared up at him, trying to read his thoughts in his hooded enigmatic eyes. She was more than a party-girl, and she wanted him to see that, to see the woman beneath the gay and frothy facade. Did he think she was just out for a good time, that she was only attracted to people who were as comfortable socially as she was? “I’m never bored with Sammy,” she said, her voice steady, concealing the faint hurt that was welling in her. “I like him very much, whether he’s my type or not.”

Slowly his arm tightened about her waist, pulling her so close to him that his hard body felt imprinted against her softer one. “He doesn’t matter, since you won’t be seeing him again. I want you; I’m going to have you. And I don’t share.”

Tessa caught a quick breath at the hard, determined note in his voice. She was accustomed to being pursued, but Brett was a man who not only chased, but caught his prey. Her frail butterfly wings would be useless against his power, yet she wouldn’t feel threatened at all if she knew she could entrust herself to him. Did he want her for herself, or did he only want to conquer her because of the challenge she represented, to catch the fragile and elusive butterfly simply so he could say she’d belonged to him for a while?





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