Not that she’d truly expected anything more from Blake, but her brief experience of life on the other side meant that it would be hard going back.
Her mother, once she was settled and comfortable, naturally wanted to know all about her time spent away. And although Kara had no intention of telling her what had taken place between her and Blake, she could not hide the light in her eyes or the bloom to her skin as she spoke about her time in Italy.
‘Tell me to mind my own business, but it looks to me as though something happened while you were there. You look as though you’ve fallen in love, Kara!’
In love! Bright colour flooded her cheeks even as she shook her head. ‘I’m not in love, Mother. I’m never going to fall in love.’
‘But something happened in Italy, didn’t it?’
There was no hiding it. Kara shrugged, trying to give the impression that it was nothing. When actually it had meant everything to her. ‘I did have a little romantic—liaison.’
Her parent smiled, suddenly looking happier than Kara had seen her in a long time. ‘I knew it. Who is he? Are you going to see him again?’
Aware that her mother would not rest until she knew the truth, Kara drew in a deep sigh and let it go slowly. ‘Actually, it was my boss.’
‘Blake Benedict?’ Shock registered on her mother’s face. ‘Was that wise, my darling? Doesn’t he have a terrible reputation?’
‘I guess.’
‘And are you going to continue this affair?’
‘Of course not,’ Kara answered. ‘I don’t want the whole office knowing. It was just a—a holiday romance. A fling.’
Her mother looked at her wisely. ‘You’re not into flings, Kara. I hope he doesn’t hurt you.’
‘Blake won’t do that,’ she declared blithely. ‘We’ve reached an understanding.’
At least she was assuming they had. They had not actually talked about it, but she could not see Blake wanting to continue their affair now they were back in England. It had been exciting while it lasted—more than exciting. It had been an intense sexual experience. But she had resigned herself to the fact that that was all it was.
It was with trepidation, after spending the weekend at home, that she turned up for work on Monday morning. Blake looked both surprised and pleased to see her when she walked into his office.
‘How is your mother?’ were his first words. ‘I wasn’t sure that you’d be in today.’
‘She’s much better, thank you.’ And she was all right too, now that she had seen him! One look into his face and she felt like a real woman again. What she would have liked was his arms around her, the strong, reassuring beat of his heart against hers.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Perfectly sure. Once we got home she was fine.’
‘I didn’t realise you were back in your own house or I would have come to see you. I had no idea where you were. I’ve been worried, Kara.’
‘That’s very kind of you, Mr Benedict.’
‘Mr Benedict?‘ Dark brows shot up. ‘What is this?’ And then his face cleared. ‘It’s because we’re at work, isn’t it? You want to keep up appearances? Don’t you think it might be a little difficult?’
‘I wasn’t even sure whether I still had a job. I know you said that you never wanted to lose me, but—’
‘Kara!’ Blake’s eyes widened in astonishment. ‘Whatever gave you that idea? I would be lost without you.’
For some reason she hadn’t been able to help thinking about the gossip that had flown around the office before her and Blake’s trip to Italy. It had been common knowledge that his relationships with women were fleeting! Her thoughts must have shown on her face.
‘Ah! Let me guess. You’ve heard that two of my previous PAs left after their respective conferences? And you, my innocent Kara, like everyone else, put two and two together and decided I’d bedded them and then dismissed them. The rumour amused me, but for your information it was the strain of working for me that they could not handle. Whereas you, my beautiful one, cope with everything admirably.’
Kara felt her usual blush coming on.
‘And even in those dreadful clothes you are still sexy. I think I might struggle to keep my hands off you. You are both prim and desirable at the same time.’
‘You flatter me, Mr Benedict.’ She had gone back to her regulation dark suit, with flat-heeled shoes, her hair dragged back and her face bare of make-up. ‘But what happened between us in Italy should be forgotten. I work for you, Mr Benedict. Let’s leave it at that.’ They were the hardest words Kara had ever had to say, but she truly believed that it would be for the best. ‘Shall we start work?’
Continuing to see Blake would mean involving him in her family life, and that was something she did not want. She felt a very real need to keep her private and business lives totally separate.
Both his disbelief at what he was hearing and his displeasure that she was actually saying these words were very clear in his eyes. ‘Can you really tell me, Kara, that you can stand there and look at me and feel nothing? Are you saying that even at this moment you do not feel a resurgence of the hunger we both felt?’
Kara sucked in a deep breath. ‘Of course I feel it. But I choose to ignore it. And by so doing it will go away.’
‘And if it doesn’t?’
‘Mr Benedict, you must realise that an office affair is not what I want. I should never have led you to believe that I would be OK with this kind of thing.’ She felt extreme heat even saying those words. It curled around her stomach and made her feel ill. She had been foolish—very foolish. If word got out every person in every department in the building would know. She would be talked about. Speculation would be rife. There would be no getting away from it. She would be a laughing stock. Another gullible woman sucked in by the enigmatic Blake Benedict.
The idea made her stomach clench, and Kara knew already that she wouldn’t be able to take being the centre of office gossip. She might even have to leave because of this foolish encounter with Blake! And if she left there would be no money to pay off…She let her thoughts go no further, they were far too disturbing.
His dark eyes met and held hers, and although she wanted to she could not look away. There was something mesmerising in them and she could actually feel herself being pulled back into that space she had inhabited for a few days. A few days of sheer unadulterated pleasure. A few days to last her the rest of her life!
‘Will you do me the honour of dining with me tonight?’
Her heart quickened its beat and she took a step back, though still her eyes were locked into his. ‘Have you not heard a word I’ve said? I cannot carry on an affair with you. Not right here under the noses of your staff.’
‘So, our affair—it was all right while we were where no one knew you?’
‘I lost my head,’ she admitted. She had actually done more than that. She had lost her virginity. ‘I let the magic of Italy carry me away. But I’ve come to my senses and—’
Her words were cut off when he swiftly closed the space between them and slid his arms around her. The next second his mouth was on hers and every sane thought fled. How could she fight when instant desire flared? When her body ignited? It was both crazy and beautiful at the same time.
It was not until he had thoroughly kissed her and was satisfied that she would no longer deny him what he wanted that Blake let her go. ‘You lost your head in the most delightful way. You cannot deny that you want me—as much as I want you. I’ll do my level best to keep my hands off while we’re at work, though I cannot entirely promise. You’re an incredible woman—do you know that? You’re refreshingly different. Again I ask myself why I never noticed you before.’
‘Because you go for glamour,’ retorted Kara swiftly.
‘Which I have now discovered can come in all sorts of guises,’ he said on a groan. ‘You may be dressed in the most conservative suit I’ve ever seen, you may not be wearing a scrap of make-up, but in my eyes, Kara, you are extre
mely beautiful. And I want you.’ Even as he spoke, even as his voice turned low and throaty, his arms were tightening around her again, and his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that shot her into space.
Blake asked himself why he was doing this. Why he was persisting with Kara when she had told him quite clearly that their brief affair was over. Was it his wounded pride? Was he not used to women turning him down? Or had she really got beneath his skin in a way that no woman had since his marriage broke down?
He had actually intended ending their affair when they got back, feeling that he wasn’t being fair to Kara, but found that he couldn’t do it. More especially after her scare with her mother. She needed someone in her life—someone to care for her. Her mother was not the only one who had been traumatised by a beast of a man.
He had hardly slept the whole weekend for thinking about Kara, wondering how she was coping, wishing there was something that he could do. And when she’d turned up in one of her straitjacket business suits he had felt immensely disappointed. He had not expected her to come into the office, but he was glad that she had. Very glad!
The way that she dressed was in fact to his advantage. He did not want anyone else seeing what a stunning woman she really was. He would never get enough of her. Not that he wanted permanency, but contrarily he did not want to let her go. At least not for a long time yet!
‘Am I being persuasive enough?’ He deliberately kept his voice low and sexy as he posed the question. ‘Isn’t this what you want, Kara?’ Because it was as sure as hell what he wanted. The merest touch of her lips against his fired a wild need through his body. Simply looking into her amazing blue eyes created a surge of adrenalin. There was no way he could work with her all day and not be allowed to release the energy she created. Kara had become a part of his life and he did not want to let her go.
‘Mmm.’
It was the only sound he heard from her. Already he could feel her beginning to respond to him, the defences she had built so determinedly starting to crumble, and in little more than a few seconds her body arched involuntarily into his, her hips tight against him, her lips parting hungrily.
He should have felt guilty, but he didn’t. Kara had turned into the most amazing woman—truly amazing—and he did not want to think that her strong virtues could hold him to ransom. He would not let them! He would do everything in his power to ensure she changed her mind.
Kara felt that she had let herself down. If she had not given herself to Blake in the first place then this would not be happening. She had become like every other one of his PAs—enchanted by Blake’s seductive power.
He’d flattered her when he had probably seen very little that was beautiful about her. And she had responded to that flattery and given in to him. And why? Because she’d been available to him at the conference and he was too virile a man to go without sex for long. Colour flamed her cheeks and she tried to pull free.
To no avail. Blake’s arms tightened resolutely. ‘Do not think I’m unaware that your need is as great as mine.’
It was—but didn’t he know that people would talk?
That her life would be hell if anyone found out she was being bedded by her boss? This was insanity of the highest order, and she ought to have known that from the beginning. What a crazy fool she had been to even think that Blake Benedict would settle for anything less than a full-blown affair.
‘Kara …’ His voice murmured softly against her mouth. ‘It is all right. Everything is all right.’
No, it wasn’t. It was all wrong. Everything she was doing was wrong. Except that another part of her mind, the insane part, was urging her to accept everything that Blake had to offer. He made her feel more feminine than she ever had in her life. He had given her a good feeling about her body. He had given her confidence. She had become a different woman, and if she was honest with herself then she truly liked that person.
But that was then and this was now. Circumstances were different. She could not go through with it. Except that there was still a part of her, a part of her head that was not connected to her brain, that was telling her it was all right to let go. That she deserved some pleasure in her life. That she could not remain a prim spinster because of the insecurity her father had beat into her, or because she needed to stay at home to help and protect her mother from the man who was ruling both their lives.
In the end she gave in to the primal urges that were taking over. She could no longer deny herself the excitement of being in Blake’s arms, of his kisses, of his touch. Already an army of pleasure-seeking gremlins were marching through her body, tracking along nerves and veins, infiltrating her blood stream, resulting in her melting against him, accepting his kisses, returning them with a fervour that should have scared her but instead only increased her hunger.
When finally they both paused for breath, with Kara clinging on to Blake because she knew her legs would buckle if she let go, he said softly, ‘My driver will pick you up at seven-thirty.’
‘My mother—’
‘I’m sure your mother will not mind you dining with me. Would you like me to talk to her?’
‘No!’ Kara’s response was instant. ‘I’ll tell her myself.’ Which meant that she had agreed to his suggestion—as he had known all along that she would.
She was not sure what her mother would say, though. Lynne had not been slow in voicing her opinion that the Blake Benedicts of this world did not take women seriously. Especially their personal assistants. And Kara really had no wish to heap any more trouble on their shoulders.
It was too late now to back out. She had given her answer by letting him kiss her. But when she got home at the end of the day, when she told her mother that she was dining with Blake, her parent’s reaction was not what she expected.
‘It sounds as though he is a good man after all,’ she said. And when Kara came downstairs in one of the beautiful new dresses that Blake had bought for her, tears filled her mother’s eyes.
Kara knew that she was thinking her father had been the reason why she had never worn fine clothes before. Her heart ached—both for herself and for her mother.
As she slipped into the waiting saloon Kara did not see the other car parked on the opposite side of the road, or the driver watching her intently; nor was she aware that it pulled away and began to follow them.
Her head was in the clouds. Despite her own initial concerns she was excited to be dining out with Blake. Although she had been resolute in her decision today to let none of her time spent in Italy intrude, once Blake had kissed her every good intention had fled. And now she was filled with unbelievable anticipation.
As the city was left behind Kara began to wonder where they would be eating. The glass partition between her and the driver prevented her from asking, and it was not until he halted in front of a set of iron gates, passing through them as they opened to follow a long drive, that she finally realised she was being taken to Blake’s home.
Pinpricks of excitement—or was it fear?—heated her skin, and she sat forward on the edge of her seat. But even though she was expecting something impressive nothing prepared her for the grandeur that confronted her eyes. It was a stunningly beautiful mock-Tudor-style house overlooking its own lake—not as large as Lake Como, but imposing all the same. And the house was quite simply huge, making Kara wonder how one man could live there alone.
He came out to greet her, casually elegant in pale grey linen trousers and a matching short-sleeved shirt. ‘Welcome to my home.’ He kissed her gently on the lips, and even that one light touch created a sizzle of excitement, and with his arm about her shoulders he led her inside.
Kara was totally speechless—even more so when she saw the huge oak-panelled entrance hall. A staircase with barley-twist balustrades ran right up the centre, and she caught a glimpse of a galleried landing either side.
‘I wasn’t expecting this,’ she said.
‘Where did you think I lived? In some smart London apartment?’
‘It would make more sense.’ Surely this place was too big for him?
‘I like space. I like the countryside. Quite simply I like it here. Besides, I do a lot of entertaining—corporate sometimes. It suits me perfectly. Would you like a tour, or are you hungry? I believe dinner is almost ready to be served.’
‘Then we will eat first,’ declared Kara, still breathless from both her impression of the house and Blake’s nearness.
‘Once again you look stunning,’ he said, with something deep and throaty in his voice—something that sent a further quiver of hunger though Kara’s veins. ‘But no less sexy than you did today, in that terrible suit of yours.’
‘How dare you call my suit terrible?’ she said with pretended indignance, tossing her head, her thick glossy hair brushing the side of her face as she looked him straight in the eye.
His lips quirked. ‘Of course—I was forgetting. It is your suit of armour. But unfortunately for you it doesn’t work against me any more. You’re ravishing, Miss Redman, whatever you wear.’
‘Should you really be saying that to your personal assistant?’ she threw back, enjoying this teasing side to her employer.
‘There are lots of things I’d like to say to you,’ he growled, ‘but none that would be appropriate for the moment. Perhaps later …’
The innuendo in his voice created a further chaotic river of excitement, and she could not help wondering whether he would suggest that she stay the night.
The dining room was as impressive as the entrance hall, with a polished oak floor and a beamed ceiling, and a long oak table in the centre that seated at least a dozen people. Laid for the two of them, it looked slightly incongruous. A bowl of sweetly scented pink roses freshly picked from the garden stood in the centre, with matching candles either side in silver candelabrum.
A Night With Consequences Page 9