Falling For His Proper Mistress by Tessa Radley

Ridge was paying her for. No doubt she’d be keeping track of every second to bill the resort. He forced himself to concentrate. “A total re-vamp.”
    Another olive went the same way as the last. Guy almost growled. But he managed to feed himself and stanch some of the physical hunger. Too soon the platters on the table were empty.
    â€œWhen are you going to put the PowerPoint on?”
    She had to be joking, right?
    One glance revealed she wasn’t. The notebook was propped against her thigh, and a pencil twisted between her fingers. She expected them to work. Guy suppressed a sighand hooked his laptop up to the flat screen. Then he settled down on the couch beside her.
    He put his hand on her leg.
    â€œHey.”
    He took it off. This time he sighed loudly.
    With no choice he focused on the screen, conscious of every move of her hand as she scribbled the occasional note.
    The room grew darker. There were a couple of clips of interviews and Avery put her pad and pencil down on the coffee table. “Seen enough?”
    She shook her head. “I want to watch it all.”
    Guy’s thoughts wandered. He’d seen parts of the presentation countless times. He was tempted to flick it forward, speed it up.
    Dammit, he’d had enough of work.
    He ached to kiss Avery. It had been too long. When her head brushed his shoulder, his pulse surged and he slung an arm around her. She rewarded him by snuggling up against him. Guy couldn’t wait for the program to finish.
    Her breathing grew more regular. Guy peered down at her through the dim light, and suppressed a groan.
    Avery had fallen asleep!
    She looked so young, so innocent, with her dark lashes falling against smooth cheeks. Guy stroked the feathery bangs off her face with gentle fingers. She stirred, and he stilled, but instead of waking she only burrowed closer.
    Emotion bolted through him, fierce and primitive and defying him to put a name to it.
    With one hand he pressed the remote and the screen went black. Scooping Avery up into his arms, he rose and headed for his bedroom. Muted light spilled from the bedside lamp. There, surrounded by the burgundy and muted gold décor,he laid her down and gently arranged the covers over her, before shedding his shirt, dropping his jeans and lowering himself beside her.
    Instantly she curled into him.
    The spontaneity of the gesture pierced his heart. Guy gathered her close, and closed his eyes. Nuzzling at the soft fluff of her hair he was conscious of a welcome sense of contentment seeping through him.
    This time he wasn’t going to let her go.
    Â 
    She woke in an unfamiliar room.
    Avery blinked against the shaded glow of the bedside lamp. Shifting, she became aware of the warmth of a body in the bed beside her. Guy! They’d been in the sitting room of his suite, she’d felt replete and pleasantly tired. Then nothing…
    They hadn’t made love. She would’ve remembered that.
    Her body was curved into Guy’s spoon-fashion, her legs tangled with his. She suspected his were bare—unlike hers that were still clad in jeans.
    At least he hadn’t undressed her.
    He’d retained that much decency.
    Nor had he made love to her.
    Okay, so what did that prove? Only that Guy wasn’t a necrophiliac. She stifled a giggle and eased herself away from him. He groaned and rolled onto his back.
    Avery slipped quickly out the king-size bed, her bare feet sinking into thick carpet. Guy’s arm was flung out above his head, his dark hair mussed. In sleep he looked younger, carefree, more like the Guy she’d met…what?…could it be only ten weeks ago now? She couldn’t remember what her life had been like before Guy.
    A sigh escaped. Once the Food and Wine Gala ended, so would her time with Guy.
    For a moment she contemplated diving back into the soft, welcoming bed and cozying up to him. They could make love. Add another treasured memory to the trove in her