The Case of the Mesmerizing Boss by Diana Palmer Page A

he said. He didn’t look at her.
    She watched him with soulful eyes that he didn’t see. I love you, she wanted to say. But he wouldn’t have said it back, even if he had made love to her like a man out of his mind with it. He loved her. She was certain of it now, and her eyes adored him.
    “Get a move on,” he said from the doorway. “We’ll be late for work.” “Oh. Of course.”
    He didn’t mention what had happened. Not by word or inference did he refer to it. He was all business.
    Tess had expected resistance. She wasn’t surprised by his attitude. He was a man afraid of emotion, and he had every reason to be. He couldn’t be sure even of Tess. She knew that, and wasn’t offended.
    “Helen said I could go with her at lunchtime to that stakeout,” she began as they finished toast and coffee. He glared at her. “No.”
    “Let me finish, please,” she said quietly. “I’m going to be the decoy. While people are watching me, she’s going to be following them.”
    “You’d be too vulnerable,” he said shortly. “Helen isn’t being stalked by dope peddlers. You are. No, ma’am. You’ll be where I can see you, all the time. I’m not trusting you to anyone except me.” She blushed. “All right.”
    He scowled darkly. “And don’t get any ideas about what happened last night. That was a one-off, do you hear me?” Her eyebrows lifted. “A one-off?” she asked. His cheeks went ruddy. She looked surprised that he could refer

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    Diana Palmer
     
    to something so profound in such a way. He was surprised at himself. He glared at her, his heart racing. “What did you expect me to say?” he asked coldly. “That it was the closest I’ll get to heaven without dying?” “Not really,” she agreed. “But it was. For me, I mean.” “I hurt you.”
    Her eyes lifted, searching his. “At first,” she agreed. Then she smiled.
    His breathing went ragged as the memory of the pleasure they’d shared washed over him. Just looking at her aroused him. He got up from the table, slamming his napkin down. “Let’s get out of here,” he said roughly.
    She went along without an argument, wrapped in acres of dreams and delight because she was loved. He would fight it. That was inevitable. But in the end, he was going to lose. He couldn’t resist her any more than she could resist him, but she had to give him time. She couldn’t rush him. Not with so much at stake.
    Her only regret was that a child couldn’t come of the beauty they’d created together. She would have loved a child so much.
    Once they got to the office that morning, problems claimed their attention immediately, and for Dane, it seemed to be a relief. He got into the thick of it without a backward glance, leaving Tess to sort out schedules and appointments.
    The past few days had been so eventful that Tess had all but forgotten the night she’d been shot. Her arm was a little sore, and it had gotten a workout last night. She flushed and smiled, remembering Dane’s mouth on the healed wound. She’d touched his scarred back and shoulder and leg with equal tenderness, stroking it while he made love to her, whispering that it was a badge of honor, a war wound. It had increased the pleasure. She could still hear his voice as he cried out, almost sobbing as the force of ecstasy lifted him over her and shook his powerful body like a whip.
    She caught her breath. Could he really believe something that beautiful was only explainable as a “one-off”? She knew better. He did, too, but he’d been hurt so badly that he couldn’t accept it just yet.
     
    The Case of the Mesmerizing Boss
    Her attention was diverted by the telephone, but as the day on her body reminded her of the unusual activity it had been subjected to the night before. It was difficult to sit, though she didn’t dare mention it in case someone became suspicious.
    At lunch, she watched the operatives who were in the office leave; luncheon, so she was in the office alone. He