Of all the actions to take to get out of this mess, seducing me would by far be the worst, for both our sakes.
“Tessa?” I prodded.
“My mouth is drier than a ball of cotton.”
A clamor from the vicinity of my mini refrigerator drew my attention.
Tessa groaned, and I swiftly turned back to her, only to see her face in her hands, her head pressed against the top of my desk.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine,” she mumbled and lifted her head. She whipped off her hat, showcasing her glorious, fiery red hair and temper to match. “I’m dandy. Just great. Another five minutes and we could have avoided this.”
She looked from me to the refrigerator.
“About this…” I was determined to keep the desk between us as I sat across from her.
All too easily, I remembered the feel of her breasts under my palms, of her sweet mouth melting like candy beneath my tongue. That dream had felt way too real and still bothered me.
So I scowled and ignored how much I wanted to bend her over the desk. “I think I’m due an explanation.”
Her eyes widened until I swore I could see an echo of blue tile from that stupid dream. “You have to be royally pissed I’m in here, not to mention secretly jumping for joy that you’ve now got something to hold over my head for the rest of my life. How can you sit there so calmly?”
My heart raced, the thought of having Tessa under my thumb, on her knees, naked and willing… I cleared my throat. All that was beyond tempting. But I had more pressing issues to worry about. My dick had to take a backseat.
“Before we get into what promises to be your extremely interesting explanation, I need to say something.” I took a deep breath and let it out quietly. “I’m sorry for my unwanted attentions yesterday.”
I sounded stilted to my own ears, so I could imagine how awkward I must sound to her. Odd, but I’d never had so much trouble dealing with a woman before in my life.
She didn’t blink. “You’re sorry?”
I nodded.
“Sorry for your, and I quote, ‘unwanted attentions’?”
“Yes.” I held my irritation at bay. I had wronged her, no matter that her body had accepted me all too readily.
“You sure are a piece of work, Storm.” Her eyes glittered, and I realized, with some surprise, she appeared angry.
“Now what?”
“Nothing.” Her gaze smoldered, and my body responded by turning to steel…all over.
She coughed and glanced away before meeting my gaze with a flat expression. “Yeah, well, I shouldn’t have accused you of sleeping with one of your clients.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” I said, mystified to hear her apologize.
“But you must know everyone’s been talking about it,” she added. “The only reason I actually believed the rumors is because Sheila Covington herself up and told the secretaries you slept with her.” She blushed but maintained eye contact.
So, Sheila had told everyone we’d been intimate. I should have guessed. She hadn’t taken my rejection well at all, even as gently as I’d given it.
“For the record,” I explained, “Sheila Covington doesn’t like to hear the word ‘no’ any more than Michael Davis does, I’d imagine.”
She stared, her expression turning from one of understanding to one of contrition.
So I continued, “I love Brown LTD’s possibilities, so I suppose I’ve been overly tolerant where Sheila’s concerned. Had I known to what lengths she would go to get my attention, I’d have handled her differently,” I said, more to myself than to her.
After a pause, Tessa said, “I really am sorry. I don’t usually listen to office gossip. But, well, you’re kind of known for being, ah…”
