Not just a kiss, never just a kiss! This was a master class in seduction. Having lost control of her body, Anna struggled to retain control of her mind and in one small corner managed to distance herself from what was happening.
His lips finally lifted just a fraction, leaving a whisper of air between them. The seal broken, his thumb remained under her jaw. She didn’t remember how it got there. He was still close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her mouth, but far enough away for her to claw her way out of the sensual fog that had enveloped her.
Reality hit her with the force of icy water. Panting she pressed her hands flat against the iron-hard barrier of his chest and pushed. The force behind the push was pretty feeble; he, on the other hand, was not. He was all hard muscle and bone so when he reacted and released her, caught unawares, Anna staggered back several steps before she regained her centre of gravity.
It was a toss-up who he was most furious with: her for goading him, or himself for reacting.
If he had ever wondered why Paul had made a total fool of himself, he now knew. He had always believed there was some truth in the old adage about knowledge and power, but in this case peace of mind did not go hand in hand with that supposed power.
‘Get the hell out of here!’ he flung.
Anna managed a glare of sorts but continued to shake. Regardless of the image she might present, she was glued to the spot, her stomach churning with a toxic mixture of shame, self-loathing and shock.
She took refuge in a technicality and lifted her chin to an imperious angle. ‘You can’t sack me—you don’t pay my salary.’
‘I wasn’t sacking you, I was telling...’ he arched a sardonic brow ‘...sorry, requesting, you to get out of my sight unless you fancy a repeat.’
The power returned to Anna’s legs and she fled. Not the dignified option but definitely the most sensible!
CHAPTER SIX
THE NEXT DAY Anna spent the morning studiously avoiding any place where she might bump into Cesare. She sensed his presence around every corner and had begun to jump at her own shadow to the point where Jas had asked if she was all right.
This from a five-year-old!
It was a wake-up call. What the hell was she doing creeping around as though she had something to feel guilty for? He was the one who had kissed her—admittedly, technically speaking, she had kissed him back. She had fallen into that kiss with an uninhibited enthusiasm that she hadn’t known she was capable of.
Forget the kiss and move on. A good idea but there was no escaping the inescapable—moving on involved seeing this man again at some point. She had to be positive and take the initiative. She’d choose her battle site, do it on her terms.
It was ironic that when she had decided to confront him she discovered that he wasn’t even there.
Cesare had flown out to Rome early that morning.
And good riddance!
There was a strong element of anticlimax mixed in with her relief. Though she threw herself into doing what she was being paid for—caring for Jasmine. It wasn’t a chore, more a life line.
Seeing the world through a child’s eyes was something that never palled. It was the reason that she had loved teaching, and Jas was a particularly delightful child.
Anna was prevented from enjoying the next couple of days by the knowledge that he would be back, that this reprieve was only temporary.
On the Friday Cesare returned to Killaran, but he wasn’t alone.
Anna, out on a walk with Jasmine at the time, didn’t see the woman who got out of the helicopter with him, but the news was around the castle in a matter of seconds. Before they had walked through the baronial entrance hall, all the staff knew she was a blonde, beautiful, thirty something, a divorced, successful corporate lawyer. Her name was Louise Gove.
Anna hadn’t even got her coat off before she received all the details from the group gathered around the kitchen table to discuss the momentous event. She didn’t question how they knew all this, nor did she question or even acknowledge her gut-churning reaction to this information.
Keeping her voice low so her comment didn’t reach Jasmine, who, still in her boots and coat, had followed her nose and the doting cook to the walk-in larder where by tradition she got to take her pick of the newly baked cakes cooling on the big slate shelf, Anna posed the obvious question.
‘This can’t be the first time that he’s brought a girlfriend home?’ Especially considering the very high turnover, she thought bitterly.