She raised huge eyes to him. “I’m scared, Peter,” she confessed in a trembling voice. “Scared of being alone. And terrified that I’m going to be like her.”

“You aren’t. You won’t. You’re nothing like your mother, Tessa, nothing,” Peter assured her fiercely. “You’re so much stronger than you’re even aware of. And I know how hard this is but you’re going to be okay. If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t be leaving.”

“Will you hold me?”

He took her into his arms, rocking her gently as though she were a small child. “Of course I will.”

“I knew something bad was going to happen today. I felt it the minute I woke up. God, I hate Wednesdays,” she said bitterly.

“Shh. It’s just a silly coincidence, nothing more. I’ve been telling you that for years, and it’s the truth Now, we should both get some rest. My flight leaves pretty early in the morning.”

Tessa wasn’t certain she could sleep, given how upset she was, but as she snuggled close against Peter she did manage to fall into a somewhat restless slumber, hoping against hope that she would wake to find all of this was just a bad dream.

But when her alarm went off the next morning, she was once again alone in the bed, as she was so often these days. And this time, Peter wouldn’t be back. It was just her now, no one else to depend on, no husband or family or close friends. And somehow, some way, she was going to have to learn all over again how to cope with being entirely on her own in the world.

Chapter Twenty

October

She should have been frightened, or at the very least nervous, given that she was alone in a dimly lit room, and not only completely nude but laid out on a polished wood table. Her arms and legs were stretched in opposite directions, nearly in a spread eagle position, and though she couldn’t see the ties that bound her in place they were definitely there, holding her captive. But likely a willing captive, considering her total lack of fear or apprehension. It was as though she knew what awaited her, knew who awaited her.

She closed her eyes, willing her rapidly beating heart to slow back down to normal, and took deep, even breaths. She recognized what she was feeling as anticipation, excitement even, and a little shiver ran up and down her naked spine at what was to come. Exactly what that was she still wasn’t quite sure, but it was almost certainly something pleasurable. Otherwise, she reasoned, why wouldn’t she be struggling to break free or calling out for someone to rescue her?

His scent preceded him into the room, the scent that she would always recognize as belonging solely to him. It was a heady, sensual smell, a thoroughly masculine scent that could never be reproduced in a bottle. She knew, then, who he was, and why she was here, and even before he could do so much as touch her she was aroused and ready for what was to come.

He was still half in shadow, only the profile of his sinfully handsome face revealed to her. For once he was unshaven, the strong planes of his cheeks and jaw darkly stubbled, but she realized that she preferred him this way. His hand reached out and gently, tenderly, cupped her flushed cheek, his thumb brushing softly over her trembling lips.

“Tessa.”

The sound of her name was a whispered caress, and she began to breathe a bit unsteadily as he continued to touch her cheek. “I’m here,” she murmured. “Just as you said I would be one day.”

He laughed softly as his fingertips trailed a sensuous path across her collarbone. “You have a very good memory. And you’re quite right, Tessa. I told you that one day I would claim you for my own, when the time was right. And it’s finally right, isn’t it, my love? But I already know that the wait has been well worth it. My God, look at you.”

She gasped as he drew his index finger down between her breasts ever so slowly, as though he had been anticipating this moment for a very long time. Unhurriedly, he rubbed his thumb over each of her already taut nipples, and his sensuous smile deepened at the low whimper she emitted at this very deliberate arousal.

“Beautiful,” he rasped, his hand gently squeezing her right breast. He bent his dark head to run his tongue over the nipple. “Mine.”

Tessa made a small sound of protest as he lifted his head and moved away a few steps, but he only stroked her hair in reassurance.

“Hush,” he soothed. “I’m right here, my love. Just lighting the candles.”

She hadn’t noticed until now the dozen or more votive candles arranged in a semi-circle around the space where she lay. One at a time he lit them until a soft glow filled the otherwise darkened room. She didn’t know what time it was, but could tell from the lack of sunlight in the room that night had fallen outside. She recognized now where she was – the conference room in the office, and the long table on which she rested was the same one used for the meetings. Why she was here, and laid out in this particular position, Tessa had no idea, but oddly had no desire to question the circumstances.

The additional light from the candles now threw his face into prominence, and her breath grew a bit more unsteady as she glimpsed the hungry, possessive way he was studying her prone body. His intense gaze upon her felt like a caress, a possession, a claiming, and she knew without being asked that she would willingly give herself over to him, would do whatever he asked of her no matter what. But she also knew – sensed – that he would never push her too far, or demand anything that she wasn’t prepared to give.

Without warning, he threaded a hand into her hair, lifting her head a few inches off the table. Tessa almost recoiled at the look in his eyes – a look of smoldering, intense passion – and for a brief moment she wondered if she would actually be able to handle a man like him.

But his next words and actions didn’t permit her to have another doubt, or give her the opportunity to refuse him.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the first moment I saw you,” he told her in a husky voice, just before capturing her lips in a deep, soul-searching kiss.

Tessa moaned beneath the firm pressure of his lips, and the bold sweep of his tongue through her mouth. She tugged futilely on her invisible bonds, longing to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in even closer. The kiss went on for endless minutes, one kiss leading into another, until she began to grow dizzy, her lower body arching upwards in a silent plea.

“Shh.” He placed a hand on her heaving belly, calming her. “Everything is all right now, Tessa. Everything is finally as it should have been all along. Let me take care of you now, cherish you the way a woman like you should always be adored.”