The Cutting Edge Read online

  “No,” Brett said absently, staring out the window at the sea of lights that stretched as far as he could see. Like New York, Los Angeles never slept. On the ranch, when night came, the livestock bedded down and so did the people.

  After Evan had gone to his own room, Brett still stood at the window, but he no longer saw the lights. His body felt the pressure of her soft flesh against him, and his jaw tightened. He wanted her. He didn’t even have to think her name; all other women became faceless, without identity, even sexless, when compared with her.

  He gave the hotel bed a disgusted look, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep when he did finally lie down in it. His bed at the ranch was big and wide, and suddenly he pictured her in it, her soft dark hair spread across his pillow while she slept quietly, with the quilts pulled up over her bare shoulders to protect her from the frosty bite of the early spring morning. He shook his head to dislodge the picture, but it remained with him, and another disturbing image joined it: that of long winter nights, of making love to her in that bed, and knowing that the next night he’d have her again.

  He scowled. He wasn’t going to let her get to him like that. He’d take her and then forget about her, because in the taking he’d find that she was just like all the other women he’d had and then forgotten.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  TESSA WAS ALWAYS at her desk a little early, and today Sammy brought in a cup of coffee for her before it was time to start work. “I couldn’t remember if you took cream and sugar or not, so I brought both,” he said, flushing a little as he dug in his pockets and produced two packets of sugar and a small plastic container of nondairy creamer, with a peel-off top.

  She took the coffee gratefully; after lying awake half the night, she’d overslept a little and had missed her usual leisurely breakfast. She felt more than a little bruised, and only the assurance of her mirror had given her the courage to face the day. She looked normal, except for faint circles under her eyes, but she didn’t feel normal. “You may have saved my life,” she sighed. “Thanks, Sammy. I missed breakfast this morning.”

  He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “We’ve been working on Nelda practically all night. Hillary’s really great, isn’t she? I don’t have to explain things to her; she already knows.”

  “She’s perfect for you,” Tessa said firmly. It went right over his head.

  “I’d still be putting Nelda together if Hillary hadn’t been helping me. She has some contacts who might be able to help us with marketing Nelda, too; she meets all sorts in the bank.”

  “She’s a wonderful girl. Very pretty, too.”

  He looked a little surprised. “Well, yeah, but the best thing about her is that she’s so smart. She wrote the program for Nelda.”

  Tessa gave up; she’d done everything but propose to him for Hillary. She doubted that any woman held the same degree of fascination for him as Nelda did, but that was Hillary’s problem. Right now, Tessa felt that she had a large problem of her own to worry about, and that problem was about six-four with indigo eyes. Hadn’t she known from the start that Brett Rutland was more than she could handle?

  She caught a movement just past Sammy’s shoulder, and she looked up, feeling her heart skip a beat as she met Brett’s narrowed eyes. He gave Sammy a hard look, then turned that look on her. “Good morning,” he said, but Tessa heard the anger under the cool tones.

  “Good morning,” she returned evenly. “Mr. Rutland, this is Sammy Wallace, from data processing. Sammy, Brett Rutland.”

  Sammy thrust out his hand with a quick, awkward movement, and his face lit with eagerness. “Nice to meet you!”

  With impeccable control, Brett shook hands. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Wallace. You’re something of a genius with computers, aren’t you?”

  Sammy glowed. Before he could say anything, however, Perry Smitherman came rushing over, having spotted Brett. He practically skidded to a stop when he reached them. “Mr. Rutland!” Perry cried with a pleasure so obviously feigned that Tessa winced for him. “May I help you with something, sir?”

  “Yes,” Brett said curtly. “I’d like to speak with you privately, and I thought I’d stop by on my way up to the office. There’s some information I’d like you to get for me.”

  “Yes, of course, of course,” Perry babbled. “Right this way—my office—”

  With a nod to both Tessa and Sammy, Brett went into Perry’s office, with Perry skittering around him like a nervous poodle.

  “Can you believe that?” Sammy asked incredulously. “He’s actually heard of me.” He was beaming with pleasure, his eyes sparkling behind the lenses of his glasses.

  Tessa sat very still, but Sammy didn’t notice her lack of response; he was too bemused and too pleased to notice anything. It was time for him to be on the job, so he ambled out as casually as he’d ambled in. Tessa turned on her video screen but sat staring at the blinking cursor without really seeing it. Brett had been as controlled as usual, but she was acutely sensitive to his mood, and she’d felt the seething anger beneath his calm exterior. Had something happened this morning to put him in a bad mood, or was he angry because he’d walked in and found her talking with Sammy? He’d expressly ordered her not to see Sammy after working hours, but this was on the job; surely he didn’t expect her to go out of her way to avoid the people she worked with? It was ridiculous even to think that he might be jealous of Sammy. Sammy wasn’t even in the same class with Brett, and Brett had to know it. She’d also told him that Sammy was just a friend, but he’d been glaring at Sammy as if he’d like to take a swing at him, and poor Sammy wouldn’t even have an inkling of what was going on.

  Was Brett jealous? The possibility made her almost dizzy with hope. He had no reason to be, but wouldn’t jealousy signal that he cared more deeply for her than she’d thought?

  Tessa was good enough at her job, and disciplined enough, that she managed to be productive even though she kept one eye on Perry’s door, waiting for Brett to reappear. She was jittery and excited, and she smiled a little in amusement at herself, because none of her friends here would ever believe that Tessa Conway could be nervous over a man. The difference was that Brett wasn’t just a man, he was the man, and that was quite a lot of difference. Not even Andrew had ever made her feel the way she felt with Brett, and at the time Tessa had thought herself sincerely in love with Andrew. She was learning that there were many different degrees of love, and that the deep, hungry need she felt for Brett far surpassed anything she’d even imagined.

  At last Brett came out of Perry’s office, but he passed her without even glancing in her direction. Tessa felt a pang of unreasonable hurt; after all, she’d been the one who’d said that she would feel uncomfortable with office gossip, so Brett was only following her wishes in not making their relationship obvious. But she found that she still wanted something from him: a look, a smile, anything to reassure her that he didn’t feel as cold as he looked.

  Whatever he’d wanted from Perry, evidently Perry hadn’t found it to be a pleasant visit. Through the open door of Perry’s office, Tessa could see him pacing back and forth, alternately wringing his hands or shoving his fingers through his thinning hair. She’d heard that Brett often had that effect on the executives and department heads who had to deal with him. There were two sides to his personality, and she felt a little disoriented because she couldn’t quite reconcile the coldly scathing executive who tore strips of hide off anyone who crossed him with the man of burning sensuality who kissed her with such sweet fire.

  How could she find herself so helplessly in love with a man she didn’t really know? He was a puzzle to her, his personality an intricate maze that she longed to solve, because she felt that her reward for finding the secrets of his personality would be a fiery love that would last a lifetime.

  By noon, the fact that Brett Rutland had had a private meeting with Perry was all over the office. “What’s going on?” Billie asked eagerly over lunch. “Is Perry in tr