Page 53 of The Boss's Baby Affair

He’d made her feel so special.

But now in the light of the morning after, it felt…wrong.

His fingers trailed down her cheek and came to a rest in the hollow of her throat. He caressed the sensitized, bare skin, and Candace was conscious of his square-tipped fingers touching her…slipping closer to the edge of the sheet trapped above her breasts.

And under the sheets his body was naked.

So was hers…

What had she done? All she could think of was that it was going to be impossible to keep working in Nick’s home. How could she have jeopardized everything? Her relationship with her daughter, her position in Nick’s house? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

And for what?

One night of desperate passion? That was forever going to lurk between them; they would never be able to put it to rest. She was going to have to leave. Leave Jennie.

Her heart clenched in pain.

And leave Nick.

The cold ache that numbed her chest was as unexpected as it was unwelcome.

No.

It couldn’t possibly hurt to think of leaving Nick…

No. No. No. He meant nothing to her.

Yet the denial did nothing to ease the ache as she remembered how he’d listened to Bertha yesterday, how he’d laughed when his sister had tormented him about having to kiss Princess Piggy, how he’d ripped her heart out when he’d told her about his hollow marriage at dinner last night.

She couldn’t possibly have—

No, she didn’t want to think about it. Falling in love with Nick would be the stupidest thing she’d ever done.

“Come here.” He pulled her into his arms.

For a split second, Candace resisted, then she let herself be drawn up against him. Shivers of delight raced through her as his bare skin brushed hers. He kissed her. Her mouth blossomed beneath his, opening, taking him into her, drawing him deep.

With a shock she realized how easy it would be to succumb.

Candace tore out of his arms, putting the length of the bed between them.

“Nick—no.” Her breathing was ragged. She paused for a moment. “I don’t want to make love again.”

“You don’t mean that—”

“I do,” she said with a firmness she was far from feeling. “It’s not going to happen again. This was the one and only time.”

The soft light went out of his eyes. “Don’t dismiss something you might regret losing later.”

“Believe me, I won’t regret this. We can’t be lovers. It won’t work.” She said it with a finality that she hoped was convincing. And prayed he wouldn’t recognize the undertone of desperation in her voice.

Twelve

The throaty roar of the Ferrari coming up the driveway caused the tension that had been lurking in the pit of Candace’s stomach since Nick had made love to her two days ago to tighten another notch.

Run. Hide.

The anxiety that had been gnawing at her resurfaced. You’re not in love with him. Candace sharply pulled herself together. There was no need to run, and she wasn’t retreating to hide in the nursery. She was going to stay seated right where she was—on the carpet of the upstairs sitting room, playing with Jennie.

“You’re losing it,” she admonished herself. “Nick’s home. So what?”

The memory of the time he’d kissed her here in this very place after she’d held the ice pack to his head flashed through her mind. Oh, God. Nowhere was safe from him, from the emotions he aroused in her.

Then Jennie gurgled, and, as always, Candace’s heart warmed.

The baby’s smile put everything in perspective.

She’d done nothing wrong. So she’d slept with Nick Valentine—a foolish mistake. Hardly the love of a lifetime. She had to keep telling herself that. Despite the starbursts of intense pleasure the experience had released, despite the sense of inevitability about what had happened, it was an error of judgment she bitterly regretted.

But there was no reason for it to cause her this much distress.

Except if there were consequences…

Candace told herself there wouldn’t be. It was the wrong time of month. But she’d been reckless. Stupid. It was time to come to terms with what had happened, take the necessary steps to deal with any unfortunate circumstances and move on. She couldn’t allow every thought of Nick to keep causing her heart palpitations.

The only problem was that Nick was making it incredibly difficult to put that night behind her.

Every look, every comment, seemed to be calculated to throw her into a state of confusion, where desire warred with good sense.

Even now, the sound of his footsteps coming up the marble stairway made her pulse go wild.

Nick was coming!

For one panicky moment Candace wished she’d retreated to the nursery when she’d had the opportunity. Then she steadied herself.

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