A Night With Consequences Read Free Page B

and undone the top buttons of his shirt, revealing a scattering of springy dark hairs against darkly tanned skin.
    Kara had only ever seen him in a collar and tie. She had never seen the flesh and blood man beneath. Although it shouldn’t have affected her, it did. He suddenly looked less daunting and more human. And—she hated to admit it—sexy.
    ‘For your information, I was thinking of practicalities.’
    Kara hardly heard what he was saying. She was still staring at his chest, which was quite magnificently muscled. Did he work out somewhere? A private gym, perhaps? Or did he have his own gym? She realised she actually knew nothing about Blake; she had never been interested. But now all sorts of questions sprang into her mind. She was seeing the man now, and not her employer, and could not ignore the way her pulse raced that little bit faster.
    ‘It makes perfect sense,’ he said now. ‘You are my right-hand woman. You are the trigger to this whole conference running smoothly. There are sure to be things we need to talk about. I need you close to me.’
    He needed her close to him! They were the only words that penetrated through the haze that fogged her brain. Close to him!
    Then she blinked and everything snapped back intoplace. ‘I do not agree, Mr Benedict. There is no need for us to—’
    Her words were abruptly cut off. ‘Miss Redman—Kara—it is too late to change now. The hotel is full.’ His expression suggested that she was making a mountain out of a molehill. ‘But if it will make you feel any better I promise not to intrude on your privacy.’
    Kara felt hot colour flood her cheeks. Was that really what he thought she had been thinking? She somehow managed a glare before turning around and marching back to her room. After her initial concerns she had been excited at the thought of coming here, of hopefully seeing something of Milan, but now new fears began to build. What had happened to the barrier she had supposedly erected? One look at a V of exposed chest and she had gone to pieces. How stupid was that? She was behaving like a teenager instead of a twenty-six-year-old woman.
    Unfortunately she would now see Blake Benedict in a completely different light, and it could spoil the whole conference—unless she took herself in hand. Even with his shirt buttoned up and a tie in place, his jacket over his magnificent chest, she would still remember what she had seen. It would still haunt her thoughts and she would hunger to see it again, perhaps to even touch! Oh, God, this was crazy. She was turning into someone she did not recognise.
    She needed to be careful. Blake’s attitude towards her had changed as well. She knew that. He had never really taken the time to get to know her before. She had been a faceless woman who quietly and efficiently kept his office running. But something had happened on theflight over. He had taken a second look, and a third, and seen a changed person. And if her instincts were anything to go by he was taking a very real interest in her now.
    On the other hand maybe she
was
making a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe she was seeing things that were not there. Embarrassment coloured her cheeks again, made her wish that she had not gone to his room. The time to confront him would have been if he had stepped over the mark. It was going to be sheer hell facing him now. It would take all of her courage to keep her chin high and pretend that nothing was wrong.
    After unpacking she stepped under the shower. They would soon be attending a pre-conference dinner, where everyone could get to know each other. A supposedly relaxing evening before the work really started. The trouble was that she could not get over her unease that Blake Benedict was on the other side of that door.
    Was he showering too? Was he standing there naked? Was all that fabulous flesh exposed? All hell let loose inside her body. Despite the fact that she kept telling herself everything was in her imagination she