TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,95

he got. He'd undo it now and not put it back on until necessary.

"No, sir, but Terr--I mean, Miss Simpson arrived a bit early. She's in your office, sir."

"Is she?" Bastien smiled at the news, then added, "If she's told you to call her Terri, then you're wel-come to do so, Meredith. There's no need to call her Miss Simpson on my account."

"Yes, sir." His secretary smiled. "I'll be heading to lunch in a minute. Shall I switch the lines over to the receptionist's desk so that she can take messages?"

"Yes, please," he said. "Have a good lunch."

"You too, sir."

Bastien nodded as he walked to his office door, but waited there for Meredith to collect her purse and leave the office before he opened it and stepped in¬side. The sight that met his gaze made him pause in the doorway and stare. Terri was on her hands and knees, her behind barely covered by a dark blue skirt, wagging from side to side as she scrubbed a towel over the carpet. His entrance didn't faze her. She hadn't heard the door open, because she was muttering.

Bastien was so distracted by the view, it took a mo¬ment for her words to register. She was mumbling something about what an idiot she was. That was enough to make him tear his eyes away from her be¬hind, close the door quietly, and move forward.

"Terri? What happened?"

She stiffened, her body stilling, then she glanced sharply over her shoulder at him and groaned. "Oh, Bastien, I'm sorry. I'm such a clutz. I tripped over my purse and fell and spilled my Coke all over your lovely carpet. I--"

"Shh, shh, shh. It's all right," he interrupted. Mov¬ing forward, he took her arm and urged her to her feet.

"No, it's not all right. Just look at it. I've--"

"It will clean," Bastien assured her, taking her towel away and dropping it on the stain without even really a glance. "You didn't hurt yourself when you fell, did you?"

"No. But I--I don't know if Coke stains, but if it does, I think I've ruined your rug."

"Terri, it's just a carpet. A thing. Things are replace¬able. As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."

"But--"

When her gaze dropped to the stain again, he took her arm and urged her away from the couch. He moved her toward his desk to keep her from looking.

"Don't worry about it," Bastien said again, but he knew his telling her wasn't going to accomplish the task. Terri would worry; she couldn't seem to help herself. It was as much her nature to be responsible for her own actions and worry about things as it was his. If he gave her half a chance, she'd be insisting on paying for cleaning or replacing the carpet. He wasn't going to give her the chance. A distraction was needed, and Bastien decided that, if he had to sacri¬fice himself to the cause, he was more than willing to do so.

"Why are you grinning?" Terri asked.

"I was just thinking a distraction is the only thing that will keep you from worrying about spilling that pop."

"A distraction?" She seemed perplexed.

"Mmmm. And I decided that I would just have to sacrifice myself to the cause."

Terri blinked at that announcement, and at the cheeky way he said it; then her lips twitched with the beginnings of amusement. "You're 'willing to sacri¬fice yourself to the cause,' are you?"

Bastien congratulated himself. His distraction was already working. Easing closer, he raised his hands to either side of her waist. "Yeah. I'm willing to go all the way, if necessary, to accomplish the task."

"All the way?" Terri was definitely distracted now, and amused.

"All the way," he assured her, leaning in to kiss her cheek by her ear.

"That's pretty selfless of you," she breathed. He moved to kiss her other cheek.

"Mmmm," Bastien murmured. "I'm a selfless kind of guy." Then he kissed her properly, covering her mouth with his. Terri opened to him, a little sigh slipping out and rolling lightly across his lips. He loved it when she did that. Bastien loved it when she sighed, and when she moaned. He loved it when she shifted, or arched, or writhed against him. He loved how he affected her, and he loved the effect she never failed to have on him. Heck, he just plain loved her.

That thought made Bastien pause. He loved Terri. It was a wonderful thing. If she didn't turn from him as Josephine had.

Terri pulled back as Bastien suddenly stilled. She peered