Page 35 of Tempted

Victor cupped her face between his palms. “That was amazing, Jasmine.”

She lowered her lids so she wouldn’t have to look into his perceptive gaze. A lump formed in her throat. What was she supposed to say? Thanks for the great fuck now get out of my room? Anything she could have said would seem trite or maybe too blunt.

He brushed his lips against her cheek. “Look at me.”

Jasmine shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is wrong,” she croaked.

Victor sighed. “I know.”

His confession had her eyes flying open. “Then why? Why did you come to me tonight?”

He rolled off of her and covered his face with his hands. “Because I can’t fight what’s been happening between us from the moment we saw each other.”

“No.”

Victor sat up with a raised brow? “No? Was I imagining you clawing to keep me close, how wet your pussy got, or how it clenched my cock like—”

“Stop! This shouldn’t have happened and you know it. Yes, I might be sexually attracted to you, but it’s just sex. We made a mistake, and it’s not one I’d care to repeat. I’m the children’s nanny and you’re my boss. This isn’t right or appropriate.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” he said gruffly. “You have no idea how many nights I’ve lain awake at night willing myself not to walk into your room and throw you on the bed and fuck you into oblivion? I was already attracted to you, but seeing your naked body made it difficult for me to function when you’re around.”

Her heart lurched. She knew where this was leading. “Does this mean you’d like me to go?” The thought of leaving Tyler and Chelsea hurt, but most of all, she’d miss the money which represented the security she needed for Star and herself. But she realized how awkward things would be between her and Victor after what had just happened.

“No. I can’t do that to my kids. They love you. What kind of bastard would I be to fire you for my mistake? Damn.” He raked his fingers through his hair before sliding off the bed and grabbed his clothes.

Jasmine nodded for lack of anything better to say, pulling the covers over her nakedness.

Victor pulled his clothing on in a hurry. “I’m sorry, Jasmine.”

Before she could say anything else, he hurried out of the room and closed the door behind him without a backward glance.

Chapter Twelve

Victor removed his reading glasses and tossed them on his desk. He’d been sitting in his office for the past hour attempting to read through some briefs, but he kept going over the same paragraph more times than he cared to count.

Attempting to work from home was a big mistake. He’d told himself that this was a way to get some more time with his children but in reality he wanted to be closer to Jasmine. He couldn’t get her off his mind.

Since that night in her bedroomJasmineseemed determined to avoid him. He couldn’t blame her because he’d acted like a hormonal teenager who couldn’t control himself. When their paths did cross, they remained polite, almost like strangers. As if they hadn’t touched, kissed, held each other or made love so passionately together. Victor could almost pretend that night was simply a dream, a beautiful fantasy he’d concocted.

But as time passed, thoughts of Jasmine and her beautiful body, how she’d felt in his arms and how mind-blowing it was to be inside of her, consumed his thoughts to the point he could barely function. Something would have to give. Part of what nagged him about the entire debacle was how he’d handled it afterwards.

He’d botched the entire situation. What Victor had wanted to do was pull Jasmine in his arms, kiss away all her doubts and tell her how much what they’d shared had meant to him. It hadn’t been his intention to run off like some wounded animal with his tail between his legs. But when he’d seen that stricken look on her face, a slight glimmer of shame within the depths of her eyes, he didn’t know how to handle it.

Victor could only imagine what she must be thinking. Maybe things wouldn’t be so awkward now if he’d gone to her in a reasonable amount of time to talk things through with her. Now that a couple weeks had passed, he wasn’t sure how to act when she was around.

Not expressing his feelings was one of the contributing factors to the break down in his marriage. And it was also one of the reason he and Adam were where they were in their relationship. He didn’t want Jasmine to think he was ashamed of what happened, but that’s exactly what he’d done through his actions. They couldn’t continue to avoid each other indefinitely. Eventually the children would notice the tension if they already hadn’t. They’d have to deal with each other.

No sooner had he walked out of his office did he see Jasmine coming toward him, her steps hesitant. As she drew near, he noticed how she nibbled on her bottom lip. He’d come to learn that she did that when she was nervous.

“Hi,” she greeted.

He nodded in acknowledgement. “Jasmine.”

They laughed for speaking simultaneously. It helped to ease the tension.

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