Page 55 of Triplet Trouble For My Billionaire Boss

I step out into the hallway and head for the stairs.

I realize my mistake far too late because the moment I'm within sight of Annie's door, that's it for me. No amount of willpower is allowing me to walk past it.

This is a mistake, this is a mistake. It's like a mantra in my head as I stop in front of the door and lift my fist.

Chapter Sixteen

Annie

I gargle mouthwash and spit it out then just stand there and stare at myself in the expansive mirror.

How am I going to face Cole tomorrow?

I've just finished reading a bedtime story to his son, but he's all I can think about.

Cole.

He's an arrogant ass—and my boss, damn it—but he's also a damn good kisser. And a damn good... well, he was damn good at other things too.

My face burns, and I look away from the mirror, as if that will somehow make the embarrassment lessen.

After our argument today and my panic attack, then seeing him with his son in the parlor after the store, then at dinnertime, actually talking to him… Something had taken hold of me.

Cole's anger and cold demeanor had melted away, and even though he'd seemed more like a father than a boss, there had still been something magnetic about him.

I'd had the urge to reach across the table and squeeze his hand. To reassure him that it would all be okay.

And then Robbie had asked me to read him a bedtime story, and the urge had intensified.

But how could I do that when he'd already seen me in such a weakened state earlier? When he'd already had his hands all over me—inside of me—a couple of weeks ago.

The memory of his tongue snaking over the heated skin of my breasts...

"Ugh."

I shake my head and step away from the sink. I slap the light switch for the bathroom and head to bed where I have a book from the library waiting for me.

I nod to no one. Yup, I'm going to lose myself in a story, a thriller. Nothing romantic about that, nope.

I slip under the covers almost defiantly, as if Cole is here, judging me.

He's not, but the thought of him makes my mind drift, and I find myself imagining what it would be like to be tucked under the covers next to him. To feel the warmth of his body, to breathe in his scent.

What is his scent, anyway? A faint hint of his cologne. Clean, masculine. So damn sexy.

Something that makes me want to bury my face in the crook of his neck andinhale.

Something that makes me want a whole lot more than that.

"Focus, Annie," I mutter to myself.

I pull the blankets higher, but the feeling of safety and security eludes me.

My mind continues to wander, and I can't stop thinking about Cole. About his hard, toned body. About his skilled, knowing touch.

About his dark, soulful eyes, the way he looked at me when I was in his lap.

Heat blooms low in my stomach, and my breath quickens. My pulse begins to pound, and I feel my body respond.

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