How to Seduce a Billionaire by Kate Carlisle Read Free Book Online

go,” she said, placing two glasses on the counter.
    Brandon let go of the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Thanks.” He took his time pouring wine into the glasses and handed her one. “Kelly, I—”
    “Look, Brandon—”
    “Sorry. What were you going to say?”
    She blinked, then said in a rush, “No, you go first.”
    “Fine. I just think—”
    “Okay, I’ll go first.” She glanced briefly toward the ceiling as if she were looking for guidance from above. Brandon watched her chest move up and down as she inhaled, then exhaled. She was clearly edgy. She picked up her wineglass and took a gulp, paced a few steps back and forth across the small kitchen, then stopped and met his gaze, her face a mask of regret.
    “I want to apologize for the way I behaved today,” she said. “I don’t know what got into me. I’ve been going crazy ever since I learned that Roger would be coming here and I guess I…I lost my head. I’m mortified about what happened. I just hope you’ll accept my apology and trust that it’ll never happen again.”
    She looked exhausted when she finished and he felt a twinge of sympathy for her.
    “Why don’t we sit down?” he said, and he led the way to the cozy sitting area of the mini-suite. They each sat at one end of the small couch, leaving barely two feet of space between them.
    He should’ve been relieved that she’d apologized, but for some unfathomable reason, it didn’t sit well with him. “So what, exactly, will never happen again?”
    She opened her mouth, then closed it. Frowning, she placed her wineglass down on the end table and shifted against the plush sofa cushions until she was facing him more directly. “You know what I’m talking about.”
    “Tell me.”
    “Fine.” She exhaled heavily and Brandon was once again mesmerized by the movement of her breasts. “I backed you into a corner. I practically propositioned you.” With a groan of disgust, she lifted her arms and waved them for emphasis. “I threw myself at you.” She shot him a quick glance. “Figuratively speaking, of course.”
    “Of course,” he said cautiously.
    “I left you no choice but to kiss me, Brandon. It was horrible of me.” She grabbed her wineglass. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what you did. It was wonderful, really. It was so…well, anyway, you helped me confirm a few important things I’d been confused about. But it was still wrong of me to ask it of you, and I’m sorry. I took complete advantage of you.”
    “Did you?” He stifled a grin. She didn’t honestly think any woman had ever taken advantage of him, did she?
    “Yes.” She pressed two fingers against her eyelids as though she were getting a headache. “I practically begged you to kiss me.”
    “Well, you didn’t exactly beg.” Now Brandon had to smile. He was starting to enjoy this. “But go on.”
    “I’ll understand if you can’t forgive me, but I hope you will. All I can do is promise it will absolutely never happen again.”
    “Never?”
    “Never, I swear. In fact, if you could just wipe the entire experience from your memory that would be very helpful.”
    “You’re saying I should just forget it ever happened.”
    “Exactly! I would be so grateful. You know I’ve never been a problem employee, so if you could just take this day off the books, I promise it’ll never happen again.”
    He rubbed his jaw, considering. “You’ve always been above reproach.”
    “I like to think so,” she said, clearly relieved. “Honestly, it was just some kind of momentary aberration. We can chalk it up to vacation-induced insanity or something.”
    “Or something,” he murmured.
    Beaming, she said, “You’ve been really understanding. Thank you so much.” She picked up her wineglass and took another sip. “I’m so glad we had this little talk. I feel so much better.”
    “That’s what I’m here for.”
    She gazed at him, her smile tentative. “I was afraid you came here