Read Online Tessa’s Dilemma by Tessa Wanton - Free Book Online

aside to no one in general, “I fancy something refreshing this afternoon but I think wine might cloud my judgment a little too much.” The bartender glided away to prepare the drinks. Charles wasn’t so sure he liked being called Sir as much as Master, but he understood perfectly why she did it, and for sure, embarrassment of any sort would make for an uncomfortable afternoon. Tessa was fidgeting again and he noticed that she had shuffled as close to him as she could without actually falling off the edge of the stool. “Is something the matter girl?”
    Waiting to answer while the bartender served their drinks, Tessa smiled and thanked him, and then making sure he had gone, turned back to Charles and lowered her voice. “I... I just feel that I’m being stared at Sir. Am I really that out of place in here?”
    He laughed lightly, “My girl, they aren’t staring at you because you’re out of place; they’re staring at you because you’re stunning. They want you. They can’t have you, as you’re quite obviously with me. But I can tell you, they want. They want very much, and that, is a very powerful emotion. Do not worry. Let them look. You’re safe with me, and there’s not a great deal they can do about it anyway; let them enjoy the sight of delights they cannot have.”
    Charles watched as Tessa blushed endearingly again, he never could get enough of watching the rosy hue tint her pale flesh, and now she was drinking her cocktail, concentrating hard on sucking the mixture up through the bright pink straw. Obviously she enjoyed the taste, but she was also overcompensating for her nervousness by gulping it down quickly. That mattered little though, because she was safe with him and he needed her to be relaxed, comfortable, pliable to his requests, and well, alcohol would assist delightfully with that.
    “What made you go into property?” Tessa asked. Charles was amused at the question out of left field, but that was Tessa through and through. Despite what was happening around her, that mind of hers was always thinking of something.
    “Ah, it’s a long story, but when you were educated in my day, by the time you hit sixteen years old, often your career path was planned out for you, and I, as I had strengths in Geography, was destined to be a Surveyor. I suppose you would say it was General Practice Surveying really, not anything like Estates, or Building Surveying, and from there, property was where the money was. Building up connections, contacts, wheeling and dealing in my youth; they were good times. And now, although there is still money to be had, it’s not quite as lucrative as it used to be.”
    “Wow.” She said simply. Hoovering the final contents of her glass in one suck, she pushed the empty glass away, seemingly deep in thought. “See I knew we had something “normal” in common. I was also quite adept at Geography in school, and funnily enough, they wanted to push me into Quantity Surveying of all things. I just loved Glaciation though; that was my favorite topic by far; all those ice flows, glaciers, cwms and corries.” She looked distant as if trying to remember the details of such things.
    Charles grabbed one of the paper napkins acting as a coaster to his beer, and pulled a pen out of his inside breast pocket. Sketching a long arc on the napkin, he started to detail a rough mountain scene. He smiled broadly as his girl squealed with delight as she figured out what he was doing. Giggling she scooted even closer to him, pointing out the different things he was drawing. “That’s a corrie lake, that’s an arête, that’s terminal moraine.” He was rather pleased she recognized those last little details he had added, he felt that all of the little dots and circles he had just drawn added a certain pleasing texture to his artistry. Smiling back at her, he was reminded once again that her intelligence as well as her body, was a wonderful prize to behold indeed.
    “And yet, I ended up