Read Online Worth the Scandal by Karen Erickson - Free Book Online Page A

climbed out of the car, turning to offer her his hand. She set her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet, her layers of tulle and silk skirts falling to the ground as she stood.
    The crowd went wild as they walked down the red carpet, their hands still clasped, all of them shouting his name in various accents. She tried to duck her head. He knew she probably wished she could melt into the floor, but he tugged on her hand, pulling her closer. “Hold your head up high,” he urged.
    She did as he demanded. She always did which pleased him to no end. Lifting her chin, she offered the cameras a smile, her dramatically red lips parting to reveal straight white teeth. The flashes popped like crazy, the photographers asking who his lady friend was.
    “An old family friend,” he said mysteriously, slipping his arm around her slender waist and holding her close, his hand resting on the curve of her hip.
    “What are you wearing tonight, miss?” one of the female reporters asked Tessa.
    “Valentino and Worth,” she said, her lilting voice carrying on the breeze.
    The local media murmured their approval at her choice of an Italian designer.
    “Let’s go inside.” He guided her down the walkway, offering a quick wave to the last bunch of reporters before they entered the building. Inside music swelled, an orchestra playing in the ballroom and the dull roar of endless conversation sounded, like a swarm of bees coming closer and prepared to attack.
    They approached the ballroom’s closed double doors, his hand at her back, her stature stiff and shoulders tense. Her nerves were unsettling and he wished he could calm her somehow, some way. Glancing about, he realized they were all alone so he did what he’d been dying to do from the day he first saw her.
    Turning into her, he cupped her cheek with his free hand, tilting her face up so her gaze met his. Her dark eyes went wide, her lips parted and he swooped in, taking advantage.
    He kissed her.

Chapter Five
     
    Tessa froze, shocked at the sensation of Alex’s lips pressed against hers. They were soft, there and gone before they settled upon hers once again. Longer this time, his mouth lingered on hers. His lips parted, and she felt his hot breath mingle with her own before he finally pulled away.
    “W—why did you do that?” Her voice shook. She sounded like a complete ninny, but she couldn’t believe it.
    Alex just kissed her.
    “I need you to be calm,” he murmured, his fingers drifting down her cheek before his hand fell away. “I need you to be confident. And more than anything, you need to pretend you’re with me. Just for tonight.”
    That wouldn’t be a hardship. But still. She didn’t understand. He could have anyone and yet he chose her? “I don’t know how convincing we’ll be. I mean, you’re my boss. Up until a few days ago I couldn’t bring myself to call you by your first name. And now you want me to pretend that you’re my—boyfriend?”
    She could not say the word lover. It was simply too intimate. Not that Alexander Worth could be considered anyone’s boyfriend. That was far too simple a word for such a complex man.
    A couple swept by, the older man dashing in his tuxedo, the woman clad in royal blue and with sapphires the size of eggs around her neck and on her fingers. Tessa couldn’t help but stare as the man opened the ballroom door and allowed the woman to walk inside.
    It gave Alex the advantage. He pulled Tessa in even closer, if that was possible. Her full skirts swirled around his legs, covering his feet and she braced herself, resting her hand against his hard chest, her fingers immediately curling into the soft, rich fabric of his jacket.
    The man was gorgeous no matter what he wore. Tuxedo, suit, jeans…and she had a feeling he would be even more so in nothing at all.
    “For one night I want you to pretend you belong to me, Tessa. No one else, just me.” He placed his hand on her cheek again, his fingers curving about her