Far From Perfect Read Online Free PDF

life.
    Could that be true? No, it couldn’t. It mustn’t.
    The illumination, sudden and sharp, swept through him, bringing confusion in its wake that was so unlike his usual hard-focused clarity. Aware she might think he was crazy, he shook his head to clear it, but couldn’t do away with the sense of sand shifting beneath his feet.
    Concentrate. Stay on message. Remember the plan. Remember the way you conduct your life.
    Whirling around, marshalling the steel and purpose that usually served him so well in business, he said, “We have to talk about that night, Anna. We’ve danced around it since it happened and it’ll only fester if we leave it any longer.”
    “What’s to discuss?” Anna held his gaze, and the lack of fear in her eyes was awesome, almost warrior. He wasn’t the only one who’d pulled himself together. “I made a mistake…and you informed me of it in no uncertain terms. There’s nothing more to be said.” Her voice was steady, but huskier than before. And the blush in her cheeks was pinker, hotter.
    Oh hell, he wanted her more than ever.
    “It was a lot more than that. And we need to talk about it.” He moved to push his hands in his pockets, then thought better of it and crossed his arms in front of him.
    Suddenly, Anna was on her feet, fists clenched at her sides. “Yes, there was a bit in the middle that you seemed to enjoy—quite a lot as I recall! But after that, all I remember is you suddenly turning into the Reverend Father of Good Sense and Moral Rectitude and preaching me a sermon along the lines of ‘You young idiot!’ and ‘How could you be so stupid?’ and ‘ Per Dio , what on earth were you thinking?’”
    Per Dio indeed! That night he’d lost his cool completely, just as he was in serious danger of losing it now.
    There had been a delicious, drowsy awakening, then shocked realization, then an almost fatalistic slide into the most soul-drenching pleasure. And afterwards, another rollercoaster plunge, but this time into another realization. The fact that he’d just had sex with exactly the type of woman, exactly the woman whom he shouldn’t have allowed himself anywhere near.
    Remorse had shocked him in its agonizing intensity. Anna hadn’t been one of his no-strings sophisticates who knew the score. Not then, and maybe not now. His plan was stupid…stupid, but he couldn’t forget the way his father’s weary eyes burned with hope at the mention of her name.
    And yet, there was the other thing too. The need to get past that night, exorcise their demons and move on properly. Surely she wanted the same? Or was he just fooling himself so he had an excuse to bed her again? His thoughts whirled, round and round, and his temples ached from the urge to shake his head again.
    “I was harsh. I shouldn’t have been. I admit that.” It seemed a hollow concession at best, and he hated the memory of her lovely face crumpling in distress.
    “And presumptuous,” she flung back at him, “and arrogant.”
    “Okay, yes, it was arrogant of me to presume that because you wanted to fuck me you’d expect me to get into a serious relationship with you afterwards.” Odd voices, yearnings, muttered in his head. “And it was a shock realizing you were a virgin…it was…was a responsibility.”
    “Which you don’t like. I know that. I only wanted to get rid of my virginity with a man I knew was likely to be pretty damn good in bed.” Anna’s delicate chin came up as she spoke. Her expression was determined and brittle and he didn’t like it at all. “I picked you because I knew you were a player and you could get the job done.”
    Sudden outrage barreled through him, but at her or himself, he wasn’t quite sure. Nevertheless it swept aside all better judgment and pragmatism. It was one thing to have a reputation as a seasoned stud—deserved, admittedly—but to be told he’d been chosen purely as a stallion hurt like a punch in the gut. Especially as he still wasn’t sure