Free The Cutting Edge by Linda Howard Page B

she’d ever known, who had taken over her dreams in daylight and dark. Was there a moment in her life now when she was actually unconscious of him? She couldn’t think of one. Even when she was asleep, he was in her mind, so that she went to sleep thinking of him and woke to a continuation of the same thought, as if he had been there all along.
    â€œYou’ve gone moony-eyed again,” Billie said, watching her. “Whoever he is, he must be something else.”
    Tessa caught her breath. “He is.”
    â€œIt’s Brett Rutland, isn’t it? The way you smiled a moment ago, when we were talking about him…I can’t describe it.”
    There was no use in denying it, since Tessa felt that she couldn’t control her expression right then, and in any case she wasn’t inclined to deny the way she felt about him. She wasn’t ashamed of loving him; she felt glorified by it, as if she were more alive now than she’d ever been before in her life. “Yes,” she admitted quietly.
    Billie was concentrating fiercely. “Did you meet him for the first time this week, in the elevator?”
    â€œYes. We had dinner that night…and last night.”
    â€œYou’ve been out with him twice, and you thinkyou’re in love with him? The Ax-Man? Tessa, there can’t be two people any more mismatched than you and Brett Rutland! You’re the life of any party, and he…well, picture it yourself. He walks into a room, and it’s instant silence.”
    That was the public Brett; Billie would never comprehend the potent charm he could exert in private, the intense concentration he turned on a woman that demanded the same degree of attention in return. But Tessa had known his kisses, felt the heat of him straining against her, and she would never be able to think of him as the cold, ruthless troubleshooter who reported only to Joshua Carter.
    â€œWill you keep this to yourself?” she asked Billie. “He said that he doesn’t mind who knows, but I don’t like the thought of everyone gossiping about us.”
    â€œSure,” Billie agreed readily, and reached over to pat her hand. “You didn’t pick an easy one to fall for, did you?”
    â€œOf course not.” Tessa’s soft mouth curved wryly. “The easy ones were all too…easy.”
    Billie felt that she’d been watching out for Tessa ever since the younger woman had moved to Los Angeles, but never before had she felt that Tessa was heading for deep trouble. Even when she’d just begun to adjust to the differences between Tennessee and California, Tessa had always approached everything with high spirits and good humor. But Brett Rutland could break Tessa’s bright spirit with his cool ruthlessness if Tessa cared too much and he cared too little. Billie’s eyes were troubled as she looked at her friend. “If you need me, all you have to do is pick up the telephone andcall me,” she offered. “I can always offer you a drink, an extra bed and a shoulder to cry on, singly or in any combination.”
    â€œThanks. I know that you’re there for me if I need you.” Tessa smiled warmly at her friend. “But don’t be so glum! I’ve always landed on my feet before, haven’t I?”
    â€œYou haven’t been in love before,” Billie retorted. “Believe me, love can be hell.”
    Yes, it could be, and Tessa had already been singed by its fires, but the small flames Andrew had generated were nothing compared to the inferno Brett lit just by walking into the room. Faintly confused, because she’d never before doubted that she’d loved Andrew, she was now beginning to wonder if she’d ever been more than fond of him. There was simply no comparison between the way she’d felt then and the way she felt now about Brett. With Brett, she felt an irresistible compulsion to walk into his arms and never leave them,