British Bachelors: Delicious & Dangerous. Kate Hardy

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       CHAPTER FOUR

      THE LUXURIOUS BATHROOM adjacent to Hal’s equally opulent bedroom had a vast sunken bath and shower and a gleaming marble floor with a striking snakeskin finish. If Kit hadn’t known it to be true already, it screamed out that its owner was undoubtedly male, seriously charismatic and frighteningly rich. And so far her new employer was proving to be the most challenging one she’d ever worked for...

      Dropping down onto a seriously comfy-looking chair, Hal handed over his crutches to her without preamble. It was nearly eleven o’clock at night and Kit knew that he was still tired, still hurting, and cranky because of it. Trying not to pay too much attention to the unhappy expression on his handsome face, she stood the crutches against the wall, leant down to the bath and turned on the taps.

      As the water gushed out into the tub she glanced over her shoulder and asked, ‘What kind of temperature do you like?’

      ‘What?’

      He was staring at her as though in a trance. Straightening, she crossed her arms over her chest, feeling as though she were suddenly being examined under the searching glare of an intense spotlight. It was hard to string a single coherent thought together when her heart felt as though she was careening downhill at breakneck speed because it beat so fast.

      ‘I asked what kind of temperature you wanted?’

      ‘Hot.’

      Such a simple, commonplace word shouldn’t sound so...so provocative. But it did. And it didn’t help her case that she remembered telling Hal that she was hardly fazed by seeing a man’s naked body and had ‘seen it all before’. She didn’t doubt he thought she must be referring to her intimate experiences. Perhaps he thought she’d had several? The truth was she’d had just one briefly intimate liaison and that had turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. She’d been stupidly bluffing when she’d made her comment, so that he wouldn’t think he had the upper hand. And she’d called him egotistical!

      ‘Okay,’ she said.

      ‘I’ll need you to help me get in the water—also to put the waterproof cast protector on.’

      ‘Of course.’

      ‘Then I suppose I’d better get undressed.’

      Swallowing hard at the very idea of seeing this man’s toned, athletic body bared for her eyes only—albeit so that he could take a bath—Kit had to dig deep to retain her composure. ‘Do you need any assistance with that?’ she asked.

      Hal’s golden eyes glimmered almost painfully.

      ‘Not to get undressed, no. But you might as well stay in here until I’m ready to get into the bath. Think you can do that?’

      ‘No problem.’ She sensed heat flare in her cheeks even before she answered.

      ‘I’ll put a towel round me to spare your blushes,’ he declared, his tone indisputably provocative. ‘Even though you’ve assured me that you’ve seen it all before.’

      Kit might have known he wouldn’t let her forget she’d said that. ‘Do you want me to put in some bath salts or foam?’ she enquired.

      ‘Some of that blue stuff on the shelf will do,’ he responded blithely, as if it scarcely mattered.

      The ‘blue stuff’ he’d indicated was a seriously high-end exclusive product that probably cost the earth, she noted, a helpless little smile curving her lips. It certainly smelt nice. While Hal lifted off his sweater and T-shirt she kept herself occupied by watching over the bathwater and regularly testing the temperature. When he indicated that he was ready she turned off the taps and swivelled to see that he had wound a slim white bathtowel round the lower half of his torso, while he supported his injured leg on a handy footstool.

      But that wasn’t the only thing Kit noticed. Exposed in all their glory, the sheer tantalising breadth of his shoulders and his strongly defined biceps were even more magnificent than she’d guessed they would be. But she couldn’t afford to let the fact distract her...not even for a second.

      ‘The bath is ready, so I think we’d better get the cast protector on,’ she said briskly.

      ‘Then let’s do it.’

      With the waterproof protector fitted over his cast, Kit made sure to support him strongly as Hal gingerly lowered himself into the fragrant bubbles. Her heart raced in concern when she felt his muscles tensing and saw him bite his lip. ‘Is the water too hot?’ she breathed.

      As she assisted him to position his injured leg on one of the marble bath sides he surprised her with an unrestrained grin. ‘It’s perfect. Just the way I like it.’

      ‘Good...that’s СКАЧАТЬ