A Kiss At Midnight: New Year at the Boss's Bidding / Slow Dance with the Best Man / The Greek Doctor's New-Year Baby. Kate Hardy
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу A Kiss At Midnight: New Year at the Boss's Bidding / Slow Dance with the Best Man / The Greek Doctor's New-Year Baby - Kate Hardy страница 28
Автор: Kate Hardy
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Зарубежные любовные романы
isbn: 9781474086660
isbn:
Feeling suffocated and hemmed in, she roughly pulled open the curtains, her agitation showing in every movement until she froze. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was still snowing. The possibility of leaving today didn’t look good. ‘No, it can’t be,’ she whispered, more to herself than to the man whose brooding presence filled the room.
Behind her she heard the flick of the light switch and turned to face him. ‘The power is still out.’ His eyes, cold and dark, met hers.
Could this get any worse? She’d just spent the night with the man who was effectively her boss, shared secrets they both probably would never have told, and now they were going to be forced to spend yet another day alone in the same house.
‘It’s still snowing.’ Her voice was barely above a whisper as she tried to take in what this all meant.
She turned to face him, wanting to prove to herself she was in control, that she wouldn’t dissolve into a distressed heap in front of him. Right now she didn’t care what he thought of her. All she cared about was dousing the passion once and for all. It couldn’t happen again.
‘So, we are completely cut off. Snowbound.’ His sharp tone caught her unawares and she couldn’t think what to do now, her mind in a panic.
‘I need to leave today. I have to go.’
She had to get to Vanessa’s, but, more importantly, she had to get away from Xavier.
* * *
Xavier marched to the window and looked out at the white landscape. Snow was plastered to the sides of trees and bushes as if someone had painted them with a brush. They could be stuck here for several days.
How were they going to move on from their conversation in the early hours of this morning? He’d opened up to her, believing they would be parting the next morning. He couldn’t spend the day with her after that revelation. What if they were stuck here? What would happen tonight?
He remembered every detail of last night as the blizzard had done its worst outside. Her total innocence and how he’d let her into his mind. But as dawn had broken, reality had begun to creep back stealthily.
‘We should have tried to go yesterday.’ She dragged her hands through her hair and instantly he recalled how his fingers had slid through its thickness last night.
Enough, he berated himself. It had been exactly that sort of emotion that had lowered his defences, allowed her to touch his heart. The heart he’d kept frozen for the last three years.
He looked at her face, at the horror of their situation reflected in her eyes. He knew she thought he was blaming her. But he wasn’t. He’d messed up enough lives with the accident and now he was messing up hers, opening up wounds he’d never known she’d nursed, wounds as big as those he was trying to heal.
‘It’s not going to help to stand here, apportioning blame. After breakfast I will walk to the road to see what the situation is.’ He was back in charge, back in control, which was more than he’d been last night.
‘I’m coming too.’ The firm statement left him in no doubt that she intended to do just that. ‘I’ve seen more boots and coats in one of the back rooms.’
‘Va bene.’ He could see any kind of refusal was useless. Thankfully, minute by minute, he was regaining control, not only of his emotions but the situation.
The strong, hot coffee, brewed on the gas stove, had further infused him with discipline, so that by the time they were making their way through the deep snow he was in a more amenable mood.
Just as when she’d arrived, Tilly wore her red woollen hat and scarf. Her cheeks were flushed from the freezing wind and a worried look haunted her eyes. Was it really that important to get to her friend’s house? A real friend would understand. These thoughts cluttered his mind, filling it with questions, until Tilly stumbled into a windblown patch of snow, which was far deeper than she’d expected, and with a squeal of shock she flung out her arms.
He caught her instantly, his reactions quick and precise. But instead of letting her go as soon as she was steady on her feet, he held her close. She looked up at him, wide-eyed, and that strange sensation filled his chest, squashing almost all the breath from him. Despite their bundled layers he could feel the heat from her body infusing his and the urge to kiss her was so strong he had to grit his teeth against it.
Again she was testing him. Dio mio. What had she done to him?
He’d pushed her boundaries, knocked them down, all for his own selfish needs, had divulged all his secrets, but he still wanted her.
‘We should continue,’ he managed to say over the thrum of lust. ‘The sky is looking more threatening, as if more snow is on the way.’
* * *
‘So much snow.’ Tilly couldn’t believe it. More snow meant not only being unable to get to Vanessa’s but also being here longer with Xavier. That was something she couldn’t do, especially when he looked at her with such intolerance in his eyes. He didn’t want to be here with her, much less be reminded of the mistake they’d made last night.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.