He chuckled. ‘It’s a good place to work.’
‘The surroundings are serene, but it’s the isolation that really gets you.’ She nodded, stepped away from the railing. ‘I ought to leave you in peace so you can indulge in it.’
He reached out, encircled her wrist with his hand. ‘What if it isn’t peace that I want to indulge in?’
She froze. Her eyes met his. She felt more snared by them than by his grip on her.
‘What if I don’t want to be alone tonight?’ he added softly.
‘Then you should have stayed in town,’ she said huskily.
‘Silly me.’ He nodded. Not sounding at all sorry. ‘If you stayed tonight I wouldn’t be alone.’
She forced herself to swallow. ‘I’ve already told you I’m not staying.’
‘You’re too tired to drive all that way back tonight. You couldn’t even stay awake for the duration of the drive here,’ he jeered softly, his fingers tightening ever so slightly. ‘Stay the night.’
‘That’s not going to happen.’ Somehow she had to defend herself against this seduction. Because that was what it was—an easy, intoxicating seduction. He wore his appeal so well. ‘I’ll drive back now.’
She couldn’t possibly stay. Aside from the sheer wrongness of it, she had nothing with her. No clothes. No make-up. Nothing. And no Tara to put her look together. She didn’t pay attention when Tara titivated her—she was usually dreaming up an intro or writing up another list. Sure, she knew the basics, but she couldn’t achieve this level of ‘blending’ on her own. Steffi Leigh would disappear the second she dived into that pool…
‘Can you even drive that car?’ he asked, his eyes too keen and knowing.
‘I don’t find her that easy to handle,’ she admitted. ‘But I’ll manage.’
He chuckled, but she felt it was at some private joke rather than at her words. ‘I’ll drive you back tomorrow.’
She shouldn’t stay—couldn’t, in fact—but somehow she found herself asking, ‘Is there more than one bedroom?’
Slowly he released her wrist. ‘What is it you think I’m offering?’
Oh, they both knew—he couldn’t play coy now.
‘You’re the one making a bet with a kiss as the prize.’
His wicked smile flashed. ‘There are two bedrooms. Two beds. We’ll have to share a bathroom, though. Shall I show you?’
He rose from the chair. In a moment he was towering above her, and his size and proximity had an immediate devastating impact on her.
She tensed, waiting for him to move. It felt like for ever until he did.
He led her back through the lounge area and into the master bedroom. He stood aside, letting her walk through first this time, and gestured to the open doorway she’d not had time to notice earlier.
The bathroom was incredible. Where there ought to have been a wall there was a window that gave an unrestricted view of the lush trees. There was a flash of colour as a bird flew by.
It was like being in Eden. And just as full of temptation.
‘The glass is specially tinted,’ he commented. ‘You can see out, but no one can see in. They just get the reflection of the forest… of themselves.’
She looked from him down to the huge, deep bath that stood between them. It had ample space to fit two adults.
She imagined that bath filled with warm water and masses of bubbles. She’d sink into it and just luxuriate in it—soak for hours, gazing out at that beautiful green scene. And how nice would it be to have a man with her… to be enveloped in his embrace?
She hadn’t soaked in a bath in such a long time. She hadn’t been alone with a man in such a long time. She hadn’t had anything for her in such a long time.
This whole place was a divine assault on her senses. Tempting every single one. And Jack Wolfe was pure temptation too.
She looked from that deep bath to him, and all her ability to resist the intimacy of the situation fled. The erotic undercurrents that had been bubbling all afternoon rose to the surface. She could almost feel steam building within the room as primal need blossomed—as pure want flowed through her.
Jack stood in the doorway, transfixed by the expression on her face. She looked as if she’d never before seen something so seductive or so decadent. Which totally didn’t make sense. Hadn’t he seen pictures of her various escapades? Didn’t she talk up all the luxuries in town?
He glanced down at her legs. Beneath the prim hemline of her dress her skin looked pale—which was interesting, given she’d been talking about her amazing trip to New Zealand when he’d last skimmed her blog—swimming with dolphins and bungee-jumping had been listed in that post. But had she spent her time there staring at her computer screen, obsessing over her number of views, instead of staying in the water and playing in the sun?