New Year at the Boss's Bidding(11)

After what had just happened, her body hummed spectacularly with  desire, in a way she'd never known, one unacceptable in every way. She'd  tried to avoid spending further time with him, not liking his probing  questions about last year. She had reminded him she was working for him,  but it hadn't cooled the heat in his eyes. She was going to have to be  on her guard. She had no intention of breaking her rules and certainly  not of becoming just another woman to him.                       
       
           



       

She stood on the threshold of the lounge, not daring to push open the  door and walk in, sensing that doing so would change her-for ever. The  clock in the hall struck the half-hour. Half past eleven. Very soon it  would be midnight and her contract would end. She should be leaving, but  fate had other ideas and she wasn't sure she could hide behind her mask  of professionalism-or that she even wanted to.

As the chimes fell silent she pushed open the dark wooden door, feeling  the warmth of the fire meet her. Her hands were shaking and she paused,  looking at Xavier, the sense that everything would be different after  tonight becoming greater.

'Infine.' The soft Italian word and the hint of amusement in it  caressed her senses as she walked into the room, trying to leave her  insecurities outside. She didn't want him to know just how these last  few hours had already affected her.

The image of Xavier standing close to the open fire, his tall and toned  body commanding her attention, was almost too much. The formal black  suit only added to his sex appeal and she made an effort to drag her  gaze from him. She had to stop looking at him so wantonly. She looked  instead at the many paintings hanging around the room, but that didn't  stop her wondering what it would be like to be held in his arms or  kissed by his lips. She seriously doubted if anything could, now the  sizzle of attraction filled the very air she breathed.

'Yes, finally,' she translated with a smile, inwardly berating herself.  She needed to do something to remind both of them exactly what her  position here tonight was. Hired help. 'Sorry to have kept you waiting,  but I had some work to do.'

'Come.' He gestured to the sofa in front of the fire, a smile playing  about his lips suggesting he knew she'd been hiding in the kitchen. Or  was that her guilty conscience for having done exactly that? 'It is  almost midnight. Join me for a glass of champagne.'

His dark eyes sparked with something she didn't want to recognise as  she walked to the sofa and sat demurely in front of the fire, the soft  warmth of the fabric offering some protection from his devouring looks.  She took the glass of champagne he handed her, knowing she shouldn't  drink any more after the wine she'd enjoyed with the meal.

With devilment lingering in his smile, he resumed his position by the  fire and raised his glass to her, then sipped at the bubbly liquid. She  did the same, tasting the delicious golden bubbles, enjoying the  sensation of being spoilt.

'This is not what I had expected for this evening,' she said as she  held her glass, determined not to indulge in too much of this luxury, or  get carried away by it. 'I don't suppose it was for you either. I'm  sorry your family couldn't get here, that you have to make do with me.'

'That is not such a hardship.' His deep and accented voice tempted her  to look directly into those dark, mesmerising eyes. 'I am pleased you  are here. It would have been a very quiet New Year all alone.'

His gentle laugh, so seductive, unleashed a tremor of pleasure through  her. He was making it sound as if he genuinely wanted to be here with  her tonight. That he wasn't at all put out he would be sharing his New  Year celebrations with his caterer.

She took a sip of champagne, trying to remember he was a playboy with a  big reputation and she was very different from the kind of women he  dated. She didn't have a sophisticated bone in her body. She was just  being fanciful, filling her head with romantic notions that had no hope  of fulfilment.

What she should be doing was relaxing and enjoying the evening for what  it was-a brief interlude in her life. The chance to sample a lifestyle  she only saw from the other side, one night in a world of complete  fantasy with this sexy Italian, a world where Tilly Rogers didn't exist,  just Natalie.

The temptation to fulfil the romantic fling she'd added to her bucket  list intensified. Hastily she pushed that thought aside. If she did have  that fling, it wouldn't be with a man who had no other choice but her.  It would have to be with a man who truly desired her-for that night at  least.

'I appreciate your invitation,' she said, boldly holding his gaze,  trying not to read too much into the intensity there. 'It's a change to  be able to sit and enjoy the food and wine-and wear this.'

She'd added a touch of humour, trying to lighten the mood, but judging  by the smouldering look in his eyes had failed completely. All she'd  done had been to draw his attention to her.

'You look very beautiful this evening.' His words were soft and  caressing, but she didn't miss the fierceness deep within them. 'Molto  bella.'                       
       
           



       

She looked away into the orange flicker of the flames, feeling herself  blush again. Did he have to keep slipping into delicious and seductive  Italian? 'Thank you, but I don't think the lady in your life would be  very impressed to hear you say that.'

To her surprise he laughed and she looked at him again, irritated to be  the focus of his amusement. He walked to a small table, picked the  champagne bottle from its bucket of iced water, refilled both crystal  flutes and then sat at the other end of the sofa.

'There isn't a woman in my life.'

'But I thought...' she began, then stopped. Images she'd seen on the  internet of the beautiful brunette who'd accompanied him to a party were  still clear in her mind. Then she remembered his reputation. He was not  a man to settle down.

He stretched out his long legs and relaxed back into the corner of the  sofa, one arm draped along the back, his hand unnervingly close to her.  'You thought I was in a relationship?'

'Well, yes, actually I did.' She couldn't keep the flustered tone from  her voice, unable to decide if it was the topic of conversation or the  fact that she could feel her bare back burning because his hand was  close as it rested on the cushions behind her. And his legs, long and  strong, stretched out towards her, all but trapping her.

'After ending a long-term relationship, I prefer to remain  uncommitted.' His message was clear. He only looked for brief affairs,  just as his reputation had suggested. Even more reason not to get  charmed into something she would regret.

'I see,' she said quietly, and looked down into her glass, watching the  bubbles rising to the surface then disappearing, wondering if she  really would regret a kiss from this man.

His sudden movement as he leant forward nearly made her spill her  champagne and she drew in a sharp breath, but as her eyes met with the  darkness in his, her pulse leapt. 'I'm sure that after last year you  feel the same too.'

'If by that you mean I have had a string of meaningless love affairs,  you are very much mistaken. I am not that sort of woman.' Indignation  rushed over her as words of defence hurtled from her. What would his  reaction be if she told him she was a virgin?

Confusion muddled her as her earlier thoughts of having a fling with  him burned shamelessly in her mind. She wanted to jump up, leave the  room, but something kept her there. Something she didn't want to accept  kept her there with Xavier, sharing a moment she knew would never have  happened if events hadn't conspired against them, cutting them off from  the real world.

'I know,' he said softly, his increasingly black eyes looking into  hers, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. 'That is why I didn't  give in to the temptation to kiss you, even though you wanted me to.'

'You arrogant...' The contents of her flute spilt onto her dress as she  jumped up to get away from this self-assured man, unbalancing in an  attempt to avoid his legs. Instinctively she reached out to save  herself, only to find his arms around her, pulling her against the  firmness of his body as he leapt to his feet.

'You were saying?' The humour in his voice fuelled the furious fire  that raged inside her. It wasn't just fury at his assumption that he  could have kissed her, it was anger at herself. He must have known, as  they'd stood looking out at the snowy landscape this morning, that she'd  wanted him to kiss her.

She glared up at him, her breathing deep and hard as he held her  against him, the thin silk of her dress little protection from the heat  of his body. She could feel the strength of his arms as they held her.  Her heart thumped so hard she was sure he'd not only hear it but feel it  too.