'I hope Katie and Jane get back okay.' She moved away from the window and to the table, where her food preparations were under way. 'I guess you won't need all this now.'
'The evening plans will remain the same,' he said curtly, not liking the way she nudged at emotions he'd thought had disappeared after the crash. He was beginning to feel a strange urge to care for her, protect her and keep her safe, but knew he couldn't, not when guilt and blame lay at his feet.
Her blue eyes widened in shock and a startled gasp left her lips, doing untold things to his already stirred-up senses. He clenched his hands into tight fists at his sides, resisting the urge to cross the room, take her in his arms and kiss her until she gasped his name in pleasure.
'But it will be just the two of us.' Her silky soft voice, which stumbled slightly over the words, did little to quell the mounting desire within him, as did the image of them dining alone. He'd promised himself he'd be a perfect gentleman this evening and, no matter how hard that was, he would do it.
'Sì, solo noi due.' Hampered by his loss of control, he reverted to Italian. He'd never been like this with a woman. Even as a young and inexperienced man, he hadn't floundered as he was now. It was a totally new and unwelcome sensation.
'You can't expect me to spend the evening with you. Not completely alone.' She frowned at him but still looked incredibly enticing.
'I can and I do.' His sense of control was returning and the words sounded sharp.
'But isn't that...?' She paused, her eyes meeting his, and he said nothing, hoping she wouldn't echo his thoughts. 'A bit too intimate?'
'It's New Year's Eve, Natalie.' He liked the way it felt to say her full name and revelled in the spark of annoyance that leapt to life in her eyes. 'We are alone in this house. It would be churlish to do any different.'
'Maybe we should try and get back to London before it's too late?' She glanced out at the falling snow.
'It is already too late. I have checked online. Travel isn't advisable. This snow has caught the forecaster unawares and already many of the local roads here are not passable unless you are in a four-wheel drive.' He didn't particularly relish the idea of being snowed in with a woman who made him want things he had no right to, but fate had dealt them this hand and he was adamant he wasn't going to succumb to the temptation that was Natalie Rogers. Not while she was working for him.
'Thank goodness I have a booking at a local bed and breakfast tonight,' she said light-heartedly, and shrugged her shoulders, moving past him, her arm brushing against his. A strange sensation zipped around him, startling him.
'I don't think even that will be possible.'
'I can't stay here. Alone with you. All night.' The horror at such a suggestion rang clear in her voice.
'We will dine together, so make any necessary changes you need to. There is no reason to be hiding out here all night.' As soon as he'd spoken he knew they had been the wrong words.
'Hiding? Why would I be hiding?' A hint of mockery was veiled beneath the amusement in her eyes and he couldn't do anything else other than look into them.
'You've already made it perfectly clear that spending time with me isn't what you want to do.' He quirked a brow at her, unable to resist building on the flirtatious mood as it swirled around them, intensifying by the second.
'It isn't professional.'
'I think we can dispense with such professionalism-just for this evening, don't you? It is New Year's Eve and due to circumstances beyond our control we will be here alone all night.' She was setting very clear boundaries, something he would normally adhere to, but they only urged him on, pushing him to take up the challenge her body was unconsciously sending to his.
* * *
'I can't stay here. Not all night,' Tilly gasped out, incredulity in every word as the reality of the situation hit her. 'I have to be at Vanessa's house tomorrow. It's her engagement party on New Year's Day.'
She knew she was rambling and blushing again and it infuriated her. She always did it when she was anxious or nervous. When she looked at Xavier the smile tilting his lips upwards served only to panic her further, as did the flutter of awareness growing inside her.
'I'm very sorry, cara, but you won't be going anywhere tonight. It's just you and me.' The sexy undercurrent in his voice was clear, but if he thought he was going to take advantage of the situation he was very much mistaken. She wasn't going to fall into a heap at his feet, bowled over by his sexy accent and good looks. She would not be added to his list of conquests.
'No,' she said, not liking the way he made her so flustered as once again his fingers brushed over hers. 'I have somewhere to stay.'
Staying here wasn't going to be very professional-anything but, in fact. It was bad enough she had to give in to his insistence that she join him at the table for the New Year's Eve dinner, but staying all night wouldn't do her reputation any good at all.
'Assuming, of course, you could actually leave here.' He sounded far too self-assured and it crossed her mind that he might have engineered this.
As soon as the thought came she squashed it. She was fooling herself with such notions. A man like Xavier Moretti wouldn't engineer time with her. She hadn't seen anything of life, as Jason had boldly told her. She was just a naïve inexperienced twenty-three-year-old who was in danger of reading too much into Xavier's flirtation.
'No, I have to be at Vanessa's party. I can't let her down.' Desperation sounded in her voice. Being at Vanessa's party was a lot more than just attending a party. It was proving, to herself and her friend, that she'd moved on from last year.
'Did you not just say the party was tomorrow?'
She frowned at him, unable to settle her nerves, unsure if she was more frightened of driving in such conditions or staying here alone with him. 'Yes, tomorrow evening.'
'Then call and explain. You can leave tomorrow if the weather permits. In the meantime, I suggest you bring in your luggage and I will show you to your room.'
'My room?' Everything was spiralling out of control and she didn't like it one bit. She constantly strove to be in control as much as possible. Control was the mainstay of her life.
'But of course. I was expecting guests and have rooms made up.' He smiled at her, his dark eyes sparking with mischief. He was enjoying this, damn him.
Resigned to the fact she had little choice, she sighed her discontent and took her van keys from the table. 'Very well, I'll fetch my things.'
'Bene. Don't forget your party dress.'
She whirled round to face him. 'What?'
'Your party dress, the one you planned to wear at your friend's party. You will need it tonight.' Each word was so deep and sultry it was far too sexy and she couldn't think straight. Why on earth was he talking about party dresses?
'Why?'
'Because it's New Year's Eve and we will dine together in style.'
CHAPTER THREE
XAVIER TOOK TILLY'S small overnight bag from her, trying not to notice the ever-present sizzle whenever he got too close. 'I'll show you to your room.'
'There must be a way I can get to the bed and breakfast.' She looked at him, the determined jut of her chin showing just how much she didn't want to be alone here with him. 'I can't just stay here.'
He took a few steps away from her, giving himself badly needed distance. 'What kind of man do you think I am, to allow you to drive late at night in such treacherous driving conditions? I have a house full of rooms and not a single guest and will not allow it.'
'If you put it like that...' She looked at him, the warning in her eyes shining out at him. 'But only for tonight. Whatever happens, I have to leave for Vanessa's party tomorrow.'
'We are both at the mercy of the weather, Natalie. This way.' He marched into the hall, past the Christmas tree and up the wide staircase. He knew she was following, every nerve in his body alerted to her proximity.
He paused briefly at the top of the stairs and looked down at her. She stopped and met his gaze. Tension zipped between them and he inhaled deeply, instilling control back into his body, trying to dull his heightened senses. It was as if her body was speaking to his, despite those barriers she'd erected.
He continued to the far end of the house, a view of the grounds, covered in snow, visible from the windows as they made their way along the corridor. It was the furthest room from his and, judging by the way she made him feel, that was a good thing. He hadn't ever been tested like this and he'd forgotten what temptation was. The accident had changed him, made him immune. Evidently, that wasn't the case any more.