One Night, So Pregnant!(30)

The unease settled in the pit of his stomach.

‘Let’s get you down to the cottage,’ he said brusquely. ‘You could probably use a drink of water.’

He touched her cheek, gratified when her eyes darkened again despite the exhaustion. ‘And the place has air conditioning—you look hot.’ In more ways than one, he thought as her little huff made her breasts rise under the tight-

fitting T-shirt.

‘How long will your friend take to get here?’

‘A while,’ Nate replied, masking his irritation at the enquiry. ‘By the way, do me a favour when you meet him.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t drool.’

‘Excuse me?’ she said as her brow wrinkled in confusion.

‘Zane’s a good-looking guy,’ he said grudgingly, keeping his hand anchored to her hip as they headed down the driveway.

She shifted round, dislodging his hand. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ve never drooled over a man in my life.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yes, yeah,’ she said, looking affronted.

He lifted a sceptical eyebrow. ‘So what were you doing when I got out of the pool? Impersonating a guppy?’

‘I... That’s not...’ Her face flushed from pink to vermillion. ‘How remarkably conceited of you.’

‘But I don’t hear you denying it,’ he said, not sure why he was goading her. Or why her flustered reaction was making the queasy feeling ease off.

‘Oh, for Pete’s sake, stop boasting and show me the cottage.’ Swinging round, she marched off down the driveway. ‘And I’ll do my best to resist the urge to impersonate a guppy again.’

* * *

The infernal man.

Tess stalked down the driveway, adding exhaustion to indignation and sexual frustration.

How could he be so crass as to mention the way she’d looked at him by the pool? Right after announcing in the middle of a phone conversation with his friend that she was the mother of his child. It was almost as if he were trying to knock her off balance every chance he got.

Rounding a towering oleander bush thick with showy white blooms, she came to an abrupt stop, her indignation faltering at the sight of the large one-storey hacienda-style building. Pink stone steps led up to an imposing wooden front door studded with brass and matched the terracotta tiles on the sloping roof. Intricate plasterwork and latticed windows added the same rococo flourishes as the main house.

If that was a cottage, she was Cinderella’s fairy godmother.

She jumped as a warm palm wrapped around her elbow. Then cursed herself as Nate smiled down at her.

‘Let’s go in the kitchen entrance. Mano said he’d leave the door open for us.’

‘Who’s Mano?’ she asked, trying not to gawp as heat buzzed where his thumb stroked the inside of her elbow. If he could be cool and collected about the attraction between them, then so could she.

He led her across the flagstone porch and then around the back of the building, to a charming entrance framed by bougainvillea vines.

‘Mano used to be my grandfather’s head gardener.’ He pushed open the door, to reveal a bright airy kitchen with an array of shiny new appliances. A drop-leaf table stood by the large picture window that afforded a spectacular view across the cliffs towards the ocean.

‘Used to be?’

‘He’s the property’s caretaker now.’ Taking a heavy crystal beaker out of a glass-fronted cabinet, he turned on the tap and let the water run for a moment, before filling it.

‘He lives on the property?’ she asked, careful to make sure her fingers didn’t touch his as she took the chilled glass of water.

‘Not on the property, no.’ Nate leant against the kitchen counter, crossed his arms over his chest and watched her. ‘We’re alone.’

Tess took a hasty gulp of the icy water, but it didn’t do a thing to stop the burning in her chest. ‘Until your friend gets here.’

‘He’ll be a good half-hour.’

Heat surged, his implication clear—they’d managed to do quite a bit in a lot less time than thirty minutes before now.

She placed the glass on the table, pleased when she managed not to spill a drop. But as she faced him she decided there was no point in being coy. Not with this man.

All he had to do was look at her and her breasts grew heavy and even more sensitive. Her eyes dipped to the bunch of muscle displayed by black cotton. The memory of his naked chest, lightly dusted with hair, flashed like fire in her mind.

‘Don’t you think it’s a little unwise for us to do this again?’ she said.

He unhooked his arms, braced his hands on the countertop. ‘Maybe. But that doesn’t solve our problem.’