He saw the look on her face and ran a few options over in his head. If he went over there and took her in his arms then one thing was certain to happen, and he wasn't sure if that was a good idea, for all kinds of reasons he didn't care to analyse. Because Jay had never been into analysing feelings and he wasn't about to start now.
'You want to wash up?' he suggested slowly.
Her body was slick and redolent of the scent of love, but there was some alien, sentimental part of her that wanted to stay that way-a million miles away from the woman who showered twice a day without fail.
'We have towels?' she asked, babbling the words out as if they mattered.
'We do,' he answered gravely.
She wrapped a blanket around her and rose to her feet-and she of catwalk fame, who could flounce and strut to the insistent beat of the music, now found herself as gangly and as awkward as a newborn foal. If this was what orgasm did for you then you could keep it.
But as she went to walk by him he reached out a hand to catch her waist, drawing her up close to his body, and he felt himself grow hard in an instant. He bent his head so that his breath was warm against her cheek.
'I'd like to do it again too,' he whispered.
Keri closed her eyes, revelling in the nearness of him which awoke every aching sense all over again. 'I never said I wanted to do anything,' she whispered back.
'You didn't have to.' His voice was as soft as butter at room temperature. 'It was written all over your face.'
She heard the arrogance in that statement and tried to pull away from him. Was she really that transparent? Or was that the way all women reacted to him? 'You aren't blaming me this morning for wanting what you wanted so badly yourself last night?'
'Blaming you?' He frowned. 'Are you out of your mind? Of course I'm not blaming you.' He held her tight and she melted against him. 'It was a two-way thing, Keri, and it was pretty amazing-' Which was an outrageous understatement and he knew it. 'But it would be nothing short of irresponsible to go back to bed now.' He glanced over at the heap of rumpled blankets and his eyes gleamed. 'Or at least go back to the floor.'
She couldn't laugh, couldn't move. One word stuck out like a razorblade, half concealed beneath the snow. She looked up at him. 'Irresponsible?'
'Sure.' His eyes narrowed. 'You don't think people are going to be worried? You said you had an appointment last night-who was that with?'
She stared at him blankly, as if he was speaking about another universe entirely, and then she remembered. Oh, Lord! 'David,' she said dully.
David. Yeah, it figured. Jay's mouth flattened and he dropped his arms and let her go, wondering why he should have thought otherwise. 'Well, don't you think that David might be worried?' he questioned coolly.
The fact that he hadn't asked her any questions hurt Keri more than she had expected. She wanted to say David is just a friend, but the complete disinterest on his face stopped her stone-dead. He could have asked but he hadn't asked-and the reason for that was as plain as the day.
He didn't care.
Jay's mouth thinned into an expression of distaste. So was this David a suitable partner? he wondered. Good for the glamour stuff but a wash-out in bed? His eyes were very clear and hard, and so was his voice.
'He'll have wondered why you didn't show,' he said. 'And presumably he might have heard about the weather conditions and put two and two together and reported you missing? Didn't that occur to you, Keri?'
Nothing had occurred to her at all, bar the touch of his flesh against hers and the kiss of his lips. The outside world might not have existed for all the thought she had given it, cocooned inside in the warm, giving circle of his arms.
Now she felt stupid. And uncomfortable-as if he was judging her.
Keri shrugged her bare shoulders. 'It sort of slipped my mind.'
But there was no complicit gleam of understanding in his eyes, just that same coolness which rivalled the snow outside.
'Then I suggest we make a move to get out of here. You'd better get washed and dressed. I'm going out to see what the roads are like-maybe see if I can dig the car free.'
'You want me to help?'
'No,' he said shortly. 'I work better on my own. Fix us both something to eat and I'll be back as soon as I can.'
Just that, and then he was gone. No long, smoochy kiss or smouldering look promising more passion. Keri shivered as he slammed out of the door and a gust of chill wind blasted its way over her skin.
She found a sliver of soap in the bathroom and washed as best she could, trying to keep her mind on the task in hand and not to let it wander in pursuit of questions which could not be answered. At least she must be grateful for the slow trickle of hot water, which right at that moment felt a million times better than her usual power-shower.
She dressed in yesterday's clothes and went back down to the kitchen, where the leftovers from last night's meal lay congealing in the saucepan. She shuddered and upended them into the bin, then boiled a kettle and made herself a cup of black tea, wondering how long Jay would take and whether he would be successful.
He was gone for the best part of two hours, during which time she washed the dishes and tidied away the blankets in the sitting room. She pulled a book down from the shelf and curled up on the sofa, but she didn't take in a single word of it.
And then she heard the sound of a car drawing to a halt, and moments later Jay came in. His skin was flushed with exertion, fine sweat sheening the strong face, and his eyes were glittering.
Keri sprang to her feet, her heart thundering, searching his face for something-anything-but his features were non-committal. She knew that it mocked common sense, but deep down she was praying that they would be stuck here for longer.
'You … freed the car?'
He nodded. 'I did. The sun had softened the snow-it wasn't difficult. The roads look okay. I think we should make a move-at least to the nearest town.' He paused, having decided on his strategy while he was shovelling snow. 'You can catch a train there.'
She was already disappointed, but at these words her mouth suddenly dried. 'I don't mind travelling with you.'
'No,' he said flatly. 'I don't want to risk it happening again.'
What? she thought, slightly hysterically. The breakdown, or the lovemaking? She saw the quick glance he flicked at his watch. 'You mean you want to leave straight away?'
'In a minute. I'm starving. We'll eat first, and then we'll get going.'
'Eat what?' she questioned steadily. 'You saw what there was.'
There was a heartbeat of a pause. 'We can heat up what we didn't eat last night.' He saw the look on her face and his eyes grew flinty. 'Oh, no.'
Oh, yes. 'I threw it away. We can't eat spaghetti bolognese for breakfast!'
'Brunch.' His eyes were cold. 'So we eat nothing. Is that right, Keri?'
She could feel his rage bouncing off him in almost tangible waves. 'You're angry,' she said flatly.
'Well, what do you expect?' he demanded incredulously. 'I've just been out doing hard labour, which produces real hunger-not the automatic mood to eat at mealtimes which you get from hanging around an office all day. Or the self-imposed denial brought about from trying to maintain an unnaturally low body-weight! Can't you do anything practical?'
'I can paint walls,' she said, stung into self-defence.
'Yeah, very useful under the circumstances! Just give that ceiling a quick coat, will you, while we starve to death?'
His contempt was withering-and not, she realised, simply because she had thrown the food away. In a couple of sentences he had managed to dismiss her world, and the standards by which she lived. Well, that should take care of any foolish romantic dreams she might have been in danger of harbouring.
'I'm sorry.' She met his gaze squarely. 'There isn't really a lot else I can say-unless you want me to try to fish it out of the bin for you?'
He looked at her. Since when did missing a meal make him grouchy to the point of unreasonable? Surely not because she'd had a date with a man last night? If she chose to play away then that was up to her-he certainly wasn't into making moral judgements.