Читать книгу Modern Romance December 2019 Books 5-8 - Jane Porter - Страница 18

BACK TO SQUARE one with Lucas?

Possibly, Stacey accepted as Maria showed her to her room. She touched her lips. Having returned with relief to the chalet, Luc had seemed almost eager to hand her over to someone else, while she was still obsessing over the ice crystals outlining his mouth, and the frosting of snow dampening the thick whorls of pitch-black hair escaping his ski hat. Having so recently been familiar with every naked inch of him, she found it strange now to think how awkward she would have felt if she’d reached up to push back his hair. She touched her mouth again, remembering.

As if she could forget.

The heated racks made the boot room a cosy space to strip off outer clothes, but Luc had shown no interest in conversation. Appearing lost in thought, he’d tugged off his gloves and tossed them on a chair. His boots had gone onto the racks, and he’d grunted at her to do the same with hers. Then he’d stilled and turned to look at her.

‘Well done, you,’ he’d murmured, frowning as if he couldn’t quite believe she’d insisted on going with him into the snow.

‘And you,’ she’d said. ‘Thank you…’

Another few long moments had gone by as they had stared into each other’s eyes, and then, enclosing her cheeks in his big, strong hands, Luc had kissed her, but not as Luc the lover, more as a caring friend, which had almost been worse than not being kissed at all.

‘And this will be your room while you’re staying with us, Señorita Winner.’

‘Thank you so much. It’s beautiful,’ she said, jolting back to the present as she realised Maria was waiting for a reaction to a most beautiful suite of rooms.

‘Please do remember what Señor Da Silva told you about the shower,’ Maria cautioned as she opened the door on a fabulous marble-lined bathroom.

‘I won’t forget anything Señor Da Silva said,’ Stacey promised, which was the absolute truth. Memories were almost certainly all she’d have to take away from here.

Climbing out of a deliciously warm scented bath some time later, she swathed herself in towels, and began to pace her room. Like everything else she’d seen in the chalet so far, the guest suite was the last word in luxury. Everything was operated from a central console by the bed. She would expect nothing less of a tech billionaire. Exactly like his expert kisses—kisses that conveyed so much, whether that be kisses of reassurance, or kisses in the height of passion—Luc was a genius. It was as simple as that.

She’d rather have that genius here at her side, celebrating life, than be raising the bed with the flick of a switch, and lowering it again, just because she could. It wasn’t enough to try and stop thinking about Lucas when he occupied every corner of her mind. It was all too easy to picture them both on the bed—intimate, close, loving, kissing. Turning her back on the offending mattress, with its lush dressing of crisp linen sheets and cashmere throws, she wished fervently he could open up enough for her to know if this ache in her heart was futile.

Had she given up?

She stared into the mirror. That wasn’t the question.

This was the question: Was she wasting her time pining for a man who might never reveal himself to anyone?

There’s only one thing for it…

Seduce him?

Honestly, sometimes her reckless inner self came up with some extraordinary ideas.

Why not? that same inner voice demanded. You’ve got the tools, now go to work!

She laughed as she pushed away from the console table beneath the mirror. Seducing Lucas Da Silva would certainly be a first.

Maria was as good as her word and had dropped off a set of sweats for Stacey to wear. Fortunately, they fitted, along with the underwear, which was still in a pack from the store. She took her time going downstairs to join Lucas, as she wanted to have a proper look around. Everything she’d imagined about Lucas Da Silva’s mountaintop eyrie was improved upon. She’d seen a lot of fabulous homes with the team, but nothing close to approaching this. Floodlights were on outside, revealing the smooth carpet of snow with its shadowy mountain peaks beyond. The sky had cleared and the moon was shining brightly, adding to the illumination that revealed a heated outdoor swimming pool with steam rising, and a veranda overlooking the ski slopes where the torchlit procession would take place.

‘Wow,’ she murmured.

‘You approve?’

She swung around. ‘You spying on me?’

Luc’s low growl came from a shady corner of the room. ‘I’m having a drink.’

Now she saw him properly, firelight flickering off the harsh planes of his face as he lounged back in a big, comfortable chair.

‘Come and join me,’ he suggested. ‘Unless you’ve got something better to do?’

She hummed, and then said lightly, ‘You’re in luck. I can’t think of anything better to do right now. Give me enough time, and maybe I will.’

‘Come over here. I’ve got a message for you.’

‘For me?’ She couldn’t resist crossing the room to sit by Lucas anyway. Hadn’t she vowed to bring matters between them to some sort of conclusion?

Padding barefoot over luxurious rugs that made the mellow wooden floor seem even homelier, she couldn’t help but marvel at the easy mix of tech and comfort he’d achieved in this house. In spite of the emotional turmoil raging inside her, there was a good feeling in the building. It was easy to see why Luc loved his mountain retreat. He could relax here.

‘Drink?’ he suggested.

‘Water, please.’ She needed her wits about her.

‘As you wish. I’ll open champagne, if you prefer?’

‘Perhaps after the party, when, hopefully, I’ll have something to celebrate.’

‘Hopefully?’ he probed with a keen look.

‘When we’ll both have something to celebrate,’ she amended in answer to his question. ‘You mentioned a message to pass on to me?’ she prompted.

‘Ah, yes. I spoke to mountain rescue and the team was full of praise for you. They wanted you to know, that’s all.’

‘Thank you.’ She couldn’t pretend that didn’t light a glow inside her. It was always good to be appreciated. ‘I hope you told them why I did it, and how scared I was.’

‘I didn’t need to.’ He shrugged. ‘Only fools don’t feel fear.’

‘If you can’t experience emotion, what do you have?’

‘You’re asking the wrong person,’ Luc assured her.

There was an ironic twist to his mouth as she went to warm her hands in front of the blazing log fire while he fixed their drinks.

‘I love your photographs,’ she said in an attempt to break the sudden tension. They showed Luc and his brothers playing polo, and there was another photograph of him and his siblings, though not one single image of his parents. She knew their death had been a tragic accident, but found it strange that he wouldn’t want to be reminded of happier days.

‘Water?’ he prompted.

‘Thank you.’ A glance into shuttered eyes warned against asking too many personal questions about Luc’s photographs, or any that she might perceive as missing.

‘I think hot chocolate would be better than water, don’t you?’

She knew him well enough to suspect that this was a ploy to change the subject completely, rather than to provide her with an alternative drink.

‘That would be good,’ she agreed. ‘I’d love one. Thank you.’

How prim she sounded, when all she could think about was his hands on her body and his mouth on her lips, and the pleasure they’d shared. She must be a better actress than she’d thought.

Would she ever get used to the sight of him? Stacey wondered as Luc picked up the phone to call Maria. Freshly showered with his thick hair still damp and catching on his stubble, Luc was a magnificent sight. Her heart pounded with bottled-up emotion, while her body was more forthright when it came to aching with lust.

But how did he feel about her? Could anyone read the thoughts behind those enigmatic black eyes? Somehow, she doubted it.

‘Your wish is my command,’ Luc assured her in the same soft drawl as Maria tapped lightly on the door.

His faint smile sent shivers coursing down her spine, and the moment Maria had left them she felt compelled to ask, ‘Is my every wish really your command?’

‘What do you think?’ Luc asked.

She shrugged and smiled with pure disbelief.

‘But of course it is,’ he assured her wickedly.

A few moments later they were seated in front of the fire, each with an aromatic mug of cocoa in their hands. To any onlooker, it was a cosy scene, a safe scene, with two people who knew each other well. Stacey had relaxed, and in doing so had decided to forget her reckless plan to show Lucas how much she wanted him. Why set herself up for failure, when things were going so well? Did she always have to stick her chin out? Couldn’t she for once keep quiet and say nothing? Hadn’t she vowed on the day she left home that she would never be pushed aside again? Her intention was to be useful and to help people, and wasn’t that better? Didn’t it give her a warm feeling inside? Why lay her heart on the line now? Her reckless self could take a hike, she concluded. With a career to foster, and a life to live long after tonight was over, she had safer things to do with her time than seduce Lucas.

‘What about supplies in the village?’ she asked, determined to turn her mind back to business. ‘Does everyone have what they need? I’ve ordered in enough to withstand a siege, so please tell me if I can help.’

‘I will,’ Luc assured her, ‘but I doubt it will be necessary.’ Relaxing back, he explained. ‘All the mountain villages are self-sufficient. They have to be prepared for weather like this, but I’ll let them know of your offer,’ he promised.

As Luc sipped hot chocolate thick enough to stand a spoon in, she dwelt on him. It was inevitable. Thoughts about business were vital to her peace of mind, but with each minute that passed he was becoming increasingly vital to her existence.

Warm chocolate was slipping down her throat like a delicious promise of more pleasure to come, and Luc was a big source of pleasure.

‘What are you smiling about?’ he asked.

‘Me? Just relaxing. Okay, the party,’ she admitted when he raised a brow. Just not the type of party Luc was imagining.

And from there the fantasies came thick and strong. He’d showered and changed into banged-up jeans with frayed edges brushing his naked feet—how could feet be so sexy? she asked herself—and a soft black cashmere sweater that clung to his powerful shoulders, emphasising his strength and musculature like a second skin, and she wanted to stroke him, smell him, touch him, taste him. The scent of something citrusy he’d used in the shower was clearly discernible above the tang of wood smoke and the sugary smell of chocolate. He’d pushed his sleeves back, revealing deeply tanned forearms like iron girders, shaded with just the right amount of dark hair. He was a magnificent sight and she wanted him. The fact that Lucas had always been completely unaware of his staggering appeal only made him all the more attractive to Stacey.

‘I’d better take that mug before you drop it,’ he said.

Realising it had tipped at a perilous angle while she was lost in her thoughts, she laughed. ‘I’m going to lick out every last drop first.’ When she passed it over to him their fingers touched, and Luc’s heat seeped into her. Who was seducing whom here? Her nipples responded on cue, as did the rest of her aching body.

‘Now we eat,’ he said, which snapped her back to reality. ‘You need food.’

So much for reality! Being free from consequences, fantasies were more enjoyable. And, yes, she was playing with fire sitting close to Luc when she could be safely asleep in the guest wing, but she preferred playing with fire to kicking around cold embers in the morning.

When she stretched and grimaced, he commented. ‘You could use a massage. Cold does that to your muscles.’

‘Are you offering?’ She gave him a sideways look while her heart started banging in her chest.

‘If you like,’ Luc said matter-of-factly. ‘A good rub down,’ he suggested.

‘I’m not your horse.’

‘Clearly,’ he observed.

She laughed. They both laughed, and she had to tell herself that the attractive curve on Luc’s mouth was just his way, and, though she was staying here overnight, she was as safe from him as she would be in a convent.

‘Penny for them?’ he probed, shooting a smouldering look her way.

She drew herself up. ‘You can’t know all my secrets.’

‘Let’s start with one.’

‘Says the man who never reveals a single detail about his life?’

Luc shrugged. ‘I asked first.’

‘Okay,’ she agreed. ‘You asked for it, so here’s one. What happened to my horse? What happened to Ludo?’

He sat back.

‘Don’t pretend you don’t know. And don’t keep me waiting for your answer, or I’ll know it’s bad news. That horse meant the world to me. He was the only friend I—’ She broke off. ‘Well?’ she demanded after a few seconds of silence had passed. ‘Tell me.’ She braced herself.

‘Ludo,’ Luc murmured.

‘Well, at least you remember his name.’

He frowned. ‘Of course I remember his name.’

‘So?’ she pressed.

‘Your pony is having a very happy retirement.’

Tension flooded out of her. ‘Go on…’ She sat forward eagerly.

‘He’s at stud siring some of the finest foals in the world. You don’t need to worry about Ludo. If you asked him, I doubt he’d want to be anywhere but with his harem on my estancia.’

‘I’ll ask him to confirm that the next time I see him,’ she teased, and then she thought of something else. ‘Do you still ride him?’

‘All the time,’ Luc confirmed.

‘Good. I can imagine the two of you together.’ One so fiery, and one so deep. They belonged together; deserved each other for all the right reasons, and she could see now that something that had hurt her at the time had done Luc and her beloved horse the world of good. ‘Ludo would be lost without regular exercise.’

‘As would I,’ Luc assured her, not troubling to hide the wicked glint in his eyes.

‘I wouldn’t know about that,’ she said, and before he had the chance to speak she put her hand up to stop him. ‘And I don’t want to know. Just so long as Ludo’s happy, that’s okay with me.’

They fell silent after that, reminding Stacey that, however much she longed for things to be easier between them, Lucas would always be intractably welded to honour and dignity, and, though he would quite happily talk about the horses they both loved, or the parties Stacey arranged for him, their encounter in Barcelona had been a one-off that he almost certainly regretted.

And yet…

When their glances clashed and he didn’t look away, she got the feeling that he would like to kiss her. Whether it was another of her fantasies, she couldn’t tell. And if he did kiss her, she guessed it would be a reassuring kiss and not the way he’d kissed her in Barcelona.

‘Food,’ he reminded her. ‘You must be hungry by now?’

‘Starving,’ she confirmed.

The tension between them released as he asked what she’d like and they talked easily about what to eat. ‘When we’ve finished you can go straight to bed.’

‘Yes, sir.’ She gave him a mock salute. ‘Any more instructions?’

‘That covers it,’ he said.

And…was she mistaken, or was that a glint of humour in his eyes? Either that or a reflection of the fire. Why couldn’t Luc get it through his head that she was a grown woman with feelings and emotions? Just because he was an emotion-free zone… Or was he? Sometimes she suspected that his feelings, long since bottled up inside him, were longing for a trigger to let them out.