Page 183 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

‘Only bores repeat themselves. Am I sensing an insult in there somewhere?’

‘No!’ Alice reddened and bristled but then grinned sheepishly. ‘You’re teasing, aren’t you?’

‘Guilty as charged.’

Mateo appreciated the delicate bloom in her cheeks. He could have added ‘teasing’ to the list of things he didn’t do. But he enjoyed the way she blushed. He’d forgotten what that looked like.

‘I’ll catch you later,’ he muttered. ‘If the snow starts to lessen, I’ll probably try and do some clearing outside; get it as ready as possible for you to make your escape. There are several rooms towards the back you can use if you want privacy to do whatever you plan on doing...and, like I said, help yourself to whatever you want from the fridge.’

He left before another conversation could commence, luring him in in ways he knew vaguely he shouldn’t really like but did.

But work—the thing that always drove him, the one thing that took priority over everything else—proved difficult as the day wore on. By the time he hit the space he used as his office, it was close to lunchtime. He took only a brief break to rustle up a sandwich some time mid-afternoon, with the sun already on its way to setting and the snow still falling thick and fast with no sign of letting up.

Where was Alice?

Having spent hours in front of his computer with very little to show for it, Mateo had a job not hunting her down. His chalet wasn’t the biggest in the world but there were nooks and crannies to which she could have retreated, including her suite. He held off knocking on any closed doors but, by the time six rolled round and he’d had a shower and was heading downstairs, he was caught in unusual position of restlessly anticipating something, against his better judgement:anticipating seeing her.

She’d lodged in his head and there was no point denying the fact that hewantedher. His formidable self-control had deserted him, all because of a woman who just wasn’t his type and frankly should have got on his nerves...sexy as hell or not. She was as wholesome as apple pie and as sweet as chocolate, and neither of those things were what he looked for in a woman. So what was going on? Was novelty that powerful?

Scowling at a train of thought that refused to go away, Mateo pushed open the kitchen door and then...stopped dead in his tracks. She was there, fridge door open, bending in search of something and offering a sight that made him break out in perspiration. She was in her thermal leggings and they were stretched tight across a peachy rear. The baggy sweater was his but it had ridden up, exposing a sliver of pale skin at her waist.

He was frozen to the spot, and thoughts about why he was so attracted to her were replaced by a series of graphic images that made him feel unsteady. How long had he been standing there staring at her like a horny schoolboy? When she straightened and turned round, he felt as though he’d been caught with his fingers in the till.

Alice hadn’t heard him.

How had he managed that? For a guy who was so big, he moved with the stealth of a jungle cat. She blinked, caught completely off-guard. He’d had a shower. His hair was still slightly damp and he was in a pair of faded jeans and a rugby shirt, the sleeves of which he’d shoved up to the elbows.

How long had he been standing in the doorway looking at her?

She frantically tried to think whether she’d made an idiot of herself somehow, bending over to find something to peck on, something sweet and contraband but very much needed after a day of thinking about the guy standing in front of her and feverishly analysing every word they had exchanged.

‘I—I...’ she stuttered, not moving a muscle. ‘I was just...um...looking for something to eat.’

She shut the fridge door but remained where she was as he strolled towards her. With every step closer, her heart beat a little faster, and the blood in her veins felt a little hotter, because there wassomethingin that lazy, green gaze that washot.

She licked her lips and stuck her hands behind her back.

‘You shouldn’t do that,’ he ground out shakily.

‘Sorry, you said I could help myself to...’

‘Notthat.’

‘Then what are you talking about?’ Alice raised her eyes to look at him. He was so close that with almost no effort she could reach out and flatten her palm on his chest, and right now there was nothing in the world she would rather do. It was confusing and bewildering, but felt stupidlyright, as though there was some powerful electrical connection between them that had sprung from nowhere.

‘Bend over like that,’ he returned thickly. ‘Any red-blooded guy would have trouble resisting...’

‘Resisting what?’ Just saying those two words felt like the greatest act of daring she had ever undertaken. The challenge of breaking off her engagement faded in comparison. Alice had never been bold like this. She hadn’t been raised to ask sexually provocative questions.

A rush of liberating self-discovery flooded her. In not so many words, Mateo had laughed at the concept of a cosy relationship with a boring guy, had laughed at the idea of settling down at the tender of age of twenty-four, and naturally she had bristled in angry response. But this felt good. She was daring to stray from the straight and narrow and it felt great.

‘Touching. Want me to spell it out?Touching.Because I stood there at the door and saw you bending over and all I wanted to do was touch you.’

He shook his head, raked his fingers through his dark hair and shot her a frustrated look from under his lashes. ‘Apologies,’ he muttered. ‘Forget I said that.’

‘Maybe I don’t want to,’ Alice returned then, stretching recklessness to the point of no return, she did what she’d been itching to do and rested her hand on his chest.

His chest was all muscle under the sweater. She felt faint.

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