Page 43 of Here Comes Trouble
‘You’re very kind.’ He chuckled, giving her such a sexy, playful, look she wanted to lock him up and keep him all for herself forever.
* * *
Later, they lay together, limbs wrapped around each other, drowsy and sated in the growing heat of the morning.
Xander shifted onto his side, propping himself up onto one elbow. ‘Why don’t you stay on a while longer? It seems a shame to cut things short now when there’s so much fun still to be had.’ He raised a provocative eyebrow. ‘I’m going to need something fun to do after a gruelling day of being all artistic.’
‘Something fun to do?’
‘Okay, someone fun to do.’ He grinned.
Her heart hammed hard against her chest as she realised he was actually serious. ‘I don’t know, Xander, won’t you need to concentrate on your work?’
‘Not in the evenings.’
Where had this sudden panicky feeling come from? She’d been alright brazening this out when she thought it would be a one-off and she’d be back home the following day, before she had chance to get too attached.
‘I don’t think I can. Pamela, the editor at the magazine I work for, is expecting me back at work tomorrow.’
‘Can’t you tell them you’re ill or something? I’m sure she can cope without you for one more week.’
There was a weird rushing in her head that was making it hard for her to concentrate. ‘I can’t do that. What if she finds out I’m lying? I’ll lose my job.’
‘How would she find out if you’re stuck in Italy, unable to travel? It’s not as if she’s going to jump on a plane with a cold compress and a bowl of chicken soup.’
Her heart was beating so fast she felt sure he must be able to see it pulsing against her chest. ‘I don’t feel comfortable with lying, Xander.’
‘Don’t you think you deserve some fun? Why are you so hard on yourself? It’s like you don’t believe you deserve to be happy or something.’
She sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. ‘I don’t know why; I’ve always been like that. I have a highly developed guilty conscience, and I get over-anxious about things sometimes. My mum always made me feel like it’d be the end of the world if I did anything to show her up and I guess it’s just stuck around in my psyche. She expected perfection and I failed to deliver.’
He gave her a puzzled frown.
‘I know, it’s weird. Not something most people can understand.’
‘Well, I think it’s about time you came and joined me on the dark side.’
She laughed and shook her head. ‘Why are you so intent on corrupting me?’
‘Because it’s fun to see you coming to pieces.’ He ran a finger from the deep hollow in the base of her neck, down between her partly exposed breasts to where her belly button lay hidden beneath the cotton of her dress. ‘Especially when I’m the one that gets to make you come.’
She put her hand over his, stopping him from continuing his path.
He closed his eyes and took a breath. ‘Look, I’m not going to pressure you into this. If you don’t want to stay, that’s fine, but you should consider exploring more of your wild side. You never know what you might get out of it.’ He rolled away from her and got up, pulling on a pair of trousers. God, he looked sexy, half dressed like that with his hair all mussed and falling over his eyes.
Dishevelled and dangerous.
She suddenly wanted to stay here. Very much.
‘I have to go and speak to my agent about the arrangements for the exhibition. Come and find me if you change your mind.’
He gave her one last heated look before turning and leaving the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
The ensuing silence of the room filled her head until she thought she’d go crazy with it.
The thought of never seeing him again left her feeling empty. Totally and utterly empty. He was right, she should allow herself to do something completely out of character for once. She was sick and tired of worrying about doing the right thing all the time. After all, Pamela said she needed to live a little if she was going to become a better writer.
Returning to her bedroom she retrieved her mobile phone from the nightstand, readying herself to put on her most ill-sounding voice and called through to the magazine.
