Page 9 of Here Comes Trouble
The gentle breeze caught her hair and blew it across her suddenly incredibly hot face. Before she could react, he lifted his hand and slid his long fingers against her cheek, then tucked the rogue curl of hair behind her ear. It was such an intimate thing to do she was utterly lost for words, and instead of speaking, she found herself staring at his mouth, totally transfixed by the fullness of his lips as they parted slightly, revealing his perfect, white teeth. The heat of his almost-naked body bled into her skin, and she took a deep, calming breath, only to draw the musky fragrance of his skin into her nostrils, sending her senses spinning out of control.
Every bit of her body felt energised and tingly – the anticipation of what could happen if he just leant forwards a couple of inches burning like wildfire in her chest. Was he going to… kiss her…?
She wasn’t sure for a second whether she’d said the word ‘kiss’ out loud and she looked up into his eyes, hoping desperately it had only been a voice in her head.
His gaze flicked between her eyes, the bright aqua of his irises captivating her with their otherworldliness.
What the hell was going on here? A nervy panic rose inside her, causing a wave of jittery heat to rush up her neck. She couldn’t handle this. Not here, in broad daylight, totally unprepared for what might happen if he kept on looking at her like that.
Xander must have sensed her panic because he took a step away from her, giving her the space and air she suddenly craved.
‘You okay, Jess?’ he said, bemused concern clear in his voice.
‘Fine. I’m fine,’ she managed to gasp, forcing a smile onto her face. ‘Just a bit hot in the sun.’ She flapped a hand in front of her face in a pathetic attempt to cool herself down. ‘I have to go and check-in to my hotel but I wanted to let you know I’d arrived. I’d like to make a plan for the interview so we can get started as soon as possible.’ She kept her voice clipped and business-like, trying like mad to pull back the professional persona she’d been so keen to promote.
‘How very diligent of you. Well, to be honest, I’m not in the mood for spilling my deepest, darkest secrets right now.’ He dipped his head, his gaze capturing hers as something like mischief flashed in his eyes. ‘I’d like to get to know you a bit more intimately first.’
‘I’m not going to sleep with you,’ she blurted out before she could stop herself, her nerves riding roughshod over her common sense.
He laughed out loud, shaking his head.
Jess just stood there dumbly, flushing hot with embarrassment.
What an idiot she was. Of course he wasn’t talking about sleeping with her. She very clearly wasn’t his type, if the media reports of his affairs were anything to go by. From what she’d seen in the press – and at his studio – he was more of a leggy blonde type of guy.
And that suited her just fine. Absolutely fine. Couldn’t be finer.
‘Don’t worry, I’m taking a break from seducing innocent young journalists, so your virtue is safe with me,’ he joked, his mouth quirked in a playful smile. ‘I am interested in your body, Jess, but only on an artistic level.’
Jess pulled her arms across her chest. ‘You can’t blame me for being wary when you make provocative-sounding statements like that. You do have a reputation for being a bit…’
‘A bit what?’
She paused, searching for the right word. ‘Wild.’
He gave her an amused grin. ‘I promise to be on my best behaviour,’ he said, making a crossing motion over his heart. ‘And if I slip up you have my permission to lick me into shape.’
Oh my God, the images he’d just conjured in her mind.
She really needed to get out of here before she totally lost her cool.
‘Come over for dinner tonight at eight,’ he continued, going over to a rock where he’d left his towel and swiping it along his long, lean arms, ‘And we can get better acquainted.’
He flashed her one last beguiling smile before turning and walking away up the path, the bright drops of lake water that still clung to his broad back shimmering in the sunlight.
An overwhelming urge to pack up and go home, where she didn’t have to deal with these disturbing feelings, besieged her. But she wasn’t going to leave. She was determined to keep her job at the magazine, no matter what it took. She was going to brazen it out here and ignore the blatant innuendos he seemed to enjoy using to tease her into a jittery mess.
He was a player all right, but she wasn’t about to let him playher.
* * *
In total contrast to the villa where Xander was staying, her hotel was the most run-down, sleazy-looking pit Jess had ever had the misfortune to set eyes on. She could have sworn she saw a rat run around the corner of the building as she parked her hire car in the tiny, litter-strewn parking lot. The thought of it made her shudder. She wasn’t good with rodents. Or spiders. Or any type of insect if she was totally honest.
It looked as if they were doing building works on the place too, judging by the mess of rubble and steel piled haphazardly against the peeling walls of the hotel, but there didn’t seem to be anyone doing any actual work out there. Jess prayed she wasn’t going to be woken up in the early hours by workmen banging the hell out of the wall next to her head.
A disgruntled receptionist with long, lank hair and a sweat stained blouse checked her in and handed over her key, motioning her to walk through the rather run-down reception to a door on the ground floor, next to what appeared to be a kitchen.
The Ritz it was not.
