Page 86 of Christmas off Script
‘Maths?’ he spluttered. ‘Already? If only I’d paid more attention on my last date.’
A pang of jealousy struck her heart.Get over yourself!
‘Ella?’
Holding onto his shoulders, she twisted him around to face the right direction.
‘I thought you weren’t meant to touch me?’
She let go as if she’d been burnt.
‘Don’t get me wrong,’ he continued. ‘I’m not objecting. I’d much rather you just took my hand.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course. I don’t need a silly game to tell me how much I trust you.’
Excitement jumping in her tummy, Ella reached for his hand, a shock of electricity running up her arm at the contact.
He shivered, then squeezed. ‘That’s better. Now, guide me.’
Tugging lightly, she started along the corridor, Leo by her side. Being this close, he seemed taller, broader, taking up the space around them and so much of her heart that it pressed against her lungs, making her breathless.
She led him through the ground floor of the manor until they reached the bottom of the main staircase.
Leo opened his eyes and blinked. ‘Right. My turn.’
Ella closed her eyes, her senses now wholly focused on the feeling of her hand in Leo’s and the pounding of her pulse.
At a slight pull from him, she lifted her foot, but misjudged the height of the step and stumbled.
Leo hauled her upright and into the side of his body.
‘Sorry!’ she gasped.
‘No, no. My fault. I forgot to give you the measurements in millimetres.’
She pulled a face at him, even though her eyes were still closed.
‘And as I’m so crap at maths,’ he continued, the smile evident in his voice, ‘we’ll have to try a different approach.’
Before she could guess what that might be, her feet were off the floor and she was back in his arms.
Her eyes flew open. ‘Leo!’
‘Don’t you trust me?’
‘Of course I do, but this is the second time you’ve done this in one day and I’m heavy!’
‘No, you’re not. And now I’m Prince Charming, I have to be even more buff and manly.’
‘Washboard abs and buns of steel?’
She felt his stomach tense against her side, and a dart of pleasure struck her lower abdomen.
‘I’ll have a ten-pack by the time we enter the World Wife-Carrying Championships. Now close your eyes and trust me.’
Ella did, allowing herself to drown in the sensations of being carried by Leo as he continued up the stairs. His body was powerfully strong, and the heat from it radiated out through his clothes and into her.
