Page 27 of Revelations of A Secret Princess

Desire.

Downright hunger.

She must have heard the door or his sharp intake of breath because she turned and he saw her eyes widen before the swell of high, perfect breasts pressed against taut fabric caught his attention. She was braless and the little jiggle of her breasts as she sucked in air drove an arrow of carnal heat straight to his groin.

Through the thickening silence came a soft sound as the robe pooled around her bare feet.

Jake’s brain told him not to move even as he covered the small distance and bent to pick it up. At the same time she did.

His fingers brushed hers and he stilled. The robe fell again and he drew in a breath scented with woman and warm spice. The perfume went to his head like a draught of fine cognac downed too fast.

She straightened and he grabbed the robe from the floor, discovering it still warm from her body. His fingers curled into the towelling, rather than reach for her.

She was Ariane’s nanny. His employee.

Yet he couldn’t move. His soles were cemented to the floor. He was so close he saw her shiver.

Watching the flush rise from her breasts to her throat and cheeks Jake knew she wasn’t cold. He forced his gaze high and kept it there.

‘You’re having a swim?’

Congratulations, Maynard. Full points for observation.

His thought processes grew sluggish and it was the best he could do in lieu of marching back the way he’d come. That was what he should do but for the first time he could recall, his body refused to obey his brain.

She shuffled back a half step and he wondered in surprise if she found him intimidating. This last week she’d proved she was well able to stand up to him. He saw no fear in her face. Caro wore that guarded expression he’d come to hate, because his curiosity about her had grown insatiable.

He wanted to find out what went on behind that mask of calm as much as he wanted to taste her.

Neither, he told himself, was a good idea. He dropped the robe onto a lounger and managed his own half step away. The effort made him feel as if he’d run a half marathon.

‘No. Not a swim.’ The husky edge to her voice was pronounced, making it burr through his belly. ‘I was going to try the hot tub, if that’s okay.’

‘Of course it’s okay. Surely Neil made it clear you could use any of the facilities.’ Jake wrestled with thoughts of Caro in the hot tub. Naked? The notion locked his knees so he hadn’t a hope of walking away yet.

‘I...thank you, he did.’ She glanced down and away as if shy. Except that didn’t ring true with the woman he’d got to know in the last week. Undaunted, courageous, fiercely determined, caring of Ariane and, when it came to herself, reserved to the point of blankness, that was Caro.

Besides, though he fought to keep his eyes on her face, he hadn’t missed the way her nipples pebbled against her top. The area was well heated. He guessed it wasn’t a reaction to cold, especially with that tell-tale blush.

Reaction to him?

The idea threatened his resolve.

He should go. He’d even managed to look past her to the door to the gym when she spoke in a rush as if needing to fill the throbbing silence.

‘I thought the warm water might help.’

Jake’s gaze wrenched back to her then down, skating over lithe curves to the expanse of pearly skin showing between her knickers and her top. A bruise marred her pale skin on one side, the sight reminding him of her bravery today and how he’d feared for her.

‘Did the doctor give you something for pain?’

She tugged her top lower and she shook her head, hair spilling around her shoulders. ‘It’s not that bad. I thought warm water might help me get to sleep. I feel...unsettled.’

Jake knew the feeling.

‘I had a similar thought but I’m heading to the gym.’

Yet he didn’t move.

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