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Celia didn’t want to dwell on worst-case scenarios but as she stood there, in front of him, they filled her head, swamping all rational thought until she could feel her pulses racing and her body prickling with panicked perspiration.
She was as safe as houses with him, whatever the circumstances. She wasn’t his type and he wasn’t hers.
But those killer looks...
She could breathe him in, the smell of cold mingled with woody aftershave. It made her feel unsteady on her feet and she automatically took a couple of steps back, breathing in deeply and gathering herself.
‘If they’re not here, then where are they? You said that they were going to be here!’
‘It’s obvious they started in this direction.’ He began walking, throwing over his shoulder that she should follow him, that there was no harm in checking all the rooms. ‘But...’ he picked up where he had left off as he led the way up one of the grand staircases, which ascended to a huge galleried landing ‘...with the last leg to go and travelling by car, they must have decided not to brave the weather.’
‘So what do we do now?’ Celia dashed past him and then spun round so that she was ahead of him, looking down the staircase to the marble-floored landing and the richness of the paintings on the walls. From this vantage point she was almost on eye level with him and for a few seconds she regretted her move because they were so close, close enough to see the flecks of gold in his midnight-dark eyes and the lush thickness of his lashes. She breathed in sharply, heart beating like a sledgehammer.
‘We check all the rooms and then decide in the morning.’
‘Is thatit?’ Celia cried.
‘What more is it possible to do at this hour in the evening? There’s no way I’m going to attempt to make the journey back in this weather.’ His eyes were as cool as his voice. ‘I’m not jeopardising your life nor am I jeopardising my own because you’re panicking about being here with me.’
‘That’s not itat all!’
‘You’re tired and hungry, but getting over-emotional about this situation isn’t going to help either of us.’
‘And what if we’re stuck here for longer than one night?’ Celia demanded. ‘Will you be able to fly the helicopter back in the morning if it continues to snow overnight?’
Leandro met her blazing green eyes with a remote, unreadable expression.
Her cheeks were flushed, her copper hair tangled around her heart-shaped face, her full lips pursed. She oozed fury. How could that be attractive? It couldn’t. He loathed this sort of extreme emotionalism. What was the point of overreacting to something that couldn’t be changed? And yet, as he stared at her, he was disconcerted by the tug of something strong, swift and primal. She was the very essence of lush, tempting femininity and as he looked away, impatient with his response to her, he could feel a telltale tic in his jaw, a potent reminder that his lofty reassurances that she was utterly safe with him might have a few holes he hadn’t foreseen.
But a lifetime of iron control came to his rescue. He had never been ruled by his body and that was something that was never going to change.
‘Pointless question,’ he said smoothly, moving to step past her, feeling the warmth of her body close to his as he brushed past and sensing the hurried, breathless shift of her body to let him pass by. Now, he was gazing down at her, her face upturned to his, and again, that uninvited intrusion of a libido that was always kept under control. ‘In the morning, we’ll see what’s happening with the weather and take it from there. For now, I’ll show you where you can sleep, and we’ll have something to eat. Tomorrow, as I’ve said, is another day.’
