Free 31 Days of Winter by C. J. Fallowfield Page B

strongly as mine was for him, yet somehow there was now a
wall of ice between us. He showed me how the dial worked to increase or
decrease the flow of air and pointed to the pile of logs up the side of the
chimney breast.
    ‘You’ll have to let me know when you run out of
logs.’
    ‘How do I contact you?’
    ‘Speed dial one on the phone. You saw how close I
am so there’s no need to panic, if you need me I can be here in an instant. The
island is uninhabited at the moment, other than the two of us and the birds,
but I’d still be happier if you lock the door when I leave, but remove the
key.’
    ‘Remove the key?’ I asked surprised.
    ‘Well if you were to break both legs attempting
the fireman’s pole again, I’d need to open it from the outside to come in and
help you.’ A faint smile crossed his lips again.
    ‘But how would you know if I’d broken both my
legs, I wouldn’t be able to get to the phone.’ He just smiled again, turned and
started walking down the stairs. I quickly followed him down and across to the
front door.
    ‘Is there anything else I can help you with
tonight, Miss Baxter?’ he asked. I longed to cry out ‘Yes, the unbearable
throbbing between my legs.’ I’d never wanted to leap into bed with anyone
I’d just met before, but for some inexplicable reason I wanted to with him. I
bit my lips and shook my head and watched as he placed his hand on the door handle.
    ‘Actually there is one thing.’
    ‘What?’ he asked as he looked back at me and I
felt myself flailing in the oceans of his eyes as they looked down at me.
    ‘You can stop calling me Miss Baxter, you make me
sound like an old spinster.’ I smiled when that earned me a laugh.
    ‘You’re far from an old spinster, Miss Baxter ,’
he teased. ‘What would you like me to call you?’ he asked with a raised
eyebrow. How about Mrs. whatever your name is? O my God, I was swooning
over a guy I’d spent a good part of three hours with, who’d flirted, groped my
arse, carried me on his shoulder, and I didn’t even know his name.
    ‘You can call me Ellie, or El as some do,’ I
shrugged.
    ‘Then I’d prefer Ellie, Miss Baxter, it’s too nice
a name to cut short.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘Well goodnight, Miss … Ellie. I hope you sleep
well and you know where I am if you need me.’ He turned, opened the door and
made to pull it shut behind him.
    ‘And what do I call you if I do need you?’ I asked
and he looked up and smiled.
    ‘Dan.’
    ‘Do you have a second name?’
    ‘Just Dan is fine.’
    ‘Then thank you for being so accommodating and for
the various and interesting modes of transportation,’ I smiled.
    ‘Goodnight, Ellie,’ he said, and this time the
full smile was back and to hear him say Ellie in that tone made me clench my
thighs together as a virtual tsunami of moisture completely ruined my knickers.
    ‘Goodnight, Dan,’ I replied softly and gasped as I
saw his whole body stiffen and his eyes blaze with a surge of testosterone as
he heard his name roll off my own tongue. The look was only there for a second,
but I saw it and he seemed to sense that I had. Immediately I saw that wall go
up again and he quickly shut the door and strode away. I watched until his tall,
large, muscular body merged with the darkness and looked down at the key in my
hand and locked the door. I put the key on a console table near the pool table
and let out a huge sigh. ‘Damn it Ellie, what the hell have you gone and gotten
yourself into now?’ I asked myself out loud.
    I looked around for my case and realised he must
have carried it up earlier when he showed me upstairs, so I went up and
unpacked, and hung up items and folded jumpers and stacked them in the ready-made
shelves, along with my shoes and boots in the custom rack. I looked at the
owners side of the wardrobe and was tempted to sneak a peek. I mean this guy
had to be fairly loaded if he owned this place, which was packed full of
designer touches and on a whole