bathroom through that door.â He nodded towards the far corner of the room.
âWhereâs your bedroom?â
The corner of his mouth tilted up. âYou want to see it?â
âNo, I just want to ensure itâs far, far from mine.â She was only half kidding.
âThis is only a two-bedroom town house, sweetheart. Mine is just up those stairs there.â
So heâd be sleeping above her. She was not thinking the naughty about that.
âThereâs a pretty high-tech security system I switch on atnight,â he said. âIf you go outside, youâll set off all the alarms. Even the balcony.â
âAre you telling me Iâm a prisoner in here?â
âNo. Iâm telling you that if you go outside, youâll set off all the alarms. If you want to go out you can, just call out to me first and Iâll disarm them.â
She relaxed a smidge. âI wonât want to go out.â
âGreat.â
He moved into her room and she followed, looking about at the light walls and rich coverings on the fantastically huge bed. She didnât expect him to just drop the bags and turn so that she nearly bumped into him.
They both made like statues.
Except on the inside Daniâs vital organs were at warâher brain was shutting down while her heart was pumping faster than the pistons in a Formula One racing car.
When he was close like this all she could think about was kissing him againâand doing a whole lot more. Why donât you? The little imp whispered inside her head.
Dani looked into his widened green eyes, teetering on losing herself in their mesmerising depths. He was so close and so aware.
Why didnât she? Because it would be too easy. And Dani had never been one to take the easy option. She would never be the easy optionâfor all her tarty talk to him. A simple few minutes now would mean complicated mess laterâthat she did know. She was her motherâs daughterâsusceptible to over-emotionality and that spelt weakness. Time after time sheâd seen her motherâs softness used against her. And when Dani had finally opened up to someone, sheâd been trodden over too. Independence and clear-headedness was allâshe needed to reclaim both right now.
The defence Dani had learned was to challenge, to say something smart, even issue a sting. But only millimetres from Alex, it was taking everything she had to stay in control. That made her nervousâand in turn that increased her determination to succeed. Her body went even more rigid.
One, then two, long seconds passed. His mouth was clamped shut and his eyes narrowed. Then he laced his fingers together, put them on his head as if he were an apprehended offender, and stalked from the room.
CHAPTER FIVE
D ANI dragged herself from bedâhaving got to sleep only when the birds started their pre-dawn âsay hello to each otherâ chatter. She tugged up the trousers of her flannelette pyjamas and thudded down the stairs in search of coffee.
Newspapers were scattered all over the breakfast table and the radio was blaring. Dani blinked, struggling to adjust to the light, all the activity and the smell of fresh cooking. Alex was dressed in another devastating suit, sitting at the table with a giant glass of juice and halfway through demolishing an omelette already.
He paused, his fork halfway to his mouth as he looked her over. Dani held her head highâOK, the pink-pig-stamped pjs were indefensible, but at least they werenât sexy.
âYou want one?â he asked. âWonât take me a minute to whip it up.â
âNo, thanks.â She turned her back on his blistering brightness. The words want one and whip it up coming from his mouth made her thoughts go squirmingly naughty.
âNot a morning person?â
Not when the night had been so long and she hadnât had her necessary six solid hours and a couple more in the doze-zone. She
Gina Whitney, Leddy Harper