Free Snowbound Seduction by Helen Brooks

couplesdancing to the live music most of the time. After that one blistering kiss in the taxi, Zac had metamorphosed into a genial and amusing dinner companion and more than once he had made her laugh until she had cried. As the level in the bottle of wine had diminished, Rachel had found it easier to relax. Zac had put himself out to be non-threatening and it was comfortable to go with the flow. Her fragile aplomb faltered a little when he asked her to dance between the second and third courses, but the band was playing a lively number and apart from his hand on her arm to and from the dance floor, they barely touched.
    When she made a visit to the ladies cloakroom—a vision in chrome and satin with wall-to-wall full-length mirrors in the outer section—she had to acknowledge she was enjoying herself. Very much. Definitely too much, if she thought about it. But she wasn’t going to think about it, she determined, fiddling with her hair before applying more lipstick. As Zac had said, he was here for a short time and then gone. End of story. And as she had no intention of sleeping with him and had made that very clear, she had nothing to worry about.
    She returned to the table to find her pudding—a seriously delicious red wine syllabub with blueberries—waiting for her, along with a glass of honey-sweet dessert wine. Reflecting that it was so nice to be wined and dined and cosseted, she downed the wine with reckless abandon and ate every scrap of the syllabub. It was then that Zac leant forward, his golden eyes soft and glowing in the muted lighting and his firm, faintly stern mouth smiling. ‘So,’ he murmured. ‘Made a decision on the weekend yet?’

CHAPTER FIVE
    â€˜Y OU’RE doing what?’ Jennie squealed, she and Susan staring at Rachel, their breakfast forgotten. ‘Did I hear right?’
    â€˜I’m going to a house party in the country with Zac for the weekend,’ Rachel repeated, knowing she’d gone as red as a beetroot. ‘It’s nothing heavy. A business colleague took pity on him, being away from home and all that, and Zac invited me along as a friend. He’s picking me up here after work and we’re driving down to somewhere near Guildford.’
    â€˜Right.’ Susan recovered first. ‘Sounds great. It’s just that things seem to be moving fast and it’s not like you.’
    None of this was like her, Rachel reflected miserably. In the cold light of day she was having second thoughts, but the deed was done. She’d agreed to spend the weekend with him and that was that. ‘Things aren’t moving in the way you mean,’ she insisted quietly. ‘I told you, I’m going as a friend, that’s all.’
    â€˜Right,’ Susan said again, but Jennie was less diplomatic.
    â€˜A friend?’ she hooted. ‘Cinders, a girl’s friends with geek types or gay men or happily married guys, none of which Zac is. What are the sleeping arrangements?’she added. ‘Are you sharing a room? I bet you are, aren’t you?’
    Rachel shook her head. ‘Absolutely not. I checked.’
    â€˜Sure?’ Jennie surveyed her disbelievingly.
    â€˜I told you.’
    â€˜All right, all right.’ Jennie held up her hands before reaching for her toast. ‘But take your chastity belt just in case, that’s all I’m saying.’ She rolled her eyes expressively.
    Rachel laughed, she couldn’t help it. ‘No need for that, you know me.’
    â€˜Ah, but do you know Zac? Or more to the point, do you know yourself around Zac? One thing’s for sure, Cinders, he’s not your normal run-of-the-mill male. I’ve met a few guys with that extra wow factor but Zac’s in a league of his own. Funny to think I tagged after him and my brothers as a child, isn’t it? He can remember I was a bit of a tomboy and never wanted to play with the girls.’
    Susan snorted. ‘I