‘I want to get up,’ she replied, still wriggling, which wasn’t doing anything to deflate the semi in his lap. ‘I need to shower and change before we arrive.’
He inhaled the scent of roses and sex. The urge to close his arms around her only disturbed him more, so he forced himself to release her. The plane had levelled off.
Two seconds later she had disappeared into the cabin’s bathroom. The click of the lock made his temper snap.
What was she so annoyed about? He was the one who had been tricked into a commitment he didn’t want.
He dragged on his shorts and marched into the plane’s other bathroom, royally pissed now himself.
Damn Her Royal Highness to hell and back, because that was where he was going to be for the next two weeks.
CHAPTER TEN
Freyaclungtothe dashboard as the all-terrain vehicle powered up the snowy track, then broke free of the tree line, to reveal a large A-frame structure in the distance—its arched windows facing the icy surface of a lake. The raised porch had strings of fairy lights dripping from its eaves alongside the icicles, which twinkled in the afternoon twilight giving the luxury two-storey house a festive glow. It was only four o’clock in the afternoon, but the sun had already sunk beneath the horizon as they’d travelled into the frozen forest.
She let out a careful breath as they approached the house. This was not a cabin, but a stunning combination of traditional and modern architecture that blended beautifully with the surrounding landscape. The place looked enchanted, almost as enchanted as the forest blanketed in glittering white that they’d spent over six hours driving through.
Theo flicked a switch on the vehicle’s dashboard, and a metal door opened under the house. He drove into the lodge’s carport, braked, then clicked off the satellite GPS device and let out a heavy breath. Lights blinked on as the garage door lowered behind them, sealing them into the quiet space.
‘Well, it’s certainly remote,’ Theo said, his voice rusty from lack of use.
He had barely said a word to her since they’d landed in Helsinki. From there they had transferred to a helicopter andflown to the town of Saariselkä—Finnish Lapland’s northern most resort. On the edge of the Arctic Circle, they had transferred to the all-terrain, which looked like a cross between an SUV and a tank—with caterpillar tracks instead of wheels to handle the wintry trail through the frozen forest.
Freya hadn’t expected them to be travelling solo for the last leg of their journey—she had simply assumed they would be accompanied by his staff. But it was just the two of them staying at the secluded lodge. Because, apparently, things weren’t uncomfortable enough after her idiotic decision to sleep with him on the plane.
What on earth had she been thinking? Even if their chemistry was off the charts, her impulsiveness—and lack of foresight—had shocked her, as she’d spent the last day debating all her stupid decisions since choosing to climb aboard the back of his bike.
Wanting to enjoy her new-found freedom, wanting to assert herself, test her boundaries and do all the wild crazy things she had missed out on as a teenager was understandable… Choosing to jump a man she couldn’t trust and who she was going to be trapped with for the next two weeks at least and who she knew planned to use her to make a land deal with her father, not so much.
The only saving grace of this excruciating situation was that Theo seemed equally uncomfortable. Hence the sulking ever since they’d landed in Finland. Although what he had to sulk about, she had no idea.
She’d chosen not to address the issue during the arduous drive—partly because she was still trying to get her head around the implications of what they’d done, but also because driving in these conditions and handling the heavy vehicle had looked far from easy, the trail invisible under the layers of ice. The vehicle’stanklike tracks had slipped on the snow more than once as Theo wrestled to keep it on the road.
They were both tired. And there would be more than enough time to confront the fallout from their hook-up on the plane. Far too much time. Unfortunately.
‘I can’t believe anyone managed to build somewhere this far out into the forest,’ she said, hoping some small talk might relieve the tension that had been bristling between them ever since this morning…
‘I can’t believe anyone would bother. Who would want to live out here?’ Mr Grumpy replied.
She thought of the stunning winter wonderland they’d passed on their journey. The majestic conifers laden with snow, the reindeer herds silently guarding the frozen landscape, even a wolf pack glimpsed racing across a clearing as the setting sun cast a fiery glow over the horizon.
‘I can. It’s so beautiful here,’ she said, simply.
He grunted and shrugged. But when he pushed open the car door and climbed down, she saw him stumble. He had to be exhausted after the punishing drive. Even so, he had reached her door before she could wrestle it open.
He offered a hand, to help her alight. But when she reached for it, because it was a long way down from the tank-like vehicle, instead of taking it, he grasped her round the waist to lower her to the floor.
She stepped away, far too aware of his nearness—the heat pumping off his body, the creases around his eyes, and the bruised shadows under them. And the scent of bergamot and orange that clung to him and reminded her of the feel of him sinking deep.
Her backside bumped the car door, trapping her against him.
‘Don’t worry, Your Highness,’ he murmured, the disdain in his voice almost as wounding as the unwanted heat lodged inher sex like a hot brick. ‘I’m too shattered to deflower youagaintonight.’
Deflower you!
She frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Because it had sounded like an insult. And she could hardly have missed the bitter tone, reminding her of his accusations. That she’d tricked him somehow—with her innocence. But before she could ask him to explain himself, he had already started grabbing the luggage from the vehicle’s back seat. Slinging her small pack over his shoulder, he picked up two heavy kit bags, then shouted something in Greek.
A door slid open on the other side of a row of snowmobiles, revealing a staircase into the lodge’s interior. Her mouth hung open.
