Thirty minutes later, she slid with a sigh of bliss into a richly scented bath. The water brushed against her skin like silk and she had even laid out a fancy nightdress and wrap to don afterwards. Luxury, sheer luxury, she savoured. That bath had been calling to her since the day they had arrived because as far back as she could remember she had only lived in accommodation with showers. She had sampled one of the decorative bottled bath oils to try. An hour later, she clambered out, moisturised all over, dried her hair and put on her new slithery lingerie, an artful confection of lace, silk and ribbons in a soft blue shade, the likes of which had never come her way before.
There was a glorious seating area by a fireplace in the bedroom and she sank into an opulent sofa, clutching her romance novel, and put up her feet with a groan of pleasure. Perfect peace she was savouring just as the door opened and Tore strode in.
Chapter Five
‘Am I interrupting you?’ Tore enquired.
Violet sat up, her cheeks flaming, suddenly very aware of how little she was wearing and the sheer nature of the garments. She hadn’t thought that through very well when they were forced to share the same room and bed. She didn’t want him to think that she was being deliberately provocative.
Tore absorbed the pert jiggle of her surprisingly full breasts and went taut, infuriated by the fact that he only had to get within five feet of Violet to start thinking about sex. In fact, he only had tolookat her and his logical brain went illogically blank and then haywire. His bride might be little in stature but she took up way too much space in his head. He thought about how she had looked even from a distance in a bikini on the beach, recalled Sandro’s indefensible excuse that his wife wasgorgeousand his shapely lips compressed. He also remembered her saying,I liked itand all of a sudden all he wanted to do was give her more to like.
‘What are you reading?’ he asked, using the query to break out of his paralysis and bend to scoop up the book she had thrown aside.
The cover depicted a half-naked, very muscular male, and his mouth quirked with appreciation. He skimmed the page she had been perusing and his ebony brows lifted in surprised satisfaction.
‘It’s a romance,’ she said lightly.
‘Raunchy stuff,’ he remarked, resting the paperback down again where she had left it.
She went pink, obvious discomfiture gripping her. ‘I-I—’
‘I was teasing,’ Tore qualified. ‘Nothing wrong with a raunchy read.’
‘I know.’
‘I came up for a shower…’ Tore hesitated, glancing back at her when he entrapped the deep blue eyes resting on him. ‘And here you are, sitting in a little pool of light looking absolutely edible in little wisps of fabric.’
‘They’re not little wisps,’ she argued tightly. ‘It’s all full length but maybe I would’ve covered up more if I’d been expecting you to walk in.’
‘Doesn’t matter how covered up you are. I have a great imagination and you shouldn’t have to think like that anyway. This isyourroom in which you should be able to relax. Forget about me.’
‘That’s kind of a challenge,’ Violet acknowledged uneasily, her breathing coming a little quicker through her lungs as she collided head-on with shimmering emerald green eyes accentuated by lush black lashes.
Tore swung back round. ‘I’m sorry. That’s my fault. No matter how hard I try to ignore it, I’m extremely attracted to you. I’m not telling you that to make you uneasy. I can and will control that side of myself but there’s no escaping the truth when it’s just the two of us.’
‘It’s only curiosity,’ she assured him, confident of the fact. ‘Living like this in such close proximity and pretending to be a normal couple is a strain for both of us. Maybe we should just simply get rid of the curiosity and do what everybody assumes we’re doing anyway.’
Tore struggled to untangle that statement and came up not quite believing that she could’ve meant what she had actually said. ‘Not sure I grasped that.’
Violet laced her trembling fingers together tightly. ‘We’re not kids, Tore. It’s only sex making stuff feel awkward between us, nothing more important. I bet if we get that childish curiosity out of the way, we’ll find out that we can manage fine.’
‘There’s nothing childish about the way I feel about you,’ Tore countered, sliding out of his suit jacket and hooking it on one finger.
She studied his lean, powerful physique and the sheer energy he emanated with fresh understanding and a small pulse of superiority. She knew she was right and that he was wrong. Adults living so close to each other questioned and resented boundaries imposed. It was common sense to her way of thinking. Once they had established that sex between them was nothing exciting, they would both be cured of the craving that itched in her every skin cell. Was he the same? she wondered helplessly. Or was it only because he was a guy that he couldn’t handle the proximity?
‘It’s only curiosity,’ she assured him again as she stood up. She found him equally attractive and she wasn’t prepared to lie about that when he had been honest. And really, what was the big deal? She had had sex before and it had been a huge disappointment. It might be marginally better with Tore because she was much more drawn to him than she had ever been to Damien but even so, it wasn’t as if she was expecting meteor showers raining down from the heavens. She wasn’t that naive anymore. Nor was she a nervous teenager who had little idea what she could be inviting. And once they had experienced that intimacy together, perhaps they would both feel more relaxed with each other.
Tore dropped his jacket and stalked forward to reach for her and that fast she was in his arms, shaken and stirred by a sudden burst of anticipation. He lifted her up into his arms and crushed her parted lips under his, his tongue dipping and delving and setting off a riotous reaction through her quivering body.
‘I like the way you kiss,’ she muttered unevenly as he lifted his head.
Tore slanted her a frankly irrepressible grin that made his lean, dark, serious features shed years. ‘I know,’ he said with pleasure.
‘I don’t like big egos,’ she warned him, forefinger poking his shirtfront in warning.
And he brought her down on the bed with a simmering smile that fired up every nerve cell she possessed. ‘Not one of those…although, I can’t say that Sandro emerged from our chat feeling as good about himself. Since he got that TV show, he’s had an army of fans and their adoration has made him believe that his charm is universally appealing.’
‘He was getting on my nerves,’ she confided. ‘I mean, he’s family but no offence intended, he’s definitely a bit of a perv.’
