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Eventually, his body drawn tight with need, he’d got up around five in the morning and went to the gym located in the other wing of the house. It looked out over the forest that surrounded the lodge, and there were drifts of snow piled up against the windows. He’d run on his treadmill, working himself into a sweat. Then showered and checked the weather forecast, which had predicted clear skies for the next two days, but after that another storm was due to roll in.

If he wanted to get rid of Liberty, he’d have to organise it today.

It was as he was contemplating this that disappointment hit him, which was odd. He hadn’t wanted her here in the first place, so why would he be disappointed at her leaving? Didn’t he actually want that?

Perhaps it wasn’t disappointment about her so much as it was disappointment at an opportunity slipping through his fingers. He needed a wife, and if he wanted her, he’d have to convince her to agree to the marriage, and it was likely to take a few days to do that. Then there was the question of sex. If he kept her here, she’d be in his vicinity, and that would present the both of them with another opportunity.

All of which meant he couldn’t get rid of her, not now. There was a window of two days where she could leave, so he’d make sure she’d miss that window. He’d have to lie to her about the storm, but he didn’t care. There was no right or wrong, only good business decisions, and this was a good business decision.

He had to admit, though, he had felt a flicker of what was possibly guilt or shame when he’d told her she’d have to stay. Her lovely face had fallen at the thought of spending Christmas here, which was regrettable. She’d get over it, though. Christmas was only one day, and it came around with depressing regularity every year. He himself never celebrated it, because Neve never had. She’d thought it was a pointless waste of time.

Then again, surely Liberty would think it was worth it if she got the funds to keep her precious home running indefinitely. She’d have plenty of money to make every Christmas even more special.

Pushing the lie to the back of his mind, Kaius grabbed the clothes he’d come to the laundry for, then dressed. He had some meetings and phone calls to make, some emails to send, but those could wait. What he wanted to do now was to secure Liberty’s agreement to his marriage request.

She seemed to enjoy the food he’d cooked last night, and in fact had been very appreciative. She’d also thanked him for doing her laundry, which told him that she liked having small things done for her. In which case he’d keep doing them. It would make her more amenable to the thought of marriage if she was in a good mood. With that in mind he headed into the kitchen to make coffee and get some breakfast together.

Half an hour later he had toast, scrambled eggs and bacon ready, along with fresh coffee and orange juice, and once he’d put them on the table, he went to find her.

She was in the living area, standing at the windows, gazing out at the black cliffs and the snow and the dizzying view over the fjord.

She was back in the clothes she’d worn when she’d arrived, jeans and a thick, well-worn cable-knit jumper of red wool, her hair loose down her back.

Pretty. Very pretty.

He put his hands in his pockets. ‘How’s the ankle this morning?’

She turned from her contemplation of the view, and once again he noted how her gaze drifted to his chest and back to his face. Good. Let her keep looking. ‘Oh, much better thanks.’

‘Good. Come and have breakfast.’

‘You made breakfast for me?’

‘I did.’

Another faint wash of pink coloured her cheeks, and he wondered why the thought of someone making her breakfast flustered her so much.

‘You must let me do something,’ she said. ‘I can’t sit around here for a week with you waiting on me hand and foot.

‘Why not?’ he asked, curious.

She frowned, as if he’d said something she didn’t understand. ‘Well… I’m not exactly a guest here, am I?’

‘Aren’t you?’

‘You didn’t invite me.’

‘No, but you’re here now, and this is my lodge. Which makes you my guest.’

She glanced away. ‘You didn’t want me here, so don’t feel as if you have to do anything for me. I don’t want to put you out.’

‘I’m already put out,’ he said with perfect truth. ‘And you’re already here, so there’s no point going back over it. Come and have something to eat.’

There was a strange reluctance in her expression, but she nodded and followed him into the dining room.

Wanting to be a gentleman, he pulled out her chair for her, only realising when she came over and sat in it, that it brought her close to him once again.

He looked down as he pushed her chair in, strands of gilt and deep tawny gleaming in her hair. The scent of warm woman and sleep caught at him, making him catch his breath and his body tighten.