stranded.’
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘You’re freezing. Go inside.’
‘I can last a little longer, and if there is someone out there, we have to find them.’
‘You have to call your team,’ he reminded her.
‘And I will, just as soon as I get back.’
Luc frowned. ‘That sounds like an animal in distress…’
‘Let’s go,’ Stacey insisted, tugging on his arm.
An hour later, she and Maria were tending a cat after a most astonishing encounter in Luc’s boot room. Two calls later, and Stacey had informed her team that she was safe and they should stay where they were. ‘I’ll give you an update tomorrow,’ she promised.
‘Bath. Now,’ Luc instructed from the doorway. ‘I won’t be answerable for your well-being if you don’t take my advice.’
‘I didn’t ask you to be answerable.’ She couldn’t bring herself to add, I’m fine. I can look after myself, as the blizzard had clearly proved her wrong about that.
‘Lucky for you, I’m still going to care about your welfare,’ Luc said in a tone that made her think he was speaking as her brother’s friend, rather than as her lover. ‘Just remember—you’re in my house and I’m in charge. No arguments,’ he added in a mock-stern tone. ‘And when you take a shower be sure to run it cold, or you’ll burn yourself. Even on the coldest setting the water’s going to feel warm to you. It’s only safe to increase the temperature when the water starts to feel chilly to you. When you’re confident everything’s back to normal you can take a bath. Don’t rush. I’ll be doing the same thing.’
He was almost out of the door when he thought better of it and turned around. ‘You did well tonight. That could have been a person, and a cat is no less deserving of our care. Mountain rescue will be on the case by now. They’re a lot better equipped than I am for this sort of thing, so you can relax. I’ll call them to let them know the area we covered, and then we can safely leave them to it. I’ll join in later if they need me.’
‘Then so will I,’ Stacey insisted.
‘No, you won’t. You can’t ski, and you don’t know the mountains. You’ll only get in the way. Stay here. You were brave tonight. Don’t be foolish now.’
‘I wasn’t brave, I was scared to death,’ she admitted. ‘That’s why I had to go out again, in case there were others trapped like me.’
‘You’re very honest,’ he observed.
She shrugged. ‘I try to be.’
Stacey, Stacey, Stacey! What was she doing to him? Lucas reflected as he paced the great room, attempting not to think of her naked beneath the shower. He’d passed the time while she’d been warming up, making calls to reunite the cat with its owner, and to alert the mountain rescue team to their actions. The search chief had praised Stacey for her bravery. Any visitor who, having found safety, set out again in such terrible conditions to help others was worthy of a commendation, he’d said. ‘I’ll pass that on to her,’ Luc had promised.
No one got through to him like Stacey, who had made a mockery of his intentions to save her from him. Saving her for him made more sense right now—especially when, in a moment of complete madness, he had felt moved to enclose her face in his hands in the boot room to give her a brief, reassuring kiss—on the cheek, but still… What the hell had he been thinking? It was bad enough they were here, trapped together in his chalet overnight, without him making things worse. So much for good intentions! She’d ridden roughshod over his control.
What alternative did he have? With many of his guests having arrived early to make the most of their trip, he could use all the people he could get, both up here and down at the hotel. Stacey’s team was in place in the village while she was here, ready to act on any changes to her plans for the party brought on by the weather.
At least she appeared to be following orders for once. For now. Maria had reported back that warm clothes had been delivered to Stacey’s suite of rooms, and she was enjoying a bath. She could stay one night, but no longer. His libido couldn’t take it. He had nothing to offer Stacey that she’d be interested in. Money, jewels, fashion meant nothing to her. Her practical nature was fulfilled by her rigorous working regime, but when it came to the personal side of things, she was a dreamer, a romantic, who, now they’d had sex, would expect more than he could give.
A beautiful woman had sought refuge under his roof, but all he could think about was keeping his thoughts and feelings locked up tight.
That wasn’t strictly true, was it? However many times he told himself that this was Stacey, the imp who used to plague him at her father’s farm, his straining groin begged to differ. Rearranging his over-packed jeans, he grimaced. He couldn’t even trust himself to guide Stacey to her bedroom, and had left that task to Maria. Having known her intimately, he wanted her again, and that want was like a fury drilling away inside him to the point where he found it impossible to concentrate on anything else.
He had to have her. It was as simple as that.
Would it be so simple for Stacey?
A humourless laugh escaped him at the thought that she was quite capable of turning him down. Stacey wasn’t like anyone else he’d ever known. She lived life by her own rules, and his gut instinct warned him that obeying him would figure nowhere in her plans, a thought that only sharpened his appetite.
He glanced at the thick fur rug in front of the hearth, longing to hear her moan beneath him as her eyes and mouth begged him to take her again. To feel her hips straining to meet his; to have her until she couldn’t stand; to bring her more pleasure than she’d ever known—
Stop! Get over this obsession with Stacey and accept that she’s here to work!
How was he supposed to forget the telling signs of arousal in her darkening eyes when she looked at him? Or his desire to kiss every inch of her body? The disappointment on her face when he’d passed her over to Maria had told him everything: Stacey wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Get over it. Forget it.
Pouring a stiff drink, he gulped it down. Discarding the glass, he gave a roar of frustration as he planted his fist into the wall.
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