Natalie Rivers – The Kristallis Baby (страница 2)

Despite the early hour, the party was already in full swing. A photographer was making the rounds, finding no shortage of guests willing to pose for him—no doubt hoping to find their photos inside the glossy pages of well-known celebrity lifestyle magazines.

She smoothed the sparkly red dress over her hips in an ineffectual effort to cover a decent amount of thigh. Lulu wasn’t known for choosing her wardrobe with modesty in mind, and that coupled with Carrie’s considerable extra height meant that she was left with an alarming amount of leg on show. Even more disconcerting was the lack of decent coverage provided by the plunging neckline.

Feeling very self-conscious, she dropped her gaze and moved across the room. A curtain of sleek black hair fell across her eyes, but she didn’t flick it back. She felt better with her face hidden—although no one was actually looking at her face , she thought with a shudder.

At last she slipped quietly into the study and closed the door behind her. She ignored the nerves that fluttered in her stomach and crossed to the desk. Putting her champagne glass down, she picked up Darren’s jacket from the back of his chair and reached her hand into the pocket.

‘Do you make a habit of that?’

Carrie gasped and spun round to see who had spoken, clutching the jacket tightly to her chest.

A stranger stood just inside the study. Tall and imposing, with an unmistakable air of power about him, he was standing perfectly still, calmly watching her every move.

Her eyes flew to his face, and as their gazes met she sucked in a startled breath. He was utterly gorgeous. Dark brown hair and bronzed skin made his appearance classically Mediterranean, apart from his eyes, which were an arresting shade of blue.

She looked at him, taking in his incredible bone structure and perfect features. He was unbelievably good-looking, but there was something disconcerting about him. She had the strangest feeling that she ought to know who he was. She bit her lip and studied him, momentarily forgetting that she was still holding the incriminating jacket.

It worried her that she couldn’t place him. Many of the guests at the party were celebrities—easily recognisable people that for an instant you thought you knew, until suddenly you realised who they were. Carrie was used to that, with several of her clients being celebrities of one kind or another. But there was something about this man that unnerved her.

He was studying her in return. She felt a shiver of sexual awareness prickle across her skin as his gaze swept arrogantly over her. The intensity in his glittering blue eyes made her suddenly acutely aware of her body, and of the revealing dress she was wearing. It was an unfamiliar sensation.

For the past six months she had been totally absorbed in her new way of life. She had discovered the bittersweet joys of caring for Danny whilst dealing with the loss of so many loved ones and had learned to cope with the everyday stresses of looking after a child.

With all of that going on, she simply wasn’t used to thinking of herself as an attractive woman that men might fight desirable.

A wave of heat washed across her exposed skin, but it was unsettling and she did her best to ignore it. She couldn’t let herself be thrown off kilter by her unexpected feelings. After all, she still had to get Darren’s phone for Lulu, and then leave in time to pick up Danny.

‘Can I help you?’ she asked, deliberately making her voice sound as indifferent as she could. ‘Are you lost, or were you looking for Darren?’

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ the stranger said. ‘I asked if you made a habit of that.’

Carrie’s heart skipped a beat. He’d seen what she’d been up to.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, in an attempt to brazen it out. She let the jacket fall back onto the chair, closing her fingers round the mobile phone just as her hand slid from the pocket. She tossed her silky hair away from her face and stared squarely back at him.

‘I meant do you often creep into other people’s studies and steal their mobile phones?’ His voice was deep and resonant, with the hint of an accent that Carrie couldn’t place.

‘I didn’t creep anywhere.’ Trying to sound cool, she let her gaze slide down across his powerful body. She was impressed by what she saw. Lean and athletic, he looked amazing in his dark designer suit, but she had no doubt he’d look equally good dressed in the more revealing exercise gear that, because of her job as a trainer, she was used to seeing men wear. ‘And I haven’t stolen anything. This is Lulu’s phone. I was fetching it for her.’

‘You should really work on your story more,’ he said.

‘I work for Lulu.’ She shrugged, trying to ignore the mocking note to his tone. Maybe she could still bluff her way out of the situation. ‘She asked me to fetch it.’

‘Really?’ he asked, running his eyes insultingly over her, starting from the tips of her toes and working his way up in a leisurely fashion. ‘Are they your work clothes?’ he finished, letting his gaze linger on her almost indecently exposed breasts.

‘I’m Lulu’s personal trainer,’ she said, trying to ignore the way her skin was burning from his perusal. It was strangely exciting, yet utterly unnerving, to feel the way her body was responding to the touch of his eyes. ‘Now, please excuse me. I really must get back to her.’ She took a step towards the door.

Suddenly the sound of Darren’s voice right outside the study caught her attention.

Her eyes flicked nervously to the door. She still had his phone in her hand, and there was nowhere in the ridiculously skimpy outfit she was wearing to hide it. She’d made Lulu a promise, but now she wasn’t going to get away with it.

She looked back at her uninvited companion. Would he give her away? Reveal that he’d caught her red-handed in the act of stealing the mobile phone?

At that moment he started walking towards her. Her heart lurched and she clutched the phone tightly, staring at him. She was paralysed like a rabbit in the glare of an approaching juggernaut. What was he going to do? Take the phone from her and tell Darren exactly what he’d seen?

His movements seemed quite unhurried, but there was a purposeful glint in his blue eyes that sent an icy tingle skittering down Carrie’s spine. Then suddenly she realised he was standing right in front of her, effectively shielding her from anyone who came into the room.

Startled by his sudden proximity, she stared up at him with wide eyes. At five foot eight inches she was tall, but even with the added height of Lulu’s four-inch stiletto-heeled sandals she had to tip her head back to look at him.

The expression on his face made her heart beat erratically. His glittering blue eyes darkened, and he looked so deeply into her eyes that it felt as if he could see right into her soul. Then he tipped his head slightly to one side, as if he was about to kiss her!

‘So lovely,’ he murmured, resting his hands gently on the bare skin of her upper arms.

Carrie was transfixed. She simply couldn’t tear her gaze away from his face. He was absolutely gorgeous. Everything about his features seemed perfect, from the deep blue eyes fringed with sinfully long lashes to the wide, expressive mouth. And he was looking at her and seeing a desirable woman.

Suddenly she became aware of the sensuous slide of his hand down her arm, skimming lightly over her skin in a way that made the hairs stand up and goosebumps prickle over her exposed flesh. His hand closed over the phone, taking it from her grasp, then in the next second his other arm moved around her, pulling her hard against his muscular frame.

She gasped as her body bumped against his, the skimpy dress doing nothing to shield her from the hot-blooded strength of his powerful masculine form. Her heart was beating so loudly it blocked out all other sounds, and her stomach was turning somersaults. What was he going to do now? He couldn’t really mean to kiss her, could he? He didn’t even know her!

Somewhere deep inside her mind a tiny rational thought told her to push him off, to back away and get out of there while she still could. But her body was ignoring the niggle of common sense, overriding her instinct for self-preservation. She simply didn’t want to do the sensible thing.

She stared up at him, unable to speak or move. Then the moment of no return passed and his mouth came down on hers.

The sensual movement of his lips against hers set her body trembling, and she clung to him, utterly lost in the moment.

Her legs felt weak, and her arms seemed to slide around his broad shoulders of their own volition as she felt her body meld itself to his. He placed one strong hand between her shoulder blades to support her, and by leaning forward pushed her back over the desk. A moment later his other hand found her waist and tugged her tightly to him.

Her hips were pressed against his, and her spine was arched back, pushing her breasts upwards. It was an undeniably erotic position, and a rush of sexual excitement stormed through her body, starting an insistent throbbing of desire deep within her. Then, with unexpected abruptness, he pulled back from the kiss.