CHASING TROUBLE

Her gaze quickly returned to the hard planes of his face. “This is all your fault,” she challenged firmly. “You kissed me,”

“You kissed me right back,” he challenged.

Caroline drew in a hissing breath, the fact that she knew she deserved the accusation only increased her anger. “You were all over me before I had a chance to protest.”

“You were all over me too,” he rasped. “All the way from my shoulders down to my-”

“I didn’t know you were naked!” she defended herself.

He shrugged unconcerned shoulders. “So now you know.”

Caroline glared at him frustratedly. “Will you just get off the bed and go back to the chair?”

His mouth tightened. “No, I don’t think that I will.”

“No?” Caroline stared at him incredulously.

“Lower your voice, will you?” Nicholas hissed. “Jim and Jennie will think we’re having an argument.”

“We are having an argument!”

“No, Care, you’re having an argument,” Nicholas taunted her. “I just want to get some sleep.” He moved slightly so that he could slip beneath the bedclothes. “That feels good,” he murmured as he settled comfortably on the pillows, placing his hands behind his head.

Caroline sat up to stare at him. “You can’t sleep there!”

“I hate to contradict you, Care, but this is exactly where I intend sleeping.” He yawned as if to prove the point.

“No you are not!”

“Who’s going to stop me?” He opened one derisive eye as he turned to look at her.

Caroline was infuriated, enraged by his mocking attitude. That wasn’t the only thing infuriating her, she acknowledged in self-disgust, but for the moment that was what she intended to focus on.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“You’re despicable!” she snapped as she climbed out of the other side of the bed. “I can’t believe that you intend to make me sleep in the chair!” She stood beside the bed, glaring down at him as he lay comfortably beneath the warm covers, repressing her own shiver at how cold it had become in the bedroom now that the fire had died down slightly.

Nicholas shrugged.” You’re the one who’s insisting on sleeping in the chair.”

“Only because you aren’t gentlemanly enough to-”

“That’s the second time you’ve made that accusation!” Nicholas got out of the bed and stood up so fast that Caroline didn’t have time to move away, her arms now grasped tightly in his steely fingers as he looked down at her with angrily gleaming eyes. “I suppose Glen Asher would have slept in the chair without argument?” he taunted.

“Glen is certainly a gentleman-” She broke off abruptly as that gleam in Nicholas’ eyes turned to a dangerous glitter. “Obviously I’ve never been in a situation like this with Glen,” she said stiffly.

Nicholas’ mouth twisted. “You mean if you were, you wouldn’t have felt the same reluctance at sleeping with him?”

Caroline stiffened. “I don’t believe it was sleep you had in mind a few minutes ago.”

“You’re right, it wasn’t,” Nicholas teased.

He didn’t have sleep in mind now, either. He might have his arousal under control but it was definitely still there. Looking at Caroline as she stood so ethereal and lovely in her pale nightgown wasn’t helping that situation-although talking of Glen Asher was certainly putting a damper on the proceedings.

“Take the bed,” he rasped. “I believe I’ll settle for the chair after all.”

She looked at him suspiciously for several long seconds. “What guarantee do I have that you aren’t going to change your mind halfway through the night?”

“Care, what gives you the impression I find you so irresistible?” There was a steely edge to his voice.

Caroline felt the color drain from her cheeks. “I wasn’t implying you found me irresistible.”

“The alternative, then, seems to be that you believe me incapable of sharing a bedroom, let alone a bed, with any woman without attempting to make love to her.”

“I suggest we just forget this, and the conversation, and get some sleep,” she muttered wearily as she climbed back into the bed. “I’m sure that everything will look different in the morning.” She was also hoping that by morning the snow would have melted away completely and they could continue with their journey. Although she very much doubted that that would be the case… It wasn’t.

_________

Caroline didn’t even need to climb out of the warmth of the bed to know that the snow was still on the ground. She could tell from the brightness of the daylight filtering into the room between the undrawn curtains that the reason for that brightness was the light reflecting on the snow outside. All sound seemed slightly muffled by that soft whiteness. She hadn’t slept well. She couldn’t stop thinking. How could she after Nicholas had kissed her, when she had kissed him back? When she was so totally aware of him across the room as he once again made himself comfortable in the armchair?

Caroline had lain awake for what seemed like hours after she’d been sure Nicholas had fallen asleep, unable to put the memory of that kiss out of her mind. Or the fact that she had responded. More than responded; she had wanted more. Much more. Her body was still aching and restless from the desire he had ignited with that single kiss.

She must have dozed off some time during the night, although the aching lethargy of her body told her that it had not been a refreshing sleep. Only her eyes moved as she checked on whether Nicholas was still in the bedroom with her. He lay sprawled in the armchair, that single blanket wrapped around his torso and thighs, thank goodness, leaving the long length of his legs and feet bared.

He really was a magnificent specimen of virile manhood. Who was she kidding? Nicholas was absolutely gorgeous! That long dark hair was tousled now and falling endearingly over his forehead. The hardness of his features was relaxed in sleep, making him appear much younger than his thirty-six years.

Caroline admired the masculine perfection of his body: shoulders broad, arms muscled, chest and stomach flat, thighs powerful; his bare legs were long and tanned. Gosh! Even his feet were attractive, so long and slender.

What was wrong with her?