‘Relationship problems?’
She gave a little cough of humourless laughter. ‘You could say that.’
‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘No.’
‘Do you still cut?’
Lily flashed him an irritated look. ‘No, of course not.’
He held her gaze for longer than she felt comfortable with. He seemed to be seeing right through her façade.
It terrified her.
‘I’d like to get out of the pool.’ She gave him a haughty look. ‘Do I have to ask permission or are you going to stand there and watch me freeze to death?’
‘I’m not standing,’ he pointed out wryly. ‘I’m leaning. And you’re not freezing, you’re scared.’
She raised her chin. ‘Not of you.’
His gaze held hers in that quietly assessing way that unsettled her so much. ‘I’m very glad to hear it. How could we ever work together if you’re frightened of me?’
Lily blinked at him. ‘You want to work with me?’
‘Yes.’
‘But... But I thought...?’
‘I’d like you to stay for the month. I’ll pay you double the amount my brother offered.’
She looked at him in bafflement. Why had he changed his mind? Hadn’t her scars put him off? Most people shunned her when they saw her body. He was doing the opposite.
Why?
Who cares? Think of the money. Two years’ wages for a month’s work!
‘But I don’t understand...’
‘I quite like the idea of getting to know you, Lily Archer. I suspect no one else has achieved that before.’
She gave him a guarded look. ‘I suppose you see me as yet another challenge to overcome?’
‘No.’ His eyes glanced briefly at her mouth before coming back to mesh with hers. ‘I see you as a temptation I should resist.’
Her brows lifted. ‘Should?’
‘Can’t,’ he said, and before she could move even an inch out of his way he covered her mouth with his.
CHAPTER NINE
THE FEEL OF his mouth on hers made every nerve in Lily’s body stand up and quiver in delight. He tasted of mint and male heat, an intoxicating blend that made her senses spin out of control. His tongue found hers and called it into an erotic dance that made her insides do a series of frantic somersaults. It was a much harder kiss than his previous one, more focused, even more ruthlessly determined.
Even more irresistible.
His body was flush against hers, his erection pressing against her stomach. It burned like a brand against her, the primitive need it signalled calling out to her own. She felt the tingling of her desire deep in her pelvis, the throb-ache pulse that pounded in time with her blood.
Had she ever experienced sexual attraction like this before? If so, she couldn’t remember it, and nor could her body. It was as if she were experiencing desire for the very first time. Never before had her body felt so in tune with a man’s touch. She had never felt a need so strong she couldn’t find an excuse to delay its satiation. She softened against him like molten wax against a source of heat, her legs entwining with his.