“I’ll be fine. G’night.”
He determinedly closed his eyes, even though he could still feel her looking at him, and forced his breathing into a slow and steady rhythm. It didn’t take long before he heard her breathing fall into the same deep pattern. He opened his eyes and turned his head on the pillow so he could watch her as she slept.
Her black hair was an inky shadow across her white pillowcase, her eyelashes dark crescents sweeping her face. His gut clenched. Was it possible she was even more attractive asleep? Maybe it was because she seemed softer like this, more approachable. Touchable. He curled his hands into fists, determined not to reach out and touch that silky swathe of hair, or to trace the fine shadow of her cheekbones.
He closed his eyes again. It was going to be a long, long night.
Five
Shanal woke with a deep feeling of contentment and an awareness that she was safe, secure and deliciously warm. Outside she could hear the soft patter of rain. A pair of strong arms, lightly dusted with dark hair, encircled her and she was snuggled up against a very strong, very warm and very bare chest.
A powerful ripple of pure feminine delight spread through her body. Even from between the sheets, she could feel the hard evidence of his arousal. Instinctively she flexed against his hardness, before she realized what she was doing, and with whom.
She pulled away slightly and looked up at Raif’s face. Blue eyes, languid with slumber, looked back at her.
“Good morning,” she said shyly.
She felt a pang of remorse for moving and waking him when he untangled his arms from around her. Raif sat up and rubbed at his face.
“Good morning to you, too. Did you sleep all right?”
“Like a baby, thank you.”
“Good.”
He was off the bed and heading for the door before she could protest. But then, what would she say? Would she beg him to stay and hold her again? She buried her face in her pillow. What kind of message was that to send anyone, anyway? Yesterday she’d been ready to marry another man and today she wanted Raif to stay and tangle the sheets some more with her? What was she thinking?
Shanal forced herself from the bed and quickly made it before heading to the bathroom. There, she had a hot shower and dressed again in Cathleen’s jeans and T-shirt, topping it off with a thick sweater of Raif’s she’d found in the bag he’d left in her room. The sweater was far too big for her, of course, reaching to the top of her thighs. She rolled up the sleeves and considered her image in the bathroom mirror. Not too ridiculous, but then again she wasn’t here for a fashion show, was she? No, she was supposed to be getting her head straight and figuring out how on earth she was going to solve her family’s financial woes, and what she would do if she had no job.
It was ridiculous to think that Burton would still let her keep her position as head of viticulture research and development at the lab. A man like him didn’t take kindly to public humiliation. Although, having seen him work the media on more than one occasion, Shanal figured he’d have spun something suitable to ensure he didn’t lose face. But spinning the situation undoubtedly meant blaming someone—and that someone would have to be her. So no, she wouldn’t have a job anymore.
She loved her work with a passion that didn’t extend to any other part of her life. It was her everything. While she’d always hoped to find love of the kind her parents shared, and which she’d watched bloom between Ethan and Isobel, in the absence of it she’d always been happy to focus solely on her research. While it didn’t bring physical reward, it did emotional rewards of a sort, not to mention the recognition and accolades that came along with a job well done.
But if she didn’t have her job, she’d have to look for work elsewhere. That could mean leaving Adelaide, leaving her parents. The thought of doing so as her father’s illness progressed sent a chill through her. With no extended family in Australia, they were all each other had. She had to hope that Burton would be charitable about her reneging on their agreement to marry, and refrain from blacklisting her with other Australian facilities, even if he didn’t allow her to keep her job at Burton International.
A knock on her bathroom door jolted her from her thoughts.
“You okay in there?”
Raif, checking up on her again. What did he think she was going to do? Drown herself in the plug hole? She reached for the door and opened it.
“I’m fine, thanks. Hungry, though. Shall I put our breakfast together?”