Hearts On Ice

Hearts On Ice Part 10

They walked the whole way back without saying a word to each other, with only the sound of the crispy snow crunching underfoot to break the silence.

Hettie was burning up inside her clothes as she tried to stop her mind from whirring through a multitude of scenarios that all involved Nate getting his kit off again.

She'd been so aware of him in the barn that she'd had to keep up a running commentary of jokes with Kate's boys to take her mind off his enigmatic presence on the other side of the room. She'd had to physically restrain herself from looking over at him every few minutes and, when she finally did glance up, she'd been flustered to find his gaze fixed on her.

Why did he have to be so damn compelling? It was making her physically ache not to be able to touch him. Those few seconds when they'd looked at each other for a beat too long had sent her body into some kind of crazy lust-carnival.

She'd asked him to come back for brunch on the spur of the moment, not expecting him to agree, and was both excited and dismayed that he had. They would now be stuck together for a couple more hours until Mark turned up to drive him away. She tried not to think about how nervous that made her feel.

Nate was walking in the tractor tracks three paces in front of her and she had to force herself not to watch his arse as he stomped through the snow. She'd almost tripped a couple of times, finding herself a little too distracted by the shapeliness of his buttocks.

Finally, her house came into view and she made a quick detour to check on the chickens and grab some freshly laid eggs before rejoining Nate, who was waiting patiently by the door for her.

'Everything okay?' he asked, and even the rough timbre of his voice mainlined a shot of pure longing through her veins.

'Fine.'

'Great.'

'Okay then—'

'Shall we go in?'

She shuffled nervously from foot to foot. There wouldn't be any escape from him once they were in the confines of her small house.

When she glanced up, he was giving her that quizzical smile again, the one that suggested he wasn't sure if she was entirely sane. Which was fair enough. She did seem to be acting like a dazed, horny teenager at the moment.

'Yup.' She unlocked the door and gestured for him to go in first. 'Thanks for helping out, by the way. That was really kind of you.'

He walked into the boot room and she followed.

'No problem.'

He turned to give her another one of his seductive smiles.

Oh, God! What was happening to her? She wanted to kiss him. And she wanted him to kiss her back, hard and covetously, pushing her against the wall till she could hardly move, hardly breathe.

He wasn't going to do it though. He'd been so controlled, so careful with her. She ached to break that control, to see him lose his resolve and act entirely on instinct, the way he clearly had when he'd offered his help earlier.

She pulled off her boots and shrugged off her coat, feeling him do the same next to her, their bodies close in the confines of the small room.

He waited for her while she hung her coat up, watching her intently.

Dear God! The way this man could make her feel, just by looking her way.

Ignoring her shaking legs, she sidled past, taking care not to brush against him, and went straight to the stove to put water on for coffee. It was still reasonably warm in the kitchen, thanks to the heat the Rayburn was pumping out, so she pulled off her thick sweater and dropped it onto one of the kitchen chairs.

'What can I do to help?' he asked as she moved round the kitchen gathering things to cook with.

'Can you get more wood for the stove please? It's stacked at the back of the house under a tarp,' she said, avoiding his gaze by peering down into the log basket, which was looking pitifully low on stock.

'Sure.'

He went back outside and she busied herself clearing up the remains of their breakfast.

Looking around the kitchen, she mentally listed the things she needed to do to prepare for a night with no electricity while she still had natural light. Even though Nate's domineering presence sent her scatty, there was something really comforting about having someone else around, especially with the power out. It was going to be unnerving being here on her own in the dark without any music or other distractions. She had plenty of candles, but it was hard work reading or painting by candlelight.

Oh well, it wasn't like she was looking forward to a fun New Year's Eve anyway; she should probably just go to bed early and have the whole horrible anniversary over and done with.

'Here you go,' Nate said, returning with an armful of chopped logs and dropping them into the basket. He retrieved a couple and opened the Rayburn door, throwing them inside.

'Thanks.'

'Welcome.'

'Hungry?' she asked, turning to face him.

'Yes.'

He looked it too, but not in the way someone looks ready for food. There was a ravenous intensity in his eyes that had nothing to do with the promised brunch, she was sure of it. They were only standing a couple of feet apart and Hettie could swear she felt the heat radiating from his body.

Was she kidding herself here? He hadn't seemed interested in kissing her last night, so why would he have changed his mind now? It certainly couldn't have anything to do with her current 'been working with barnyard animals' appearance.

Suddenly aware of how much she needed a bath, she took a step away from him. He didn't move with her, just stood looking at her with a raised brow.

'I'll ... er ... get the brunch prepared then,' she said, cursing herself for wanting him so much.

After Rohan had left she'd told herself she wouldn't let herself be that swept away by a man ever again. She'd needed to know she could survive on her own and was actually surprised by how well she'd coped without him. It had also brought it home to her how he'd needed constant entertainment and how much this relentless demand had driven her round the bend.

If she was being honest, the only thing she really missed was the intimacy of sex.

Perhaps Kate was right. Maybe she should have a hot fling just to satisfy that need. That's all it would be though: a purely physical affair. She'd be keeping her emotions well under control.

Anyway, enough of that speculation. She needed to pull herself together and be more zen if she was going to get through this day unscathed. Despite the lure of Nate and his rather spectacular body, she'd be a fool to let her fantasies run away with her—he had danger written all over him.

Turning back to the kitchen cupboards, she gathered the things she needed to make her special scrambled eggs. Even though she couldn't see Nate any more, she could still sense him behind her and she almost dropped one of the eggs onto the floor as her nerves got the better of her.

'Need any help?' Nate asked behind her and she practically jumped out of her skin when she realised how close he was, the hairs on her arms rising to salute his presence.

'No thanks.' The words managed to struggle out through numb lips. Why, oh why, had her body opted to go haywire when she most needed its support? Bloody traitor.

Nate moved to stand next to her and she sucked in a deep breath as he leant past her to grab the kettle from the top of the stove.

'I'll make some more coffee, shall I?' he asked.

She turned to look at him and their gazes locked. His eyes appeared darker in the muted morning light and, this close to him, she could see laughter lines at the corners. He was a happy person, then. As well as kind and considerate one.

The intense awareness of this made her insides swoop and soar, and she clung to the counter as she felt herself being dragged into a dangerous whirl of desire.