Page 21 of Hotter on Ice

“No. Don’t say that.” Alya shook her head quickly. “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. So don’t you dare look at me like you regret it.”

He was still staring at her with a stunned look. “You’re really okay with it? Because I said a lot of things...”

Alya fell back onto the bed, chuckling. “I loved every one of them.” His forehead wrinkled, as if he couldn’t quite believe it, so she added, “I trust you, Henning. You have to trust me, too. It goes both ways.”

He stared at her some more, so she waited him out. Then, finally, his expression eased. “Okay. You’re right. But let me help clean you up.”

Something about his offering, the way he was looking at her, tugged at her heart. And she flashed to a scene of him following her into the shower, taking his time to clean her, to explore her body, all that intense focus—

No. Having him care for her like that would cross the line she had drawn for herself when they started. It would take them into more vulnerable territory, areas where she had failed spectacularly. Alya was so much stronger on her own, and with this newfound freedom, she’d traveled across the world for an amazing career opportunity and had just had the best sex of her life. There was no way she was going to tangle this up with her old baggage. She had watched her mother get sucked in by each new boyfriend or husband, and it never ended well. Alya had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t be involved with another man until she was sure she could stand on her own. Only then could she find something healthy, something real.

Alya forced herself to smile, to wave his offer off. “I’ll just take a shower.”

His expression darkened, but she ignored another tug at her heart and climbed off the bed, heading for the bathroom. Once safely inside, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes. This was a game about attraction and wish-fulfillment, with clear boundaries around it. She couldn’t let herself cross them, no matter what Henning made her feel.

CHAPTER SIX

WHENALYA’SALARMwent off the next day, Henning was already up, showered and working on his laptop. He had been in the same place when she fell into bed. Judging from the last two nights, Henning definitely didn’t get enough hours of sleep. Was he always like that, or was it the job? She, on the other hand, had rambled, probably barely coherently, over the dinner he’d brought for her from the restaurant the evening before, and he seemed perfectly content just listening. Okay, she had been a little disappointed that he didn’t crawl into the narrow twin bed with her, even if his huge body would have taken up most of it.

Alya rolled over, stretched and sat up. Henning looked up from his laptop. His eyes traveled over her silky nightshirt, his expression impossible to read.

“Sleep okay?” His voice had that gravelly quality to it, contrasts of rough and gentle.

“After the hottest sex of my life, followed by a warm shower and food delivered to the room?” Alya laughed. “Um, yeah. I slept well.”

A hint of a smile teased at the right corner of his mouth. His eyes traveled over her once more, slower this time, heat seeping into his gaze.

“We have less than an hour until your day officially starts,” he said. “You want me to bring some breakfast to the room while you get dressed?”

“Mmm, thank you.” God, this man was amazing, more than—

Yikes.Don’t make this complicated, girl.She had hired him to support her...though he was giving her things that had nothing to do with the job. Alya rolled her eyes and told that little voice of doubt to shut up. Time to enjoy herself and the company of her super-sexy, brooding bodyguard.

“Any preferences?” His voice was filled with all the ways he’d like to serve her, the seductive promise that he would do anything,anythingto please her.

She stretched and then slid out of bed. His gaze raked over her from head to toe, pausing at the line where her shirt stopped, right at the tops of her thighs. She had slipped on only the shirt of the pajamas set last night, just to see if she could tempt him into bed, but he hadn’t reacted. Now he seemed to have noticed.

His lips parted, and his eyes were heavy with lust. He was definitely watching her right now, but he didn’t get up, just looked as she walked across the room and searched through her bag for some clothes, her shirt riding up, giving him a nice show of her ass. Good. He could take a bit of teasing.

Her back was to him, so she pulled off her pajama top and let it fall to the floor, leaving her in only panties. A sharp inhale came from behind her, but she didn’t turn around. Just smiled as she slipped on a long-sleeved shirt, then a sweater.

“No bra?” His voice was low.

She looked over her shoulder and shook her head. “Not in a fashion shoot.”

“You know I’ll be thinking about that all day.”

Alya laughed and picked up her favorite pair of leather pants. She made a show of sliding each leg into the soft material with an extra little wiggle of her ass. Henning’s groan was quiet. She looked over her shoulder, and found one surly, turned-on man.

“My preferences? I’m willing to try lots of things. I think you’ll know what I like.” She smiled as his eyes narrowed. “I’m answering your breakfast question, of course.”

Before he could react, she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. Leaning back against the wood, Alya let out a whoosh of a breath. Well, that was a fun start to the day, but now it was time to get herself together.

The plan: have fun on this job without freezing her ass off, make it through theBehind the Runwayinterview without saying anything too revealing, have superhot sex with Henning, which hopefully included a chance to explore his pleasure this time, and then sleep in one of the ice rooms. Five-star day in the making, as long as she could tone down her angst.

By the time Alya came out of the bathroom, Henning had returned, and the little table in their room was set with full breakfast plates for both of them: yogurt, breads, hard-boiled eggs, cheeses, meats, fruits...and a large carafe of coffee, thank God. She poured herself a cup and took a long gulp.

“A delivery came for you, too,” said Henning. He raised an eyebrow and pointed across the room, next to her bed.