Distracted by her Virtue (15 page)

‘Good morning.’

‘Morning, sleepyhead.’

‘You made up the fire in the living room. Thanks for that.’

‘The temperature put me in mind of Siberia when I woke up, and I didn’t want you to be cold. Want some coffee? I hope you don’t mind, but I made a pot.’

‘Of course I don’t mind.’ Her smile was a little uncertain, almost as if she didn’t quite know how to proceed
after the passion that had erupted between them last night. After tucking some hair behind her ear, she crossed her arms over her chest as if to warm herself. ‘I thought you might have had to dash off. I didn’t mean to lie in so long. I’m normally up at the crack of dawn, and I’m a light sleeper. If I hear so much as a sparrow cough it wakes me up.’

Jarrett chuckled. ‘I’ve no intention of dashing off—if that’s okay with you? It’s not even eight in the morning—surely you’re entitled to have the odd lie-in? Especially when Charlie’s staying at his uncle’s.’ In truth, he had plenty of work to get on with at home, but he’d already decided that it wouldn’t take priority over being with Sophia today.

‘I’d really like it if you stayed for a while. But I’ll say no to your offer of coffee, thanks. What I’m most in need of right now is a shower and a change of clothing. No doubt you feel the same?’

‘Are you suggesting that we take a shower together?’ Keeping his tone teasingly light, he moved to stand in front of her. At first Sophia seemed to find it inordinately difficult to meet his glance. But then Jarrett lifted her hand and raised it slowly to his lips, leaving the warm imprint of his mouth against her fingers. His senses were already rioting at her touch and her sweetly addictive scent.

His romantic gesture brought the smile to her face that he’d hoped for. ‘Maybe … maybe we could do that some other time? Right now I’d just really like to freshen up. You’re welcome to jump in after me, though.’

‘Fair enough … but you don’t know what you’re missing.’ He grinned.

Sophia’s emerald eyes visibly darkened. ‘That’s not true after last night. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what you did for me, Jarrett.’

‘What I did
for
you?’ He was puzzled.

‘I mean the way you turned up in the middle of the night like that … just when I needed you.’

He suddenly realised that he was still holding her hand. He used it to impel her firmly into his arms. ‘Don’t you know that I needed you too, Sophia?’

The last thing he registered just before he kissed her was the gentle quiver of her lips as he lowered his head and helplessly and hungrily crushed his mouth to hers …

J
ARRETT
had showered, and apart from knowing that Sophia had used the cramped cubicle before him it had not been the most salubrious experience of his life. Clearly her great-aunt had not considered a little luxury in the bathroom high on her list of priorities, and the addition of a shower stall in the Victorian bathroom looked to have been installed somewhat grudgingly.

At any rate, it had forced him to be somewhat creative with his use of the slow trickle of barely warm water that emanated from the shower head. It had taken a long time to rinse Sophia’s vanilla and honey scented shampoo from his hair, so he’d simply spent the extra time recalling every sensually intimate detail of their lovemaking the night before. Maybe he should have tried harder to persuade her that they ought to shower together?

Abruptly turning off the water, he stepped out of the cubicle. Brusquely drying himself with the generous-sized white bathtowel that had been thoughtfully left folded neatly over the back of a rattan chair for his use, he scowled when he realised there was no radiator to warm it.

Other than dwelling on his sexual frustration, and
the fact that the temperature in the room was cold enough to give him hypothermia, he forced himself to think about topics less apt to make him irritable.

Examining the room, he observed the tired furnishings and fittings that predominated. The space was generous and high-ceilinged, with beautifully moulded carved cornices, but in Jarrett’s opinion it cried out for the decor and fittings that would enhance the property’s stately appeal. It made him eager to call an interior designer friend of his and arrange for his company to fit a completely new bathroom for Sophia and her son. One that would have all the modern day accoutrements and luxury anyone could desire but would be sensitively done to enhance the grandeur and history of this beautiful old house.

One step at a time
, he told himself. Even though he genuinely had her wellbeing at heart, he had to be careful not to make assumptions about her needs.

Dressed again in the jeans and black sweatshirt he’d worn on his three a.m. dash to the house, he returned downstairs to the kitchen, quietly whistling some bars of Puccini. There was no sign of the lady of the house. Curious as to where she might be, because after her shower he’d left her in the drawing room combing out her long damp hair in front of the fire, Jarrett proceeded along the corridor outside the kitchen, knocking on doors, calling out her name and opening them if there wasn’t a reply.

Right at the back of the house he heard sounds that suggested furniture being moved or rearranged. He approached the wide open door he’d seen, and came to a standstill in the doorway at the surprising sight that met his eyes. Sophia appeared to be vainly trying to
shift a tall metal cabinet on her own, and the task was obviously getting the better of her. She’d tied back her newly dried chestnut hair into some kind of loose topknot, and was clearly hot and a little bothered from her physical exertions. She impatiently blew some gently drifting strands of hair out of her eyes and cursed softly.

The picture she made was utterly endearing … sexy too. Dressed in the faded blue jeans with the ragged hole in the knee, and an old green and white checked shirt that might have been a man’s, she could easily have graced any men’s ‘lifestyle’ magazine with her arresting image.

Charmed and amused, and not a little turned-on all at the same time, Jarrett folded his arms and grinned. ‘What are you doing, wrestling with that metallic monster? Moving it or beating it into submission?’

The emerald-green eyes in front of him flashed with enough electricity to start a fire. ‘Very funny … Instead of making fun of me you
could
give me a hand, you know!’

‘I wasn’t making fun of you.’ His mood immediately sobered. ‘Where do you want this archaic monstrosity moved to?’

‘I want to move it out into the corridor for the time being.’

‘Let’s do it, then.’

‘I’m sorry. I’m apt to be a little tetchy in the mornings.’

‘No need for an apology. What are you intending to do in here?’

‘Remember I told you that I was going to create a darkroom for my photography? Well, this is going to be it. It will be such a boon to have my own instead
of paying a photographic company to print my photographs for me. Once upon a time this must have been some kind of utility room, but I think my aunt must have used it as a repository for junk mostly. The great thing is it’s got an old ceramic sink in it with running water, which can be my wet area for processing. But first of all I have to move all the old furniture out and clean the place up. Then I want to scrub down the walls and paint them white.’

‘That’s a new one on me … white for a darkroom?’

‘That’s right.’

Sophia dropped her hands from round the metal cabinet as Jarrett took over and carefully stood it upright again. He paused to hear what she had to say next before he transferred the furniture out into the corridor, catching the faint tantalising drift of her perfume as he did so.

‘I’ve learned that white is the best colour for a darkroom. It helps save time trying to block out light spills.’

‘Well … if you need a hand with the painting … or anything else for that matter … I’m your man.’

‘Are you indeed?’

Sophia took the wind out of his sails with a teasing little smile that all but cut him off at the knees. If she thought he could stay immune to such a provocative gesture then Jarrett was sorry—but he was only human. It was tantamount to expecting bees to keep away from a dripping honeypot.

Brushing the dust from the cabinet off his hands, he caught her by the waist and impelled her firmly into his arms. The heat in him was already on simmer even before he held her. ‘If I’m not already … then I want you to know that I fully intend to be.’

‘You’re very sure of yourself!’

‘I told you before. When it comes to the things that are important to me I state what I want and go for it. It’s always been a policy of mine to err on the side of confidence.’

‘Well … if you’re feeling so confident perhaps you’d like to cook us some breakfast? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. I have to confess that any kind of physical work never fails to stimulate my appetite.’ Her lips shaped another saucily provocative grin.

Before he answered Jarrett paid her back by delivering a slow, no-holds-barred sexy kiss on her open mouth, drowning in her sweetly honeyed flavours. His passionate siege made her go limp in his arms. Satisfied he’d got the response he wanted, he made a Herculean effort to manfully resist further arousing temptation and smiled lazily down into her stunned green eyes instead.

‘I’ll happily cook us breakfast—but only if you promise to stay with me in the kitchen and keep me company. That way at least I can look at you from time to time. Then, after we’ve eaten, I’ll make a start helping you with the darkroom.’

‘Are you usually so amenable when a girlfriend asks you to do something?’

His hands moved from either side of her slim waist down to the trim, shapely hips encased in softly napped denim and he held them fast, rocking her even closer into his body. The intimate contact almost made him groan out loud. It was still a thrill to him that Sophia allowed him such liberties—especially when her trust in men could very easily have been rendered obsolete by her deceased husband’s cruel exploits.

‘So you’re my girlfriend now, are you?’ He almost held his breath as he waited for her reply, even though he’d kept his tone teasingly light.

In answer, Sophia endeavoured to give a nonchalant shrug, but the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her. ‘I suppose I must be … since we’ve slept together. I’m old-fashioned like that, I’m afraid. I’ve never seen sex as a form of recreation. I don’t think it should ever be taken lightly.’

‘Well …’ Bending his head, Jarrett lifted her hair to place a provocative kiss on the enticing juncture between her shoulder and neck. The combination of her silkily warm skin and her body’s naturally sexy scent instantly hardened him. ‘It’s lucky that I have a penchant for old-fashioned girls like you, isn’t it?’

Jarrett wasn’t the only one finding it hard to resist temptation. A small gasp of breathily-voiced pleasure escaped Sophia’s lips. ‘Didn’t you—didn’t you say that you were working from home today?’ she asked, a small frown puckering her brow.

As she met his smiling gaze her pretty face was rosily flushed, and the tantalising rise and fall of her chest beneath the checked shirt she wore illustrated that she was nowhere near as calm and unaffected as she might be endeavouring to portray.

‘I did. But if the choice is between working and being with you then I’m afraid there’s no contest. I’d much rather spend the day here, being your odd job man, than trying to get my head around work … that is if you have no objection?’

‘That’s … that’s fine with me.’

‘Good. So the first thing on the agenda is cooking breakfast, is it? I mean, you wouldn’t like to take a little
R&R first?’ His fingers were busy slipping the buttons of her shirt through their buttonholes even as he talked.

‘As lovely as that sounds—
ahh
—how am I supposed to even think straight when you—when you—?’ Her even white teeth clamped heavily down on her plump lower lip as Jarrett slipped the final three buttons free from their buttonholes and, curling his fingers round the two cotton sides of her shirt, opened them to reveal the prettily embroidered white bra she wore underneath. ‘You don’t play fair.’

Her hand clamped onto his wrist to halt his eager aim to slip her shirt off of her shoulders, and with satisfaction he sensed it tremble.

‘But playing is exactly what I have in mind before I cook you the best breakfast you’ll ever eat,’ he told her, meaningfully lowering his voice.

‘I’d love to, but—’

‘I don’t like the sound of
but
…’

‘Jarrett … I’ve honestly got to crack on with this darkroom. It’s important for my livelihood. Please try and understand.’

A second or two passed as he strove to get his amorous mood in check. Then he started to refasten the buttons on the shirt that he’d hoped would be just the
first
item of her clothing that he removed. ‘I do understand—but can I help it if you’re just too damn tempting for words?’

‘That lascivious look could tempt a nun from her vows, and I’m sure you know it, but luckily for me I have a will of iron,’ Sophia quipped back.

‘Lucky, is it? Forgive me if I can’t agree. Oh, well … I suppose I’d better try and distract myself by cooking that breakfast. At least it will keep me out of mischief
for a while. But I can’t promise that I won’t try to get you naked later.’

When he started to move away, with a rueful smile playing about his lips, Sophia laid her hand on his arm, her expression suddenly serious. ‘Jarrett? It’s not that I don’t want to make love with you again, because I do. Last night was—well, it was incredible. You made me feel like a woman again, instead of just an empty husk of the girl I used to be. It’s just that while Charlie is away this is too good an opportunity to make some real progress with my darkroom.’

‘You’re right. Of course it is. With my help you can get a fair amount done, too.’

‘Thanks.’ She smoothed back some drifting stray hairs that had escaped from her loosely fashioned topknot and the smile she gifted him with was intimately warm. ‘I also wanted to say thank you again for coming to my rescue in the middle of the night, and for agreeing to stay here with me today.’

‘It’s me who should be thanking
you
.’ Jarrett’s response was instantaneous and heartfelt. He deplored the idea that she might have even momentarily doubted he would want to stay. Catching her hand, he turned it over in his palm, then lifted it towards him to gently touch his mouth to her softly folded fingers. ‘And I’m here because I want to be, Sophia. I’d rather be here with you than anywhere else. Now, I suppose I’d better let you lead me to the kitchen before you accuse me of trying to starve you into submission.’