He chuckled and captured her green eyes with his golden ones. “You already know what I’m like behind closed doors. Would you like more information?”
She gasped, her eyes dropping from his eyes to his mouth, her own going dry just at the thought of a repeat of the other night.
“Tempted?” he asked softly, his voice husky as he watched her body respond to the idea of sex with him. Damn! She was beautiful and responsive.
She shook her head. “Not at all,” she said and looked away, picking up her glass of juice and taking a long sip. “Regardless, my story has expanded. Not only am I going to reveal to the world that you aren’t as charming as you come across, but they’re also going to find out that you’re not the knight in shining armor that they all believe of you.”
He leaned back, the intensity of the moment broken. “Knight in shining armor, eh?” he chuckled. “I doubt anyone thinks that, but it is flattering, regardless.”
She was getting angry, both by his tone and the fact that he wasn’t riled, not in the least. “You’re going down, Mr. Antoniv.”
He threw back his head and laughed, delighted by her temper. “I believe, under the circumstances, that we are on a first name basis with each other, Brianna.”
She felt uncomfortable, because yes, she’d slept with him, but no, she didn’t feel like she had a personal connection with the man. Well, besides the obvious. “We’re not friends.”
He smiled again. “We will be,” he promised, giving her a heated look that told her he was speaking more about the intimate kind of friendship. “Regardless,” he said, breaking the tension that had been building up during their conversation, “since you and I are stuck here for a while, it looks like you are going to get to know me. Our time over the next few days will allow you to finish the story and figure out if you were completely off track.”
Her eyes glanced up to his, startled by the statement. “What do you mean? What’s happening in the next few days?” She looked out the window at the snow that continued to fall. “And I’m not staying here. I have to go home.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he told her firmly.
She looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “I’ll definitely be going home. And there’s really no way to stop me.”
He smiled but it wasn’t a smile of amusement. Brianna’s stomach clenched at his current smile and, at that moment, she knew she was in deep trouble.
“I’m sure there are ways I could convince you to stay with me.”
For a long moment, she couldn’t respond, her mind leaping right back to the heat and pleasure she knew he could deliver. She wanted him…but no! This wasn’t what she was here for!
She looked away and squared her shoulders, her chin automatically jutting out as if she were about to take on a fight. “No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “We did that once, and that was enough for me.”
He laughed outright, then his eyes captured her green ones again. “Ah, Brianna,” he said very softly, his voice like a soft caress just as his eyes traveled down her slender figure. “That was not a one night wonder, my dear. We will be together again. Don’t doubt that for a moment.” He let those words hang in the air, the tension gripping her even more tightly. “But as for your departure, I don’t even need to stop you. As I said earlier, the roads are completely impassable.”
She blinked at the abrupt change in topics and breathed a sigh of relief. Snow was an easy topic. She could handle snow. Sex? She couldn’t handle that topic. “The snow clearing crews will be along soon and will clear everything off.”
He smiled again. “That would be true in other parts of the country perhaps. But you and I both know that the snow clearing capabilities of rural roads are generally last on the priority list. The highways and major thoroughfares come first. And we’re up in the mountains where the possibility of a snow plow coming through before the end of the week is pretty slim.” He shook his head with that challenging look in his eyes that never failed to cause shivers of anticipation to run through her body. “No, I have no fear that you will try and leave my…stimulating…company too soon.”
She bit her lip, not sure what to do now. There wasn’t a manual on how a serious journalist should react so she had to make things up as events occurred. Not her strength. She was a planner, organized and methodical.
“I can’t stay here,” she whispered, cringing only slightly when the words came out almost as a plea.
He took a sip of his orange juice, contemplating what he was about to suggest. He never let women into his personal domain. It was a hard and fast rule that he’d never ignored. But he couldn’t deny that he wanted this woman to stay here this weekend. Why that was the case, he had no idea. But he was following his gut on this issue. Besides, he needed to keep her out of the way and safe until his plan was finished. It was imperative that no one leak any information before everything was finished. Now that the pieces had been set in motion, any disturbance could result in violence.
“The snow has trapped us here but I’m not worried. Feel free to stay here in warmth and relative comfort while you write either of your stories. I will give you whatever information I can, when it is appropriate to provide you with information. There are many pieces at play right now and I can’t jeopardize an ongoing project by giving you too much too soon. But never fear, your other goal, to prove that I’m an absolute ogre, is not an issue. You can do all the research you’d like and I will be your willing research subject,” he paused while his eyes lit up with the sexual innuendo, chuckling when her face predictably pinkened once again. “One of my staff members has already retrieved your personal things from your car but there weren’t any clothes. Just your computer and purse. But I’m sure there are some clothes around here you could borrow.”
She couldn’t believe this. “No, I really need to leave. I can just walk to the hotel that’s about a mile or two down the street.” Her fingers were shaking at the idea of staying here in this man’s house, or more specifically, in his presence, for an extended period of time. Rocco was dangerous to her personally.
Rocco grimaced inwardly. So much for the gentle approach. He’d have to lay down the law, something he hadn’t wanted to do if he could convince her to stay for another reason. “First of all, you are here in my care and I simply can’t let you go out in this snow. The hotel is too far and you don’t have the appropriate clothes to keep you warm enough in a snow storm. And even if you did, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay here regardless.”