you can freshen up. You can shower if you wish.”
He strode off. The way he’d looked few seconds ago, spooked her. Kat stared after him. The self-conscious male student she’d once known was long gone. Confidence oozed from him, and Jeez, it made her roused.
He stopped to speak, and eyes danced over her. She knew the provocative fabric would cling, being aware made it worse. She wished she’d put on something less revealing. Would it give him the wrong idea?
“I have the impression another Kat is struggling for the surface.” His lips compressed dangerously. “But there’s work to do. You’re a good designer; we’re a strong and competitive company; together we can be great.”
Arousal and praise, a fiery blend that made her insides squiggly. She said, “Look, I don’t even know if I can give you what you want.”
“Isn’t that one of the things we’re here to determine?” He indicated for her to follow, and walked off.
She followed him along a corridor, and up a flight of stairs, glad of the opportunity to compose herself. He took her into a large semi-circular bedroom. Along the curved wall were a couple of windows, with wooden shutters that opened in, between these, a dressing table. A huge bed stood by the straight wall.
She walked to the dressing table, and ran her hands over it. Beneath the table, a rug sprawled over a tiled floor. The rug might have been dignified once, but had faded with age. Several watercolours of the gardens and house, hung on the walls. She thought the room tasteful, and said approvingly, “It’s quite beautiful.”
“Thank you. I think so. We’ve hardly changed a thing. The bed is new, a reproduction of the original, as is the chair by the dressing table; mostly its how it was more than a hundred years ago. We’ve added an ensuite, it’s through that door.”
She moved to a window. On the slopes of the sierra were vineyards, in the grounds below, a summerhouse with thatched roof, gold in the light. The garden was quiet, empty. She said, “It’s very peaceful.”
“I’m glad you like it but don’t let it fool you. The mountains can be dangerous. We have our share of things go wrong. People bleed here the same as everywhere else.”
She went out onto the balcony to inspect it and leaned to better see the vineyard. Rafael rested his back against the rail. He produced a key. “For the lock between our rooms so you’ll feel safe. We’ve never got around to bricking the connecting doorway, but it’s probably jammed with paint. It hasn’t been opened for years.”
“You’re in the next room.”
“Yes. That’s my balcony there.”
Kat stiffened. She would hear every move he made, every toss and turn. How could she sleep knowing how close he was?
He must have seen her look of dismay because he said irritably, “You have no reason to be concerned about me. You have the keys to your doors, and bolts on the doors if you think you need them.”
She tried to stare him out, but he held her gaze. It wasn’t Rafael she was concerned about, it was herself. She couldn’t tell him though; he’d like nothing more than to know the effect he had on her.
He said quietly, “I can see what’s going through your mind. If you think this is a setup, you’re wrong. Aliaga has elected to put you in here because it’s the most comfortable room. The choice was hers, no one else’s.” He spun toward the door. “I’ll bring your things up if you’d like to make yourself comfortable.”
He closed the door and Kat sank onto the bed. This was doing her head in. She would be glad when it was over. Would she find the tenacity to hold him off, if the need came?
Rafael returned, arms laden with luggage. A woman followed, carrying the lighter things. He put the cases down. “This is Señora Juanita Aliaga. She looks after the house and her husband does the gardens for us. They have rooms at the end of the corridor. For the sake of propriety,” he added sarcastically. “My mother wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Señora Aliaga held out her hand. “Buenos tardes señorita Bligh. Bienvenido. I do hope your stay will be pleasant.”
Kat said, “Thank you for bringing my things.”
“De nada.”
Kat took the offered hand but there was no welcome in it. The woman’s unpleasant eyes studied her briefly then became vacant.
Señora Aliaga went out of the room then returned and placed a