‘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 …
JARRETT 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