The Playboy's Proposal. AMANDA BROWNING

      Much to her dismay, he merely smiled. ‘Now that, in my book, constitutes a challenge. It will give me great satisfaction—and you, too—to make you eat your words.’

      Kathryn never had been a woman who knuckled under to attempted male domination—as her brothers could testify. She had a strength of will equal to any man, and if she said no, then no it had to be. ‘I wouldn’t attempt it if I were you,’ she warned frostily, and Joel folded his own arms, mimicking her, and smiled again.

      ‘What will you do to stop me? We’ve already established that when we get into clinches you fight on my side,’ he taunted her, and her eyes narrowed.

      ‘That won’t be happening again.’

      ‘You wish!’ he shot back with a laugh, and she was very nearly tempted to stamp her foot in frustration. She resisted it, however.

      ‘This is serving no purpose,’ she returned, very much on her dignity. ‘You do what you feel you have to do, but you won’t be getting any co-operation from me.’

      ‘Well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? Now, why don’t you slip off to bed? The rest will do you a power of good,’ Joel suggested, and she took umbrage at his tone.

      ‘Don’t order me about. I’m not a child.’

      The glint in his eye deepened. ‘Don’t I know it! You’re very much a woman, Kathryn Templeton.’

      How did he manage to turn the tables on her so easily? ‘You are the most… Oh, I’m going to bed!’ she exclaimed in frustration, needing to put some space between them so she could regain her equilibrium. ‘Goodnight,’ she said as she headed for the door.

      ‘Goodnight, Kathryn,’ he called after her, and the sound of her name on his lips was a seduction in itself. ‘Sweet dreams.’

      Her response to that was to close the door firmly behind her and head for the stairs. She was pretty certain she would dream, but no way would it be sweet. Oh, no. The way things were going, her dreams were more than likely going to be hot and steamy in the extreme. As she mounted the stairs she was very much aware that, for a woman who had no intention of getting involved with a man, the prospect didn’t disturb her the way it ought.

      CHAPTER THREE

      KATHRYN breakfasted alone the following morning, which suited her mood just fine. She had slept, but her dreams had been every bit as erotic as she had suspected they would be. It had been a frustrating night in every sense of the word, and as a consequence she felt less than at her best.

      Drew had departed first thing to catch his flight to Germany, and that didn’t help cheer her up any, but when Agnes informed her that Joel had insisted on driving him to the airport she breathed a sigh of relief. Putting off the moment of seeing him again seemed like a good idea with a man as perceptive as Joel Kendrick.

      She was sipping at a second cup of coffee when she finally heard the car return, and instinctively braced herself. He came in not long afterwards, and, as before, she felt his presence like a charge in the air. She didn’t turn around, though, and therefore jumped like a scalded cat when his hands descended on her shoulders and he bent to press a tingling kiss to the tender skin of her neck just below her ear.

      ‘Good morning, Kathryn,’ he greeted warmly, and released her before she could have the satisfaction of pulling away.

      Annoyed that she hadn’t anticipated the manoeuvre, she glowered at him as he poured himself some coffee, then pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.

      ‘Good morning,’ she returned frostily, and his brows shot up above dancing eyes.

      ‘Didn’t you sleep well?’ he asked, sounding concerned, but she knew that wasn’t what he was thinking at all. He knew. Don’t ask her how, but he knew.

      ‘I never sleep well in strange beds,’ she countered, not giving him the satisfaction of confirming that dreaming of him had made her so restless. ‘But as it’s only for two nights, I think I’ll survive it.’

      ‘Actually, it could turn out to be more. There’s a weather front moving in, and they’re promising us strong winds and some serious snowfall,’ Joel enlightened her, resting his elbows on the table and sipping his coffee as if he hadn’t a care in the world and hadn’t just dropped a potential bombshell. Kathryn frowned sharply.

      ‘What does that mean, exactly?’ Surely she would be able to leave tomorrow? She had to. She was counting on it, she thought, a shade too desperately for comfort.

      Joel disabused her in no uncertain terms. ‘It means we could wake tomorrow to find ourselves snowed in for the duration. Something we’ve become used to up here.’

      ‘You’re not serious!’ Kathryn gasped in dismay, only to see him nod.

      ‘It was already beginning to snow as I drove home. But don’t worry. If it does happen, you’ll be perfectly safe here.’

      Kathryn was not comforted. The definition of ‘safe’ depended on your point of view. It would not be safe being snowed in here with him, yet she couldn’t leave until she had done the work she had promised. Whichever way you looked at it, she was trapped. She just had to hope and pray the snow held off long enough for her to get the work done and leave on time.

      She sipped at her coffee, her free hand absently rubbing over the spot his lips had touched. Her skin still tingled with the charge which had ripped along her nervous system. It was incredibly stimulating, but it wasn’t going to change her mind. She wouldn’t get involved with him. Sighing, she glanced up, right into a pair of twinkling blue eyes.