Page 15 of A Billionaire for Christmas
With the sexual tension well and truly popped like a balloon, Molly slipped into the bathroom to change. All of a sudden, she wasn’t happy with the status quo. Here she was with a million-to-one shot of drinking champagne in a hot tub overlooking the Alps, practically word for word her friend’s dying wish. And now, she had gone out of her way to turn him right off her.Well, she thought determinedly,I’ll just have to think of a way to turn him right back on again.
Molly slid apprehensively into the bathing costume, which she was pleased to find fit her perfectly but was also depressingly modest for the activity she had in mind. Covering herself in a robe, she sauntered back into the lounge. She could do this. How hard was it to seduce a man?
Levi was waiting by the fireplace, fully clothed. In fact, it looked as though he’d put on more clothes while she was getting changed. A protective layer, a barrier if you will. There were two mugs of steaming coffee in front of him as he finished up a call. ‘Good news. Reception reckon that the gondola will start running again soon. Very soon.’
Molly’s confidence drooped like a wilting flower. She was running out of time. She pointed to his many clothes. ‘Erm, I thought you could join me in the hot tub.’ Even to her ears her voice sounded faraway and lacking conviction.
‘I’d rather not. I’m expecting a call.’
She smiled uncertainly. ‘Please?’
Levi rubbed the back of his neck as he regarded her.
She would have to be far more convincing. ‘I might drown.’
‘Sorry?’ he said, alarmed. ‘Did you just say you might drown?’
‘No. No. Not drown. I mean, what if it gets too hot? Too cold? Won’t I need supervision?’ She was flailing, drowning in a sea of unnecessary details. Fully aware that she was making a bad situation worse, Molly continued. ‘You should come in with me in case I break it or something.’
Levi tilted his head as though asking himself,Who is this imbecile? Didn’t they do a full background check before letting her in to this exclusive club?
Before he could answer, Molly clarified, ‘Not that I’d touch anything. I’m just saying, rather badly, that I’d like you to stay and keep me company. Please.’
Levi took forever and a day to reply. And even then, it was extremely half-hearted. ‘Okay. I guess I can spare half an hour. But you need to drink this first.’
Under normal circumstances, she’d back down and run a mile at how embarrassingly forceful she was being. But these were not normal circumstances. She had a business to save. Years of hard-earned profit to claim. And a promise to keep. Plus, she was drunk, and she’d never fancied anyone in her entire life like she fancied Levi. She held out a hand gratefully, taking the coffee from him. ‘Thank you. I really appreciate it.’
‘Give me a second,’ he said resignedly, quickly disappearing down a hallway into what she presumed was the bedroom. She heard the clicking of a door. He really wasn’t taking any chances. She would have to tread very carefully with him. He seemed conflicted. Within minutes he was walking back through the living room towards her.
She took one look at him, his robe hanging open to reveal a pair of neatly fitted swimming shorts, his muscular legs tanned and lean, his smooth torso bare, and went immediately to pieces. He stole her breath away, and the excitement she felt racing through her veins could not be hidden. Desire must have been shining from her face like a Belisha beacon. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, and yet she was powerless to stop it.
Outside, Levi lowered himself gingerly into the hot, steaming water, while Molly tried and failed not to gawp at his muscular, toned physique. He busied himself pressing buttons. Music flowed out of the speakers, decking lights glowed brighter, flames sprang from patio heaters dotted around and an awning stretched out above them.
‘Well?’ He was right to wonder why, after all the nagging, she was still standing, ogling him from the decking.
She threw her dressing gown over the nearest chair and clambered into the hot tub as quickly as she could. She slipped on a step hidden beneath the foamy surface and promptly sank, gurgling, to the bottom.Sweet baby Jesus.It was as though she had suddenly developed severe dyspraxia whenever she was within a hundred yards of Levi.
‘Well, that’s one way of doing it,’ Levi said as she resurfaced, gasping for breath. ‘Anyone would think it was your first time in a hot tub.’
Wiping foam from her eyes, Molly appreciated that this was very much the right circumstance for sarcasm.
After a brief calming down period, where Levi outlined the rudimentary basics of how to step carefully into and out of a hot tub using the handrail provided, Molly inwardly cringed, her entire body rigid despite the relaxing heat of the silken water. She forced a laugh. ‘I’m not normally this clumsy, I assure you. I have a reputation for being notoriously precise when it comes to my craft. I’m a perfectionist in the kitchen.’ Molly’s staff used to joke about her being unnaturally lifeless at times. Every movement purposeful. Often studying her work for hours on end to get it just right.
‘And breaking the priceless camel?’
Ah.He was making a very valid point, but still. ‘That wasn’t entirely my fault.’
‘It survived over a hundred years and probably generations of entertainers, film crews and circus folk before you came along.’
He was teasing her. And she liked it.
‘I’ll have you know I was once described inThe Great British Sausage Weeklyas a cooking robot so… I’m far from clumsy.’
Levi suppressed a smirk. ‘A cooking robot? You must be so proud.’
‘The British Sausage Bureau gave me an award and everything. It was a big deal. Ahugedeal in fact.’
It wasn’t, but her parents had framed the article anyway and hung it above the fireplace.
