His expression was unreadable. ‘No. Not at all.’ He turned and took her bags out of the boot as if they weighed nothing more than a couple of pillows. ‘Come on. I’ll show you round.’
Ivy breathed in the scents from the herbaceous border—stocks and lupins and foxgloves and hollyhocks, the colourful array attracting busy bees and fluttering butterflies. The early-summer sunshine was surprisingly warm and was a stark contrast to the greyness of the London sky they had left behind close to two hours ago. Birds twittered in the shrubbery and the neatly trimmed hedges, and in the distance, she heard the eerie call of a peacock on a neighbouring property. She followed Louis to the front entrance of the grand manor house, wondering how many other women he had brought here. Should she ask or would it seem too intrusive?
He put down her bags, deactivated the alarm system on his key fob and unlocked the front door, pushing it open for her. ‘In you go. I’ll take these up to your room and then come and show you around.’
‘Why separate rooms? Aren’t we supposed to be—’
‘I’m a restless sleeper, and I often get up to work at night. Besides, you won’t be up to marathon sessions just yet.’
Ivy stepped into the house and turned to face him once he’d brought the bags in and closed the door. ‘How many women have you brought here for marathon sessions? Or have you lost count?’
He placed his keys in a glass bowl on a polished hall table—a beautiful Regency piece that was in perfect condition. ‘I’ve never brought anyone here before.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘Really? Why not?’
‘I come down here to chill out and relax. I find relationships—even temporary ones—hard work.’
Ivy shifted her gaze, her teeth savaging her lip. ‘I hope my presence isn’t going to spoil your precious idyll for you.’
He stepped forward and trailed his index finger down her cheek, his expression softening. ‘It won’t. I’d thought of asking you and Ronan down some time anyway. I just didn’t get round to it before he emigrated to Australia because the renovations took a little longer than I expected.’
Ivy was conscious of her heartbeat increasing at his proximity. Aware of the tingle in her cheek from his faineant touch. Her gaze drifted to his mouth and something in her stomach fell off a shelf with a soft little kerplunk. His jaw was peppered with late-in-the-day stubble and, before she could stop herself, she lifted her hand to his face and stroked it down the sexy prickles, the sound overly loud in the silence. ‘Thanks for bringing me here. It’s so beautiful and I already feel relaxed.’
His hand came up and encircled her wrist, and for a moment she thought he was going to remove her hand from his face and set her away from him. But then his eyes darkened and he brought her inexorably closer, until she was flush against his rock-hard body. She smothered a gasp, her heart thumping so loudly she wondered if he could feel it pounding against his chest.
‘I have this insatiable desire to kiss you.’ His voice was so deep and rough, it made her skin lift in a delicious shiver.
‘Same here.’ Her voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper.
His eyes went to her mouth and he muttered a swear word and brought his down to hers. It was a kiss of fervent passion that made every hair on her head lift off her scalp. Desire flooded her being, giant waves of it coursing through her body in scorching-hot streaks. His hands skated down the sides of her body and then settled on her hips, bringing her even closer to the jutting heat of his. He lifted his mouth off hers, his eyes glittering with unbridled lust. ‘I’m finding it hard to believe you need any tutoring from me. You turn me on so much I can barely stand it.’
Ivy glowed at his compliment and her damaged ego crawled out of the corner and unfolded itself from the foetal position. ‘I didn’t realise it would be this way between us.’ She stroked his lean jaw again. ‘But I’m worried you’ll be disappointed when it comes to having sex with me.’
His eyes darkened to a midnight-blue. ‘You won’t disappoint me.’ He brushed the pad of his thumb over her lip where her teeth had just been. ‘Now, let’s get you unpacked, and we’ll have a drink in the garden before dinner.’
Ivy followed him up the stairs with her body still buzzing from his passionate kiss. If she’d had the confidence, she’d have insisted he make love to her right now. Why wait when they were alone for the whole weekend?
But maybe he was right not to rush her. She needed to take things slowly, to be more in control of what happened with her body. Her previous dates had pressured her, and it had made her panic, and they hadn’t taken the rejection well. One had made insulting comments about her body that she had been fretting over ever since. She wanted it to be different this time. To be able to enjoy every moment without embarrassment, or feeling pressured and on edge, or fearful of being body shamed.
Louis led her to a room on the second storey that had a beautiful view of the back garden and the rolling fields beyond the estate. Her bedroom was decorated in cream and white, which gave the room a spacious and luxurious feel that would rival that of any top hotel. Her eyes went to the queen-sized bed and molten heat pooled between her legs at the thought of lying in it with Louis, his body buried deeply in hers...
He placed the bags on a velvet-covered linen box at the end of the bed and straightened to look at her. ‘There’s an en suite bathroom through there.’
‘Where’s your room?’
‘Farther down the hall.’
‘How much farther?’
He released a heavy sigh and reached to tuck a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear. ‘Don’t take it personally. I often get up at night and tinker away on my computer. I wouldn’t want to disturb you.’
Ivy searched his features for a crack in the firewall of his self-control. He kept glancing at her mouth as if unable to pull his gaze away. And there was a doggedness about the line of his jaw, as if he was calling on every bit of willpower to stop himself from acting on the desire she could see shining in his eyes. ‘You work too hard.’
He gave a lop-sided smile and released her. ‘I’m going to rustle up some dinner. Come down when you’re ready.’
Louis left her to unpack and went downstairs to check if his housekeeper had followed his instructions to leave supplies for dinner. Yep. Done, and done well. Who said you couldn’t get good help these days?
The dining room was set up, the fridge and pantry stocked, the champagne and wine on chill. A casserole was in the slow cooker, filling the kitchen with the fragrant aroma of chicken and herbs. There were even flowers from the garden on the table and throughout the house, filling the air with a summery smell.
The garden was bathed in golden early-evening sunlight, making him wonder why he didn’t come down here more often to relax. Like ‘commitment’, ‘relax’ was another word he’d shied away from in his quest to succeed as an architect. The thing was, he now had the success he’d always aimed for, but he still kept striving. He was stuck in work gear, always going at full throttle, because that was all he knew now. It was all he wanted, right? Work. Achievement. Success.