What she needed was to get her self-confidence back, to know that she was a beautiful, vital woman who could pick and choose from whatever pond she decided to throw her rod into.
Without self-confidence, she would remain hiding in the shadows for ever, waiting for someone to come along and tick all the boxes, without her having to do any hard work to get there.
‘Or...’ Leandro let that one word drop into the silence and linger there for a few seconds ‘...you could sleep here.’
His dark eyes challenged hers.
‘Let’s not pretend... We want one another. A lot.’
‘That’s not the point,’ Celia stammered.
‘Isn’t it?’
Celia heard the warm persuasion in his voice and shivered. ‘You can’t just do as you please in life.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because...’ Her voice petered out. She was rooted to the spot but when he patted the space on the bed that she had seconds before vacated, she felt her trembling legs take a hesitant step towards him, then two steps, then she was perched on the side.
‘Because you’re scared,’ Leandro said gently. ‘You’re scared you’re going to be hurt if you allow yourself to just let go.’
‘I...’ She shook her head in confusion.
‘You’ve spent years holding back from involvement because you lost your self-confidence when the guy you thought had your back disappeared with another woman in the blink of an eye.’
‘Maybe.’ She looked at him with angry defiance, but his voice was thoughtful and soft and her anger was skin deep. She’d never had a conversation like this with anyone and it made her feel raw and vulnerable, but he was right, wasn’t he?
‘You won’t be hurt with me,’ Leandro told her quietly. ‘I’m not your type, remember?’
‘No. You’re not...’
‘We’re two adults who fancy one another and, of course, I will completely respect whatever decision you make, so if you choose to walk through that door right now and not look back, then you can trust me that I’ll back off straight away. I checked the snow earlier on the way to the bathroom and it’s clearing. We will be out of here soon enough and you can pretend that none of this ever happened.’
‘You won’t be hurt with me...’
But, Celia thought, would she hurt herself if she walked away? Would she regret for ever this chance to have just the sort of adventure that might do her so much good in the long run? They weren’t emotionally involved...she could touch without fear...she could let herself feel and be a woman again.
She reached out with one trembling hand and cupped the side of his face and then moaned softly when he turned her palm over and kissed it, his dark eyes still on her.
‘I want you,’ she sighed in surrender and Leandro pulled her against him and buried his head into her neck, tugging her jumper so that he could nuzzle her shoulder.
‘But...’ she added.
‘But...?’
‘But are you feeling okay for...?’
Leandro loosed a low, sexy laugh. ‘I think the best thing is exercise...’
Half lying on him, Celia laughed and then smiled and hoisted herself into an upright position, eager to get her clothes off but too shy to actually do it.
Leandro sensed her hesitation and understood it. He slipped his hand under the cotton jumper and gently smoothed her shoulder and with each languid motion, the top was pushed further down her arm until, with impatience, she did as he’d hoped and pulled it off with abandonment.
He’d dreamt of a feast and was faced with a banquet, such was the stunning sexiness of her curves. Full breasts pushed against a cotton vest. No bra. He could just about make out the stiff protrusion of her nipples and the sight made him feel faint with desire.
He wanted to tear the vest off and cup those luscious breasts. He wanted to touch and taste and then touch again and keep touching until he knew every succulent inch of a body that was designed to drive a red-blooded man mad.
But he was going to take it slowly. She’d roused something protective in him. It surprised him but he wasn’t going to fight it. Something about being in this cold, silent place, as close to the wilderness as he had ever been, was playing games with his common sense and he was enjoying the unexpected journey.