Summer Temptation: Waking Up In The Wrong Bed / Once a Rebel... / The Devil and the Deep

It hadn’t. So that was why he was leaning against his car, not caring about the rain, watching her tour bus slowly move out of the cave’s car park.

* * *

At 9:00 a.m. the next day Ellie was in the office, wearing more make-up than usual to cover the effects of her lack of sleep due to an embarrassing amount of Ruben obsessing. But two minutes later, natural effervescence had brought a smile to her face. ‘I’m so pleased for you!’ she squealed at her beaming boss.

‘I’m pleased for me too! And I want to thank you so much.’

‘It has nothing to do with me.’ Ellie shook her head. The full-colour, double-page magazine spread featuring the popular movie-site tour company definitely had nothing to do with her given she’d only been on the payroll the last four weeks.

‘Oh, yes, it has,’ Bridie squealed back at her. ‘You’ve already got a name as the best guide evah—did you know that group of German lads set up a Facebook page as a tribute to the tour? Although the page is mainly about you—they put your picture all over it.’

‘They didn’t.’ Ellie gaped and embarrassment burned her skin from the inside out.

‘Uh-huh. It’s a brilliant piece of word-of-mouth marketing.’ Bridie tapped on her computer, bringing up the website. ‘Or pictures-of-tour-goddess marketing. Because as we know, a picture tells a thousand words. I put a link to it on our website as one of the testimonials, as well as liking it on our own Facebook page, of course.’

‘You didn’t.’ Ellie winced at the picture of her mid-spiel in front of the remains of the futuristic epic that had been filmed a few kilometres up the road a few years ago—the one that had been a massive hit in Germany. They’d pinched the picture of her from the official company website too, but at least in that one she wasn’t wearing a too-tight replica costume.

‘Yes, and now we’re fully booked for the next two months and our Internet bookings are growing at a phenomenal rate and that’s before this article came out.’ Bridie’s smile faded. ‘Although I suspect some of our clients are going to be disappointed that it’s not you taking this tour this weekend.’

‘I’m not taking the tour?’ Surprised, Ellie turned from the cringe-inducing page up on the computer. She was all geared up for it—more than happy to work weekends and extra shifts. It wasn’t as if she had anything else to do. While she was the happiest she’d ever been career-wise in her life, her personal life was dead as a dodo—though she was happy about that too. She was in restorative mode, building her new career, working on her personal issues. That left no room for a man. And she refused, absolutely refused, to think about him. Of course last night she’d absolutely failed on that front. And the scenes her subconscious had chosen to replay in her dreams—well, they’d been equally impossible to control.

Now, for some reason, Bridie looked even more excited. ‘No, because I’m sending you on a reconnaissance mission.’

‘A what?’

Bridie looked about to burst. ‘You know Arche?’

Of course she knew Arche. The multimillion-dollar dystopian fantasy duo had been filmed almost exclusively in New Zealand. It was one of her favourite film series; she’d listed it first in her tour-guide bio on the company website. There was one stop on her usual tour that had a twenty-second scene in the second film; she always stopped there and re-enacted it for the tourists. Inevitably there was at least one Arche-freak on the bus who loved it as much as she did.

‘We might be granted access to it.’ Bridie looked about to burst.

‘What?’ No one had been able to get into that set. The lower central South Island station where most of the action had been filmed was now one of those exclusive resort things for super-wealthy people. Some ancient South American rock star had opened it up for his equally famous and loaded buddies. Absolutely the kind of place she’d want to avoid—those kinds of exclusive retreat places made her think about not-so-distant mortifying events.

‘They’re thinking of allowing one tour operator in. And they want one of our reps to check it out.’

‘And you want me to go?’ Ellie gaped.

Bridie nodded furiously. ‘By special request. They had a mystery shopper on all our tours and you’re the guide who impressed them—so much so they want you to go check out the place and come up with some ideas for what you’d cover on a tour there.’ Bridie jumped up from her seat and zipped around the office like a centipede on speed.

‘But that’s crazy,’ Ellie screeched, collapsing into the nearest chair as her legs went woolly. ‘I’m the newest recruit. You can’t possibly trust me to do this.’

‘It’s not crazy. You’re the one who knows those two films backwards—you can quote whole chunks of the dialogue, I heard you do it with one of those Brits the other day. You might be the newest recruit, but you’re the best, most dedicated guide we’ve got.’

‘But I can’t represent you, I can’t do the whole sales thing.’ While she’d worked heaps on contracts at the location company, Ellie didn’t have the experience to even think of it here.

‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll be covering all access and contract arrangements. All they’re offering at the moment is the opportunity for you to tour the property and come up with the kind of spiel you’d do. They’re concerned that as so much of the set was dismantled, there may not be enough there to build a tour around.’

Ellie rolled her eyes.

‘I know.’ Bridie chuckled near hysterically. ‘Our film buffs would do anything just to see a blade of grass that might have been on screen. All you have to do is take a camera, think about the fans and we’ll work on it when you get back.’

‘You’re not coming with me?’ Ellie’s hands went clammy with that mix of fear and excitement.

‘It’s the height of the season and our bookings have almost trebled. I’m taking your tour this weekend because you’re the best asset to scope this new opportunity. And I’m trusting you with this because I don’t want you head-hunted by another tour company and it’s only a matter of time before they start calling you,’ Bridie said, suddenly looking completely sober and intent. ‘I know it’s early days, but I know how much you love this and we both know how good you are. This is getting so big, so quick, I need someone like you heading it with me.’

Ellie had all but begged Bridie to give her this job when she’d hit the wall so hard at the location company. But it turned out it was the best thing she’d ever done because she loved it more than any other job—even the one where she’d got to fetch the twenty dollars a bottle water for that mega Hollywood star. It was hard work, but it was fun. And now? She couldn’t believe she had this opportunity. ‘Seriously?’

‘Absolutely.’ Bridie nodded, her smile returning.

‘Okay, then, when am I going?’

Less than twenty-four hours later Ellie stepped off the plane at Queenstown airport dressed in her favourite-fitting jeans, white shirt, boots and her hair swished into a high ponytail. A man waited at the rail with her name scrawled on his board. He smiled and took her backpack.

‘Ted Coulson, I’m driving you up there,’ he introduced himself amiably. ‘You’ll need to save your questions for the boss, though. I only manage the deer farm business, not the lodge.’

‘Okay.’ She smiled, happy to feast her eyes on the amazing scenery for now anyway—the questions could come later. The snow-covered, spiky line of mountains was majestic and breathtaking. She could think of at least ten projects that had filmed in those Alps. She listed a few into her notebook and checked her watch to time the trip from airport to the station. But it wasn’t too long before they left the main road and roared along a shingle one. Time disappeared as she breathed in the view—the mountains, the endless sky, the tussocky rolling land. Oh, yeah, no wonder the place was a popular choice for cinematographers—untouched beauty as far as the eye could see. Majestic.

But she blinked as the lodge came into view. ‘Oh, wow.’

She knew there were several luxury properties around here, but this had to be one of the best. Man-made majesty this time.

‘Something, isn’t it?’ Ted said dryly.

She breathed deep, trying to quell the nerves suddenly twanging just beneath her skin. ‘It certainly is.’ And she really, really didn’t want to stuff this up.

Ted took the truck right up to the side of the house where there was a wide, covered porch, so passengers could alight unruffled by inclement weather. He was out of the car and opening her door before she’d managed to stop staring at the magnificence of the massive wooden door of the building. Yeah, just the door had her amazed.

She stepped out of the car, feeling like a pixie who’d mistakenly entered a giant’s lair. She turned on the spot, checking out the view the house had of the surrounding mountains. This was out of her league. As Ted drove away—apparently in a hurry to get back to his deer—she heard that massive door swinging open and she turned, her biggest smile switched on. She wanted to make the best first impression ever.

Only her mouth gummed.

He had that ‘Lucky’ tee shirt on again. Those flattering blue jeans again. He had that smile again. The same chocolate ganache eyes—glossy, deep brown. And amused.

‘Ellie Summers.’ He held out his hand to shake hers, that smile full on his face.

‘You were the mystery shopper?’

He just grinned more.

‘You watched like five minutes.’

‘I saw all I needed to. It’s obvious you have a gift.’

‘Don’t try to flatter me.’

‘Why would I when I already know that won’t work with you? I’m merely stating a fact.’

She avoided looking him in the eye because she knew if she did she was going to laugh and she refused to let him away with it that easily. ‘I’m not going to give you what you want.’

‘How do you know what I want?’

‘I can see it in your eyes.’

‘You’re not looking at my eyes.’

She closed her own, knowing her skin was sizzling—aliens in outer space would be able to see the glow from her cheeks. She was both disappointed and excited—a zillion thoughts ran through her head in a nanosecond. This couldn’t be his place—and if it was, had he brought her here under false pretences?

‘You don’t own this lodge,’ she asserted. ‘It belongs to an Argentinian guitarist.’

‘Andreas sold it to my company last year and I truly do want to open it up for tours,’ he said calmly, apparently able to read her mind.

‘But you asked for me.’ Not her boss or the other more experienced employees.

‘Because you’re the best guide. Inventive, best when you’re improvising rather than sticking to a script someone else has written. So I want you to write the script. You’re good at creating the fun scenarios.’

The fun scenarios? ‘And that’s all you want from me?’ Now she was blushing more because she’d made a massive fool of herself in assuming...

‘Oh, no,’ he said as calmly as ever. ‘I also want to have wild animal sex with you for hours until neither of us can move. But perhaps it isn’t very politically correct of me to admit that.’ A flash of that wide, wicked smile.

She choked. ‘Not really.’

‘Better to be honest though, isn’t it?’ Complete charm now.

‘Um.’ Speechless, she just stared at him. It was kind of flattering to think that the beneficiary of her one attempt at seduction had enjoyed it so much he wanted another. Except he’d probably be disappointed in any replay—why mess with the memory? And more importantly, she had her job to think of. ‘You don’t think mixing business with...this...is a bad idea?’

‘I’m capable of not letting my personal life interfere with my professional.’ He lifted his shoulders and let them drop easily. ‘Are you?’

‘Oh, you’re just Mr Perfect, aren’t you?’

‘I’m glad you think so,’ he muttered. ‘Because I can definitely be perfect for you. I know exactly how I’m going to make you come.’

She moved, because a mere glance at him had her heating in places no one ought to know about. ‘Why are you staring at me like that?’ she croaked.

‘I’m concerned,’ he answered expressionlessly. ‘You’re feeling hot? You’ve gone very red.’ He brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers—a light caress that didn’t just tease, it singed through her skin to her most elemental cell.

She lifted her chin and stepped back out of reach. ‘Actually, I am feeling hot,’ she answered honestly. ‘You should probably keep your distance. One of the passengers on last week’s tour came down with the flu. Trust me, if I’m getting that fever, you don’t want it.’

‘No.’ His smile came, slow and wicked. ‘I want it no matter what.’

‘Ruben—’

‘Don’t worry.’ He held up both hands. ‘I shan’t touch until you ask me to. And if you insist we’ll never discuss it again. I just thought I’d let you know my plans for the weekend. You can let me know if yours dovetail with mine.’

‘I’m here for the tour company, for my career and for no other reason.’ Absolutely.

‘Sure.’

Oh, the guy was too confident—and pretty much had every reason to be. ‘I’m not messing around with you again,’ she asserted vehemently.

‘Sure.’ Too casually, he turned away from her. ‘So let’s get started.’

CHAPTER FIVE

ELLIE followed Ruben inside—feeling like a pepper slow-burning over a bare flame. But while he might be all kinds of gorgeous, she was no longer Ms People-Pleaser Total Pushover. She’d drawn her line and she was holding it. She was here to work—and work was all that was important to her at the moment.

‘You know the lodge wasn’t used in the movies at all,’ he said, leading her through the building, her overnight bag slung over his shoulder. ‘So it won’t be available for the tour. We’re really just talking about those big hills and the remnants of the set buildings.’

‘Okay, but they’re going to need refreshments at some point. It’s quite a hike to get here.’ She was starving. The biscuit and coffee snack on the plane hadn’t done much to fill her tummy’s gap.

He nodded. ‘There’s a guest house further down the road. We can do morning tea or something. I have a cook.’

Of course he did.

‘Actually, that cook has left something for us to eat tonight if you’re hungry,’ he said—still with that too-casual attitude.

She wished she had the reserves to say no but she knew it was in her best interests to get her blood sugar levels balanced or she’d be in danger of flying off yet another handle and doing something completely crazy. And merely watching his rear view fell into crazy category. Two minutes of following him had rendered her light-headed. The temptation to do him was lunatic.

‘I’d love something to eat, thanks.’ She’d think food, food, and nothing but food.

He turned, surprised at her easy acquiescence. ‘Sooner rather than later?’

‘Definitely.’ She nodded enthusiastically. ‘And I’d love a drink.’

He laughed, which really didn’t help her battle to resist her attraction to him. ‘No problem.’ He led her to the massive, all-professional-equipped kitchen. ‘There’s a fantastic cellar here. Did you want red, white or bubbly?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Water straight from the tap will do me just fine, thanks.’

‘You don’t want any wine?’ he asked in mock surprise. ‘No French champagne tonight?’

‘I’m not so stupid I’d make that mistake a second time,’ she answered with spirit.

‘You blame the bubbles?’ He smiled.

She took the glass of chilled water he offered. ‘No, but I don’t think it helped. I’m grown-up enough to accept most of the madness was my own fault.’

He watched her from the other side of the granite-topped bench. ‘What about the lodge—does the décor inspire you as much as the chateau’s did?’

Ruefully she sipped, flushing her boiling system with the almost frozen water, and refused to answer. Instead she turned away from the gorgeously deluxe interior to look out of the window at the amazing skyline. ‘How many of these places do you own?’ She needed their addresses so she could avoid them at all costs. Just her luck that when she finally got to go somewhere gorgeous, her one most wicked encounter would have to be waiting.

‘Last count it was five. I’m working on the sixth and seventh at the moment.’

‘That’s quite a stable.’ Especially given each came with a multimillion-dollar price tag.

‘They’re not all as big as this one. But they keep me busy.’

She glanced back at him as he answered. Yes, there was the slightest hint of tiredness about his eyes. On the bench was the laptop, the tablet, the smart phones—all the paraphernalia of the businessman who worked 24/7.

‘But the chateau was the first?’ She pressed for more information. ‘And it was your father who built it?’ And who’d had the folly of the marriage?

‘It had been his dream, but he got sick before he could finish it,’ Ruben answered, no flicker of emotion crossing his face.

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’

‘Cancer.’ He elaborated a fraction. ‘He was older. It was only to be expected, I guess.’

‘So you took it over?’ She skimmed over his father’s age reference for now. She was more interested in how on earth Ruben had managed to achieve all he had.

He nodded.

‘How old were you?’

‘Fourteen when he died, seventeen when I took on the chateau.’

‘Seventeen?’

The roguish smile appeared at her amazed tone. ‘My mother signed it over to me.’

‘She did?’

He nodded as if it were completely everyday and then turned to the massive stainless-steel fridge. ‘I wanted it, she didn’t.’

Ellie was gobsmacked. Who on earth signed over a massive property to a teenager? ‘Where’s your mother now?’

‘She went back to France a few months after he died. She didn’t want to be hounded as a merry widow.’

‘But you stayed?’ All alone in New Zealand, barely old enough to leave school, let alone take on a massive business project?

‘I wanted to finish the chateau.’ He pulled a covered dish from the fridge and put it into the microwave, pressing the electronic controls, still speaking in that carefree way. ‘I wanted to realise my father’s dream. But Mama couldn’t face it. I don’t blame her for that.’

His mother had been that unhappy? And had their relationship been so fragmented she’d chosen to leave her only child behind? It seemed Ruben had some pain in common with Ellie’s. ‘Do you see her much?’ Ellie couldn’t resist asking and her curiosity didn’t seem to bother him given the way he answered so easily.

‘We use Skype and stuff but we’re both busy. She has a small boutique she loves. I’m flat out,’ he answered with that easy-going smile.

Okay, so maybe that relationship wasn’t the greatest. But hadn’t he had a better one with his dad? ‘You must have been close to your father to want to finish his dream for him.’

Ruben’s smile became fixed. ‘He died a while back now.’

Yeah, but some wounds remained, never truly healing. While you got on with it, there was that permanent bruise beneath the skin. And though Ellie hadn’t lost anyone close, she still understood heartbreak—in her case for what could have been, for what she’d missed out on from both parents. ‘You don’t have any other family?’

He shook his head. ‘Nor do I want any.’ He turned and caught her eye. His chocolate gaze held pointed meaning, despite the wicked seductiveness of his smile. ‘I’m not a wedding-ring kind of guy.’

‘Is that you trying to be subtle?’ she asked, flipping to tart. ‘You don’t need to warn me. I’m not coming anywhere near you.’

‘Oh, right.’ He chuckled. ‘My mistake.’

Arrogant sod. Of course, she couldn’t help smiling and she couldn’t help her curiosity. ‘So, why no commitment? What’s your marriage-avoidance excuse? You had a close shave with a stereotypically money-hungry woman or something?’ She rolled her eyes at the cliché. Successful men always seemed to fear some big bad woman was going to come after half their assets in the divorce court or something.

‘No.’ He walked the few paces back to the business end of the kitchen, pulled a salad bowl from the fridge. ‘It’s a matter of priority. Work is my priority and has been for a while. It takes up every minute of every day and that’s not about to change. I travel a lot between venues. I can’t be at someone’s beck and call.’

Beck and call? She frowned. ‘We’re talking marriage, not servitude.’

‘There’s a difference?’ He smiled as if he was joking—kind of. ‘I can’t be anyone’s husband. I can’t be the guy who’s going to be there for all those “important” things. It’s not fair of me to promise that only to let someone down time after time. I don’t want resentment to build and then be hurled against me.’

Was that what had happened? He’d been with someone who’d demanded too much of his time? But wouldn’t a woman know what she was getting into in a relationship with a guy like him? That the career drive was an inseparable part of the man she’d fallen for? Just as a woman who married a military man would know that both she and he would have to sacrifice some things because of his duty? Didn’t those relationships still work—with some work?

Yeah, maybe that was it. Maybe Ruben spent so much energy on his business, he couldn’t be bothered working on sustaining a relationship. And why should he have to when he undoubtedly had billions of women throwing themselves at him?

‘No, that’s still just an excuse,’ she said callously. ‘You don’t want to commit to a woman because you can get what you want from any number. Why would you limit yourself to just one?’

He filled a bowl from the rice cooker on the utility bench, grinning as he did so. And he didn’t deny it. ‘Let’s eat.’ He faced her with that smile. ‘We’ll feel better for it.’

‘A microwave meal,’ she gushed. ‘I’m so excited.’

‘Why don’t you try it before casting judgment?’

Ellie met his challenge with a tilt of her chin and kept her chin high as he relentlessly watched her take first bite of the light curry.

‘Okay, best microwave meal ever,’ she mumbled, even though her mouth was still half full. There was no point trying to lie in the face of that piercing scrutiny.

He laughed softly and started in on it too.

Dinner passed too quickly because it was so damn delicious. She complimented his chef several times over—to his amusement. Conversation remained safe—restaurants in Wellington, cafés on the wine trail. After, she helped him carry the dishes back to the bench, helped him rinse and stack them into the machine. And all that time she refused to let herself think on the fact that the guy was good company.

But he was. Really good company. And he was seducing her.

As that thought finally wriggled its way to the front of her brain she glanced at her watch. ‘What time do we set out tomorrow?’

‘After breakfast, which will be whenever you wake up. There’s no real rush.’

‘Well, I should probably—’

‘Sit down on the sofa and look at the view,’ he interrupted with that wolfish manner. ‘It’s nowhere near bedtime. We need to talk some more.’

‘Don’t you have work to do?’ she asked, desperately aware she needed to get away from him. The longer she was in his presence, the more addled her brain became. It wasn’t right that someone could exude such intoxicating heat. And now, as he walked her to the lounge with the amazing view and the sofas that were made for snuggling on, memories tormented, making her all the more susceptible.

‘I always have work to do,’ he answered carelessly. ‘That’s not the point.’

She took a seat, primly keeping her knees and ankles firmly together, avoiding looking at him. ‘What did you want to talk about?’

‘The movies,’ he answered promptly, flopping onto the sofa opposite. ‘Which of the two is your favourite?’

‘Seriously?’ She glanced at him. ‘I wouldn’t have thought you had much respect for movies. I’m guessing you don’t have much time for them.’

‘Not usually.’ He blithely ignored her dig. ‘But I made a point of watching them the other day and found they weren’t bad. Talk me through the fandom.’