Jens was a cool dancer, he had loads of confidence, and no real inhibitions, so he moved as he liked. Whereas anyone else may have gotten laughed at for their lack of finesse, whatever Jens did, everyone else seemed to follow. So the lounge that had been deemed the dance floor was rammed. At least ten women were gyrating, trying to catch his attention, but unbelievably to Carly, he only had eyes for her, pulling her into his arms on so many occasions, twirling her, leaning down to pass on an observation over the din of the music. Carly had never felt so special, never had a man go out of his way to make her feel good. But with that came her own doubts.

Glancing around the room she took in the lithe, svelte women who both worked and played hard here, they were all slim, well groomed, attractive. She, Carly caught her reflection in the darkened window, yep, she needed to run flat out at least four times a week to even keep anywhere near passable. She had always felt that she was out of proportion. Hour glass her mother described her as, but she hated it, especially as all the 'in' girls at school had been tiny, slim...

Carly shook her head, too often she found herself back in the past, the last place she wanted to be. Jens was still dancing, but she tapped his arm, leaned close to his ear.

                "I need to go to the bathroom!"

He nodded and smiled as she squeezed through the crowds moving away from him. In the hallway Carly paused to take a breath, then made for the stairs to find a bathroom.

There was no one around, so she walked along the hallway, surely there was a 'convenience' somewhere? A door opened and she looked up and groaned, Lucas was emerging from the bathroom and his presence outweighed the relief of finally locating somewhere to relieve her complaining bladder. She'd thought she'd seen him earlier, but then he'd disappeared and she'd forgotten about him.

                "Carly!" He nodded in recognition. "Ankle better then?" He asked as his eyes travelled down to the heels that finished off her outfit. 

Carly nodded "getting there, the heels and the dancing weren't the best combination though."

Raising an eyebrow, he warned her, "let's hope that it doesn't affect your work tomorrow!"

Carly snapped, glaring at him her nostrils flared, "I worked every hour when this foot was the size of your average thigh, so don't you dare hint that I'd slack off!"

Closing his eyes for a second he groaned, "reel in those claws Carly! I was just about to remind you that if the bar is under control you'll be helping me out on reception. And I understood there was a challenge on..." Shaking his head with a sadness that caused Carly to flinch, he added, "you really do need to stop jumping down my throat."

                "And you need to stop criticising me!" Carly knew it was a defensive jibe, but she felt awful. The second man she'd offended in the same evening, what was it about him that made her see red?

Lucas leaned forward, "I have never criticised you, you just perceive things differently. But I will say one thing. It may be all cosy with the big boss man, but he's dangerous, he eats women like you for breakfast."

Carly reared up, "what the fuck?! With one hand you apologise, with the other you insult?"

                "I never apologised Carly, I was just trying to give you advice, one friend to another."

His expression was genuine, but Carly was feeling too fraught from the whole evening to acknowledge that, "we're not friends!"

With that she barged past him into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. 

 She'd hung on for so long that once she opened her bladder, she could barely stop, and it felt as though hours had passed, but it was less than a few minutes when she'd freshened up and finally re-emerged.

Jens was lounging in the hallway talking to yet more people. He had this natural confidence, content in his own skin, that he had the ability to lounge so simply, so relaxed and casual,  yet still be fully in control and powerful. It was no mean feat,  and Carly was fascinated by him.

                "Hey Carly. You ok?" Jens watched her descend the last few steps with intent and it almost unbalanced her.

Safe at the bottom and glad that neither her ankle nor her shoes had let her down on the steps, she smiled at the four men stood with Jens, "fine thanks, but I'm thinking I may leave now. I've got an early start. Thanks for the company! It's been a great evening."

Turning for the door, she was struggling to find her coat when a pair of hands pulled her physically back and Jens' voice was near her ear, "I'll walk you down." He reached to the back of the closet and retrieved her coat.

                "You don't have...." She tried to protest, but he silenced her with a raised hand.

                "It's icy, cold, you're wearing ridiculous heels and already have an injured leg...If you fall...Well I'll be looking for replacement staff on Christmas Day! Come on, give me a break!"

She chuckled, "ok, when you put it like that, your escort would be welcome." She sarcastically started to fan herself like some prim Victorian lady.

Laughing, he swept his arm into a bow, "a pleasure m'lady!" And he offered his arm.

The walk was more treacherous than she'd imagined, and the comment had obviously been a decoy from Jens, judging by the way he reprimanded the maintenance staff for the poor surface once they drew level with their office. The men scurried off to lay down more grit and salt, tails definitely between their legs. 

                "Sometimes you just can't get the staff! Can you imagine how much we'd get sued if someone fell?" He shook his head, tucking her closer to him. "Jeez, I was using a little poetic licence when I suggested it might be dangerous!"

Carly stopped and looked at him with a questioning lift of an eyebrow. Sensing her stop Jens slowed too, then turned to her, "what?"

She laughed, "so the ice was an excuse? You just wanted to get me alone?"

Tugging her arm he led her further along the path, "I'm a gentleman, ok? I see lone women home, I rescue kittens from trees, and I help old ladies cross the road!"

Laughing she allowed him to lead her further towards the main building. Earlier in the evening she'd felt intimidated by Jens, but now, she didn't think of him as a boss, as someone socially far above her, she thought of him as a friend.

At the hotel, he called the staff lift, and waited with her as it churned down the shaft to them. Carly expected him to leave her there, and was surprised when he stepped into the enclosed space with her.

                "I've had a fun evening Carly, and I rarely admit that I was wrong, but I was...or rather they were all right!"

                "What? Who?" She looked up at him.

He was an imposing man, and he chose now in the seclusion of the lift carriage to lean close to her, invade her personal space a little, "all I've been hearing for the last few weeks is what a great asset you are...I'm just sorry I needed to be told before I realised it myself."

Carly leaned against the wall, trying desperately to shrug away from the limelight of his attention, brush away the tension, but he was so close, her mouth was dry, her heart seemed to be beating in a ridiculously erratic pattern, half of her screamed 'get away', the other half highlighting that if she turned her head less than forty degrees to the right, her lips would be a breath away from his. She betted he was an earth shattering kisser, but she didn't want to find that out.

Leaping away from the wall she crossed the small width of the lift car as the doors parted to reveal the staff corridor and sighed. She felt like an injured Thompson's gazelle being stalked by the sharpest most aggressive lion in the pack. Completely out of her depth. And unlikely to survive.

Was her demise as inevitable?

Jens stalked across the lift, joining her as she stepped free of the carriage, lifting his arm to wrap around her body, gently but possessively. She still wasn't sure whether he evoked desire in her or fear, but he was evoking something she could barely concentrate on moving one foot in front of the other.

At her door she stopped and managed to shrug Jens arm from her shoulder without being too obvious. Turning she smiled up at him, "thanks for walking me home."

Jens placed a hand against the doorframe, propping himself up, towering over her.

                "My pleasure. I hear you don't ski."

As she digested that comment Carly's breath all but left her lungs in a whoosh as his thumb stretched out, reaching from the doorframe to touch her ear lobe. It didn't do much more than move a fraction over her very sensitive skin, but her knees felt like jelly.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she nodded, "it's not my thing..." she offered with a croak.

                "Ah." He lifted his head a fraction in a half nod, "yet you're in one of the greatest ski resorts in Europe and the snow is..." Leaning a little closer he added, "perfect. You really are missing out."

Carly could feel the warmth of his face so close to her own, since leaving the party he'd overwhelmed every one of her senses. She was so tempted to lean in to him, end all this teasing, but she was also fighting against that thought, such was her mental anguish.

Biting her lip, she watched his mouth, as he talked, wondering how he'd taste.

                "When is your next day off?"

His question caused her to shake her head, come out of her day dream. He smiled at her confusion, the way she struggled to focus on the conversation. Knowing that he was the cause for her lack of clarity.

                "The twenty seventh, I'm not working all day."

Jens nodded knowingly, "then I'm taking you skiing. No excuse, you're here in a ski paradise, you have to try it. Ok?"

She nodded, avoiding meeting his eyes, still watching those full lips as he formed words.

                "Hey?"

His question forced the inevitable, she had no choice but to look up at him, and it was the undoing she expected. His eyes glittered icy blue as he studied hers, flashes of desire behind the humour. Then his head swooped slowly down, his lips heading for hers.

At the last second he tilted to the right. A hair's breadth from her ear, he murmured, "I'll see you then...it's a date." The warmth of his breath, the intimacy of the moment, made every hair on her body stand on end, she fought the desperation, the need to lean into him, fought the craving for his mouth on her...anywhere.

Pulling back he looked down at her, and she knew he saw her as some sort of under sexed even desperate hussy, despite her naivety, and she could only imagine how frazzled she looked. She'd wanted him to kiss her more than anything, despite how much she'd regret it later, but she knew he realised how much she desired him. She dropped her head, disgusted at herself.

Jens chuckled softly, lifting her chin. "I look forward to it!"

Then he walked away.