James Arthurand Caroline Flack are reported to have enjoyed a "date" together in London last week.
And the winner of The X Factor is claimed by the Sunday Mirror to be "head over heels" in love with The Xtra Factor presenter.
The paper claims that the pair spent the evening flirting at the show's wrap party on Tuesday night - and followed it up with another date on Thursday evening.
A source said: "James built up a reputation as a ladies' man over the series and made no secret of the fact he was enjoying all the female attention he was getting.
"But while he has been playing the field he has always had feelings for Caroline. She made it clear nothing could happen while the show was still on, but as the weeks went by they got closer and closer.
"At the wrap party on Tuesday – which was held at the Hippodrome Casino in London – they spent almost the entire evening together and there was a lot of flirting. They left separately but arranged to meet again."
And they are claimed to have shared a more intimate evening on Thursday at the Groucho Club, where the source says they "spent four hours chatting and drinking" and "looked like they were really close".
They were joined by David Beckham and James Corden for a brief spell, but apparently spent the rest of the evening alone together.
"Again, they went home separately but they had a great evening and really enjoyed each other's company," the source continued. "There could definitely be a future between them."
James' debut single Impossible is expected [uuid=07db91f3-5ea5-4971-9efb-206a1d956305]to top the Official UK Singles Chart[/uuid] today - and Dermot O'Leary yesterday [uuid=29d5ddc7-ba92-41b3-bcbe-adfd5be8c9bd]told music fans not to be snobbish[/uuid] about him.

[uuid=52440b59-a391-4181-80ec-003ec4154c8e]SEE PICS FROM THE X FACTOR FINAL[/uuid]