He smiled when she backed away a little as the waves came towards her. She was truly beautiful. Everything about her was perfect and he wanted to hold her against his body, feel her skin against his skin as he claimed her as his, even if it was to be only for a few days. He was under no illusions they could have anything else, not after the way they met.
‘Don’t be shy. Come on in. The water is great,’ he called above the gentle rush of the waves and laughed as she dropped down and covered her body in water before standing up again, water running off her curves, stirring the rising passion within him higher still.
With a smile that lit up her face, she lowered herself into the water and started swimming to the platform, her strong strokes taking her quickly past him and away. He swam after her, reaching the platform at the same time. Her face was alive with vitality and excitement as he looked into her eyes and all he wanted to do was kiss her.
He moved forward in the water and saw her blue eyes widen, but she didn’t move, didn’t say anything. Before he could think what he was doing and why, his lips were on hers, tasting the salty water and the woman herself. Instantly she responded, her lips moving against his, and he cursed the fact they were holding on to a platform in the ocean. Seducing her had never been part of the plan. He’d even gone as far as telling her nothing would happen between them unless she wanted it.
He drew in a sharp breath of shock as she pushed herself against him and away. She called over her shoulder as her strokes began to pull her through the water. ‘Race you back.’
He let her swim a few more strokes before pushing off, quickly catching up with her. He held back, keeping at least several strokes behind as she swam. As she reached the beach she began to run through the water and then flopped down at the edge, the waves lapping gently around her.
He joined her, sitting close and enjoying the feeling of the warm water over his legs. ‘You are a good swimmer.’ He had to force himself to talk of something neutral because all he wanted to do was kiss her—and not stop until he’d set light to the passion he knew was inside her too.
‘I haven’t swum for so long and certainly not in the ocean. I’d forgotten how liberating it can feel.’ She put her arms out behind her and leant back, her face upturned to the sun, and inwardly he groaned as that throb of desire in him intensified, calling for satisfaction that only this woman could bring.
She hadn’t mentioned the kiss, hadn’t told him it wasn’t what she wanted. If anything, she was flirting with him, taunting him with her body.
‘Bianca.’ His voice was decidedly husky as he said her name and she looked at him and he knew he’d finally found the real Bianca, the woman beneath that ice-princess exterior she liked the world to see.
She didn’t answer, but slowly she moved towards him and he knew she wanted to be kissed as much as he wanted to kiss her. If he did kiss her now, he didn’t know if he would be able to stop, didn’t know if he could just switch off the ever-increasing desire for her.
‘Kiss me.’ He could hardly hear her broken whisper over the soft sound of the waves, but he did hear the call her body made to his.
Gently he brushed his lips over hers. Then as passion fired through him he demanded more, pushing her back against the wet sand, heedless of the waves spilling over them as he covered her body with his.
* * *
Bianca couldn’t believe she’d asked him so boldly to kiss her or that now she was lying in the soft surf of the Bahamas, practically naked with the man she thought she hated. She didn’t hate him. She might hate herself for wanting him. She certainly hated him for awakening her passion, something she’d tried all her adult life to keep locked away. But she didn’t hate him.
The water on her skin was exciting, but his touch, as he moved his hands over her, was almost unbearably erotic. With one hand under her shoulder, keeping his weight from her, his other hand skimmed over her thighs, her hips and up to her waist. All the time she was aware of his aroused state, pressing hard against her, demanding and tempting all at the same time.
She’d never done anything like this before. No man had ever touched her like this, and she trembled as he began to kiss down her neck, oblivious to the water rushing over them in a way that only heightened her senses, making every touch of his more powerful.
Her arms were wound around his neck, but as he kissed down her throat she spread her hands over his wet back, enjoying the strength that emanated from him. She’d never had a man so naked against her body, never felt the sizzle of skin against skin, but as he returned his kiss in a trail of blazing heat up to her lips, she had to stop herself gasping his name in pleasure.
As if he knew her torture, his tongue slipped between her lips and a sigh of pleasure finally escaped her as his hand cupped her breast, the sensation so new and heady she could hardly breathe. Was this what being loved by a man was like?
That thought sobered her mind. Liev didn’t love her. He might desire her, but he didn’t love her, and there was no way she was going to get carried away and give herself with such abandon to this man.
‘No, stop.’ She moved away from his kiss and pushed at his chest, trying to ignore the hardness beneath her palm. ‘I can’t do this.’
She scrambled to her feet, sand clinging to her body as she trembled with unquenched desire and shock at what she’d wanted. She’d wanted to make love, right here on the beach in broad daylight with a man who was no better than Dominic. One was a gambler, the other a blackmailer, and both had used her for their own gain.
She watched as he, too, got to his feet and walked away from her, reaching down to collect their discarded garments. Was he seeking time for composure? She used those moments to press her wet hair against her head, smoothing down the disarray.
Then he turned to face her, his expression now the familiar mask of hardness, and regret pinched at her. ‘I apologise.’
‘It’s just that...’ She stopped short of spilling everything out. How did you tell the man you had just been kissing with such abandon that you were a virgin, that you had no experience of how to please him, how to enjoy the moment of intimacy she’d almost slipped into?
‘Just what?’ The words were snapped out and she knew he was angry, that he probably thought she’d led him on—and she had.
‘I just need a bit of time.’ She was stumbling over her words, the passion he’d ignited within her muddling her senses and making any kind of rational thought impossible. ‘What I mean is, I hadn’t expected that.’
‘By that, I assume you mean the desire to kiss me, the need to feel my touch, or that you wanted me as much as I wanted you, regardless of everything else?’
She blushed and knew denial was useless. Instead she looked firmly at him. ‘Yes, that is exactly what I mean.’
‘We should get back. I expect you would like to change before dinner?’
She walked towards him and took the cover-up and her glasses from him, instinctively putting both on as a shield from his hungry gaze. As she walked beside him, the beauty of the island calmed her ruffled nerves and she wondered at what had just happened, but more alarming was the fact that she had wanted more.
* * *
Liev watched Bianca walk along the terrace after dinner; her shoulders were tense and all evening her conversation had been stilted. She was obviously not as comfortable with being here with him as he’d first thought. Especially after the kiss they’d shared at the water’s edge. That had been so wildly passionate he’d hardly been able to drag himself off her when she’d demanded he stop. It had taken every last bit of his control to do that.
He walked out into the evening warmth and stood close behind her, and with her hair swept up, he longed to kiss her delicate neck, longed to resume what had been started just hours ago in the waves.
Gently he placed his hands on her shoulders and moved closer still, the urge to press his lips to her skin ever stronger. She didn’t pull away and beneath his hands he could feel her shoulders rise and fa
ll as her breathing deepened. He lowered his head and inhaled her scent, floral and intoxicatingly sexy.
Still she didn’t pull away. Instead she leant back against him, tilting her head slightly to allow him access to the softness of her skin. As his lips met her skin, tasting her, she drew in a ragged breath and he knew she was far from indifferent to him. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
‘You feel it too.’ He breathed the words against her skin, becoming more caught up in the desire he’d been keeping locked away since the auction, when she’d been so angry passion had blazed in her eyes. Now he wanted that anger to be nothing but passion.
She shook her head, the movement small and indecisive. She was still battling with the desire which had sparked angrily to life between them the moment their paths had collided.
‘No,’ she whispered, but he knew that denial was the furthest thing from the truth that had ever passed those sweet lips of hers.
He trailed a finger down her neck and saw her quiver and arch away from him, and he knew that he was pushing her over the edge, just as he was himself. ‘Why deny the inevitable?’
‘Because I have to.’
‘Why, when there is so much passion between us, so much desire? It is that very passion and desire that is keeping you here right now, when you could walk into the house and to your room. I wouldn’t follow you there. I meant what I said earlier. Nothing will happen unless you want it to.’
He slid his hands down her arms and he stepped closer still, until there was barely a whisper of air between them. He wanted her so much, but he had to be patient, had to wait for the right time.
‘Then you will accept that I can’t do this, can’t give in to whatever it is,’ she murmured.
‘But you admit it’s there? You feel it, don’t you, Bianca?’ He kissed a trail down her neck to her bare shoulders, breathing in the scent of her skin, tasting her and making staying in control all the harder for it.
* * *
Bianca closed her eyes and leant back against Liev’s strong body. Heat seared through her as his lips kissed her neck again and she knew she should stop it, knew it wasn’t what she needed, but it was so what she wanted.
‘Yes, I feel it too.’ The husky whisper which came from her was like no other sound she’d heard before. What was this power he had over her?
‘I can’t fight it much longer.’ The words, whispered into her hair, sent a shiver of excitement down her spine, and she bit down on her bottom lip trying to hold on to herself.
His hands slid down her arms and she turned to look at him over her shoulder, but his lips brushed hers and she closed her eyes, no longer able to resist this new pleasure. A soft sigh escaped her as he kissed her so gently and persuasively, coaxing more from her with the skill of an accomplished lover.
His hand splayed across her cheek, keeping her head where he wanted it as he deepened the kiss. Driven by a force she had no control over, she turned as his arms wrapped around her, pressing her body against the hardness of his.
His lips left hers and she dragged in air, searching the slate grey of his eyes, looking for reassurance, but all she saw was hungry desire. Desire she had no experience of dealing with.
Just as she was about to pull away, to tell him it couldn’t happen, he claimed her lips again in such a hard and demanding kiss she could no longer think. Heat which had been curling from a deep and secret place within her burst into flames, engulfing her so quickly she could hardly breathe.
She entwined her arms around his neck, pulling herself up against him, and the fire heated as she felt the evidence of his desire. This wasn’t just part of the deal. He really wanted her. Euphoria took her higher as his tongue plundered her mouth, coaxing and demanding more from her. Again those ever-present doubts surfaced. She couldn’t give more. Not to this man.
She pushed her hands against his chest and pulled back, breaking the kiss, but his arms held her firmly against him. She shook her head. ‘We shouldn’t be doing this, Liev.’
His eyes narrowed as he continued to hold her against him. Beneath the palms of her hands she could feel the rapid rise and fall of his hard and muscular chest. That in itself was almost enough to tip her over the edge.
‘Why not?’ His fierce words jolted her back to her senses and she pushed against him once more, thankful when he let her go. Quickly she moved away from him, away from temptation.
‘What we have isn’t real.’
‘Our engagement may not be, but this desire is. Are you so cold and hard you can ignore it and turn away from it that easily?’ He stalked past her back into the living room and poured himself a drink. The sound of the liquid filling the glass was almost too loud.
He thought her cold? Well, so much the better. ‘Yes, I am. We have a business arrangement and I am not in the habit of getting intimate with my clients.’
He took a big gulp and looked at her, icy coldness in his eyes. ‘That’s not how it seemed this afternoon, Bianca.’
She sighed softly. ‘Whatever you might think of me, I’m not used to this sort of arrangement.’
‘What sort is that? A lovers’ weekend away?’
‘It’s not something I’ve done before.’ If she told him she was inexperienced, would that dissuade him from looking for more than she could give?
‘You have never slipped away for a weekend of passion with your lover?’ The incredulity in his voice was clear.
‘No.’ She couldn’t quite tell him she had never had a lover. Maybe now was a good time to say goodnight. The incredulity in his voice left her in no doubt that he was more than used to such weekends. She just wasn’t ready for that yet. ‘Goodnight, Liev.’
CHAPTER NINE
THE NEXT MORNING Bianca had woken to the sounds of the ocean and had blushed as she’d recalled how she’d behaved with such wanton abandon the previous afternoon, lying on the beach as waves had washed over them. What was more shocking and harder to deal with was the fact that she’d wanted Liev in a way that had been almost impossible to resist. Her whole body had been on fire with need. So much that she’d almost given in to him last night.
As the morning had passed they had made polite conversation and after a while Liev had gone for another swim, but this time she’d declined his offer. As she’d watched him go, the feeling that she was making a mistake, letting something special slip by, wouldn’t leave her. She began to question why she’d stopped him last night, why she’d denied herself something every nerve in her body had demanded.
She didn’t know that answer, didn’t want to know it either. All she did know was if he ever kissed her again she wouldn’t be able to stop. Every nerve in her body was on high alert, the simmering attraction she’d felt from the beginning now a desire-driven madness.
What was it about Liev? Could she really be in love with him? Had she found the same love Lucia had written about in her letter all those years ago? The words she’d read so many times came back to her, strangely fitting what she felt right now.
For is that not what love does? I would not change a moment of it, even though you are not entirely mine and I not entirely yours.
She was not Liev’s fiancée. She had no right to feel anything for him, let alone this strange emotion that felt painfully like love. That thought was knife-like in her heart because, right now, cameras were being set up and her make-up was about to be done and she would be going out to face everyone as Liev’s fiancée.
‘Are you ready?’ Liev joined her, his firm stance as he looked at her one that would not take no for an answer. At least once this was over and the visit to her grandfather done, they could finally go their separate ways. She was sure the shelter interview and this photoshoot would achieve much more than he’d originally demanded of the deal.
‘Ready,’ she lied, and she followed him out to the beach where the first shoot was planned. Posing so boldly for the camera was not something she was used to. She’d never invited the attentions of the press or magazines like thi
s, which was probably why they’d instantly jumped at the chance.
The cameras clicked and Bianca posed, her body pressed close against Liev. Every move she made intensified the fire of awareness within her. All she could think about was that kiss yesterday, the one which had left her yearning for more, needing to know the joy of loving a man. Would that have happened if she hadn’t stopped things last night?
‘Have you set a date yet?’ the interviewer asked as they took the final shot. ‘And where will the wedding be? Here?’
Bianca blinked. She hadn’t rehearsed any answers to their questions. Yesterday’s moment of intimacy with Liev had completely thrown her off her usual organised course.
‘Nothing is set yet.’ Liev came to her rescue as he took her hand and lifted it to his lips. The camera she thought had been packed away clicked once more as she looked up at him. ‘We are enjoying being together for now, are we not, Bianca?’
‘That’s it. That’s the one.’ The photographer’s ecstatic voice hardly registered as she looked into Liev’s eyes. The icy grey had softened as desire blended within them. Desire she knew was echoed in her eyes, but it was the intensity of them, the potent power of that seductive look, which almost made her knees buckle.
He lowered his head and kissed her—slowly, lingering so sensuously she closed her eyes and gave herself up to the moment. Then it ended. He pulled away and a chill swirled around her despite the warm wind and afternoon sun.
‘Thank you,’ Liev said as he turned to shake hands with the interviewer, but Bianca just wanted them gone, wanted back the peace that had surrounded the small villa as they’d arrived.
* * *
The sun was low in the sky, but Liev didn’t feel the happiness he should feel as he stood and looked out over the ocean. The photoshoot had gone well. Bianca had been amazing, providing plenty of photos that could be used to show how much they were in love. She’d been so convincing he’d almost believed it too. But he’d been deceiving himself.
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