The Innocent's Surrender (25 page)

It was not a defeat, but a test of her resolve, she told herself. Later was simply going to be?much later. That was all.

When she had eaten, she watched a film from the DVD collection in the saloni without absorbing one word of the dialogue or one twist of the plot, then went quietly to her room.

She took a long, warm scented bath, put on the silver robe that Alex had given her and lay on top of the bed to wait.

No sleep, she told herself. Not tonight. No second thoughts, either.

She allowed midnight to pass, before making her way barefoot down the long passage to the master bedroom, wondering if she would find it empty, and if so what her next course of action should be.

If she would ever be brave enough to do this again.

As she twisted the handle the door opened noiselessly, and she slipped inside. The room was lit by the moonlight streaming in through its open glass doors, where Alex was standing, staring out into the night, a dark figure in his dressing gown, his back turned towards her.

She said his name, then repeated shyly, ?Alex?
mou
.?

He turned slowly and looked at her, his brows drawing together as if he did not really believe what he was seeing.

She said, ?I?m here now,? deliberately repeating the words she?d used in his study hours before, then reached for the sash of her robe, untied it and shrugged the garment from her shoulders. Praying that this time he would not turn away.

He strode to her across the marble floor, sweeping her up into his embrace, his mouth fastening on hers in almost savage yearning, and her arms went round his neck, her fingers twining in his hair, holding him to her.

He carried her to the bed, threw off his own robe and entered her in what seemed like one agonised movement.

She came at once, taken unawares by the force of her own necessity, her body convulsing round him in spasm after spasm of unbearable delight, her voice crying out in shaken ecstasy against his shoulder, and he remained still, lying with her?within her?murmuring huskily to her in his own language, a hand smoothing her tumbled hair as he waited for her to recover.

But, as reality returned, shame at her own greed came with it and she closed her eyes, shielding her embarrassed face in the warm muscularity of his chest. He?d wanted her to want him, she thought, her mind reeling. And she?d given him incontrovertible proof that she did. But what else had she betrayed by her helpless, desperate response to him?

He said huskily, ?
Matia mou
, my sweet one. Don?t try to hide from me. Your joy is mine.?

He began to kiss her slowly, his mouth paying sensuous homage to her eyes, her burning cheekbones and her parted lips, before moving down to her breasts, his tongue circling the excited rosy peaks in a leisurely, devastating caress, making her moan softly?helplessly?her head thrown back on the pillow.

And, because there was no longer any cause to pretend indifference or hold back in any way, she began to touch him in her turn, running her fingers through his dishevelled hair, still damp from the shower, then stroking her hands along the hard, muscular shoulders and down the strong back to the powerful male buttocks and long thighs, his skin like warm satin under her fingertips.

Exploring his body?enjoying him with a delight that went beyond any fantasy.

And finding herself aroused anew, not just by her roving touch of him, and the heaven of his hands and mouth on her own body, but also by the overwhelming sensation created by the heated strength of him sheathed, waiting inside her.

By the knowledge that her desire for him had only been temporarily assuaged by his initial possession, and certainly not sated.

Because she was already stirring, slowly, restlessly beneath him, every nerve-ending in her flesh a tiny, separate flame. Arching towards him as she offered herself mutely for his satisfaction. And once more, it seemed, for hers?

Alex muttered something hoarse in his throat and began to move in his turn, his body thrusting deeply into her moist and trembling heat, establishing the powerful, irresistible rhythm that she remembered so well from the last time they?d made love.

Except that it wasn?t love, she thought from the small, sane corner of her brain that still remained, even as her body lifted to him?joined him in a rapturous and all-too-willing response. Or not love in the way she wanted?that she longed for with her entire soul. However passionate and heart-stopping, it was just an exchange of physical pleasure.

And then his mouth closed hungrily on hers and his hands were caressing her everywhere, stroking her thighs, her belly, her breasts, his fingertips teasing her aching nipples, and, for Natasha, all coherent thought ceased.

They were straining together faster now and ever more intensely, blind and deaf to everything but the wild spiral of their approaching consummation.

Both taken utterly by storm as the savage, pulsating ecstasy had its way with them, flinging them out together into some matchless void, their voices breaking as they cried out.

Afterwards they lay, still joined, their bodies slick with sweat, in a profound and shaking silence.

She thought, Don?t leave me, and did not realise she had spoken the words aloud until he said on a breath of husky laughter, ?I am going nowhere, my beautiful one.?

A long time later, he said, ?Dare I ask if you have missed me a little??

She lifted her head from its pillow on his chest. ?I think you know the answer to that already.?

?Yes,? he said. ?But perhaps I need to hear you say it.?

?Then?yes,
kyrie
. I missed you.?

And you, my darling. If I asked you the same thing, what would you say? Could you reply ?Yes?, or would you hesitate, knowing that you?d found consolation with Domenica or someone else while we were apart, then tell me a kind lie?

Alex sighed softly, contentedly, and rolled over, imprisoning her beneath him.

?At last,? he whispered. ?Now tell me again, but this time without words,
agapi mou
.?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I AM going nowhere?

Natasha found Alex?s words tingling in her mind as soon as she opened her eyes the next morning.

It was still very early, the pale sky hardly tinged with the pink of sunrise, and she lay quietly, assimilating her surroundings and the sweet, lingering ache of physical delight. Remembering?

And as she did so, she felt her body warm and her mouth curve gently in utter contentment.

As she took this moment?waking in Alex?s arms, with her head on his shoulder and his cheek against her hair?captured and hid it deep in her consciousness. A fragment of sheer happiness to be treasured and enjoyed in the inevitable loneliness ahead of her.

Although she would not think of that now. Not allow herself any sad thoughts when she had the rapture of last night?s lovemaking to savour?the total mastery of his body, his hands and mouth taking her to new heights, urging her into new responses, new demands that she would never have believed possible.

Quite?irresistible, she told herself languorously. And she had not even attempted to resist.

They had finally fallen asleep, still entwined, in sheer exhaustion, although she?d been drowsily aware at some point of Alex moving, taking the crumpled sheet and arranging it over their damp bodies, before drawing her close again.

All the same, she thought, it was now day?and time she wasn?t here.

She eased herself out of his embrace, infinitely careful not to disturb him, knowing that if he woke and drew her down to him again she would make no protest.

She hadn?t really noticed her surroundings last night. She had seen only him, but she looked round her now as she retrieved her robe and fastened it round her. It was a very big room, but the bed she?d just left dominated the space?king-size going on emperor, she thought?its massive carved headboard giving it dignity to the point of grandeur. An important bed.

On the wall opposite a large unframed picture of a wild sea dashing itself over rocks. The Aegean raging in a storm, and she shivered suddenly as if she could feel the spray on her warm skin.

An imposing mirrored dressing table in the same dark wood as the bed, and, by the window, a couch and a table. Two doors leading, she guessed, to the bathroom and his dressing room. Nothing else.

She trod back to the bed and looked down at him tenderly, longing to bend and kiss him, but telling herself that would be an indulgence. And that later there would be plenty of time for kisses and other pleasures too.

Then crept quietly out of the room.

She was having breakfast on the terrace when she heard his voice from the
saloni
aiming a sharp question at Zeno.

He came to join her, his hair still wet from the shower, and a thin shirt open over a pair of dark swimming trunks.

?
Kalimera
.? He bent and kissed her, rubbing his freshly shaven cheek gently against her face. ?I woke without you,
matia mou
. Why??

?I thought it would be better if I went back to my own room,? she said, suddenly shy as her body stirred involuntarily in answer to his brief caress.

?Not better for me.? He sat down, pulling the coffeepot towards him. ?And from now on, you share my bedroom. I will arrange to have your clothes and belongings transferred at once.?

?No,? she said. ?Please?Alex, don?t do that.?

He stared at her, dark brows drawing together. ?Why not??

She hesitated. ?Perhaps,? she said haltingly, ?for the same reason that I didn?t have lunch with your father?s friends. For the sake of appearances.? She forced a smile. ?I gather your household isn?t altogether accustomed to having your?female guests here.?

?No,? he said, after a pause. ?They are not.?

They thought the first would be your wife?because Josefina told me so. And they will still believe that your bride alone should have the right to share the master bedroom with you
.

And they would be right, she thought. I shouldn?t sleep there, because that amazing bed is a marriage bed, not a place for a transient love affair, and I?I turned you down when you asked me. Even then, in my subconscious mind, I must have known that I loved you. But that I couldn?t bear to be married simply because your honour demanded it?because you?d taken my virginity and spoiled me for any other marriage.

I knew that being tied to me in such a way could only lead to indifference, with resentment not far behind. And having to live with you on those terms would have been a real fate worse than death. Far more so than any seduction.

She hurried back into speech. ?Therefore,? she said, ?it might make things easier all round if we were?discreet.?

Alex took one of the fresh rolls from the napkin-covered basket on the table, and began to butter it.

He said drily, ?I hoped for discretion too,
pedhi mou
. But I think your arrival in the dining room the other day damaged any lasting hope of that. By this time the world will know I am not alone here. And I assure you that no one in the house will be even slightly deceived over where we spend our nights. But let it be as you wish.?

He sent her a sudden wicked grin. ?So, do I whisper ?My place or yours?? over dinner??

She tried not to smile back, and failed completely. ?I?m being serious,? she protested.

?I know,? he said. ?And please believe I am entranced at this belated effort to establish my unswerving morality.? He refilled her coffee cup. ?And in future I shall come to you at night, although I do not guarantee to wait until everyone else in the house is asleep, or leave at dawn.

?I shall have also to think up all kinds of reasons to be alone with you, Natasha
mou
, in the daytime, as well,? he went on. ?And I think that today we will go sailing.?

She said rather wistfully, ?That would be lovely. But are you sure you can spare the time? I know how busy you always are.?

?Yes,? he said. ?And lately I have been working extra-hard trying to clear my desk in order to be with you, my beautiful one, and give you all the attention you deserve, instead of snatched moments.

?So for a while at least, we can put the world at a distance,? he added quietly.

For a while at least
?

Yes, she thought as he reached across the table and took her hand in his. And for that time, however long, however short, he would be hers. She would hope for nothing more.

It was a day captured from heaven. Aboard the caique
Mariam
they sailed all the way around the island, eventually anchoring off a deserted beach where they went ashore in the dinghy and Alex cooked the fish he?d caught a short while before over a driftwood fire on the sand.

?You?re full of surprises,
kyrie
,? Natasha commented from the rug he?d spread in the shade of an ancient olive tree at the edge of the beach, as she watched him deftly prepare their food.

He looked at her across the fire, his eyes paying tribute to the slender curves revealed by her bikini.

?And when we have eaten,
kyria
, I intend to surprise you in a different way,? he promised softly, and she threw back her head laughing, because there was sunlight, food and wine, and the anticipation of her lover?s arms around her and his kisses on her lips.