Page 48 of The Rings that Bind


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‘Thank you.’ She flashed him a quick smile and padded over to the pool.

Nico supressed a groan as she casually stripped off the shorts and placed them neatly on a lounger. She then unfolded a towel, spread it out on the adjacent lounger, and settled down under the blazing sun.

He must be mad, he reflected, gritting his teeth at the ache rampaging through his loins. If he had kept his mouth shut for a couple more days he could be down there, lazing by the pool, with the most responsive, intuitive woman he had ever been blessed to make love with.

Until today he had never ended a relationship before it had run its course. Admittedly, it didn’t take long for him to become bored with a lover, but Rosa was different. He had never had a lover like Rosa before.

He dragged his fingers through his hair and got to his feet. It was time to tell the Captain they needed to change course and return to Butterfly Island.

With a pang of dread he acknowledged they would have to spend at least one more night together.

* * *

Her eyes hidden behind the thick sunglasses, Rosa watched Nico leave the sundeck.

She wanted to throw up. If it were not for her pride she would be holed up in the bathroom at that very minute.

At least she had managed to salvage some dignity from the situation. But then, having spent her life coping with rejection, she had become an expert at handling it.

This time would be no different.

* * *

Nico spent the rest of the day with the crew. The Captain had agreed to increase the speed they were sailing at. With any luck they should return to shore tomorrow evening. The Captain had also agreed to show him how the yacht was run, and he had thoroughly enjoyed exploring the bowels of the ship and learning of the mechanics behind it.

The sun had long set and thick clouds were encroaching over the sky when his thoughts turned to Rosa. All day her image had flickered at the back of his retinas, but he had refused to allow her space in his head. Thinking of her made his chest tighten too strongly for comfort.

He hoped she had remembered to eat. She had a habit of skipping meals when she was bogged down with work.

Then he remembered she had nothing to distract her from eating.

He found her sitting cross-legged under the covers of the enormous bed, working on a laptop set upon her knees. No doubt she had taken sanctuary indoors because of the brewing storm.

She lifted her head briefly and nodded at him.

‘You’re wearing glasses,’ he said, blinking with surprise at the pink-rimmed frames.

‘Well spotted.’ Her focus went back to whatever she was doing.

‘I didn’t know you wore glasses.’ How was that even possible?

‘I have continuous-wear contact lenses, but the ones I had with me were nearing the end of their shelf-life. If I had known I would be away for longer than a day I would have made sure I brought my supplies with me.’ She threw him an accusatory glare. ‘Luckily I keep a spare pair of glasses in my handbag.’

He surveyed her warily. Rosa’s frame was taut, as if she were contracting all her muscles. ‘They suit you.’

Her lips tightened into a white line and she tapped furiously at the keys in front of her. ‘Whatever.’

He raised a brow at the inflection of her tone. ‘They do suit you.’

‘Nicolai, I am perfectly aware glasses make me look like a troll. Please don’t try to be nice to me.’

‘I’m not trying to be nice.’ He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. For someone who professed to be cool about the turn their relationship had taken, she was acting extremely strangely. ‘I don’t know where you got the idea you look like a troll...’

‘From the mirror—all right?’ she snapped, slamming the lid of the laptop down and staring at him with a look of untamed wildness behind the clear lenses. Her eyes were strangely magnified. ‘Believe me, I am well aware of how I look—of the ugly, vertically challenged frump who’s reflected back at me.’

‘You are not ugly,’ he snapped back, outraged she could even think such a thing.

‘I’m hardly the kind of long-legged, blonde-haired beauty you usually cavort with.’ She pushed the laptop off her lap and slithered out from under the covers.

Nico had no idea what he could say to that last remark without making matters worse. For all her tightly controlled exterior something was clearly eating at her, and for once he didn’t have a clue how to approach her.

She jumped off the bed, her braless breasts bouncing softly under a thin white vest. The only other item of clothing she wore was a pair of skimpy lace knickers. Knickers he had instructed be included in her wardrobe when seduction had been at the forefront of his mind.

At this stage seduction should be the last thing on his mind, but watching her stride forcefully across the cabin floor, he felt that familiar ache well inside him. If he was being honest with himself the ache hadn’t really left him, had been a constant reminder of how mind-blowing things had been between them.

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