‘Maybe you need to move inside, or at least into the shade again.’ He tapped her shoulder with a finger. ‘You’re burning.’
‘I don’t know what’s come over me,’ she said hazily, aware of his finger resting lightly against her skin. ‘I just want to swim, sleep or sunbathe the whole time. And eat. The food is amazing.’
‘It’s your body’s way of letting you know you needed a rest. And maybe some sun. Go with it, don’t fight it.’
‘Do I look like I’m fighting it?’ she mumbled into her hands. ‘Maybe I need another week.’
‘That could be arranged.’ Raf traced an idle path down her back and Cassie could barely breathe. ‘Would you like me to oil you?’
‘Would you mind?’ She cleared her throat, the catch in her voice giving her away.
‘Not in the least. Budge up.’
She shifted across, aware of him reaching for the bottle of factor fifty on the floor. Was he being deliberately loud as he unscrewed the top and tipped some onto his hand, or was it that her every sense was heightened, poised for him to begin. He smoothed gentle circles across her back, working the suncream into her skin, brushing her hair out of the way. She gasped when his fingers slid beneath the strap fastening the bikini around her neck.
Slowly he worked his way down, his hands firm and sure, as though he was imprinting himself onto her soul. Never had her body been touched with so much sensitivity, as though they had all the time in the world and the only thing Raf cared about was her and how he made her feel. She could barely recall her own name as she wondered wildly how he could make so simple a task feel so utterly sensual, until she was almost melting with anticipation and desire. When his finger tugged at the thin bikini strap across her back, she stifled another sharp intake of breath.
‘You have a line, here,’ he said huskily, a second finger joining the first. ‘It seems a shame to spoil your suntan. Would you like me to undo it?’
‘Please,’ she told him tremulously, the whispered reply making her decision clear. ‘I think you’re right. It would be a shame.’
Cassie couldn’t care less about her suntan. It was all Raf, his touch and how they felt, where they were going, that mattered. How slow and careful he was being, how polite and yet lethal, every brush of his fingers leaving her longing for more. Was she imagining the length of time he was taking to unfasten it? And when he parted the straps and let them fall away, she wondered how the separating of two thin strips of material could suddenly make her feel so naked. He could see no more of her than he had before, and yet she felt totally undressed and entirely aware of his every ragged breath. Even the sun couldn’t compete with the heat he was generating in her body. She felt scorched, branded.His.
‘I think you’re good now,’ he muttered. He found the bottle again and tightened the lid. ‘I should go and make us some lunch.’
‘What if I don’t want you to go?’ she whispered.
‘I don’t want to go either,’ Raf told her hoarsely. ‘But I promised I’d wait until you were ready. I want you to be certain and maybe this isn’t the right moment to decide that. Not when you’re lying here almost naked and I don’t want us to stop.’
She swallowed, caught between desire to have him continue and a tiny voice telling her he was right. That she might act on this moment and regret it before the day was out. And she wanted to be certain, too. No regrets. She needed reason, not her body clamouring for more.
‘So it’s not just me who feels this way?’
‘You want me to prove it?’ He leant over to place the words in her ear.
‘How would you do that?’ Cassie muttered distractedly.
‘I’ll show you, when you’re ready.’ He dropped a kiss onto her shoulder, and she was already ruing reason and sense.
‘I just don’t think I can mend my heart a second time, Raf,’ she whispered.
‘I don’t want you to have to mend your heart again, I promise. And for what it’s worth, I think we can work it out. I want to work this thing out, so you and me can find a way to be together. But we take it as slow as you need.’ The lounger shifted as he stood up. ‘I’ll be inside when you’re ready to eat.’
After lunch he disappeared, telling her he had to work. She napped in her room after another swim, opening her bedroom door to a knock after she’d woken and showered.
‘You forgot this, when we were at the market.’ Raf held out something soft wrapped in tissue paper, and she took it, tearing it open. Inside was the rose-patterned dress she’d found this morning, and she laughed.
‘You went back to get it for me? Why?’
‘Because you loved it and I think you’ll look beautiful in it,’ he told her softly.
‘Thank you.’ She held it against her body, tilting a hip. ‘I do love it, even more than I did this morning.’
‘You’re welcome. I’m going for a shower. I’ll see you at dinner, yeah?’
‘Absolutely. And it’s my turn to make it.’
There was no doubt what she’d be wearing tonight. Throughout their friendship they’d shared the usual celebratory gifts, but he’d never chosen one like this before. One so intimate and meaningful, that he wanted her to wear. An idea fell into her mind as she closed the door to change, wondering if she dared see it through.
