It didn’t. Caius knew fatefully that nothing would quench it except indulging it. He wanted his wife. How very inconvenient when there was a mountain of baggage between them.
And yet…they were here on this island, albeit within swimming distance of Valdere City, for the next few days, for all intents and purposes to create a child that was already growing within her womb.
And Caius really did have to come to terms with this whole situation because it wasn’t going to end any time soon. So instead of fighting it…maybe he should just go with the flow a little and get to know his new wife. It had never been in his nature to invite conflict, not after watching his parents tear emotional lumps out of each other all his life.
He couldn’t deny that Poppy wasn’t like his other women. But that didn’t mean that things would be any different once he’d had her again. It wasn’t as if it would go any deeper than the physical anyway. Even if she was the mother of his child. A concept, he had to admit uncomfortably, that was becoming more and more real in a way he hadn’t anticipated.
He pictured her again with her hands either side of that small but very definite bump, skin glowing pale in the moonlight. He pushed that image and revelation aside.
All he wanted was the physical. And if there was one thing he excelled at, it was seducing women.
The following morning Poppy was sitting on the outdoor terrace being served breakfast. It would be another beautiful clear sunny day. She could hear the gentle lap of the lake water meeting the rocky shore at the end of the garden, where it sloped gently downwards.
She was at the back of the chateau and so faced a spectacular view of the mountains. It was peaceful and quiet and for a moment she could almost forget that she was now a married woman. A queen. With a king.
A king who was still in bed apparently. And she’d slept late—unintentionally—a side effect from the long day before. She blamed pregnancy hormones.
But then for a sybarite like Caius Mansur, sleeping late was probably quite usual.
The newspapers were spread on the table, brought over from the mainland first thing. Pictures of her kiss with Caius on the palace balcony was on the cover of almost every tabloid and broadsheet.
Poppy picked up the nearest paper, taking in the photo and the way Caius’s hand was on her jaw. She was leaning towards him, one hand lifted and fingers spread across his chest. How had she let it be so…provocative? It looked undeniably sexual. Was it just the effect of this man? That everything he looked at and touched somehow became more erotic?
Suddenly a bit breathless, she looked away from the photo to the printed words of the article. But she stopped skim-reading when something caught her eye and found herself reading intently.
‘Good morning.’
Poppy looked up from the article and her eyes widened on a bare-chested Caius, who was wet, and dripping water onto the terrace. He had a small towel slung around his slim hips and it took a second for Poppy’s brain to function, so unexpected was this vision.
Before she could stop herself she blurted out, ‘I thought you were still in bed.’ Far from it. He was wide awake and glowing with rude vitality, body honed and muscular.
One dark brow arched. ‘I’ve been up since six a.m., and you’re right, the lake was extremely refreshing.’
Oof.She was the one just out of bed in leggings and a loose T-shirt. No make-up. Hair pulled back into a careless bun. Even though he was half naked, she felt like the untidy one.
‘I didn’t know you wore glasses,’ he observed.
Poppy reached for them, taking them off. She didn’t wear contacts when she was considered off duty. Feeling prickly, she said, ‘Well, it’s not as if we’ve spent a whole lot of time around each other.’
His gaze flicked to her mid-section and back up and he said dryly, ‘We’ve spent enough time together.’
She felt that like a little sharp dart. Another reminder of why they were here and how she’d curtailed his life.
Caius sat down on the other side of the table and staff attended him, bringing fresh fruit, granola, pastries, coffee. He smiled and thanked them. Poppy couldn’t seem to take her gaze off his chest, broad and muscled. The smattering of dark hair, curling wetly against his skin. The dark discs of his nipples. It was positively indecent.
She lifted her gaze and he was watching her, those blue eyes far too bright and knowing. Nothing wrong with her eyesight now. She could feel a blush rising upwards and took a quick sip of tea to try and stave it off.
When they were alone again, he said, sounding amused, ‘I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you thought I was still in bed.’
She couldn’t stop the blush this time but he seemed to take pity on her, saying, ‘The truth is that I’ve always been an early bird. Even with a hangover.’
This sat a little uneasily now with what she’d just read in the paper. Caius flicked a glance down. ‘Anything of interest?’
Poppy put the paper down. ‘Why didn’t you tell me the full story about the financial crisis you were dealing with?’
Caius took a sip of coffee, unconcerned. ‘I didn’t think you were interested.’
‘You let me think the worst.’
