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She was stunned by this thoughtful gesture. It was one she hadn’t believed a man as ruthless as Liev would be capable of. It would, though, make a swim more intimate, when she was wearing his choice of swimwear.
‘I’ll meet you outside when you are ready.’ Before she could say any more, he left, closing the door to her room behind him. Never had a man bought her a present, and unable to contain her curiosity, she pulled the red bow undone and opened the flat box. Inside was a red bikini and the most delicately beautiful cover-up she’d ever seen.
She blushed until her cheeks matched the bikini at the thought of wearing it in front of him, but she would look incredibly prudish and ungrateful if she stayed in the summer dress she was wearing. Besides, a swim in the sea was becoming ever more inviting.
* * *
Liev watched as Bianca moved out onto the terrace, pleased to see she’d accepted his gift. The sheer red chiffon cover-up wasn’t really doing its job and he could see her soft curves as the warm wind pressed the fabric against her skin. She looked uncomfortable and vulnerable with her face almost free of make-up and her hair pulled up into a haphazard chignon which left some dangling sexily around her face.
‘Red suits you,’ he said as she walked towards him and was rewarded with a slight flush to her cheeks. In fact, red suited her too much.
‘Swimwear is another look you wear well,’ she said with that impish smile he’d seen briefly before. So she wasn’t immune to him and neither was she embarrassed by him standing waiting for her in his swimming trunks and white shirt open. Was he fin
ally beginning to melt the ice princess?
‘If we walk a little first, there is a nice sheltered cove, perfect for swimming.’
As she fell into step beside him, he remained silent, waiting for her to decide the topic of conversation, hoping that eventually it would come round to what he wanted to know about her brother and ICE. By playing it cool, he hoped to lure her into lowering all those barriers she had up against the world and him in particular.
‘How long have you had this place?’ She looked out at the ocean as they strolled along and he couldn’t resist taking in her long legs as she walked in the edge of the surf. The pull of attraction was becoming much stronger and harder to resist, just as it had each time he’d seen her, especially after the revelations of a much softer and caring Bianca at the shelter. On the way to the island there had been moments when he thought she felt the same way and his original plan of nothing ever happening between them was paling into insignificance.
He wanted her, more than he’d wanted any woman. At the same time he resented her more than any other woman. She was the spoilt little rich girl, pandered to and pampered with every luxury. But that opinion had changed. Or was it his increasing desire for her that changed it?
‘I bought it last year but haven’t yet put my mark on it.’ An island paradise had been something his parents had talked of wanting. A place to escape the harshness of Russian winters. He’d achieved that for them, but had much more to do yet.
‘I like it just the way it is.’ She looked at him, her sunglasses shielding her eyes, hiding her thoughts, but it couldn’t hide the relaxed smile or the genuine interest in her voice.
‘This is the best place to swim,’ he said, wanting to change the subject and give his mind and body something other than Bianca to focus on. He pulled off his shirt, dropped it to the warm sand and waded into the water. When he was waist-high in the ocean, he turned to look at her.
She was removing the cover-up and placing it on the sand next to his shirt along with her sunglasses. The thought of their clothes lying together on the beach only increased the throb of desire which coursed through him.
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.
* * *
