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Bianca couldn’t believe she’d asked him so boldly to kiss her or that now she was lying in the soft surf of the Bahamas, practically naked with the man she thought she hated. She didn’t hate him. She might hate herself for wanting him. She certainly hated him for awakening her passion, something she’d tried all her adult life to keep locked away. But she didn’t hate him.
The water on her skin was exciting, but his touch, as he moved his hands over her, was almost unbearably erotic. With one hand under her shoulder, keeping his weight from her, his other hand skimmed over her thighs, her hips and up to her waist. All the time she was aware of his aroused state, pressing hard against her, demanding and tempting all at the same time.
She’d never done anything like this before. No man had ever touched her like this, and she trembled as he began to kiss down her neck, oblivious to the water rushing over them in a way that only heightened her senses, making every touch of his more powerful.
Her arms were wound around his neck, but as he kissed down her throat she spread her hands over his wet back, enjoying the strength that emanated from him. She’d never had a man so naked against her body, never felt the sizzle of skin against skin, but as he returned his kiss in a trail of blazing heat up to her lips, she had to stop herself gasping his name in pleasure.
As if he knew her torture, his tongue slipped between her lips and a sigh of pleasure finally escaped her as his hand cupped her breast, the sensation so new and heady she could hardly breathe. Was this what being loved by a man was like?
That thought sobered her mind. Liev didn’t love her. He might desire her, but he didn’t love her, and there was no way she was going to get carried away and give herself with such abandon to this man.
‘No, stop.’ She moved away from his kiss and pushed at his chest, trying to ignore the hardness beneath her palm. ‘I can’t do this.’
She scrambled to her feet, sand clinging to her body as she trembled with unquenched desire and shock at what she’d wanted. She’d wanted to make love, right here on the beach in broad daylight with a man who was no better than Dominic. One was a gambler, the other a blackmailer, and both had used her for their own gain.
She watched as he, too, got to his feet and walked away from her, reaching down to collect their discarded garments. Was he seeking time for composure? She used those moments to press her wet hair against her head, smoothing down the disarray.
Then he turned to face her, his expression now the familiar mask of hardness, and regret pinched at her. ‘I apologise.’
‘It’s just that...’ She stopped short of spilling everything out. How did you tell the man you had just been kissing with such abandon that you were a virgin, that you had no experience of how to please him, how to enjoy the moment of intimacy she’d almost slipped into?
‘Just what?’ The words were snapped out and she knew he was angry, that he probably thought she’d led him on—and she had.
‘I just need a bit of time.’ She was stumbling over her words, the passion he’d ignited within her muddling her senses and making any kind of rational thought impossible. ‘What I mean is, I hadn’t expected that.’
‘By that, I assume you mean the desire to kiss me, the need to feel my touch, or that you wanted me as much as I wanted you, regardless of everything else?’
She blushed and knew denial was useless. Instead she looked firmly at him. ‘Yes, that is exactly what I mean.’
‘We should get back. I expect you would like to change before dinner?’
She walked towards him and took the cover-up and her glasses from him, instinctively putting both on as a shield from his hungry gaze. As she walked beside him, the beauty of the island calmed her ruffled nerves and she wondered at what had just happened, but more alarming was the fact that she had wanted more.
* * *
Liev watched Bianca walk along the terrace after dinner; her shoulders were tense and all evening her conversation had been stilted. She was obviously not as comfortable with being here with him as he’d first thought. Especially after the kiss they’d shared at the water’s edge. That had been so wildly passionate he’d hardly been able to drag himself off her when she’d demanded he stop. It had taken every last bit of his control to do that.
He walked out into the evening warmth and stood close behind her, and with her hair swept up, he longed to kiss her delicate neck, longed to resume what had been started just hours ago in the waves.
Gently he placed his hands on her shoulders and moved closer still, the urge to press his lips to her skin ever stronger. She didn’t pull away and beneath his hands he could feel her shoulders rise and fa
ll as her breathing deepened. He lowered his head and inhaled her scent, floral and intoxicatingly sexy.
Still she didn’t pull away. Instead she leant back against him, tilting her head slightly to allow him access to the softness of her skin. As his lips met her skin, tasting her, she drew in a ragged breath and he knew she was far from indifferent to him. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
‘You feel it too.’ He breathed the words against her skin, becoming more caught up in the desire he’d been keeping locked away since the auction, when she’d been so angry passion had blazed in her eyes. Now he wanted that anger to be nothing but passion.
She shook her head, the movement small and indecisive. She was still battling with the desire which had sparked angrily to life between them the moment their paths had collided.
‘No,’ she whispered, but he knew that denial was the furthest thing from the truth that had ever passed those sweet lips of hers.
He trailed a finger down her neck and saw her quiver and arch away from him, and he knew that he was pushing her over the edge, just as he was himself. ‘Why deny the inevitable?’
‘Because I have to.’
‘Why, when there is so much passion between us, so much desire? It is that very passion and desire that is keeping you here right now, when you could walk into the house and to your room. I wouldn’t follow you there. I meant what I said earlier. Nothing will happen unless you want it to.’
He slid his hands down her arms and he stepped closer still, until there was barely a whisper of air between them. He wanted her so much, but he had to be patient, had to wait for the right time.
