AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He started walking towards her across the room, and she swallowed reflexively, simply staring at him in awe. The movement of his muscles rippling beneath his taut bronzed skin was totally mesmerising. And totally arousing.
Her gaze slid easily over the contours of his broad chest, down to the sculptured beauty of his lean stomach muscles. A sprinkling of black hair arrowed downwards, drawing her gaze lower still.
Her eyes widened as she found herself staring at his towel. Her attention was having a powerful effect on him, and he was making no attempt to hide it. She pressed her teeth into her lower lip, feeling an answering heat flood through her own veins.
She jumped up awkwardly, clutching the bundle of fresh clothes to her chest, suddenly desperate to get out of there. She couldn’t bear a repeat of last night’s humiliation.
‘There’s no need for you to hurry,’ Theo said, blocking her access to the en suite bathroom with his large, virtually naked body. ‘Unfortunately Drakon cannot see us yet. We’ll have to occupy ourselves for a while.’
‘Oh,’ she said, forcing herself to meet his gaze, but hardly registering his words as he lifted his hand to brush her hair back from her face. She knew exactly how he wanted to occupy himself—and, despite everything, her treacherous body felt the same way.
She shivered as his fingers made contact, knowing he was watching her reaction. She was certain he was aware how much she still wanted him—even after she had pushed him away the night before—but she would not give in to the desire that was rapidly taking her over.
She felt her cheeks flare even hotter and she stepped quickly to the side. His hand dropped slowly from her face, skimming lightly down the side of her body, but he didn’t try to stop her as she fled into the bathroom.
When she emerged some time later she discovered that she was on her own again. A delicious breakfast had been laid out on their private balcony, but only one place had been set. She was to eat alone.
Like many Greeks, Theo rarely bothered with breakfast. Kerry felt light-headed if she skipped a meal—she couldn’t imagine how Theo, six foot two inches of solid muscle, powered his body and made vital business decisions fuelled by nothing more than the occasional coffee.
She sat down, realising it was a welcome relief to be able to eat alone in the morning sunshine, enjoying the stunning view across the island to the Adriatic. The land sloped away from the house, down to olive groves shimmering silvery green, and beyond that the sea was a beautiful pale turquoise, wreathed with a slight sea mist that she knew would soon burn off as the day heated up.
She was just finishing her meal when Theo returned.
‘I have some disappointing news,’ he said, stepping out to join her on the balcony. ‘Drakon is not well, and there is no chance we will be able to meet with him this morning. However, we do have his permission to walk up to the highest point on the island.’
‘Oh, no—I hope it’s nothing serious,’ Kerry said.
‘I don’t know,’ Theo said dispassionately, moving over to the edge of the balcony and leaning out to get a better view of the hill beside the house. ‘His health is poor—which I believe is what prompted him to consider selling the island. Do you have suitable footwear? I’m not sure how rough the path will be.’
Kerry frowned, staring crossly at Theo’s impassive expression. He didn’t care at all that the poor old man was unwell—he just viewed it as a business opportunity.
‘Give me a moment to change,’ she said shortly, heading back inside without looking at Theo again.
‘The island is small—only a few kilometres across—and there are no good roads or transport,’ Theo said as they left the house. ‘But we should be able to get a good view from the top of the hill.’
He watched Kerry step through the doorway ahead of him, letting his gaze run down her body appreciatively. She was wearing light cotton trousers that pulled snug over the gorgeous curves of her bottom as she walked, and a loose-fitting top that rippled against her in the slight breeze that was blowing in from the sea.
‘Poor Drakon,’ she said, as if the sight of the table under the trees where the old man had entertained them had suddenly made her think of him. ‘I hope he feels better soon.’
‘I know his staff are taking good care of him,’ Theo replied.
He glanced down at the paving stones, noticing for the first time that the drifts of dead leaves and old olive blossom had been swept up. A wry smile flashed momentarily across his face as he realised it had been done for Kerry’s benefit, but not for his initial visit, when he’d been on his own.
It was interesting that Drakon had made a concession to his inflexible ‘take me as I am’ persona for Kerry’s sake. The old man really liked her, and Theo knew that bringing her here had been a wise move. Her presence had brought him one step closer to fulfilling his mother’s dying wish.
They left the house and headed up the hill through olive groves that seemed almost as ancient as the land itself. It wasn’t long before they were out from the shelter of the trees and looking at the final steep climb to the top of the hill.
‘Do you want to rest for a moment?’ Theo turned to look at Kerry and spoke for the first time since they’d left the house. His tone was neutral, but somehow Kerry got the feeling he didn’t want her to take him up on his offer of rest.
‘No, I’m fine,’ she said quickly. She felt uneasy at the thought of sitting still with Theo anyway—especially as it was clear that he was keen to keep moving.
The silence between them was deafening, but all the time they were walking the atmosphere had been tolerable. Concentrating on keeping her footing and admiring the stunning scenery had distracted her from Theo’s taciturn brooding.
He looked straight ahead and kept on walking without breaking his stride. It was still a fair hike to reach the top of the hill, and from the way Kerry’s muscles were already aching it felt more like a mountain.
By the time they reached the summit she was breathing heavily, and her legs felt like jelly. She sat down on a large boulder to catch her breath, and gazed at the beautiful scenery. The mist had cleared to reveal an amazing view of the nearest neighbouring island. It was many times larger than Drakon’s island, and he had told her that it had a reasonable population for its size.
‘When you’ve rested for a moment we’ll head back down,’ Theo said, staring out across the glittering sea.
