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‘Look, Lexi—horsies.’
Lexi followed Ty’s line of vision to a row of sturdy grey donkeys, resplendent in their multicoloured rugs and faded leather saddlery. Ty started towards them and Lexi grabbed his hand.
‘They’re donkeys, sweets, and we can’t go that way. Have a look at these colourful rocks instead.’
She didn’t think he was going to cooperate but then he acquiesced and moved towards the various-sized volcanic rocks lining the ancient path. She watched him squat down on the side of the path and saw one of Leo’s security team move into place nearby. The four men who seemed to follow Leo everywhere were so discreet she actually forgot they were even there.
Lexi cast her eyes around the arid landscape that was so unlike anything she had ever seen before. Tiny cobbled streets full of chatty tourists, incredibly beautiful views of a pristine blue sea from the various rocky outcrops and the quaint white cubed buildings, some with brilliant blue trim, tripping down the cliff faces.
But, as riveting as the scenery was Lexi still found her eyes drawn to Leo in his familiar crisp white shirt and suit trousers. Her eyes stripped away those clothes and she could so easily picture his wide shoulders and lean torso, his long, muscular legs. She knew he swam as a form of exercise but the cut of his body also came from centuries of strong alpha males who had fought the land, and each other, for their very survival.
To stop herself staring at him like an adoring fan she walked to the edge of the path and glanced down the winding red-dirt track to the beach below. It would be a shame to come all this way and not see the black sand but—
‘Ten minutes.’
‘Sorry?’ Lexi turned as Leo came up behind her.
‘Ten minutes and not a minute longer.’
Lexi beamed a smile at him when she realised he was relenting about going to the beach. ‘And, angel, don’t make me regret it.’ The words were gruff, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and she felt gloriously happy.
‘Okay. But can we ride the donkey down?’
He shook his head as if she were a lost cause and set off down the path.
As they breasted the row of little donkeys Ty’s face lit up and she saw a resigned expression flicker across Leo’s. When he stopped to converse with the elderly white-haired guide with a bandanna tied around his neck and a blue beret shielding his head she hid her smile beneath the wide brim of her own hat.
She watched as he picked Ty up and perched him atop his chosen steed and felt as light as a bubble as he then proceeded to walk protectively beside him as the donkey set off at a snail’s pace down the hill.
He might not realise it, but he was slowly starting to build a connection with Ty and, once he did, she felt sure he wouldn’t be able to help falling in love with him. In fact, she sensed that he already was. The only thing she was really having trouble sensing was what was happening between the two of them.
She knew why she had slept with him last night of course. She had felt emboldened by his obvious desire for her and empowered by her renewed sense of self. He had made her feel sexy. Sensual. And it was proving a hard thing to give up, even though she knew he wasn’t interested in anything permanent. But that was okay, she reminded herself. Hadn’t she decided last night to stop worrying so much about the future and just live in the here and now?
And the here and now was scorching. Both the sun above her straw hat and the man walking alongside a donkey with his son balanced precariously on top.
To stop herself daydreaming, she let her eyes wander to the family of four ahead. The husband had his arm slung over his wife’s shoulders while their two girls giggled exuberantly and clung to their donkeys, the leather saddles creaking at each ungainly step the donkeys took.
The couple looked so relaxed and happy—comfortable in each other’s space—that it pierced Lexi to the core. This was what she had wanted for her own parents.
This was what she wanted for herself.
She glanced at Leo and realised he was watching the family as well. Then he turned, his eyes snagging with hers. Lexi felt as if she had her heart in her mouth and forced a nonchalant smile to her lips.
Yes, she might want this for herself one day but she wasn’t silly enough to think she would get it with him even if she wished it otherwise.
So much for not daydreaming.
Surprisingly, Leo found he was enjoying himself. He had walked the stinking donkey all the way down the hillside and was now standing on the pebbled black beach holding a fistful of colourful shells and rocks that Lexi and Ty had insisted on collecting along the shoreline. Lexi had rolled up her lightweight trousers, which clung like a second skin to her sexy bottom, and was holding Ty’s hand as the waves gently lapped at her ankles.
He thought of the couple he had seen walking their two girls on donkeys ahead of Ty’s and brooded. For a minute he had wanted to sling his arm over Lexi’s shoulders and draw her close but her cool smile told him he would be way off base in doing so and it had brought him to his senses. He might be still flummoxed with what it was about this woman that attracted him so much but he wasn’t going to be an idiot about it. And while he’d presumed that the attraction would start to wane after he’d had her, it was still early days yet. Give him a week with her in his bed and he’d see things differently.
‘Take your shoes off and come in,’ Lexi called out to him from the shoreline. ‘The water is amazingly warm and silky.’
Like her skin.
‘No.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I’m good.’
The bright smile she’d worn ever since he’d given in and agreed to take them to the beach dimmed a little and he felt like the world’s biggest spoilsport. He could enjoy a beach as much as the next person, damn it.
