AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’m glad you told me,’ he murmured, his fingers linking with hers, his thumb rubbing over her wrist where her pulse hammered.
She hiccupped, her breath hurting again, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks now.
‘Hell, Red, don’t cry,’ he said, kissing the top of her head and gathering her close. ‘It’s all over now.’
She splayed her fingers over the solid mass of his pectoral muscles, feeling exhausted and hollowed out. Because she knew it wasn’t over. Not for her. And she was becoming increasingly terrified that it never had been.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
XANTHE WOKE THE following morning feeling tired and confused.
Dane had woken her twice in the night. The skill and urgency of his lovemaking had been impossible to resist. He’d caught her unawares, that clever thumb stroking her to climax while she was still drifting on dreams... She stretched, feeling the aches and pains caused by the energy of their lovemaking.
Last night’s revelations had been painful for them both, but getting that glimpse of the boy she’d once known and finally knowing more of what had haunted him felt important.
The boat swayed and she heard a bump. Glancing out of the window, she could see the masts of another boat. They had arrived at the marina on Paradise Island.
Getting out of bed, she slung on capri pants and one of Dane’s T-shirts and poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot Dane had already brewed. As she loaded it up with cream and sugar she tried to deal with all the confusing emotions spiralling through her system.
She was in trouble. Big trouble. That much was obvious. And it wasn’t just a result of last night’s confidences, the hot sex, or even the tumultuous day spent battling the elements together. This problem went right back to her decision a week ago to bring Dane those divorce papers in person.
Every single decision she’d made since had proved one thing. However smart and focused and rational and sensible she thought she’d become in the last ten years, and however determined never to let any man have control over her life, one man always had. And she’d been in denial about it.
But she wasn’t that fanciful girl any more—that girl who had loved too easily and without discrimination. She was a grown woman who knew the score. She had to bring that maturity to bear now.
She poured the dregs of her barely touched coffee down the sink.
Taking a deep but unsteady breath, she headed up on deck. Dane stood on the dock, tall and indomitable and relaxed, talking to a younger man in board shorts and a bill cap. Her heart jolted as it had so often in the past, but this time she didn’t try to deny the profound effect he had on her.
He’d shaved, revealing the delicious dent in his chin which she could remember licking last night.
She shook off the erotic thought.
Not helping.
Dane spotted her standing on the deck and broke off his conversation. His hot gaze skimmed down her body as he walked towards her.
‘Morning,’ he said.
‘Hi.’
She stood her ground as he climbed onto the boat, the heat in his eyes sending her senses reeling.
‘I should head home today,’ she said, as casually as she could, and held her breath, waiting for any flicker of acknowledgement that what had happened last night was a big deal. ‘I thought I’d check out the flights from Nassau.’
She silently cursed the way her heart clenched at his patient perusal.
‘Why don’t you stay for one more night?’ he said at last. ‘I’ve got a suite booked at the Paradise Resort before I head back to Manhattan tomorrow.’
She sank her hands into the back pockets of her capri pants to stop them trembling and control the sweet hit of adrenaline kicking under her breastbone. What was making her so giddy? It was hardly a declaration of undying love.
‘Why would you want to do that?’ she asked, determined to accept the casual invitation in the spirit it was offered.
He gave her a long look, and for a terrible moment she thought he could see what she was trying so hard to hide—the panic, the longing, and all those foolish dreams which had failed to die.
But then his lips lifted in a sensual smile and heat fired down to her core. ‘Because we’ve both been through hell in the last couple of days and I figure we’ve earned a reward.’
He touched a knuckle to her cheek, skimmed it down to touch the throbbing pulse in her neck. The snap and crackle of sexual awareness went haywire.
