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For days she’d argued with herself, vacillated from having the courage to ask and having it disappear. The other problem was that if she managed to get him to talk to her about his past then she’d be forced to speak of her own.
Soon, she promised herself. But not this morning. Nothing was going to ruin their outing to the beach.
Picnic basket in one hand, his other firmly wrapped around hers, Piers made his way down the steps carved into the face of the cliff. With each downward movement, the sounds of the ocean got louder and Jewel became more excited.
When their feet finally hit the sand, Jewel stopped and looked up at the impressive rocky cliffs looming over and around them, isolating their stretch of beach from the rest of the world.
“It’s like we’re in our own little world,” she said in awe.
Piers smiled. “No one can see you except by boat, and I have it on good authority the locals don’t fish this end of the island.”
“Conjures up all sorts of naughty possibilities, doesn’t it?”
His eyes glittered in response. “You can be sure once you are well that I’ll be all too willing to indulge in some of those possibilities.”
She laughed and kicked off her shoes, digging her toes into the warm sand. Unable to resist the lure of the foaming waves, she hurried toward the water’s edge, anxious to feel the water swirling around her ankles.
The cascading water met her and rushed over her feet. She threw out her arms to embrace the breeze and smiled in absolute delight as her hair billowed behind her. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deep and wished she could stop time, right here in this perfect moment.
“You look like a sea nymph,” Piers said. “More beautiful than a woman should be allowed to look.”
She turned to see him standing beside her, his pants rolled up to his knees, his feet bare.
“Is it safe to swim here?”
He nodded.
“We’ll have to do it sometime.”
“You look happy, yineka mou. Have I made you so?”
The vulnerability that flashed in his dark eyes made her catch her breath. This strong, arrogant man was as human as the next person. Not questioning the wisdom of doing so, she flung herself into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck.
“You’re so good to me, Piers. You do make me so very happy.”
Tentatively, he returned her embrace and as she pulled her head away to look at him, their eyes met. Their lips were but an inch apart, and she licked hers nervously, in anticipation of what she knew was about to happen.
Instead of waiting on him, she pulled him close, fitting her mouth to his. He seemed willing to let her dictate the pace, and she explored his mouth thoroughly, learning every nuance, his taste, feeling the warmth of his tongue.
His fingers were a soft whisper against her neck. They delved farther into her hair, holding her closer as she deepened the kiss. The salt from the ocean danced on their tongues, mixing with the heady sweetness of their passion.
Finally she pulled away, gazing up at him through half-lidded eyes. “And do I make you happy?” she asked huskily.
He ran his thumb over her cheekbone, stroking to the corner of her mouth. “You make me very happy.”
She smiled brilliantly at him then grabbed his hand and tugged him farther down the beach. “Come on! Let’s explore.”
Indulgently, he allowed to her to pull him along. They covered every inch of the beach from cliff to cliff. By the time they returned to where the picnic basket lay, she was starving.
“Help me with the blanket,” she said as she unfurled the brightly colored quilt. Laughing, she fought with the billowing material as it refused to cooperate.
“Here, let me.”
Piers wrestled the blanket to the sand and piled their shoes at each corner to hold it down.
“Now hurry and sit before it flies away again,” he said.
She gingerly eased down and dragged the basket into the middle of the quilt. Piers sat beside her and they began divvying up the food.
The sun shone bright above them, and the sand glistened like tiny jewels, scattered to the water’s edge. She sighed and turned her face up into the warmth.
“You look very content, yineka mou. Like a cat sunning herself.”
“Haven’t you ever wished that a single moment could last forever?”
He became pensive as though he were giving her question serious consideration. “No, I can’t say I have, but if I were given to such flights of fancy, then today would be one such time.”
She smiled. “It is perfect, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It is.”
They finished eating, and Jewel lay back on the blanket, enjoying the sounds and smells of the ocean. The warmth of the sun’s rays lulled her to sleep, and before she knew it, she was being shaken awake.
“It’s time to return to the house, yineka mou. The sun will be setting soon.”
She yawned and blinked lazily as his face came into view. She smiled up at him and held up her hand so he could help her.
Together they collected the remnants of their lunch, and Piers packed them and the blanket into the basket. He reached for her hand when they arrived at the bottom of the steps, and she slipped her fingers into his.
Tonight. Tonight she’d broach the subject of his past, and for the first time, she wouldn’t avoid hers. She wanted to know his secrets, the source of the pain she saw lurking in the depths of those shuttered eyes.
Would he share those secrets or would he block her out? And should she press him on something that clearly he had no wish to discuss?
True to his word, after the night Piers had found Jewel on the floor of her bedroom writhing in pain, she’d slept each night in his bed. In deference to her incision, he spooned against her back, and she enjoyed the warmth and security his muscled body offered.
Most nights she wondered if they’d resume their lovemaking after the tenderness left her abdomen. Tonight, however, she lay there, cuddled against his chest, gathering her courage to broach the subject of his past.
“Piers?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Carefully she started to turn over to face him.
“Will you tell me who hurt you so badly?”
He went still, and she wished the lamp was on so she could gauge his reaction.
“Who made you so distrustful of women?” she continued on. “And why is it that you don’t want this to be your child.”
He put a finger on her lips. “That’s where you’re wrong, yineka mou. I want her to be mine very much.”
Jewel cocked her head to the side. “But you seem so convinced that she isn’t.”
He turned on his back to stare up at the ceiling. She tentatively cuddled into the crook of his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. When he didn’t resist, she relaxed, allowing her fingers to trail through the hairs on his chest.
“Ten years ago I met and fell in love with a woman. Joanna. I was young and stupid and convinced I had the world by the tail.”
“Don’t we all at that age,” she said with a slight smile.
He chuckled. “I suppose you’re right. Anyway, she became pregnant, and so we married right away.”
Jewel winced at the similarities but remained quiet as he continued.
“She gave birth to a boy. We named him Eric. I adored him. I was as happy as a man can be. I had a beautiful wife who seemed devoted to me. I had a son. What more could I ask for?”
Jewel’s mouth turned down unhappily. She could only imagine what he’d say next.
“And then one day I came home to find her packing. Eric was two years old. I remember him crying the entire time I tried to reason with Joanna. I couldn’t understand why she was leaving. There hadn’t seemed to be any problems. I had no warning.
“Finally, when I told her that she could leave but there was no way in hell I’d let my son go, she told me that he wasn’t my child.”
Jewel sucked in her breath. “And you believed her?”
A derisive sound escaped his lips. “No, I didn’t believe her. But to make a long story short, her lover who she was involved with when she and I met had devised the perfect plan to milk me for all they could. Several months and a paternity test later, it was proved that Eric wasn’t my son. Joanna took him and
