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CHAPTER SEVEN
SHEWOKEUP even earlier the next morning, the sound of the rolling waves breaking through her light sleep, so she blinked into the soft light and pushed back the covers, deciding against trying to settle again. A strange, unfamiliar energy was bursting through her, and Tessa wanted to burn it off. She dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt—taken from the shopping bags the housekeeper had left in her room the afternoon before—and decided to go exploring. This was a beautiful island, and a walk out in nature was exactly what she needed to shift her focus away from her husband and the way they sparked off one another.
Tiptoeing through the house as though she were a burglar, she crept into the kitchen and pressed the button on the coffee machine, sliding a cup beneath the nozzle and waiting for it to pool out. She watched as it formed a thick black liquid in the bottom, then, when it had stopped, lifted the cup to her lips and swallowed gratefully, eyes closed, experiencing the hit of caffeine with all her might.
‘Good morning.’ His voice, deep and hoarse, set her pulse raging immediately and she spun quickly.
‘Oh, hi.’ Heat flamed through her at the sight of Alex in a pair of jeans and a white shirt that accentuated his tan wonderfully. Never is a long time. It sure felt like it already. ‘Did I wake you?’
‘No, I’ve been up a while.’
‘It’s only just gone six,’ she pointed out.
‘I wake early.’ His expression was carefully blanked of any emotion.
‘I see. Well, don’t let me bother you. I was just about to go for a walk. I thought I’d explore the place a bit.’
‘You want to see the island?’ He regarded her thoughtfully.
Why, when he looked at her, did she feel as though her whole self was fully visible to him?
‘Yes.’ It was easy to be emphatic in response to that question. In fact, it was easy to be emphatic about anything, other than the desire that was flooding her veins.
‘Then let me show you a better way to see it.’
It was on the tip of her tongue to demur, but dammit, there was an inherent weakness inside of her, a weakness she’d always felt around Alex, that made her contemplate that for a beat. ‘I was just going to walk around a bit,’ she said, unconvincingly.
His expression tightened, his eyes warring with hers. ‘If you want to be alone, that’s fine. For my part, I’d enjoy showing you the best parts of Epíneio.’
Her heart skipped a beat. He was saying what he wanted. He was telling her he’d enjoy spending time with her. Why couldn’t she admit as much?
Because he’d burned her once before. She’d offered him more than her body and virginity that night: she’d offered him her heart. Not in words, but surely in every look, every touch. He hadn’t wanted her—not her heart, nor her body, beyond what that one night had been.
And yet she was married to Alex now, and they had to find a way to be together, to be civil and mature. That would take time and it would take practice. Perhaps the more she was around him, the better she’d get at this.
‘You can think of me as your tour guide,’ he said casually, and despite the fact she felt permanently on edge around Alex, with her nerves completely helter-skelter, she found herself nodding. After all, it would be churlish to decline.
‘If you have time.’
‘I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t.’
Whereas Tessa had been planning to set off from the house on foot and explore at a snail’s pace, Alex had other ideas. Around the back of the house there was a garage, with an off-road car, a jet ski on a trailer, and a jet-black motorbike with shiny chrome features. Her heartbeat accelerated rapidly as he moved towards it, running his hand over the leather seat then turning to face her. Her eyes lingered on his fingers and their touch of the bike; it was impossible not to imagine those same fingers caressing her with that lightness and intimacy.
Her pulse was thready and she jerked her eyes away. ‘Have you ever been on a bike before?’
Her smile was wistful. ‘No.’
‘Not interested?’
‘It’s not that.’
‘Ah, let me guess.’ He watched her closely. ‘Your family.’
She sighed. ‘They’re so dangerous.’
‘They can be, when ridden inexpertly.’
She almost laughed. It was so like Alex, so brimming with arrogance, to dismiss the dangers inherent to motorbikes, because he had so much faith in his own abilities. Then again, it was hard to doubt him when he spoke with such confidence.
