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Their pilot and guide, Yaro, smiled. ‘Plenty more animals for you to see. I’ll fly low over the watering hole where there will be zebra and elephants. And we should spot some lions. The National Park has the biggest population of lions in Africa.’
Eleanor leaned back against Jace’s chest when he slid his arms around her waist and drew her close. The air was cool in the early morning before the sun had properly risen, and she revelled in the warmth of his body and the hardness of his thighs pressed against her bottom.
Beneath them the majestic panorama of the Serengeti stretched as far as the eye could see. ‘I think this must be the most beautiful sight on earth,’ she whispered.
‘I agree.’ Jace’s voice was very deep. Eleanor was unaware that he was looking at her when he spoke.
It had been a truly magical day, Eleanor thought later in the evening. After the balloon flight, their guide had driven them to a camp beside a lake and they’d eaten lunch while they watched a huge flock of flamingos wading through the shallows. The birds’ bright pink feathers made a stunning contrast to the blue lake. In the afternoon they’d climbed into an open-roof truck and headed out across the plains, where they saw majestic elephants and dainty impala and, incredibly, a rare black rhino. Tears had filled Eleanor’s eyes when they’d spotted a lioness with three cubs.
‘Africa is everything I had imagined and so much more,’ she’d whispered to Jace.
‘I’m glad,pouláki mou.’ His expression had been hidden behind his sunglasses but the warmth in his voice had curled around her heart. She had told herself not to read too much into the easy companionship she felt with him. He had suggested a truce but in the same breath he’d reminded her that their marriage was temporary.
Now they were back at their luxury lodge. Eleanor had washed off the dust from the day with a relaxing bubble bath while she’d watched the short but dramatic sunset through the window. The sky had turned into an artist’s palette of purple, pink and gold as the huge orange sun sank below the horizon.
Dinner had been prepared and served in the lodge by friendly staff. She and Jace had sat on the terrace, eating delicious food and listening to the night-time sounds of the Serengeti—the trumpeting of elephants, hyenas howling and the repetitive chirring of the nightjars in competition with the frantic chirping of cicadas.
When the staff left and they were alone, Eleanor stood by the balcony rail and looked up at the inky-black sky, scattered with a million stars.
‘The full moon looks close enough to touch,’ she murmured when Jace strolled over to join her. Throughout the day she had been intensely aware of him when he’d sat beside her in the truck with his arm casually draped across her shoulders, or lightly touched her face to draw her attention to a herd of wildebeest in the distance.
She inhaled the spicy scent of his cologne mixed with something earthier and profoundly masculine, uniquely Jace. He had changed for dinner and his black trousers and matching shirt emphasised his tall, muscular physique. Liquid warmth pooled between her thighs, and she felt the sharp pinch of her nipples and did not need to look down to know that their outline was visible beneath her amber silk wrap dress. The material felt sensual against her breasts and the glitter in Jace’s eyes during dinner had told her that he knew she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Eleanor took a deep breath before she turned to face him. ‘I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier, and... I agree.’
One black brow quirked. ‘You agree with what, exactly?’
Her thoughts had gone round in circles all day and returned to the one thing she was certain of. She was attracted to Jace—fiercely, overwhelmingly attracted in a way she had never been with any other man. He had said he wanted to have sex with her, but he’d made no attempt to sell her a romantic ideal. Jace had been honest with her, and she was tired of playing games. But admitting in words what she wanted was daunting.
‘This,’ she murmured. She placed her hand on his chest and felt the uneven thud of his heart beneath her fingertips. Moving her hand higher, her fingers gripped the collar of his shirt and she lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips against his mouth.
His immediate response banished her fear that she might have read the situation wrong. With a low growl that sounded as predatory as the lions who roamed the plain, Jace seized her in his arms and pulled her against his whipcord body. For a few seconds he allowed her to take the lead, and she kissed him lingeringly, flicking her tongue out to explore the sensual shape of his lips.
He made a rough sound and took control, sliding one hand into her hair to clasp the back of her head as he deepened the kiss and it became spine-tinglingly erotic. He tasted of whisky and desire. She opened her mouth to the demanding pressure of his and traded kiss for kiss as their passion grew hotter, wilder, a conflagration that blazed out of control.
Jace lifted his head and stared down at her, and the stark hunger glinting from his narrowed gaze stoked Eleanor’s excitement. But when he caught hold of her hand and drew her inside the lodge and into the master bedroom she halted in the doorway and looked at the enormous bed beneath a canopy.
‘Wait.’
He released his breath slowly. ‘Of course you can change your mind,omorfiá mou,’ he said in a strained voice.
‘I haven’t, butyoumight when I tell you that I haven’t done this before.’ She watched his face as comprehension dawned and he frowned when she whispered, ‘You will be my first.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘WHYME?’JACErefused to acknowledge the inexplicable euphoria that swept through him following Eleanor’s admission. It had crossed his mind once or twice that she might be a virgin, but he hadn’t really believed it. If he had not known that she couldn’t tell a lie convincingly to save her life, he would find it hard to believe her now.
He was a red-blooded male and she was all of his fantasies rolled into one in a silky dress that clung to her sweet curves. During dinner, he had been too distracted by picturing her naked breasts beneath her dress to do justice to the food. The outline of her pebble-hard nipples jutting through the silky material had kept him in a permanent state of arousal. But there were bigger issues at play here than his out of control libido.
‘If you have chosen me to be your first lover because of a misguided belief that my emotions will be involved, I have to tell you that you’ll be disappointed,’ he said tautly.
‘Why?’ She threw his question back at him. ‘Don’t you believe in love?’
He shrugged. ‘I believe it exists for some people, but more often it comes with unrealistic expectations.’ Somewhere deep inside Jace was the teenage boy who had discovered his father’s body. He was haunted by the unanswered question of whether Dimitri had chosen death and deliberately abandoned his family. Jace associated love with pain and loss. Who needed love? Not him.
Eleanor met his gaze steadily. ‘If you are worried that I’ll fall in love with you, don’t be. I gave you my heart once and you trampled all over it. I won’t offer it again.’ She shrugged. ‘But you are very attractive, and I’ve fancied you for ages. I’d like my first sexual experience to be with a man who knows what he is doing.’
Jace told himself he was relieved by her assurance, but he was stung by her cool tone. ‘How come you are a virgin at twenty-five?’
