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He winked as he looked down at his jersey boxer shorts. ‘Depends on the occasion.’ He checked over his shoulder. The beach was empty and the sun was dipping even lower in the sky, the rainbow of reds and oranges vivid in the dimming light.
‘Thought you were introducing me to Temur Sapora,’ he teased, his arm still outstretched and not wavering at all.
Her fingers went to the top button on her shirt dress as she started to stand. The little flicker in his stomach grew.
She undid the first button. ‘I’m introducing you to selected portions of Temur Sapora. Maybe I hadn’t decided if you were worthy of this yet?’ She was teasing him back. He liked it.
She still hadn’t taken his hand. He stepped a little closer. ‘What do I need to do to be worthy?’ he asked, his voice low.
She blinked, those dark eyes connecting with his. It was mesmerising watching her fingers oh-so-slowly undoing the buttons on her dress, revealing the skin underneath. His breath was definitely faltering.
The red dress dropped to her feet in silence. Her underwear was simple. Black cotton bra and pants. No silk. No lace. He’d never seen anything sexier.
There was a glint in her eye. She pointed over his shoulder. ‘See that buoy out there?’
He turned. The orange buoy was bouncing in the currents. He looked sideways at her, knowing what might come next. ‘Yes...’
She streaked past him. ‘Last one there’s the loser!’
He couldn’t help but admire her curvy figure as she ran full pelt into the waves—the actions of someone who’d done it time and time before. She hit the water with her arms automatically starting to crawl as he was still standing on the beach.
Her swimming was smooth and practised, and it gave him the kick he needed to run and join her. Philippe had always had a competitive edge but this was one contest he was definitely prepared to lose.
He waded through the ocean, sucking in a breath at how deceptively cold it was at first, then put his head down and started out towards the buoy. Arissa was already halfway there.
He kicked his legs more, his arms slicing through the ocean. Every so often he lifted his head to check the position of both Arissa and the buoy. Her laugh carried over the water towards him. He was catching her, but it was clear she was confident.
He slowed his pace a little. She was relaxing around him, flirting a little and he liked it. He liked her. She was interesting, clearly dedicated to her work and home, but there was real old-fashioned goodness about her that he hadn’t seen in years. And it was in everything that she did. Every conversation. Every thought process.
Nowadays, if he said that, it probably wouldn’t be seen as a compliment. But he admired how much the people around her mattered to her, because it was exactly how he felt when he was at home too.
So many people were interested in fame and fortune now. Social media and press seemed to dictate even diplomatic processes and business dealings. It wasn’t that he was wildly old-fashioned, but he’d become a doctor for a reason—because he liked to deal with people.
Nowadays it sometimes felt as if it was turning into an original concept.
She let out a whoop and he looked up to see her laughing and touching the buoy. He was only a few strokes behind and joined her holding onto the bright orange float. ‘Cheater.’ He laughed as he spat out some water.
‘Not at all.’ She grinned. ‘If you’re not fast, you’re last.’
He ducked her head under the water and she came up spluttering but still laughing. This time she moved closer, one arm sliding around his neck as she used him as her anchor instead of the buoy.
‘Maybe you just need to learn to swim better,’ she taunted, her legs wrapping around his waist.
For the first time he was glad of exactly how cold this water was. Not that it was stopping his blood flowing.
‘Maybe you’ve had more practice.’ He smiled back. ‘Given that you’ve got your own private beach.’
She tipped her head back, letting some of the water drain from her hair, the curls were still there, just bouncier now. He tried not to stare at the delicate skin on her neck and the base of her throat. It would only lead his eyes to someplace else.
As she tipped her head back up her grin was wide, showing her straight white teeth. ‘Is that beach envy I hear in your voice, Dr Aronaz?’ She was still teasing. He liked this new side of her. It seemed as if once she’d shed her clothes, she’d also managed to shed that serious cloud that seemed to hang around her. He still hadn’t quite got to the bottom of that.
