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The friction of his invasion made every nerve ending sit up and take notice. His rhythm vanquished her discomfiture, persuaded her to move in concert, no longer a bystander but a full participant. The wave of excitement gripped her afresh as his pace quickened and then he was groaning over her, her body jerking from the fierce onslaught of his orgasm.
‘It’ll be easier the next time,’ she told him soothingly as he gazed down at her in a fierce combination of satisfaction, guilt and apology.
‘There’ll be a next time?’ he muttered in a daze. ‘A second chance?’
The most extraordinary wave of tenderness flooded her. She had never felt as close to another person as she felt to him at that moment. ‘If you want one,’ she whispered, wrapping her arms round him, smoothing the tension from his broad shoulders, watching the stress ebb from him again.
‘I want one,’ he confessed with a brilliant smile that filled her with warmth. ‘I want you.’
‘But we don’t have any protection, so you’ll have to pull out...or something,’ she warned in a rush.
Raif continued to hold her close, stroking her hair back from her flushed face, revelling in her generosity and warmth. ‘It was special,’ he murmured softly. ‘Very special because it was with you.’
With reluctance, he eased back from her and his ebony brows flared up in consternation as he muttered something in his own language. ‘The condom split...’
‘Oh, dear...’ Claire could think of nothing else to say while she wondered how long that little foil packet had been lying around before her mother embarrassed her by forcing it on her.
His lean darkly handsome face shadowed. ‘I was rough with you. That’s probably why.’
‘You weren’t rough,’ she scolded quietly. ‘Don’t say that.’
‘Why do I feel like I’ve known you for ever?’ Raif studied her with a frown of bewilderment before he left to go into the bathroom and clean up.
‘Are you leaving?’ Claire called in his wake.
‘Are you joking? After you offered me a second chance?’ Raif teased.
And Claire laughed and relaxed, relieved that he was staying and that any awkwardness had dissipated. He returned to the bed, switched off the light and gathered her into his arms as if he had been doing it all his life.
Claire woke up with a start and found herself alone. Naked, she got out of bed, yanked her wrap off the back of the door and went to check the rest of the house. Raif had gone. But on the table by the window there was a note printed with a phone number.
‘In case of consequences or if you simply want to keep in touch.’
But he wasgone, and a terrible hollowness spread through Claire. What had she expected? A one-night stand with a stranger would rarely lead to the start of anything more lasting. It was done and dusted and she would never see him again.
Her heart ached as if it had been squeezed dry. It hurt. At the time she had told herself that parting wouldn’t hurt but she had lied to herself because she wasn’t that tough, wasn’t that unfeeling. In an incredibly short space of time, Raif had come to mean something to her. He had been kind, caring, warm, affectionate, everything she craved in a man and had never found, but how hard was it to be any of those things when he was only planning to be around for a few hours?
And now it was back to real life. Work at twelve down in the harbour bar where she cooked and waitressed at weekends, the only employment currently available to her and with tips and pay just enough to cover the rent. Yannis, who owned the bar, was hoping to give her more work over the summer when the marina got busier and tourists arrived. But there was no dependable flow of trade on an island as small as Kanos. Sometimes the boats called in, sometimes, they didn’t bother. That was why she needed to return to the UK. There was no reliable winter employment for someone like her.
She stepped into the shower. How weak was it that she wanted to make use of that phone number already? How sad was that? As she got dressed, she could not help reliving the night that had passed. The second time had been amazing. He had taught her what pleasure was all about, but they had discovered it together, which had somehow made it more intense and meaningful, only how meaningful could it be when they had been a couple for just a single night? And he had left in the early hours before she even awakened? Why was she being sad and immature? Why wasn’t she accepting the reality of what had happened between them? A flashfire attraction that flared and passed? He had said he was travelling. Of course, she wasn’t likely to see him again. At least he hadn’t made her any empty promises.
Dressed in frayed denim shorts and a tee shirt, she opened the door to head out for work and froze. A giant basket of roses adorned with glittery balloons sat outside. She laughed out loud and reached for the card envelope. The card simply read, ‘Raif’. No words. After all, what was there to say? But a huge smile had wiped away her frown as she rushed indoors and began to drag out vases and carefully settle her beautiful flowers in water. What a wonderful, thoughtful gesture! He hadn’t stayed until she wakened and maybe that had been for the best, she conceded reluctantly. What had there been left to say but goodbye?
CHAPTER THREE
RAIFSTOODONthe sun deck staring out to sea.
He had done what he had to do, so why did he feel so bad about it? Claire was wonderful but there could be no future for them. There was nowhere for a relationship to go. He was in love with another woman and had been for years. He couldn’t offer Claire the whole heart that she deserved. He didn’t want some sleazy occasional affair, did he?
Even so, he had never wanted any woman the way he wanted her and that acknowledgement shook him. He had never thought of Nahla that way. She was another man’s wife, the mother of children. Hell...she was his third cousin’s wife! He had always appreciated the barriers between them and remained respectful in thought and deed. Claire, however, had the most amazing luminous sex appeal, he conceded abstractedly, registering that he had barely recalled his father’s fury since he first saw Claire on that beach.
Yannis, the bar owner was already rearranging chairs round a large table outside when Claire walked into the village. ‘We’ve got a big party coming in around eight from one of the yachts,’ he warned her. ‘I asked Sofia to come in and serve to leave you free in the kitchen.’
‘How big is “big”?’ Claire asked.
‘Ten, no children. Someone’s birthday bash,’ he told her cheerfully. ‘They’re bringing their own cake.’
‘Well, that will save some time.’ Claire laughed because the place was empty aside of a couple of elderly regulars propping up the bar. She would have had plenty of time to knock up a cake, had she so desired.
