AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Perhaps he was finding the transition from friend to lover too weird. Funny, because she was finding it exactly the opposite. Having a lover who was also a friend was so incredibly . . . natural. One minute he’d make her laugh, the next she’d be breathless and giddy with desire. He didn’t seek to control her, only to pleasure her. And when the passion was temporarily spent, there were no uncomfortable silences. Instead there was cuddling, warmth, teasing. It was all so new to her, but she could so easily get used to it. Too easily.
Finally he strode out of the sea and walked towards her. Unabashed, she stared at him, watching the streams of water running off his hard body. A body usually quietly hidden beneath conservative clothes. That was Nick. Understated, but actually quite magnificent.
‘Feel better?’ she asked as he drew closer.
Her heart sank as he avoided her eyes, instead reaching down for his towel. ‘If you mean have I got my libido in check, then, yes.’
‘Nick, come on, don’t be like this.’ She shook her head, frustrated with him. ‘It wasn’t a rejection. You know that.’ Standing up she ran her hands over his chest, kissing him lightly on the lips. He remained rigid, unmoving. Swearing under her breath she gave up and went to sit back on the towel. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I’m currently the paparazzi’s number one dream target. The last thing I need right now is to give them more ammunition.’ She pleaded with him to understand. ‘I’m a famous figure. I have to be extremely careful about my privacy.’
‘Yeah, I noticed.’ With vigorous strokes, he rubbed himself down with the towel. He still hadn’t looked at her.
‘So that’s it, is it? You’re going to have a strop all day just because I declined your offer of sex on the beach?’
‘I wanted to make love to you,’ he corrected softly. ‘But I hear what you’re saying. I’ll restrict my amorous overtures to the safety of indoors in future.’
She let out a sigh of pure, unbridled frustration. ‘God, you can be so bloody infuriating.’
‘No doubt.’ He picked up the snorkel equipment and hoisted it over his shoulder. ‘I’ll see you back at the villa. I need to catch up on some work.’
* * *
As Nick made his way off the beach, he didn’t dare to look behind in case he was caught by one of the daggers he knew Lizzie must be mentally flinging at him. Okay, he was being petty, and it sure as hell wasn’t pretty, but it summed up exactly how he felt. As if he needed her to remind him she was a famous figure. Angrily he shoved the towel around his neck. He knew she was, damn it. Just as he knew she was not only out of his league, she was playing in an entirely different division.
And now he was feeling good and sorry for himself, which pissed him off even more.
Dumping the snorkels back in the pool hut, Nick acknowledged Lizzie had a right to be concerned about being photographed again. The scars from the last ordeal were still very fresh, something he of all people should know. So what he should have done was cut her some slack. Shown some understanding. Not stormed off like a truculent teenager.
The trouble was, he reflected as he strode through the villa to the bathroom, it was hard enough handling the fact he was having an affair with Lizzie, the beautiful girl he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. When he was reminded he was also sleeping with Elizabeth Donavue, dazzling supermodel and pin up to millions of men around the globe, it sent him into free fall.
He was attractive and successful. He believed that. But next to Elizabeth Donavue, he wondered if he’d ever be attractive or successful enough.
Chapter Nineteen
When Nick finally surfaced, Lizzie was in her least favourite room of any house, the kitchen. She was attempting to make a chicken and mushroom pasta dish, the best peace offering she could dream up on the spur of the moment.
‘Are you planning on adding sliced finger to the dish?’ he asked from the doorway, watching her attempting to chop up the mushrooms.
‘I thought it might make a new twist on humble pie,’ she retorted, throwing down the knife in despair. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all. ‘Well, don’t just stand there laughing. Help me.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Please.’
Seemingly satisfied, he manoeuvred her gently out of the way and started to expertly slice through the mushrooms. ‘Show off,’ she muttered under her breath.
‘Well, practice does tend to make perfect.’ He glanced at her as he eased the mushrooms into the waiting frying pan. ‘I can’t imagine the LA set do much of their own cooking.’
She didn’t want to talk about the culinary habits of her American friends. ‘Are you still annoyed with me?’ she asked instead, needing to know where she stood.
He took his time to answer her blunt question, turning on the gas, adding butter to the mushrooms. All with a meticulousness that made her want to shake him. ‘No,’ he replied finally. ‘I guess I just felt . . . brushed off.’ He shrugged and stared broodily into the sizzling pan.
She couldn’t bear to watch him hurting. Walking up behind him, she placed her arms around his waist. ‘Whatever I made you feel, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.’
He turned and two deep brown pools stared back at her. ‘And I’m sorry for being so sensitive.’ Lightly he kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I’m feeling my way here. I’m not sure of my moves any more. The role of sensible older brother came easily to me. I seem to have gone overboard on the lover part.’
Of all the stupid things he could say. ‘You’re joking, right? Just because I don’t want to make love in the potential glare of a paparazzi lens, doesn’t mean I want us to slow down.’ Putting her hands on either side of his face, she kissed him long and hard. ‘I want you, Nick Templeton. If you’re willing to come with me, right now, I’ll show you just how much.’
Finally he laughed. ‘Well, that’s an offer I can’t refuse.’ He turned round to eye up the mushrooms. ‘But what about your pasta dish?’
She turned off the gas and dragged him out of the kitchen. ‘It would have been rubbish anyway.’
* * *
