He wants me as I want him!
And why should that not be something to rejoice in? Even for the short duration of their time together? Her life had changed utterly in so short a time, all thanks to Xandros. She would be grateful to him for ever. Grateful for all he was making possible. Grateful that he desired her as she did him.
And it will be good—oh, so good! For he is everything I could ever dream about in a man! Everything!
The wonder of it filled her. She felt a warm rush around her heart and lifted her eyes to his. He caught them, smiling down at her, warm and caring.
For her and her alone.
For the night to come—when she would give herself to him and take all that he was offering her.
For all their time together.
In the dark of the night, in the warmth of his bed, she lay in his arms, filled with a golden incandescent glow. How was it possible to have felt such bliss, to have responded to his skilled, but oh, so gentle possession?
She had cried out—not in pain this time, but in wonder, just as he had promised her—and joy had flooded through her, along with a pleasure, an ecstasy so intense her spine had arched like a bow, her limbs straining, her hands clutching at the strong, straining sinews of his back. And he had thrown his head back as he, too, had reached that same peak of absolute union.
And now she lay in his arms, with an exhaustion so profound and a wonder so deep binding her to him as her hectic heart rate eased. She felt her breath, warm upon his strong, supporting chest, felt her eyelids close, sleep washing over her in the cradle of his arms.
In all the world this was the only place she wanted to be.
As he felt the soft, trembling body in his arms lapse into restful slumber Xandros slackened his hold. His own body was succumbing to the torpor of satiation, but before the last of his conscious thoughts ebbed from him he knew that one was uppermost. The one he treasured most.
Just as he had promised her he would, he had made it wonderful for her... And for himself as well.
Like I’ve never known it.
But why...? Why should that be?
Like feathers on a stream, thoughts drifted through his mind. Never before had he been a woman’s first lover—and never before had a woman been his wife...nor shared his haven on Kallistris...
Were they the reasons it had seemed so...so special...with Rosalie?
The question hovered like a drop of rain held in the still air...and as sleep finally flowed over him it dissolved like mist. Yielding no answer.
Rosalie lay in the sun, offering her body to its warm caress. Her skin was no longer pale. The passing days had turned it to golden honey...
Five blissful, sun-kissed days!
Five even more blissful nights...
Nights of giving herself entirely to Xandros—to what they had together.
She felt her breath catch in wonder and delight.
Xandros—oh, Xandros!
She cried out his name in her head and felt her heart glow as warmly as her body.
How was it possible to be so happy?
How impossible was it not to be?
Day after day they had taken their leisure—swimming, sailing, paddleboarding, snorkelling, taking picnics up to the headland, going for easy walks amongst the wild goats through the herb-scented maquis, drinking cocktails on the beach, watching the sunset and the moonrise, feasting every evening on Maria’s groaning banquets to give them strength for the long, long nights when they burned with passion and desire...finding ecstasy in each other’s arms...
She felt heat beat up in her cheeks. Was it because he was her first lover that it was so good? So special? Was that the reason?
Or was it because she had taken one look at him as she’d opened the door of that rundown rental house she’d been cleaning and known he was the most fantastic-looking male she’d ever seen in her life?
Or was it because he had swept her out of her grim, grinding poverty to bring her here, to the land of her forebears, showering upon her this amazing life of wealth and luxury, promising her that never again would she know hardship and deprivation?
She did not know why—she knew only that it was so, and that in Xandros’s arms she knew a bliss that she had never imagined possible.
Why it was, she left unspoken.
Unanswered.
Xandros crunched across the pebbles, his eyes going immediately to Rosalie, sweeping over her dozing form. He felt desire quicken, as it always did, and he hunkered down beside her, indulging himself in softly brushing his hand over the soft swell of her midriff, exposed by her brief bikini.
Her eyelids fluttered open and her face broke into a smile.
He brushed her mouth with his. ‘Can I tempt you to a swim before lunch?’ he asked, and smiled, drawing back.
‘You can tempt me to anything.’ She gave an answering smile.
‘Now, there’s an offer!’
There was a glint in his eye as she sat up.
Today was their last day on Kallistris—they would be heading back to Athens first thing tomorrow morning. He wasn’t looking forward to it. He never liked to leave Kallistris anyway, but now his reluctance was even more marked. He’d happily spend more time here, lotus-eating with Rosalie, rather than go back in Athens, plunging head-first into all the work that making his merger with Coustakis a reality entailed.
He was conscious of the irony—after all, he had only married Rosalie to achieve the merger he wanted, and yet here he was wishing he could have more time with her here. Back in Athens he’d be putting in long days at the office and would only see her in the evenings.
Well, he would strive to make it possible to get back here as much as he could. Even a weekend would be better than nothing.
He helped her stand up now, and then stripped off to his swim shorts. Both of them waded into the waiting sea.
His thoughts went back to that first swim they’d had together. Before he had made her his own. Was it really only five days ago? They seemed to have been lovers for so much longer. It was as if they’d always been together. As if they always would be.
He frowned, wondering where that thought had come from, and dismissed it immediately as he launched into a powerful freestyle, ploughing out to sea. It was Kallistris, he thought, increasing his speed. It had that effect on him...making him forget about anywhere else. An island, indeed, of lotus-eating, where time stopped and there was neither past nor future, only an endless blissful present.
But time didn’t stop in the world beyond, and back in Athens his time would be busy. His agenda non-stop. Maybe the enchantment he was feeling with Rosalie would start to wear off there. Perhaps here, on Kallistris, where he’d never brought his amours, she seemed more special than she really was.