Kathryn Ross - The Mediterranean's Wife by Contract

But all she could think about was Andreas. Why had he suddenly phoned her like this? She really had thought she would never hear from him again.

Should she swallow her pride and go out with him? She had to admit she was more than a little curious about the feelings he had stirred within her last night—had it just been some flight of fancy on her behalf?

She glared at the printed page, hating herself for weakening. Andreas had made it abundantly clear he wasn’t interested in her last night—so this was probably some kind of sop to his brother’s feelings, because Theo had been as upset as Jo when he’d walked out.

She glanced up over the pages of her book as she heard a car pulling up outside. A few moments later she saw Andreas strolling in through the front gates of the property. He looked magnificent. There was no other word for it. His clothes were casual, a white linen shirt and sand-coloured trousers, yet he looked incredibly sophisticated and stylish—or was that simply the air of confidence that he wore like a well fitting cape?

Carrie immediately wished she’d rushed inside to get changed. Not that she had many stylish clothes with her. The dress she’d worn last night was it—everything else was shorts, tee shirts and jeans. But it was too late to even think about that now, she realized with a rapidly beating heart as he glanced over and caught her eye.

‘Ah, there you are.’ He cut away from the path and walked across the grass towards her and she noticed the interested glances he received from some attractive young women nearby.

She tried to pretend that she was engrossed in her book, only nonchalantly glancing up as he reached her side. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she too found it hard to take her eyes off him.

He seemed to tower over her, and that combined with the fact that she was only wearing a bikini made her feel suddenly extremely self-conscious.

She sat up a little straighter on the bed and then drew her knees up in an attempt to shield her body from his eyes. But she realized that wasn’t working as his gaze just moved over her long legs with swift male appraisal.

‘I don’t know what you are doing here, Andreas,’ she murmured nervously.

‘Don’t you…?’ His lips curved in a smile that made her heart rate start to increase. Then he took a chair from a nearby table and sat down beside her. ‘I thought I told you when we spoke on the phone.’

‘And I thought we’d dealt with this situation last night. Theo and Jo mean well,’ she continued briskly, ‘but we shouldn’t feel obliged to spend time together just to please them.’

‘Is that what you think this is?’ One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘I never do anything I don’t want to do, Carrie…I can assure you of that.’

‘Well, you turned up last night!’ she reminded him swiftly.

‘Yes, out of curiosity.’ He smiled. ‘You’re right when you say that I think a lot of my brother—but dating to please him…?’ He looked at her wryly and shook his head. ‘That was never going to happen.’

‘Yes, well, I feel exactly the same where Jo is concerned, so let’s just leave it like that.’ She flicked her chin up stubbornly.

‘Good, I’m glad you feel the same—because it means we can just be friends, doesn’t it?’

She liked the way he held her eyes as he said those words. Could a woman ever just be a friend with someone who looked like him? Carrie wondered.

‘I don’t do serious relationships anyway,’ he added gently. ‘I don’t want complications, nor have I got time for them, especially at the moment.’

‘Neither have I.’ She angled her chin up even further. ‘I’m on holiday to relax after working extremely hard for exams. And in nine days’ time I start a new job in the city.’

‘So a bit of light-hearted fun is in order all round.’ She wanted to ask him what kind of fun he was talking about, but she didn’t dare voice that question because it seemed far too dangerous.

‘So, the bottom line is that you’re at a loose end this afternoon?’ she said instead.

He laughed at that. ‘Maybe it is.’

‘Well, I’ll have to check my appointments diary.’ She nodded. ‘Because I’m really busy…’

He liked the playful gleam in her blue eyes.

‘Yes, I can see that.’ His glance moved towards the book that she was still holding in her hands and he reached out and took it from her. At first she thought he was taking it away, but he simply turned it around and handed it back and she realized she’d been holding it upside down!

She flushed with embarrassment. ‘I dropped it a few moments ago.’

He nodded. ‘It’s obviously riveting.’

‘It is…but I suppose I could tear myself away from it for a few hours. I’m not so sure about snorkelling at the reef, though…as I told you last night I am not a strong swimmer.’

‘Well…we’ll sail out there, assess your skills and take it from there. How’s that?’

‘Sounds OK.’

He nodded. ‘And if you don’t want to swim or snorkel you can watch the boat whilst I dive. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.’

‘Oh, right, so I’m just the lookout for sharks now, am I?’

‘No, I’ll promote you. You can be the bar manager,’ he amended.

‘Gee, thanks.’ She laughed. ‘Just give me a minute to go inside and change.’

‘You’re fine the way you are.’ She was wearing a very sexy red bikini that showed off her incredible figure to perfection: high pert breasts, a narrow waist, and slender hips. ‘Just throw on your shorts and T-shirt.’ He picked them up from the bottom of her sunbed and tossed them up at her.

She caught them instinctively. ‘But my money is in the apartment safe so I need to go back inside anyway.’

‘You don’t need money.’ He watched as she took off her sunhat and her hair tumbled around her shoulders and down to her waist in a golden silky wave.

She was so beautiful that he found it difficult to look away. He noticed how her ribs protruded as she stretched upwards to put her T-shirt on and how flat her stomach was and he longed suddenly to reach out and touch her, slide his hands over the satin perfection of her skin. As she stood up from the bed and pulled her shorts on she flicked a glance over at him.

It was a look that was both vulnerable yet filled with an answering fire. The same look she had thrown him last night. It intrigued him…

Not many women had that effect on him, and there had been no shortage of beautiful women in his life over the years. Mostly he hadn’t had to pursue any with too much rigour; they’d fallen into his bed with the greatest of ease—and he’d enjoyed them, whilst being as honest as he could about the fact that he had no intention of committing to a real relationship. The strange thing was that the more elusive he was, the more interested they became. But it wasn’t a game with him—he really didn’t want to get himself entwined in a serious relationship. He’d been there and wouldn’t return.

Presently there were no women in his life—he’d cleared the decks because he needed all his time and concentration for the intricate negotiations of the takeover deal. Ditching his social life for these last few weeks hadn’t cost him a second thought. He was completely focused on the deal.

Or rather he had been until this morning when during a meeting of the board he had suddenly been distracted by thoughts of Carrie.

He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head all night either. That almost defiant way she’d looked at him with clear sky-blue eyes. The way her skin flushed so easily, and vulnerability slipped in. She was a bewitching mix of innocence laced with provoking passion and despite telling himself to stay away he just couldn’t.

Right now he should have been in a meeting with his accountants, not here with her. But, he reasoned, he deserved an afternoon off anyway. They would keep things light and tomorrow he would regain his complete focus on business.

Andreas had recommended that she kept her shirt on to protect her delicate fair skin from burning whilst snorkelling, but all he wore were his trunks. She watched from the back of the boat as he dived cleanly into the calm turquoise water. He looked like an Olympic athlete, she thought admiringly; his body was perfectly honed, his skin gleaming a rich honey gold. He disappeared for a moment beneath the satin surface of the sea and then resurfaced. ‘Right, your turn.’

‘Very funny. I can’t dive like that!’

He grinned. ‘Go down onto the platform and slide in. Don’t worry—I’ll catch you if you have any difficulty.’

Carrie didn’t know which made her heart race faster: the thought of him putting his arms around her or the vast depths of the ocean.

‘Come on, it’s lovely once you’re in,’ he coaxed.

Taking a deep breath, she went down the ladder onto the back platform and then allowed herself to slide in. The water felt surprisingly icy and she gasped.

‘Gosh! It’s cold.’

He laughed and swam over so that he was next to her. ‘It’s not cold, you’re just hot.’ He added teasingly, ‘In more ways than one.’

It was amazing—even in the cool water she could feel the heat of his gaze licking through her. He was so very close; she could see the gold flecks in the darkness of his eyes, noticed how thick and dark his eyelashes were, how sensual and inviting the arrogant curve of his lips.

She wanted to reach out and touch him. Instead she forced herself to swim away. ‘So where is the reef?’

‘A little further out.’ He picked up the masks he’d left on the platform and headed after her.

Carrie didn’t think she would ever forget being alone with Andreas that afternoon, surrounded by nothing but the vastness of the sea. The water was so tranquil and clear, and, when her skin became accustomed to it, quite warm. Andreas showed her how to use the snorkelling equipment and stayed close until she was feeling more confident. And by then she was enraptured by the secret world beneath them.

The reef was spectacular, a giant living city of swaying tentacles and flower shapes that moved with a swirl of its colourful fish inhabitants.

She loved every minute of it and was disappointed when Andreas told her it was time to head back to the boat.

‘That was fabulous.’ She smiled happily up at him as he climbed on the platform and reached to help her out of the water.

‘You’re glad you did it, then?’

‘Really glad. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’

‘You certainly looked at home. In fact, you looked like a mermaid with your hair streaming behind you as you swam.’

She laughed. ‘Well, unless this T-shirt dries out quickly I’m going to look like a bedraggled fish out of water on the way home.’

‘You can borrow a shirt of mine to put on.’ He led the way up onto the deck. ‘Although I have to say that the bedraggled look also suits you.’

Distracted by his gentle flirting, she lost her footing as she stepped down onto the polished floor.

Immediately he caught her and for the briefest moment she was held close against the powerful lines of his wet body.

Then he released her.

‘Sorry about that. I just slipped.’ She tried to sound nonchalant, and smile at him, but the contact had knocked all the breath from her body, and the curl of dangerous excitement deep inside her was still there.

Disconcerted, she looked away. ‘I suppose we should head back to the island now.’

‘Yes, I guess so. I have work to get back to.’ His glance moved over her, he hadn’t been lying when he’d told her that she looked good. Her wet hair was slicked back from her face revealing her perfect skin, her high cheekbones.