Talia turned her head towards him. They were both relaxing on padded sun loungers, set beside the turquoise swimming pool beneath the shade of a wide parasol which protected them against the heat of the afternoon sun beating down on the lush gardens.
‘You are going to buy it, though, aren’t you?’
Was there urging in her tone? Whatever it was that had called to her in that sad, ruined place, she knew that she wanted it to be saved and restored, that it was important to bring it back to life again.
Luke squinted at her. ‘Do you want me to?’ he asked in the same lazy voice.
‘Oh, yes!’ she answered. ‘It could be made so beautiful again!’
He nodded in assent. ‘For a great deal of money, yes...’ he agreed dryly. ‘At the moment I’m still haggling over the price.’ His tone sharpened slightly. ‘The site owners are thinking I’m a rich foreign investor they can fleece for their own profit. That,’ he said, and now there was a grim note in his voice, ‘is their mistake.’
Talia glanced at him. It was unnerving to hear that change of tone, the hard, cold edge to it, and it sent a flicker of unease through her. She banished it, her expression softening. The Luke who had been so cold, so cruel and distant, had gon
e. He had vanished utterly and now—oh, now he was the man she remembered...the warm, passionate man who had swept her into his arms, showering her with kisses.
And, bliss beyond bliss, there was nothing to part them. She was here, with him, just as they’d dreamed of being—here in the sun-drenched Caribbean, in a tropical idyll to embrace them both. Before, it had been impossible—but now they could be together.
She felt emotion melt within her like warm honey and squeezed Luke’s hand that was holding hers, just for the joy of knowing they lay hand in hand. He answered her gesture, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing it softly, his eyes entwining with hers.
‘I think we’ve had enough of the great outdoors for now, don’t you?’
There was a husk in his voice, one that she was now thrillingly familiar with, and a speaking look in his dark, expressive eyes. He let his lips play over her hand, deliberately and sensuously exploring the tips of her fingers, softly biting at the mound of Venus below her thumb, brushing the delicate skin over her wrist.
She felt arousal beckon, her blood quicken, and her eyes clung to his. ‘What did you have in mind?’ she asked, her voice a soft tease.
He answered with a low laugh. ‘Come inside and find out,’ he challenged.
As he spoke, he swung his bare legs round and drew her upright. He slid a hand warm from the sun around her slender waist.
‘If the staff weren’t around you could find out right here,’ he taunted. His hand slid from her waist over her rounded bottom, shaping it lazily. His eyes glinted. ‘Tomorrow,’ he said, ‘we go shopping. This one-piece suit has got to go—I want you in a bikini. Or in nothing at all.’
His voice was a growl of arousal now and Talia laughed, her eyes never leaving him. She ran a finger along the waistline of his trunks, letting it slip a little within, and laughed again at the sudden flexing of his muscles at her touch.
‘That goes for me, too,’ she answered. ‘These trunks conceal far, far too much.’
Daringly, she started to ease her hand downwards—only for his lightning-fast grip to stay her.
‘Don’t!’ he said, his voice dangerously taut.
It gave Talia a thrill of pleasure to know how very near to the edge of his control he was. Then, with a gasp, she was being hefted up into his arms.
He laughed in triumph and possession. ‘Time to get you upstairs!’ he exclaimed. ‘Before I throw caution to the wind and ravish you here on the sun loungers!’
She snaked her arms around his neck, glorying in the strength of his body. ‘Take me, I’m yours!’ she cried with mock melodrama, laughing in return.
He strode indoors, carrying her as if she were a featherweight, sweeping her upstairs to take her and make her his—all his.
* * *
Luke leant forward against the deck railing on the yacht, gazing across to the shore.
Beside him, Talia gave a sigh of pleasurable appreciation. ‘This is so gorgeous,’ she breathed.
Luke laughed. ‘It’s a bit of a cliché, a sunset cruise, but definitely worth it!’
There was a soft footstep behind him and he turned. The steward was coming up to them, bearing a tray that held an ice bucket in which a bottle of champagne was nestling and two flutes. He set the tray down on a table near them, and the ice bucket in a stand, then took himself off. Luke reached for the champagne bottle and with a deft hand opened it, filled the flutes.
The rich light from the setting sun bathed them as the stately yacht creamed across the cobalt waters, and the distant shore was emerald-green and thick with vegetation. She gave another sigh of pleasure. Of radiant joy. How wonderful this was!