Mutually beneficial, perfectly amicable.
She clinked her glass against his lightly. Smiled back at him. Brightly, civilly, cheerfully. OK, she wasn’t yet totally used to being in his company, but the next few days would see to that.
She just had to get used to him, that was all.
‘To us...’
Nikos’s voice was deep, but if she’d thought for a second she’d heard something in it that smacked of some kind of intimacy, well, she was sure she was mistaken. He was, she reminded herself, a formidably attractive man, and he would have an impact on any woman without even intending to.
‘To us,’ she returned, and took a dutiful mouthful.
Nikos slid open the door to the huge balcony and they stepped out to take in the vista of the hotel’s gardens and azure swimming pools, and the glittering waters of the Gulf beyond.
She gave a sigh of pleasure and leant against the glass balcony rail. Nikos moved beside her, not too close, but almost in a companionable fashion, looking down with her, taking in the scene below.
His mood was good—exceptionally good.
The wedding had gone superbly, achieving just what he’d wanted to achieve—his entry by marriage into the world that his bride took for granted as her birthright. A flicker of dark emotion moved in his mind—the bitter memory of being ejected from that Normandy chateau, unwanted and unwelcome, rejected and refused, reminding him that he’d had no such auspicious start.
His mouth tightened. Well, he did not need what his own mother had denied him! He had achieved it without her acceptance! Just as he’d made himself as rich as the father who’d repudiated him, denied any claim to paternity.
He shook the dark thoughts from him. They had no place in his life—not any longer. They had no more power to haunt him.
His gaze dropped to the woman at his side and his good mood streamed back. For three months—long, self-controlled months—he’d held himself on a tight leash. For three endless months he’d held himself back, knowing that above all the woman he had chosen for marriage was not a woman to be rushed. He must thaw the ice maiden carefully.
This moment now, as he leaned companionably beside her, was the reward for his patience. And soon he’d be reaping the full extent of that reward.
But not quite yet. Not until she was fully at ease with him, fully comfortable with him. The first few days of their honeymoon should achieve that. It would take more immense self-control on his part, this final stage of the process, but, oh, it would be worth it when she finally accepted his embraces. When she accepted the passion that would, he knew with masculine instinct, flare between them when the time was right.
He hauled his mind back to the present. For now it was still necessary for him to exercise patience. Self-denial.
He turned his head towards her with an easy smile, his voice casually amiable. ‘What would you like to do for lunch?’ he asked. ‘We’ve flown east, so although you may feel as if it’s only early morning, here the sun is high.’
She glanced at him, returning his easy smile, glad that it felt natural to do so. Glad that standing here beside him, side by side, seemed quite effortless. She could see how much more relaxed he was—just as she was. It might not be a honeymoon in the traditional sense, and he might have business affairs to conduct, but there was a holiday atmosphere all the same. She was enjoying the easy feeling it brought. Enjoying just being here.
‘I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘Whatever you prefer. And Nikos...’ her voice changed slightly ‘...please don’t feel you have to keep me company while we’re here. I know you have business appointments and, really, in an ultra-luxurious hotel like this I’ll be more than happy to lounge around lazily. And if I feel like anything more energetic I can always take a formal tour and go exploring. You know—souks and whatever. Even the desert, maybe. I’ll be perfectly OK on my own, I promise.’
She said it quite deliberately, and was glad she had. She wanted to set the right tone, make it clear that she understood the unstated but implicit conditions of their marriage right from the off.
But he was looking at her strangely. Or so she thought. She gave an inner frown of puzzlement.
‘Yes, I do have some business appointments,’ he said, ‘but I believe I can still find time for my bride on our honeymoon.’ His voice was dry.
Her expression flickered, then recovered. ‘Well, lunch together now would certainly be nice,’ she said lightly
. ‘Do you think there’s anywhere suitable to eat poolside? I must say, that water looks tempting.’
‘Let’s find out,’ he returned. ‘We’ll take our swimsuits—be sure to apply enough sun cream. Your pale skin will burn instantly in these latitudes.’
They made their way down, bringing the champagne bottle with them, and emerged into the hotel’s vast atrium, in the centre of which an enormous crystal fountain cooled the already air-conditioned air and the fragrance of frankincense wafted all around.
She gazed openly at the opulence, and then Nikos was guiding her outdoors. The heat struck her again, and the sun’s glare, and automatically she fished out her dark glasses from her tote bag. Nikos did likewise.
As she glanced at him she felt her tummy do a quick flip.
They’d both changed into casual gear—she into a floaty sun dress and he in chinos and an open-necked short-sleeved shirt—but somehow, from the moment he put on his sunglasses, there really was only one word to describe him.
Sexy.