She must have succeeded because, apart from his raised brows, nothing indicated he’d intuited her inner thoughts. She didn’t protest when he ran a teasing gaze over her warm cheeks.
“You sure? Maybe I need to conduct a thorough examination, check that you are, indeed, ready.” His molten gaze traveled all the way down to her toes and back up again.
Her breath caught. He laughed.
“You know, it amazes me how you can blush at the tiniest hint of sexual banter and still be a tigress in bed.” He laughed softly as her cheeks burned hotter.
The hands she’d rested on his chest wandered up to entwine around his neck, and she inhaled his male scent, his closeness as usual causing her body to act independent of her mind.
“I know it’s your American forwardness that makes you come out with anything that pops into your head, Nick, but I really wish you wouldn’t—”
“Spare your blushes?” he cut in, a shameless grin lighting up his gorgeous face. “I thought it was my Greek arrogance.” He planted a soft kiss on her parted lips, then stepped back to hold out an arm to her.
Laughing, she took his arm and allowed him to lead her out of the room. “Well, I’d say it’s an unhealthy combination of both.”
His grin widened and turned lascivious. “Ah, but it turns you on anyway, right?”
She knew he was trying to distract her from the events of last night. And she was supremely grateful to him for that. So much so, her heart lurched as she gazed up at him. Nick cared for her, she knew that now. It was that final step into love that he seemed incapable of. But she wasn’t going to dwell on that right now.
“Did anyone tell you you’re incorrigible?” She slanted him a wry glance as they descended the stairs and exited the villa.
“No one has ever dared, but even if they did, where’s the fun in being boring and predictable?”
“You get to live a very long life?”
He helped her into the golf cart and took his seat behind the wheel.
“Trust me, I intend us both to live long lives, but boring and predictable will not feature. It’s rocket-straddling until we draw our last breath.”
“Speak for yourself. Rocket-straddling sounds…chafing.”
“Easy solution. You can straddle me instead. No chafing whatsoever. Ah, here comes another blush in three, two, one—”
Need exploded through her, threatening to consume her alive.
Nick was still laughing when he released the brake on the cart and eased it down the driveway. Between the trees, she spotted security guards, but she tried not to let their presence intrude on her enjoyment of being with Nick.
The late summer sun blazed down upon them, eased by the shade of the golf cart’s canopy and the slight breeze blowing from the sparkling sea. Its gentle undulation soothed her, and she sighed.
“Penny for them?” Nick asked.
Recalling the same question that had made her snap at him a week ago, she felt a twinge of regret for all the antagonism that had passed between them. Could they heal the old wounds, get past them to forge a sustainable marriage once the immediate danger was over?
“I was thinking how beautiful it is here. And how pe
aceful and breathtaking.”
“Yes. That was part of the reason my great-grandfather bought the island. The main reason was the saltwater springs in the rock pools. He’d heard of their healing powers, and I guess he thought there was no harm in seeing if it would help my great-grandmother.”
“Was it called Althea before your great-grandfather bought it?”
“No. He named it that after he saw its effect on my great-grandmother. The doctors had told them they could never have another child after they lost their first one. I guess he came here really as a last, desperate measure. At the time, there was only a small stone dwelling next to the largest of the springs, and that’s where they stayed. According to my grandfather, my great-grandmother swam in the pool every day for six weeks, and by the time they left for Athens, she was pregnant. Two years later, they were living here permanently. Alex’s grandfather was born here on the island.”
“So the island really does have healing powers?” Deep down, a part of her hoped it did, that the magic could somehow be applied to their own problems.
He shrugged. “The springs contain sulfur and various other minerals that are said to possess powers. But what happened to my great-grandmother could’ve been something as simple as getting away from the stresses of everyday life and immersing herself in complete relaxation.”
“But your great-grandfather believed it, which was why he named the island Althea.”