A hundred feet. ‘What happened?’
He shrugged. ‘I chalked up my hands and carried on.’
She couldn’t think of anything to say to that. But she didn’t need to. He was already reaching down to pick up her dress.
They got dressed with difficulty, their wet clothes twisting and tightening against their skin, and then they walked back to the house, not holding hands but not tensing or leaping apart when their fingers brushed together either.
‘I don’t how that happened,’ he murmured.
Looking up into his eyes, she gave him a quick, shy smile and he grinned sheepishly. Around them rainbows danced in the sunlight, taking form in the spray-soaked air.
‘I just meant I didn’t plan it.’ His face was serious, intent, shocked. ‘I don’t normally act like this, but I’ve never wanted any woman the way I want you.’ His eyes dropped to her throat and, lowering his mouth, he pressed his lips against the tiny beating pulse there. ‘Something happens when I’m around you... I feel so frantic.’
‘I know.’ She pressed her hand against his chest, feeling his heart throb against her fingers. ‘I feel the same way. And I didn’t plan it either.’
‘Was it okay? I wasn’t too rough—?’
Looking up into his face, she could see the concern in his green eyes. She shook her head. ‘No, you weren’t rough. It was wonderful.’
‘Wonderful’ didn’t really do justice to what they’d just shared. It had been sublime. And César was so gorgeous it was no wonder that she’d clawed off his clothes in broad daylight like a ravenous animal. Or that she would gladly do it all again.
But however handsome or sexy César was, that was irrelevant to their future. Her heart was not for the taking and marriage was still not an option.
She felt her stomach tighten. But neither was pretending that something wasn’t happening between them: it was. And it wasn’t just sex.
But why did it have to be a binary choice between sex and marriage? Was there no room for something in between? Something bespoke—just for them. After all, it was the twenty-first century.
She thought back to César’s scars. This was a man who took risks and tested his limits. She, on the other hand...
It wasn’t that she hadn’t experienced anything in her life. She had: love, marriage, sickness and death. That was a lot more than most twenty-seven-year-olds. Only that was the problem. It had all been too much, too quickly. She had felt passive, powerless, like a passenger in a speeding car.
But César made her feel powerful. She might not want to skydive or free climb, but knowing how she affected him made her feel in control and euphoric in the same way. Plus, whatever happened, they were both parents to this baby growing inside her.
And all that seemed to matter more than trying to classify their relationship status.
Only did he feel the same way?
His hand reached for hers and he stopped beside her. ‘Kitty, I’ve been thinking. About us. About what we’re doing. I’ve been thinking that I’d like it to carry on.’
Watching her eyes widen, he reached out and pushed a curl away from her forehead.
‘I don’t mean what happened by the waterfall specifically—although that was incredible...’
He smiled, and the slow burn of his gaze made her nipples tighten painfully.
‘So, what are you suggesting?’
His eyes rested on her face—not just green but gold and amber, like pirate treasure.
‘Look, I’m not ready to go back to Havana yet. I haven’t had a proper break in a long time, so how do you feel about staying on here for a couple of days?’
Her heart was hammering in her chest. ‘I think it sounds like a lovely idea, but I’ve already taken quite a lot of time off.’
He shook his head slowly. ‘You don’t need to worry about that, I spoke to the big boss—he’s a great guy, by the way, cool and good-looking and charming—and he said that you can take as much time as you want.’
She bit her lip, trying to stop the smile that was tugging at her mouth.
Sensing her indecision, he reached out and, taking her hand, pulled her closer. ‘Please, Kitty. I know I’ve juggled my schedule, but it’s not enough. I owe it to you and the baby to take a step back from the business and not just relocate my office to my home.’