His mind rewound an hour, his blood beating hot and fast as he remembered how she had felt and tasted, her lack of inhibition, her curiosity and hunger. Before today he would have said that sex was just sex, for typically the hunger that possessed him passed as quickly as early-morning mist when it was satisfied, but with Mimi the opposite seemed to be true, and instead of fading his body was still hard and aching.
He looked down at her. She looked so young, so wary, and he felt the ache of guilt at the part he had personally played in robbing her of her confidence. It might not have been intentional but, whatever she had said earlier, he could tell from the tension in her shoulders that she was waiting for things to fall apart.
He felt a sudden need to reassure her, to rebuild her trust in people. In him. There had been too much confusion between them, too many lies in her life already, so he needed to be honest.
He hesitated before taking hold of her hand and pulling her closer. ‘Are you still happy?’
Her blue eyes were searching his face.
‘Yes, but...’ She paused. ‘I don’t know how this part works.’
‘I don’t know either,’ he said softly. Watching her frown, he shrugged. ‘I like women, and I like sex, but the aftermath is not my thing. Usually I have a reason to leave—or I create one.’ Lifting her hand to his mouth, he kissed the palm. ‘But I’m not ready to leave just yet, and I thought you might not be either, only—’
His pulse twitched. Since when had he decided on extending his stay? Or asking Mimi to join him?
She blinked. ‘Only what?’
‘Only I didn’t give you much choice about coming out to Argentina, and no choice whatsoever about coming all the way out here. I was out of order, and I’m sorry for how I acted.’
She bit her lip. ‘It was out of order, but I can understand now why you did it. You had your reasons, and you were right.’ She held his gaze. ‘We did need to talk.’
‘And now we have...so theoretically there’s no reason for us to stay any more.’ He stared down into her eyes. ‘I guess what I’m asking is do you want to go back to England? Or do you think you might have a reason to stay for a couple more days?’
He could almost follow her thoughts, fear battling with longing.
‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea.’ She hesitated. ‘But I really want to make this wedding film sing, and if I had more time here I think that would help me get a feel for what will work best. But I suppose I just need to know what’s happening...’ A flush of pink suffused her cheeks. ‘With us, I mean—’
His heart kicked against his ribs. At least one of them was being honest. He stared at her in silence, fighting against the protective feeling produced by her words, concentrating on the facts. It had taken guts to ask that question—more guts than he had, apparently—so the least he could do was be brave enough to answer it.
Pulling her closer, he smoothed her hair back from her face. ‘It’s simple, really. I want you and you want me. We both know it’s not permanent, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real, Mimi.’ He took a slow breath, recalling his earlier thoughts. ‘And it is real for me—as real as you are, here in my arms.’
She nodded. ‘For me, too.’
His heart beat faster—not just with desire but relief. ‘So will you stay?’
She hesitated, then nodded again.
Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her quickly, closing his eyes to block out the uncertainty in hers. He didn’t do love and he couldn’t love Mimi. She was too young, too much of a responsibility, and he already had enough responsibilities to last a lifetime. He could never truly right the wrongs of the past—his or anyone else’s—but she deserved to be happy, and for the next few days he was going to do everything in his power to make that happen.
* * *
‘Where are we going?’
Frowning, Mimi glanced over to where Basa sat beside her, his dark hair blowing in the wind. One of his staff, Lionel, was driving them up a bumpy and quite steep grassy hillside, and she was having to grip both the underside of her seat and Basa’s hand, just to stop herself from sliding sideways.
Turning, he squeezed her hand. ‘It’s not far now.’
‘That doesn’t answer my question,’ she complained.
He smiled, and as she watched his lips curve upwards her heart felt too big for her ribs and her question seemed suddenly irrelevant.
‘I don’t want to risk spoiling the surprise,’ he said.
‘It would have been a lot easier choosing what to wear if you’d given me a clue,’ she grumbled. ‘Now I don’t know if I’m underdressed or overdressed.’
His dark eyes rested on her face, then dropped over the curve of her breasts beneath her wrap top. ‘As far as I’m concerned if you’re not naked then you’re overdressed.’
Mimi felt her skin grow warm. She still found his hunger for her incredibly exciting, and just thinking about his hands and mouth exploring her naked body made her mouth turn dry. The last two days had passed with incredible speed, and this was their final morning in Patagonia. Basa had woken her before the sun had even risen and her body had instantly softened in response.