Rolling on to her side, Teddie leaned over and switched off the light, reaching inside herself for a switch that might just as easily switch off her troubled thoughts.
But her brain stayed stubbornly alert.
Perhaps she should close the shutters.
Normally she only shut the muslin curtains, liking the way the pale pink early-morning light filtered softly through them at daybreak. But tonight the room felt both too large and yet claustrophobic, and she knew closing the shutters would only add to the darkness already inside her head.
Besides the temperature had risen vertiginously during the afternoon, and she wasn’t prepared to shut out the occasional whisper of cool sea air.
It hardly seemed possible that only this morning she had made peace with herself, accepting that the sexual longing she felt for Aristo was not shameful in any way, nor something she would come to regret. That it just was and there was no point in questioning it or fighting it.
But, although she was willing to give in to the temptation of a sexual relationship with Aristo, marriage was something she was going to continue resisting. She’d spent too long dealing with the chaos and devastation caused by the men in her life to let it happen again to her or her son.
Gazing at the moonlight through the curtains, she felt her heart contract. Maybe a fling wasn’t what she would chosen if she could have had exactly what she wanted. But, as she’d already told him, she couldn’t have that, and right now it was enough. All she wanted to do was live each minute as fully as possible until the inevitable moment of their separation when they returned to New York.
And it could have worked—only, typically of Aristo, he’d had to push for more—
Her stomach muscles tensed, frustration slicing through her. Nothing was ever good enough for him. He had a beautiful home in one of the most vibrant, exciting cities in the world, another in Athens, this mythically beautiful island and who knew how many other properties scattered across the globe? He owned a string of hotels and resorts and could probably retire now. But she knew he would never stop, that there would always be something driving him onwards, chasing him to the next goal.
Right now it was getting Teddie to marry him. And if she agreed to that then it would be something else.
Why couldn’t he have left things as they were? Why couldn’t he have just enjoyed the absence of complication in this new version of their old relationship? What was so wrong with allowing things to remain simple for just a few more days?
She didn’t understand why he couldn’t be satisfied, and she was tired of not understanding. Suddenly and intensely she wanted to talk to him.
Swinging out of bed, she snatched up a thin robe, pushing her arms into the sleeves as she walked determinedly across her bedroom. But when she reached the door she stopped, the rush of frustration and fury that had propelled her out of bed fading as quickly as it had arisen.
Did she really want to have this conversation now?
No. Only, how could she not?
Maybe he wasn’t her husband any more, but she was going to have to deal with Aristo on a regular basis—and how would that ever work if she allowed the issue of remarrying to sit unquestioned, unanswered between them?
Knowing Aristo as she did, he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. So why not take the fight to him?
Heart thumping, she opened the door and walked purposefully out into the softly lit hallway. But before she had gone even a couple of paces her feet faltered and she came to an abrupt standstill, her pulse beating violently against her throat as though it was trying to leap to freedom.
Aristo was sitting on the floor, his long legs stretched out in front of him and blocking her way. As she stared down at him in stunned silence his dark gaze lifted to her face, and instantly she felt her shoulders stiffen and her heart begin to beat even faster.
‘What are you doing?’ she said hoarsely.
Holding her breath, she watched as he got to his feet in one smooth movement.
He shrugged. ‘I couldn’t sleep. So I got up to do some work, only I just couldn’t seem to concentrate.’ He looked up at her, his mouth curving crookedly. ‘This may come as a surprise to you, but apparently everything isn’t ultimately about business after all.’
She recognised her own words, but they sounded different when spoken by him. Less like an accusation, more self-deprecating. But even if that was true, she knew he was probably just trying a new tactic.
‘So...what? You thought you’d stretch your legs instead?’ she said, glancing pointedly at his long limbs, her green eyes wide and challenging. ‘What do you want, Aristo?’
His gaze didn’t shift. ‘I want to talk to you. I was going to knock on your door.’
‘But you didn’t.’
‘Your light was off. I thought you must be asleep.’
She hesitated, then shook her head. ‘I couldn’t sleep either. Actually, I wanted to talk too. I was coming to find you.’
Aristo felt his chest tighten.