It’s not a question, but I nod. ‘Yes.’
‘So what next, for you?’
I frown. ‘What do you mean?’ Darker, darker.
‘Gareth comes back from his honeymoon, and you keep working together? Side by side?’
‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘I doubt it.’ I don’t realise at first why I fight an instinct to tell him about my plans to buy Gareth out. Only comprehension dawns almost immediately. Jagger is integral to that plan—but he shouldn’t and can’t know that. I’m already worried that we’ve blurred lines and muddied the waters of what should be a straightforward commercial transaction. I can’t add another layer of complexity to that.
‘You’d walk away from your business?’
The question surprises me, for the simple reason I hadn’t admitted the possibility that I might be the one leaving the company. I shrug my shoulders now, uncertainty shifting through me. ‘If I had to.’
His eyes are thoughtful. ‘And then? What would you do instead?’
‘I’d travel,’ I say with a twist of my lips. ‘I always wanted to, you know. Sydney was only ever supposed to be a stopgap.’
‘On your way to?’
‘New York.’ I sigh romantically but then, when he doesn’t say anything, I have a lurching sense inside, like he might think I’m hinting at wanting him to invite me or something. So I rush on. ‘London. Tokyo. Just anywhere. See the world, experience it, enjoy it.’ I lift a hand to the ends of my hair, toying with them thoughtfully. ‘We didn’t travel much, growing up. My parents were always saving, saving, saving—they liked to have money put aside for any number of rainy days.’
‘And you wanted to?’
‘I wanted to travel.’ I smile. ‘I watched Sex and the City and fell in love with Carrie Bradshaw’s New York. I’ve gone on holidays, I’ve seen some of the world, but if I didn’t have the commitment of the business, I’d probably take some time and evaluate what I want to do next.’ I shrug. ‘It’s all academic, anyway.’
He mulls that over. The sun is almost gone. The lights in the pool brighten a little.
‘You’re so good at this,’ he says thoughtfully. ‘It would be a waste to walk away from it.’
Pleasure fires through me. ‘I don’t plan on walking away from it. Yet.’
Something flickers across his face, an emotion I can’t fathom, but then darkness falls—like magic, like a switch has been flicked and the lights of daytime have been turned off, or the curtains have been raised, showcasing the night.
Jagger pounces, like some kind of tiger and I’m his prey—his oh, so willing prey. He pushes through the water, bringing his body to mine, surrounding me, encapsulating me, and I feel his body, the hardness of him against the softness of me, and the heart that has been whispering seductive demands for the last few hours begins to roar, shouting at me to stop being so obtuse and take notice of what’s going on.
‘The pool is very impressive, Miss Llewellyn,’ he says, looking straight into my eyes, so my heart shouts even louder, begging to be heard above the din of my desire and the rushing of my heated blood. ‘But I think I’ve seen all I need to now.’
‘Are you sure?’ I can’t resist teasing. ‘Because there’s a lovely walk we could do, to the silver dunes...’
His eyes flare and he pushes me gently through the water so my back connects with the edge of the pool and his whole body traps me there. His eyes lock to mine and there is fierce determination in his gaze. ‘If we don’t go upstairs right now I’m going to ignore the fact there are families all around and strip you naked right here.’
Pleasure pounds against me; my heart fails.
‘I just have to send some emails,’ I say, my smile making it obvious I’m joking.
He grins but dips his head forward, sucking my lip between his teeth before dropping his mouth to my shoulder, where the darkness of his kiss lingers. ‘I’ll make you pay for that, Grace.’
I tremble as his hands creep inside the elastic of my bathers, curving over my naked arse. ‘Do you promise?’
He lifts his head so his eyes meet mine and when he nods I feel the force of his promise, his guarantee, and I feel as though I’ve stepped off the edge of the world. I have no idea if there’s any kind of safety net; I’m in free fall, but Jagger’s there and somehow that makes it all right.
I follow him as he steps out of the pool, with the worrying certainty I would follow him anywhere he asked me to...
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SHE WATCHES ME as she strips her bathers from her wet, shining body, her eyes holding mine with some kind of challenge and promise mingled in her gaze. A challenge I can’t answer because I don’t understand it. I watch her strip her bathers from her body, down her legs, over her feet, feet that—as a sign of how much I want this woman—I find completely erotic.
She crouches down to lift her wet bathers from the carpet and, still watching me, carries them towards the bathroom, hooking them over the shower screen. I watch but I do not move. I don’t move because I’m not sure I can. My feet are planted to the ground, my dick growing ever harder, my whole body alert and ready.