“But you’re right here, above it. Why don’t you get the stairs fixed?”
He frowned. “I would, if I used the beach.” He took a drink of his espresso. “By the way, that whole stretch of the beach is private too. There were definitely signs, right? Or had they also been blown away?”
A hint of blush spread through her cheeks. “No, there were signs saying ‘private property’. I presumed they were placed in error. I mean, beaches shouldn’t be private, right?”
He laughed. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trouble, Maddie?”
“Because I don’t like to listen to bossy signs?”
He made a growling noise of assent.
“I truly presumed this was an art gallery or something.”
“An art gallery that was only accessible by perilous steps from the beach?”
“No. Naturally I thought there was a street somewhere too.”
“There is.”
“Let me guess, it’s gated though.”
“Si.” He shrugged his broad shoulders, noting the way her eyes dropped to the gesture, following the outline of his body. “I like to keep to myself too.”
“I’m sorry to have intruded,” she lifted her gaze to his face and he felt the same flash of electricity firing deep in his gut.
Pleasure and anticipation stirred inside of him, even as he knew he should fight it. She was staring at him with those enormous blue eyes and his body was responding even as his mind was trying to retain control. She was staring at him and slowly he shook his head, and when he spoke there was a gruff resignation in his voice, as though he knew there was a game of fate afoot, one that would get the better of him.
“I’m not.”
Chapter 2
BREATHE. JUST, BREATHE. Maddie wrapped her hands around the mug and tried not to stare at him. But she was fighting a losing battle because he was beyond addictive and she found her eyes inhaling him at every opportunity.
She’d never really gone for the ‘tall, dark and handsome’ guys, or so she’d thought, but this specimen of masculinity was breath-takingly intoxicating. He was easily six and a half feet tall and his build was slim, but at the same time, muscular, his skin a deep tan, his hair brown with a hint of gold at the front from where he’d spent time in the sun. But it was his eyes that had her fixated. They were a spectacular blue, flecked with gold, and the lashes surrounding them were thick and dark. His jaw was squared, but covered in the hint of stubble that made her fingertips itch with a desire to lift up and touch.
What the heck was happening to her?
She’d been stupid to keep walking when it had started to pour with rain, but it had been light enough and she’d presumed it would pass. Then, she’d got a little lost and before she’d known it she was on the beach beneath the enormous construction she’d been wondering about since she’d come to Ondechiara.
“You’re warm enough now?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” she nodded, forcing herself to hold his eyes even when the intensity of his stare spread wildfire through her veins. “So what do you do when you’re not rescuing stray tourists from cliff tops?”
The briefest hint of a frown crossed his face. “I’m in finance.” The words were a little uneasy. She wondered if there was a problem with his job. The global finance industry had been in turmoi
l lately, it was possible he’d been caught up in that. She didn’t want to pry, particularly if he’d recently been made redundant or similar.
She was lucky to be immune from that kind of consideration in her line of work. “I’ve always admired people who are good with numbers,” she said, instead. “I’ve never had much of a head for them.”
“Everyone has a head for numbers.”
She pulled a face. “I beg to differ.”
“Maths is everywhere,” he pointed out, finishing his coffee and placing it in the sink.
“And I use it as little as possible.”
“It’s hard to avoid.”