His laugh teased her, and she felt her own lips lifting in response.
‘Don’t laugh at me,’ she responded, attempting to sound angry when actually she was being flooded by a confusing degree of happiness.
‘Don’t make me laugh, then,’ he said simply. ‘Here.’
He swam to her back and reached for the clasp of her bikini. He had every opportunity to milk their close contact, but he didn’t. His fingers moved with professional detachment, clipping both the halter neck and the back without lingering.
And how she’d wanted them to linger!
‘I truly didn’t realise jumping into the water would lead to you getting almost naked,’ he said, but something about his face made her wonder if that was a lie.
‘Yes, well... No harm done.’
Such a prim expression! She winced, and for the hundredth time since arriving couldn’t help but imagine how Cressida would have reacted in such a situation.
‘This cove is incredible.’ She changed the subject desperately, gliding through the water.
‘It is quite unusual, isn’t it?’ He caught up with her easily. ‘There are caves through there. I have only swum in a couple of them, but I understand the network is elaborate.’
‘Really?’ She moved towards the entrance he’d indicated, curiosity thumping inside her. ‘I’d love to see them.’
‘Not today,’ he said quietly.
‘Oh?’ She turned in the water. ‘Why not?’
‘I have to go through some contracts this afternoon. My secretary is waiting to hear from me.’
She blinked at him, remembering that he was a property mogul first and foremost, not really a tour guide at her beck and call.
Disappointment was a hole in her gut.
‘You can go back. I’m sure I’ll find my way.’
He shook his head. ‘It’s five miles. Swim now and I will bring you back another time.’
Another time. This was the second day of her week. It was still early. But the idea of losing an afterno
on because he had to work sucked the happiness out of her mood.
‘Fine.’ She shrugged, duck-diving under the water and kicking away from him.
She went towards the ocean, surfacing when her lungs were burning and begging for more air to be drawn into them. He was where she’d left him, treading water.
‘What are the contracts for?’ she called across the water, spreading her arms wide and kicking at the ocean to stay afloat.
He moved through the water easily, his stroke that of someone who swam often. He pulled up a little distance from her. Water droplets ran over his smooth shoulders.
‘A high-rise I’m buying in Manhattan.’
She tilted her head to the side, her smile spontaneous. ‘Seriously?’
He flicked some water at her, smiling as she flinched away. ‘Why not?’
‘You already have two islands. A high-rise in Manhattan seems excessive.’
He arched a brow, and beneath the water waved his hands perilously close to her sides. She felt the tremble of water but didn’t move away. Deep down, she knew she wanted him to touch her.
It was illicit. Forbidden.