He shook his head. ‘I didn’t want you like that. I didn’t want to be just another man who’d taken advantage of you.’
Tilly crashed her eyes shut, still hiding herself from him. The lie of who she was had begun to eat at her gut, but he mistook her gesture as one of embarrassment.
‘I don’t care who you were with before me,’ he said seriously. ‘I hate the idea of you being out of control drunk and asking men to sleep with you. I hate the idea that a lot of men probably give in to you.’ He stroked her cheek. ‘But that’s not me. It’s not us. And what’s happening between us is all that I’m interested in.’
Her heart turned over at the words that meant so much to her.
She resolutely ignored the other words—the suppositions that had no reference to her, Matilda Morgan. The assumptions that should be laid at Cressida’s feet, but not at hers.
‘You were angry outside.’
His laugh was a deep rumble. ‘Si.’
‘Why?’
‘Because, carina maldestra, I do not like seeing you hurt. Wet. Cold. Or in any danger. It is the first time I have looked at a woman and wanted to...’
‘What?’ she asked, pushing at his shoulder, needing to hear the conclusion of the sentence.
‘Keep her from harm,’ he admitted with a self-deprecating smile.
Her stomach squeezed. She tried not to read too much into the admission, but how could she not? She smiled up at him, and her voice was weakened by emotion when she said, ‘You don’t need to protect me.’
His laugh was rueful. ‘No. I am starting to realise that you are not the one in danger here.’
CHAPTER NINE
‘IT’S NOT CALMING DOWN,’ she said, leaning forward, scanning the sky.
He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, bunching the sheet she’d donned toga-style at her middle.
‘No.’ He dropped his lips to her neck, kissing her softly.
She spun in the circle of his arms, her smile radiant. Her hair was wild around her face and her eyes were a glorious green. Her neck was pink from his stubble. He leaned down and kissed her mouth gently, smiling against her lips.
‘I used to be terrified of storms,’ she confided, dipping her fingers into the elasticised waist of his boxer shorts, revelling in the sensation of his smooth buttocks, almost unable to comprehend that she was free to touch him so intimately.
‘They can be frightening.’
‘Yes. Though I think I’ll always have a special liking for them after this.’ Her grin was shy. She reached up and cupped his cheeks, staring at him, trying to see if there was any regret in her heart or on his face.
There was none.
‘I should go and check on the generator,’ he said, with obvious reluctance.
‘Really?’
He nodded, stepping away from her. ‘Really. It should be on by now. There could be more of a problem than I anticipated.’
‘But you’ll get soaked again.’
‘And I know just how to get warm and dry,’ he pointed out, turning towards the front door.
Tilly watched him walk out with a sigh, but as he reached the door she called after him. ‘Rio? Where are those plans? I might as well have a look at them.’
His face clouded with something she didn’t comprehend, but his nod was curt.
‘Of course.’