‘Erm... Oh, there’s a boat—well, I guess you’d call it a yacht if you want to get all technical. A luxury yacht. It’s white, with a blue and silver trim, and it looks like you could sleep ten people or more on board. And to the west is what looks like a couple of fishing boats.’
‘We should be getting close to my island now.’
‘Already?’
‘I can hear Stavros preparing to descend.’
Ruby put her hand back on his thigh. ‘Thank you.’
‘For?’
‘For making me forget about how terrified I was.’
Lucas could make out the vague shape of her face and lifted his hand to stroke two of his fingers down the slope of her cheek. It was like the finest silk under his fingertips, and he wished he could touch more of her.Allof her.
‘You did extremely well.’
His voice came out sandpaper-rough. He heard the sound of her breath, felt the soft waft of it against his face. She gave an audible swallow and his nostrils flared as her flowery fragrance teased his senses into a drugged stupor. Never had he wanted to kiss a woman more than at this moment. Desire roared in his blood, thundered in his pulse, thickened his male flesh to the point of pain.
He cradled one side of her face, his thumb stroking the rounded curve of her small chin. ‘You have incredibly soft skin.’
One of her hands came up to the side of his face, and she moved her fingers across the thick growth of stubble. ‘You need a shave.’
Her voice was lightly teasing, but there was a quality to it that spoke to the dark desires swirling in his body. Dark and forbidden desires that threatened to break free of the tight restraints he had around them. He could feel them tugging on the cords of his self-control like a wild animal, fighting, raging, desperately clawing for freedom.
‘Are you worried about getting beard rash?’ Lucas kept his tone light-hearted, but his intention was deadly serious. He longed to feel the softness of her lips against his. Longed for it like a potent drug.
‘I would be...if you kissed me.’
Her voice was as husky as his had been just moments earlier. Lucas ran his thumb across the plump shape of her lower lip, recalling its sweet contour in his mind. ‘I’m not sure that would be such a good idea right now...’
‘Oh?’
There was a wealth of disappointment in her one-word response.
He gave a rueful twist of his mouth and removed his hand from her face. ‘I wouldn’t want to shock Stavros.’
‘Because seeing you kiss the housekeeper’s granddaughterwouldbe shocking, right?’
On the surface her tone was as light-hearted as his, but underneath he could hear a trace of wounded pride.
Lucas took off his headset and hung it over the back of the pilot’s seat in front of him. ‘That would depend on the type of kiss.’
He could almost sense her frowning at him. ‘How would you kiss me? I mean, hypothetically speaking, if wewereto kiss.’
‘That would depend on where we were.’ He sent a playful smile her way and added, ‘If we were in company, then a light peck on the cheek. But if we were alone...’
He left the rest of the sentence hanging, wishing he could see the expression on her face. He didn’t want to question why he was flirting with her. He was enjoying their banter way too much. Enjoying the thought of actually kissing her, moving his mouth against the softness of hers and letting things go from there... His body thickened in anticipation, the turgid heat of his arousal reminding him of the fine line he was walking.
A dangerous line.
A line he had promised he would never walk near, let alone cross.
‘But we’re going to be alone,’ Ruby said. ‘For a week. Or do you have staff on the island?’
‘Yes and no. There’s a maintenance man and his wife who look after the house. Their quarters are on the other side of the island, but they’re away at present, visiting their adult children on Santorini. I asked them to organise food and supplies, and for the beds to be made up in the villa, but for the rest of the time we’ll be alone until Stavros comes to take us back to Athens.’
Ruby unclipped her seat belt. ‘You really are serious about maintaining your privacy, aren’t you?’