Page 111 of The Island Villa

Before she could change her mind, she stripped off her dress and slid into the pool after him. The water cooled her skin and she let herself slide under the surface until she was submerged. She swam down to the bottom of the pool. For a moment, she was weightless, sound muffled and time suspended. The last of the stress she’d felt at the hospital melted away.

When she finally rose to the surface, Stefanos was next to her. Droplets of water clung to his eyelashes and the top of his lip.

She was filled with intense awareness, and then he slid his arm round her waist and eased her gently against him.

They stayed like that for endless seconds, the atmosphere electric with anticipation, and then she lifted her mouth to his and at the same time felt his hands tighten as he pulled her closer. She felt the hardness of his body press against the softness of hers, and then he was kissing her and she was kissing him back. He cupped her face in his hands and his mouth shifted, seeking out the secrets of hers, and she pressed closer, and closer still, consumed by an almost dizzying heat.

Cool water lapped against the heated burn of her skin. His hands dropped to her hips and he lifted her out of the water in a smooth, easy movement. She sat on the edge, weak and disorientated, wondering how he’d done that with no apparent effort and then he levered himself out of the pool, lifted her up, and the next moment she was lying on her back on the outdoor sofa.

She curled her arms round him, pulling him closer, feeling the heavy weight of him pressing her into the soft cushions. He kissed his way down her body, his mouth warm against her neck, her shoulder, the soft curve of her breast. The silken stroke of his tongue sent a thrill of heat through her, and the skilled brush of his fingers sent her pulse into overdrive. Sensations were spun together, blending and building to a level she’d never experienced before. The intimacy, delicious and unfamiliar, stripped away the last of her reserve. She wanted things from him that she’d never wanted from anyone else. Never dared to want. Excitement escalated, fueled by the brush of mouths and the tangle of limbs until their entwined bodies found each other and she was lost in the erotic rhythm of it, the last of her barriers dissolving as pleasure engulfed them both.

Afterward, she lay in silence, staring up at the scatter of stars above her, stunned.

She thought she knew herself, but maybe she didn’t. Or maybe she’d done such a thorough job of closing part of herself down, she no longer really knew who she was. The sex had been incredible of course, but it was more than the physical, she knew that. It was intimacy. Trust. Sharing on a level she’d never allowed herself to experience before.

It made her feel vulnerable, but oddly enough not afraid. She didn’t feel a flicker of regret.

Conscious that she was still naked, she tried to move but his arm tightened around her.

“Don’t leave.”

“I should get back to the villa.”

“I wasn’t talking about tonight, although I don’t want you to leave tonight either. I was talking about generally.” He smoothed a strand of hair away from her face and kissed her gently on the mouth. “Spend the rest of the summer in Greece with me. I can convert the spare room into an office for you, or you can just bring your laptop out here onto the patio and sit in the shade. We can take early morning swims together, and eat dinner on the terrace, watching the sun set.”

Temptation lay like a feast in front of her, but still she couldn’t quite dive in.

“I have a life in London.”

“You could have a better life here, with me.” His voice was husky as he leaned forward to kiss her again.

She kissed him back, feeling a slow stir of excitement.

“You don’t think this is all a bit sudden? Maybe we should take time to think it over.”

He rolled onto his side so that he could look at her. “Why would we need time to think it over? We’re both adults. Also, we’ve known each other for a long time.”

“But not like this.”

“That’s just circumstances.”

Was he right? If they’d met a few years ago, would they still have reached this point?

“If we’d met again a few years ago, I’m not sure I’d be lying here now. I’m not sure I would have been ready for it.”

“You’re talking about the other version of you. This version would have been ready.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her, and she thought to herself that if there was more than one version of her, then this was the version she liked best.

And maybe that gave her the answer she needed.

24

Catherine

Breakfast on the beach in Greece was all dazzling light and crystal blue waters. The splash of swimmers, the clink of a mast from a sailboat bobbing in the bay.

Andrew had walked down to the village earlier and reserved a table by the sand and now the whole family was gathered together.

---