Page 38 of Emergency Engagement

‘You’re just saying that.’

‘I never say stuff I don’t mean. I can’t tell you how much you turn me on. Just thinking of you gives me an erection.’

Sammy sighed happily and let him explore her. He touched her everywhere. In the space of a few days, he seemed to have familiarised himself with every inch of her body. Yes, she knew what to expect, and yet every flick of his tongue on her skin was a revelation.

He held her hips as he contoured her belly button with delicate licks. Sammy groaned and pushed her fingers through his thick, dark hair. She was barely aware of him reaching for protection. He never failed to use it. She could have told him that she was on the pill and he would still have protected himself. He was very, very careful about making sure that no one could pin him down for any reason whatsoever.

She welcomed him in. Her whole body sank into the utter pleasure of feeling his bigness fill her up, and when he came it was with a convulsive shudder. He took her with him, took her to the same soaring heights and left her weak as a kitten afterwards.

When he rolled off her, he lay there for a few seconds and linked his fingers with hers in a gesture that was very intimate and casual at the same time. Sammy stared up at the sky, in tune with him and loving the way he was absently holding her hand.

Thinking that...thinking what?...that this was really paradise? And not just because of the blue sea, the white sand and theswaying coconut trees. She could get picture-postcard stuff all over the world. What madethispicture-postcard special was the man lying next to her, seeing the same sky as she but probably thinking very different thoughts.

She looked sideways and her heart constricted. The mantra she had been repeating to herself suddenly felt hollow and different thoughts began creeping in—a different view of what had been happening inside her over the past few days. She thought of the way this man made her laugh. Even before they’d become lovers, when they’d been playing the game in front of his clients, her skin had tingled where he had touched it and her heart had raced when he’d glanced at her.

She didn’t believe in this kind of love, she frantically told herself. She had her checklist—the very checklist she’d only just finished telling him all about! Except...had she done that for his benefit or for her own?

She stood up suddenly and began putting on the swimsuit.

‘Where are you going?’

‘For a swim.’

‘I thought you weren’t a strong swimmer?’

‘I’m going to paddle. I won’t get into any trouble if I paddle.’

‘Wait, Sammy.’

Rafael leapt up behind her and stuck on his trunks as she made her way to the edge of the sea. He circled her arm, tugging her back.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Sorry?’ Sammy shielded her eyes and looked up at him. The water swirling round her ankles was warm and clear. Her pulse was racing, and her head had suddenly started spinning stories about involvement with the last guy on the planet she should be involved with. She resisted reaching out to touch his face.

‘Have I said something to...upset you?’ Rafael raked his fingers through his hair and shifted awkwardly, his other hand still circling her arm.

He looked touchingly concerned but Sammy knew better than to feed into something that wasn’t there.

‘No. Just...phew...it’s baking hot.’

She flapped her hand in a fan-like motion and smiled. Should she start making noises about returning to England? He’d mentioned staying on for a few days, and she’d been happy to go along with that vague timeline, but should she now put a number on those days and take control of the situation instead of drifting?

‘You swim out, Rafael. I’ll sit on the edge here. It’s nice. I can watch you swim and show off how fit you are.’

He relaxed and grinned. ‘Well now, I admit I can rise to that challenge.’

‘I’m warning you, though, that if you start floundering out there you’re on your own.’ He was so beautiful, so smart...so damned irresistible. Was this just fun or was it something else?

‘Understood, but that’s never going to happen. I’m not a guy who flounders.’

‘But youarea guy who brags.’

He was still grinning, all trace of concern at her change of mood gone. ‘If you must know, and to brag a little bit more, I forced myself to learn how to swim as soon as we moved to Yorkshire. I decided that there were no hurdles I wasn’t capable of overcoming, so I went to the pool a few times, listened in on a swimming coach giving lessons to a couple of old ladies and then went to that lake in the woods—you know the one? I jumped in and hoped that I’d remember the instructions from that coach.’

‘You’re kidding.’

‘It was a lot more educational than school. Besides, what was the worst that could happen?’

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