Page 38 of Consequence of One Reckless Night

His muscles screamed with protest, begging him to slow down but Alexandre swam to silence the cacophony of his thoughts. How long he swam he didn’t know but he knew the exact moment Raquel joined him.

His body tightened, the hair on his nape stood up as she swam out to him, the water rippling toward him, touching him—trapping him against one end of the pool. Never one to back down from a confrontation, he turned around and faced her. His heart leapt into his throat as his breath whooshed out of him in a noisy wheeze.

She looked like a water nymph—ethereally beautiful, with dusky skin and glittering eyes. Her hair was caught up in an untidy bun on the top of her head, with wisps of long strands sticking to her neck. Two tiny straps over her shoulders told him that she had worn one of the bikinis he’d bought for her.

He resisted the urge to lift her out of the water to see if the small red cups fully covered her breasts, and if the tiny bottom covered her at all. He had a vision of laying her on one the daybeds, peeling the bikini off her, untying the flimsy ties at the hips before swooping down to taste her hot, musky nectar.

He hardened instantly, the moisture on his skin evaporating into a mist as his body began to heat up. He wanted her. Despite everything that happened—despite her doubts about him, his treacherous body still craved her.

“What are you doing here?” His growl made her scowl.

“I’m sorry about the other night.”

Her soft-spoken words reached out and caressed his skin, sending heat thundering through him, and Alexandre pressed his back against the toughened glass of the pool, his hands clenching behind him so he didn’t grab her and yank her against his body.

“I didn’t mean to offend you.”

When he didn’t respond, she drew closer, water rippling around her. He drew in an unsteady breath as she closed the distance between them, stopping at a mere arm’s length from him.

“Everything happened so fast that I was... overwhelmed,” she said hastily, as though fearful that he would wade away from her. “In one day, my entire world turned upside down. I had my privacy invaded, and the most intimate detail of my life, something which I hadn’t even shared with my family, was splashed across the newspaper for everyone to see. Losing my family and my job is nothing compared to how lost I felt. When I came here...”

She looked around with apprehension in her eyes. “I felt like I’d lost control of my life.”

****

“Let’s get out of thepool,” Alexandre growled when a gentle breeze whizzed past them, making her shiver. Swimming toward the edge of the pool, he hauled himself out in a clean straight move while she waded toward the steps and got out, shivering as the water sluiced off her body, exposing her to the cool night air.

Wrapping her arms around her waist, she slouched, suddenly embarrassed by her semi-naked state. This bikini was the modest of the lot she’d found in the bags deposited in her room.

One of the many maids who worked for Alexandre had informed her that he’d bought the clothes for her. The sheer amount of clothes, undergarments, accessories including bags, shoes and jewelry, had astounded her. And finding a mobile phone in one of the bags, a brand new one boasting the latest technology, told her that he’d noticed that she didn’t have one on her. She’d hesitated before running her hands over the beautiful dresses the maids had lovingly and carefully put away in the wardrobe.

They hadn’t parted amicably two nights ago—she and Alexandre.

After her spectacular loss of control, he had stormed out of the house and she’d sat on the sofa for an hour before the housekeeper Malthi, who had apparently been called in to keep her company, had walked in with some food.

Tired after a long day, Raquel hadn’t uttered a word but quietly ate the meal and gone to bed, the whole time wondering if this was how her married life was going to be. Would Alexandre walk away without answering her every time they discussed something difficult and unpleasant?

She waited two days for him to come home, and when he had walked in tonight, he’d made a beeline for the pool where he’d chosen to stay. And Raquel knew if she needed answers from him, then she’d have to go to him, because he wasn’t going to come to her. That she was certain.

Alexandre offered her a thick towel which she wrapped around her, sarong-style. Grabbing another towel, he placed it around her shoulders before nodding toward one of the daybeds which lined the perimeter of the pool.

She sat down, shivering—burrowing into the warm thickness of the towels but her eyes stayed on the beautiful man in front of her.

Water glistened on his body as he hooked a towel around his waist. Small scars crisscrossed one entire side of his body, but nothing could mar the perfection that was Alexandre’s body. Sculpted chest, ripped abs, toned legs, tight buttocks—with no extra flesh anywhere on his body, she assumed his gym routine would be rigorous to maintain such a magnificent physique.

“I’m sorry about your job,” he said, sitting down beside her.

“The school didn’t want a woman of questionable morals to teach young impressionable girls.”

Beside her, Alexandre stiffened. “The world sure is quick to judge.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, surprising her. “I’m responsible for your suffering.”

She shook her head. “Don’t. What happened in the past... we can’t undo it... but I wish we could speak about the future.”

He was silent for a long time. “You’re right.” He nodded. “We marry tomorrow, and we know nothing about each other.” He chose not to divulge the fact that his security team had prepared a dossier on her the moment the newspaper article had come out.

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