Page 42 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

‘Anna!’

She looked towards the source of her name being called and there he was, leaning against his car, shaved now, dressed in a dark suit and tie and wearing shades.

‘I thought you were heading back to Jerez?’ Anna said as she walked over.

‘Maybe you are right and I am too tired to drive.’ He shrugged. ‘I worked online this morning instead.’

His car was like a delicious fridge as she climbed in.

‘So, what are your plans?’ he asked, and glanced over at her.

‘I need to get a couple of things, so I might go into the old town.’

‘Or we could go to the beach?’

‘No, thank you.’

‘You don’t want to go to the beach?’

She took a breath and looked out at the gorgeous sand and sparkling waters. Of course she wanted to go to the beach. But she felt weak at the thought of an afternoon with him.

She recognised the danger of it...felt that pit-of-the-stomach recklessness she hadn’t known existed until she had spent the night with him.

It would not be repeated.

But...

It was just a trip to the beach...maybe a swim.

In the middle of the day.

An afternoon in the delicious sun with him was more than she knew how to refuse.

‘Yes,’ Anna said, as if it were a simple decision. ‘Actually, that would be lovely.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

ANNAWOULDNOTBURN.

She had a pump bottle of the same lotion that she used on Willow, and she slathered it on in her room, and even put it in her bag for repeat applications.

The butterflies were back as she tied on her red bikini and wrapped her pale body in the sarong, then added a straw hat. Then she headed down the path he had pointed to last night.

‘Hola!’he said when he opened the door, wearing black swimming trunks and sunglasses, completely at ease in his own skin. ‘Come through.’

‘I thought we were going to the beach.’

He pointed behind him and she blinked at the sight of his bedroom and a to-die-for view of the sea.

‘Wow!’ she said. ‘I’m going to put in a complaint about my accommodation.’

He smiled at her little joke as they walked across the cool marble floor and then through his huge bedroom and straight out onto the beach.

It was only when they arrived and she saw a couple of bronzed topless women glance over that she felt overdressed. The red and white sarong that had looked so pretty before now felt as if she’d draped herself in an English flag.

‘Here,’ Sebastián said, and flopped down on one of the sun loungers.

‘You’ve given me the shaded one.’

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