She replied in English, ‘Xavier, you dark horse … entertaining on the island? Why, I thought you never—’
He cut her off with a warning look in his eye. ‘Sophie, Jane is on holiday from England. She goes home in two days.’
Jane felt the brusque comment like a physical slap. He was very tacitly stating the extent of their involvement …
She held out a hand and smiled, ignoring an ache somewhere deep inside. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘You too, Jane.’ Sophie’s smile was wide and unaffected. She had obviously decided to drop any further probing, and launched into a long and hilarious explanation of how she had to race to the mainland to meet her husband, who had forgotten something. She left after a few minutes with a friendly wink to Jane, a flurry of kisses and a cloud of dust in her wake.
Xavier didn’t elaborate, beyond telling Jane that she was a Parisienne who had married one of his oldest friends. He, like Xavier, worked primarily on the mainland. It was obvious that she and Xavier were very good friends, easily affectionate with each other.
After a short drive, they pulled in off the track and made their way on foot to the secluded cove. They left the picnic Jane had prepared under a tree on the edge of the beach and raced each other into the water. All thoughts of the future, and her looming departure, were gone, and Jane strenuously focused on the present moment.
In the water, their horseplay quickly turned into something more serious, and afterwards, under the shade of the tree, Xavier laid out the blanket and stood before her. Hair slicked against his head, the tang of the salty water on his skin, Xavier removed her bikini, kissing every exposed piece of flesh until he came to kneel before her. Her hands were on his shoulders, and her legs were threatening to buckle under waves of intense pleasure as he held her bottom. He wouldn’t allow her to fall as his mouth and tongue did wicked things between her legs. Finally, when she thought she couldn’t bear it any more, with words pleading for release on her lips, he laid her down and stretched over her, his body long and lean, every muscle clearly delineated, his erection jutting proudly, majestically between their bodies.
Jane felt a primal possessiveness as she looked into his eyes.
This man is mine …
And it scared her to death. She drove it away, reaching up, her lips seeking and finding his, saying his name on a moan. ‘Xavier … now, please now.’
‘What … what do you want?’
She urged her hips to his, but he went with her, thwarting her efforts. She bit her lip in frustration.
He took a second to slip on protection, and the knowledge that he hadn’t failed to do so since that first time was all too clear in Jane’s head. But the throbbing of her body drowned that thought out as she felt him position himself between her legs in one fluid move.
‘Tell me what you want … is it this?’
He started to enter the heart of her, just with the tip, and pulled out again.
Jane was nearly mindless with need, barely coherent. ‘Yes … yes! Please, Xavier, I can’t … hold on …’
He continued to torture her, focusing his attention on her breasts, taking each peak with a hot mouth and stimulating them unbearably, and then his mouth found hers, tongue stroking hers, igniting an ever-climbing fire of need that raced along every vein and cell.
Finally he entered her again, a little deeper, but this time Jane wanted to frustrate him and she pulled back. Much as it pained her, it excited her unbearably, this erotic dance.
‘Two can play that game …’ she breathed with a new confidence.
‘Oh, really …?’ Xavier growled low in his throat. ‘We’ll see about that.’
He cupped her bottom, tilting it upwards, laying her bare to his gaze, not allowing her to move, and with one deep thrust entered her so completely that she cried out with pleasure. He didn’t allow her any quarter as he drove in and out with a relentless rhythm, sometimes shallow, sometimes deep, until at last they tipped over the precipice of extreme pleasure together, and down into a state of such bliss that it was some time before either one could move.
For the rest of the afternoon, as the light fell, they ate and watched the sun set over the horizon. Jane couldn’t help but feel that this was possibly the happiest she had ever been in her life, and she tried to keep it from her eyes, fearing it must be blatantly obvious every time he looked at her.
The next morning she woke in the bed to find Xavier already up. She rolled over onto her side and tucked her head into her arm. Her last day on the island.
With a heavy heart she got up and dressed. She went downstairs and found him in the kitchen, sipping from a cup of coffee. She tried to project a light front, when inside she felt as though she was shrivelling up.
He looked up, a dazzling smile illuminating his face when he saw her in the doorway.
‘I have to go to the mainland for a couple of hours today … you could stay here, or come with me if you like?’
Jane poured herself a cup of coffee, praying that he wouldn’t notice the tremor in her hands. Delay the inevitable? One more night? Was is so self-indulgent to want to hang on to the fantasy?
A rogue dark part of her answered, ‘I’ll stay here, if you don’t mind …’
He frowned for a second. ‘When did you say your flight was?’
‘Tomorrow night … I’ll have to get back to the villa first thing in the morning, to clean it up and make sure everything is tidied away … pack my things.’
He thought for a second. ‘Well, look, why don’t you come back to the mainland with me today? You can do your things at the villa, pack and lock it up while I’m busy, and then we could spend the night at the hotel. You could leave from there tomorrow.’
Her heart twisted at his matter-of-fact tone. He was obviously having no qualms at the thought of her leaving. She had an irrational fear that once they stepped off the island, all this would fade as if it never happened.
But what he was saying made perfect sense. Perfect practical sense. He wouldn’t understand if she said she’d prefer their last night to be here … to hang on to the dream for as long as possible. No, it was for the best. The break would be easier surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the real world.
Maybe he wanted them to be surrounded by people, the town, in case she became clingy, refused to go. Was he used to women acting that way? She wouldn’t be one of those women—couldn’t have him suspect for a moment how deeply involved she’d become.
‘Yes … yes, of course you’re right …’
Chapter Six
AN HOUR later, bag packed and ready to go, Jane waited by the front entrance of the castle. She turned around and drank in the view, committing it all to memory, sucked in the air deeply. The morning sun was gathering more and more heat. In late June its potency was powerful, and the distinctive smell of sun-baked earth wafted over her. The cicadas’ incessant chatter stopped, and then started further away every time she moved to try and catch them out.
In the space of just one week she had come to really love this island. That first forbidding view had hidden something much more complex. It had a heart and a vitality that was artfully disguised by its appearance. Completely unique. Much like the man who was striding through the doors towards her now. Every line of his physique screamed dynamic … independent … successful. He reminded her of a lone wolf. Who would get to tame him in the end? Could any one woman do it?
She schooled her features as he approached, and let him take her bag to swing it into the back of his car, which would take them to the boat.
As