Presently there were no women in his life—he’d cleared the decks because he needed all his time and concentration for the intricate negotiations of the takeover deal. Ditching his social life for these last few weeks hadn’t cost him a second thought. He was completely focused on the deal.
Or rather he had been until this morning when during a meeting of the board he had suddenly been distracted by thoughts of Carrie.
He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head all night either. That almost defiant way she’d looked at him with clear sky-blue eyes. The way her skin flushed so easily, and vulnerability slipped in. She was a bewitching mix of innocence laced with provoking passion and despite telling himself to stay away he just couldn’t.
Right now he should have been in a meeting with his accountants, not here with her. But, he reasoned, he deserved an afternoon off anyway. They would keep things light and tomorrow he would regain his complete focus on business.
Andreas had recommended that she kept her shirt on to protect her delicate fair skin from burning whilst snorkelling, but all he wore were his trunks. She watched from the back of the boat as he dived cleanly into the calm turquoise water. He looked like an Olympic athlete, she thought admiringly; his body was perfectly honed, his skin gleaming a rich honey gold. He disappeared for a moment beneath the satin surface of the sea and then resurfaced. ‘Right, your turn.’
‘Very funny. I can’t dive like that!’
He grinned. ‘Go down onto the platform and slide in. Don’t worry—I’ll catch you if you have any difficulty.’
Carrie didn’t know which made her heart race faster: the thought of him putting his arms around her or the vast depths of the ocean.
‘Come on, it’s lovely once you’re in,’ he coaxed.
Taking a deep breath, she went down the ladder onto the back platform and then allowed herself to slide in. The water felt surprisingly icy and she gasped.
‘Gosh! It’s cold.’
He laughed and swam over so that he was next to her. ‘It’s not cold, you’re just hot.’ He added teasingly, ‘In more ways than one.’
It was amazing—even in the cool water she could feel the heat of his gaze licking through her. He was so very close; she could see the gold flecks in the darkness of his eyes, noticed how thick and dark his eyelashes were, how sensual and inviting the arrogant curve of his lips.
She wanted to reach out and touch him. Instead she forced herself to swim away. ‘So where is the reef?’
‘A little further out.’ He picked up the masks he’d left on the platform and headed after her.
Carrie didn’t think she would ever forget being alone with Andreas that afternoon, surrounded by nothing but the vastness of the sea. The water was so tranquil and clear, and, when her skin became accustomed to it, quite warm. Andreas showed her how to use the snorkelling equipment and stayed close until she was feeling more confident. And by then she was enraptured by the secret world beneath them.
The reef was spectacular, a giant living city of swaying tentacles and flower shapes that moved with a swirl of its colourful fish inhabitants.
She loved every minute of it and was disappointed when Andreas told her it was time to head back to the boat.
‘That was fabulous.’ She smiled happily up at him as he climbed on the platform and reached to help her out of the water.
‘You’re glad you did it, then?’
‘Really glad. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’
‘You certainly looked at home. In fact, you looked like a mermaid with your hair streaming behind you as you swam.’
She laughed. ‘Well, unless this T-shirt dries out quickly I’m going to look like a bedraggled fish out of water on the way home.’
‘You can borrow a shirt of mine to put on.’ He led the way up onto the deck. ‘Although I have to say that the bedraggled look also suits you.’
Distracted by his gentle flirting, she lost her footing as she stepped down onto the polished floor.
Immediately he caught her and for the briefest moment she was held close against the powerful lines of his wet body.
Then he released her.
‘Sorry about that. I just slipped.’ She tried to sound nonchalant, and smile at him, but the contact had knocked all the breath from her body, and the curl of dangerous excitement deep inside her was still there.
Disconcerted, she looked away. ‘I suppose we should head back to the island now.’
‘Yes, I guess so. I have work to get back to.’ His glance moved over her, he hadn’t been lying when he’d told her that she looked good. Her wet hair was slicked back from her face revealing her perfect skin, her high cheekbones.
His gaze moved lower, noticing how the wet shirt was moulded to the shapely curves of her body and how taut and firm her body was.
He wanted to peel the shirt off her and unfasten the bikini, let his mouth and his tongue explore her warm, wet curves.
His eyes moved upwards and connected with hers and suddenly naked hunger burned like a blue flame between them. Carrie felt a thrill of need kick inside and take over, her desire so intense it made her feel powerless.
How was this happening to her? she wondered in panic.
How could he make her want him so desperately with just the slightest touch, and one look?
She made to turn away but he caught hold of her hand and pulled her back.
The next moment she was in his arms and his mouth was on hers, possessing her with an almost ruthless intent.
No one had ever kissed her with such total demanding control and she hesitated for a moment as shock pounded through her, and then pleasure detonated inside her. It felt so good, as if he were reaching inside her, drawing out the secrets of her soul…
She kissed him back, her arms sliding up and around his neck, aware that at the same time his hands were moving beneath her wet shirt, stroking up over her.
The sensation of pleasure was so exquisitely irresistible that she ached for more, ached to be rid of all the clothes and have no barrier between them. All she could think about was how much she wanted him—and how she could intensify the enjoyment—how she never wanted him to let her go.
‘I wanted to do this from the moment I saw you again this afternoon.’ He murmured the words against her ear as his hand slid down to stroke over her bikini-clad bottom, pulling her in against the hard arousal of his body.
‘And I thought you just wanted to be friends.’
‘Well, I want that too…I want everything…’ he murmured, stroking his hand along the smooth curves of her hips. ‘Everything you want to give…’ His fingers teased across over her thighs and then swept higher to the soft core of her through the material of her costume. ‘I’m greedy like that.’
Carrie found herself gasping with pleasure as his lips took control of hers again. She felt greedy too…and impatient, and where lovemaking was concerned these were emotions she’d never had to deal with before.
She tried to tell herself she didn’t know this man, that she should be cautious because this was nothing more than a holiday fling. Did she really want her first time to be just a casual encounter? But her body was fighting the thoughts, pushing them away with almost mocking disregard so that her reasoning was lost like a whisper in a hurricane.
‘Maybe we should go inside, make ourselves more comfortable,’ he suggested as his fingers stroked ever more tantalizingly over her.
She couldn’t answer him, couldn’t formulate any words. His lips moved down over the column of her neck