He’d wanted to kiss her so many times today. When she’d planted her hands on her hips and given him an impish look, when she’d tossed him a teasing glance, when he’d held her in the water and longed to pull her close, their wet limbs sliding over each other, twining around.
Hell, he’d been in a permanent state of arousal, it seemed, for half the day. Yet he’d kept his distance, and he would now, because this wasn’t about desire.
It was about trust.
He’d meant what he said about earning it. He’d let her down before, but he wouldn’t again. He had, despite his instinct which insisted there was so much more, taken her at face value. Aurelie the go-to-hell pop star. And he’d allowed her to seduce him, allowed himself to give in to his own need because the desire had been so strong. Only when he had seen the pain on her face, written on her heart, and known he’d shown her he was just like all the others, had he been able to stop. Yet he feared the damage had been done.
It broke when it began.
What did she mean? Had some bastard abused her? The sudden strong urge to kill such a man with his bare hands surprised him. Aurelie aroused all sorts of feelings in him, feelings he hadn’t had in a long time. He had, he saw now, been skimming through life, never going too deep, using work as an excuse because this—this emotion, this intensity—was frightening. Reminded him of how much you could lose, how much risk and pain was involved in any real relationship.
Not pain for him—he didn’t care about that—but pain for her. He didn’t want to hurt her, and he was so afraid that he might.
How did your parents die?
For a second, no more, he’d wanted to tell her the truth. Yet honesty only went so far, and that secret was buried so deep inside him he didn’t think he could let it out if he tried. He tried not to think about it, yet being with this woman brought his own secrets swimming upwards to the light, just like hers.
They were both being real.
‘It has been perfect,’ he agreed. ‘But it’s getting late and we’ve got a mile trek through the jungle as well as a ride in the Jeep and a plane to catch.’
‘Back to reality,’ Aurelie said, making a face, and Luke reached for her hand.
‘Maybe reality won’t be so bad,’ he said quietly. This new reality, with the two of them in it together. One day at a time. Yet what would tomorrow hold?
They walked back to the Jeep in companionable silence, the jungle lush and vibrant all around them. As they emerged into the sunlight a brilliant blue morpho butterfly fluttered close to Aurelie’s face and briefly alighted on her hair. She laughed aloud, and Luke smiled to see her joy. Then suddenly, impulsively perhaps, she leaned over and brushed her lips against his.
He stilled under that little kiss, felt a flare of heat inside, the instant arousal, yet something more. Something precious, because he knew that little kiss hadn’t been calculated. It had been an expression of her heart.
‘What was that for?’ he asked, and she shrugged, smiling.
‘Just because I wanted to.’ She paused, bit her lip. ‘Do you mind?’
Mind? ‘No,’ Luke said. ‘I don’t mind at all.’
‘Good.’
And that, he knew, was a very good start.
* * *
By the time they got on the plane Aurelie was feeling sleepy. She curled up in a corner of one of the leather sofas, and when Luke came and sat down right beside her it felt amazingly natural to rest her head on his shoulder. Luke curved his arm around her, drew her closer so her cheek rested against his chest, and with a kind of wonderful incredulity Aurelie realised that felt natural too. It felt right. She snuggled closer, and by the time the plane took off her eyes were drifting shut.
They got back to the hotel after dark, and Luke walked her all the way to the door of her suite. Aurelie turned to him, felt her heart throw itself against her ribs. Should she ask him to come in? Did she want him to? Part of her did, desperately, and another part still felt that old fear.
She took out her keycard, hesitated and turned to Luke. ‘Well.’ She swallowed, smiled. Sort of.
Luke smiled back and cupped her cheek. The feel of his warm palm against her skin was both reassuring and exciting. Yet even so Aurelie felt herself tensing. She wanted this, she did, and yet...