Playing by the Greek's Rules (Puffin Island 0.50)

‘Good decision.’ She slid her hand into his, rose on tiptoe and whispered in his ear. ‘I’ll be gentle with you.’

With her wide smile and laughing eyes, it was like being on a date with a beam of sunshine. He felt heat spread through his body, his arousal so brutal he was tempted to haul her behind the nearest lockable door, rip off that dress and acquaint himself with every part of her luscious, naked body.

Vassilis was waiting outside with the car and Nik bundled her inside and sat as far from her as possible.

All his life, he’d avoided women like her. Women who believed in romance and ‘the one’. For him, the myth of love had been smashed in childhood along with Santa and the Tooth Fairy. He had no use for it in his life.

‘Where do you live?’ He growled the words but she simply smiled.

‘You don’t need to know, because we’re going back to your place. Your bed is almost big enough to be seen from outer space.’

Nik ran his hand over his jaw. ‘Lily—’

Her phone signalled a text and she dug around in her bag. ‘I need to answer this. It will be Brittany, checking I’m all right. She and Spy are probably worried because they saw me go off with you.’

‘Maybe you should pay attention to your friends.’

‘Hold that thought—’

Having rebound sex. She mouthed the words as she typed. Speak to you tomorrow.

Nik was tempted to seize the phone and text her friends to come and pick her up. ‘Brittany was the girl in the blue dress?’

‘She’s the female version of you, but without the money. She doesn’t engage emotionally. I found out today that she was married for ten days when she was eighteen. Can you believe that? Ten days. I don’t know the details, but apparently it cured her of ever wanting a repeat performance.’ She pressed send and slid the phone back into her bag. ‘I grew up in foster homes so I don’t have any family. I think that’s probably why my friends are so important to me. I never really had a sense of belonging anywhere. That’s a very lonely feeling as a child.’

He felt something stir inside him, as if she’d poked a stick into a muddy, stagnant pool that had lain dormant and undiscovered for decades. Deeply uncomfortable, he shifted in his seat. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

‘I thought as we’re going to have sex, you might want to know something about me.’

‘I don’t.’

‘That’s not very polite.’

‘I’m not striving for “polite”. This is who I am. It’s not too late for my driver to drop you home. Give him the address.’

She leaned forward and pressed the button so that the screen closed between him and the driver. ‘Sorry, Vassilis, but I don’t want to corrupt you.’ She slid across the seat, closed her eyes and lifted her face to his. ‘Kiss me. Whatever it is you do, do it now.’

Nik had always considered himself to be a disciplined man but he was rapidly rethinking that assessment. With her, there was no discipline. He looked down at those long, thick eyelashes and the pink curve of her mouth and tried to remember when he’d last been tempted to have sex in the back of his car.

‘No.’ He managed to inject the word with forceful conviction but instead of retreating, she advanced.

‘In that case I’ll kiss you. I don’t mind taking the initiative.’ Her slim fingers slid to the inside of his thigh. He was so aroused he couldn’t even remember why he was fighting this, and instead of pushing her away he gripped her hand hard and turned his head towards her.

His gaze swept her flushed cheeks and the lush curve of her mouth. With a rough curse he lowered his head, driving her lips apart with his tongue and taking that mouth in a kiss that was as rough as it was sexually explicit. His inten

tion was to scare her off, so there was no holding back, no diluting of his passion. He kissed her hard, expecting to feel her pull back but instead she pressed closer. She tasted of sugar and sweet temptation, her mouth soft and eager against his as she all but wriggled onto his lap.

The heavy weight of her breasts brushed against his arm and he gave a groan and slid his hand into her hair, anchoring her head for the hard demands of his kiss. She licked into his mouth, snuggling closer like a kitten, those full soft curves pressing against him. It was a kiss without boundaries, an explosion of raw desire that built until the rear of the car shimmered with stifling heat and sexual awareness.

He slid his hand under her dress, over the smooth skin of her thigh to the soft shadows between her legs. It was her thickened moan of pleasure that woke him up.

Cristo, they were in the car, in moving traffic.

Releasing her as if she were a hot coal, he pushed her away. ‘I thought you were supposed to be smart.’

Her breathing was shallow and rapid. ‘I’m very, very smart. And you’re an amazing kisser. Are you as good at everything else?’

His pulse was throbbing and he was so painfully aroused he didn’t dare move. ‘If you really want to come home with me then you’re not as smart as you look.’