She wondered if he’d had enough of being with her.
No doubt he was ready to move on to someone else. Another woman with whom he could share a satisfying physical relationship, never dipping deeper. The thought of him with another woman made her feel ill and Lily gripped the side of the boat, a gesture that earned her a concerned frown.
‘Are you sea sick?’
She was about to deny that, but realised to do so would mean providing an alternative explanation for her inertia so she gave a little nod and instantly he slowed the boat.
That demonstration of thoughtfulness simply made everything worse.
It had been so much easier to stay detached when she’d thought he was the selfish, ruthless money-making machine everyone else believed him to be.
Now she knew differently.
The drive between the little jetty and his villa should have been blissful. The sun beamed down on them and the scent of lavender and thyme filled the air, but as they grew closer to their destination she grew more and more miserable.
She was lost in her own deep pit of gloom, and it was only when he stopped at the large iron gates that sealed his villa off from the rest of the world that she realised his mistake.
She stirred. ‘You forgot to drop me home.’
‘I didn’t forget.’ He turned to look at her. ‘I’ll take you home if that’s what you want, or you can spend the night here with me.’
Her heart started to pound. ‘I thought—’ She’d assumed he’d drop her home and that would be the end of it. ‘I’d like to stay.’
The look in his eyes made everything inside her tighten in delicious anticipation.
He muttered something under his breath in Greek and then turned his head and focused on the driving, a task that seemed to cost him in terms of effort.
She knew he was aroused and her mood lifted and flew. He might not love her, but he wanted her. That was enough for now.
It wasn’t one night.
They’d already had so much more than that.
He shifted gears and then reached across and took her hand and she looked down, at those long, strong fingers holding tightly to hers.
Her body felt hot and heavy and she stole a glance at his taut profile and knew he was as aroused as she was. In the short time they’d been together she’d learned to recognise the signs. The darkening of his eyes, the tightening of his mouth and the brief sideways glance loaded with sexual promise.
He wore a casual shirt that exposed the bronzed skin at the base of his throat and she had an almost overwhelming temptation to lean across and trace that part of him with her tongue. To tease when he wasn’t in a position to retaliate.
‘Don’t you dare.’ He spoke through his teeth. ‘I’ll crash the car.’
‘How did you know what I was thinking?’
‘Because I was thinking the same thing.’
It amazed her that they could be so in tune with each other, when they were so fundamentally different in every way.
‘You need a villa with a shorter drive.’
He gave a laugh that was entirely at his own expense, and then cursed as his phone rang as he pulled up in front of the villa.
‘Answer it.’ She said it lightly, somehow managing to keep the swell of disappointment hidden inside.
‘I’ll get rid of them.’ He spoke with his usual arrogant assurance before hitting a button on his phone and taking the call.
He switched between Greek and English and Lily was lost in a dream world, imagining the night that lay ahead, when she heard him talking about taking the private jet to New York.
He was f