A Night of Scandal

‘You’re playing a role. Do you ever play yourself, Nathaniel?’

The change in him was almost imperceptible but it was there. Shimmering desire faded and his eyes were guarded. A tiny muscle flickered in his j

aw and he watched her without speaking.

Then he released her in a smooth movement and stepped away. The cynical, mocking look was back in his eyes. ‘We would have been good together.’

Katie was glad she was leaning against the rock. Her knees were shaking so much she needed the support. Her hands ached to reach out for him, drag him back to her, lose herself in the heat of his mouth.

But she wanted it to be real, and this wasn’t real.

They’d spent a week together, but she knew she hadn’t spent a single moment with the real Nathaniel Wolfe.

His head throbbing from yet another sleepless night, Nathaniel flung snorkelling gear onto the deck while Ben and one of the other members of staff loaded food and equipment.

‘Where are you going?’ A soft, female voice came from behind him and he turned to see Katie standing on the jetty. Her feet were bare and her hands pushed into a pair of shorts. Even from a distance, he could feel her tension. Her cheeks were pale and there were dark shadows under her eyes.

Having spent most of the night wide awake in the hammock, it gave him some satisfaction to know that she wasn’t sleeping any better than he was.

‘We are going sailing. Given my misfortune of being trapped on this island with someone with your moral code, I need a distraction to take my mind off the total lack of meaningless sex.’ And a

distraction to keep his mind off the new messages waiting on his phone.

He picked up the final box and stowed it on board.

Katie didn’t move. ‘I think it would be best if I stayed here.’

‘No, it wouldn’t.’ Before he could talk himself out of it, Nathaniel scooped her into his arms and deposited her onto the boat, keeping his eyes averted from her long, bare legs. ‘This is one of the best dive sites in Brazil. You’ll love it.’

‘You’re afraid to leave me here in case I tell someone where you are. What do you think I’m going to do, Nathaniel? Send up smoke signals? Even if I wanted to call someone, I can’t. You locked up my phone.’

He wished he’d locked up his own. Those messages gnawed at him, acting like a block jammed in a door he was trying to slam shut.

‘You don’t need a phone.’

‘You’re afraid I’m going to tell someone about Annabelle or Carrie, but I swear I’m not going to mention their names to anyone. I don’t even know who they are!’

It was possible to feel cold, he discovered, even when the sun was pounding down from high in the sky. ‘I want you to forget you ever heard those names.’

‘Fine, I’ll forget I ever heard them. But once in a while it would be good for you to just trust someone. It must be incredibly lonely living a life where you think everyone is out to get you.’ She pushed aside the snorkelling gear and sat down on the deck with a thump. ‘I’ve never snorkelled. I’ll probably drown.’

‘You’ll love it.’

‘What if I inhale water?’

‘I’ll give you mouth-to-mouth.’ Wishing he’d never allowed his mind to go in that direction, Nathaniel sprang onto the boat. ‘Let’s go.’

Under sail, the catamaran sped through the water, swift and smooth, responding well to the light winds. The water sparkled in the sunlight and shoals of colourful fish darted beneath them.

Katie stretched her legs out on the seat and tilted her face up to the sun.

Wondering whether he’d made a mistake bringing her, Nathaniel pushed the tiller away from him and sailed towards the wind, breathing deeply as the salty air touched his face. The position gave him a perfect view of her long slim legs, so he shifted slightly.

They sailed for several hours, past numerous deserted islands, and finally attached themselves to a mooring buoy so that they could snorkel around the reef.

Ignoring him, Katie stripped off her shorts and T-shirt to reveal a tiny red polka-dot bikini.

It was the first time she’d worn a bikini in front of him and he was starting to wish she’d stuck to drab, conceal-everything clothes. Sweat prickled the back of his neck.