For her and her alone.
For the night to come—when she would give herself to him and take all that he was offering her.
For all their time together.
* * *
In the dark of the night, in the warmth of his bed, she lay in his arms, filled with a golden incandescent glow. How was it possible to have felt such bliss, to have responded to his skilled, but oh, so gentle possession?
She had cried out—not in pain this time, but in wonder, just as he had promised her—and joy had flooded through her, along with a pleasure, an ecstasy so intense her spine had arched like a bow, her limbs straining, her hands clutching at the strong, straining sinews of his back. And he had thrown his head back as he, too, had reached that same peak of absolute union.
And now she lay in his arms, with an exhaustion so profound and a wonder so deep binding her to him as her hectic heart rate eased. She felt her breath, warm upon his strong
, supporting chest, felt her eyelids close, sleep washing over her in the cradle of his arms.
In all the world this was the only place she wanted to be.
* * *
As he felt the soft, trembling body in his arms lapse into restful slumber Xandros slackened his hold. His own body was succumbing to the torpor of satiation, but before the last of his conscious thoughts ebbed from him he knew that one was uppermost. The one he treasured most.
Just as he had promised her he would, he had made it wonderful for her... And for himself as well.
Like I’ve never known it.
But why...? Why should that be?
Like feathers on a stream, thoughts drifted through his mind. Never before had he been a woman’s first lover—and never before had a woman been his wife...nor shared his haven on Kallistris...
Were they the reasons it had seemed so...so special...with Rosalie?
The question hovered like a drop of rain held in the still air...and as sleep finally flowed over him it dissolved like mist. Yielding no answer.
* * *
Rosalie lay in the sun, offering her body to its warm caress. Her skin was no longer pale. The passing days had turned it to golden honey...
Five blissful, sun-kissed days!
Five even more blissful nights...
Nights of giving herself entirely to Xandros—to what they had together.
She felt her breath catch in wonder and delight.
Xandros—oh, Xandros!
She cried out his name in her head and felt her heart glow as warmly as her body.
How was it possible to be so happy?
How impossible was it not to be?
Day after day they had taken their leisure—swimming, sailing, paddleboarding, snorkelling, taking picnics up to the headland, going for easy walks amongst the wild goats through the herb-scented maquis, drinking cocktails on the beach, watching the sunset and the moonrise, feasting every evening on Maria’s groaning banquets to give them strength for the long, long nights when they burned with passion and desire...finding ecstasy in each other’s arms...
She felt heat beat up in her cheeks. Was it because he was her first lover that it was so good? So special? Was that the reason?
Or was it because she had taken one look at him as she’d opened the door of that rundown rental house she’d been cleaning and known he was the most fantastic-looking male she’d ever seen in her life?