As well as not liking the way his legs seemed so long, or his torso so powerful, she also did not like the way he was looking at her. A veiled look that did things to her breathing she did not want it to.
‘Good,’ he said, and then he said something to Ari which Ann assumed was assent.
She had no objection to taking Ari into the water, however cold it might be. It would get her away from Nikos. He could sit in the sun and read his magazine and welcome. But as she scrambled to her feet, dusting sand off her knees and hands, she froze. Nikos, it seemed, was intending to go in the sea as well.
He was stripping off. Before her frozen eyes, he proceeded to divest himself of his chinos and polo shirt down to bare skin.
She stared, open-mouthed.
His body was fantastic. And there was so much of it! The golden shoulders were just as broad as she’d always known they’d be, his back long and smooth, his legs longer and not smooth—fuzzed with a sheen of dark hair over taut muscles that was echoed in the narrow arrowing above the waistband of his hip-hugging bathing trunks. Whether he worked out or it just came naturally, his abdominal muscles were unblemished by an ounce of fat, and the smooth, olive-hued pectorals were likewise perfect.
As he finished undressing, he glanced at Ann. For a moment his eyes stayed veiled, as if observing her reaction. Then, with an indolent, satisfied smile, he reached out one long index finger under her chin and closed her mouth.
‘Your turn,’ he invited softly. ‘Or should I say—my turn?’
He stood, casually poised, with all the natural grace of a Greek statue but with absolutely none of its Platonic virtues, and waited for her to do likewise and disrobe—so he could watch her the way she had watched him.
As she stood stiff and immobile, he gave her a taunting smile.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve checked it out already. You pass muster.’
She started, confused. He enlightened her. ‘By the pool. You were sunbathing.’
Colour mounted in her cheek as the penny dropped and subconscious memory flooded back. ‘You touched me!’ she accused, outraged. God, she thought she’d been dreaming, and all along the hand that she’d imagined stroking over her back had been real. Had been his. Eyes flashing with anger she dropped down to help Ari inflate his armbands and take his T-shirt off.
She heard a mocking laugh, lightly running feet, and then, her eyes automatically flying upwards, she saw Nikos Theakis launching itself into the azure water, splashing loudly in the quietness all around them. As he headed out to sea with long, powerful strokes, Ann dragged her eyes away. Grimly, she helped Ari get ready for swimming.
‘You have to come in too!’ said Ari.
‘After lunch,’ she said, sliding his armbands on and checking their fit. ‘Anyway, I take ages changing, and Uncle Nikki is already in the water. I’ll come and watch you both.’
Accepting this compromise, Ari hammered over the sand to the water’s edge, shouting enthusiastically in Greek to the figure cutting through the water. Watching Ari plunge in, and his uncle halt his swimming to meet him, Ann did her best to ignore the way the sunlight played on the hard, lean torso, glistening with water, and on the sleek, slicked back hair and thick, sea-wet eyelashes.
Oh, God, he really is gorgeous to look at…
She felt her stomach hollow out, and not just with dismay…
Deliberately she flicked her gaze to Ari, keeping it fixed on him. Against her will, she had to concede that Nikos Theakis, unspeakable though he was, was a great companion for a four-year-old child. Over and over again he hefted Ari up and tossed him into the sea. Ari yelled with glee. He played chasing games and piggybacking, and aeroplaned him around above the water. Without her realising it, a smile came to her lips as she watched them.
Then they were wading out of the water. Ari was rushing up and giving her a wet hug, describing all the things that Uncle Nikki and he had done, asking if she’d seen them, and she was taking off his armbands and wrapping his sturdy little body in a towel. At his uncle she did not look at all. Not at all.
But back at the camp she had to, like it or not.
Energy levels quite undimmed by his marine exertions, Ari hopped about from one foot to the other while Ann creamed sun lotion into him. The sun was getting higher now, and even his darker skin tone needed protection.
‘Have you cream on your face, Ann?’ The question made her look up, and immediately she wished she hadn’t.
Nikos was standing, legs apart, his back to the sun, ruffling his hair dry with a towel. He looked—magnificent.
Ann tightened her mouth. ‘Yes, I put it on before we set off.’
‘You should top up,’ Nikos told her. ‘Even with your tan you can still burn, and that would ruin that flawless complexion of yours.’
Tight-lipped, Ann applied more sun lotion to herself, knowing the truth of what Nikos had said, despite the way he’d said it. Her complexion was none of his damn business…
Ari tugged at her sleeve. ‘It’s time to build a sandcastle,’ he announced. ‘A big one.’
Ann was only too willing. Anything to keep her busy and away from Nikos. She watched as Ari seized his spade and set off to select a good site, just beyond the sand holes, settling down to work. Ann reached for the sun lotion cap and started to screw it on, her eyes focussed on her task—focussed on whatever took her gaze away from where Nikos was lowering himself down with muscular grace on to the rug, leaning back against a large rock, legs stretching out in front of him. Perilously close to her.