He let his lips move down over hers, easing them apart with a languorous sensuality. A hand curved, as if on its own, around the soft swell of her breast.
He felt her response, felt her mouth begin to move against his, and with a deep, abiding sense of satisfaction and enjoyment he began to make love to her, slowly, exquisitely, beneath the sun.
CHAPTER TEN
AFTER DINNER, AS they sat over coffee, candles burning low on the rough-hewn table in the single living room of the villa, the embers of a fire dying away to keep the faint night chill at bay, Xavier told Lissa he had to return to Paris the day after next.
‘I can avoid it no longer,’ he said, his voice flat. ‘I’m sorry.’
A stone congealed in Lissa’s insides. Hard and horrible. She made herself speak.
‘Of course. I understand. It was good that you could take this time off.’ Her words were jerky.
‘It’s a damnable nuisance,’ Xavier said with sudden emphasis.
She gave a tight smile. ‘It’s your job. I understand that. Work doesn’t give us choices.’ Had her voice sharpened as she’d said that last bit? She didn’t know. Didn’t care. Only knew that all of a sudden the idyll was over.
Just like that.
She’d known it must happen—known with her brain, her reason. But not with anything else. With the rest of her she had only known that here, on this island, so close to the mainland and yet a million miles away from anywhere, she wanted that time with Xavier to go on for ever.
But of course it would end. Must end. She knew that—and as for him, however senior he was at XeL, he had work to do, responsibilities to meet. If anything, the more senior the executives were, the longer hours they worked. If his boss was now cracking the whip, wanting him back at his desk, then obviously he’d have to go. That was all there was to it. No one knew better than she the harsh obligation of work …
And so it was all over.
Over.
The word tolled in her mind. The stone inside her seemed heavier, choking her.
Over. All over.
Xavier would go back to Paris. She would be put back on a plane to London. He would kiss her goodbye, tell her that it had been a wonderful holiday, smile down at her—and walk away.
She would never see him again.
Pain—sudden, piercing, unbearable—sliced into her. Oh, God, how could she bear it? Never to see him again—for all this to be over?
The end of the affair.
The blunt, bleak words burned in front of her retinas. The end of the affair.
That was all it was—an affair. All it could ever be.
She had gone into it walking on air, knowing only that a fantasy had come to life, that she was being given a gift, a wonderful gift, that she had not expected. She had received it and been enraptured by it. And now it was over. All over.
Xavier was speaking again. She forced herself to listen. The stone inside her seemed to be swelling, taking her over, blocking out everything else that existed. What was he saying? She stared at him, trying to listen.
‘… Paris, probably for about a week. Then I have to fly to Vienna, possibly via Munich, and later in the month I’ll probably have to go to the Far East. XeL has factories there, and we keep a close eye on them to ensure working conditions are good for the employees. I know it means a lot of travelling for you, but I’ll try and ensure we get some time for sightseeing, and we would be together, which is the main thing, so—’ He broke off. ‘Lissa? What is it?’
She was staring at him, somewhat confusedly.
‘You want—?’ She swallowed. The stone was in her throat now, but something was happening to it as she made herself speak. ‘You want me to come with you?’
It was his turn to stare. Then, slowly, he nodded.
‘You seem surprised.’ His expression changed. Across the table, he held out a hand to her. ‘Did you think this was all I wanted?’ His voice had softened, his eyes melted chocolate.
Slowly, numbly, she placed her hand in his. The warmth of his fingers enclosed hers. Safe. Cherishing.