‘Lexi.’ Jake pulled her up, his dark head bent, blocking out the sun, all laughter gone, as his mouth brushed hers.
Naked in his arms, the water lapping softly around them, Lexi curved her slender arms around his neck, and, her lips parting, she kissed him back.
He groaned, his hands catching her legs and wrapping them around his waist, as his tongue darted into her mouth in quick, searching thrusts.
Lexi crossed her feet behind him and clung. His hands stroked round her waist and up to palm her breasts. She felt the force of his masculine aggression urgent between her thighs, only the flimsy fabric of his Spandex briefs and the tantalising brush of the water preventing his completing the act they both craved.
‘Jake, we can’t,’ she whimpered as his teeth nipped the rigid peak of one breast.
‘Lexi, we can.’ He trailed the words up her breast and over her throat, to find her mouth. ‘Trust me.’
‘We’ll drown,’ she moaned.
‘Only in each other.’
Lexi felt his hands under her thighs at the edge of his swimming-trunks, pushing them down. She gasped, and tightened her grip on his shoulders as he reared up and into her in one swift movement, his hands gripping her waist, he held her impaled by his masculine strength.
She had never felt anything so erotic in her life; the water gave a weightlessness to her limbs and the contrast of the cool water and the hot sun on her naked flesh, the driving force of Jake, her breasts buried in the soft, wet hair of his muscular chest, the muffled groans, the heady scent of flowers and sea air all combined to make it a tapestry of scent, sound, sight and sensational eroticism, culminating in a shuddering ecstasy.
‘We didn’t drown,’ she whimpered, still clinging to Jake’s neck as he half-swam and half-walked to the side of the pool and, lifting her up, he sat her on the edge, and then hauled himself up and proceeded to collapse flat on his back, his feet still dangling in the water.
‘I promised myself we would try that before we have to leave,’ Jake rasped breathlessly, and getting to his feet he added, ‘It was even better than my fantasy.’
But Lexi had heard. She sat up, only then remembering she was naked, she bent her knees and clasped her hands defensively around them. ‘Leave? When are you leaving?’ she asked quietly.
Glancing up, her eyes lingered helplessly. Jake, with water still trickling down his glorious golden body, was beautifully made. Thick black hair shadowed down his bronzed body to a flat stomach, powerful long legs, and a blatant masculinity that made her shiver with remembered delight. She looked up into his eyes and was stunn
ed by the flash of pain she thought she saw in their shadowed depths.
‘We—’ he accentuated the single word ‘—are leaving on Monday. I have to be in London for a meeting in the afternoon.’ He glanced at the waterproof Rolex on his wrist. ‘But for the moment I suggest you go and gild the lily; we have to go out in an hour.’
‘Just like that, no discussion?’ Lexi prompted. Rising to her feet, she walked to the lounger and picked up her shirt and slipped it on. Jake might be happy with his nudity, but she, stupidly maybe, found it difficult to behave naturally stark naked—a relic of her convent upbringing...
Jake watched her with cool, assessing eyes and, when she turned back to face him, his hand reached out and long fingers tipped up her chin. ‘There’s nothing to discuss; you’re my wife, you go where I go. Don’t try to make a battle out of it, Lexi.’
‘I wasn’t,’ she told him steadily. ‘But I would like to be kept informed. It is my life you’re playing with,’ she couldn’t help sniping sarcastically. While in her heart she wondered how they could make love one minute and end up facing up like two strangers the next.
As if sensing her dilemma, Jake’s hand slipped from her chin to her shoulder, his fingers squeezing her tender flesh. ‘You worry too much.’ His dark head bent and his lips brushed along her brow, rather like a father reassuring a child. ‘And be assured, I’m not playing. I’ve never been more serious in my life. But we’ll talk later, after the party.’
‘Party?’
‘Damn, it’s supposed to be a secret. Your half-naked body never fails to scramble my brain,’ he offered with a chuckle. ‘Now, run along while I have a swim, there’s a good girl.’ And spinning her around he slapped a helping hand on her bottom. ‘Later, we’ll talk.’
Lexi fumed at his pat and chauvinistic attitude, and, without thinking, she spun back around and, catching Jake completely off guard, she planted both hands on his broad chest, stuck her foot behind him and pushed. He hit the water with a very satisfactory splash, and Lexi, arching one elegant eyebrow, stood smiling down at the spluttering, enraged male and drawled sarcastically, ‘Have a nice swim, there’s a good boy.’ And, grinning, she ran back to the house.
Later, washed and dressed in the designer gown Jake had given her, a strapless creation with a deep jade-green bodice that lovingly traced the swell of her full breasts, nipped into her slender waist and fell to mid-calf in shimmering handkerchief layers of multi-shaded green chiffon, she walked into the salon, and she was not feeling quite so brave.
She stopped inside the door. Jake was leaning against the mantelshelf, his dark head bent over whatever it was he was turning over in his hand, and he looked drop-dead gorgeous... There was no other way to describe him. His evening-jacket was cream and with it he wore a white silk dress-shirt and a rich blue bow-tie; the jacket was hanging open to reveal a matching blue cummerbund, and his other hand, in the pocket of his pants, pulled the fabric taut across his muscular thigh. She couldn’t seem to drag her eyes away. Jake had always been a conservative dresser, but tonight he looked slightly flamboyant and all virile, powerful male.
Lexi swallowed with difficulty. ‘I’m ready,’ she managed to say steadily, and watched as Jake lifted his head from his contemplation of whatever he had in his hand.
His deep blue eyes blazed as he made no effort to hide his masculine appreciation, his gaze travelling with slow, sensual scrutiny from her mass of red hair clipped behind her small ears with matching pearl-studded combs, falling in a mass of curls over her shoulders, to her lovely, if rather wary face. She did not need much make-up, her softly tanned skin glowed with health, but she had paid special attention to her eyes, outlining their shape with a brown eyeliner, and a soft dusting of muted taupe shadow on her lids, finished off with a brown-black mascara to emphasise her long lashes.
Lexi had no idea how stunning and slightly exotic she looked, and Jake’s continued silent survey was beginning to get to her. ‘I said—’
‘I heard.’ Jake cut in, his brilliant eyes lifting from the soft curve of her breasts to her face. ‘You really have grown up into the most seductive-looking woman it has ever been my pleasure to see,’ he drawled softly and, straightening, laughed, a low, husky sound, as Lexi felt herself blush from head to toe.
‘Surely you can’t still be shy?’ Jake grated softly, crossing the room in a few lithe strides. ‘Though I must admit blushing becomes you.’ And he reached out and caught her small hand in his.