A Devious Desire

But Alex simply moved from one breast, his black eyes flashing triumphantly to her face, and resumed suckling its partner, while his hand kept up an insistent teasing, tantalising rhythm. She felt her muscles clench, her body lifting, yielding to the demands of her own sexuality and Alex's sensual mastery. She closed her eyes, her face taut with pleasure, as Alex increased his rhythmic caress and the pressure of his mouth on her breasts.

'Please—oh, please!' she cried as her body trembled on the pinnacle of relief, and then clenched in a convulsive surrender.

The shuddering tremors stopped and Saffron finally opened her eyes. Alex had slipped an arm around her shoulder and his other hand rested lightly on the soft nest of red curls at the juncture of her thighs. She flushed scarlet as she met his dark, enigmatic gaze, shocked at his manipulation of her body, but more confused than anything. 'Why did. . .?' She couldn't continue.

He kissed her damp forehead, and smiled, a long, slow, completely masculine grin. 'Proving a point, maybe. You're mine to do what I like with.'

Tears of utter humiliation hazed her green eyes, but she refused to give in to them. She glanced down his long, naked body. 'Humiliating me doesn't do much for you, though, does it?' she retaliated, aware of his aroused state.

Reaching out his hand, he tilted her chin, his eyes dark and oddly intent. 'Maybe pleasuring you was all I intended.'

Saffron's eyes widened in surprise and puzzlement. 'Degrading me, you mean.'

'Don't look so shocked, Saffron; it's very flattering for a man to know he can please his woman in many ways, and nothing that brings pleasure between a husband and wife is degrading, you little innocent.'

His husky chuckle only fuelled Saffron's bitter humiliation. She tried to twist out of his arms, but he held her fast.

'Surprisingly, last night you were a virgin, and maybe I was less than gentle,' he admitted. His dark eyes caught and held hers as his hand, at the nape of her neck, kept her face towards his. 'You must be sore after last night; maybe this morning I was simply being considerate.'

Alex, considerate? The mind boggled, Saffron thought sadly, and closed her eyes, wishing she could shut out Alex and her love for him as easily.

'Come on, Saffron, get up,' he commanded softly. She opened her eyes, and he was standing leaning over her, a slight smile quirking the edges of his finely chiselled mouth. 'I need a cold shower and you need to pack; we're leaving in a couple of hours.'

'What?' she queried, momentarily fascinated by the length of his thick dark lashes curving over his half- closed eyes, successfully masking his expression. No man should have eyelashes like that; it was sinful.

'Pack—Saffron—we—are—leaving. . .' Alex said each word deliberately as though speaking to a child, his dark eyes gleaming with amusement as hers widened in shock.

'Why? Where are we going?' she asked, gathering her scattered wits. She had not given up hope of running back to England and forgetting the last disastrous and traumatic twenty-four hours, but that hope vanished as Alex straightened, all trace of amusement gone from his expression.

He stood, tall and naked but completely at ease with his nudity, as he levelled her with a hard glance. 'I am not such a fool as to give you a chance to run away, Saffron. I told you my terms; you work for your money with me,' he said starkly, his eyes hardening. 'We are going to Serendipidos where I can be assured of your safety.' One eyebrow slanted as he added silkily, 'And make sure you keep to our bargain, at least until I decide otherwise.'

She had no choice. Her heart-searching of yesterday, her conclusion that honesty was the best policy and all that, her reliance on the truth, had led her to this, she realised bitterly. If she had kept her mouth shut about the health club, if she had simply accepted what Alex had offered, and been prepared to forget his ignoble past, perhaps their marriage would have stood a chance. But now she was stuck with a husband who did not trust her, actively disliked her, and intended to keep her a virtual prisoner. A plaything to assuage his lust, and present him with an heir, his until he tired of her. . . 'Damn, damn, damn,' she swore.

Alex shot her a wry glance. 'Damning me won't help you, sweetheart.' And, turning, he strode off to the adjoining bathroom.

Saffron picked up the pillow and threw it after him, but it was wasted effort as it fell unnoticed and harmlessly against the closed door.

At the airport, Alex led her towards the private jet, parked some way away from the commercial flights, his strong fingers curved around her elbow, denying her any chance of a last-minute dash for freedom. He had never let her out of his sight for the past three hours, and she hoped it was not a foretaste of what was to follow.

The trouble was, she realised hopelessly, Alex had it all. The jet was simply a symbol of his success. She had heard a lot about him from his mother in the past few days; as a businessman and financier his success and wealth were apparently legendary, and Saffron, poor fool that she was, had had to go and fall in love with him.

If she had been thinking straight she might have realised the incongruity of Alex profiting from a massage parlour, but it did not occur to her until much later. . .

She allowed herself to be seated and barely noticed as Alex fastened her seatbelt. He must never know she loved him! That much she sadly recognised. He had married her for basically sensible reasons: lust and an heir. He did not believe in love and it would be the ultimate humiliation if he ever discovered how she really felt about him.

'Comfortable?' Alex's voice intruded on her worrying thoughts. She turned slightly, her glance skating over the proud head and hard features to rest on where his hands were deftly opening the briefcase on his lap.

'Yes, thank you,' she said politely.

'Good. I have work to do.' He wasn't even looking at her; she was already dismissed, his whole attention on the file he had taken from the briefcase.

'Plaything', he had said, and obviously meant, Saffron thought bitterly, and wondered how long she could stand the situation.

They left the plane at Athens and transferred to the helicopter, and twenty minutes later Saffron had her first view of Serendipidos.

'Your new home, Saffron; what do you think?' Alex queried, his deep voice sounding strangely remote through the headphones they were both wearing to cut out the noise of the helicopter.

She gazed out of the window at the panoramic view beneath. The blue-green sea, clear as crystal, broke into white horses around a tiny crescent-shaped island that rose steeply in the middle. It was no more than a mile