Claiming His Wedding Night

Which had left him tossing and twisting alone in a bed in one of the many spare rooms in the villa.

So, no. In answer to her question, he hadn’t had a good night.

Or a particularly satisfying morning either. Having woken early and still painfully aroused, he had taken a long, cold shower, standing beneath the icy water until he simply couldn’t feel his body any more. Stepping out of the shower, his libido once again checked and contained, he should have felt calmer.

His mouth thinned. Except that he hadn’t. Instead he’d felt tense and on edge, his mind twitching with a whole set of new and unsettling feelings. Not least the realisation that Addie’s presence appeared to be having an impact on more than just his libido. Staring down at where she lay in his bed, he’d felt more than thwarted lust. Maybe it had been the dark smudges beneath her eyes, or her slightly bitten fingernails, but something had twisted inside him and he’d felt a wholly uncharacteristic impulse to draw her into his arms.

He breathed out slowly. It didn’t make any sense. But then what did in those strange early hours of the morning when the mind played tricks on itself? Once he’d finally bedded her he’d not only be free of this nagging physical ache but he’d also be able to think with his usual clear-headedness. After all, that was what sex did: it satisfied the body and soothed the mind.

He met her gaze. ‘I always sleep well,’ he lied, and watching her expression shift from curious to irritated, he felt a prickle of satisfaction.

That was more like it. Let her think she was a pleasurable diversion—not a compulsion that needed to be satisfied.

Feeling back in control, he stood up and, gazing out across the lagoon, he held out his hand. ‘Come on! Let’s go!’

Startled, Addie looked up at him. ‘Go where?’

He grinned. ‘To have a swim, of course.’

The lagoon was the perfect temperature and even though she was a fairly cautious swimmer, it would have been impossible for her not to enjoy herself. The warm water felt delicious on her skin, and everywhere there was something beautiful to look at. Tiny jewel-coloured fish. Shells of every shade of pink.

And Malachi.

Wearing nothing but a pair of navy trunks, his body was tugging at her gaze with the gravitational force of a black hole. She watched furtively as he pulled himself onto the deck, her eyes tracking the droplets of water trickling over his café au lait skin. He was shatteringly sexy.

Unfortunately at that moment he glanced over, and she felt her cheeks flame as she was caught in the act of watching him. Her breath f

altered as he took a small run off the deck and dived back into the lagoon, cutting through the ripples towards her.

She stared at him dazedly, her brain melting. From a distance, his beauty was miraculous. Up close, it was as destabilising as an electromagnetic pulse and she could feel her resistance slipping away—

A shadow fell over her face at the same moment as a gust of air whipped up the water around them. Shocked, Addie gasped, her hand reaching out instinctively. Above them the unmistakable shadow of a helicopter hovered briefly, then swung away across the island.

‘Don’t worry!’ Malachi’s voice cut through the sudden silence that followed the helicopter’s departure. ‘They’re just dropping something off for me.’

She nodded. At some point she had ended up clutching his arm and, mortified, she withdrew her hand swiftly, ignoring the mocking glint in his eyes.

‘I might just go and get some sunblock. I don’t want to burn on my first day.’ Averting her eyes from his wet, muscular chest, she slipped past him and swam hastily across the lagoon and levered herself out onto the deck.

He was beside her in a moment, smoothing back his wet hair. ‘Would you like me to put it on your back?’ he said solicitously.

‘No. It’s fine. I probably should cover up now anyway.’ Backing away, she grabbed her dress and tugged it hurriedly over her head as, behind them, the helicopter rose up above the trees and then swiftly disappeared from view.

Gazing after it, she suddenly remembered her plans for the day. ‘Actually, I thought we could go and have a look round the island this morning,’ she said quickly, inching towards the villa. Anything to get away from his fabulous semi-naked body. ‘You know... Explore a bit.’

There was a short, tense silence. Looking up, she saw that he was watching her, his face as unyielding to her scrutiny as ever. But something was glittering in his eyes that made her heart jerk in her chest.

‘Why would we want to do that?’ he said softly. ‘It’s just more of the same.’

He paused and took a step closer, his gaze darkening in time with the beat of her heart. Reaching out, he ran his thumb along her collarbone and, hooking the front of her dress, he tugged her towards him.

‘There are far more interesting places I’d like to explore right here.’

His hand was grazing her breast, caressing, circling, making her stomach muscles curl into a ball.

‘Which reminds me—I have a little present for you.’

She followed him inside, watching warily as he walked across the kitchen to the counter and picked up a beautiful cream box tied with pale gold ribbon.