as it glistened in the sun, with tall and smooth pillars surrounding a marble courtyard, a wide terrace surrounding the villa on the ground floor, with a balcony on the second trailing a plethora of exotic flowers down to the ground from above.
It was like something out of a fairytale, and Kat was utterly transfixed by its beauty.
“Thank you, Dair.” She turned a beaming smile on him as he brought the vehicle to a stop in front of the villa. “You couldn’t have brought me to anywhere more perfect. It’s an island paradise!”
He eyed her guardedly. “You aren’t going to kiss me again, are you?”
“Not this time,” Kat chuckled as she climbed out of the four-by-four. “Unless you want me to?” She eyed him mockingly.
“I’ll pass.” For now , Dair added internally. If Kat kissed him again, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from taking it further.
Especially when he could now see the Kat he had once known, her face alight with the excitement of her surroundings, the lines of strain and unhappiness smoothed away, the shadows gone from her dark and sparkling eyes.
The thought of the two of them being alone here on the island for several days, maybe even weeks, was going to play havoc with his self-control.
Damn, she was beautiful as she twirled slowly around, arms outspread, face aglow with pleasure as she took in the beauty of their surroundings.
And another man’s wife, Dair reminded himself derisively.
But a husband she didn’t love. And who didn’t love her either; otherwise Sergei would never have shut her away in that clinic—and Kat wouldn’t have tried to stab him for it.
The more Dair thought about that incident the more he found humor in it. He could just see Sergei now, running away from Kat as she wielded a dinner knife at him.
Sergei didn’t deserve to so much as kiss the soles of Kat’s feet.
And he needed a distraction before he said as much.
Which Dair found by abruptly excusing himself to go deal with and check the security systems he had tightened up and improved before Lucien and Nicky came here for their honeymoon the previous month.
None of the alarms had been triggered since the couple from the mainland, who acted as caretakers, had delivered the food and other supplies Dair had asked for two days ago before leaving again.
He shut off all but the necessary alarms for the duration of their stay before making his way to the kitchen.
As he had requested, the fridge had been well stocked. He just hoped that Kat could cook, because his own cooking skills only stretched as far as grilling a steak and zapping a baked potato in the microwave. Which would become pretty boring on a daily basis, if they were here for very long.
Only problem was, Dair couldn’t see any reason why Kat would ever have learned to cook, when she had been surrounded by—
Where the hell was Kat?
Damn it, they had only been on the island a few minutes and he had lost her already?
His expression was grim as he strode determinedly from the villa, only to heave a sigh of relief as he spotted Kat’s shoes and saw her footprints in the white-gold sand leading down to the water’s edge.
He came to an abrupt halt and stopped breathing when he saw those footsteps led to where Kat stood, jeans rolled up to just below her knees, the warmth of the water lapping at the bareness of her toes. Her arms were still outstretched, face raised to the sun, her red T-shirt clinging to the swell of her breasts, the flatness of her midriff visible where the T-shirt had ridden upwards.
She looked like a pagan priestess about to make an offering to the gods.
And Dair wanted nothing more at that moment than to take her down in the sand, strip her clothes from that delicious body, and carry on from where they had left off on the plane.
As if becoming aware of the heat of his gaze, Kat slowly lowered her arms and turned to look at him over her shoulder before turning fully to face him.
Dair’s heart
It was like something out of a fairytale, and Kat was utterly transfixed by its beauty.
“Thank you, Dair.” She turned a beaming smile on him as he brought the vehicle to a stop in front of the villa. “You couldn’t have brought me to anywhere more perfect. It’s an island paradise!”
He eyed her guardedly. “You aren’t going to kiss me again, are you?”
“Not this time,” Kat chuckled as she climbed out of the four-by-four. “Unless you want me to?” She eyed him mockingly.
“I’ll pass.” For now , Dair added internally. If Kat kissed him again, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from taking it further.
Especially when he could now see the Kat he had once known, her face alight with the excitement of her surroundings, the lines of strain and unhappiness smoothed away, the shadows gone from her dark and sparkling eyes.
The thought of the two of them being alone here on the island for several days, maybe even weeks, was going to play havoc with his self-control.
Damn, she was beautiful as she twirled slowly around, arms outspread, face aglow with pleasure as she took in the beauty of their surroundings.
And another man’s wife, Dair reminded himself derisively.
But a husband she didn’t love. And who didn’t love her either; otherwise Sergei would never have shut her away in that clinic—and Kat wouldn’t have tried to stab him for it.
The more Dair thought about that incident the more he found humor in it. He could just see Sergei now, running away from Kat as she wielded a dinner knife at him.
Sergei didn’t deserve to so much as kiss the soles of Kat’s feet.
And he needed a distraction before he said as much.
Which Dair found by abruptly excusing himself to go deal with and check the security systems he had tightened up and improved before Lucien and Nicky came here for their honeymoon the previous month.
None of the alarms had been triggered since the couple from the mainland, who acted as caretakers, had delivered the food and other supplies Dair had asked for two days ago before leaving again.
He shut off all but the necessary alarms for the duration of their stay before making his way to the kitchen.
As he had requested, the fridge had been well stocked. He just hoped that Kat could cook, because his own cooking skills only stretched as far as grilling a steak and zapping a baked potato in the microwave. Which would become pretty boring on a daily basis, if they were here for very long.
Only problem was, Dair couldn’t see any reason why Kat would ever have learned to cook, when she had been surrounded by—
Where the hell was Kat?
Damn it, they had only been on the island a few minutes and he had lost her already?
His expression was grim as he strode determinedly from the villa, only to heave a sigh of relief as he spotted Kat’s shoes and saw her footprints in the white-gold sand leading down to the water’s edge.
He came to an abrupt halt and stopped breathing when he saw those footsteps led to where Kat stood, jeans rolled up to just below her knees, the warmth of the water lapping at the bareness of her toes. Her arms were still outstretched, face raised to the sun, her red T-shirt clinging to the swell of her breasts, the flatness of her midriff visible where the T-shirt had ridden upwards.
She looked like a pagan priestess about to make an offering to the gods.
And Dair wanted nothing more at that moment than to take her down in the sand, strip her clothes from that delicious body, and carry on from where they had left off on the plane.
As if becoming aware of the heat of his gaze, Kat slowly lowered her arms and turned to look at him over her shoulder before turning fully to face him.
Dair’s heart
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