LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

manage to lay my hands on a bottle of champagne, so hopefully you won’t spend the entire evening wondering how you got stuck with a loser like me!’

      A loser! Addie gazed at him. She doubted Malachi had lost at anything—ever. She, on the other hand, would lose all self-control if they didn’t leave the bedroom soon.

      ‘Here!’ He held out the glasses and, popping the cork, he poured the champagne. ‘To the high seas! And sunken treasure.’ He tapped his glass lightly against hers. ‘Now, let’s eat. I am starving.’

      The meal was delicious: a starter of burrata salad followed by taglierini with shaved white truffles and a chocolate fondant for dessert.

      ‘I’m so glad it’s not fish,’ Addie said, glancing out of the window at the darkened ocean. ‘What if they’d looked in and seen us?’

      Malachi grinned. He had taken off his jacket and his tanned muscular skin was perfectly offset by the pure white of his shirt.

      ‘I think they’d be pleased you weren’t eating them. It’s a fish-eat-fish world out there.’

      Laughing, she pushed away her empty bowl and took a sip from her wine glass.

      ‘What are you thinking?’

      ‘Nothing really!’ Turning her head, she saw he was watching her, his face in the candlelight somehow softer, less guarded. ‘Just how much the children would love this. You don’t mind if I show them a photo or two, do you?’ She gave him a small, tight smile. ‘Otherwise they might not believe me.’

      He shook his head, frowning slightly. ‘No, of course not.’

      ‘Thank you.’ The easy atmosphere of moments earlier seemed to have disappeared. Confused, suddenly on edge herself, she lifted her chin. ‘Sorry to bring up work. It just popped into my head.’

      There was a short, strained silence.

      ‘It’s not just work, though, is it? For you, I mean.’

      She looked up at him, startled. He was looking at her, his expression an odd blend of curiosity and appraisal.

      ‘You really care about those children.’

      ‘Yes. I do.’ She was shocked at how fierce she sounded. ‘They deserve it. Some of them—a lot of them—have such difficult lives, and they’re so brave.’

      ‘They’re lucky to have you championing them.’ He held her gaze. ‘I can’t think of many people I’d rather have by my side, watching my back.’

      She held her breath. Then why had he pushed her away? She’d been by his side, watching his back. When all the time she should have been watching her own.

      She shrugged. ‘I’m not a saint. I get a lot back from them.’

      Malachi stared at her. In that dress it would be difficult for any woman to look like a saint. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was. How sexy. He wanted her so much. But for the first time in his life sex didn’t seem that important. Not as important as hearing her story.

      ‘Like what?’ Leaning forward, he topped up her glass, then his.

      Her face softened. ‘Like having fun. And a purpose. After my accident I couldn’t imagine doing anything with music. It hurt just thinking about what I’d lost. I was so miserable.

      ‘So what changed?’ His hand tightened around his glass. He hated the idea of her being that unhappy almost as much as he hated himself for not having known about it before.

      ‘I did this workshop in a school and I realised that music isn’t only about that one perfect solo performance. It’s about sharing and creating.’ She frowned. ‘That’s when I accepted that I wasn’t going to have the life I’d planned. But I was going to have a life that mattered.’ Meeting his gaze, she smiled weakly. ‘Or at least one that wasn’t as boring and lonely as lying in a hospital bed for weeks and weeks.’

      He was staring at her intently and she fell silent. Malachi was unlikely to be familiar with the concepts of boredom and loneliness, let alone understand them. But after a short, stilted pause, he nodded slowly.

      ‘That’s why I started playing cards. Boredom.’ He shifted, staring past her, his eyes suddenly cloudy. ‘I must have been about seven. We were in Europe, visiting friends of my parents’.’

      Abruptly he picked up his glass and drained his wine.

      ‘I was always the only child, and my parents liked to party hard. Often they didn’t surface until the afternoon, and I used to get so bored and then one day one of the valets at the hotel where we were staying taught me how to play patience. Then blackjack and then poker.’

      His face tightened.

      ‘I got real good, real quick.’ He gave her a small, taut smile. That’s the upside of living in hotels—there’s always a bunch of people going on and off shift and a lot of them play cards.

      Addie stared at him, trying to fit his words into the image of the Malachi she knew.

      ‘I thought your dad must have taught you,’ she said slowly.

      He shook his head. ‘No. He taught me other things, but I think those will keep for another day. Shall we have coffee?’

      She said nothing, but her mind was buzzing with questions. Why had they never talked about his childhood before? And why were so many subjects off limits? Was it something to do with his father? Had they argued? Was that why his parents hadn’t come to their wedding?

      Pushing his chair back, Malachi stood and held out his hand.

      Coffee was waiting for them in the lounge area.

      Addie took a sip and frowned. ‘What is that flavour?’

      ‘Cardamom. If you don’t like it I can get them to bring some different coffee.’

      She shook her head. ‘No, I like it. It’s kind of spicy.’ His eyes narrowed and she felt her stomach clench. ‘M-maybe not spicy,’ she stammered. ‘More...hot without the heat.’

      His gaze locked on to hers and she felt a shiver run down her spine as he reached out and ran his hand up and down her arm, grazing her breast with his knuckles.

      ‘Hot without the heat? Sounds interesting.’

      Heart pounding, she forced herself to meet his gaze. ‘I’m talking rubbish. And I haven’t even had that much wine. It must be all that oxygen earlier. I’ll probably be seeing mermaids next.’

      His hand stopped moving. It felt warm and steady on her arm, matching the warmth and steadiness of his gaze.

      ‘I’m already seeing them. Or one, at least.’

      Her breath felt suddenly thick and hot in her throat. ‘It’s just the dress...’ she said hoarsely.

      ‘No. It’s this as well.’ Gently he slid his hand up into her hair, threading it through his fingers. ‘And these...’

      Tilting his head, he brushed his lips across hers gently, so that her head was swimming.

      ‘You’ve bewitched me,’ he murmured and, lowering his mouth, kissed her again more deeply.

      It was the closest he would get to expressing any feelings of tenderness.

      ‘So how come I’m at the bottom of the ocean in your submarine?’ she whispered.

      He smiled—a long, slow, curling smile that made her stomach disappear. ‘Do you want me to take you back up to the surface?’

      His eyes were huge and dark above her face, so that she felt as though she were drowning in them.

      Slowly she shook her head. ‘I want to stay down here for ever.’

      ‘That could be arranged.’ His voice was hoarse,

Скачать книгу