LITMIR.BIZ

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was laughing as she said the words and turned to dip her toes in the water. Even though the sun was blistering hot the sea was cold.

      ‘Youch!’

      She pulled her feet back in as Alex laughed. ‘Here.’ He tossed her some sunscreen. ‘Put some of this on or you’ll burn your nose.’

      It was easy to forget how hot the sun was with the sea breezes around them. She smeared some sunscreen on her face, arms and legs, then stood behind him, poised to put some cream on his back.

      But he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap. ‘I’ve already got some. You, however, need some on your back. Give me that.’

      He squirted some cream on his hands and started to rub it over her back. She was almost scared to move. Her position was precarious. They were right at the edge of the moored boat and she was balancing on his knees. Right now there were only two very thin pieces of fabric separating them. Her right arm was pressing against his bare chest, the dark curling hairs tickling her skin.

      His hand movements slowed, going from initially brisk and efficient to sensual, circling her back, slipping under the straps on her shoulders and smearing cream across every part of her skin. She breathed in sharply and his hand circled lower, fingertips sweeping below her swimsuit.

      His voice was husky, his accent thicker. ‘You didn’t like the bikinis?’

      ‘I didn’t like me in the bikinis.’

      ‘Why ever not?’ His fingers slowed and stopped, staying just underneath the back of her costume. ‘You’re a beautiful woman, Ruby.’

      She felt her cheeks flush, instantly embarrassed by his words—which was ironic, really, since she was sitting half clothed in his lap. Could anyone see them, sitting here on the back of his yacht? In front of her all she could see was the Mediterranean Sea. There wasn’t even another boat in sight.

      His hand moved gently around her waist, touching the fabric of her costume and resting next to the knot of her sarong. ‘This is definitely your colour. You suit red, Ruby. It seems as though your mother named you well.’

      ‘My mother named me after the ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz. But I’ll tell her you appreciate her choice,’ she teased.

      This was too much. She was sitting here, feeling the rise and fall of his chest next to her arm, the warmth between his skin and hers. Their faces were inches apart. Not touching him properly was torture.

      She moved that little inch, putting her hand at the back of his head and tugging him closer until their lips touched. His fingers started tugging at the knot on her sarong. It fell apart easily.

      The kiss quickly intensified. She could easily tell the effect their close contact was having on his body—just as it was having an effect on hers. Kissing him was too easy.

      They weren’t in Paris any more. It wasn’t New Year’s Eve. But she could almost hear the fireworks going off in her head.

      The sun wasn’t heating her skin any more—Alex was. Every nibble, every tiny touch of his tongue electrified her. She let out a little moan as their kiss deepened, his hands running up and down the bare skin on her back.

      ‘Ruby...’ he muttered.

      ‘What?’ She didn’t want him to stop. She didn’t want this moment to end.

      ‘We’re out in the open. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but...’ His voice tailed off.

      She was still kissing him, never wanting it to end.

      A few minutes ago the sea had seemed deserted. But other boats had passed them on their journey around the coastline. And the crew might not come down here, but if she didn’t stop this now...she might live to regret it.

      She broke the kiss. ‘Alex?’

      ‘What?’ He looked up, those gorgeous blue eyes connecting with hers.

      She smiled. ‘You’re right. It’s time to cool off.’

      Her arms were still wrapped around him and she just leaned backwards, pulling them both into the cold blue sea.

      The plunge was a little further than she’d expected, and the shock of the cold water on her skin pushed the air from her lungs as it closed around her. It only took a few seconds to push to the surface and break out into the warm sun. She was laughing and coughing and spluttering all at once.

      She slicked her wet hair back from her face as Alex surfaced next to her, shaking his head and showering her with droplets of water.

      ‘This is getting to be a habit,’ he said as he swam next to her and put his hands around her waist underwater.

      The cold water was doing nothing to dampen their desire and she wound her hands around his neck again as they trod water.

      ‘It is, isn’t it? Maybe you and I shouldn’t be around water.’ She laughed.

      ‘What should we be around?’ he asked as the waves buoyed them up.

      ‘I don’t know. Pink palaces, Eiffel Towers, fireworks and yellow dresses.’ She could see the twinkle in his eye as she said those last words.

      ‘Come on,’ he gestured towards her. ‘Let’s swim around the boat. It might be best if we have some water between us.’

      Her hand touched his arm as they separated in the water.

      They laughed and swam around the boat, occasionally stopping next to each other as Alex told her a little more about his country.

      ‘The caves down there were traditionally used by pirates.’

      There were two dark caves carved into the bottom of the cliffs on the rocky shoreline. Her body had grown accustomed to the temperature of the water but she still gave a shudder.

      ‘No way. Fairytales. Made-up stories.’

      He lifted his hand out of the water. ‘You forget—this is a land with a pink palace. You think we didn’t have pirates?’

      ‘When you put it like that it doesn’t seem quite so crazy.’

      ‘I’ll show you some of the things in the castle vaults. I think my ancestors might have been in league with the pirates. Either that or they just kept everything once they’d captured the pirates.’

      ‘Are you allowed to do that?’

      He shrugged his shoulders as they continued to swim around the boat. ‘We have some old doubloons, some jewellery and some weapons. The assumption is that they are Spanish, but the Spaniards didn’t want them back when they were offered a few hundred years ago. There isn’t enough to be of any real value—we’ve kept them safe because of the historical importance.’

      She kept swimming. ‘I’m going to add that to my list of conditions from earlier—a visit to the pirate caves.’ She winked, ‘I might even ask you to dress up.’

      As they rounded the hull of the yacht another boat came into view. It was not quite as big as Alex’s, but equally sleek in white and silver.

      Alex sighed. ‘Let’s get back on board.’

      ‘Do you know who owns that boat?’

      He stroked out towards the diving platform. ‘It’s Randall Merr and his wife. They can be unbearable. I’ll tell the crew to head back to port.’

      Randall Merr. A billionaire with houses all over the world—including in Euronia.

      Part of her stomach twisted. Maybe Alex didn’t want to introduce her to his friends? Maybe he was embarrassed by her?

      She put her head in the water and struck out towards the platform. Alex reached it first and turned round to help her out of the water, offering her a towel and her sarong.

      The electricity between them seemed to have dissipated.

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