LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER SIX

      ALYSE WOKE TO the warm spill of sunshine and the gentle swooshing of the waves just metres from their bed. She turned to see Leo still asleep next to her, one hand flung over his head, the dark glint of morning stubble visible on his jaw. His lashes, surprisingly long, feathered his cheeks and those all-too-kissable lips were slightly parted. He looked gentler, somehow, in sleep. Softer, almost vulnerable, and so different from the cold, hard man he seemed when he was awake.

      She let her gaze move lower and took in his bare chest, the rise and fall of it with each steady breath. Lower still, to the sheet rucked about his waist, his legs tangled beneath it.

      Her mouth dried and for a few more seconds she tortured herself by drinking in the male perfection of his body without him knowing. Her gaze was lingering, longing, and completely unrestrained. How would it feel to touch that chest, to slide her hand from shoulder to hip and feel the hot satin of his skin under her seeking fingers?

      Desire spiralled dizzily inside her. Never mind wanting to be friends; she just wanted him. For a brief moment she toyed with the idea of touching him. Kissing him awake. But she knew she wasn’t bold enough, was too afraid of his surprise or even rejection.

      Yet when would they consummate this marriage? When would friendship and desire meld, if ever?

      And dared she still hope for more?

      Silently she slid from the bed and reached for the robe that matched her nightgown, yet another ridiculous, silky confection. With one last look at Leo, who still seemed deeply asleep, she slipped out of the hut.

      The day was already warm although Alyse suspected it wasn’t much past dawn, the sun having only just risen over the horizon, its golden light pooling on the placid surface of the sea.

      She sat on the beach, tucking her robe around her, and sifted the sun-warmed sand through her fingers as last night’s conversation swirled through her mind: Leo’s confession that he hadn’t had any friends, his grudging acceptance that they might be friends—of a sort—and his flat and absolute statement that he would never love her.

      Could she really be surprised by that bleak statement? It was no more than what she’d suspected, feared, and had tried to convince herself to believe over the years. And yet...she had believed in the miracle. The possibility of a miracle. She’d lied to Leo last night about that, just as she’d lied to herself over the last six years. She’d clung, stubbornly and stupidly, to the hope that he would learn to love her. That things would somehow miraculously change.

      And she still clung to it now. Alyse’s mouth twisted in a grim smile as she acknowledged the truth. Despite everything Leo had said, she still hoped he might come to love her in time, that physical attraction and possible friendship might deepen into the kind of love he didn’t even believe in.

      The smarter thing to do would be to let go of that hope, let it trickle away like water in sand, and get on with what was possible. Alyse knew she wouldn’t. Couldn’t. She’d keep hoping, keep believing, because thin vapour that it was, hope was all that sustained her.

      And why shouldn’t Leo love her? Why shouldn’t it be possible, eventually, ultimately?

      I’m not going to love you. I don’t love anyone and I never have. The memory of his words made her both wince and wonder. Why didn’t he love anyone, not even his parents or his sister? Anyone who believes in love is deluded. And what had made him lock up his heart so coldly and tightly that he refused even to believe love could exist, never mind flourish?

      Could she—did she dare—be the one to try and unlock it?

      ‘Good morning.’

      Alyse turned to see Leo standing on the beach just a little bit away from her. He still wore only his pyjama bottoms and he looked glorious. She hoped her recent thoughts weren’t visible on her face, her contrary hope reflected in her eyes.

      ‘Good morning.’

      ‘Did you sleep well?’

      ‘Not particularly.’

      He smiled then, a proper grin that set her heart racing. Did he know how attractive he was, how a single smile made her heart turn somersaults and then soar straight up into the sky?

      ‘Me neither.’ Leo came to sit beside her, stretching his legs out alongside hers. ‘I’m not used to conversations like last night’s.’

      ‘I gathered that.’

      ‘It was rather obvious, wasn’t it?’

      His wry smile tugged at her heart. ‘Considering revealing anything of a personal nature seems to be akin to pulling teeth for you, I’d say yes.’

      He chuckled softly and shook his head. ‘Well. I tried.’

      ‘That’s all I’m asking for.’

      He turned to her then, his gaze dark and searching, his smile gone. ‘Is it?’

      She fell silent under that searching and seemingly knowing gaze, for of course it wasn’t—and it seemed he knew that, or at least suspected. Did he guess that she was in love with him? The possibility made both humiliation and hope rush through her.

      She wanted him to know her feelings, wanted to stop pretending, and yet...the thought of his contempt and

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