Читать книгу Mediterranean Tycoons - JACQUELINE BAIRD, Jacqueline Baird - Страница 27

BACK in her own cabin, Selina showered again and, slipping on silk briefs and a bra, looked at the few clothes in the closet. She had not brought a large suitcase, so she had none of the smart suits and gowns she needed to blend in with the upper echelons of society the majority of her clients inhabited to choose from. She had only a small suitcase, containing toiletries, towels, her sweatsuit, a sweater, a swimsuit, a bikini and underwear, the black silk dress she had worn for the funeral plus two summer dresses—one blue and one yellow, which had the advantage of being crease-resistant and could fold up into the size of a man’s hanky—two shirts, two tee shirts and two pretty tops, a pair of smart white linen pants, denim shorts, a pair of flip-flops, black high heels and a pair of sandals.

She flicked through the closet and took out the yellow dress, eyeing the black one she had worn for the funeral and the stiletto heels. She slipped the yellow dress over her head. After applying some moisturiser to her face she brushed her hair, put on her sandals, and left the cabin.

Nervously Selina entered the main salon, feeling like a scarlet woman—but in yellow … Rion, looking wickedly attractive in white pants and a white shirt, crossed to take her arm.

‘You look lovely,’ he said huskily, and offered her a drink as he led her across to join Dimitri and Captain Ted at the bar.

Selina took a sip of the martini she had requested and began to relax. After she discovered over the pre-dinner drinks that Ted’s parents lived in Weymouth, not far from her home, she did not feel such an alien in the all-male company and relaxed a little more.

Dinner was a casual affair. Marco presented the wine and filled all the glasses, then served the food, which was superb. Not surprisingly, with three men present the conversation got around to cars. Selina sipped at her wine and listened. Apparently Rion had recently bought a Bugatti Veyron, whatever that was, and the discussion of its merits went right over her head. She drained her glass. Then Ted said he was thinking of buying a new Mercedes.

Selina grinned. ‘You must have been to that Mercedes dealership, Ted—the one with the museum and training track in Weymouth. It is a great place. A friend took me and I got a new Mercedes there—the small fourteen hundred. It took two months to be delivered and I collected it …’ she paused to think; her schedule had been so messed up ‘… ten days ago. I love it—though I only got the chance to drive it a couple of times before I had to come to Greece,’ she said ruefully.

‘Surely a family funeral takes precedence over a car?’ Rion opined. ‘Unlike your grandfather, the car will still be there when you get back.’

She looked at Rion, seated at the head of the table, and caught an expression of cold contempt on his hard face. What had she supposedly done wrong now? Not that she cared.

‘Yes, of course,’ she responded. And fortified by wine added, ‘That is, providing Aunt Peggy, who is driving the car while I am away, has not run into anything again. She wrote off my Beetle in a car park.’

Ted and Dimitri laughed, and Rion smiled, but she saw no humour in his eyes.

Although the food was excellent Selina had lost her appetite—or maybe it was the wine—and she was glad when the meal ended. She made her excuses to leave before coffee was served. Not that it made any difference. Rion followed her and overrode any resistance she attempted with an ease that shamed but aroused her—and she still ended up in his big bed.

That day set the pattern for the following days. They ate lunch and dinner together—Rion was a good conversationalist, and they discussed a variety of subjects but never the past—and they had sex every night in his vast bed.

She never actually spent a night in her own bed. Rion worked in the morning and after lunch they enjoyed a siesta of sorts but with little real intimacy—which suited Selina fine.

Four days later Selina stood impatiently on the deck and watched Rion, wearing a black wetsuit that revealed in intimate detail the physical perfection of his great body, check all his diving equipment for the final time. She had never known Rion liked scuba-diving, nor that Dimitri was here for that express purpose until dinner two nights ago, when she had discovered the main reason for the cruise was a diving expedition the two men had arranged to explore sites off the coast of Egypt.

Satisfied everything was ready, Rion walked across to where Selina was waiting so impatiently. The baggy sweater she wore did not stop him from appreciating her lithe body and fabulous legs.

‘I’m still not sure about this,’ he said, looking down into her sparkling eyes and seeing the excitement there. She had asked him to let her go on a dive yesterday. Surprised that she could dive he’d said no, and that there was no suit to fit her anyway. Then apparently Dimitri had found an old suit in the locker, and she had caught Rion at a weak moment in bed last night and he had agreed. ‘Tell me again where you qualified as a diver.’ His mind had been on another sport last night.

‘I told you—I was a member of the school diving club, and then when I finished university I spent six months travelling in the Far East. I took my Diving Masters on a ten-week course in Queensland, Australia. I have my Paddy certificate. Now, can I suit up?’

‘Okay. But understand I am the master on this dive.’

‘Yes, of course—aren’t you always?’ she said, and wrinkled her nose at him.

Her enthusiasm was infectious.

Rion was beginning to realise everything about Selina was infectious.

Everyone on board adored her—from the oldest to the youngest. Dimitri and Ted, the most reserved of men, could not keep their eyes off her and nor could Marco, who had previously worn the suit that Selina was wearing today.

The thought of a suit that had been plastered to young Marco’s body in equally intimate contact with Selina’s was somehow distasteful to him. Why, Rion wasn’t sure—in fact where Selina was concerned he wasn’t sure of anything any more. For a woman who wore designer clothes and casually admitted that an obviously male friend had bought her a Mercedes, she happily walked around the yacht wearing a pair of old denim shorts and a shirt. She never wore make-up, the only cream he had ever seen her use was sunblock, and with her glorious hair piled on top of her head with a rubber band and flip-flops on her dainty feet she looked like Orphan Annie … a very sexy orphan Annie.

All the previous female guests on his yacht he could remember had invariably worn full make-up and stretched out on the sun deck wearing the briefest of bikinis or even just a thong, advertising their attributes to Rion and the whole crew. Selina, on the other hand, when she did go in the pool, wore a black sports costume—sexy, but not the bikini that he fantasised about. And she never sunbathed. He would usually find her sitting in the shade with a book or on her phone. She was the least vain woman Rion had ever known—which didn’t sit well with his opinion of her as a devious, greedy woman who used her physical assets and talents to enjoy the high life.

Looking down at her as she peeled off her sweater, his dark eyes flared and his breath stopped in his throat. She was wearing the white bikini, with those tempting little ribbons holding it together, and instantly he could feel his erection straining uncomfortably beneath his wetsuit. Every thought left his head except the one telling him he needed to get in the water fast or disgrace himself.

Over an hour later, back on board with her wetsuit stripped off, Selina kneeled on the deck and emptied her net of finds on the polished wood. She spotted a small encrusted lump with a glint of gold on one side and picked it up. She glanced over her shoulder at Rion, sprawled in a lounger a few feet away.

‘Look, Rion—I’m sure this must be gold. A coin … maybe a doubloon from a pirate ship?’ She stretched her arm back, holding it out for him to see. ‘What do you think?’ she demanded, excited by her find.

Rion thought she had incredible sparkling eyes, a vivid imagination, and was slightly mad … Madly beautiful … With her bum in the air and her body half twisted towards him she gave him a shockingly tempting view of one perfect breast almost falling out of the tiny triangle of white material.

‘I think we should take it down to the lab, get it cleaned and see.’

What he actually thought was that he wanted to take her inside and ravish her. She was driving him crazy. He had never dived with a woman partner before—never considered it—but Selina had amazed him. She was good—very good—except for a tendency to dive down and pick up any old junk off the seabed. Watching her sleek body in the water had been a bit like water torture for him …

Until today Rion would have sworn it was impossible to be aroused thirty feet under water …

There was another certainty gone …

‘Great—just wait until I pick up the rest.’ Selina turned to put her other finds back in the net.

‘No, just take the coin.’ Rion got to his feet and strode over to her. ‘The sun will dry the rest out.’ And with a bit of luck blow it away!

‘Good idea.’ Selina sprang to her feet with her find in her hand. ‘It was wonderful today. Thank you for taking me.’ She grinned.

He smiled—a wry curve of his sensual lips. ‘My pleasure.’ Well, not quite. He intended it to be. But he didn’t make the crack that hovered on his tongue. She reminded him of the girl he had first met—so innocent, her face flushed with pleasure …

He led her below deck to the diving lab, where any finds were examined and placed in a locker.

Ten minutes later Selina looked in awe at the coin Rion held in the palm of his hand. ‘What do you think? Is it Egyptian? Greek? Or maybe Spanish?’ she asked excitedly.

‘It is definitely Greek—and now I want my reward for cleaning it,’ Rion said huskily. Watching her jump up and down with pleasure in her white bikini was killing him.

‘Can I hold it? Is it really ancient?’

Unaware of Rion’s problem, Selina felt excitement fizzing through her as she glanced from the coin in his hand up into Rion’s dark face. Only then did she see the banked-down desire and something else … an echo from the past in his expression … that made her excitement level rise even further.

‘I’ll look it up later,’ he said, and dropped the coin on the steel table. His dark eyes holding hers, he curved an arm around her waist to pull her close. ‘Right now I have a more pressing problem I need to deal with. The vision of you in this bikini has been haunting me for a week,’ he breathed against Selina’s lips, tempting but not touching, running a long finger beneath the fine strap of her top.

Selina’s breath caught at the feel of his hard, hot body against her, stirring her blood and melting her bones, and she couldn’t speak, could only stare as Rion stepped back and pulled off his khaki shorts. She gasped at the sheer strength of his arousal.

‘I can’t wait,’ he murmured, and he flicked the clasp between her breasts and peeled the scrap of material over her shoulders and down her arms to fall to the floor.

She let him, excitement riding her. His hands clasped her waist and he bent his head to brush her lips with his, moving lower to draw one pouting nipple into his mouth, suckling then delivering the same treatment to the other. While his hands stroked over her hips his fingers deftly unfastened the two tiny ribbons that held the fabric that protected her modesty. He pulled the slip of material between her legs and dropped it on the table.

Selina saw his face, a taut mask of raw passion, and shuddered in eager response as in one deft movement his strong hands lifted her onto the table, wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust into her already moist, waiting body. She grasped his arms, his shoulders, her fingernails digging into his flesh as he possessed her with an uncontrollable driven hunger, and she convulsed around him, shuddering violently as he climaxed with her.

He folded his arms round her and rested his head against hers for long minutes, until finally the lingering waves of release faded away and they could breathe again.

‘I didn’t—’

‘Don’t say a word. Just lift me off here,’ Selina said huskily.

Rion lifted her up and slowly lowered her to the ground. ‘Are you okay?’

She looked at him naked, and then at herself, a wobbly rueful smile curving her swollen lips. ‘I’m not complaining, and I’ll be fine if I can find my bikini.’

Selina glanced around the room, her eyes scanning the tabletop and spotting the lower half of her bikini. She picked it up and tied it back on.

Wordlessly Rion retrieved her top and his shorts from the floor and pulled his shorts on. What could he say after ravishing her on a metal tabletop? That he never lost control? Well, that was a lie. He had—quite spectacularly. He handed her the top …

Selina took it and slipped it on. Feeling better dressed, she looked around again, her smooth brow creasing in a frown as she scanned the long table a second time. Eventually she turned back to Rion and placed her hands on her hips, indignant amber eyes clashing with his.

‘I will kill you, Rion Moralis, if you have lost my coin. You put it on the table and I can’t see it anywhere now.’

Rion couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing …

‘It is not funny. The coin might be a valuable find—very ancient. You said it was Greek.’

‘It is. But it is not gold and not very old,’ he said, grinning down at her. ‘It is a fifty-drachma coin from nineteen-ninety, and no longer any use because the Greek currency changed to the euro in two thousand and one.’

Selina was crushed ‘Really?’ She looked up into Rion’s laughing eyes. ‘You knew before we—’

‘Sorry. Yes. But you were so excited I didn’t want to disillusion you.’

‘You mean until you had your wicked way with me?’ She grinned up at him.

Rion swept her up in his arms. ‘What can I say? A man needs to do what a man needs to do.’ He buried his head in her glorious hair and, biting his lip to stop laughing, carried her to her cabin and lowered her gently to her feet. ‘Take a rest before dinner, Selina, you have had a strenuous day.’ And, planting a swift kiss on the tip of her nose, he walked out, still grinning broadly.

‘You look happy,’ Dimitri said as he strolled into the main salon and poured himself a whisky from the bar.

‘I am,’ he said, glancing at his old friend who was sitting having his usual whisky and soda. He realised he actually was. He hadn’t felt this good in ages. Raising his glass, he took a swig of whisky. ‘It was a great dive and Selina really surprised me. She is very good.’

‘What happened with the gold lump she recovered from the seabed?’

Rion grinned and told him.

Dimitri started to chuckle, then laughed out loud. ‘I bet Selina was disappointed it wasn’t the treasure she thought she had found.’

‘No, she took it quite well—she saw the funny side,’ Rion corrected him.

‘Yes, she would,’ Dimitri said, more seriously. ‘Selina is an incredible girl—just the sort you should marry. If I was single and twenty years younger I’d marry her myself.’

A sharp stab of anger twisted Rion’s gut at the mention of marriage. Selina was hot in bed but he would never forget she had betrayed him.

‘That’s never going to happen. She is my ex-wife.’

Dimitri choked on his whisky.

Selina awoke to a loud whirring noise and turned her head. The impression of Rion’s head on the pillow was the only sign he had been in the bed, but stretching her body reminded her. At dinner last night Dimitri and Ted had delighted in teasing her about the coin she had found, and finally Rion had decided they needed an early night. They had retired to bed, where they had indulged their sexual appetite to the full, and now he had gone—not that Selina was complaining. She had been with him all the way and was exhausted. Glancing at the bedside clock, she groaned.

It was only five in the morning. As the noise got louder she rolled over onto her stomach and pulled a pillow over her head to block out the sound. She needed her sleep. It would be nice to wake up in her own bed for a change—she never had so far …

The next time she opened her eyes she saw Rion, dressed in his usual khaki shorts and a white open-necked shirt, his hair still wet from the shower. He looked disgustingly fit and devilishly attractive. ‘What time is it?’ she asked. And, not waiting for an answer, said, ‘A terrible noise woke me up at five this morning. You had gone. What was it?’ She assumed he had gone to investigate.

‘Nothing to worry about and it is now ten.’ Handing her a cup of coffee, he added, ‘Drink this and then get dressed. I have a surprise for you.’

He put his hand in his shorts’ pocket and handed her a coin.

She turned it over and saw the date: nineteen-ninety. ‘You are joking?’

Rion leant over and dropped a brief kiss on her parted lips. ‘I thought you might like to have it as a keepsake.’

‘Very funny. I am never going to live this down—and if that is the surprise, I am not impressed,’ she said, but grinned and put the coin on the side table.

‘No, that is not the surprise. When you are ready meet me at the diving station.’

Round-eyed, Selina looked at the new red-trimmed black wetsuit and saw it was her size. Then she looked up at the two men standing watching her, both with broad grins on their faces.

‘I love it! Thank you.’ She stretched up and flung her arms around Rion’s neck and kissed his cheek. ‘But where did you get it from, out here in the middle of the sea?’

‘The noise you heard last night was a helicopter. I had it flown in from Cyprus.’

‘What …?’ she exclaimed, taking a step back. For Rion to go to so much trouble for her was incredible—and then another thought struck her. ‘That helicopter must have cost a fortune. With all the needy people in the world tell me you didn’t waste all that money just for a wetsuit? The old one was fine,’ she remonstrated.

‘No, of course not,’ Rion replied, and Dimitri cut in.

‘The helicopter was delivering essential supplies and more oxygen tanks. The wetsuit was just added to the list. Try it for size and then you and Rion can get a dive in—about forty-five minutes, okay?’

‘Oh, great.’ Selina grinned. ‘I don’t have to feel guilty.’

Apart from being teased by just about everyone on board about her so-called find the day before, today had been perfect, Selina thought later that evening when, wearing the blue silk dress, she joined Rion, Ted and Dimitri for dinner in the main salon.

The conversation was mostly about diving, and Dimitri made her laugh when he recounted some of his experiences as a diving instructor. Selina was surprised to learn he had known Rion since he was a boy, and had actually taught Rion’s mother Theodora, whom the yacht was named after, to dive. Selina had assumed the yacht was named after some woman Rion had known, and though she was loath to admit it she was relieved to know she was wrong.

Apparently Dimitri, who was also a qualified geologist, had worked as a diving instructor in Greece in his twenties, and then when he’d met his wife, who was South American, had moved to Brazil and started his own diving school there. It had become highly successful and now his eldest son ran it so Dimitri had the time to concentrate on exploration. He read old literature on wrecks and, using his geology skills in studying the seabed, was hoping to find some evidence of them, if not the actual wrecks.

‘So that is why you spent most of today’s dive with your camera and stopped me from picking anything up,’ Selina prompted, grinning at Rion.

‘Something like that, sweetheart,’ Rion said, with an amused smile that made the men grin.

She had no idea why. But the endearment and the tenderness she heard in his voice stole her breath away.

Later there was no thought of sleep as they lay in the big bed, naked limbs entwined, flesh on flesh, exploring and encouraging, bodies moving in perfect rhythm as they found the highest pinnacle of pleasure.

The following two days went by much the same. Rion restricted her to one dive a day, and though she never found anything significant, she didn’t mind. Much as she loved scuba-diving, she found she was also enjoying the leisure time. Usually she was an early riser—seven at the latest—but now she slept until nine or later. Whether it was the exercise, the lifestyle of sun, sea and sex, she didn’t analyse. She simply took each day as it came and was surprisingly content to do so.

But in the darkest corner of her mind a warning voice told her it was far too good to last. This casually dressed, caring and friendly Rion was not the real Rion—the ruthless business tycoon who had cut her out of his life without a word—and she was in grave danger of living in a fool’s paradise if she let herself believe otherwise.