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‘I told you.’
His smug arrogance provoked an exasperated roll of her eyes. ‘And you are always right.’
‘No, not always. That’s what I like about you. You challenge me. You don’t care who I am.’
‘As my mother would say, in the eyes of God we are equals.’
She studied the open vee of his shirt and the crisp glossy dark hair revealed before sliding her gaze to the strong masculine forearms and then the chiselled jawline. ‘I’m not sure my mother would approve of you at all.’
She grinned at him as he burst into delighted laughter.
‘You always know how to put me in my place, Shauna O’Brien.’
They finished their meal and carried on talking long after the guttering candlelight had sputtered out. It was only when Níko apologetically came and said the restaurant was now closed that they realized the other dinners had long since gone and the harbour lights were starting to go out.
Demetrios escorted her to her door.
‘Thank you for a lovely evening, Shauna.’
‘Thank you.’
When her eyes met his with a shy smile, the tenderness of his gaze shook her.
He leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. ‘Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning, after breakfast. Say, nine thirty?’
She gazed up at him, longing welling up and took a step forward, but he stepped backwards, lifting his hand in a sharp salute.
‘Until tomorrow.’ He turned and walked away, leaving her restless and twitchy. It took ages for her to fall asleep, it seemed impossible to settle. When she finally stilled, the bed felt as if it were swaying and she was back on the boat. Her dreams, when she did fall asleep, were full of Demetrios.
Chapter 10
The white hull of the speedboat bounced over the waves as the wind tugged at her hair, tossing it around her face as she held onto her hat with both hands.
‘This is wonderful,’ she cried above the sound of the engine, looking back at the foaming wake spilling out behind them, cutting through the dark navy sea like a plume of feathers.
Demetrios stood at the wheel, his face turned into the headwind. He shot her a quick smile and pushed the throttle to increase their speed.
‘Want to drive?’ he asked.
‘Absolutely not, I want to enjoy every minute of this.’
He’d arrived earlier with a heavy cool box and a large bag, refusing to tell her what was in either, although he did hand her a bottle of water after he’d helped her into the stylish, streamlined speedboat. She tried to play it cool but couldn’t help examining the small boat; she’d never been in anything like it in her life. Leaving the harbour, he’d steered right so that they hugged the coast for a while, travelling parallel to sand-coloured cliffs that teemed with birds launching and landing on the sheer sides. She was fascinated by the changing shades of the sea and the magnificent rainbow of blues and greens from the pale turquoise, to the sun-dappled pockets near the shore, through to the rich, secretive dark navy of the deeper water.
After a while he slowed the boat and they rounded a towering cliff into a small bay with a tiny strip of white sand fringed by turquoise shallows.
‘Our very own beach.’
‘It’s gorgeous.’
‘Inaccessible except by sea. Not many people come here. Certainly not tourists.’
He brought the boat to within a few feet of the beach and then switched off the engine and dropped the anchor. When he climbed over the side, the water was only at waist height. She handed him the box.
Then she jumped in, bracing herself for icy cold.
‘Oh,’ she squealed in delighted surprise. ‘This is lovely. It’s …’ It wasn’t warm but it wasn’t the freezing cold that she was used to. Looking down through the crystal-clear water she could see the shadows of tiny fish darting across the sandy surface. Sunlight dappled through the water, creating dancing streams of light and movement.
She followed Demetrios to the beach, her feet sinking into the softest sand she’d ever known.
