Love Islands: Red-Hot Sunsets. Jane Porter
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as she was swallowed up in the deep, dark, quiet depths of his eyes. Those eyes were telegraphing a message to her, or they seemed to be. Was she imagining it? She had no experience of a man like him. That cool, brooding, speculative expression seemed to be inviting a response, but was it? Flustered and confused, her eyes dipped...
And then there was no doubt exactly what message was being telegraphed.
For a few seconds, Katy froze while her mind went into free fall. He was turned on. Did he think that he could try it on and she would fall in line because she was easy? Who knew, he probably still believed that she was the sort who had affairs with married men, even though he surely should know better, because she had shared stuff with him, told him about her childhood and her parents and the morals they had instilled in her. Maybe he hadn’t believed her. Maybe he had taken it all with a pinch of salt because he was suspicious and mistrustful.
She wasn’t easy. And yet, unleashed desire flooded through her in an unwanted torrent, crashing through common sense and good intentions. She wanted this man, this unsuitable man, and she wanted him with a craving that was as powerful as a depth charge.
The shocking intensity of a physical response she had never, ever felt towards any man, including Duncan, scared the living daylights out of her. Mumbling something under her breath, she leapt to her feet, the glittering blue of the infinity pool beckoning like an oasis of safety away from the onslaught of confusion overwhelming her.
Heart hammering in her chest, she scrambled forward, missed the step that gave down to the smooth wood around the pool and found herself flying forward.
She landed with a painful thump, her knees stinging where she had grazed them after her airborne flight.
Clutching her leg, she watched in fascinated slow motion as Lucas strode towards her, every lean muscle of his body intent.
‘What were you thinking?’ he asked urgently, scooping her up and ignoring her protests that he put her down because she was absolutely fine. ‘You took off like a bat out of hell. Something I said?’
He was striding away from the pool area, carrying her as easily as he would carry a couple of cushions. Katy clutched his broad shoulders, horribly aware that in this semi-folded position there were bits of her on view that made her want to die an early death from embarrassment.
One glance down and he would practically be able to see the shadow of one of her nipples.
‘Where are you taking me?’ she croaked. ‘This is ridiculous. I tripped and fell!’
‘You could have broken something.’
‘I haven’t broken anything!’ Katy practically sobbed.
‘How do you know?’
‘Because if I had I wouldn’t be able to walk!’
‘You’re not walking. I’m carrying you. How much do you weigh, by the way? You’re as light as a feather. If I didn’t see how much food you’re capable of putting away, I’d be worried.’
‘I’ve always been thin,’ Katy said faintly, barely noticing where they were going because she was concentrating very hard on making sure no more of her bikini-clad body went on show. She felt she might be on the verge of passing out. ‘Please just take me to my cabin. That would be fine. I can clean my knee up and I’ll be as right as rain.’
‘Nonsense. How could I live with myself if I didn’t do the gentlemanly thing and make sure you’re all right? I wasn’t brought up to ignore damsels in distress.’
‘I’m not one of those!’
‘Here we are,’ Lucas intoned with satisfaction. He kicked open the door and, when Katy tore her focus away from her excruciating attempts to keep her body safely tucked away in the swimsuit, she realised where he had taken her.
Away from the safety of the pool and straight into the hellfire of his private quarters.
LUCAS’S CABIN WAS different from hers insofar as it was twice the size and unnervingly masculine: dark-grey silky throw on the bed, dark-grey pillows, built-in furniture in rich walnut that matched the wooden flooring. He laid her on the bed and she immediately wriggled into a sitting position, wishing that she had something to tug down to cover herself, but instead having to make do with arranging herself into the most modest position possible, back upright, legs rammed close together and hands primly folded on her lap.
Sick with tension, she watched him disappear into an adjoining bathroom, that made hers look like a shower cubicle, to return a minute later with a first-aid kit.
‘This really isn’t necessary...er... Lucas.’
‘You managed the first name. Congratulations. I wondered whether you would.’
‘I have a few grazes, that’s all.’
He was kneeling in front of her and he began to feel her ankle with surprisingly gently fingers. ‘Tell me if anything hurts.’
‘Nothing,’ Katy stated firmly. She gave a trial tug of her leg so that Lucas could get the hint that this was all pretty ridiculous and overblown but he wasn’t having it.
Relax, she told herself sternly; relax and it’ll be over and done with in a second and you can bolt back to your cabin. But how could she even begin to relax when those fingers were doing all sorts of things to her body?
The feathery delicacy of his touch was stirring her up, making her breathing quicken and sending tingling, delicious sensations racing through her body like little lightning sparks. She looked at his down-bent head, the raven-black hair, and had to stop herself from reaching out and touching it just to see what it felt like between her fingers.
Then she thought of the bulge of his arousal and felt faint all over again.
‘I’m surprised you have a first-aid kit to hand,’ she said breathlessly, tearing her fascinated gaze away from him and focusing hard on trying to normalise the situation with pointless conversation.
‘Why?’ Lucas glanced up briefly before continuing with his exceedingly slow exploration of her foot.
‘Because you don’t seem to be the type to do this sort of thing,’ Katy said honestly.
‘It’s essential to have a first-aid kit on board a sailing vessel. In fact, this is just one of many. There’s a comprehensive supply of medical equipment in a store room on the middle deck. You would be surprised at the sort of unexpected accidents that can happen when you’re out at sea, and there’s no ambulance available to make a five-minute dash to collect and take you to the nearest hospital.’ He was working his way gently up her calf, which was smooth, slender and sprinkled with golden hair. Her skin was like satin and still warm from the sun.
‘And you know how to deal with all those unexpected accidents?’ Lucas’s long, clever fingers were getting higher and, with each encroaching inch, her body lit up like a Christmas tree just a tiny bit more. Any higher and she would go up in flames.
‘You’d be surprised,’ Lucas drawled. ‘Your knees are in a pretty terrible state, but after I’ve cleaned them up you should be fine. You’ll be pleased to know that nothing’s been broken.’
‘I told you that,’ Katy reminded him. ‘Why would I be surprised?’
He was now gently swabbing her raw, torn skin and she winced as he patted the area with some oversized alcohol wipes, making sure to get rid of every last bit of dirt.
‘Because,’ Lucas said wryly, not looking at her, ‘I get the feeling you’ve pigeonholed me as the sort of money-hungry, ambitious businessman who hasn’t got time for anything other than getting richer and richer and richer, probably at the expense of everyone around him. Am I right?’
‘I never said that,’ Katy told him