leaning down to lower his mouth to hers. He needed her kiss as much as he needed air to breathe. At the first taste of her, he was shaken by her breathtaking response. After coaxing her lips apart he began drinking deeply. Back and forth they gave each other one hungry kiss after another until it all became a blend of needs they fought to assuage.
Heedless of the fine sand covering their bodies, he rolled her on top of him, craving the perfect fit of her in his arms, the sweet scent of her. “You’re so beautiful, Gabi,” he murmured against the side of her tender neck. “Do you have any idea how much I want you?”
“Andreas—” The tremor in her voice told him she was equally caught up in the surge of passion sweeping them into a world where nothing existed but their desire for each other.
“What is it?” he whispered after wresting another kiss from her incredible mouth.
“I feel out of control,” she admitted against his lips.
He molded her body to his with more urgency. “That’s the way you’re supposed to feel when it’s right. I can’t get enough of you.” So saying, he kissed her again until they were both devouring each other.
Never having known rapture like this, he wasn’t prepared when she suddenly tore her lips away and rolled off him. “Where did you go?” he cried before sitting up. “We’re not in any hurry.”
“Maybe not, but I’m out of breath and need to slow down before we start back.”
He kissed her shoulder. “If you’re too tired when we’re ready to go, I’ll help you.”
“You mean you’ll get me out of here using the old reliable life-saving technique? Just how far do you think we’d get?” Gabi teased. She’d turned her head, focusing her dark-fringed eyes on him. Their color changed with the surroundings. Right now they’d picked up some of the gray-blue of the water.
“In my condition and the way I’m feeling at the moment, not far, but in time I’d manage it.”
“I believe you would,” she said with a smile that was too bright after what they’d just shared. His eyes narrowed on the erotic flare of her mouth, an enticement that lured him like Desponia’s song. She could pretend all she wanted, but in each other’s arms they’d both been shaken by a force that was only going to grow in strength.
“Sometimes I think you’re half god the way you make things happen. It’s like magic.”
“Would that I had the magic to put my brother’s world back together.”
“I could wish for the same thing.”
She got up from the sand and walked into the water to wash off. Bringing her to this spot had been in the back of his mind since last night. He couldn’t bear it that they were forced to leave, but they had to get back to the twins.
Although he’d allowed Gabi to believe otherwise, he’d never brought another woman here before, not even Irena. She liked an occasional dip in a swimming pool, but she wasn’t adventurous, not like Gabi, who’d sprung onto the canvas of his life with an unexpectedness that had left him reeling.
Until today he could have told Irena that everything he’d done to help his brother through a nightmarish, unprecedented situation had been necessary and it would have been the truth. But being out here with Gabi would have been impossible to explain. More than ever he was thankful he’d broken it off with her.
She would have pointed out that the twins’ aunt was already staying in a vacation spot that provided every possible distraction without requiring Andreas’s assistance. He would have had no excuse for spending the rest of today and tonight with her on his cabin cruiser. No excuse for coming close to making love to her.
While she treaded water, he threw his head back and looked up at the darkening sky, wishing this night never had to end.
“We’d better go, Gabi.” The words came out harsh, even to his own ears. “Do you think you’re up to it?”
“I was afraid maybe you weren’t and I would have to save you,” she quipped. So saying, she took off like a golden sea sprite, leaving behind a trail of tinkling laughter he found utterly irresistible.
Gabi gripped the rings that helped her climb the ladder into the boat. After rinsing off in the shower of the swim platform, she wrapped up in a towel and moved toward the rear cockpit where Andreas was talking to Stavros.
She smiled at him. “Did you think we were never coming back and you’d have to deal with two howling babies wanting their feeding in the middle of the night?”
The older man’s eyes twinkled. “We would have managed.”
“Have they been good?”
“Like little angels.”
“I’m glad, then.” She raised up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for being a wonderful babysitter.”
Gabi was still trying to catch her breath, as much from the physical exertion of attempting to outdistance Andreas—which was an impossibility—as having been alone with him.
There’d been a moment on the sand when she’d wanted to know his possession so badly, she’d almost expired on the spot. But she knew better than to repeat the mistakes of the past.
She had no doubt Andreas wanted her. He’d been forthcoming about it, and the desire between them had been building until she was ready to burst. Those kisses on the beach were inevitable, but she was wise enough not to read anything more into them. That was why she’d swum for her life back there, so she wouldn’t forget the promise she’d made to herself to focus all her energy on her career.
She flicked her host a steady glance. “When I’m back at my job inundated with work, I’ll remember this glorious day. Thank you.”
“There’s more to see tomorrow before we get back to Apollonia,” Andreas reminded her.
Gabi knew what that meant. Her pulse throbbed without her permission. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said bravely. “Goodnight.”
Not daring to meet his eyes this time, she darted down the steps to her cabin off the passageway. Relieved the children lay sound asleep in their carry-cots, she quickly showered again and washed her hair before climbing into bed.
Since spending time on the boat, she’d learned that his stateroom was on the other side of the wall. One more thing she’d picked up from Stavros. This cabin cruiser was Andreas’s home when he really wanted to get away on his own.
Gabi realized the older man had let her know she was a privileged person, but she could tell him that without the babies she would never have been given entrée to Andreas’s private world.
Almost a week ago today she’d gone to his office. Since then she’d spent some time with him, yet she still didn’t know anything about his personal life. He’d only volunteered information on a need-to-know basis. Love for his brother was the sole reason she’d been invited aboard this boat.
With time on his hands, he’d done the natural thing and had kissed her because he knew the attraction was mutual. The same thing had happened with Rand. She’d been a guest on his ranch and he’d
