indefinitely would be bad business.”
“Why are you staying?” She doubted he was seeing to the disposal of his great-uncles clothing personally.
“You cannot guess?”
“It’s that whole Greek hospitality thing I guess.” After all, his mother had been staying until that morning and then there was Rachel.
“I had more reason than a need to play good host.”
“You didn’t want Andrea’s daughter to make off with the silver in your absence?”
He didn’t laugh as she expected him to, but shook his head, his expression pretty grim.
“Then why?”
“You are here. I find I cannot help wanting to be here as well.” He didn’t look very happy about the fact, but even so, his words touched her deeply.
“It’s a compulsion.” And she was glad she wasn’t the only one affected by it.
He frowned, but his eyes made her insides shiver. “Yes. It is.”
After dinner, he led her out onto the terrace where the soft, bluesy music from the stereo filled the sultry air.
He tugged her into his arms. “Dance with me.”
She hadn’t danced with him, or anyone else since her eighteenth birthday, but he wasn’t asking her to waltz a complicated step around the terrace. His hands were linked loosely just above her tailbone and he was swaying slowly to the sensual beat.
Letting her hands slide up inside his suit jacket to rest against his chest, she relaxed into full body contact. Her conscious mind which told her such a move was unwise could not maintain sway against instincts clamoring for supremacy. It felt so good to be held by him and unreal. It was the sense of unreality that made it all seem so safe.
Logic said that Sebastian Kouros could have any woman he wanted. He was gorgeous. He was sexy. And he was probably five times as wealthy as his great-uncle had been. The perfect catch, he would never let himself get overly involved with Rachel, no matter how strong the compulsion he felt to be with her. He was too cautious.
And she was Andrea Demakis’s daughter.
One song segued into another, their bodies in complete accord and her nerve endings sizzled with slow burning pleasure. He was affected as well. The evidence pressed against her stomach while his hands sank lower and lower until they were cupping her bottom with gentle intensity.
Their dancing, if you could call it that, reduced to nothing more than a slow movement from side to side as feminine and masculine flesh brushed profoundly against each other. Her cheek rested against his chest and she could hear the steady, strong beat of his heart. She rubbed her face up and down, enjoying the smooth, rich fabric of his shirt, loving the springy hair behind it.
She was in a state of dazed enchantment when he unexpectedly set her away from him, his expression rueful. “If I do not send you to bed, I will end up joining you.”
She swayed, wanting him to do just that.
“When you come to my bed, you will be sure you want to be there.”
He’d said when, not if, but she wasn’t going to chastise his arrogance. She was ready to go now. Even knowing it was probably emotional suicide, only the fear that she would balk at the final gate kept her from saying so.
Sebastian stood below the ice-cold shower and cursed his own stupidity. He didn’t know which was dumber, letting himself get so worked up sexually, or not taking advantage of Rachel’s obvious willingness.
Why the hell had he insisted on her staying in the first place?
Compulsion.
She’d said it, but the word was his. His desire for Rachel Long was a compulsion he could not ignore. He wanted her and he was going to have her, but it was more than physical need driving him and that bothered him.
Sex he could handle.
Emotion, the kind found between a man and a woman, had no place in his life.
THE next three days were sheer paradise for Rachel.
She and Sebastian spent the mornings together, swimming and exploring the island. He even took her fishing and laughed when she refused to bait the hook, but still managed to catch more fish than he did. The afternoons and early evenings were reserved for work. Then they ate dinner together and spent most every evening in one another’s company until finding their separate beds.
They kept strictly away from discussing her mother and his great-uncle, which meant they stayed off the past altogether. It also meant she didn’t tell him about what happened when she was sixteen.
She wondered if she should, but the more time they spent together, the more convinced she became that she would have no problem engaging in sexual intimacy with him. She didn’t really want to talk about that dark time, so she made no effort to break the unspoken moratorium Sebastian had placed on discussing the past.
Phillippa called the first day and upon learning that Rachel was still on the island, insisted on speaking to her. After that, they spoke each afternoon. Rachel really enjoyed her chats with Sebastian’s mother. Phillippa treated Rachel like a valued friend, almost like a member of the family and she liked that.
At some point, she would have to return to work, but she couldn’t make herself contemplate leaving Sebastian and the relationship growing between them.
On the fourth morning after Phillippa left, Sebastian came to the breakfast table, his jaw taut and his eyes reflecting tension.
“What’s the matter?” she asked after he leaned over to kiss her square on the mouth.
He did that a lot. Kissing her, but he never pushed for more and while part of her appreciated his restraint, she couldn’t help wondering the why of it.
“I have business in Athens and must fly out today.”
Her heart sank. “I see. I guess I’d better look into that flight home.”
His mouth set in a grim line, he asked, “Is that what you want?”
“I should get back to California. I don’t know how long they’ll hold my job open.”
“You have only been in Greece for a week. Surely a family bereavement justifies more time away than that.”
“There’s no point in my staying on the island alone. I’ve finished all I needed to do.”
“You could come to Athens with me.”
The words dropped like stones into the silence around them and she stared helplessly at him. He was inviting her to take another step forward in their relationship. Athens meant real life and he wanted to take her into it with him.
He
