all is well with the world and they are safe and happy, with loving parents who care for them. Maybe all of the love I have will filter through to those children I’ll never get to meet or hug through my words on the page.’
Lexi swallowed down her anguish and looked into his eyes.
Fatal mistake.
It meant she was powerless to resist when Mark shifted closer to her and reached up to hold her face in his hands, gently caressing her skin, his eyes locked on to hers.
And then he tilted his head to kiss her.
His full mouth moved in delicious slow curves against hers, and she closed her eyes to luxuriate in the tender kiss of this warm, gentle man she’d soon have to say goodbye to.
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him back, pressing hotter and deeper against his mouth, the pace of her breathing almost matching his. It was a physical wrench when his lips left hers and she gasped a breath of air to cool the heat that threatened to overwhelm her.
‘I was hoping there was another very good reason why you might want to stay on Paxos instead of heading back to London so soon,’ he whispered in her ear, before his lips started moving down towards her throat, nuzzling the little space under her ear.
At which point the sensible part of her brain admitted defeat and decided to have some fun, instead.
‘You mean apart from the excellent accommodation and room service?’ She batted her eyelashes.
‘Absolutely,’ he replied with a grin. ‘I’m talking about the full package of optional extras here.’ He tapped her twice on the end of her nose and lowered his voice. ‘I don’t have to go back for a few days. And there’s nowhere else I would rather be than right here with you. Take a chance, Lexi. Stay. Let me get to know you better. Who knows? You might like me back.’
He shifted slightly and looked away. ‘Besides, the cats would miss you terribly if you left now. They’re waiting to—’
Lexi silenced him with one fingertip pressed against his lips.
‘It’s okay. You had me at the word cats.’
Lexi turned over and tried to find a comfy position. Only something solid and man-shaped was in the way. She cracked one eye open, then smiled with deep satisfaction.
Warm morning sunlight was flooding into the living room and reflecting back from the cream-coloured walls in a golden glow that made everything seem light and fresh.
It had not been a dream.
She really had just spent the night on the sofa with Mark Belmont.
At some point Mark had suggested going into the bedroom, but that would have destroyed this precious connection, which was so special and unique. She didn’t need to take her clothes off and jump on him to show how much she cared.
Lexi snuggled into the warmth of his chest, and Mark’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and drew her closer into his body.
Lexi’s hand pressed against the long tantalising strip of bare chest she’d created by unbuttoning his shirt in the night. She closed her eyes and moved her forehead against the soft fabric of the shirt, inhaling its fragrance. It was musky, deep and sensuous, and totally, totally unique to this remarkable man.
‘I have a question,’ she murmured, her eyes closed.
A deep chuckle came from inside Mark’s chest, and Lexi could feel the vibrations of his voice under her fingertips. It was weird that such a simple sensation made her heart sing with delight at the fact that she could be here, in this moment, enjoying this connection. No matter how fleeting or temporary it might be this was very special, and she knew that Mark felt the same.
‘Out with it,’ he growled, ‘but it had better be important to disturb my beauty sleep at this hour of the morning.’
‘Indeed,’ she replied, trying not to give him the satisfaction of a grin. But it was too hard to resist, and she slid out of his arms and propped herself up on her elbow to look at Mark’s face.
‘Do you know that you have two grey hairs on your chest?’ she asked in a semi-serious voice. ‘And one just here.’ Her forefinger stroked down the side of Mark’s chin against the soft stubble, then tapped very gently at the offending hair.
‘Are you offering a personal grooming service?’ He smiled.
‘Oh, if required a freelance writer should be ready to carry out any duties necessary to complete a task. No matter how odd or dangerous or icky the task.’
‘I had no idea,’ he said gravely, ‘of the horror you must face on a daily basis.’
‘Explorers going out into the unknown,’ Lexi replied, her left hand making a sweep of the room. ‘Armed only with a designer wardrobe and a make-up bag. Not for the faint-hearted. And that’s just the boys.’
She lowered her head and rubbed her nose against his. ‘It is, of course, essential that a writer should investigate local customs, which must be observed wherever possible,’ she whispered in a low, sensual voice as her lips made circles around his mouth. ‘So important. Don’t you think?’
‘Absolutely,’ he replied, his mouth moving down the side of her neck.
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