then with a last look at Meagan removed his T-shirt. Meagan held her breath. Surely he was going to stop there. She averted her eyes from his muscular bronzed chest, but was unable to stop herself remembering the feel of his skin on hers, the strength of his arms as he had held her all these years ago. She wondered what it would be like to find herself in his arms again. She forced her thoughts away from the image. It was too dangerous—and pointless—to let her mind go in that direction.
‘Do you fancy a swim?’ Cameron said. ‘See that island to your left? It’s not too far. The wind is unlikely to pick up for a couple of hours yet. We could anchor here and swim across.’
Thinking that a dip was exactly what she needed to cool her overheated imagination, Meagan grinned as he dropped the anchor. Removing her dry suit completely, she stood on the side of the boat poised to dive. ‘Race you,’ she said as she plunged into the water.
She gasped as the cold water enveloped her. Without waiting to see if Cameron was following, she struck out for shore. She was almost there when she felt a hand on her ankle. She trod water.
‘Do you think I’m going to be beaten by a woman?’ Cameron said. He set off again with sure strokes, leaving her in his wake. He beat her easily, and was waiting for her just offshore.
‘Hey, you cheated,’ she said. ‘What kind of gentleman does that?’
‘I never said I was a gentleman,’ he said, grinning.
Meagan splashed him and soon they were tussling in the water. Meagan felt his hands around her waist as he lifted her into the air. He held her there for a moment and they looked into each other’s eyes. Cameron’s darkened with desire. He lowered Meagan until he held her in front of his body. Although Cameron was standing, it was too deep for Meagan’s feet to touch the bottom. Still holding her firmly by the waist, he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his. Meagan felt a flame of desire shoot through her body and before she could help herself she wrapped her legs around his hips.
She could feel his response through his jeans and it heightened her own desire. They were kissing frantically as Cameron walked Meagan still wrapped around him towards the beach. She could feel his hands on her back, on her bottom, searching—feeling—sending shock waves of pleasure through her nerve endings. He dropped his mouth and pushing aside her bikini top with his lips found her nipple. As he licked and nibbled her breast Meagan arched her back, allowing him better access.
As he lowered her onto the damp sand, his thumbs reached under her bikini bottom, touching and teasing until Meagan could almost bear it no longer.
‘Please, Cameron,’ she gasped.
‘What about protection?’ he said.
‘It’s all right,’ she replied. ‘You don’t have to worry.’
He pulled away from her, and she watched him remove his saturated jeans, which clung to him and revealed the full extent of his desire. Then he was beside her and her bikini was off. As his hands explored every inch of her body, Meagan moaned with pleasure. It felt as if every nerve in her body was on fire. Desperate to feel him inside her, she raked his back with her nails, pulling him on top of her, opening her legs to allow him easy entry. He pulled back, enjoying her surrender, before he plunged into her. As Meagan climaxed with a shudder he flipped her on top of him and within moments had her riding the top of the wave once more. This time they came together. They collapsed in each other’s arms, gasping for breath. But Cameron hadn’t finished with her yet. Once again Meagan felt her body respond to his touch. This time he was slower, bringing her almost to the point of no return before stopping then waiting a couple of seconds and then starting again. Just as she thought she’d have to beg he took her once more and with a couple of deep strokes took her with him once more to orgasm.
They lay in each other’s arms, sated. The breeze licked Meagan’s skin and she was aware of the tiny grains of sand that seemed to be hiding in every crease of her body. She didn’t want to move, scared that she’d break the spell. Cameron raised himself on his elbow and looked at her.
‘Cold?’ he said softly. ‘Come on, we’d better think about getting back,’
‘Can’t we just stay here?’ Meagan replied. ‘Forget about the rest of the world? Anyway, I don’t think I could move—my muscles feel like jelly.’
He pulled her into his arms. ‘Just for a few more minutes then we’d better be getting back.’
Meagan trailed a lazy finger across his chest.
‘Tell me about you and Rachel,’ she said softly. She could feel the tension in Cameron’s body as soon as she mentioned his ex wife’s name.
‘There’s not much to tell,’ he said slowly. ‘I met Rachel when I was studying in London. We dated, but eventually we—I broke it off. I think I realised that we didn’t really have that much in common.’ He looked into the distance, his eyes bleak.
‘I met you shortly after Rachel and I broke up. I was spending the summer with my family on Uist.’
Meagan felt a surge of relief. So he hadn’t been with Rachel when he had met her. She would have hated it if he had been with her while involved with someone else. It would have cheapened that night for her for ever.
‘But you must have changed your mind about breaking up with Rachel,’ Meagan persisted. ‘You married her. Had a child together.’ A sneaking suspicion was forming in Meagan’s mind.
‘I meant what I said when we met. I planned to contact you just as soon as I could.’
‘But you didn’t,’ Meagan said flatly. ‘I never heard from you, not a word. I even wondered if something had happened to you.’ She drew a painful breath. At least that was what she had thought at first. She had been so sure he would contact her that she had imagined the worst. She had wondered if he were ill, or even—she shuddered at the memory—dead. And she’d had no way to get in touch with him. She hadn’t known much about him apart from the fact that he worked in London. That was all. And then, just when she’d been going out of her mind with worry and about to phone every hospital in London to ask if they had a Cameron working there, she had caught a glimpse of him one weekend when she had been visiting friends. Just the briefest sight, but enough to know he was perfectly well. It was then she had realised that her dream of being with him had been just that.
Cameron pulled her closer. ‘I’m sorry. It didn’t occur to me that you’d think something had happened to me. I just assumed you’d think me a bastard and move on with your life.’
‘You still haven’t told me why,’ Meagan said. However painful it was, she needed to know. ‘Was it because you’re titled? Were you expected to marry someone more appropriate than a doctor?’
‘There was an element of that,’ Cameron said slowly. ‘I expected some opposition from my father, but I never have and never will do anything except follow my own path. That wouldn’t have stopped me. Besides, my parents always knew that the title in itself means little to me. It’s the responsibilities of the title that go with it. Looking after the estate for everyone, not least the community, is what is important. The social status of having a title, means nothing to me.’
‘Go on,’ Meagan said.
‘The day after you and I met, Rachel flew up to Uist. It was a shock. She hadn’t told me she was coming. I thought it was a last-ditch attempt to try and get back together and I was about to tell her
