up and around his neck. She didn’t want to need him like this—but she did. So all that was left to her now was surrender.
She was breathless and shaking when he released her. The silence between them was filled by the sound of the party, the babble of conversation and music, and the rapid, thundering beat of her heart.
‘I want you, Katie.’ His voice was hard with desire. He stroked a finger over her skin, and it sent a million butterflies fluttering inside her. ‘But we’ll do this right. Tonight you will sleep alone here, on board ship. And then tomorrow we will consummate our marriage.’
A member of staff walked over towards them, interrupting them, and Katie took the opportunity to break away.
‘Sir, we are about ready for the firework display. Do you want to say a few words before we proceed?’
Alexi glanced over and nodded. ‘I’ll be along in a moment,’ he said dismissively.
They were left alone again, and for a few moments neither spoke.
A cool breeze whispered across her skin. She was scared, truly scared, by the speed with which things were progressing and by the emotions racing inside her. ‘Alexi, we have over six months before the baby is born.’
‘And we are going to use that time to get to know each other.’ His eyes drifted down over her body. ‘To enjoy each other again …’
She tried not to be turned on by the heat in his eyes and in his voice—tried to tell herself that she wasn’t going to allow him to treat her like a sex object. But her body was sending conflicting signals to her brain. Her body was telling her that she wanted him and that it was a matter of great urgency.
He smiled as he saw the answering flame in her eyes. ‘Tomorrow you will belong to me again, Katie.’ He said the words with soft emphasis. ‘The chapel is booked for three-thirty tomorrow. And after the service we will fly to Greece for a few days’ honeymoon and a lot of catching up.’
Before she could get her breath to reply to that, he was walking away from her.
Katie turned and leaned against the ship’s rail as she tried to gather herself together. She stared down at the water, at the glittering reflected lights from the ship and from the island of Manhattan as they danced and blurred on its silky darkness.
Had she done the right thing, accepting Alexi’s proposal? She wanted him so much. Too much …
A breeze whispered against the heat of her skin, and she shivered violently and turned her back on the sea.
The party was heating up. There were about a hundred guests milling about on the deck, and the band was playing a rhythmic number.
She saw Alexi making his way purposefully through the assembled crowds. He looked very confident and in control as he stopped by the stage area and spoke to the string quartet who had set up ready to take over from the band later.
Then he took a mike someone handed him and, as the band finished their session and a round of applause broke out, the compère for the evening brought him up on stage.
He was greeted with wild applause and a lot of cheering, which made Katie smile.
Everyone liked Alexi, she thought wryly. He was a ruthlessly tough businessman, yet he had a way with people. She supposed it was because he was always fair, always straight. You knew where you stood with him.
She wished she didn’t. She almost wished that he had lied to her and told her he was falling in love with her. But then that wouldn’t be Alexi! She bit down on her lip. And she didn’t want to be treated like a fool, she told herself hastily.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’d just like to welcome you all here tonight and thank you for coming. Also a big thank-you to everyone who has worked so hard to make sure Octavia was finished on time and to such high specifications.’
A big cheer went up from the crowd at that.
‘Also, I would like to announce my engagement to Katie. A few of you might know Katie; she worked as Project Manager at Demetri Shipping for a few months, and now is with me at Madison Brown. She has consented to become my wife, and we will be married here on board Octavia tomorrow.’
The crowd broke into wild applause, and a spotlight circled, searching for her, and then caught her in its bright beam as everyone turned and clapped.
Katie was mortified. Why had he announced their wedding like this?
The spotlight faded away as Alexi continued swiftly. ‘It just leaves me to say that I hope you enjoy the evening. The fireworks are about to commence, so take your places and raise your glasses to Octavia. The next piece of music to be played is for my wife-to-be … for Katie.’
As he finished speaking, a string quartet started to play a classical number. The heartrendingly beautiful music swelled and resonated through the night air, holding everyone spellbound.
It was one of Katie’s favourite pieces of music. A piece that always made her feel emotional.
She remembered telling Alexi that once when it had been playing on a CD in her apartment.
She was surprised that he remembered.
Damn man! She blinked away the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes and moved away from the crowds that were milling around her.
Suddenly she needed to be on her own.
It wasn’t hard to find space and dark solitude towards the front of the ship. She watched as golden fireworks exploded out over the water and showers of glitter rained down over the darkness.
‘So, what do you think?’ Alexi’s voice close to her ear startled her, and she looked round and found herself too close to him.
‘I was a bit taken aback by the announcement!’
‘May as well tell people before the gossips get hold of it.’
‘I suppose so.’ She shrugged.
‘We forgot something earlier,’ he said suddenly.
‘Did we?’ She looked at him with a frown.
He reached into his pocket and took out a small square box. ‘I went shopping this afternoon and bought this, just in case.’
He opened the lid, and the large, square diamond inside sparkled as it caught the reflection from the fireworks.
‘It’s beautiful, Alexi!’ She looked up at him, her words tremulous. ‘You obviously didn’t have many doubts that I would say yes, did you?’
He shrugged. ‘I thought common sense would prevail.’
It was strange—the setting was so romantic, the ring was perfect, and he was the man of her dreams … yet she still felt like her heart was breaking.
CHAPTER NINE
THE first thing Katie saw when she opened her eyes that morning was her engagement ring. It sparkled brightly in the early-morning sun, turning
