The laugh that vibrated from his throat sent a quick shiver through me. Straightening, I met his eyes. “I think it’s my turn to seduce you. Only there’s a rule. You can’t touch me until I tell you to.”
He raised his brows at that.
Since he was still wearing his shirt, I pushed it off his shoulders and down his arms, trapping them. “No cheating.”
I bit into his lower lip, and his shudder had new flames igniting inside of me. Unable to resist, I crushed his mouth with mine, and my tongue tangled with his. This time, I had control of the kiss, and I tried to take my time, savoring his dark rich flavor.
But I wanted more—my body craved more—so I lifted my hips and lowered myself onto him again. I hadn’t thought it possible for him to grow harder or larger, but he did both. And the flames inside of me threatened to turn into a wildfire.
With a moan, Roman dragged his mouth away from mine. “We need a new condom.”
“Yes.” I glanced around.
“In my pants pocket.”
I lifted my hips, nearly groaning in disappointment when he was no longer inside of me. While I located the condom and removed it from the package, Roman, in spite of his “shackles,” managed to dispose of the old one.
I sheathed him then, treating myself to the feel of the hard length of him as I did. There was a part of me that wanted to linger—to taste, to savor. But there was an aching emptiness inside of me, driving me. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I straddled him and slowly sank onto him. Each second of my descent was a delicious torture until he completely filled me. Our mouths met then, hot and wet and hungry. And my hips began to piston up and down.
I heard the rip of his shirt, and suddenly I was beneath him. We rolled across the floor, into thin streams of moonlight and out. I was as desperate as he, my hands as greedy. If it was a battle, we were both winning. Finally, trying to keep a grip on my sanity, I rose over him again. His fingers dug into my hips as we found that perfect speed and rhythm. My vision grayed, but his eyes were locked on mine as the madness took us.
7
I STOOD ALONE in the open doorway of my balcony. In the distance, the Ionian Sea gleamed bright blue in the morning sunshine, but my thoughts were still trapped in memories of the night Roman and I had spent together. Just thinking about what we’d done to each other was enough to heat my skin and melt parts of my body.
The word insatiable had taken on a new meaning for me. I’d learned things about myself and about my appetites that had shocked me. And driven me to learn more.
Together, we’d been like greedy children gorging ourselves on forbidden treats. The sky had been turning light and birds had been chirping when we’d finally fallen asleep. My last thought was that I fully understood Shakespeare’s Juliet when she’d cursed the lark that heralded the dawn.
I’d taken some time in the bathroom to study myself in the mirror. The seeds of change I’d sensed in myself when I’d decided to proposition Roman for the second time at dinner had come to fruition during the night. I wasn’t the same Philly I’d been before I’d come to Corfu. Something about being here on this island had made me…what? Stop dithering and decide to grab what the Fates were offering. My lips curved. That’s exactly the way my aunt Cass would put it.
I realized now that I’d given up way too easily when I’d visited Roman’s hospital room a month ago. I’d believed his lie and run away. Maybe I’d still been running by coming here to Greece. But I wasn’t going to run anymore. I’d found exactly what I wanted.
I heard the sound of the tap stop and knew that Roman had finished shaving. I very nearly sighed. In a matter of minutes we’d leave the world we’d created during the night and have to deal with the day.
As if on cue, the young man from the beach suddenly stepped out of the woods and began to cut a diagonal path toward the villa. The white cat—Ariel—followed him. She was still very worried. And tired.
She seemed to sense my presence and glanced up at me. I calmed my mind, and once again the image of the white cat lying in the dark place filled it.
Caliban? I asked her.
Yes.
Then she disappeared from my sight beneath the balcony.
I sensed Roman’s presence even before he touched my shoulder and ran his hand down my arm to link it with mine. I tried very hard not to let the casual intimacy of the gesture soften something deep inside of me.
“Your cousin returns,” he murmured.
“Looks like.”
Alexi—if it was him—looked tired and even younger than he’d appeared to be through my camera lens. He was wearing a T-shirt and what seemed to be the same shorts he’d worn on the beach the day before. He’d covered half the distance to the hotel when Miranda rushed across the lawn to meet him.
“You can’t come in.” Her tone was hushed, urgent.
Roman drew me back from the edge of the balcony so that we were out of sight, but we continued to eavesdrop.
“Why not?” Alexi asked.
“Inspector Ionescu is here looking for you. I told him you hadn’t returned. His men are searching your room right now. And Mr. Delos’s room. It was just luck that I saw you from the kitchen window. Go.”
Alexi ran a hand through his hair. “Has Magellan filed another complaint that I’ve been hanging around his precious castello and poking around his caves? Delos was hanging out in those caves more than I was. And Magellan can’t press charges against me for trespassing on his precious estate. I haven’t been able to get past the gate. Only Ariel slips through. She’s trying to lead me to Caliban. I know it. But the guards won’t let me in.”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with Mr. Magellan. It’s about the man you were arguing with on the beach yesterday.”
“Delos?”
“Then it was you?” Miranda began to wring her hands. “I knew it.”
“So I argued with Delos. That’s not a crime.”
“He was shot. Killed. That’s why the police are searching his room.”
Alexi seemed stunned into silence—but only for a moment. “Well, I didn’t shoot him.”
“You were there. Your cousin Philly Angelis saw you through the lens of her camera. She says you shoved him, knocked him down. And you didn’t come home last night.”
“I spent the night looking for Caliban.”
“Inspector Ionescu must suspect you had something to do with Mr. Delos’s death.” Miranda sounded panicked.
“Mom, I didn’t shoot Mr. Delos.” Alexi’s tone had gentled and he placed his hands on his mother’s shoulders. “Sure, I argued with him. He told me he’d seen Caliban in one of those caves beneath the Castello, but he wouldn’t show me which one. He said he had to get
