hard against him, his other hand locked in the soft mass of her hair as he used his mouth with erotic purpose.
His fingers massaged her scalp, his touch so inherently sexual that her excitement levels shot into overload.
Her eyes flew open and she found herself staring straight into his.
In that single moment she saw Alpha Man, the ruthless soldier about to possess the daughter of his enemy.
Confused by that vision, Katie pulled her mouth from his. ‘No.’ It was hard to breathe. ‘This is … surreal. I look at you and I see the movie star, not the man.’
He lowered his forehead to hers. ‘You just kissed the man, Katie.’
She dragged herself out of his arms, and stepped backwards, the sand warm and soft under her feet. ‘I just assume you’re acting. Like earlier in the week—’
‘I wasn’t acting then and I’m not acting now.’
Of course he was acting. He could act desire every bit as convincingly as he could act daring and dangerous. ‘You know how to look at a woman in a way that makes her feel beautiful. The scary thing is I know that, but it still works on me.’
‘Katie—’
‘And much as I’d love to tell myself that I’m stunning enough to attract the world’s sexiest movie star, one look in the mirror reminds me that I’m not. You can look at a woman like that and not mean it, I know you can. You do it on the screen all the time. When you kissed the daughter of your enemy in Alpha Man you were so convincing that I actually believed that the two of you must be together in real life because I just couldn’t imagine how you could look at her like that and not mean it.’
‘I’ve already told you I couldn’t stand the woman.’
‘I know.’ Katie gave a confused laugh. ‘Which shows how good an actor you are! And that proves my point.’ She ran her tongue over her lips, wishing she’d never let him kiss her. Now she just wanted more and she knew that if she allowed herself more she’d be in dangerous territory. Whatever she shared with this man would be scorching and intense, but it would also be fleeting and ultimately painful. ‘You made me come here because you were worried I’d talk to the press, so I’m here. But I don’t want to do anything else. I’d be crazy to let myself fall for that whole movie-star thing. Just because you’re bored and you’ve been deprived of your diet of Hollywood women, doesn’t mean you can use me as a substitute.’ Her hand shaking, she rubbed her fingers over her forehead. ‘I don’t move in the same world as you. Quick meaningless sex just doesn’t work for me.’
‘Have you ever tried meaningless sex?’ There was humour in those eyes. But there was also gentleness and it was the surprising gentleness that ripped at her self-control.
‘No.’
‘You should try everything once.’
‘In that case you should try opening up and trusting. You might find a meaningful relationship really satisfying.’
Still holding her hands in his, he backed her against the rocks. ‘Right now I know exactly what I’d find satisfying.’
Sandwiched between smooth rock and solid male muscle, Katie’s willpower faltered. Her body throbbed and ached and excitement was a tight ball in the pit of her stomach. Sexual tension pulsed between them, the heat so intense that it was like flying into the sun. She stared up into his face, trying to read those eyes ….
As he lowered his head towards her, she thought about the week they’d spent together. He’d told her nothing about himself. She knew no more now than she had when she’d worked in the theatre with him.
Katie planted a hand in the centre of his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart under her fingers. ‘Are you ever yourself?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You’re playing a role. Do you ever play yourself, Nathaniel?’
The change in him was almost imperceptible but it was there. Shimmering desire faded and his eyes were guarded. A tiny muscle flickered in his jaw and he watched her without speaking.
Then he released her in a smooth movement and stepped away. The cynical, mocking look was back in his eyes. ‘We would have been good together.’
Katie was glad she was leaning against the rock. Her knees were shaking so much she needed the support. Her hands ached to reach out for him, drag him back to her, lose herself in the heat of his mouth.
But she wanted it to be real, and this wasn’t real.
They’d spent a week together, but she knew she hadn’t spent a single moment with the real Nathaniel Wolfe.
His head throbbing from yet another sleepless night, Nathaniel flung snorkelling gear onto the deck while Ben and one of the other members of staff loaded food and equipment.
‘Where are you going?’ A soft, female voice came from behind him and he turned to see Katie standing on the jetty. Her feet were bare and her hands pushed into a pair of shorts. Even from a distance, he could feel her tension. Her cheeks were pale and there were dark shadows under her eyes.
Having spent most of the night wide awake in the hammock, it gave him some satisfaction to know that she wasn’t sleeping any better than he was.
‘We are going sailing. Given my misfortune of being trapped on this island with someone with your moral code, I need a distraction to take my mind off the total lack of meaningless sex.’ And a
distraction to keep his mind off the new messages waiting on his phone.
He picked up the final box and stowed it on board.
Katie didn’t move. ‘I think it would be best if I stayed here.’
‘No, it wouldn’t.’ Before he could talk himself out of it, Nathaniel scooped her into his arms and deposited her onto the boat, keeping his eyes averted from her long, bare legs. ‘This is one of the best dive sites in Brazil. You’ll love it.’
‘You’re afraid to leave me here in case I tell someone where you are. What do you think I’m going to do, Nathaniel? Send up smoke signals? Even if I wanted to call someone, I can’t. You locked up my phone.’
He wished he’d locked up his own. Those messages gnawed at him, acting like a block jammed in a door he was trying to slam shut.
‘You don’t need a phone.’
‘You’re afraid I’m going to tell someone about Annabelle or Carrie, but I swear I’m not going to mention their names to anyone. I don’t even know who they are!’
It was possible to feel cold, he discovered, even when the sun was pounding down from high in the sky. ‘I want you to forget you ever heard those names.’
‘Fine, I’ll forget I ever heard them. But once in a while it would be good for you to just trust someone. It must be incredibly lonely living a life where you think everyone is out to get you.’ She pushed aside the snorkelling gear and sat down on the deck with a thump. ‘I’ve never snorkelled. I’ll probably
