Trish Wylie - His After-Hours Mistress

And, besides, she didn’t enjoy the trappings of wealth. She could see no point in them. So why would she want to bind herself to Zane? She was out of her head. Probably going down with the same illness. She touched a hand to her brow. Perfectly normal! She wasn’t ill, no, just plain crazy.

Perhaps Zane’s illness had come in the nick of time. Before she made a complete fool of herself and told him how she felt. As she continued to mop his brow, to try to cool his fever with wet towels, she knew that she had gone far beyond the point of no return. She loved him to distraction, and probably always would, even though she knew without a shadow of doubt that once they returned to England and her job was finished she would never see him again.

In less than an hour a doctor arrived by helicopter and was lowered on to the deck. He confirmed that Zane was indeed suffering from a mild case of sunstroke.

‘You must get him into a cool bath straight away,’ he told Lucinda. ‘And you must gently massage his skin and keep taking his temperature. Can you do that?’

Lucinda glanced at Zane, who looked anything but happy about the situation, and then back at the doctor. After all their lovemaking, when there wasn’t a part of his body that she hadn’t explored, it should be an easy task. She nodded.

‘After that you must put him in a cool room, still checking his temperature—because if it should continue to drop then you must keep him warm. Have you got that?’

‘Yes,’ agreed Lucinda.

‘Massaging must continue, to encourage circulation. He may need to stay in bed for several days.’

Lucinda couldn’t see Zane agreeing to this, but she nodded anyway. ‘I’ll see to it, doctor.’

‘If you don’t follow my instructions there is a danger that he will get worse and have to be hospitalised. But hopefully he will recover quite quickly. How did he get in this state?’

‘I don’t know,’ answered Lucinda. ‘We’re always careful in the sun.’

‘Obviously not careful enough!’ he admonished. ‘And it’s not always the sun itself. Any prolonged exposure to high temperatures can cause it. You might feel you’re safe sitting on the deck in the shade but, believe me, it can be just as dangerous. Or playing energetic games. They all add up. I fear your friend has overdone it. You’ll need to keep your eye on him.’

Zane had hardly spoken, except to thank the doctor for coming, and once he’d gone he glared at Lucinda. ‘The man’s exaggerating. I’m not that ill.’

‘Oh, yes, you are,’ answered Lucinda firmly, ‘and you know it. Thank goodness there’s a bathtub on board. Excuse me.’ She went through to the en suite bathroom and filled the tub with cool water.

Zane looked very sorry for himself as he lay in the bath and allowed Lucinda to massage him. But eventually he gave a wry smile. ‘I’m not so ill that I’m unaware of what you’re doing. In fact I rather like it.’ And he thrust out a hand and brought her face close to his. ‘I’ve half a mind to pull you in here with me.’

‘Don’t you dare!’ laughed Lucinda. ‘It’s freezing.’

As she continued to massage him after he’d left the bath and lay on the bed, Zane in turn continued to turn the whole exercise into a sensual experience. She knew that he still wasn’t feeling well, but it didn’t alter the fact that he didn’t want to spoil her time out here and he made a tremendous effort to keep her happy—and excited—and aroused!

Oh, how she loved this man, Lucinda thought. It would break her heart when the day came for them to part company.

By the end of the day Zane was feeling much better—well enough, he said, to lie out on the deck with her and watch the stars. The air had cooled by then and, although she didn’t agree with him being outside, he insisted.

The yacht had dropped anchor and the crew had discreetly disappeared. On a table beside them was a bottle of vintage champagne and some nuts and fruit. ‘The cashew nuts are grown here on the island,’ Zane informed her when he saw her nibbling them. ‘And did you know that they’ve made many films on St Lucia?’

Lucinda didn’t but she could see why. It was such a magical island. So lush! Such gorgeous white beaches! It was really beautiful.

Zane had taken her to the Botanical Gardens one day, where she’d seen incredible plants growing and a Japanese water garden. And they’d been to a lovely warm waterfall where they sat in the pool beneath the falls and drank bubbly. In fact she’d never drank so much champagne in her life, thought Lucinda now as Zane refilled her glass.

He wasn’t touching the stuff himself. All he had beside him was a glass of iced water and Lucinda was fearful that he wasn’t really up to this.

When she’d had enough to eat and drink Lucinda edged herself on to Zane’s lounger and, locked in each other’s arms, they lay back and looked at the stars. It was as though there were only the two of them in the whole universe.

‘I did want to make love to you out here,’ he confessed. ‘It was my initial plan. But I’m not sure now that I have the strength.’

‘And you’d be going against doctor’s orders,’ Lucinda warned him. ‘He says you’re to rest.’

‘And that’s exactly what I’m doing,’ he said. ‘But there’s nothing stopping me touching you.’ His voice had dropped to a low sensual growl.

Lucinda wore a thin cotton shift dress with nothing beneath and when he touched her breasts they reacted immediately. She was unsure how wise it would be to reveal the sensations he was arousing. She was so afraid he would push himself too far. He looked a hundred times better than he had earlier, but even so…

‘You’re a naughty girl dressing like this when you know I haven’t the energy to do anything,’ he admonished.

‘I thought it would give you pleasure.’

He groaned loudly. ‘You’ve no idea how much. I’ve never met a woman quite like you before. You’re ready to try anything at any time, aren’t you?’

She nodded, suddenly shy.

‘I curse this illness that means I can’t take control.’

‘Maybe I ought to take advantage of you,’ she suggested with a cheeky smile.

He groaned loudly. ‘You have a cruel streak, Lucinda Oliver. No woman’s going to seduce me if I can’t do anything about it.’

‘Then we’ll just hold each other,’ she said. And they lay there and he pointed out some of the stars. It was a truly magical night. The sky was so big, the stars so bright—they filled it like glittering diamonds.

How long they lay there she wasn’t sure. At one stage Zane fell asleep, and then she did too. And when she awoke he was gently stroking her breasts. It made a change to be held by him and not make mad passionate love. This was a different kind of lovemaking and if it was all he could manage then she was content.

It was past midnight before he suggested they go to bed and as she helped him down into their cabin Lucinda felt her love flowing fiercely. ‘Thank you for a magical few hours,’ she said.

‘The pleasure was all mine,’ answered Zane, his smile weak. ‘And never fear, I’ll make this up to you.’

He had nothing to make up, thought Lucinda. She would remember this night for the rest of her life.

Early the next morning they headed back to shore, but it was still a few days before Zane was his old self. They spent their time sitting quietly, talking, lighting fires within each other but doing nothing about it, which Lucinda found an incredible experience. She would never have dreamt that they could make love without touching each other—but in some strange way that was what they managed to do.

And then came a phone call which changed everything.

‘Tim’s grandmother’s been taken into hospital,’ Zane told her. ‘I have to go home.’