Jane Porter - Irresistible Greeks - Unsuitable and Unforgettable

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him so that her head was rested on his chest. “Don’t thank me.

I can’t accept thanks for that. I took far too much pleasure from it for that.”

“Realistically,” she said, trying to escape from some of the moment’s intimacy, impossible when she was mostly naked and cradled in his arms, but worth a try, “you have to see Victoria a couple more times before you propose.”

He nodded. “All right.”

“I know that will run during our … relationship. But I suppose as long as you don’t …”

“I will be faithful to you, you don’t have to worry about that. And I will be faithful when I am married,” he said.

She swallowed. It was the right thing for him to say, the right thing for him to do. He should keep his vows. She believed in marriage, respected it. For all that she and Gil had screwed up their marriage, neither of them had cheated.

Still, a part of her died when he said it. “I’m glad. For all of that.”

“This might not be the best idea. But I don’t regret it.”

“I can’t, either,” she said. It was the absolute truth. How could she regret what had passed between them? How could she regret the loss of a fear? There were others, of course. But she was free of one, too. And that wasn’t a small thing.

“So, tell me,” she said, attempting a subject change, in a bid keep things from getting too heavy, “what does a woman expect when she signs on to be your temporary companion?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never had a relationship quite like this. Of course, I’ve never met a woman quite like you.”

“What do you normally do?”

“There’s that sort of coyness to it that one employs in a sexual relationships. Gifts, shallow conversation, references only to the here and now, nothing said of the future one way or the other. And with you, there’s no coyness, that’s for sure.”

She smiled. “I don’t do coy.”

“I noticed.” He tightened his hold on her. “All of my life has been devoted to fulfilling the needs of others. Right now, just now, I want to meet my own.”

So this was for him, as much as for her. She liked knowing that. Felt empowered by it. Because there was something he needed to, and maybe she could provide it. Maybe she could be the one to give him moments of bliss. Moments that were purely his own, so that he would have the memories years later when his life was no longer his at all.

“What do you want?” she asked.

He sifted his fingers through her hair. “I want to sleep with you tonight. Just sleep, if that’s all you want.”

“That’s too easy. What else?”

“To go to the beach. Which should be easy, since we’re on an island. I am a man with the world at my fingertips in terms of the material. The thing I often find myself lacking in is a companion who makes life interesting. Who makes it fun. You be you, and I will simply enjoy it.”

“Really, you’re too nice. I feel outmatched.”

“I like your prickles,” he said. “Even more now that I understand them.”

She sat up and wrapped her arms around herself. “I should get dressed.”

“I’m in no hurry.”

“I have some work to check on, just real quick, and then … and then we can do whatever we want. Because that’s what we’ve decided to do, isn’t it? Whatever we want for the next month.”

He smiled at her and her heart felt like it tightened in on itself. She could do a month. A month was short enough. Short enough that he wouldn’t start wishing she could be a million things she could never be.

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