Sarah Morgan - Summer Surrender

But as she slipped into the large canopied bed she felt suddenly more alone than she’d ever felt in her life.

Without doubt she was the only woman who had ever walked away from him.

Trying to dismiss images of a powerful arrogant Italian stretched out next to her, she pressed her face into the pillows and pulled the soft cover over her shoulders.

Instead of focusing on the nagging throb low in her body, she needed to think of his bad points. Of all the logical reasons why they shouldn’t be together.

And there were certainly plenty to choose from.

Tired after a sleepless night, Lindsay forced her trembling legs along the smooth stone path that led to the Beach Club.

Given the choice she would have eaten breakfast alone.

She would have locked the door and stayed indoors in the air-conditioned tranquillity of her luxurious villa, but that wasn’t an option. She was here to do a job and she was well aware that if she didn’t play the part, then Alessio might still fire Ruby.

At least now she was on her guard. She’d let herself become complacent. She’d totally underestimated the devastating effect he had on her.

But now she was prepared.

Having been awake for most of the night, she’d had more than enough time to select her outfit for the day, and this time she’d been less cavalier in her choice of dress.

She’d bypassed swimming costumes, shorts and sarongs and instead chosen a white skirt that drifted down to mid-thigh. She’d teamed it with a strap top in a pale shade of lilac, cut high enough on her chest to ensure that no cleavage was revealed. And it fitted perfectly. She was confident that there was no chance that it would gape or reveal anything if she leaned forward. In an impulse of femininity that she didn’t want to examine too closely, she’d slipped some delicate silver bangles onto her arm.

It was fine.

Everything was fine.

And everything remained fine until she walked onto the terrace and saw him.

He was seated at a table next to the beautiful swimming pool, a cup of coffee half drunk on the table in front of him.

Every part of his masculine physique emanating power and authority, he was talking to a man in a lightweight suit, but the moment he saw Lindsay his eyes narrowed and he said something that Lindsay couldn’t hear.

The other man melted swiftly into the background leaving Lindsay the entire focus of Alessio’s attention.

‘Buon giorno.’ He spoke in a low tone that was inaudible to all around, his eyes cool and assessing. ‘Did you sleep well?’

‘Perfectly, thank you.’ She pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him, ignoring his knowing smile. ‘Any sign of your client?’

Please say yes , she begged silently. A third person might dilute the tension that seemed to surround them.

‘There’s been a hurricane warning. He’s decided not to fly out until the weather improves.’

Startled, she looked at him. ‘A hurricane?’

‘Don’t worry. Kingfisher Cay hasn’t suffered a direct hit once in the past sixty years. It will pass us by.’

Lindsay glanced up at the blue sky, noticing a few wisps of cloud on the horizon. ‘Let’s hope you’re right.’

‘Are you afraid of storms?’

‘I love storms—’ without looking at him, she helped herself to slices of fresh pineapple and mango from a plate in the centre of the table ‘—so if you’re hoping that I’ll seek the shelter of your strong arms, you’re going to be disappointed.’

Alessio laughed. ‘So far I haven’t had to rely on the weather to entice a woman into my bed.’

‘I’m sure you haven’t.’ She made a point of examining the deep gold flesh of the mango. ‘Where there’s money, there will always be women.’

‘Ouch, Lindsay, that was cruel.’ He was still laughing at her, apparently totally unaffected by her dig.

‘No, really—I feel sorry for you—’ picking up a fork, she speared a piece of mango ‘—you must be incredibly lonely. Meaningless sex has to become boring after a while.’

‘Obviously you’ve never had really good sex,’ he said dryly and Lindsay concentrated on her plate, taking her time over selecting her next piece of tropical fruit.

‘For you it’s a sort of sport, isn’t it? A type of physical workout. You just don’t engage your emotions. Don’t you want more?’

‘“More” being marriage?’ He drained his coffee. ‘I think you know me better than that.’

‘I don’t know you at all.’

‘That’s your choice,’ he said silkily, his dark eyes glinting dangerously as he watched her. ‘Feel free to take a voyage of discovery at your convenience. You look tired, Lindsay. Did something keep you awake last night? Your thoughts, perhaps?’

‘I slept perfectly,’ she lied. ‘So if you have no client to see today, what are you going to do?’

‘I have another difficult case that needs my attention. I intend to go out on the yacht. A change of scene sometimes helps me focus.’

Weak with relief at the news that he wasn’t going to be around during the day, Lindsay finished the fruit on her plate and actually managed a smile. ‘Of course. Don’t worry about me. I quite understand that you need some time to yourself.’ Maybe this wasn’t going to be so hard after all. She could curl up in her villa with a book. Once she was confident he was nowhere near the island, she might even change into one of those revealing swimming costumes and risk a swim in the sea. ‘I’ll be fine.’

‘I know you’ll be fine—’ he reached out a hand and helped himself to a piece of exotic fruit from the platter in front of him ‘—because you’ll be with me. You’re my assistant, remember? Where I go, you go.’

‘When you’re working, yes. But if you’re simply having a day off on your yacht—’

‘I don’t take days off. I’ll simply be working in a different venue.’ His strong fingers dissected the fruit with ruthless precision while Lindsay stared in dismay.

He expected her to go with him? ‘You’ll be working on a boat?’

‘A catamaran, to be precise. She’s moored over there on the jetty.’

Lindsay turned her head and stared at the beautiful craft, the hull glistening white in the dazzling Caribbean sunshine. Just the two of them. Trapped. On that? Being on an island was bad enough, but being on a boat—’I know absolutely nothing about boats.’

‘I’ll handle the boat.’ He nodded to one of the waiters who instantly produced more coffee. ‘Your duties will involve something else entirely.’

Her stomach lurched. ‘What exactly will you want me to do?’

‘I’m not sure yet.’ He gave a slow smile. ‘But when I’ve decided, you’ll be the first to know.’

Despite her reservations, the sail was exhilarating—two hours of glorious sunshine while the boat skimmed joyously across the water, the sails arching against the kiss of the wind.

By the time Alessio finally sailed the boat into a curved, sheltered bay, Lindsay’s face was pink from the sun and stinging with the spray of the sea.

And she felt fantastic. Unable to hide her elation, she kneeled on the seat and peered over the side of the catamaran, down into the clear depths of the blue Caribbean sea. It was like looking into an aquarium. The sun sparkled on the water and tropical fish in a rainbow of colours darted beneath her. And ahead of her was a perfect curve of white sand, fringed by palm trees and surprisingly lush vegetation.

She glanced back at him. ‘Are we the only people here?’

‘You wanted a party?’ His movements sure and confident, he secured a rope and lowered the anchor.

‘It’s like being shipwrecked,’ Lindsay murmured, turning her head and staring at the stretch of deserted beach.