Julia James - Purchased for Passion

A slight flush of colour flared over her cheekbones. Then her face tightened.

‘I thought I only had to do that in bed!’ she snapped.

Something equivalent snapped in Leo. Hell, the girl was hard work. And right now he was in no mood to put up with it.

‘ Thee mou, I simply want to go out for the day. What’s the big deal? Lighten up, Anna—you might even enjoy it. After all…’ his voice changed, and the sardonic note was back in it, taunting her ‘…you’ve come round to enjoying the rest of what I give you, haven’t you.’

This time the colour definitely flared out across her cheekbones. For a moment Leo mistook it for embarrassment. Then he realised it must just be temper. Well, Anna Delane could be as cussed as she liked—and, Christos, did she like!—but he wanted to go out, and he wanted her to come with him. And what he wanted, he got.

He always did.

He limped off, and Anna watched him go, glowering.

What the hell was going on? she fumed. She didn’t want to go anywhere with Leo Makarios. And why was he wanting to take her anywhere anyway? Why wasn’t he going off in one of his boats or whatever? She watched him head across the terrace. Was he limping? Yes, he was. Quite badly.

A sudden pang darted through her. For a moment—quite insanely—she wanted to go after him and express concern. Ask him what he’d done to his foot.

She crushed it down. Leo Makarios could go under a train for all she cared…

Liar…

Emotion twisted in her. She tried to crush that down too, but it would not be banished. Despairingly she shut her eyes.

I can’t face a day out with him—I just can’t!

It was taking all her strength to cope with the nights, to cope with the terrible, treacherous reaction of her body to his touch. She could cope only because she kept the night to the night, and at all other times either minimised her time in his company or shut him out as much as she could.

But now she was going to have to spend a whole day in his company.

Heaviness pressed on her.

She opened her eyes again. Leo had disappeared inside the house.

With a weariness of spirit she did not want to think about, she followed him.

Anna stared about her. Not only did it make it easier to ignore the man driving the four-by-four careering along the potted road, but it was interesting to see something more of the island than the Makarios villa—exquisite though that was.

From the air-conditioned interior the rolling landscape looked lush, covered in wild greenery. Little villages were dotted about, the West Indian chattel-style board houses surrounded by banana trees and their verandas over-tumbled with crimson bougainvillaea. Roadside stalls every now and then sold fresh fruit, both to islanders and to tourists stopping off in their hire cars to taste fresh pineapple and coconut.

She didn’t ask where they were going—what was the point? She would find out when they got there. But when they did, Anna was surprised. It was the capital of the island, and Leo made his way, weaving along a grid of streets, to end up by the harbour. He parked the car and nodded at Anna.

‘Time to go shopping,’ he announced.

He waited for her expression to brighten at the treat ahead, but she simply kept the same blank expression on her face that she always kept for him. Pressing his mouth tightly, he got out, and waited while she did likewise.

The mid-morning heat hit her, and she instantly felt the inappropriateness of the tight-fitting stretch clothes she was wearing. Had he really said shopping? Well, thank heavens for that, at least. At last she could buy some beachwear.

So it was with more enthusiasm than Leo usually saw in her outside the bedroom that she followed him into the smartestlooking tax-free designer wear shop. Swiftly and methodically she sifted along the rails and took her selection to the cash desk.

Leo was there before her.

‘So at last you’ve seen sense enough to wear something suitable for the beach,’ he said pointedly, indicating her armful of brightly coloured clothes.

She stared at him tightly.

‘Strangely,’ she informed him acidly, ‘I wasn’t planning a trip to the Caribbean when I packed for Austria. Of course I didn’t have any suitable daywear for the beach!’

Leo frowned. ‘You mean you’ve been wearing those idiotic outfits because it was all you had? Good grief, why didn’t you just tell me? I could have taken you shopping the day you arrived!’ He spoke as if she were stupid.

Anna said nothing, merely smiled at the saleslady and let her start folding her clothes.

‘You don’t want to try any on?’ asked Leo sceptically.

She cast him a look. ‘I can tell they’ll fit, and I can tell they’ll suit me. It’s one of the little skills you pick up in my line of work.’

‘There is no call for sarcasm,’ Leo replied repressively. ‘When I take women shopping they usually spend hours trying on everything in sight. It’s a dead bore. Your attitude is refreshing, believe me.’

He started reaching inside his back trouser pocket for his wallet. But Anna was already handing her credit card over.

‘Anna,’ he said, even more repressively, ‘allow me, if you please.’

‘I don’t please,’ she said, and nodded at the saleslady to take her card.

Leo sighed heavily. ‘Are you trying to prove something, Anna?’

‘No. I’m just buying my own clothes.’

With a snap, Leo put his wallet away. Let the damn girl buy her own clothes if she insisted. He watched her sign for her purchases, pick up the bags, and then hesitate suddenly.

‘I’d like to change,’ she said to the shop assistant, and disappeared with the bags.

She emerged in under two minutes, clad in a brightly coloured blue and orange sundress that floated around her calves.

Leo found his breath stilling. She really was the most stunning female he’d laid eyes on. Effortlessly so. Her hair was still in its high ponytail, and she’d let it dry naturally, without any styling. She wore no make-up except suncream and protective lipgloss. And sunshades. Not a scrap of jewellery either.

And yet in that simple print dress she looked breathtaking.

Something moved inside him. It was an odd sensation. He didn’t know what it was.

He only knew it was inappropriate.

‘Let’s go,’ he said shortly, and headed outdoors.

Anna followed him, feeling the relief of finally wearing something that didn’t look idiotic in these tropical surroundings.

‘There’s another designer shop over there.’ Leo pointed across the way and started towards it.

‘I’ve got all the clothes I need,’ Anna returned.

Leo gave a snort. ‘No woman has all the clothes she needs! And this time—’ he turned his head ‘—I am buying. Please do not make another scene.’

Anna’s lips tightened.

‘I really don’t want any more clothes,’ she insisted.

‘Then what do you want?’ He glanced around, eyes lighting on a jewellery store. For a moment he realised he was on the point of buying her jewels, as if she were an ordinary mistress.

Anna couldn’t help but see where he’d been looking.

‘No, thank you,’ she said sweetly. ‘I prefer to steal mine.’

Leo’s head whipped round, eyes narrowed.

His eyes fastened on hers.

And for a second—quite inexplicably—he suddenly wanted to laugh. The girl was outrageous, all right! Totally outrageous—and yet…

He broke eye contact deliberately, pointing out a souvenir shop selling island art and mementoes.

Anna shook her head sharply.

‘I’ll have all the souvenirs of this place I could never want,’ she said.

Leo’s eyes slashed back to hers. This time he didn’t want to laugh at all. He wanted to throttle her.