Annie West - Sultry Nights - Mistress to the Merciless Millionaire / The Savakis Mistress / Ruthless Tycoon, Inexperienced Mistress

‘It’s really late, Katie. Nearly midday! Come on—we’re going to the beach. Tiarnan wouldn’t let us wake you for ages. He said you were jet-lagged …’

The two girls ran out of the room again, shouting that they’d see her downstairs in ten minutes. Kate sagged back onto the bed and pushed her hand through her hair. The thought of seeing Tiarnan after last night made her tummy flip. Was it even real? Or had she dreamt it? But her body was the evidence. She was glad he’d had the foresight to put her into her own bed. She’d obviously been barely capable of moving. The fact that he’d managed to retain a cool measure of control and was clearly marking the boundaries between them made her feel vulnerable.

As she stood under the spray of her shower a few minutes later, Kate’s movements suddenly halted. She remembered that moment on the balcony; they hadn’t used protection. Tiarnan had been so careful to protect them up to that point, and she hadn’t missed the horrorstruck look on his face when he’d realised. The pain of seeing how violently he’d castigated himself had led her to reassure him quickly that it would be fine—she was at a safe stage in her cycle. And she was . But still, it shocked her how easily they’d been careless, and he’d vowed vociferously to make sure it didn’t happen again. She had no desire either, to risk bringing a child into a very temporary moment of madness. And the thought of what such a scenario would mean to Tiarnan made her go cold.

‘Morning. Or should I say afternoon? ’

Kate took a deep breath to steady herself against the bone-tingling effect of the deep, sexy drawling voice before she looked up from tying her flat sandals, sitting on the bottom stair. But she couldn’t stop her heart beating wildly. Mortification twisted her insides anew as the enormity of what had happened hit her. She’d been so easy. She’d shown him with bells on how she’d hungered for him for years … She should try to hide that vulnerability from him. She had to somehow make him think he was just another in a long line of lovers. She had to protect herself from him.

Gathering all her training, that armour she’d perfected over the years, she looked up and steeled herself not to react to seeing him—but it was hard. He stood leaning nonchalantly against a doorjamb, dressed in a white T-shirt that strained across the biceps of his arms and faded loose khaki shorts. Battered sneakers on his feet.

She finished fiddling with her sandals and stood, self-conscious even though she was dressed similarly, in long shorts and a vest top. Perfectly respectable. She saw that they were alone and came close to him. Trying not to falter, she tipped her face up to his and said, sotto voce , ‘Thanks for last night, I really enjoyed it.’

She saw his smile fade ever so slightly. A hard gleam came into his eyes and she wanted to gag. Those words were so meaningless, when she really wanted to say that the previous night had been the most exquisite experience of her existence. That she’d already stored away every single moment in her memory. But she had to remember who she was dealing with— had to . Or he’d destroy her.

He took her hand before she knew what he was doing and raised it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the underside of her wrist, causing heat to flood her belly and her breath to catch.

‘I enjoyed it too. I’m already looking forward to tonight.’

Kate’s eyes were snared by his. She was terrified that he would see that she was putting on a desperate act. She smiled and it felt brittle. She could do this if she had to.

‘Me too.’

Just then sounds came from outside, and they moved apart just as Rosie burst into the hall. ‘Come on , you guys. We’ll be late!’

Tiarnan bent down to pick up a big basket that seemed to be bursting at the seams.

‘Where are we going?’ Kate asked as Rosie hopped around, impatient to go.

Mama Lucille came into the hall then, wiping her hands on an apron, and dragged Rosie close for a big hug and kiss.

Tiarnan looked back at Kate as he dodged around Rosie and Mama Lucille. ‘We’re going to the beach with a picnic. Zoe’s family will be there too.’

Kate followed them out to the Jeep, which was laden down with things. This was obviously a bit of a ritual for them, and she realised belatedly that it was Sunday. It must be a traditional family day out for the locals.

Mama Lucille surprised Kate by giving her a big expansive hug too, and then they set off, the two giggling girls in the back reminding Kate bittersweetly of herself and Sorcha when they’d been young.

Disconcertingly, as if able to read her mind, Tiarnan said while gesturing to the back, ‘Remind you of anyone?’

Kate smiled. ‘I was just thinking about that.’

‘Thinking about what?’ Rosie piped up from the back, proving that her ears were very keen.

Kate and Tiarnan shared a complicit smile, and Kate couldn’t stop her heart feeling as if it was about to burst. But she turned around and started to tell the two girls stories about her and Sorcha when they’d been young.

That evening, when they were in a very bedraggled and sandy Jeep returning home as night fell, Kate knew she hadn’t enjoyed a day so much in ages. She felt deliciously sunburned, her skin tingling in the aftermath of a day spent outdoors. They’d gone to a beach that was obviously a local secret as it had been empty but for them and Zoe’s extended family, all Mama Lucille’s children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She could see what Tiarnan meant. Rosie was as much a part of that family as their own kids—she could even see that there was a fragile and gradual thawing in Rosie and Tiarnan’s relationship. She hoped that the holiday would prove to give Tiarnan the breakthrough he sought with Rosie.

Earlier in the day Kate had given up trying to keep track of everyone she’d been introduced to, and Zoe’s mother-Anne-Marie had taken her under her wing. She was a beautiful woman in her early thirties, who had three children including Zoe, the eldest.

They’d been watching an impromptu football game, with everyone chaotically involved, toddlers and all in the mix, when Kate had impulsively confided, ‘I envy you.’

Anne-Marie had looked shocked. ‘Are you mad? You’d give up a glamorous lifestyle travelling around the world to live with this kind of mayhem?’

But the other woman’s sparkling eyes had told another story. Kate had felt her heart clench. She’d hidden the true extent of her desire to get out of modelling and settle down even from Sorcha. Somehow here, with this woman who was little more than a stranger, it had been easy to smile wryly and say with feeling, ‘In a heartbeat.’

Anne-Marie had leant close then, and said conspiratorially, ‘He’s a good man.’

Kate had blushed immediately and realised to her horror that her eyes had been greedily following Tiarnan as he’d run bare-chested down the beach with the ball, a gaggle of children running after him, adults laughing. It was a world away from the austere image he projected to the world of finance and high-powered achieving. In truth, she was slightly shocked to see this side of him—and shocked at the feeling it caused deep inside her. A deep yearning for family, love , for belonging. With him. When she should be getting over him …

Kate tried to be cool. ‘Oh, I’ve known Tiarnan for years. His sister Sorcha’s my best friend. And, yes, he is a good man.’

Anne-Marie hadn’t looked fooled for a second. She’d just said, ‘He’s never brought anyone else here, you know … and no man is an island.’

Kate’s face had been burning by then, but thankfully Anne-Marie had deftly defused the situation and stood, reaching down to haul Kate up too.