by Kate Hardy
Feeling the water on her was like coming home.
As she struck out she wondered whether she should have run further up the beach in search of a lifeguard, but the thought of creating a scene, probably for no reason, was off-putting, never mind Nick’s reaction if he returned from a simple swim to find the hotel’s rescue party hot on his trail.
Anyway, it was too late to think about that.
She was pretty sure she would spot him a little further out, and then she could slink back to shore, safe in the knowledge that he was all right.
She swam confidently out but then, when the beach was beginning to look a little too distant for the sake of comfort, she felt the slow crawl of fear through her because who knew what inhabited the waters? They looked crystal-clear and perfectly innocent, but anything could be lurking in the depths. What if he had been sucked under by something? Were box jellyfish rampant in these waters or was she mixing up her oceans?
That thought was enough to convince her that heading back to shore and summoning the search party was the best course of action.
She was hardly aware of the shape quickly gaining on her until she felt something on her waist and she spluttered in sharp, sudden panic to a stop.
‘Were you worried?’ Nick was laughing as he edged back from her.
Relief turned to anger and she glared at him, tempted to hit him smartly on his sexy, grinning face, but her training kicked in. Any kind of tussle in water was a bad idea.
‘I was hot,’ she snarled, turning away and beginning to strike out back for land.
He caught her again, this time by her ankle, and she spun around and began treading water. ‘In case you don’t know,’ she snapped, ‘it’s dangerous to fight in the water.’
‘Who’s fighting?’ He flicked his head in the direction of the promontory she had noticed earlier on. ‘In case you were wondering how come you couldn’t find me…I was on that strip of land. I saw you swimming out and decided to meet you.’
‘Just in case I ran into problems?’
‘Can’t have my employee drowning on my watch, can I?’
‘I happen to be a very strong swimmer.’
‘I noticed.’
Rose wasn’t sure that she liked the thought of him looking at her while she had been swimming.
‘So…joining me? We could always swim back to shore and walk across, but better exercise this way.’
She didn’t think he needed the exercise. Unlike her. But she was enjoying the water and she suddenly wanted to prove just how good a swimmer she was. She nodded and then headed strongly away towards the strip of land, invigorated as he swam up behind her, then alongside and finally in front, easily making it to land before her so that she found herself coming out of the water, dripping wet, with no protective outer layer of baggy clothing, while he sat on the sand and surveyed her at his leisure.
Self-consciousness kicked in along with all the insecurities she had always had about her body, ones which should have been put to bed a long time ago because, really, what did looks matter?
Everything about her was unfashionably big. Her breasts were not the pert, small bumps beloved by fashionistas, her hair was too uncontrollable, her frame was just too short and stocky and she was sure that her rear could have done with several thousand more trips to the local swimming pool.
And there he was. A study in casual male beauty, sitting lazily on the trunk of a fallen coconut tree.
Her modest swimsuit suddenly felt like a handkerchief tied together with a few bits of string and Rose wrapped her arms around her body in a show of feeling cold.
‘I really never thought that this would be part of a working trip over here,’ she said crossly, all too aware that he was sizing her up and finding her wanting in every department.
She had, he noticed, made sure to sit as far away from him as was humanly possible without it looking glaringly obvious. Coy, he thought, not for the first time, was not a word in her vocabulary. Neither were the words flirting or teasing. If she had had her notebook to hand, he was pretty certain that she would have brandished it just to make sure that he got her hands-off message.
Once upon a time, he might have been amused by that because his hands would not have wanted to be on her, but not so now.
Next to her, the women he had dated in the past were stick insects, devoid of personality and sex appeal. He wanted to tell her that instead of huddling next to him, arms wrapped around her body in an attempt to hide the glorious abundance of her body, she should revel in her womanly curves.
However he acknowledged that she would probably hit him if he did that, so he dragged his eyes reluctantly away from her and resigned himself to the prospect of a slow seduction via harmless small talk, not a route he had ever favoured.
‘What do you think of this spot?’
Rose inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been half expecting something sarcastic along the lines of her resemblance to a beached whale. Scenery, she figured, she could expound upon, and she did, asking him a million questions about Borneo. Whenever there appeared to be a pause in the conversation, in she jumped to carry on the subject while the sun continued to rise in the sky. Eventually, Nick turned to her and raised his eyebrows.
‘So, do you think we have exhausted the tourist angle?’
‘I’m interested.’
‘You’re sunburnt.’
‘What?’ Rose automatically raised her hands to her face, allowing Nick a bird’s-eye view of her luscious breasts, which her severely cut swimsuit was having a hard time concealing.
‘Right there.’ He ran his finger quickly along the strip of her nose and Rose pulled back with a little yelp of shock. ‘We need to get you back to our towels and bags.’
‘Oh, no. I’ve only just thought—were they safe being left on the beach?’
‘As houses.’ Nick stood up and held out his hand for her to take.
Flustered, Rose grasped it and he pulled her neatly to her feet, covertly watching her breasts bounce as she gathered her balance. Since when, he wondered, had he become a dirty old man, covertly watching a woman’s body and getting turned on?
‘You never did tell me…’ Rose said as they strolled back towards their possessions, which, as he had predicted, were exactly where they had been left.
‘What?’ Nick enquired, staring straight ahead of him and trying to subdue his overactive imagination.
‘Why you chose to branch out into the hotel business. You said that you no longer felt challenged by making money, but why hotels?’
‘You mean considering I’m a sad and lonely old man still searching for the perfect woman?’
‘I never said you were sad and lonely,’ Rose objected, flushing.
‘Just someone who had no experience of staying in a hotel for fun, an all-work-and-no-play kind of guy…’
‘I’m sure you have lots of fun,’ Rose stumbled, wondering how they had managed to swim out of safe waters into the perilous seas of personal conversation. It wouldn’t bother him, she was certain, but it bothered her.
‘Had,’ Nick amended guilelessly. ‘I haven’t actually been out with a woman since I met your sister…’
For a few seconds Rose felt completely disoriented by that admission. He had told her that his relationship with Lily had been platonic and she had believed him. She hadn’t stopped to wonder whether that had not been of his choosing and, at the thought that he might actually fancy her sister, she felt a sudden coldness in the pit of her stomach.
‘Lily has been known to have that effect on men,’ she said brightly, clearing her throat.
‘What effect is that?’
Rose shrugged. ‘Being worshipped from afar.’
‘Whoever mentioned anything about worshipping her from afar?’ Nick asked incredulously. ‘I meant, my darling, that the night I met your sister happened to be the night I broke up with a woman and ever since then I’ve stayed away from the fair sex. All men need a break from complications.’
>
Had he just called her ‘my darling’? Well, yes, not as an endearment, but for a few wild seconds her heart soared, then she registered the rest of his sentence and realised that, for whatever reason, he had decided to fill her in on a slice of his private life. He was practising celibacy.
‘They do,’ Rose said approvingly. ‘And it’s a mistake to think that sex is the answer to everything.’
Nick felt a kick of satisfaction that he had manoeuvred the conversation exactly where he wanted it. Sex. Such a small word to cover such a massive subject and, with testosterone coursing through his body, he was in the perfect mood to talk about it.
‘But that’s not why we’re here, is it?’ Rose hastened on. ‘We’re here to do some groundwork for your project. It doesn’t matter why you wanted to go into the hotel business. That’s your private matter and I know you’ll agree that we shouldn’t let chit-chat about our private lives intrude on the reason why we’re here in the first place.’ Rose felt quite proud of the adult manner in which she had grounded their wayward conversation.
One step forward, two steps backward. Nick ground his teeth together in frustration.
‘Would you like me to make a list of the usual tourist sites?’ Her beach dress beckoned like manna from heaven and Rose gratefully snatched it up and slipped it over her head.
‘That won’t be necessary, Rose.’ Interesting, this feeling of having the rug pulled very swiftly out from under your feet. Interesting and not particularly agreeable. ‘I suggest we use the rest of the day to do a bit of sightseeing.’
Rainforests…mountains and waterfalls…rare flora and fauna…the world-famous orang-utan sanctuary…Then a flurry of meetings and, of course, Lee Peng and his family with their abundant hospitality…supper to meet family and friends…
There was hardly time to draw breath and no time at all with Rose. Just that one morning on the beach, which, after nearly five days, seemed like a lifetime ago.
Nick had never met a woman more adroit at standing a mere five feet away from him and yet scrupulously avoiding his company. She was awash with good ideas, all faithfully detailed in her ever-present notebook and all related with an air of earnest professionalism, whenever she happened to find herself alone with him. Nightcaps at the hotel were politely but firmly rejected, with convincing yawns to back up her claims that the heat made her tired. Breakfast was always sent to her room because, and this she had told him with an apologetic smile, she liked to use the time to multitask. Eat and communicate with her friends back home via email.
With increasing frustration, Nick realised that he was gradually being reduced to the level of a schoolboy, unable to stop sneaking looks at her in her tee shirts and shorts and then fantasising about her late at night when he lay in bed staring at the ceiling and telling himself that he was behaving like a lunatic.
He could have anyone and yet when he tried to think of the many women he could have, he found his thoughts blurring and finally there she was, in his head yet again.
And here he was now. Facing another night of frustration because Rose had retired early, this time claiming the perennial headache excuse.
He looked at his watch and discovered that it was after midnight. One fifteen, to be precise, and he considered his options. Remain in bed, scowling into the darkness, or else get up and at least solve one of his problems by having a very cold shower.
He slid out from under the covers and felt the pleasantly cool touch of tiles under his bare feet. Overhead, the fan whirred rhythmically, drowning out the little noises of night creatures outside. The prospect of a cold shower was about as appealing as the thought of switching on his computer and catching up on work, which was usually his routine when he couldn’t sleep.
Nick moved quietly, without bothering to switch the lights on, and stuck on some drawstring cotton trousers, which were the closest thing to pyjama bottoms he possessed.
Making very little noise, he opened the sliding door that led onto his private veranda, from which the landscaped gardens stretched before him as a series of darkened shapes.
Borneo was proving to be a marvel of surprises. Few places, he thought, could provide such a winning combination of white sandy beaches, blue, calm sea and the spectacle that was the wonder of the rainforest.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. It was just a flicker behind the trellis separating his veranda from his neighbour’s. In this instance, Rose. Normally, the leafy fronds clambering over the wooden trellis acted as a very successful screen, but in the inky blackness of the night whatever she was wearing must have been of a light colour.
Nick felt a rush of adrenaline surge through him. Without pausing to think, just acting with the unerring instincts of the predator, he circled the patch of lawn and appeared in front of her, bare backed because the night was balmy but, other than that, decently clad, if lacking shoes.
‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled, ‘come here often?’ He sprinted up the two wooden steps, not giving her time to beat a hasty retreat.
Whatever she was wearing, it was obvious she had not dressed for an accidental meeting with her boss. Her nightie was ultra thin and barely skirted her thighs. The light trickling from the room behind her was her cruellest enemy because it showed the full, rounded outline of her bare breasts. With a little leap of the imagination, Nick could almost see the shape of her nipples.
Rose looked at him in horror. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing here?’ she demanded, too shocked by his sudden appearance to even think of what she was wearing.
‘Same as you. Couldn’t sleep.’ Ever one to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to him, Nick sat on the chair next to her and grinned. ‘I know why I couldn’t sleep, but what about you?’
Rose was literally lost for words. Never in a million years had she expected this. She could have wept with frustration because she had done so well over the past few days. She had behaved with impeccable and detached politeness and pointedly ignored him whenever she could get away with it, and when she couldn’t she had fallen back on talking about work. Yes, it was an ordeal, but at least the nights were hers. And now…How dared he invade her down time? Behaving for all the world as though he had every right?
‘I think you should go,’ Rose said coldly, rising to her feet. She snatched up the glass of water she had brought outside with her and spun round on her heel.
‘Not so fast.’
Before she knew it, he was standing in front of her, his hand biting into her arm.
‘What are you doing? Let me go.’
‘Tell me why you’re running away from me.’
‘I am not running away from you.’ If only she could sound a bit more convincing, but her voice was a high whisper and, Lord, her legs were like jelly.
‘You mean you’ve suddenly and coincidentally realised that you’re very tired and need to go to bed immediately?’
‘I mean…’ She took a deep breath to steady herself. This situation felt so intimate. Just the two of them, eyes locked, while the rest of the world slept. His semi nudity was an affront to all her senses, filling her up until it seemed to be the only thing she could see even though she was making every effort not to. ‘I mean that this is my private time and I don’t want you in it. I may work for you, Nick, but when I’m in my own quarters I don’t really expect you to barge in as though you own the place.’
‘Hardly barging in. I saw you through the trellis and, as neither of us could sleep, I figured I might as well pop over, make sure you were okay.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘You don’t look fine. You’re shaking. Are you cold? You’re wearing next to nothing.’
‘I’m wearing more than you.’
Nick gave her a rueful smile. ‘Apologies, but like you I didn’t expect company at one thirty in the morning. It was either this or nothing.’
Rose gulped.
‘I don’t possess pyjamas.’
‘Everyone possesses pyj
amas.’
‘I challenge you to rifle through my belongings.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Let’s go inside. We wouldn’t want the neighbours talking, would we?’ There was no chance of that. The hotel was cleverly designed to ensure that guests had almost total privacy, with only the double cabanas sharing the same veranda split by leafy trellises. Nick took advantage of her momentary lapse in concentration to walk into her rooms, which were identical to his with only variations in some of the decor to differentiate the two.
She was as neat as he had expected her to be. The little sitting area was tidy, unlike his, which always bore the signs of work in progress. She had only switched on the side light by the sofa and he preferred to leave it that way.
Looking at her, he could tell that she was on the verge of imploding and it had obviously hit home that she was in a very transparent item of clothing because her arms were once more protectively around her as she hovered by the door. Wondering, no doubt, what tactic she could employ to chuck him out.
Well, he had waited for days in a state of frustration. He wasn’t going to blow this chance. He wanted her and he knew that all he needed to do was smash through her veneer of polite aloofness and she would be his because she wanted him too. The air between them had sizzled ever since they had arrived on the island. He intended to douse it.
‘It’s mad to be up at this hour.’ Rose laughed nervously, keeping her distance. ‘We’ll be fit for nothing in the morning and we’ve another busy day ahead.’
Nick strolled lazily towards her until he was standing right in front of her. In the muted light, breathtakingly sexy and very, very dangerous. Every alarm bell in her head was clamouring, but there was still a part of her that scoffed at the notion that there might be anything to be afraid of. After all, what was he going to do? A man like that? Kiss her? Men like that, she knew, made passes at girls like her sister. They didn’t look at her twice and if her heart was beating like a hammer, it was simply because she was scared of her own reaction to him, scared of him getting physically any closer just in case her legs gave way and she did something undignified like swoon.