Lovers Unmasked: The Complete Series

by Nicole Flockton

  That wasn’t exactly true, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to be in such close proximity to Marco. She risked a glance at him. His eyes were covered by his sunglasses and he was lying on his towel. The water droplets on his chest glistened in the sunlight. It took everything she had not to reach out and touch his chest, and run her fingers over the strong muscle and lean down to kiss him.

  Phoebe stood abruptly, spraying a small amount of sand over him. She went to brush it off him, but stopped. She knew if she touched him she wouldn’t want to stop, and getting intimate with him again was the completely wrong thing to do.

  “I’ll see you back at the house,” she muttered and picked up her towel and started to walk away.

  “Wait.”

  She stopped and waited, her breath catching when she became aware of his presence behind her. The heat from his sun-warmed flesh emanated towards her, wrapping her in its embrace. Phoebe knew if she took half a step back she would be in his arms again.

  “You don’t need to go, I’ll go.” As his hands landed on her shoulders her breath whooshed out. “I’ll bring back some food and drinks.”

  His lips landed on the base of her neck for a brief second before they were gone. By the time she gathered herself from the fiery sensation of his kiss, he was halfway up the beach.

  She shook her head and let her bag and towel fall with a soft thud on the sand. Her head seemed to be in the clouds, all reasonable train of thought was gone. How could he derail her with a simple touch to the back of the neck? She never denied that his touch caused her to go up in flames, but in the last two days her reaction to his touch had intensified.

  With a groan of frustration she strode across the warm sand to the cool waters of the ocean. Maybe a swim would cleanse away the cobwebs that had taken up residence in her mind in the last ten minutes.

  As she dove into the water she immediately felt refreshed. She stroked out a little deeper before flipping over onto her back to float and think.

  Her mind took her back to Louisa’s christening. As she had stood next to Marco during the ceremony she’d been totally aware of his presence. She recalled that she’d stolen a number of looks at him from beneath her lashes, almost forgetting how she was supposed to answer the questions the priest asked. Afterwards, taking photos with him and Alex and Sophie and the baby had been a pleasure. It had given her the opportunity to stand close to him. Then he’d touched her.

  That night they’d gone for drinks after the christening party, and from the bar to his apartment. It had been one of the most amazing nights of her life. And that alone had scared her. But Marco had been persuasive and had continued to pursue her until she’d found herself in a relationship again, when she’d sworn she wasn’t going to after what had happened between her and John.

  The question now was, did she love Marco? Did she even know how to love? And how could she trust that love anyway? She’d loved her parents and they hadn’t loved her enough to stay at home and look after her. Then she’d loved Adele White but she’d let Phoebe down as well. Love was unreliable as far as she was concerned.

  Still no closer to a decision she turned over onto her belly and started to stroke back to the shore. As she got to the shallows and stood up she noticed that Marco had set up a beach umbrella and it looked like he’d also brought some chairs down for them to sit on.

  She walked up the sand, grimacing as the sand stuck to her wet feet. That was the only downside to going to the water.

  “You’ve been busy.” She bent and picked up her towel to dry herself.

  “I’ve come to realize over the last couple of days that you like to spend time at the beach.” He waved his hand at the set up he’d organized. “This is a little peace offering for storming out on you this morning.”

  “A peace offering is definitely not needed,” she said on a laugh, although she was touched at the trouble he’d gone to. Sitting on a sun chair under an umbrella was definitely the best way to spend time at the beach.

  He gave a wry laugh. “I have an idea.”

  She had no chance to ask what he was getting at as he took a step back so that he wasn’t in her personal space. She missed his presence, which was ridiculous, as he’d only moved a couple of feet. When he held out his hand to her, her eyebrow rose in question.

  “Hi, I’m Marco Petronelli, and I’m very happy to meet you.”

  Phoebe laughed. It was a sweet, albeit unnecessary gesture. She grasped his hand, and welcomed the buzz of excitement his touch gave her. “Hi, Marco, I’m Phoebe Fitzgerald and I’m happy to meet you too.”

  “Would you care to join me for lunch?”

  She noticed he hadn’t let go of her hand, as if he didn’t want to relinquish his hold on her just yet. She liked it.

  “I would love to join you for lunch,” she replied demurely enjoying the banter between them immensely.

  He gave a slight tug on her arm and she moved a step closer to him, wondering what he had planned next for her. Her breath caught as he lifted her hand and placed a soft kiss on the top. Marco was always a gentleman; it was one of the things that she really liked about him.

  He lowered her hand, and as she looked into his face, she could see desire simmering in his eyes, making them darken. It wouldn’t take much to take that desire and ignite it into a raging fire. She could feel an answering desire start in her belly. She wanted to lose herself in him. But she couldn’t; it wouldn’t solve anything.

  Phoebe pulled her hand away. “Let’s eat.”

  Marco nodded in agreement. She walked over to the shaded area and looked at the spread of food laid out on the blanket. There was bread, cheese, and cold cuts. She filled a plate and sat down on the chair and started to eat.

  After a few minutes of silence Marco cleared his throat. She looked up.

  “I have to go back to the city.”

  By the tone of his voice she could tell it wasn’t something he wanted to do. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t want him to go either. But it would give her the quietness that she had first aimed for by coming to the beach house.

  “When do you have to leave?”

  “This afternoon.”

  She had thought she was prepared for him to say he was going to be leaving so soon, but to hear him put it out there she knew she wasn’t.

  “Will you come back?” Phoebe couldn’t believe she’d asked that question. She was getting her wish. With him leaving, she would be all alone again with her thoughts. It would be her opportunity to get things sorted out. Her asking that question would give him the impression that she needed him.

  “No.”

  Her stomach dropped at his answer. Part of her thought he would come back as soon as possible — after all, he was the one who said he wanted to start all over again. Court her. Share things with her.

  “Okay.” She stood, suddenly needing to put some distance between them. “I … umm … I’m going to head up to the house. Thank you for lunch.”

  She turned quickly so that he wouldn’t see the tears that were brimming in her eyes. It was stupid. He was doing exactly what she wanted. He was giving her space.

  She was halfway to the house when a hand landed on her shoulder, halting her progress. She didn’t turn to look at Marco.

  “I want you to come with me.”

  She did turn then, surprise flowing through her like lava down a volcano.

  “Why?”

  He removed his hand from her shoulder and ran it through his hair. “Because I’ve realized here isn’t real life. Here we are two people in an idyllic location, almost like paradise. Real life, our lives, isn’t like this. We work. We have everyday stresses. We go to parties. If we’re going to build our relationship anew we need to be where our real life really is. And it’s not here.”

  Phoebe could understand his log
ic. It made sense, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to go back into the real world. Maybe that was why she hadn’t really given any thought to what she wanted. It was easier to bury her head in the sand. Here, in a beautiful ocean front house, she could imagine that everything over the last few weeks hadn’t happened.

  “What if I don’t want to? What if I want to stay here?” She threw her hands up in the air. “I mean I came here to be by myself. To sort through my feelings.”

  “And have you?”

  “Did you give me a chance to?” she countered.

  At the wry grin breaking out over his face, she knew she’d scored a point. He hadn’t given her much time alone.

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Why didn’t you? Why didn’t you give me space when I’m pretty sure you knew I needed it?”

  “Because if I gave you too much time to think, I knew you’d give up on us, and … ” He reached out and brushed his hand down her cheek. “I wasn’t prepared to give up on us. I know we can have a really good life together. Come back with me and let’s build our relationship over in our real lives. Not a holiday affair.”

  Once again she was inundated with confusion. She wanted to go back with him. But she was scared that if she did she would fall completely in love with him, and doing that would make her vulnerable to being hurt again.

  “Please, Phoebe, come back with me.”

  His tone was gently persuasive, and she knew she wanted to see if he would change. See if he would share more with her. If he didn’t, then she knew that they weren’t meant to be together. But one thing was for sure — she would protect her heart from being hurt. Sure, he said he cared for her, but it was hard for her to trust anyone when they said that. He had to show her with more than just gifts or words. He had to show her his vulnerability. Only then would she open herself to him.

  “Yes, Marco. I’ll come back with you.”

  CHAPTER 11

  A sense of déjà vu crept through Marco like a spider crawling up a wall. He was following Phoebe’s car, the same way he’d been following Tomasso the day of the accident. He didn’t know why he was thinking that way — maybe it was because of the accident yesterday and all the rawness he’d felt with seeing another young person’s life ending in such a tragic manner.

  He shifted his body as he remembered what he’d done to Phoebe in the shower afterwards. He’d never needed anyone as much as he’d needed her then. It was one of the reasons why he pushed for her to join him back in the city. He knew that he had to get Phoebe into an environment where they could build their relationship again. If they’d stayed at the beach, it would’ve given them a false sense of security. Their lives wouldn’t be made up of lying in bed late and then going to the beach every day. It would be made up of shift work, client events, and the odd evening by themselves.

  What Marco wanted was to spend more time with her and not attend functions. It was the mistake he’d made in the past, making her attend the endless client charity functions after a hard day at the hospital. He had been selfish and hadn’t put her needs above the public persona he’d worked so hard to achieve.

  He didn’t need to do that now. He had a sterling reputation in the building industry. He was turning down work.

  He relaxed as he followed Phoebe into her driveway. He shut off the engine and got out.

  “You didn’t have to follow me home,” Phoebe said as she walked towards him. His hands itched to span her waist and pull her up against him, to feel her soft body in his arms.

  “I was hoping you’d invite me in for dinner.” The words popped out of his mouth.

  “Did you now?” She laughed wryly as she stopped a few feet from him. “What if I was to say all I wanted to do was soak in a warm bath, then curl up on the couch and watch the chick flick I missed out on seeing last night?”

  He closed the distance and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Well, I’d suggest that I wash your back and then while you’re still relaxing I’d order Chinese. Once we’ve eaten I’ll curl up on said couch and watch said chick flick with you.”

  He felt the shiver spiral through her and tried his best not to move the mere inch he needed to be able to kiss her ear.

  “How can a girl resist such an offer? Let’s go inside quick before you change your mind.”

  He chuckled and swatted her on her bottom. He was surprised she’d agreed so readily to his suggestion. But he wasn’t going to complain.

  He went back to his car and pulled out his bag from the trunk.

  “Why are you bringing your bag inside?” Phoebe asked once they got inside her house.

  “Well if I’m to wash your back there’s a good chance I’m going to get a little wet and may need a change of clothes.” He gave her a cheeky wink. “Unless of course you think it may be better for me to join you? That way I can make extra sure your back is clean.”

  “Umm … I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  “Why? You think you won’t be able to resist me if I joined you?”

  He wanted to tease her a little longer. He knew that if he got into the bath with her, he would find it very difficult to get out without making love to her. Even the thought of it had him hardening in anticipation. But he’d promised himself he would try and control his urge to get intimate with her again.

  Phoebe stood before him with her hands on her hips, indignation radiating out of her like the sun warming cold cobblestones. “I can resist you, but can you resist me?”

  He laughed at her taking his teasing and upping the ante a little more.

  “You’re a hard woman to resist, but … ” He paused. “On this occasion I believe I can.”

  “We’ll see who crumbles first.”

  “Are you challenging me, Phoebe Fitzgerald?”

  “Maybe.”

  Marco laughed and walked towards her, watching as she took steps back. He kept advancing until she had her back against a wall. He then placed his arms on either side of her. “How about a wager?”

  He almost groaned when her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. “What sort of wager?”

  He had to make this wager work to his advantage. He was trying to build a solid foundation, but to do that they had to spend most of their time together. He knew she probably thought the reason he had to come back to the city was for work purposes. She hadn’t asked and he hadn’t elaborated. All he had was a meeting to attend and then a social function in a few days.

  “Well,” he started. “If I can resist you, I stay here with you for a week.” He held up his hand as she started to protest. “But if I can’t resist you then I leave after I watch the movie.”

  Her shoulders visibly relaxed and as he watched her, he could see her eyes brighten. He knew exactly what was going through her mind. She was going to do everything in her power to make him give in to her. But he wouldn’t — he had too much to lose if he did.

  • • •

  Phoebe tested the temperature of the water and was satisfied that she wouldn’t get burned once she stepped into the tub.

  Stripping off her clothes, she climbed in and let out a moan of relief when the warm, bubbly water enclosed her in its embrace. She laid her head against the bath pillow and closed her eyes.

  She hadn’t wanted to leave the beach house, but she was glad to be home, surrounded by her personal belongings. She’d felt grounded the moment she’d walked inside, and it had nothing to do with the man who had followed her in.

  She thought back over their encounter and their little wager. She would make him swallow his words. There was no way she was going to let him stay at her place for a week. If something happened and they ended up breaking up, she’d have to move. His presence would be in every aspect of the house and that would make it unbearable to live in.

  A knock sounded at the door and her
heart rate kicked up a notch. “Can I come in?”

  Phoebe was surprised that Marco had knocked at all; she’d expected him to walk straight in. His politeness and consideration made him that little bit more endearing to her. “Sure, come on in.”

  The door opened and the first thing she noticed was a hand holding a champagne glass. As far as she could remember she hadn’t had any champagne in her refrigerator.

  “I thought you might like something to drink while I scrub your back?” Humor laced his voice and she couldn’t help but smile.

  “Where did you get the champagne from?”

  As he walked towards her, a sheepish grin broke out over his face. “It’s not champagne but sparkling water. Can’t have you falling asleep in the bath, now can I?”

  “Well now that’s a disappointment, but yes falling asleep in the bath isn’t the way to go.”

  She sank a little further into the water, beneath the bubbles, an embarrassment she shouldn’t be feeling rising up inside of her. As Marco reached the edge of the bath, she noticed that his hair looked damp and his aftershave, a fresh woodsy scent, wafted out to her.

  “You showered?” She was surprised at that — maybe he wasn’t going to be getting into the tub with her at all like he threatened.

  “Yes,” he replied as he handed her the glass.

  She took it from him and brought it to her lips. She looked up at him over the rim.

  “How are you supposed to scrub my back thoroughly if you don’t get into the tub with me? Isn’t that what you said?” As his eyes darkened briefly she knew she’d scored a hit, albeit a small one.

  “I can scrub quite easily from the side of the tub.”

  She made a non-committal sound as she put the glass on the ground, ensuring that her body moved out of the bubbles, giving Marco a glimpse of her breasts. She suppressed a smile when she heard the soft groan. It was going to be so easy to make him give in to her.