Bella hadn’t really given a lot of thought as to where they would stay once they reached the island. The fact that Gabriel had given her an island as a wedding gift had seemed fantastic enough!
‘It is slightly primitive in that there are no servants here to wait on us,’ Gabriel warned.
Bella smiled wryly. ‘I won’t miss what I’ve never had, Gabriel.’
‘A Frenchman owned the island previously, and he had the villa built several years ago,’ Gabriel told her as he climbed out of the helicopter. ‘Obviously, if you want to change the dÉcor then you must do so.’
‘It’s beautiful as it is,’ Bella murmured as she took her sunglasses off to follow him inside the villa.
The floors were cool cream-and-terracotta-coloured marble, the cream furniture in the sittingroom kept to a minimum, with several glass-topped tables placed conveniently beside the armchairs and sofa. The kitchen was even more surprising, everything white, including the cooker and huge refrigerator and freezer.
‘We have our own generator and fresh water supply,’ Gabriel told her as she moved slowly about the room. ‘Or rather, you have your own generator and fresh water supply,’ he corrected ruefully.
Bella blinked, totally overwhelmed now that she was actually here. ‘This really is all mine?’
Gabriel nodded. ‘Do you like it?’ His expression was guarded.
Almost as if he expected her to throw his gift back in his face. Not literally, of course, but verbally at least. Not surprising considering her remarks when Gabriel had first told her about the island!
‘I love it!’ Bella assured him emotionally. ‘I—thank you, Gabriel,’ she added slightly breathlessly.
Gabriel stood across the kitchen, his own sunglasses pushed up into the darkness of his hair. Hair that he hadn’t bothered to have cut the last five weeks, its longer length making him look more like the man Bella had met and briefly fallen for five years ago.
She turned away abruptly. ‘How on earth did everything get here? The materials to build the villa? The furniture?’ she quickly asked to cover her sudden and complete awareness of Gabriel as he stood there so still and yet so lethally attractive.
Gabriel shrugged. ‘The same way that the food in the freezer and refrigerator got here.’ He opened the fridge door to show her all the food stored on the shelves. ‘By boat,’ he supplied ruefully as Bella still looked puzzled.
Bella eyes narrowed. ‘Are you telling me that I didn’t have to suffer that helicopter flight at all? That we could have come here by boat, instead?’
Gabriel held back a smile at her slightly indignant expression. ‘I thought it would be more…dramatic…to arrive by helicopter,’ he admitted.
‘Oh, you did, did you…?’ Bella said quietly as she placed her bag down on one of the work-surfaces.
‘I did, yes,’ Gabriel muttered warily, not able to read Bella’s mood at all as she strolled over and opened the freezer door, taking out a tray of ice cubes before moving over to the sink. ‘Of course, you must be thirsty,’ he acknowledged. ‘There is a selection of drinks in the—What are you doing?’ He frowned as Bella approached him brandishing a handful of ice cubes before reaching out to grasp the collar of his polo shirt and dropping them inside. ‘Bella!’ Gabriel gasped in protest at the first uncomfortable touch of the icy-cold cubes against the heat of his flesh.
‘I thought you were looking a little hot, Gabriel,’ she drawled as he stepped back to shake the frozen cubes out of his clothing, several of them shattering on the marble floor.
‘Damn it, Bella—’ Gabriel broke off as Bella began to laugh at his discomfort.
It was the first time, Gabriel realised, that he had heard her laugh without cynicism or sarcasm since they’d met again five weeks ago.
His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her, those gorgeous violet eyes shining with good humour, her teeth tiny and white against her pale pink lip gloss, a healthy colour in her cheeks.
Bella was the most beautiful woman Gabriel had ever seen!
‘Perhaps I deserved that,’ he allowed gruffly.
‘Perhaps you did,’ she confirmed unrepentantly. ‘Next time we come by boat, yes?’ she said as she moved to pick up the shattered ice cubes.
Gabriel remained silent as he hunkered down on his haunches to help her, unwilling to break the sudden truce by making any comment that Bella might take exception to, satisfied for the moment that there would be a next time…
‘What are you doing, Gabriel?’
He threw his cheroot to the ground, grinding it beneath the sole of his shoe before turning slowly to look at Bella as she stood behind him in the moonlight.
Their uneasy truce had continued while they walked along the beach earlier, and through the dinner they had prepared together and then eaten outside on the terrace that overlooked the moon-dappled ocean. The two of them had returned outside after they had cleared the dishes away, the silence between them companionable rather than awkward as they finished drinking the bottle of red wine Gabriel had opened to accompany their meal.
Bella had excused herself half an hour or so ago in order to go to the master bedroom to prepare for bed, Gabriel opting to stay outside a little longer, still reluctant to say or do anything that might shatter even the illusion of the companionship they had found together since the ice-cube incident.
They were due to stay here for a week, and Gabriel would prefer that they not spend all of that time at loggerheads!
Looking at Bella now, in a pale-lilac-coloured nightgown, the silk material clinging to her breasts and moulding to the gentle curve of her hips, Gabriel knew that he wanted to strip even that flimsy garment from her before making love with her.
Something, after her comments earlier on the plane, that was sure to shatter even the illusion of companionship that they’d shared so far!
He thrust his hands into the pockets of the black trousers he had changed into before dinner. ‘I thought you would prefer your privacy after such a long and tiring day.’
Bella looked at him searchingly, but was totally unable to read Gabriel’s mood beneath the remoteness of his expression. ‘Aren’t you coming to bed?’ she finally prompted hesitantly.
‘Later, perhaps,’ he rasped dismissively. ‘I am not tired yet.’
Bella hadn’t exactly had sleep in mind when she’d asked that question!
The island was beautiful, and totally unspoilt, she had discovered as she and Gabriel had strolled barefooted, if slightly apart, along the shoreline before dinner. The water had lapped gently against their feet, the smell of the exotic blossoms wafting in the warm softness of the breeze, and all adding to the seduction of the evening.
To the air of awareness that lay hidden just below the surface of even the slightest glance that Bella and Gabriel exchanged.
At least, she had thought it had.
Gabriel’s reluctance to come to bed now seemed to imply that only she had felt that aching awareness.
Because Gabriel’s lovemaking earlier had only been a way of showing her that he really could make love to her wherever and whenever he felt like it, as he had put it so bluntly?
That, having already proved his point once today, Gabriel now felt no urgency to repeat the experience?
How utterly ridiculous of her to have imagined that, because the two of them hadn’t argued for the last few hours, they could have actually reached some sort of understanding in their relationship. Gabriel had never made any secret of his reason for marrying her—his only reason for marrying her!—and that reason was Toby.
Bella felt the humiliated colour burn her cheeks. ‘You’re right, Gabriel, I would prefer my privacy,’ she said. ‘As such, it would be better if you used one of the other bedrooms, and kept out of mine, for the duration of our stay here.’
Gabriel’s gaze narrowed on the pale oval of her face in the moonlight, her chin raised in challenge, that same challenge reflected in the deep purple of her eyes.
‘Don’t
come any closer, Gabriel!’ she warned as he took a step towards her.
A warning Gabriel chose to ignore as he came to stand only inches away from her, his eyes glittering darkly as he looked down the length of his arrogant nose at her, and his hands clenched at his sides as he obviously fought the urge to reach out and shake her until her teeth rattled.
Bella felt her own anger starting to fade as she instead found herself fascinated by the nerve that pulsed beside that livid scar on Gabriel’s tautly clenched left cheek.
He looked so gloriously handsome with his long hair slightly tousled onto his shoulders, the black silk shirt and tailored trousers only adding to that darkness, his eyes also appearing a glittering black in the moonlight.
Bella had never known another man with the grace and beauty of Gabriel. Had never been as physically aware of another man in the way she was Gabriel. Had never wanted another man in the way she constantly seemed to want Gabriel.
As, God help her, she wanted him even now…!
She swallowed hard. ‘You’re right, Gabriel, it’s been a long and tiring day. Far too long and tiring for this conversation,’she said huskily. ‘I—I’ll wish you a goodnight.’
His mouth twisted self-derisively. ‘I very much doubt that it will be that!’
Bella looked at him searchingly for several seconds before shaking her head ruefully. ‘We really must try to find a way to stop insulting each other, Gabriel.’
He winced. ‘The only time we manage to do that is when we are making love together, but…’ He shrugged. ‘Goodnight, Isabella. I will try not to wake you when I come to bed.’
Bella was frowning as she turned and walked slowly back inside the villa, too utterly weary to fight him any more concerning their sleeping arrangements. Especially as Gabriel had already made it plain she would lose!
She very much doubted that she would be able to fall asleep when she knew that at any moment Gabriel would be coming to share what was now their bed.
Very much doubted that she would be able to sleep at all with Gabriel in bed beside her…
CHAPTER NINE
‘DO YOU know how to scuba-dive, Isabella?’
‘No.’ Bella looked up from eating her piece of toast as she and Gabriel sat outside on the veranda eating their breakfast. ‘Do you?’
As Bella had already guessed, it had not been a restful night’s sleep, and she had still been awake but pretending not to be when Gabriel had joined her in the bedroom half an hour or so after she had gone to bed. That Gabriel had fallen asleep within minutes of his head resting on the pillow had made absolutely no difference to her own feelings of tension, and Bella had lain awake for hours after the even tenor of Gabriel’s breathing told her he remained fast asleep beside her.
Bella’s only consolation was that Gabriel was already up and making breakfast when she finally woke up shortly after nine o’clock. But her eyes still felt gritty from lack of sleep, and all she really felt like doing was going back to bed!
‘I would hardly have asked otherwise,’ Gabriel pointed out before taking a sip of his coffee. ‘Would you like to learn?’
He looked disgustingly well rested this morning in a white short-sleeved shirt and white trousers, Bella noted, disgruntled. Much more relaxed than he had a right to be, as far as she was concerned.
‘I suppose I could try,’ she agreed irritably. ‘As long as you aren’t one of those awful teachers who gets cross with their student.’
‘I have no doubts you will be a very attentive pupil, Isabella,’ Gabriel teased, knowing by the heavy look to her eyes and the weary droop of her mouth that she hadn’t slept well.
Gabriel had known she was still awake when he joined her in the bed the night before, her back firmly turned towards him as she had tried to give every appearance of being asleep. A deception Gabriel had allowed her to keep; it was enough for the moment that she accepted that they would be sharing a bed in future.
She gave him a sharp glance. ‘I sincerely hope you were referring to scuba-diving!’
‘What else?’ he taunted.
Bella continued to eye him suspiciously for several long seconds, and then she gave a dismissive shrug. ‘Why not? I obviously have nothing else to do today.’ She stood up suddenly.
Gabriel looked up at her searchingly. ‘Perhaps you would have preferred to go somewhere a little more…entertaining…for our honeymoon?’
Bella raked him with a scathing glance. ‘Oh, I think this is entertaining enough, don’t you?’
He laughed softly. ‘Let us hope so.’
Bella refused to meet the challenge in his gaze. ‘I’ll go and get changed.’
Although she wasn’t too sure about that once she saw the skimpiness of the bikinis that Claudia, obviously in on the secret of their honeymoon destination, had packed for her!
There were two of them. A black one that consisted of two very small scraps of material that barely covered anything, top or bottom. And a pink one, which admittedly had a little more material in the bottom half, but unfortunately the top plunged deeply at the front, meaning that when she put it on her breasts spilled over it revealingly.
Quite what Claudia had been thinking of when she chose them, Bella had no idea—but she could take a good guess.
Bella forgot her own self-consciousness in the pink bikini the instant she came out onto the terrace and saw that Gabriel was wearing the briefest—and sexiest—pair of black swimming trunks she had ever seen!
Fitting low down on his hips, the material barely covered that revealing bulge in the front of the trunks. A bulge Bella found it difficult to look away from…
Gabriel looked up from checking the scuba gear, his expression hardening as he saw the way Bella was staring at him. ‘Do my scars bother you, after all?’ he ground out harshly.
‘Scars?’she repeated vaguely, trying to concentrate on something other than those skimpy bathing trunks. ‘Oh. Those scars.’ She nodded as she took in the revealing criss-cross of scars that marked his chest and back, several deeper marks that looked like surgical incisions on his left leg, both below and above the knee. ‘I’ve already told you they don’t bother me, Gabriel,’ she said with a frown.
‘That was before you had seen the full extent of them,’ he said stiltedly. ‘Some women would be bothered by their unsightliness.’
Some women would? Or they already had? Perhaps Janine Childe, for instance…?
Bella stepped outside. ‘We all have scars, Gabriel. It’s just that some of us have them on the inside rather than the outside. Besides,’ she continued as he would have spoken, ‘what does it matter to you how I feel about them?’
Gabriel’s eyes were narrowed to dark slits. ‘You are the woman who will have to look at them for the rest of your life.’
The rest of her life?
She took a deep breath as she realised she hadn’t actually thought about her marriage to Gabriel with exactly that time-frame in mind before…
She suddenly realised she hadn’t said anything and Gabriel was still waiting…‘I wouldn’t worry about it, Gabriel. All men look the same in the dark—’ She broke off as Gabriel’s hands suddenly closed firmly about her upper arms. ‘Let go of me!’ she gasped.
His grasp didn’t relax in the slightest. ‘I am not interested in what you think of other men, Isabella. In the dark or otherwise!’ He shook her slightly, his expression now distinctly dangerous.
Bella stared up at him, unable to see anything but the darkness of his anger as he glared down at her. ‘Your scars don’t bother me, Gabriel, and that’s the truth,’ she finally said evenly.
His gaze remained dark and stormy on her face for several more seconds before he released her so suddenly that Bella stumbled slightly. ‘I will be several more minutes checking the scuba equipment, so perhaps you would like to go for a swim while you are waiting,’ he suggested abruptly.
Bella gave one last, lingering glance at the stiffness of his scarred back before turning away to walk in the d
irection of the beach.
Another day in paradise…
‘That was the most wonderful experience of my life!’ Bella gasped excitedly once she had waded out of the sea and removed her breathing mask.
‘The most wonderful?’ Gabriel arched mocking brows as he removed his own scuba gear before sitting down on the blanket spread on the white-gold sand, the long darkness of his hair pushed back from his face, rivulets of sea-water dripping enticingly down his shoulders and back.
‘Well…one of them,’ Bella corrected hastily. ‘Holding Toby in my arms seconds after he was born was probably the most wonderful,’ she added huskily.
A frown darkened Gabriel’s brow. ‘I would have liked to have shared that experience with you.’
‘It’s been a lovely day, Gabriel, let’s not spoil it with another argument.’ Bella sighed as she dropped down onto the blanket beside him before slipping her arms out of the straps of the scuba gear and dropping it back on the sand behind them. She pushed the dampness of her hair back over her shoulders and sat forward to clasp her arms about her knees and rest her chin on her bent knees. ‘Besides, I very much doubt even you would have been allowed into the delivery-room.’
Gabriel arched one dark brow. ‘Even me…?’
She nodded. ‘Not even the Danti name would have got you in there,’ she teased. ‘There was a bit of a scare at the last moment,’ she explained as Gabriel continued to look at her enquiringly. ‘My blood pressure went off the scale, Toby became distressed, and they had to rush me off to Theatre to deliver Toby by Caesarean section.’
Gabriel tensed. ‘Your life was in danger?’
‘I think both our lives were in danger for a while,’ Bella admitted. ‘But luckily it all turned out okay in the end.’
The frown between Gabriel’s eyes didn’t lessen. ‘Is that likely to happen with a second pregnancy?’
Bella gave him a surprised glance. ‘I don’t know. It never occurred to me to ask. Gabriel?’ She stared at him as he stood up abruptly to walk the short distance to the water’s edge. ‘Gabriel, what’s wrong?’
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