by Annie West
He was so aroused and sensitive that sheathing himself became a test of willpower.
She watched him from slumbrous eyes. That golden-brown stare was a potent aphrodisiac. Her limbs were limp as he settled again between her thighs, gritting his teeth as their bodies touched.
He leaned forward, propping himself on one arm, his erection sliding against slick folds that felt so good he had to focus on his breathing. Guiding himself, he entered, slow, deep and so easy it felt as if they’d done this before.
A flutter of sensation surrounded him, turning into a tight clench that threatened to dissolve his control.
That was when he saw Cora’s mouth tilt into a smug smile. As if she liked seeing him on the verge of losing himself.
Most often these days he found his lovers more appealing in anticipation than actuality. Not Cora. Especially when she encircled him with her legs, squeezing him closer to her soft body. Her hands were on his shoulders, fingers digging tight as she urged him to move.
It was exactly what he wanted, to find oblivion in her sweet body. But he wanted more, wanted her enslaved again to an ecstasy she associated only with him.
Slowly Strato moved, withdrawing then thrusting, luxuriating in the feel of them together and the shock in her eyes as he moved to a slow tempo that took every bit of control. If the damned could find Heaven, he almost believed he reached it as he took them both higher.
He’d known they’d be good together but this was...
Thought short-circuited as her hands slid down and gripped his buttocks, urging him higher.
Strato obliged with hard, sharp thrusts that made Cora gasp. Tension rolled through him, tightening his skin, his groin, his whole being, till he knew he had seconds left. Sliding his hand between them, he found her clitoris and circled it hard as he let go and pumped right to her core, again and again and again.
Liquid gold burst around him, melting his brain while his body pounded deep into that luscious body as it convulsed around him. Fire consumed him. Sensations so exquisite they bordered on pain. As he sank into ecstasy it was with the sound of Cora screaming his name.
* * *
The sun was noticeably lower in the sky as he spooned behind Cora.
They’d drowsed, limbs tangled, for a long time. Till inevitably he’d needed more and he’d lifted her, tired but delightfully willing, onto his lap and urged her to ride him. Again that powerful rush of ecstasy hit simultaneously. Again it had been phenomenal, like a charge detonating deep in places he was barely aware of any more.
What was it about Cora that made him so needy? Recently his interest in women had waned. Yet with Cora he’d struggled to focus on anything but possessing her from the moment he’d seen her.
The sense of post-coital well-being far surpassed what he’d experienced before.
The novelty of a new lover? That didn’t ring true.
She stretched and he watched the sinuous shift of her body, skin gleaming like silk. Cora might have the shape of an earth mother, with lush breasts and hips, but she was slender elsewhere and toned from physical activity.
He slid his palm down her shoulder blade, telling himself not to think about physical activity. Cora was tired. She’d fallen asleep in his arms and he’d been content to hold her, ignoring the hard rock jutting into his hip through his beach towel.
‘You’re awake.’ Her voice was husky with sleep. Had she dreamt about him? About them together?
‘I am.’ He hadn’t slept. He’d lain here, basking in the afterglow, caught up in the profound sense of peace and well-being that was so rare.
He let his hand drift across her back then frowned. ‘What’s this mark?’
She shrugged. ‘Am I bruised? There was a knob of rock under my towel that dug into me.’
Strato feathered his hand across the spot, frowning. ‘You should have said. I don’t want to hurt you.’
‘It’s okay. I wanted you. It didn’t matter.’
He recalled the force of his body slamming into hers, his weight pushing her down, and tasted something metallic on his tongue.
‘Even so, I don’t want to cause you pain.’ He was so much bigger and more powerful. It was why he never set aside all caution, even with the most responsive lovers. The thought of hurting a woman made his blood congeal. ‘Next time tell me.’
She shrugged. ‘Okay.’
Strato was about to demand she promise but caught himself. Cora would wonder at his insistence. He’d have to be more careful.
Which meant ignoring his libidinous thoughts till they returned to the yacht.
‘Are you ready to go back?’
She shot him a look that made his heart thud. The woman was a siren, when even a glance roused him.
As if you weren’t already aroused, lying naked against her. Just thinking of her gives you a hard on.
‘You don’t want to stay here longer?’ Her expression and the slide of her body against his sent desire spiralling through him.
But Strato wouldn’t be persuaded.
He sat up, ignoring the discomfort in his groin and her challenging pout.
‘No. Let’s get back. Aren’t you looking forward to a hot shower?’
* * *
Cora stifled disappointment at his impatience. He’d rather be on his luxury yacht. Despite his getting a buzz out of their snorkelling expedition, she suspected he’d only suggested it to put her at ease, given how reluctantly she’d agreed to this trip.
Strato Doukas was used to a sybaritic lifestyle of indulgence. Not open-air sex on a rock above the sea.
Her throat constricted.
She’d thought it exciting and elemental, that they hadn’t been able to resist the magnetism dragging them together.
But maybe for Strato there’d been a feeling of novelty? Something different from sex in luxurious surroundings.
For her the experience had felt life-changing. As if she’d never known rapture till today. He’d definitely enjoyed it too. There’d been no faking that.
Yet for the first time, Cora felt gauche. It was all very well getting swept up by desire, but now, naked with a stranger, especially a stranger used to glamorous, sophisticated women and every sort of luxury...
‘Of course. I’ll find my swimsuit.’
His arm stretched out over her shoulder, black fabric dangling from his fingertips. A substantial amount of fabric.
For a second she wished she were the sort to wear a topless string bikini. That she were a petite woman who wore mere wisps of material. Then she set her jaw. She’d learned there was no point wishing to be someone she wasn’t. Her body was fit and strong. It served her well. She wasn’t ashamed of it.
‘Thank you.’ She plucked the fabric from his fingers and sat up.
‘Would you like help?’ His voice held a rough edge that sent heat pooling low in her body. Again!
She twisted to look over her shoulder and what she saw made her heart thud against her ribs. Not a bored man thinking of cocktails on the deck. Strato watched her so intently it felt as if he noticed nothing but her. Not the bright sea or vast sky or the little boat that would take them back to his superyacht.
‘Scratch that.’ His gaze dropped to her bare breasts and he shut his eyes. ‘If I touch you we won’t get back for hours.’
His words thrilled her. ‘Would that matter?’
Strato’s eyes snapped open and fixed on hers. Something shifted inside. She told herself it was the aftermath of phenomenal sex. Strato made her previous sensual experience fade into nothing.
‘I don’t want you getting more bruises because I can’t control myself.’
‘That’s why you want to go back?’
He worried about her discomfort? She’d never thought him an ogre but what was one tiny bruise compared with the sexual conflagration they’d shared?
&nb
sp; Or maybe what had been so stunning for her was the norm for Strato?
His mouth curved ruefully. ‘Well, it’s not because I’ve lost interest. You have a potent effect on me, Coritsa.’
Cora struggled and failed to suppress a smile.
This wasn’t the sort of relationship she wanted. It was short term and purely physical, yet she enjoyed hearing he found her desirable.
Maybe she’d let Adrian’s attitude affect her self-esteem after all. Maybe that was why she responded so avidly to Strato, because he made her feel strong.
‘Okay. Give me a minute to get dressed.’ Suddenly she noticed how far the sun had moved. She’d had no idea it was so late. ‘I promised to call my father this afternoon.’ To check on him and that those further hotel bookings had come through.
Cora wriggled into her one-piece, wishing she could do it more gracefully, trying to ignore Strato’s gaze on her. When they’d shared their bodies she hadn’t minded his flagrantly appraising stare. Yet she wasn’t used to being naked with a man, subjected to that intense scrutiny.
‘You and your father are close,’ Strato murmured. His tone made her wonder about his relationship with his adoptive father.
‘He’s my dad. There’s only been us since I was young.’
Once more that green gaze shimmered with something she couldn’t identify. ‘Then let’s not keep him waiting.’
Strato held out his hand and pulled her up against him. Cora felt that jangle of awareness as their bodies brushed, even though the bones in her legs had jellied from so much pleasure.
His slow smile told her he recognised how she felt. Understanding mixed with smugness and a hint of promise. ‘Maybe you should rest when we return. Because I’d like to spend the whole night with you.’
CHAPTER NINE
HE DID. THAT NIGHT and every night after that. And Cora didn’t for a moment think of objecting.
What they shared left no room for false pride. Strato might have used outlandish tactics to get her aboard his yacht, but she wanted to be here. She wanted him and relished the woman she became with him.
It wasn’t that he’d changed her. It was more that with him she was free to be herself as never before. There was no judgement, no expectation.
All Strato demanded was honesty. After her past experiences it had taken her a while to believe that, but it was true. Her honest responses, physically and in conversation, were never dismissed and always welcomed. It made conversations stimulating and lovemaking unique and special.
In return, Strato was straightforward to the point of bluntness. He had a way of telling her exactly what he’d like to do with her sexually that made her pulse skyrocket and her body throb in anticipation.
The only exception to his forthrightness was that he rarely spoke of his past and then in only the most general terms, so Cora learned not to raise the subject, respecting his desire for privacy.
She’d moved from her guest stateroom to Strato’s vast suite with its enormous bed. It was the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in. Or maybe it was because she was always exhausted from exertion and pleasure when sleep claimed her.
For a lazy hedonist Strato had so much energy! And not just for sex. Every day they explored, either an island or underwater.
Yesterday it had been a sunken ancient temple, an amazing place she’d never visited. Exploring it with him had felt special. As if they shared something remarkable. Afterwards, as they dined on the deck, and later as Strato gathered her close, Cora had felt herself soften. Not just physically as her body shaped itself to his, but mentally.
Strange as it might once have seemed, she liked Strato.
And he...
No, she wouldn’t go there, second-guessing his feelings. They were more than halfway through their month together. When the time was up they’d go their separate ways. Strato was an amazing lover but he’d made it clear their relationship was time-limited.
No long-term ties. No happy-ever-after. Those had been his conditions from the first.
Now though, four weeks seemed an incredibly short time. She couldn’t imagine going back to her island, or to another research project, and never seeing Strato again.
Cora rolled over and stared at the space beside her, ignoring the dull feeling of disappointment like a lead weight in her middle.
She’d known Strato wasn’t still in bed. If he had been they’d have been touching. Either spooned together or with her sprawled across his chest in what had become one of her favourite positions. Head on his shoulder, arm and knee across him as if to stop him moving away.
They were always touching. Even when they weren’t making love. Strato was the most tactile person she’d met. She loved the connection. The brush of his fingers across her arm as they shared some new discovery. The weight of his hand at her breast or waist as he slept.
You’ll miss him when you leave.
You miss him now, waking up to find him gone.
What will you be like in eight days’ time, knowing you won’t see him again?
Cora frowned as she focused on the dented pillow. What would life be like without Strato?
Less exciting. Less pleasurable. Less...warm.
There was something about sharing with him, not just sex, but small things like her joy in a glorious sunset and her weakness for sweet pastries, or big things like her hopes of working permanently in research at a marine reserve. He listened and understood. She had that with her father but there were things she couldn’t share with her dad that, to her surprise, were easy to discuss with Strato.
And though he wasn’t one to talk about himself, he sometimes told her snippets about his business interests that fascinated her. The complexity of the corporation astounded her, as did the suspicion that he ran it all from aboard his yacht. Clearly he delegated, but there’d been enough video conferences and hours when Strato was shut in his study to convince her that the stories about him as a louche playboy didn’t paint the whole picture.
She knew him so well yet there was so much she didn’t know. So much she wanted to understand.
Cora pushed back the sheet and swung her legs out of bed. It was early but she wouldn’t get back to sleep.
It had been a mistake getting into the habit of falling asleep with Strato. Now it felt wrong, trying to sleep without his solidly muscled body beside her.
She smiled. Maybe she could convince him to come back to bed.
* * *
Strato pulled on the handles of the rowing machine, feeling the stretch of muscles in a pleasing rhythm that would, eventually, exhaust him.
Eventually but not soon. He’d woken with Cora spooned against him, her buttocks cushioning his morning erection and his hand at her plump, perfect breast.
He grimaced and pulled harder on the machine, feeling tension rack his shoulders, torso and legs.
He’d been about to wake her for dawn sex as he usually did, when he realised what had begun as a delicious treat had become habit. Each day he woke and reached for her. Not simply because of his almost permanent state of readiness these days, but because he was becoming addicted to giving her pleasure.
Sweat beaded his brow as he worked harder, forcing his body to the limits. As if a gruelling workout could obliterate his craving for Cora.
The desire for sex he could understand. But this was more. He liked being with her. Even arguing some point of disagreement, he felt energised as he hadn’t for years. As for pleasing her, physically, or with some treat like the dive yesterday to the temple, he spent more and more time thinking of ways to make her smile.
Strato frowned as he hauled on the handles.
His month with her wasn’t turning out as expected. It was becoming complicated.
You don’t do complicated, remember? Not in your personal life.
Personal complications equated to emotional en
gagement.
Strato had devoted the last couple of decades to ensuring he never made the mistake of getting emotionally involved. Because he knew the risks that came with that. The danger. He’d vowed that no one else would suffer that danger, that devastation, with him.
‘I thought you might be here.’
He halted, heart hammering, as Cora walked barefoot across the gym.
Her hair was pinned up in a haphazard arrangement that made him want to see it spill around her shoulders and back. But it wasn’t her hair that snagged his attention. She wore an ultra-short tank top, or perhaps it was a sports bra, and a pair of shorts. Brief shorts that clung. Different from the ones she usually wore. Between the two garments was a swathe of smooth skin and a narrow waist.
His breath slid out in a sigh of approval that snatched in sharply as she bent to drape a towel over a bench near the window. The view from behind dried his mouth. Long, toned legs and tight, perfectly rounded buttocks.
Strato released the handles and the rowing machine stilled.
‘What are you doing?’
Good one, Doukas! Asking the obvious is a sure sign you’ve lost the plot.
‘Same as you. Exercise seems a good way to start the day.’ She smiled as she bent into a long, slow stretch, though her eyes didn’t meet his. Instantly he wondered why.
Maybe she’d missed him, waking to find him gone. Maybe she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Yeah, and maybe you’ve got a one-track mind.
Strato grabbed his towel and rubbed his face, neck and arms.
Cora followed the movement and he felt a spark of excitement.
He pushed aside the notion that had disturbed him only seconds ago—that his involvement with this woman was getting too complex and he needed to pull back. Now he was faced with the reality of her, all his years of pursuing pleasure told him there’d be no pleasure more complete than what he’d experience with her.
He planted his feet on the floor and rose, watching her eyes widen before she turned her head and apparently concentrated on the stretch to her toes.