Chapter Four
Celina had slipped the straps from her shoulders and let her dress fall to the ground before he had chance to move. His body responded as if he had never seen a naked woman before. The perfection of her form was startling. She was so pale, so young, so innocent, and so undeniably sensual. She was undiscovered treasure. He’d have to be wood from the neck up not to respond. She was clever to plan this. It was a definite ruse, though one he was happy to go along with for now. The quality of her flimsy lace underwear gave her away. It must have cost at least a week’s salary. Was this to thank him, as she’d said, or was there more behind Celina Petrovka’s rush to lose whatever might remain of her innocence?
His cock didn’t care, and thrust aggressively against his zipper. Then his head took over. What was her clock ticking so rapidly toward? Why the hurry?
Holding her stare, he stripped naked. He had no inhibitions, had never seen any reason for them. All men were made alike, more or less.
Walking to the water’s edge, he plunged in. Celina was still on the bank when he surfaced. Shaking hair out of his eyes, he looked up. “Found the water too hot now you’ve dipped your toe?”
“Not at all,” she assured him.
Joining him in the water, she swam to his side with a few strong strokes. Turning onto her back, she floated effortlessly beside him. “This is beautiful, isn’t it?” She stared skyward to where the moon was peeping through the canopy.
“You’re beautiful.” It was no more than the truth.
She ignored the compliment. “I want to thank you for what you did for us in Monte Carlo. Not just for me, but for all those other women. I don’t know if any of us would have survived if your team hadn’t arrived when they did.”
“The odds were stacked against you,” he agreed.
Turning her head, she gazed at him. “Please don’t tell me that what you did was nothing.”
“I wasn’t about to.”
“Or that you wouldn’t do it again.”
“In a heartbeat,” he assured her, noting the way she relaxed.
“And thank you for assuming I know my own mind.”
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”
The faint smile she gave at this remark made the urge to kiss her fierce. Only knowing the pleasure would be greater if he waited stopped him. “Monte Carlo was an interesting mission,” he said instead. “You were interesting.”
“And now?” she queried.
“Even more interesting.”
“Sometimes, I can’t believe I’m here,” she admitted. “The job with the team? I was so lucky to be hired.”
He disagreed. “You earned your place on the team with your courage in Monte Carlo.”
“I wasn’t brave, I was terrified. I didn’t know if I had what it took to do what I must.”
“None of us knows that until we’re tested,” he pointed out. “And now you’re angry with the slavers and the torment they put you through.”
“Angry?” She huffed incredulously. “That hardly covers it.”
“Anger in a situation like yours isn’t a bad thing, so long as it’s controlled and directed appropriately. It’s a natural reaction. Don’t beat yourself up.”
They had swum almost to the opposite bank, but now she turned around and swam back to where they’d left their clothes. When she clambered out, her underwear was sodden. She might as well have been naked. She tried to cover herself with her arms, then thought better of it, and, tossing back her hair, she stood tall.
The water had left her body with a silvery sheen that made her look like a creature of the night. Her long dark hair provided a striking contrast to her milk-white skin, and only the slightest tremor of her lips gave away the fact that she was nervous. This adventure with a man she hardly knew was costing her a lot, maybe everything. “Do you want me to take you back to the party?” he offered.
“Are you rejecting me?”
She looked genuinely concerned. Her naivety touched him. Springing onto the bank, he stood in front of her.
She stared up. “I’ll be seriously offended if you take me back to the party.”
