And he took her lead, lifting her to him and driving deep, giving her the friction and urgency her body craved. It was a wild ride from there on in, her internal muscles clenching around him, glorying in renewed sensation, pleasure flaring up like a bushfire racing through her body. Exhilaration held her, that endless ache sated, but she still craved more. He gave it to her but the tumult of sensation was rising to a peak she couldn’t resist and she climaxed again with a quivering cry of delight. He came to completion with a groan of satisfaction, his whole body jolting and jerking into hers.
‘I like sex with you,’ she said chattily in the aftermath.
Aristide burst out laughing, pulling back from her so as not to crush her with his weight. ‘Of all the things to say,’ he derided. ‘You’re a bossy little creature in bed, aren’t you?’
‘I’m only discovering that side of me and I could tell that you were moving into the “treating me like a delicate flower” approach and I wasn’t having that,’ she confided.
Aristide tugged the rumpled sheet over them. ‘Go to sleep. We’re lunching with Dad and Andy tomorrow at the taverna. It’s a tradition when I come home. You and I will do a tour of the island first.’
Tabby stretched out and slept, gloriously relaxed for the first time in weeks.
The next morning, after a light breakfast, they set off in a classic open-topped green British sports car. His father was a classic car enthusiast and that particular one had been a gift for Aristide’s last birthday. He used it to get around the island, which wasn’t that large. It took only an hour to do a loop on the single main road that ringed Anthos. They stopped off at various places, walking along the beach at one point before climbing a wooded hill to the tumbled remains of an old lookout tower. From the hill they could view the whole island, taking in the little town with its ranks of houses on the slopes and the tall steepled church above the picturesque harbour and, finally, the luxury hotel resort built at the far end, which belonged to his father.
‘So, you and Demetrius don’t work together at all?’ she gathered.
‘No, he owns a luxury chain of hotels. We’ll stop off there to eat some day.’
The taverna was right down on the beach and Tabby eased through the crush round the bar to choose a seat on the decking outside. She sipped her fruit juice and watched as Aristide dropped down into a seat opposite her. A woman was walking up the beach from the water, a sarong carelessly tied at her waist, a blue bikini top cupping her pert breasts. A mane of golden blonde hair drifted round her gorgeous face as a photographer ducked and dived all around her taking photo after photo of her. She peeled off the sarong and slowly turned, showing her perfect body and the bikini from every angle. She was both stunning and familiar. Tabby stilled, recognising her from the media images forever peppering newspapers and glossy magazines. Imogen Ross, the famous supermodel in the flesh.
‘I think that’s Imogen Ross,’ she hissed at Aristide.
‘Itis,’ he confirmed in an undertone.
‘Aristide,’ an English voice drawled barely a minute later. ‘Introduce me to your little friend.’
Tabby’s head spun back to the beach. Imogen Ross was standing in the sand by the edge of the deck and smiling at her while extending a manicured hand.
‘Tabitha, meet Imogen Ross,’ Aristide murmured without any expression at all.
The blonde gasped as she saw the ring on Tabby’s finger. ‘Oh my goodness, that putsmyold thing to shame!’ she exclaimed, waving her other hand to display the fabulous diamond solitaire she wore that flashed in the sunlight. ‘I have a friend who tried to buy that sapphire at the auction last month. I didn’t know you got it! How does it feel to wear a jewel worth millions, Tabitha?’
‘Aristide… Tabby, your seats are waiting for you,’ Andromeda Romanos called with a slightly desperate edge to her voice as she stood in the doorway of the bar.
‘Excuse us, Imogen…’
‘You were much friendlier when I saw you last night,’ Imogen said with a reproachful look, her ripe red-tinted mouth settling into a disappointed pout.
‘Goodbye,’ Tabby murmured brittly as she turned away, feeling a little as though she might get a knife planted in her back.
Her brain was swirling in chaos. Aristide knew Imogen Ross? Why hadn’t he warned her? Aristide had once beenengagedto that beautiful woman? Or had she picked up that hint wrong? And was she really wearing a sapphire worth millions of pounds? Was that even possible? And had Imogen genuinely seen Aristide the night before? If so, why hadn’t he told her about the blonde? Furthermore, exactly how had he come from a cosy meeting with the sickeningly gorgeous Imogen Ross and ended up making love to Tabby? She didn’t like that time frame or the associations it awakened. Had she been the consolation prize? What on earth sort of a triangle had he got her into? And why the hell hadn’t he warned her in advance?
‘Of course, she knew we’d be here today for lunch because we arrived yesterday. Imogen is well acquainted with our family traditions,’ Aristide framed glacially.
‘Probably lying in wait for you like some poisonous jellyfish in the shallows!’ Andy remarked with angry defensiveness. ‘Ghastly woman—’
‘Your ex…?’ Tabby glanced at Aristide for verification as they took their seats at the table.
His dark eyes flashed gold with anger. ‘For my sins. Yes.’
Tabby’s slight shoulders set while her temper roared and boiled beneath her carefully tranquil surface. She was furious with Aristide for not telling her that they might run into his ex-girlfriend. She was even more furious with him for daring to have sex withherafter spending time with his ex. She could never compete in attraction or appeal with a supermodel with perfect hair, a perfect face and an even more perfect figure. Any woman would cringe at such a cruel comparison, she reflected in exasperation, most especially a woman already conscious of her steadily growing and less shapely pregnant body.
Rescuing her appetite from that mood took time but by the time they reached the main course, she was eating again and chatting comfortably with Andy. She noticed that absolutely no one mentioned Imogen again, even though she entered the taverna and sat down with her photographer, talking in a rather loud voice in English about her diet and how she simply couldn’t possibly digest cream or eggs. They departed, Aristide tucking Tabby into the car with careful hands.
Tabby sucked in a deep breath and flexed her engagement finger in the sunshine so that the light penetrated the pure deep blue of the sapphire.‘Millions?’she stressed incredulously.
‘My father collects classic cars. I collect rare jewels,’ Aristide responded calmly.
Well, obviously, the very valuable sapphire would be remaining with Aristide once their engagement was officially over, Tabby reasoned as the car traversed the driveway to the large villa. Unlike Imogen, she would not still be flaunting a former engagement ring in the future, nor did she expect to. After all, she wasn’t looking for expensive perks or rewards from Aristide.
