Page 23 of Seasons of Sin

Then, he moved into her, fast, slow, gently and hard. He pushed her until her cries filled the empty ocean and together, they reached for a dramatic crescendo. And, as if their minds had joined together, they shared the same thought at the same time.

How can I walk away from this?

CHAPTER 6

“It’s delicious,” she said, but her words were soft. She was shaken to the core by what they’d just done. From the blandest, most boring sex-life to this? Kinky, candle-wax dripping, champagne sipping hotter-than-hot love-making beneath a perfect star-studded sky on this gorgeous Greek tycoon’s yacht? Saphire was on overdrive.

She pulled the blanket more tightly around her shoulders but Thad mistook the involuntary shiver for coldness. “Would you prefer to go down below?”

She shook her head. Her smile was a shadow. “This is fine. Perfect. Better than perfect,” she promised.

Her eyes were wide like saucers in her pretty face. He watched as she lifted another piece ofchicken souvlakito her lips and chewed it thoughtfully. She swallowed and then toyed with her napkin, making a pretense of wiping her fingers.

“Do you do this often, Mr Konstanides?” She asked in the same soft tone she’d used since they’d tumbled apart, breathing ragged, souls temporarily spent.

“Do what, exactly? Eat on the boat? Every time I take her out,” he grinned, deliberately misunderstanding. “Are you not familiar with my appetites by now?”

To Thad, life was pretty damned great in that moment. He had no concept of the maelstrom of tormented doubts that singed the sides of her brain. He couldn’t have understood the feeling of guilt that dogged her every step.

“Intimately,” she promised, undertaking a detailed inspection of his toned, muscular figure.

“Touché.”

“I meant sex. Like this.” Her cheeks flushed. “With candle wax and champagne baths.”

He laughed. “A champagne bath would be a fine idea.”

“Kind of sticky, though,” she pointed out.

“That’s what the ocean is for.”

She shook her head. “I mean it, MK. You’re not answering my question.”

He pushed up on one elbow. “Because I do not see why it matters.”

“Well,” she shrugged inside the blanket. “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything,” he promised, leaning forward.

“You won’t laugh?” A frown lurked in the depths of her eyes. “Or judge me?” She could see that he was stifling a laugh and so she shook her head. “Forget it. It’s stupid.”

“No, no,” he reached out and put a hand on her knee. She felt electricity arc through her instantly. “Go on. I have my serious face on.”

If Saphire hadn’t been so anxious, she would have had to stifle a giggle of her own. But she dropped her eyes to the buffet of food Thaddeus had arranged to be waiting on the boat.

“Before you, I’d only ever been with one other guy.” She kept her eyes averted so didn’t see the darkening of his expression.

“One other guy?” He repeated, scanning her face to see the hint of humor. He didn’t get the joke.

“Yes. One man. Then you. And with him, it was … nothing like this. So what I’m asking, and seriously wishing I’d thought better of asking, is if this is normal?”

Desire, longing, affection, need, adoration. It all mingled in his chest in one powerful wrench of emotion.

The words were grated from his throat. “No, Saphire. It’s not normal.”

She swallowed. “I had no idea my body could …”

“I know.” He moved to crouch before her. She was afraid. It was so obvious now. The sensual awakening, while intense and wonderful, had also probably scared the hell out of her.