Page 24 of Seasons of Sin

“I have been with many women.” Her eyes flew to his and he shook his head, lifting her chin to bring her lips nearer to his. “But what we share goes beyond it. We keep saying it’s just sex. Great sex.” He kissed her gently. “It’s so much more than that.”

She felt tears threatening and she blinked them back. “It can’t be.”

He tamped down on his frustration. He had a week. A week with Saphire and all the feelings she was incapable of controlling. Beyond that, who knew? The future was never set in stone. “Who is this other man you were with?”

“That doesn’t matter,” she said swiftly. Too swiftly, only Thad missed the obvious sign that he’d said something wrong.

“Fine. Why only one man? You are twenty six and so sexy. You must have had lots of men in your life.”

She shook her head.

“How can that be?” He marveled, gripping her face on both sides and staring down at her.

She let out a small sound of pleasure and pushed up to her knees, bringing her body closer to his. “I think this is my favorite moment.”

“Of the night?”

“Of my life,” she responded seriously, to hell with the consequences. How could she fight what they were anymore?

She’d set out to balance the ledger-sheet of harm in her marriage, in the hope that she could return to her husband, and instead she’d fallen in love with the revenge-sex guy.

It was stupid, and crazy and totally reckless. But how could she care?

He stood, pulling her with him.

“Dance with me.”

“There’s no music,” she said on a shaking laugh.

“Isn’t there?” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Listen closely.” And he held her tight, swaying his hips slowly.

He was right. Music was everywhere. The lapping of the water against the boat, the gentle rustle of the wind, and the steady thumping of their hearts. She pressed her head to his chest and refused to think abouttomorrow.

Only, of course, tomorrow had a way of rearing its head, regardless of how unwanted it was.

It crested over the bow of the boat, waking them gently with its golden warmth. Saphire stirred first, lifting her arms over her eyes and blinking in the unfamiliar surrounds.

Then, she spied the by-now extinguished candles and the empty bottle of champagne and it all came rushing back to her. A smile touched her lips as she recalled dancing until her eyes were drowsy and her legs could hardly hold her. He’d cradled her to his chest then, and laid her down on the blanket as though she were some kind of fragile porcelain figurine.

He had stroked her hair until she’d fallen asleep, and then he’d held her to his chest, so that they slept curled together.

It had been a night out of time; a fantasy in so many ways.

Which made the reality of the next morning so, so much worse.

“Hey,” his voice was thick. He blinked down at her and smiled. “Good morning.”

“Hi.” Her heart was pounding with love and anxiety, guilt and regret.

Thad didn’t notice. “I completely forgot last night that I had arranged a surprise for you.”

“Oh?” She swallowed. Her future was confusing the hell out of her. Jordan was her husband! She’d married him in good faith. This was an aberration and she needed to end it. Didn’t she?

He gripped her hand and pulled her to standing. The boat was enormous, but she’d seen barely any of it. Thad pushed a pair of glass doors open; they led to a crisp white staircase. He went first, leading the way downstairs, into an open, airy hallway.

“This feels way more like a gorgeous hotel than anything else,” she remarked, observing the wood paneling and state-of-the-art appliances.

“That was the plan,” he smiled over his shoulder. “In here.” He pushed into a bedroom that featured a king-size bed in its center. “We could have slept down here,” she teased. Her eyes were drawn then to the bags that littered the top of the quilt.