Page 46 of 2 Books in One Bundle

‘What are you thinking?’

‘How do you know I’m thinking anything at all?’

‘You get a tiny frown, here.’ He stroked a finger in the middle of her forehead. A tiny drop of water fell on her face from his fingers. He gently swiped it away.

‘My mother told me not to swim. She always asked what would happen if she wasn’t there and I drowned.’

Matteo grunted. ‘That woman shouldn’t invade any of your thinking time. She never cared about what was best for you. I’m prepared to work diligently to make sure you forget what she’s said to you.’

He drew her towards him, arms around her. His mouth descending on hers in a slow luxurious kiss she fell into, pressed against his body. The heat of him, the cool of the water. Delicious, conflicting sensations. Pressed together, she sensed him harden against her.

He pulled away, his breath coming hard and fast matching her own.

‘I said I’d teach you to swim.’

‘You did.’

‘Let me take you deeper.’

She was already in way over her head. She tried not to think about what all of this meant. It probably meant nothing at all. She hadn’t ever expected to have any kind of relationship. Love equalled loss, a dark and tangled web where those two things were inextricably entwined.

Though why she should be thinking about love right in this very moment, she wasn’t sure. Love had no place here. He’d been clear he didn’t want it, and neither did she. This, sex, it was enough.

He walked back and back, cradling her in his arms.

‘Okay?’

She nodded.

‘I did some research,’ he said.

The idea that he’d investigated teaching her how to swim, spending time she’d not known about, planning this for her, struck her as more than considerate. It showed that he cared. That he was beginning to understand what she needed.

‘What did you find out?’

‘That you need to learn how to float first. How about you lie on your back, and I’ll support you?’

He helped her ease back in the water, his hands gentle against her body. Even though she knew he’d keep her safe, her breaths came a little too fast.

‘I’ll keep hold of you. Put your arms out. Try to relax,’ he said and she did, looking up into slivers of blue sky through the louvres in the pavilion roof as she floated. The water caressing her naked skin as Matteo moved slowly about the shallow end. She shut her eyes for a moment, sound muffled by the water. Simply drifting on trust as he supported her.

‘I’m going to let you go for a moment,’ he said. ‘I’ll always be here, but you can do this on your own.’

His hands left her body for a few seconds, and she lay still in the water. No panic. No fear. Only trust that nothing would happen to her if Matteo was by her side. She didn’t know how long she lay there, till his hands returned under her shoulders. Louisa opened her eyes, meeting with Matteo’s own. He bent down, brushing his lips against hers.

‘There was a terrible flaw in my plan,’ he said. Shifting to lift her from the water up against him.

‘What’s that?’

‘You’re naked, and I want you.’

His arms snaked around her, pulling her flush against him. She wrapped her arms round his neck, her legs round his waist. He supported her as his lips met hers and they kissed. Deep and lush. She notched against his body, hard and ready. The friction delicious.

‘I should be a better man,’ he said as she tried to catch her breath.

‘You are that man. I don’t know why you don’t realise it.’

He dropped his head to hers. ‘There are things you shouldn’t forget, Lulu. I didn’t get to where I am without getting everything I wanted. Every time. Nothing stood in my way.’