Page 29

D iana and Devons rode in the back of a wagon being driven by ship attendant Porcu.

She’d never ridden in a wagon before and initially had been somewhat reluctant, but Devons convinced her.

The man had dangled a mysterious surprise in front of her.

They’d departed from Messina’s estate in Sardinia, where they were staying along with the rest of their group.

It was a stunning piece of property. The large stone manor was situated on a cliff that overlooked crashing waves.

Messina had promised her she would be mesmerized, and he hadn’t disappointed.

They turned down a steep road and Diana clutched onto Devons’s arm.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. Porcu glanced back at them. “Trust me. It will be worth it.”

“We will be fine,” Devons said.

They reached the bottom, and the road spilled out into a cove area. The water was crystal turquoise. Diana walked closer to where the water rushed up the beach, considering taking her shoes off to put her feet in. Porcu motioned for Devons to come with him.

“I’ll be right back,” Devons said to her.

She wondered what he was up to. She tilted her head up to the sky and closed her eyes, smiling.

Her mother was going to be horrified when Diana called on her in Tuscany.

Diana’s skin had changed from a pale pink to a golden color with a smattering of freckles.

Her whole life, she’d been told to avoid the sun, and yet, after a couple of weeks of forgoing a hat, she never felt more lovely.

“Ready for the surprise?” Devons asked.

Diana opened her eyes, startled to find him standing next to her. “Of course. You are being so mysterious.”

He winked at her. “I needed to make sure it was just right.”

She glanced around and noticed that Porcu was climbing back into the wagon. Diana’s eyes swung back to Sebastian.

“He will be back.”

Laughing, she followed behind him. They moved down the beach and rounded some rocks. She gasped as they reached the other side. It was a pool of water that went all the way into a cave and in the center of the ceiling was a massive hole where sunlight beamed through.

“It’s breathtaking,” she murmured.

Sebastian walked to a basket and bag. “While I’m glad you find it beautiful, that isn’t the primary reason I brought you here.”

She frowned at him puzzled. He smiled. “I brought you here to swim.”

Her eyes widened and she clapped, delighted, but then her common sense kicked in. “What if someone discovers me here?”

“This is on Porcu’s family’s land. He assures me, no one will see you.”

“I have nothing to swim in.”

Sebastian pulled a rolled-up dark men’s shirt out from one of the bags. “You can wear this.”

Diana took the shirt from him. A blush formed on her cheeks.

The moment felt far more intimate than she suspected Devons was aware of.

She was being na?ve. Absurdly, she wondered how many women had worn one of Devons’s shirts.

Stop , she told herself. They were only friends.

It didn’t matter if all the ladies in London were familiar with his shirts. It was none of her business.

Devons started to walk back to the other side of the rocks. She frowned. “Where are you going?”

“I will wait beyond the rocks. When you are done swimming and dressed, I will join you for a luncheon.”

She didn’t want to swim alone. The shirt was long enough that it covered most of her intimate spots. Devon was a known rogue. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen a woman’s legs before. “You aren’t going to join me.”

“Diana, I don’t think that is prop—”

“Devons, we are in the middle of nowhere. Who will know that you saw my legs? A man who has seen hundreds of legs.”

He flashed her an annoyed look. “Not hundreds.”

She didn’t want to enjoy this moment alone. They were friends. They could swim together. No one would be the wiser.

“Please. You can stay in your pants.”

He seemed hesitant but finally, he nodded. “I will give you some privacy to change. Do you need help untying anything before I leave?”

“Yes, please,” she said and turned her back to him.

He released the ties of her dress and then huskily said, “Tell me when you are ready.”

Diana shimmied out of her dress and the rest of her garments before pulling Devons’s shirt over her head. She giggled at how massive his clothing was. She was a curvy woman, but Devons’s shirt almost made her feel dainty.

Diana was behaving scandalously but she reassured herself that no one would know, and the female body was nothing Devons hadn’t seen before.

“Ready!” she yelled.

He walked back around the rock, taking Diana’s breath away.

Nicely dressed, Sebastian Devons was a sight to see, but this bare-chested man left her weak in the knees.

Stop it , she told herself. Friends. Friends.

Friends. She chanted the word over and over in her head.

Not trusting her eyes not to peek in places they shouldn’t, she spun on her heels and ran to where the water met the rocks.

Sebastian followed her. “Do you know how to swim?”

She looked back and grinned. “I do. I didn’t learn until Stuart and I were married though.”

The water was much deeper than she expected. There was a natural step down that would put her hip level in the water and then it would likely be over her head. The crystal-clear liquid sparkled from the sunlight beaming down from the hole in the cave ceiling.

She stepped down and gasped. “It’s cold.”

“Too cold?” he asked with concern.

Diana shook her head. “No. It is perfection.”

She lay back in the water and pushed herself off the step she was standing on, floating out to the middle. “Devons, you must come in.”

“It looks wonderful,” he said.

She glanced at his bare-chested form. How was he so broad and muscular? Her gaze flitted across his chest and down to his hard stomach. She had to stop. He needed to get in the water. She couldn’t keep looking at him. She swam back to where he was. “Get in.”

He stepped down onto the step and grimaced. “Very refreshing.”

She splashed him with water, and he yelped, making her laugh. Sighing, he pushed off the step joining her. They floated on their backs in the middle of the water with the sunlight streaming over them. “This is one of the best surprises anyone has given me. Thank you.”

He didn’t open his eyes or stop floating but said, “You’re welcome.”

“What was it about Lady Wesley that made you care for her?” Diana asked, just as startled as Devons that she brought the lady up.

“She didn’t seem to care what society thought, or at least I thought so at the time.

She seemed to enjoy being with me. Even though she decided to marry Lord Wesley, when we were together, not once did she speak against my family or how my parents lived.

I suppose I thought I found someone who understood me. ”

Diana stopped floating on her back and looked at Devons. “I’m sorry that she wasn’t who you thought she was.”

He shrugged. “I’m the bastard of a marquess and the owner of a gentlemen’s club. It is no small thing to choose to marry me.”

“It’s not so difficult,” she said, surprised by the conviction in her voice.

He started floating upright and smirked. “Now it’s you who is being protective.”

She blushed and swam to the step where they had entered the water.

Finding a flat surface along the ledge, she sat, crossing her legs.

Diana should have been horrified for Devons to see her in so little clothing but she wasn’t.

The man swam back and forth, and she watched as his muscles rippled with every stroke.

Eventually, he made his way to where she was and hoisted himself out of the water, joining her.

“So, Messina kissed you.”

Her gaze flew to his, startled. “I thought we decided to not discuss such things.”

He shrugged. “Was it enough?”

A laugh escaped her. “What does enough even mean?”

He turned to her. Their legs bumped into each other. “You know what enough is.”

Her heart pounded. She was confused about the direction this was all going. Was he talking about their kiss? She always assumed the wrong thing when it came to Devons. She wouldn’t do that now. “The kiss was pleasing enough. Maybe, I should be happy with that.”

He glanced away, staring out over the water. His jaw clenched. Eventually, he turned back. “You deserve more.”

Diana’s body started to hum. She was tempted to lean into him, to touch him, but didn’t. “How should I want a kiss to be from a potential lover?”

He cupped her chin. “A kiss from a lover should make your body come alive. Their lips should whisper unspoken promises of what is to come.”

Devons’s head dipped down further. A soft gasp escaped Diana’s mouth. He continued, “It should make you squeeze your legs together in anticipation. You should want to press your form against his in frustration because no matter how close, it is never enough.”

One of her hands moved to his chest. His lips grazed hers. She froze, shocked by his words and the overwhelming longing that throbbed through her body. He placed a kiss on the side of her mouth and then along her jaw. “But never should it be just pleasing.”

Her breath hitched. “Devons—”

He didn’t let her finish but claimed her mouth. Her need for him overwhelmed any rational thoughts she had. She shouldn’t want this. It was too complicated but none of that stopped her from wrapping her arms around his neck.

He groaned and his hands threaded through her hair as he pulled her more flush to him.

Devons’s tongue plunged in and out of her mouth, desperately as if he could not get enough.

Diana pressed herself against him, whimpering whenever his mouth left hers for even a moment.

He fell back and she toppled on top of him.