Page 18

JEM

‘Hey, do you fancy checking out the rest of the house with me?’ I ask Dee, trying not to feel aggrieved at the way she pushed me away, just when I was starting to reconnect with her.

I know it was probably a bit of a liberty, pulling her against me like that, but I acted on instinct. It seemed like the right thing to do in the moment.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so vulnerable, and it did something to me. Made me want to step up and protect her.

Not that I’m in the market for another person to look after , I remind myself.

‘Yeah, sure. I was just about to suggest that myself. Let’s get into all the nooks and crannies of this place and see if we can discover its dark underbelly,’ Dee says with a wink.

My spirits lift.

It’s good to see her back on form.

I’ve missed it.

Funny that. I’d never have thought I’d miss anything about Dee.

‘You’re on,’ I say, gesturing for her to take the lead.

Pushing away from the table, she makes for the entrance hall.

It’s positioned in the centre of the house and has a number of doors leading off it in different directions.

We already know where the corridor to our room goes, so she ignores that one, instead choosing one opposite the front door.

It leads down another long, tiled corridor to a large glass door, through which we can see an indoor pool.

As Dee steps up to the door, it automatically slides to the right with a soft swishing sound, and a blast of warm, faintly chlorinated air hits us.

She turns to look at me and pulls a what have we got here? face.

‘Do you fancy going for a swim?’ I ask her. I know I do. It would be a great way to pass some time. My whole body feels over-energised and I’m craving some hard exercise right now.

‘I didn’t bring any swimmers,’ she says with a rueful grimace.

‘Me neither, but I expect the staff can loan us some. If Jeff entertains here a lot, he’s probably got spares for guests.’

‘True,’ Dee says with a slow smile, her eyes lighting up.

My stomach flips at the sight of it. She’s so openly expressive when she’s happy. It’s kind of cool.

‘I’ll go and ask Alina,’ I say, already backing away from her before she notices how I’m reacting to her.

I find Alina in the kitchen with Nico, the butler. They’re having a low, murmured conversation in Greek with their backs turned to me, but as soon as I give a discreet cough, she turns to face me and flashes a warm smile.

‘Hello. Can I help you with something?’ she asks.

‘Do you happen to have swimming costumes that Dee and I can borrow?’ I ask.

She nods. ‘Of course, I’ll get them for you. Wait one second, please.’

I watch her walk out, then turn to give Nico a nod of acknowledgement.

He nods back, a faint smile on his lips.

I wonder whether he saw me kissing Dee at the table last night. And whether he knew it was a reaction to her flirting with him.

We wait in uncomfortable silence for Alina to return, both staring out of the kitchen window towards a stunning, but stormy, view across the small island to the now rather rough sea.

The trees are waving wildly in the wind that’s got up since this morning and a light shower of rain is falling, making the leaves look glossy and vibrantly green.

It’s nowhere near a medicane right now, but there’s a definite dark front of clouds moving in, giving the vista an ominous vibe.

Something big and scary is on the way. I just hope it doesn’t hit us too hard.

To my relief, Alina reappears a moment later with the costumes in her hand.

At least, I think they’re swimming costumes.

My stomach sinks as I take in what she’s brought me.

I swear her eyes twinkle as she hands them over.

There’s a hint of mischief there, I’m sure of it.

But all I can say is, ‘Thank you,’ as I take them from her outstretched hand.

I don’t want to look like a dick by demanding alternatives, not when they’ve been looking after us so well.

It would feel rude to complain in any way.

‘Just leave them in the linen basket in your room once you’ve finished with them,’ she says, widening her smile. ‘There are plenty of towels in the changing rooms too.’

I give her a jerky nod. ‘Will do.’

I get out of there quickly, my face flaming and my blood up.

Dammit.

I’m intensely aware of the folly of my suggestion that Dee and I go swimming now as I stride back to the pool. I’m going to have to hang out with her for the next hour or so in just a pair of tiny Speedos whilst trying not to let my body react to the sight of her rocking this scrap of a bikini.

God, I hope she doesn’t think I chose these myself.

As soon as I step in through the sliding door to the pool, I see her lying on one of the plush loungers, which are facing the floor-to-ceiling window that looks out over the immaculately manicured garden.

Rain is lashing against the glass now and running in rivulets down it, giving the scene a distorted look.

‘Did they have any?’ Dee calls to me.

‘Err, yeah. But I’m not sure they’re going to fit,’ I say, holding them up for her to see.

A horrified smile breaks across her face. ‘You’re kidding me!’

‘Nope. This is all they had, apparently,’ I say, omitting that I felt too uncomfortable to ask Alina for something less revealing.

‘Oh. Well. Okay then. Pass mine over and I’ll try it on,’ Dee says with a slight wobble in her voice.

I walk over and toss the bikini to her, then turn and make for the changing rooms on the other side of the pool, already fighting a growing interest in my trousers.

Christ. How am I going to be able to manage this?

In the changing room, I pull off my clothes and try on the Speedos. Yep. Tiny. They’re bright red too and suggestive of sexy French arthouse films from the 1980s, which, from the few I’ve seen, heavily feature mental health breakdowns and cunnilingus.

Not inferences I want to be projecting right now.

Wrapping one of the large bath sheets loosely around my waist, I walk back out to the pool. Luckily, Dee hasn’t emerged from her changing room yet, so I hurriedly pull off the towel, drop it onto one of the loungers and dive straight into the deep end of the pool.

The feeling of the cool water is bliss on my flushed skin and I swim underwater for most of the length of the pool, emerging with a gasp as my head breaks through the surface.

At least that’s shocked my body into some sort of obedience.

Until Dee walks out of the changing room in that bikini.

A pulse begins to beat hard in my throat as I watch her walk to the side of the pool. I’m immediately hot all over again and my cock has sprung back to attention.

Bloody hell.

At least she won’t be able to see the bulge in my Speedos while I’m in the water.

Giving her a quick nod, I turn and swim off in the opposite direction, choosing a fast front crawl so I don’t have to watch as she gets into the pool. The water drags against my erection, making it hard to concentrate on my strokes.

So much for exercise being the cure for sexual desire.

I swim fast, up and down the pool, length after length, trying to blank my mind of sexy things.

But the vision of Dee in that bikini is emblazoned on my mind.

I try to turn my thoughts to something else, anything else, but the only thing that comes to mind is the expression on her face yesterday after she’d made me come.

She’d been jubilant. Like she’d won a prize.

I swim harder, my sharp intakes of breath searing my lungs and my muscles burning with the effort of pulling me through the water.

Finally, I begin to get into a rhythm with the exercise and my mind quietens as I let the repetitive movements soothe me.

After fifty lengths, I finally stop and cling onto the side of the pool, catching my breath and enjoying the endorphin rush. Once my panting has quietened, I look around for Dee and see she’s lying on one of the loungers in her bikini. Her eyes are closed and she’s stretched out as if she’s asleep.

The wind is howling loudly outside now and beating the rain against the large window. It looks wild out there. Uncontained. Unruly.

The parallel with my state of mind is not lost on me.

Hoping Dee doesn’t choose this moment to open her eyes, I move to the steps and climb out of the pool, making straight for the towel I’ve left on the lounger a couple away from where she’s sitting. If she sees me in these Speedos, I’m never going to hear the end of it.

I’m just wrapping the towel around my middle when I hear a low, tinkling laugh coming from her vicinity.

Dammit . Busted.

‘Nice swimmers,’ Dee says with a twist of cheeky mockery in her voice.

‘You know, if anyone had suggested the highlight of my time here on a private Greek island was going to be seeing you squeezing your – not insubstantial – packet into a pair of the tightest briefs I’ve ever seen on a man, I would have told them to shut the front door . ’

‘Yeah, fine. Go ahead and laugh. I don’t care,’ I say, shooting her a nonchalant grin.

I’m just going to have to style this out, or she’ll not shut up about it if she thinks I’m embarrassed by her seeing me dressed – or rather undressed – like this.

‘It seems to be the theme of this week,’ I say, ‘catching sight of each other during clothing malfunctions.’

She throws her head back and gives a full-throated laugh at that.

A tingle runs all the way down my spine at the sound of it.

And it suddenly occurs to me what else she said. Not insubstantial packet.

My body floods with pleasure at the compliment.

Keeping the towel wrapped firmly round my middle, I sit on the lounger next to her, training my gaze on the stormy tableau in front of us.

But in my peripheral vision, I can’t help but see her shift on the seat and rearrange her long limbs.

I stare harder at the trees tossing in the wind.

After only about thirty seconds, Dee shifts about on the lounger again, sighing and fussing about with the head-pillow bit, her toned stomach tensing and flexing.