“I can’t,” he said in a low, driven tone. Stergios grabbed for her and turned her over. Jodie blinked, startled. She was on her hands and knees facing away from him. He slid his finger along the wet folds of her sex. Pleasure rippled through her.
He grabbed her hips, his fingers digging into her skin, and mounted her. Jodie closed her eyes as the low, guttural moan ripped from her throat. She clawed the sheets, heat blooming her skin, as he gave a deep thrust.
Jodie rolled her hips as he stretched and filled her. Stergios withdrew only to thrust harder. She urged him on and he exceeded her most brazen demands. She met his demonic pace as the bed shook beneath them.
Stergios slid his hand beneath her and found her slick clitoris. Jodie surrendered to his touch. Her mind shut down as her climax hit. Her cries of ecstasy echoed in the room as wave after wave of white-hot pleasure swept through her.
Her flesh gripped Stergios and his thrusts grew unpredictable. Unbridled. He banded his arms around her and held her close as he surged deep inside. His chest, slick with sweat, pressed against her spine as he burrowed his face into the crook of her neck.
“Jodie!” he said in a roar as he found his release.
Her knees buckled from the force and she collapsed onto the mattress. Her arms and legs shook as she fell onto her pillow. Jodie’s heart felt as if it was going to burst through her skin as she took in big swallows of air.
Every muscle pulsed and twitched. Stergios rolled to his side and silently gathered her in his arms. Jodie weakly closed her eyes as he held her close. She needed his touch but she didn’t want to him to see how much the simple gesture affected her.
As she rested her head against his chest, listening to Stergios’s thudding heartbeat, she tried to tell herself that this didn’t mean anything. It was a moment of madness, never to be repeated.
But she couldn’t lie to herself. Tonight meant everything to her.
* * *
Jodie stood by the bay of windows and looked out onto the beach. It was a cloudy and gray morning. There should be nothing that stood in the way of her getting off this island.
She saw her reflection in the window. Her hot-pink dress was prim with its rounded collar and short sleeves. Her black handbag hung from her forearm as she clasped her hands in front of her. The proper image was a far cry from the carnal woman last night.
Jodie felt her skin go hot as the memories overwhelmed her. She had reached for Stergios during the night and demonstrated exactly how she felt. There had been no limits to her desire. It was as if she had been parched for years and had finally found water to slake her thirst.
But when she had woken in the morning, she had been alone in her bedroom. Tucked into her bed and her torn slip carefully folded on the chair next to her. At some time around dawn Stergios had carried her into her room, as if sharing a bed for the whole night had been too intimate for him.
After she had showered and dressed, she had searched the small house and discovered Stergios was gone. His absence had been like a fist in the stomach. It was just like the last time. He had recognized how far he had fallen and couldn’t get away fast enough. Only this time he wasn’t able to go very far.
Jodie flinched when she heard his footsteps outside but schooled her features into a cool expression when the front door swung open. She exhaled slowly, bracing herself before she turned around to greet him.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him dressed in a casual white tunic and a faded pair of jeans. His hair was tangled and windswept and the stubble on his angular jaw seemed darker. She longed to walk up to him and curl against his chest. Her thought vanished when her gaze clashed with his wintry eyes. The generous lover who had kissed her breathless last night had been replaced with the cold and ruthless man.
“The helicopter will be here in ten minutes,” he informed her as he set down the satellite phone. “The pilot has been instructed to take you to Athens.”
“Thank you.” She gestured at the suitcase by the door. “I’m packed and ready.”
The silence stretched between them. Stergios started to pace the room but kept his distance from her. He couldn’t have made it more obvious that he wished she were already gone.
As she watched him prowl the room, Jodie knew she should feel some sense of feminine pride. She could make the great Stergios Antoniou fall to his knees. But she didn’t feel victorious. Stergios didn’t like her. He wished he didn’t want her. He couldn’t stand being next to her.
“Are you okay?” she blurted out. “Last night after the power outage...” He cast a scathing look and she stumbled into silence. It was a mistake to mention his moment of vulnerability.