He gripped the rail until his knuckles turned white but still he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
‘I’m waiting for an answer, Theo,’ came the weary voice at the end of the line.
Theo sighed. ‘Sorry, remind me again what the question was.’
Ari grunted with annoyance. ‘I asked you why I couldn’t have one peaceful breakfast without opening the papers to find you wrapped around some poor girl. Seriously, my digestive system has sent me a stern memo. Either I treat it better and not subject it to such images or it goes on permanent vacation.’
Theo heard Perla, his soon-to-be sister-in-law, laughing in the background.
‘The answer is simple. Don’t read the papers.’
Ari sighed. ‘How long is this going to go on for?’
‘Everything should be signed, sealed and delivered in a week or two,’ he responded, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension tightening his muscles. Another sleepless night, plagued with nightmares. He’d given up on sleep somewhere around three a.m.
‘You sound very sure.’
His grip tightened around the phone. As he’d lain awake he’d briefly toyed with the idea of ending this vendetta sooner. And he’d been stunned when the idea had taken firm hold. ‘I am.’
‘And nothing you’re doing down there will affect the wedding? Don’t forget it’s in two weeks. If you can prise yourself away from that piece of skirt for long enough—’
‘She’s not a piece of skirt,’ he snarled before he could catch his response. Ari’s silence made him hurry to speak. ‘I’ll be at your wedding.’
‘Good, since you’ve missed most of the rehearsals, I’ll send you the video of what you need to do. Make sure you get it right; we’ll do a quick rehearsal when you get here. I’m not having you mess things up for Perla.’
‘Sure. Fine,’ he murmured.
He followed the curvy, sexy shape underneath the water and held his breath as Inez broke the surface and rose out of the pool. Dripping curves and sun-kissed skin made his body clench unbearably. He wanted to trace every single inch of her with his hands, his mouth, his tongue. ‘Oh, and tell Perla I’m bringing a guest.’
His brother muttered a curse and relayed the message. Theo heard Perla’s whoop of delight. ‘The love of my life grudgingly agrees but suggests that perhaps, next time, you could be courteous enough to give us a heads-up sooner?’
‘Next time? You mean you’ll be getting married for a third time?’
He hung up to more pithy curses ringing in his ears and found himself smiling. Without taking his eyes off the figure below, he descended the spiral staircase and walked towards the bikini-clad goddess reaching for the towel on the shelf next to the pool.
Her back was turned and he slowed to a stop as the sight of her tiny waist and curvy hips made blood rush through his veins. Lust twisted through his gut, hard and demanding.
Hell, this was getting unbearable.
He threw his cell phone on the breakfast table and watched her jerk around to face him. The towel she was holding to her hair stilled.
‘Hi.’
‘Good morning. Enjoy your swim?’
‘It was very refreshing,’ she replied huskily, her eyes following him warily as he strode towards her. ‘So, what’s the plan for today?’ she asked.
I want to haul you off to my bed and keep you underneath me until we both pass out from the pleasure overload.
He wrenched his gaze from her full breasts, lovingly cupped by damp white triangles, and concentrated on breathing. ‘We’re headed for Copacabana. We’ll stop for something to eat then head back tonight. Or if you want we can stay on the boat and leave in the morning?’
She thought about it for a second and nodded. ‘I’d love to draw the boat in the moonlight.’
‘Then that’s what you shall do.’
Her gaze turned puzzling, weighing.
‘What’s on your mind?’ he asked.
She shook her head slightly and slowly folded the towel. ‘Sometimes I feel as if I’m dealing with two people.’
Something hard tugged in his chest. ‘Which one do you prefer?’
‘Are you joking? The person you are now, of course.’