Eva gave a satiated chuckle at the understatement. Markos’s head lay pillowed against the fullness of her breasts, and both of them were breathing raggedly in the aftermath of their earth-shattering lovemaking.
It had certainly been earth-shattering for Eva, and Markos’s exclamation gave her every reason to believe he had been equally affected. ‘Was it worth suffering a sleepless night for?’ she teased.
‘Most definitely,’ Markos assured her with feeling, knowing there had been no ghosts from the past standing between them this morning—just the two of them making exquisite, perfect love. It had been a lovemaking of such tenderness of feeling, with an int
ensity of pleasure Markos had never experienced before…
Eva tensed in his arms. ‘Markos—’
‘I believe, if I wish us to spend the rest of the day in bed together, that it is time I fed you.’ He lightly interrupted the uncertainty of her tone, sitting up and swinging his legs off the side of the bed and standing up.
‘The rest of the day…?’ she repeated slowly.
Markos chuckled at the contrasting emotions of surprise and anticipation he could see in those expression golden eyes. ‘You did not think that I would allow you to leave after making love with you only once?’ He bent down to collect his black silk robe from the bedroom floor.
‘I haven’t been able to think at all for some time…’ Eva trailed off as she gazed up unabashedly at the nakedness of Markos’s back, ceasing to breathe as he stretched, the muscles in his back flexing and relaxing with the effortless ease of a jungle cat.
‘Good.’ He nodded with satisfaction as he turned, his gaze once again becoming hot and heavy as he saw the open hunger she knew must be in her expression. ‘Food first,’ he repeated firmly, and he laid the black silk robe down beside her before striding determinedly—still naked—from the bedroom.
Eva lay on the bed for several minutes longer, luxuriating in a feeling of total physical satisfaction as she stretched, feeling the pleasurable ache of muscles long left unused.
Making love with Markos had been unlike anything Eva had ever felt or known before. More erotic, more pleasurable than anything she had ever experienced with any man.
There was no point in not being honest with herself at this point in her life. The only other man she’d ever had sex with was Jack. And sex with him had been more centred on his pleasure than hers. Whereas Markos—
She mustn’t allow herself to blow this time with Markos out of all proportion.
Not unless she wanted to be left as heartsick as her cousin Donna when whatever this was with Markos came to an end…
She was an independent, sophisticated twenty-nine-year-old woman. They were the things that had attracted Markos to her. No matter how wonderful their lovemaking, he certainly wouldn’t want that independent, sophisticated twenty-nine-year-old woman making a fool of herself over him!
Accept this for what it is, Eva told herself firmly as she finally got out of bed to go into the bathroom and tidy herself: wonderful sex, teasing banter and a good time had by all. For her to expect anything else from Markos was totally unacceptable.
Having feelings for Markos certainly wasn’t an option…
* * *
‘So as a child you spent most of your summers on the family’s private island in the Aegean?’
Markos nodded, having returned to the bedroom long enough to pull on faded denims and a black T-shirt, totally relaxed as he and Eva sat at the breakfast bar eating warmed croissants with honey and drinking coffee. ‘Drakon and Gemini are there now—on their honeymoon.’
Eva gave a wistful sigh. ‘It sounds idyllic.’
Markos quirked one dark brow. ‘I believe you mentioned your own childhood was less so?’
She shrugged narrow shoulders, the movement instantly drawing Markos’s gaze to the way the firm swell of her breasts was revealed as the black silk of his robe parted slightly. ‘My parents should never have married each other, and they probably wouldn’t have done if my mother hadn’t been expecting me.’ She grimaced. ‘Needless to say they didn’t make that mistake again, which is why I’m an only child.’
Markos frowned. ‘But you have other family…?’
Eva lowered her gaze as she began to crumble a croissant on her plate. ‘An aunt and uncle…a couple of cousins. And we aren’t exactly big on family reunions; I haven’t been back to England once in the last seven years.’
Unlike the Lyonedes family. There had been over three hundred guests at Drakon and Gemini’s wedding the previous month, and almost all of them had been related to the Lyonedes family in some way.
‘I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like not to have a huge extended family,’ he said.
‘It isn’t so bad.’ Eva gave another shrug. ‘Not enough people to have a big family fallout, for one thing!’
‘The Lyonedes family can certainly be volatile,’ Markos acknowledged dryly.