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CHAPTER ONE

HE WANTED HER He wanted her so badly he could almost taste it

Alek Sarantos felt the heavy jerk of lust as he druainst the linen tablecloth Tall candles flickered in the breeze and the rich perfuhtly but still he couldn’t get comfortable

He wasrestless More than restless

Maybe it was the thought of returning to the crazy pace of his London life which had heightened his sexual hunger, so that it pulsed through his veins like thick, sweet honey His throat tightened Or maybe it was just her

He watched as the wo past ht of the su moon illuminated a body showcased by a plain white shirt, tucked into a dark skirt which looked at least a size too s about her was soft, he thought Soft skin Soft body The thick hair which was plaited in a heavy rope and fell down to the middle of her back was silky soft

His lust was insistent—his groin the opposite of soft—yet she wasn’t his type Definitely not He didn’t usually get turned on by curvy waitresses who greeted you with an uncomplicated, friendly sently rounded and wholesome Hard-eyed women who dropped their panties with ease and without question Who took him on his terms—which had no room for manoeuvre Terms which had helped carve out his position as a iven him a lifestyle free of domestic tie or encumbrance Because he didn’t want either He avoided anyone he suspected ht be soft, or needy or—heaven forbid—sweet Sasn’t a quality he required in a bed partner

So as he lusting after so around the periphery of his vision all week, like a ripe plu to do with her apron, perhaps—so some very erotic fantasies in his head?

‘Your coffee, sir’

Even her voice was soft He re its low,a child who had cut open his knee on one of the gravel paths Alek had been returning froa down beside the boy, exuding a general air of unflappability She’d stemmed the flow of blood with her handkerchief as an ashen-faced nanny had stood shaking nearby and, turning her head, had seen Alek She’d told hiet a first-aid kit’ in the calmest voice he’d ever heard And he had Athee twist of pain in his gut to see the boy looking up at her with such trust shining from his teary eyes

She was leaning forward now as she placed the cup of coffee in front of hi tightly against her shirt Oh, God Her breasts He found hiht look like if they were peaking towards his lips As she straightened up he sater-grey eyes frae She wore no adornold chain around her neck and a nae which said Ellie

Ellie

As well as being cool and unflappable towards s his every need—and while that was nothing new to soly unobtrusive She hadn’t tried to engage him in conversation, orhim isecracks She’d been pleasant and friendly but hadn’t hinted about her evenings off, or offered to show him around In short, she hadn’t come onto him like any other woman would have done She had treated him with the sauest in the discreet New Forest hotel—andhim His mouth hardened—for it was almost unheard of for Alek Sarantos to be treated like other people

But it wasn’t just that which had captured his interest She had an air about her which he couldn’t quite put his finger on Ambition maybe, or just soaze linger for a heartbeat too long—or the fact that she reo than he cared to remember? He’d once had that same raw a and waited tables, just like her When ht and the future uncertain He had worked hard to escape his past and to forge a new future and had learnt plenty of lessons along the way He’d thought that success was the answer to every proble Success made the pill sweeter, but you still had to s the pill all the same