His Revenge Seduction: The Mélendez Forgotten Marriage / The Konstantos Marriage Demand / For Revenge or Redemption?. Kate WalkerЧитать онлайн книгу.
a half later, fighting off a weighty despondency. The olive grove today had simply been an olive grove. No further memories surfaced. Nothing struck a chord of familiarity.
Disappointment and frustration continued to sour her mood as she walked back to the villa through the gardens. She felt hot and sticky so when she came across a secluded section of the garden where an infinity pool was situated, she decided to take advantage of the sparkling blue water and the warmth of the afternoon.
Rummaging through the walk-in wardrobe in search of swimwear was another revelation to her. Naturally modest, she found it hard to believe she wore any of the skimpy bikinis she found in one of the drawers. There were pink ones and red ones and yellow ones and ones with polka dots, a black one with silver diamantés and a white one with gold circles in between the triangles of fabric that would barely cover her breasts, let alone her lower body. In the end she chose the red one as it was the least revealing, although once she had it on and checked her appearance in the full length mirrors she was glad Javier was not expected home. She might as well have been naked.
The water was warmed by the sun but still refreshing enough to make Emelia swim length after length without exhaustion. She wondered how many times she had done this, stroking her way through the water, perhaps with Javier swimming alongside her, or his long legs tangling with hers as he kissed or caressed her. In spite of the warmth of the pool and the sun, Emelia felt her skin lift in little goosebumps the more she let her mind wander about what had occurred in the past.
As she surfaced at the end of the pool she saw a long pair of trouser-clad legs, the large male feet encased in expensive-looking leather shoes. Her heart gave a stopstart as her eyes moved upwards to meet the coal-black gaze of Javier.
‘I thought I might find you here,’ he said.
Emelia pushed her hair out of her face, conscious of her barely clad breasts just at the water’s level. ‘I didn’t realise you would be back. I thought you were coming home tomorrow.’
He tugged at his tie as his gaze held hers. ‘I managed to get through the work and flew back ahead of schedule.’
Emelia swallowed as she saw him toss his tie to one of the sun loungers. His fingers began undoing the buttons of his business shirt, one by one, each opening revealing a little more of his muscular chest. ‘Um…what are you doing?’ she said.
‘I thought I might join you,’ he said, shrugging himself out of his shirt, tossing it in the same direction as his tie, his dark eyes still tethering hers.
She watched in a spellbound stasis as his hands went to his belt, slipping it through the waistband of his trousers, casting it on top of his shirt and tie. The sound of his zip going down jolted her out of her trance. ‘Y-you’re surely not going to swim without bathers…are you?’
A corner of his mouth lifted. ‘Do you have any objection, querida?’ he asked.
Emelia could think of several but she couldn’t seem to get her voice to work. She stood in the water as he heeled himself out of his shoes and purposefully pulled off his socks. Her heart started thumping irregularly as he stepped out of his trousers, leaving him in close-fitting black briefs that left almost nothing to her imagination. She felt a stirring deep and low in her belly. He was so potently male, so powerfully built, lean but muscular at the same time, hair in all the right places, marking him as different from her as could be. His skin was a deep olive, tanned by the sun, each rippling ridge of his abdomen like coils of steel. Her fingertips suddenly itched to explore every hard contour of him, to feel the satin quality of his skin and unleash the latent power of his body. She wondered if her attraction was a new thing or an old thing. Was her body remembering what her mind could or would not? How else could she explain this unbelievable tension she felt when he was near her? She had never felt like this with anyone before. It was as if he awakened everything that was female in her body, making her long to discover the power of the passion his glittering dark gaze promised.
Being at the shallower end, he didn’t dive into the water; instead, he slipped in with an agility that made Emelia aware of every plane of his body as the water his entry displaced washed against her. It was as if he had touched her; the water felt just like an intimate caress: smooth, gentle, cajoling, tempting. Her eyes were still locked with his; she couldn’t seem to move out of the magnetic range of his dark-as-night eyes. They burned, they seared and they smouldered as he closed the distance between their bodies, stopping just in front of her, not quite touching but close enough for her to feel the pull of his body through the weight of the water.
‘Why so shy?’ he asked.
Emelia licked a droplet of water off her lips. ‘Um…I know this is probably something you…I mean we have done lots of times but I…I…feel too exposed.’
His lips slanted in a smile. ‘You got rid of your timidity a long time ago, Emelia. We skinny-dipped together all the time.’
She felt the pit of her stomach tilt. ‘But surely someone could have seen us?’
He gave a little couldn’t-care-less shrug. ‘The pool area is private. In any case, what would it matter if someone had seen us? We are married and this is private property. It is not as if we were doing anything wrong.’
Emelia chewed at her lip, wishing she could download all her memories so she wasn’t feeling so lost and uncertain. While she had been dressing in the bikini earlier she had seen from her lightly tanned skin that she had been in the sun and not always with all her clothes on. She had not been the type to sunbathe topless in the past, but then two whole years of her life were missing. Who knew what she had grown comfortable with over that time? It made her feel all the more on edge around Javier. He knew far more about her than she knew about him. And yet she could sense in her body a growing recognition that flickered a little more each time they were together.
‘Aldana told me you had a visitor while I was away,’ Javier said.
Emelia kept her expression masked. ‘Yes. Izabella called in. She’s gone to stay with friends in Valencia before she goes back to Paris.’
‘Did you recognise her?’
She shook her head. ‘No, but I soon figured out who she was. She is very like you. It is obvious you are related. You have the same hair and eyes.’
‘I hope you refrained from getting into an argument with her,’ he said, still holding her gaze. ‘I would not want either of you upset.’
‘No, we didn’t argue,’ Emelia said. ‘I found her to be friendly and pleasant and not in the least hostile. She’s a very beautiful and poised young woman. You must be very proud of her.’
He frowned as he studied her through narrowed eyes. ‘What did you talk about?’
‘The usual girl stuff,’ she said. ‘We have a lot in common, actually.’
‘She is a little headstrong at times,’ he admitted. ‘But then she is still young.’
Emelia went to move to the steps leading out of the pool but he placed a hand on her arm, stopping her from moving away from him. ‘Where are you going?’ he asked.
‘I’m getting cold,’ she said. ‘I want to have a shower.’
He cupped both of her shoulders with his hands. ‘No kiss for my return?’
Emelia felt her eyes widen and her stomach did another flip turn. ‘It’s not as if things are the same…as before,’ she said. ‘I need more time.’
Something moved at the back of his eyes. ‘I think the sooner we slip back into our previous routine the better,’ he said. ‘I am convinced it will help you remember.’
‘You’re assuming I will remember,’ she said. ‘I had no such assurance from any of the doctors or therapists at the hospital.’
His hands tightened as soon as he felt her try to escape again. ‘It doesn’t matter if you remember or not. It doesn’t change the fact that we are married.’
Emelia