The Dare Collection November 2018. Christy McKellen

trolley onto his private balcony. The smell of scrambled eggs and bacon and coffee reminded me that we’d barely made it past starters last night.

      We wolfed down a plateful of food in silence. Then he lounged back in his chair, lazily watching me as I devoured a small bowl of strawberries.

      ‘Are you going to give the crew the day off?’ he asked, his gaze dropping to linger where my robe gaped to show the curves of my breasts.

      I shrugged. ‘If you don’t need them, they’ll be thrilled to have a day off.’

      ‘Good. And let them know that under no circumstances are they to return to the upper decks before midnight.’

      I smiled. ‘What exactly have you got in mind?’

      ‘For starters, I’m going to watch you sunbathe. Nude. After that—’ he shrugged ‘—you get to pick. Will you do it?’ he asked with a gruff plea.

      His unique way of disarming me when I needed to keep up my guard unnerved me further. Like last night when he’d asked to join me for dinner. I stared at him, knowing in my heart I wasn’t going to refuse this either. I’d already agreed to spend the day with him anyway. What we did during that time didn’t really matter.

       It should.

      I ignored the voice, took a sip of coffee before I answered, ‘Yes, I will.’

      ‘And would I be pushing my luck if I said I want a repeat of the same when we dock in Sicily, too?’

      So he wasn’t leaving for another couple of days.

      I cleared my throat and strove to maintain a neutral expression. ‘Yes, you would. For all I know spending today with you might prove a huge ball of disappointment.’

      His eyes gleamed. ‘Is that the challenge, Leonora?’

      ‘Maybe...’

      He rose, a wicked smile turning his face even more mouth-wateringly gorgeous as he held out his hand to me. ‘Then I guess it’s game on.’

      He spent an hour videoconferencing with his office, while I video called with Andrea.

      ‘So everything’s going well?’ she asked, peering into the screen.

      I prayed my face didn’t give me away as I nodded. ‘Yes, no major dramas so far, thank goodness.’

      Andrea smiled, then winced as her overexuberant baby kicked inside her. ‘And? Is he going to buy the yacht?’ she asked eagerly.

      I wasn’t about to confess I hadn’t given it much thought in the last couple of days. Now that I’d decided to remain in the South of France, there wasn’t an urgency to make the sale. The consortium had given me a year to find the right buyer, and I was confident I would.

      So I shrugged. ‘I’m not hard selling. He’ll either buy it or he won’t. If he doesn’t, I’ll cast my net wider.’

      Andrea nodded. ‘Sounds like a plan. Well, don’t worry about the office. It’s been pretty quiet. I’ll email if anything crops up that I can’t handle.’

      I signed off, went to my cabin to grab my sun protection.

      Four hours later I was sprawled on the top deck, glistening from head to toe in the coconut-scented sunscreen Gideon had liberally massaged into my skin. With my only apparel the oversized sunglasses shielding my eyes from the sun, I waited for him to return with the cocktails he’d gone to the bar to make.

      I’d dismissed every crew member, including the captain after he’d found us a private cove to moor the yacht a short distance from Budva. We had six hours to ourselves. I wasn’t sure whether it was being completely alone with him or the promise of more sex that had me hyperaware.

      I heard him approach and, unable to help myself, lifted my head to watch him. Like me, Gideon was completely naked. Unlike me, though, there wasn’t an ounce of self-consciousness visible as he set the tray of drinks down next to me.

      ‘You never answered my question.’

      ‘What question?’

      ‘The boat. Did you name it?’

      Smiling, I accepted the dirty martini he handed me. ‘Yes, I did.’

      He chuckled. ‘Thought so.’

      I sipped my drink and attempted to play it cool beneath his intense scrutiny. But it was no use. The moment his ravenous gaze dropped to my breasts, they began to tingle and tighten. ‘Stop that.’

      His smile widened. ‘I don’t plan to. You really are incredibly beautiful.’

      There was an odd note in his voice that trigged a series of rapid heartbeats but I played it down.

      ‘You’re not so bad on the eyes either.’

      He dropped down next to me. Completely ignoring his drink, his gaze slid down my body with growing hunger.

      ‘Will you be visiting England any time soon?’ he asked abruptly.

      The unexpected question threw me. There was something almost wrong with discussing my future plans with a man I’d probably never see again the moment he stepped off the yacht, never mind doing so while I was completely naked.

      ‘I’d planned to visit my mother and grandmother when the season was over.’

      His forefinger drifted down my collarbone. ‘Where in England are they?’

      I tried to read his face, but I saw nothing but steady interest. Well, that and the ever-present hunger that lurked in his eyes when he looked at me.

      A girl could get hopelessly addicted to that full-on intensity.

       Then it’s a good thing this thing is temporary.

      I clenched my gut against the sharp arrow that lodged itself in my chest. ‘They live in the Lake District.’

      He caught a strand of my hair and teased it through his fingers. ‘What about your father, Leonora? Any reason he’s not quite in the picture?’

      I tensed, fiercely glad for the protection of the sunglasses. ‘He never wanted to be. But that didn’t stop him from selfishly dipping in and out of our lives when it suited him.’

      His mouth twisted. ‘I’m not sure which is worse, a parent’s physical presence and emotional absence, or a deprivation of both,’ he mused bitterly.

      I caught his hand, a strong urge to connect with him making me mesh my fingers with his. ‘In the long run, I preferred the latter because the former fed me with hope that was never fulfilled.’

      He brought our joined fingers to his lips and kissed my knuckles. ‘Do you still see him?’

      Pain spiralled through me. ‘Not if I can help it. Unfortunately my mother hasn’t abandoned the idea of using me as bait to hook an imagined relationship. We butt heads over the issue more often than I want.’

      He remained silent for a long time before grey eyes met mine. ‘So this is yet another area where we’ve both been fucked over. Perhaps we should form a support group.’

      The words were throwaway but his eyes held an intensity I desperately wanted to fixate on. ‘I prefer not to spend time raking over the past.’ Or rabidly dwelling on the many other ways I wished we were connected. ‘I’d rather help you celebrate your deal.’

      ‘I’m already celebrating. You’re my prize.’

      ‘I’m no one’s trophy, Gideon.’ That smacked too much of what I’d seen my father do to my mother. When the whim took him, he’d arrive in a blaze of glory, take her down from the shelf he’d placed her on. Play with her until he grew bored. Then he’d toss her back until the next time.

      Gideon’s face slowly straightened, his eyes darkening. ‘Too bloody right, you’re not. You’re so much more.’