Page 50 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8
She started, realising some of her inner turmoil had spilled free when he arched an eyebrow.
‘You’ll need to change. Meet me at the swim deck in five,’ she said briskly, not just to respond to Jario, but to quell the frantic internal debate.
She held her breath when his probing stare lingered. Then, eyes sparking with enigmatic thoughts, he nodded and left her room.
The bikini she’d worn previously had somehow found its way into her belongings, along with two more swimsuits and a few other items usually reserved for guests. Like the silk kimono that matched the suit, three pairs of sunglasses, soft suede slippers with the yacht’s logo discreetly embroidered on them, and several luxury sun and skin creams.
Resisting them felt like a petty battle when she had bigger problems, so she slipped into a gold-and-white polka-dot set she’d never have chosen for herself in a store but was mildly agog at how well it suited her. Snapping her gaze away, she applied sunscreen, shoved her feet into the slippers and tossed one of her shirts over her shoulders.
Although she hurried, he beat her to the swim deck, his eyes tracking her.
The yacht had sailed on since dropping off the crew at the harbour, and they were now in a semi-secluded bay with no other vessels nearby.
‘You wish to challenge me to another game?’ he asked, eyeing her steadily.
Willow shook her head and made a beeline for the top-of-the-range flyboard while wondering if she’d gone mad. ‘No, I want you to teach me how to ride this one.’
‘Why would I want to do that?’ he asked silkily.
She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, even as her heart banged against her ribs. ‘Because I hate heights and the thought of getting on this terrifies me, but facing one’s fears takes guts. I’m willing to face it. With your help.’
Emotion wild and blazing flared in his eyes. He fully understood the subtext and she knew she risked him reacting adversely.
For a while he didn’t respond, his gaze fixed on her face.Probing.
She started the flyboard, stepped on it and struggled to keep her balance. Another minute passed before she held out her hand.
He didn’t take it.
Her heart climbed into her throat, the notion that her gamble would fail smashing through her. His refusal would spell the end of their interaction.
Was that what he was hoping for, an excuse to shatter the truce they’d agreed to and end things once and for all?
Her shaking hand started to drop. He jerked forward, grabbed it and her heart lurched. Eagerly, her fingers curled around his.
The expression that had begun to harden morphed into faint surprise then eased into latent satisfaction, right before he stepped onto the flyboard, flipped their hands and meshed their fingers together.
His balance and control were formidable.
‘Ready to take flight with me?’ she whispered.
‘I should be asking you that,’ he drawled.
A dozen responses crowded her throat. In the end, her answer was easy. And terrifying. ‘You won’t let me fall. Because that’s not who you are.’
Butterflies swarmed her belly as she accepted where the answer had come from. She knew in her bones that while he had every right to despise her, he wouldn’t deliberately harm her. ‘Or if we fall, we fall together.’
Another flare of his eyes as he lost a shade of colour. Then he wrested back his control. ‘I haven’t fallen yet. I don’t intend to.’
Coarse knots tightened around her chest with his words but she pushed away the alarming distress of it. There would be time to dissect everything.
Later.
His eyes flicked to her mouth and she realised she was licking her lips, and cursed under her breath when heat rushed into her face.
‘Hold on to me, Willow.’
In the end it was as easy as breathing. And letting down her guard andtrusting.