lit up. Unbidden, an image of her pale figure in his bed the other night came to mind, her hair spread over his pillow just before he’d speared his fingers into it and crushed her mouth beneath his. The way she had met his demands with a hunger that had seemed to match his own. Her soft mews of pleasure as his hand had cupped her breast, the silky skin of her bottom—
‘Did you say something?’ Danny murmured.
‘Only that I should have let her go to the mess hall,’ Leo growled, turning away from the amused glint in his EA’s eyes and striking up a conversation with the Greek minister about the reason they were even able to watch birds circling above his damned yacht this weekend.
‘Jet skis?’ Leo repeated blankly as he stared at Tom Shepherd.
‘Yeah, you know? Motorbikes on water.’ Tom smirked. ‘You don’t mind if we take them out for a spin, do you? Lexi’s a jet ski virgin and I said I’d show her what she was missing.’
Leo’s jaw clenched at Tom’s provocative comment. The yacht was temporarily anchored between two small private islands and the water was deep enough so there wasn’t any reason for him to say no. But he wanted to.
‘I need to speak with Miss Somers.’ He flashed his teeth in a tight smile. ‘Take someone else.’
Before Tom could stage his protest, Danny stopped at his side. ‘Leo, the men are waiting in the stateroom to resume the meeting, as you requested.’
Leo muttered a curse under his breath. If he’d been dealing with Australians or the English the negotiations would have been finished by now. No way would they have pulled up stumps to be wined and dined with a decadent lunch midway through an important meeting. No, they would have put up with soggy sandwiches and finger food at the conference table until the deal was signed, sealed and delivered. Then gone out and got drunk by way of celebrating.
‘Well, that settles it.’ Tom clasped Lexi’s shoulder lightly and Leo was glad to see her eyes flicker to Tom’s hand uncertainly as she shifted out from under his hold. ‘Come on,’ he said to Lexi. ‘I promise you’ll love it.’
‘Where’s Ty?’ Leo found himself asking. ‘Your charge.’
Lexi looked at him but he couldn’t read her expression. ‘He’s still asleep. He probably will be for another forty minutes at least.’
With no other way to prevent her from going with Tom, Leo signalled a nearby steward. ‘Have the jet skis organised for Mr Shepherd and any other interested guests.’ Then he turned back to Tom. ‘Be careful.’
Tom shook his head as if Leo was mad. ‘I always am, man; don’t sweat it.’
Leo shoved his hands into his pockets and watched as Tom cupped Lexi’s elbow and led her towards the elevator, annoyed when she didn’t shake him off the second time.
‘I don’t think he’s realised she’s off-limits yet,’ Danny murmured.
Leo shot him a warning look. ‘That’s because she isn’t.’
Leo stormed down to the conference room and ignored the irrational urge to go after Lexi and take her out on the thing himself.
Not that he wanted to go out on a damned jet ski. He wanted to focus on what he enjoyed most—business. He’d been working for two years on developing this ethanol plant and he wasn’t about to jeopardise it to have fun in the sun.
What did he care about the sparkling blue waters of the Aegean, or the sandy islands surrounding him? To him, this location was just another venue to continue his business dealings. Relaxing was something he did after hours either at the gym or with a woman. Lazing around on a beach or riding a jet ski had never been on his list of things to do.
But half an hour later he was glad he’d insisted Danny stay in the meeting because he was the only one holding it all together. For some reason, Leo couldn’t seem to get his brain into gear. Maybe he’d had too much sun upstairs because the state-of-the-art airconditioning wasn’t doing anything to cool his blood. Nor was the buzzing of the jet skis and the delighted catcalls and squeals of his guests as they enjoyed themselves outside his window.
Leo paced around the airconditioned room and understood how a jungle cat felt locked up in a zoo.
He noticed the conversation had stopped and waved his hand absently. ‘Carry on,’ he said to the Greek minister’s young and ambitious lawyer. ‘I’m listening.’
He ignored Danny’s concerned glances and stalked over to the window, watching as four jet skis were lined up ready to race.
One of the men yelled, ‘Go’ and they all gunned the engines, the skis lurching full speed over the water. Leo’s eyes cut to Tom, who had Lexi on the back without a life jacket. A cold sense of dread settled over his skin. He should have stopped her from going. Or, better yet, gone with her. His instincts had been on high alert and if she got hurt it would be his fault. He didn’t question his need to protect her and nor did he ignore it. The last time he had, he’d lost his brother.
‘Take five, gentlemen,’ he threw over his shoulder as he marched out of the room.
HE MADE it to the lower deck just as Tom hit a rough patch of water and the ski lifted into the air and landed at a sharp angle. Leo’s heart flew into his mouth as Lexi screamed and flew off the side of the machine and disappeared under the water. For a split second he was paralysed as the rider behind Tom rode dangerously close to the wake.
Then he moved. Jumped onto the lower ramp and grabbed the remaining jet ski from one of the attendants, flying out over the sparkling sea to where Lexi had gone under. The other riders hadn’t realised what had happened and Tom had just got his machine under control when Leo reached the place Lexi had gone under.
Fortunately, her head broke the surface but Leo could see she had swallowed water and was having trouble breathing.
He cut the engine and leaned down over the side. ‘Lexi, give me your hand,’ he shouted. She looked disoriented and flailed around and Leo hooked his arm around her torso and hauled her up in front of him.
‘Is she all right?’ Tom called out as he pulled up alongside.
‘You’d better hope so, Shepherd,’ Leo snarled. He quickly ran his eyes over Lexi, but he couldn’t get a good look at her as she curled over his arm retching violently.
Leo cursed, ordering Tom to go back and get the in-house doctor. He held Lexi against his chest as he yanked on the throttle and headed towards the nearby island. It was closer than the yacht and he wanted to get her horizontal as quickly as possible.
The small curved inlet was deserted and once he hit the shallow water he jumped down and swung Lexi up into his arms. He ran through the breakwater and dropped to his knees and gently laid her onto the sand. She was shaking with reaction, her clothes clinging to her like a second skin, but other than that she didn’t appear injured.
‘Did the ski hit you anywhere?’ he asked hoarsely.
She shook her head and winced a little. ‘No.’ She raised a shaky hand to push her hair out of her eyes and he leaned forward and did it for her. ‘I think I just got winded when I hit the water.’
She tried to sit up but Leo held her down with an unsteady hand on her shoulder. ‘Lie back. Shepherd’s getting the doctor.’
‘I’m okay.’ She moved her arms and legs carefully to make sure. Leo’s heart was still lodged in his throat and adrenalin coursed through his blood.
‘Just keep still,’ he growled, the wealth of emotion in his voice raising her eyes to his. He couldn’t look away and nor, it seemed, could she. The world receded; even the relentless heat from the sun in a cloudless blue sky faded into the background as Leo felt emotions he didn’t want to name roll through him,