you remember nothing of last night.’
‘I know. I’m furious.’
Stefan relaxed slightly. This was better. ‘Good. You should be furious with me for taking advantage of you.’
‘Oh, I’m not furious with you. I’m furious with myself. You kept telling me not to drink. I drank. My fault. How could I be furious with you? You’ve been amazing.’
‘I was the one who stripped you naked.’
‘It would have been horribly uncomfortable sleeping in that dress, so I’m grateful to you.’
He’d spent his life shattering women’s illusions without trying and now, when he wanted to, he didn’t seem able to manage it. Stefan shifted tack. ‘It was a very exciting night. I am now familiar with every delicious inch of your body, and you,’ he murmured, ‘are familiar with every inch of mine.’
Still with her hands locked around his, Selene took a tiny sip of water. ‘Really?’
‘Really. You were so responsive. Unbelievably bold for someone with so little experience. When you suggested I tie you up, I admit I was surprised. I didn’t think someone as innocent as you would be prepared to give a man that much power.’ He’d expected shock. He hadn’t expected a smile.
‘I trust you. Whatever you want to do will always be fine with me.’ Her simple declaration raised his tension levels several notches. Heat exploded through his body.
‘Theé mou, I thought you were so trusting because you were drunk, but apparently not. What does it take to get you to show caution?’
‘I can be cautious when I have to be. I just don’t feel the need when I’m with you.’
‘You should be angry.’
‘I am angry. Angry with myself for ruining a really special night. You warned me to stop drinking and I didn’t listen. You could have left me in a heap on the beach for anyone to take advantage of.’
Stefan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘I took advantage of you.’
‘No, you didn’t. And I’m the one who should be apologising to you for flirting and then collapsing unconscious. Hardly responsible behaviour. You were thoughtful and protective and you lay in bed all night wide awake, frustrated and determined not to touch me because that would have gone against your moral code.’
Why was it that her response was never what he expected? ‘Selene, I don’t have a moral code.’
‘If that’s true then why didn’t we have sex?’
‘What makes you so sure that we didn’t?’
‘I may be inexperienced but I’m not stupid. I’d know if I’d had sex. And you wouldn’t have done that. Not like that. Not with me. You protected me.’
Her voice husky, she turned her head to look at him and that look contained everything he’d avoided all his life. Depth. He’d always run from it because it led to something he absolutely didn’t want. Not ever. He’d seen what that did. Seen lives ripped apart because of it.
‘Stop turning me into a hero.’
‘You could have taken advantage of me, but you didn’t. You could have left me on the beach, but you didn’t. You put me safely to bed where no harm could come to me.’
‘My bed.’
‘Where you didn’t touch me.’
The rawness of the attraction was shocking. It pulled at the edges of his control, dragging him downwards. He no longer knew who he was protecting—himself or her.
‘I was doing you a favour.’
‘But you never do people favours, so that makes me feel even more special.’ There was a brief pause and then she gave him a soft look that almost finished him. ‘You’re right. I should take that shower. It will wake me up and make me feel more human.’ Her fingers uncurled from his and she slid from the bed, stood for a moment as if she were getting her balance and then walked towards the bathroom.
Naked.
Deciding that selflessness was definitely an overrated quality, Stefan was torn between a desire to flatten her back to the bed or throw a sheet over her. ‘You should cover up.’
‘What would be the point of that? You were the one who undressed me. You’ve already seen everything there is to see.’
She stood under the shower, feeling the cool water wash over her.
The drink and the tablets had cleared her head and reduced the pain to a dull ache. What couldn’t be so easily erased was the knowledge she’d messed up what should have been the best night of her life so far. She almost wished he’d lived up to his reputation because then she wouldn’t have been standing here bathed in regret.
Switching off the shower, she groped for the towel she’d put out for herself and instead encountered hard male muscle.
Swiping water from her eyes, she opened them. What she saw made her breath catch.
There was nothing tame there. Nothing gentle. Just raw male sexuality.
And he was naked, too.
‘Maybe you should have locked the door, Selene.’
His silky voice made her stomach flip. ‘Maybe I didn’t see the need.’
‘No?’ He slid his hand behind her neck, his eyes locked on hers as he drew her head towards him. ‘You need to develop a keener sense of self-preservation.’
‘I can protect myself when I have to.’ And she’d had to on so many occasions she didn’t want to think about it. That had been her old life, and this was her new one. And because she didn’t intend to screw her new life up a second time, she placed her hands on his chest.
His skin was warm. His muscles hard and smooth. The difference between her body and his fascinated her, and she explored him with her fingers and then pressed her mouth to his chest and heard his sharply indrawn breath.
‘Are you afraid?’ His voice was rough and she lifted her head.
‘Excited, maybe a little nervous, but never afraid. Not of you.’
‘And if I say that you should be?’
‘I wouldn’t listen. I make up my own mind. I trust myself.’
He smoothed her wet hair away from her face. ‘Your hair is spectacular. You remind me of a mermaid.’
‘You’ve met a lot of mermaids?’
‘You’re the first.’ He lowered his head slowly, his mouth hovering just above hers. ‘And I’ll be your first so if you don’t want this you’d better speak now.’
Her heart was pounding. ‘I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.’
‘I do not come with a happy ending attached.’ He spoke the words against her mouth, his fingers locked in her hair. ‘There’s a strong chance I’ll make you cry.’
‘I only cry when I’m happy. Don’t worry, you’re off the hook. I take full responsibility. This is my decision.’ She felt the warmth of his hand at the base of her bare back as he drew her against him. Felt the hardness of his body against hers and closed her eyes, because she’d imagined it for so long in so many different ways but even her dreams had never felt as perfect as this.
‘I might hurt you.’
‘You could never hurt me.’
The hand on her back was now resting on the curve of her hip. ‘I’m terrible at relationships.’
‘I know. I don’t want a relationship.’ But she wanted him and the fact that he was still protecting her made her want