The Bridal Bed. HELEN BIANCHIN

Чтение книги онлайн.

      CHAPTER THREE

      BEDARRA ISLAND resembled a lush green jewel in a sapphire sea. Secluded, reclusive, a haven of natural beauty, and reached only by launch from nearby Dunk Island.

      Bedarra Island at first sight appeared covered entirely by rainforest. It wasn’t until the launch drew closer that Suzanne glimpsed a high-domed terracottatiled villa roof peeping through dense foliage, then another and another.

      There were sixteen private villas, walking was the only form of transport, and children under fifteen were not catered for, she mused idly, having studied the brochure she’d collected the day after she’d become aware of their destination.

      She stood admiring the translucent sea as the launch cleaved through the water. It looked such a peaceful haven, the ideal place to get away from the rush and bustle of city life.

      Acute sensory perception alerted her to Sloane’s presence, and she contained a faint shivery sensation as he moved in close behind her, successfully forming a casual cage as he placed a hand at either side of her on the railing.

      No part of his body touched hers, but she was intensely aware of the few inches separating them and how easy it would be to lean back into that hard-muscled frame.

      She closed her eyes against the painful image of memory of when they had stood together just like this. Looking out over a sleeping city from any one of several floor-to-ceiling windows in his penthouse; in the kitchen, where she’d adored taking the domestic role; the large en suite. On any one of many occasions when he’d enfolded her close and nuzzled the sensitive slope of her neck, her nape, the hollow behind each earlobe.

      Times when she had exulted in his touch and turned into the circle of his arms to lift her face to his for a kiss that was alternately slow and gentle, or hard and hungry. Inevitably, it had led them to the bedroom and long hours of passion.

      Suzanne’s fingers tightened on the railing as the launch decreased speed and began to ease in against the small jetty. Was Sloane’s memory as vivid as her own? Or was he unmoved, and merely playing an expected role?

      Damn. She’d have to get a grip on such wayward emotions, or she’d become a nervous wreck!

      ‘Time to disembark.’

      She felt rather than heard him move, and the spell was broken as Georgia’s voice intruded, mingling with that of Trenton.

      ‘It’s beautiful,’ Georgia remarked simply as they trod the path through to the main complex and reception.

      ‘Secluded,’ Trenton concurred. ‘With guaranteed privacy, and no unwanted intrusion by the media.’

      For which he was prepared to pay any price, Suzanne concluded, knowing only too well how difficult it was at times to enjoy a private dinner out without being interrupted by some society photographer bent on capturing a scoop for the tabloid social pages.

      Exotic native timbers provided a background for the merging colour and tone of furnishings adorning the reception area.

      The reception manager greeted them warmly, processed their check-in with practised speed, indicated their luggage would be taken to their individual villas and placed two keys on the counter.

      Suzanne felt as if she’d been hit in the solar plexus by a sledgehammer. Fool. Of course she and Sloane were to share a villa. Why on earth not, given they were supposedly still engaged and living together?

      ‘We’ll meet in the dining room for lunch.’ Trenton collected one key and spared his watch a glance. ‘Say—half an hour?’

      Together they traversed a curving path and reached Trenton and Georgia’s villa first, leaving Sloane and Suzanne to continue to their own.

      Suzanne could hear the faint screech of birds high in the trees, and she wondered at their breed, whether they were red-crested parrots with their brilliant blue and green plumage, or perhaps the white cockatoo, or pink-breasted galah.

      Sloane unlocked the door and she preceded him inside, waiting only until he closed the door behind him before turning towards him.

      ‘You knew, didn’t you?’ she demanded with suppressed anger.