Page 16 of Their One-Night Rio Reunion
‘I need to make sure there’s no splinter.’
He was gentle, but thorough. Ana could hardly breathe, but she managed to say, ‘Since when did you know so much about first aid?’
His face tightened. ‘Let’s just say it was a skill I had to learn.’
Suddenly Ana went still, as something occurred to her. Had there been violence in his family?
Caio shut off the water and said briskly, ‘Keep your hand raised while I look for a plaster. It’s not a deep cut.’
He turned away to open a cupboard and pulled out a box with the universal symbol for first aid on the side. It was well-stocked, and full of things Ana wouldn’t have known how to use, but Caio found the plasters and caught her hand again.
But then he stopped.
Ana looked down to see a fresh bead of blood on her finger. Caio said in a rough-sounding voice, ‘I need to clean it first.’
But he wasn’t moving. He was just looking at her. Ana couldn’t look away. His eyes held her captive. They were molten again, like when she’d seen him naked.
She hadn’t imagined it.
He moved then, tugging her back towards the tap, but she said, ‘Wait, I can do it.’ Acting on instinct, she lifted her finger and put the tip into her mouth, sucking it clean.
The air contracted around them. Caio’s eyes weren’t molten any more. They were burning. She took her finger out of her mouth and held it up, pink and moist. No blood.
They were so close that if Ana moved an inch forward the tips of her breasts would come into contact with Caio’s chest. Heat suffused her whole body and made her feel both energised and incredibly languorous. Something had just shifted between them, and it was monumental. She was afraid to say a word in case she broke the spell. It thrummed in her blood like a drumbeat.
He wanted her.He wanted her.
But even as that thought registered, and a surge of excitement and exhilaration made her limbs tremble, Caio broke eye contact and took a step back. He caught Ana’s hand again and deftly wrapped a plaster around her finger before she could take another breath. She felt dizzy at the speed with which he’d gone from hot to cold. It almost made her think she’d imagined it—but she hadn’t.She’d seen it,felt it.Could still feel it in her blood.
Caio was avoiding her eye now. He said briskly, ‘I’ll clean this mess up. You should put some shoes on until I get all the shards.’
Ana felt too unsettled to argue. She left the kitchen and went up to her bedroom, pacing up and down, jittery. Shehadseen it...felt it. There had been something between them. It was as if a veil had been pulled back for a moment and the depth of Caio’s desire had been revealed and it was actually...overwhelming.
And yet he’d shut it down. Clearly giving her the option of pretending she hadn’t noticed.
Her mind raced—how long had he felt like this?
Ana took a deep breath. If she wasn’t imagining this, and if Caio did want her, then this was huge. She was pretty certain she hadn’t been as adept as he when it came to hiding her desire. How could she have been? Compared with him she was...a virgin.
Ana sat down heavily on the bed. Maybe the thought of initiating a novice just didn’t appeal. Not to a man as experienced as him. He would want a lover who knew exactly how to give him what he desired in the shortest amount of time possible. After all, he had told her in no uncertain terms that he didn’t sleep with virgins, and clearly that had overridden any desire he felt.
Ana thought of a lurid piece of gossip she’d read when he’d first appeared at their house to do business with her father. Two women—famous supermodels—had sold their story of a steamy night spent with Caio Salazar, mentioning breathlessly how insatiable he’d been and how they’d never experienced such pleasure...
How could she compete with two supermodels and a threesome? But then they weren’t here...and she was. And, unless she was very mistaken, Caio had been as celibate as she for this last year.
Which meant that surely his level of control wasn’t all that strong? Even if she was a virgin?
That heady recklessness gripped her and this time she didn’t try and stop it. Caio wanted her. She was sure of it. They were alone on this island for twenty-four hours. Less, actually. They’d already been here for a few hours. No distractions. No interruptions. Nothing to lose.
Things were very clear to her now. Time was running out and she did not want to be a virgin when she left this island to embark on her new life. And she wanted Caio Salazar, her ex-husband, to be her first lover.
Wanting him and trying to hide it had become a daily battle. But she didn’t have to battle it any more. Not if she seduced him.
The thought was so audacious that a semi-hysterical giggle rose up Ana’s throat. She put a hand over her mouth to try and contain it.
Serious again, she took her hand down. Caio would not make it easy for her. For whatever reason, he’d kept to his vow for the year, and he hadn’t touched her beyond what had been required in public. She would have to work to seduce him. And maybe it would be humiliating if he had stronger control than she gave him credit for.
But...was her dignity really so important? She’d never have to see him again after this night.
