Page 42 of Their One-Night Rio Reunion
The thought of her leaving, of not having her again, was...inconceivable. Caio was not used to not getting what he wanted. Yet here he was in this unique situation. Unprecedented. It had always been easy for him to say goodbye to a lover. But not this time.
He turned to face Ana. ‘You don’t have to go. You could stay.’
Ana went very still. Had she heard right? Or was her imagination playing tricks on her?
She forced herself to look at Caio. ‘What did you say?’
He folded his arms over his chest. ‘You could stay. You don’t have to leave.’
‘And do what, exactly?’
‘Stay with me.’
Ana’s heart thumped. ‘We’re divorced, Caio. In what capacity would I be staying with you?’
‘As my lover.’
Ana hated the betraying bloom of hope deep inside when Caio wasn’t really offering anything at all. Just a stay of execution. ‘What do you think the gossips would make of that?’
‘Since when did you care about society’s opinion?’
That stung. Ana had to concede that, while she’d always disdained the world she’d been born into, she’d come to move within it in the past year with more ease than she’d like to admit. Sharing Caio’s cynicism about many of the people in their world, she’d learnt not to take it so seriously. And she’d loved it that Caio’s attitude to it all was to do his best to get the most out of people, to appeal to their very superficial sense of charity to extract as much money from them as possible and pass it on to worthy causes.
‘You’ve spent a year in a marriage of convenience,’ she pointed out. ‘In order to shore up your reputation. And now you’re willing to jeopardise it all? Just for sex?’
Caio’s face flushed. ‘This chemistry is...insane, Ana. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It’s more than just sex.’
Ana’s heart palpitated.Exactly.It was more than just sex. The stubborn bloom of hope was back. ‘What exactly are you offering, Caio?’
‘A chance to let this play out.’
A chance to let this play out.The bloom of hope faded again.
Ana folded her arms too. ‘How long would you see this “playing out”?’
‘A week...a month...who knows?’
The old hurt of abandonment and a sense of vulnerability made Ana say, ‘What about a year? You managed to keep your hands off me for a whole year, Caio. Clearly I wasn’t all that irresistible. Are you sure it’s not just the island air going to your head?’
Caio’s face tightened. ‘I respected you, Ana. I didn’t want to blur the lines.’
‘So you don’t respect the women you sleep with?’
Caio cursed. ‘Of course I do. I didn’t mean it like that.’
‘But it’s okay to sleep with me now because we’re no longer married. Marriage really is a passion-killer for you, isn’t it?’
Angry with herself for feeling torn by Caio’s suggestion—tempted, but also devastated anew because it was more than obvious that he wasn’t interested in more—Ana was galvanised to move. She picked up the strewn clothes from the beach and began to walk back up to the villa.
Caio was behind her. In the kitchen, Ana put the clothes into the washing machine and turned it on.
He said, ‘So that’s it, then? You’re not interested?’
Ana stopped, but didn’t turn to face him.Not interested?Her heart twisted.He had no idea. Every cell in her body clamoured at the sound of his voice. Her blood simmered. Between her legs she ached to feel him slide there again, thrusting so deep inside her she couldn’t breathe. She knew she’d never experience that again. And it was heartbreaking.
She thought of something and went into the den. She found the picture and picked it up, then took it over to Caio. She held it out.
He said, ‘What’s this?’
