Passion & Pleasure: Savage Awakening / For Pleasure...Or Marriage? / Taken for His Pleasure

‘Too late for what?’

‘I think that’s enough, Amy,’ murmured a soft voice close by and Matt realised that, in concentrating on the little girl, he’d missed the fact that Fliss had come to join them. She was looking at him now with that mixture of regret and understanding in her eyes he’d seen before, and he wondered why he found it so easy to talk to her and her daughter when it was so difficult for him to talk to anyone else.

Chapter Eleven

THEY drove back to Mallon’s End in the late afternoon. Amy was tired, and Fliss wasn’t surprised when she glanced over her shoulder to find the little girl had fallen asleep. It had been a long day for her, filled with activity, and Fliss wished she knew how to thank Matt for his kindness towards her daughter.

Matt himself seemed quite willing to remain silent on the return journey, but it was an amicable silence, much different from the charged atmosphere she had created that morning. But, dammit, Diane had said he was her fiancé, Fliss defended herself. And she was fairly sure that was who Matt had suspected was on the phone.

However, that was nothing to do with her, and the fact that Matt had confided in her about his experiences had been much more important. Her skin tingled just thinking about what he’d had to go through, and she suspected that if Amy hadn’t been there, her attraction to him might well have got her into other difficulties. There was no doubt there had been times when the tension between them had been almost palpable.

Not least when she’d interrupted his conversation with Amy at the water’s edge early in the day. Just remembering how he’d looked then, all dark and tanned and wet, made her feel shivery. His cargo shorts had been clinging to his legs, outlining every bulge that they were supposed to cover. He’d have looked less sexy if he’d been naked, she thought ruefully, her pulse quickening in spite of herself. Although perhaps not. She knew better than anyone that Matt always looked sexy, with or without his clothes.

Still, she was glad she hadn’t taken her swimsuit with her. Her bikini, which she’d had for far too many years, would only have accentuated the extra pounds she’d put on since Amy was born. She could just imagine how she’d have looked, her breasts spilling out of the cups of the bra, the bikini briefs tight around her hips. Oh, yes, she was no photographic model, nor ever would be.

Later in the morning, they’d all played beach cricket before retiring to the fast-food restaurant that adjoined the harbour. Fliss had brought sandwiches for lunch, but Matt’s offer of cheeseburger and chips and a delicious cup of freshly brewed coffee had been too tempting to turn down. Which would have done little for her waistline, she acknowledged now. But what the hell? She wasn’t trying to impress anyone.

After lunch, they’d gone for a walk along the cliffs, and Matt had entertained Amy by telling her stories of the pirate ships that had used to patrol the coastline on the lookout for young women they sold into slavery in North Africa.

‘Like you were?’ Amy had asked artlessly, and Matt had exchanged a wry look with Fliss before saying flatly, ‘In a manner of speaking.’ But Fliss had been left with the impression that that was one aspect of his captivity he still found hard to discuss.