Master of Her Virtue - By Miranda Lee Page 0,61

of savage rebellion. But she still stood up and came inside, Leo shutting the French doors behind her. He was wearing the larger of the blue robes, she noted, thankful that he wasn’t strutting around in his birthday suit.

Of course, he had every reason to strut. Leo had a magnificent body for a forty-year-old. Not overly muscular but fit and lean with a wonderful shape. Broad shoulders, slim hips, tight butt and a six-pack stomach which years of obsessive rowing had produced. As for the rest of him, what could she say? Obviously he was more than adequate in that department. And he knew it!

‘I suppose I should start getting ready for dinner,’ she said. ‘I take longer than you.’

A lot longer. Violet had learnt during the last three months that good grooming took ages. Men only needed to shower and shave then throw on their clothes. Women—ones who wanted to turn heads, anyway—had so much more to attend to. Aside from hair and make-up, they had to dress correctly for the occasion. Then there was the jewellery and perfume, all designed to compliment, enhance and, yes, turn heads.

Tonight, Violet wanted to turn Leo’s head. It was her last-ditch stand. Her last throw of the dice. If he didn’t say the things she wanted to hear tonight then it was over for her. Violet refused to waste the rest of her life running after a man who couldn’t—or wouldn’t—love her back. And she would tell him so. There would be no more hiding her feelings. No more pretending.

It would be extremely difficult, but Violet aimed to confront Leo with her love for him. Then the ball would be totally in his court.

‘The time for fun and games is over, Leo,’ she muttered under her breath as she strode purposefully into the bedroom to select her clothes for the night ahead.

Leo frowned when Violet shut the bedroom door behind her. That was the second time in the last hour that she’d shut a door on him. The logical side of his brain said it meant nothing, but the emotional side reacted very differently. He didn’t like the feeling that she was shutting him out suddenly, that she was angry with him for some reason.

He tried to work out what he’d done earlier which might have upset her, his frown deepening as he recalled what they’d got up to in bed. She hadn’t seemed to mind his tying her up again. In fact, she’d revelled in every erotically charged moment. Violet was a highly sexed girl, ready and willing to try out anything he suggested. He’d loved showing her that sex did not always have to be in the missionary position.

He’d especially loved it when she’d been happy to try some mild bondage. Most women did seem to like that. Violet certainly had, if you went by the number of times she’d come yesterday. Today had been different, of course. He’d only let her come the once. But her reaction showed it had been worth it. Delayed gratification was always way more intense.

Leo concluded their activities this afternoon were unlikely to be the problem. Which meant there was something else bothering Violet.

What was it, then?

The answer, when it came to him, had been staring him in the face. This was their last day together. Tomorrow, they would both be jetting back to their respective homes which were thousands of miles apart. Violet wasn’t angry with him personally. She was angry with fate for putting them at different ends of the earth.

He wasn’t happy about their holiday ending, either. Far from it. He was even crazier about Violet now than ever.

No, no, Leo, be honest for once. You’re more than crazy about her. You’re in love with her!

All the breath left Leo’s lungs in a rush. How could he not have known till now that he was in love with the girl?

Gulping in some much-needed air, Leo tried to think about the situation with some of the cool logic he’d always prided himself on and which had been sadly lacking since he’d met Violet.

His mind went back to the first night they’d met and the way he’d felt about her before lust had clouded his judgement. Her fresh innocence had enchanted him. So had her honesty and her lack of guile. Yes, he’d been sexually attracted to her but, more than that, he’d really liked her. Liked her so much he’d tried not to get involved with her.

Why? Because he thought he was