Free Sold to the Enemy by Sarah Morgan

I was relying on you being as bad as everyone says you are.’ She flopped back onto the soft sand and he gave a growl low in his throat.
    ‘One of my few life rules is never to have sex with a drunk woman. You should be grateful for that. Stand up! I can’t have a conversation with you when you’re lying at my feet like a starfish.’
    ‘Why do men always compare me to animals? First my father says I’m a giraffe and now you say I’m a starfish. The day a man tells me I’m a whale, I’m killing myself.’
    With an exasperated sigh he bent and lifted her and she tumbled against him, her body pressed hard against his. There was a tense, throbbing silence broken only by the soft sound of the sea on the sand and his harsh breathing in her ear.
    ‘This,’ he breathed, ‘is not turning out the way I planned it.’
    ‘Tell me about it. I thought amazing things would happen to a girl wearing a dress like this but all I got was lots of anticipation, an incredible kiss and a lecture.’
    His grip on her tightened. ‘You should be grateful I’m showing restraint.’
    ‘Well, I’m not. I hate the fact you’re so controlled. I’d do anything for you to just lose it for a moment and follow your deepest male instincts.’
    He muttered something under his breath and then cupped her face in his hands and slanted his mouth over hers. Excitement flashed through her, slid through her limbs and deep into her bones until she felt the strength leaving her. As his tongue traced the seam of her lips and dipped inside Selene felt her tummy tighten and the world spin. His mouth moved slowly, expertly, over hers and she lost track of time and place, of herself.
    Just when she’d decided that all her dreams about kissing were still intact, he released her.
    The sense of loss was searing.
    She stared up at him in the semi-darkness, acutely aware of the contrast between them. He was all raw power and masculinity. Despite her height, in her bare feet she barely reached his shoulder.
    Without thinking she stretched out her hand and touched his face and instantly heard his sharp intake of breath.
    ‘I’m taking you back to the room.’
    ‘Yes. Take me back to your room so that we can try out your big, beautiful bed. Strip me naked and do unspeakable things to me,’ she murmured, running her fingers over his biceps. ‘You’re very strong.’
    ‘Strong enough to stop you doing something you’ll regret tomorrow.’
    ‘You see? You pretend to be bad, but then you’re good. I hate to say I told you so, but I was right all along. Secretly you’re a nice person, although right now...’ Selene suppressed a yawn. ‘Right now, I wish you weren’t.’
    ‘Stop talking, Selene. Whenever a thought comes into your head, just trap it there. Don’t let it out.’
    ‘That’s what I’ve been doing all my life. If my brain is a computer then my hard drive is definitely full.’ She gave a gasp as he scooped her off her feet and strode across the sand.
    Mouth tight with disapproval, he carried her up a flight of illuminated steps to a private part of the villa. Brightly coloured bougainvillaea tumbled over whitewashed walls and he strode past the small pool she’d noticed earlier outside the doors of the master suite.
    ‘This place is so romantic. Just in case you don’t have the energy to make it to the beach, you can leap in here on the way.’ Selene gazed at the smooth, floodlit surface of the water, thinking it was the most tranquil place she’d ever seen. Lush exotic plants clustered around the edge of a beautiful pool and the tantalising sound of water came from two elaborate water features. ‘How long have you owned this place?’
    ‘A long time.’ His voice was terse. ‘Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?’
    ‘I definitely want you to carry me. I really like it.’ Selene tightened her arms around his neck. ‘I want you to carry me straight to bed, and teach me everything I don’t know about seduction. We can