Free Reckless in Paradise by Trish Morey Page A

once again she cursed the absence of anything she could hold up against her chest as a shield to hide her suddenly achingly hard nipples.
    â€˜About what?’
    He glanced up at her eyes, looking for all the world like a predator at ease, propped up on one elbow against the pillow-decked headrest, all long-limbed elegance sprawled ever so casually and yet with a barely suppressed energy just waiting to be unleashed.
    â€˜About whatever you’ve been thinking about this last five minutes you’ve been staring into space.’
    She swallowed, attempted a smile and was sure it came off as too contrived, but she was still too thrown by the picture of him lounging ever so casually against the wide bed to know how to compensate. If he looked that good dressed, lying on a big, wide bed, how much better would he look undressed?
    Oh, no!
    She knew in that moment that there was no way— no way —she wanted this wedding to take place here on Kallista. Her thoughts would be forever distracted by pictures of Daniel sprawled back against the bedding, or with the fine cotton of his shirt rippling against his bronzed olive skin as the warm wind tugged at the fabric, or with him just being there.
    So she made a show of checking her watch and flashing her brightest, most meaningless smile. ‘I think we better get on with the inspection if I’m going to make my flight.’
    It was as bad as she expected. There were twenty such bures, all just as superbly appointed. They were tuckedbetween the palms around the lagoon with enough distance between them to make you think you were the only inhabitants on the island, plus there was a central long house that served as lounge-bar and restaurant.
    It was worse than bad, she decided, sipping on a mango cocktail and overlooking a crystal clear pool set amidst the palms.
    It was an absolute disaster.
    It was perfect.
    Or it could be, if not for the man sitting opposite her right now.
    Daniel Caruana leaned smugly back in his chair like he thought he had the whole world and not just his sister’s wedding stitched up.
    Sophie was more and more fearful that he did—at least, when it came to the wedding. After all, this was a man used to fighting and winning corporate battles every day, used to manoeuvring against major players in the boardroom and beating them at their own game. How was she supposed to hold her own against the likes of him?
    â€˜I guess we should be heading to the helicopter soon,’ she suggested, ‘if I’m going to make my flight.’
    â€˜I guess we should,’ he said, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head as if he had no intention of going anywhere. ‘Except…’ He smiled. ‘You haven’t told me what you think of my infrastructure yet.’
    She sipped her drink, gazing as inconspicuously as possible over the rim of her glass at the broad expanse of chest under the snug-fitting shirt. There was nothing at all wrong with his infrastructure from where she was sitting; the man was a perfect specimen, fit, strong and sexy as sin, and that was putting it mildly. Not that she was about to admit it. ‘I didn’t expect to find the island so developed. I was under the impression there was just the one dwelling.’
    He dropped his hands to his front, lacing his fingers over an impossibly flat stomach. Did the man not have an ounce of fat anywhere? ‘It seemed selfish to keep all this to myself.’
    â€˜But there’s nobody here but us and a handful of staff, and you don’t operate as a resort. What’s it all for?’
    He shrugged. ‘Caruana Corporation has many employees who require the usual training and professional development. Sometimes they come for team-building exercises, sometimes as incentives. One group of managers has just left this morning. Another team will arrive next week. A skeleton staff keeps the place ticking over in between.’
    â€˜But it looks