One Stolen Kiss (17 page)

By the time Adrik and Christie had disembarked and made their way up to the main house, she had changed into another piece of headwear, an enormous floppy sunhat with a trailing headscarf to match the kaftan, and instead of wielding the opera-glasses, she was stationed beside a state-of-the-art telescope in the sun-room that opened onto the terrace. A huge South American scarlet macaw was chained to a perch just inside the retracted bi-fold glass doors, commentating to itself in Spanish with occasional outbursts of
‘Puta! Puuuuta!’ –
apparently suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome.

“
You must excuse Xaviér, he is in love with one of my housekeepers,” Eileen greeted them, her arms open wide for hugs and air-kisses. “I have been looking to see which of my neighbours are home.” She turned back to face the lake and peered into the telescope, which was pointing towards other celebrity residences dotted along the opposite coastline. “They have all had invitations sent to them, but one or two are notoriously last-minute with their plans. Mercy me! I hope she is not thinking of bringing
him…
Tonight we will have dinner with a select few, and tomorrow the grand event. Are you both excited? I cannot wait.”

“
It’s amazing – and so beautiful here,” said Christie, a little over-awed. “I’ve only ever been to Rome before.”

“
I have a couple of places in Venice,” Adrik admitted, going to admire the view. “One of them for visiting – the other is occupied… but I agree, Lake Como is stunning. Let me know if you hear of anything coming onto the market, Eileen. We’d be interested, wouldn’t we?”

He glanced over his shoulder at Christie as she joined him at the top of the steps down to the terrace, shading her eyes against the midday sun.

Everything before them sparkled.

“
I’d fight you for it,” she murmured. “Reckon you could outbid me?”

“
Definitely,” he smirked. “Even your usual powers of persuasion wouldn’t be able to steal it from under my nose.”

“
I knew you would love it here.” Eileen rubbed her bejewelled hands together, and adjusted the telescope. “I’m sure the neighbourhood grapevine will pop something juicy up sooner or later. Heavens above! What is he doing with that watermelon? Not with shrimp, stupid fellow. Far too bland. Oh – where are my manners? Philippe! Drinks. Mimosas, I think. And then show our guests of honour where they will be staying…” She glanced up from the eye-piece, with rather a too-knowing smile. “I’m sure you both need a siesta after your journey.”

* * * *

“Aha,” Adrik observed, on entering the private annexe suite. “A love-nest, indeed.”

The bed was more rose-petals than linens, from what Christie could tell at a glance. Pink and white roses were everywhere else too, along with spicy Oriental lilies. Both the bedroom and sitting-room adjacent opened directly onto their own terrace, complete with sun-beds and infinity pool, shaded at either end with trees that burst directly out of the stonework. The household staff had set out an array of breads, olives and Spanish
tapas
on the low table in front of the sofa, and all re-hydration tastes had been accounted for on the sideboard, from iced water to frozen vodka.

“
Bit too much?” Adrik grinned at Christie, who was still speechless.

“
I don’t know what I’ve done to earn all of this,” she said at last. The concentric hearts of differently-coloured petals on the bedspread, that she could see through the doors to the bedroom, were in danger of hypnotising her. “I almost wish I was really engaged…”

“
Almost wish?” Adrik added something in Russian, with another grin.

“
What was that?” she frowned. “
More-zhna?
”

“
No language lessons today.” He shook his head, and tore a piece off the bread to eat. “Not with that talking macaw around, anyway. Eileen is a bit eccentric, do you think?”

“
Eileen epitomises eccentricity.” Christie helped herself to a lemon-stuffed olive and went to the sitting-room doorway onto the terrace, a sun-trap with an inviting breeze that was just right.

“
Lucas would describe her as ‘bat-shit’ crazy,” Adrik mused. “But he describes Elsie as the same, so it might be a compliment also.”

“
I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you swear.”

“
I practised a lot of swearing.” He leaned in the doorway behind her. “I just haven’t tried any of those words out on you yet.”

True…
She’d struggled to avoid sneaking a wistful look at him at every opportunity over the last few days. He hadn’t attempted anything on her, which at least she was used to. But instead of a platonic relationship conducted in secret, under the radar where nothing intimate would be suspected, it was a platonic relationship conducted in public, out in the open, with intimacy implied in everything they did.

Was the act of an intimate relationship making her want it to be real? Or was something deeper going on?

“If you want to sunbathe…” he offered, while she tried not to let her eyes settle for too long on his, but finding the alternative of dropping her gaze to his open-collared blue shirt and the way it pulled and creased over his chest and shoulders was equally distracting. “I’ll let you get out your evil bikini. I might sunbathe too. But let me do the knots first.”

That pool looked so inviting, Christie’s “Yes!” was barely out of her mouth before she scampered in the direction of the suitcases.

“I liked that ‘yes’ too,” he chuckled. “I should really think of a good question…”

* * * *

She let him double-knot all of the ties on the bikini when she emerged from the bathroom with it on, ensuring, as he said, that she would not be able to ‘whip it off’ and jump him, like a bondage ninja.

“
You wish,” she muttered, the feel of his hands working so close to her skin making her rebellious.

“
Not a chance,” he replied. “Not while I can stop you. Okay – off you go. I’m going to change as well.”

She padded out onto the terrace with a few things from the sitting-room table, including an ice-bucket to cool the drinks, and the olives that she liked, and nibbled some while admiring the view. A few boats were dotted around idly on the lake, and it was so quiet and peaceful – so unlike being in London. As for Manhattan – that was a cacophony in comparison.

Trailing a toe in the water of the pool, she found it felt as incredible as it looked. After licking her fingers clean of the olive dressing, she perched on the edge and slipped in.

The infinity illusion captivated her, and she swam straight towards it to rest her elbows on the brink, feeling as though she could swim straight off the ends of the Earth.

“When are your parents coming over?”

“
Tomorrow.” She looked around, as Adrik took a seat on one of the loungers. He had changed into some relatively modest graffiti-print board shorts, but it was his build, and the way he looked directly into her eyes as he settled himself, that made them the hottest thing she’d ever seen. “And – your uncles?”

“
Same,” he confirmed, flipping the cap on a bottle of sun-block he had brought outside with him. “Are you practising safe sun?”

“
Not yet.” She considered, as she had on a number of occasions, whether his English speech patterns were deliberate, connected to his dry sense of humour, or accidental – in the same way that he occasionally found things funny in the way she spoke. The look in his eyes at the moment suggested that he knew exactly what he was referring to. “It’s fine, there’s shade under the tree at the end of the pool if I need it. I’ve only just got in, I’m not going to jump out again right now. I’m sure you can put yours on yourself.”

He covered a smirk, and she wondered if she had done it again, even while thinking about it.

“I have,” he told her. “Let me do you.”

“
No,” she replied, although the idea almost dissolved her. The setting and the water lapping so deliciously around her body made her feel like being contrary and difficult. “You don’t get to use that as an excuse to touch me.”

His eyes remained on hers, amused – and challenging.

“Do I need an excuse, then?” he asked.

Her cheeks burned as she turned back to face the lake in order to hide it. There was no easy answer to that question…

“I think I can see a paparazzi boat,” he said, thoughtfully, following a moment’s awkward silence.

“
What?” Christie shaded her eyes. “Where?”

“
Straight ahead.” His phone rang on the tray between the loungers, and he picked it up. “Hello, Eileen… Yes, we can see them too. No, we’re not naked at the moment… I’m sure we can. Thank you.”

He disconnected.

“There are three of them in that boat, according to Eileen in the crow’s nest,” he reported. “They cruise all of the villas along here apparently, whenever they get a charter that they can bribe.”

“
Well, they can cruise all they want,” Christie replied. “I don’t sunbathe topless – or bottomless. Maybe I should just wave them ahoy, and we can invite them in for a cup of herb tea and a snack?”

“
They’ll go away when they’ve got their gossip item photos,” said Adrik. “Come over here and let me put some sun-block on you. That should keep them happy. Or at least make them want to go and find a Men’s room fairly quickly.”

“
Eeeww.” Christie scowled over her shoulder. “I think you’re playing an elaborate trick on me, Adrik Maksimov. Using sun-block and the paparazzi to support your own fiendish and dastardly plans.”

Adrik laughed, getting up from the lounger. He put the sun-block down on the tray and headed back inside.

Christie turned her attention back to the view. She didn’t want it spoilt with thoughts of what or who it might contain – or what they were doing out there. She didn’t want any of it spoilt. It was too beautiful to contain nasty surprises.

A ripple broke over her shoulders, and she gasped as Adrik’s hands closed around her waist underwater.

“Jeez, you scared me!” She looked around, to see he had the black webbing strap of something held in his teeth, and for a split second absolute terror shot through her.

“
Binoculars,” he said, spitting out the strap. Too late for her adrenal glands, which had just sent her heart into orbit, via her ears. “What’s that face for?”

“
You sneak up on me with something like that in your mouth, and you don’t expect a reaction?” she managed, at last. “Holy hell, Adrik. I thought you were about to…”

“
Tie you up?” He grinned. “Ha ha.
More-zhna.
”

“
And you’re not allowed to use that word again until I know what it means.” She accepted the sports binoculars as he pushed them into her hands. “Okay. Where did you say they were?”

“
Straight ahead, middle. Not the really big boat.” He rested his elbows on the edge of the pool beside her. “The fast one. So they can get away in one piece, if they upset somebody. There are sometimes Italian or Sicilian Mafia here on holiday.”

“
And what would you know about them?” she mused, scanning the lake as idly as she could, attempting not to appear as though she was looking for anything specific.

“
You’d have to ask my uncles that,” he replied. “See them yet?”

Christie turned the binoculars slowly across the water, until she found the sizeable enough speedboat and its occupants.

“I’m really tempted to wave,” she remarked.

“
Don’t.”

“
One of them has a hat on, with those ear-and-neck-flaps that stop children getting sunburn,” she added. “It looks very funny. And they have tripods. How are those going to do them any good, out on the water?”

“
They might want their hands free for something else.” Adrik chuckled, as she elbowed him lightly. “For their other cameras. In case they miss anything. You’d better give me those back now, in case they get suspicious.”

“
Well, I hope they’re not here tomorrow. I liked the view without them in the way.”

“
There’ll be plenty of other scandals for them to seek tomorrow,” he replied, and took a quick look through the binoculars himself. “And I think they might find that the charters are all too busy. They do seem to be interested in us at the moment, though. Maybe if we give them a kiss they’ll go away.”

“
What, blow them a kiss?” Christie asked.

“
No, a movie-star kiss. For the cameras,” he said. “You and me.”

Christie felt herself going numb. A kiss for the cameras, as she well knew, wasn’t a real kiss.

Not like this
, she thought.

Maybe that’s the only sort he can do.

He rested his chin on his forearm to bring his eyes level with hers.

“
Thinking that I might be tricking you again?” he suggested.