and through the cave he could see the sea shimmering silver in the moonlight, but as he emerged
onto the beach he stopped abruptly, and his heart kicked in his chest. For a moment he wondered
if his mind was playing tricks on him, but the woman standing a few feet away from him was
undoubtedly real, and her hourglass figure was instantly recognisable—even without her clothes.#p#分页标题#e#
Kitty swam right across the bay and back again with clean, strong strokes and then flipped onto
her back and stared up at the moon, and the crystal stars that studded the midnight sky. She felt
bold and empowered—as unashamedly naked as Eve had been in the Garden of Eden. There was
something wickedly sensuous about the silken slide of the water over her bare limbs. She loved
swimming and in the water she felt as light and graceful as a water nymph—at peace with her
body instead of hating it for not conforming to the model slender form she had tried, through
numerous diets and exercise regimes, to acquire.
Vasilis wouldn’t be so ready to taunt her about her supposed sexual hang-ups if he could see her
now, she thought as she turned onto her front and allowed the waves to carry her back to the
shore. The beach was shadowed and mysterious in the moonlight. The huge boulders that stood
guard at either end of the cove loomed like faceless giants, but despite the darkness and her
short-sightedness Kitty could distinctly make out the figure of a man, and her heart almost leapt
from her chest.
Dear God! Had Vasilis followed her? Fear uncoiled in the pit of her stomach, a wave caught her
unawares and dragged her under, and she bobbed back to the surface gagging from the salt water
she’d swallowed but desperate not to cough and attract the attention of the intruder. It had to be
Vasilis. Few of the other guests at the ball were aware of the path leading from the palace to the
beach, but Vasilis knew about it and had come here several times with her brothers.
The prospect of meeting her tormentor on the secluded beach sent a shiver of trepidation down
Kitty’s spine. She had seen the way he’d looked at her on the terrace, his lecherous grin that had
changed to anger when she’d made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Vasilis would
not have dared lay a finger on her outside the ballroom, but here there was no one to help her—
or hear her scream.
Clouds drifted across the moon, blotting out its brilliant gleam and plunging the beach into pitch
blackness, and, seizing her chance, Kitty tore up the sand and crouched behind a rock. Her breath
came in shallow gasps and her heart was pounding when the figure strolled down towards the
water’s edge.
‘Hello, Rina,’ he drawled. ‘This is the second time tonight I’ve caught you playing hooky.
Shouldn’t you be busy at work at the ball?’
For a few seconds shock rendered Kitty speechless. ‘ You! ’ she spluttered at last as the clouds above them parted and moonlight danced across Nikos Angelaki’s sculpted features. Attack
seemed the best form of defence and although her nakedness forced her to remain behind the
rock her voice was sharp when she snapped, ‘Do you know you’re trespassing? This is a private
beach.’
‘Indeed it is. It belongs to the royal family, and I have express permission from Prince Sebastian
to be here,’ Nikos replied coolly. ‘The only trespasser is you—unless the prince has suddenly
opened up the beach for use by the palace staff. Do you have permission to be here, Rina?’
Kitty stared at him wordlessly, not knowing how to answer without revealing her true identity.
She was agonisingly aware that she was naked, and she wished a hole would appear at her feet
and swallow her up. ‘The party hasn’t finished yet. What are you doing here?’ she mumbled in a
voice thick with embarrassment.
In the pearly light cast by the moon she saw Nikos shrug. ‘It was hot in the ballroom, and I
decided to walk down to the beach for some fresh air. I could hardly believe my eyes when I
came through the cave and caught sight of you.’
‘You should have said something. I believed I was alone,’ Kitty said miserably, burning up with
mortification when she recalled how she had stripped out of her clothes. She prayed Nikos had
arrived after she had run into the sea, but he swiftly shattered her tenuous hope.
‘I was afraid I’d startle you,’ he drawled. His voice dipped and the amusement in his tone was
mixed with something else. ‘Besides, what red-blooded male would have spoken out and risked
spoiling the show? I was so careful not to make a sound that I barely drew breath.’ He paused for