“Thank you,” she croaked out.

He probed the back of her head with his fingertips. “Does this hurt?”

“Just a little.”

“There is no bump forming.”

“I’m all right.”

He didn’t release her, but continued checking for injuries in a way that left her trembly with want. “What were you doing?”

She felt heat blister her cheeks while she tried to control the urge to touch back. “Stretching.”

“You fell.”

“You surprised me,” she informed him in a cranky tone that made her cringe inside. “I lost my balance.”

“Ah, so it is my fault.”

She tilted her head back to see his face, unable to credit the humor in his voice, but it was reflected in his molten metal eyes. So was a warmth she would do well to pretend was not there.

“Yes.”

“Then I must do something to show my remorse at causing such a mishap.”

Her jaw locked against any word she might have uttered as his mouth came down to meet her own.

It was not a flaming kiss, had no overt passion in it, but nevertheless, her heart went wild and her body ached to align itself with his.

Thankfully, his hold on her shoulders was too strong to allow her to do it and humiliate herself in the process.

He lifted his head. “You have sweet lips, Rachel.”

She licked them, tasting only him. “Thank you.”

“So polite.” He kissed her again, this time letting his lips linger for a few seconds, letting his tongue slip out to gently mesh with her own.

He pulled back far enough to speak. “Have I made up for my transgression?”

His breath brushed her lips tantalizingly and she wanted to continue the kiss, but she forced out a choked, “Yes.”

“That is unfortunate.”

Oh, man…this guy was one-hundred percent lethal. “Y-yes, it is.”

“Maybe I should put something on account.”

She couldn’t say anything as his mouth came over hers again, but just as the kiss was turning wickedly interesting, Phillippa’s voice came from the doorway.

“Is she all right, Sebastian? What happened?”

Making a low sound of frustration, he lifted his head and looked over his shoulder. “I startled her when she was stretching and she fell.”

“I’m fine,” Rachel added, prickling with hot embarrassment at having her clumsiness revealed as well as being caught kissing him.

“Are you sure? You are still on the floor.”

Sebastian’s laughter made his chest vibrate against Rachel and she felt herself falling further under his spell. “She is still on the floor because I have not let her up yet.”

“Oh.”

There was a wealth of meaning in that little word and it seemed to disturb Sebastian because his joviality disappeared and he made quick work of getting them both back on their feet and then stepping away from her. It felt like a rejection and she wanted to remind him he’d been the one to kiss her.

However, his white shirt showed smudges and wrinkles from her dusty hands where she’d unwittingly clutched at him and she had to admit, if only to herself, that she’d been a more than willing participant.

“Aristide is here. We will have lunch and then he will take me back to the mainland.”

“You’re leaving?” Rachel asked.

“Yes. I must get back to my garden.”

“Thank you for your help with Andrea’s things.”

“It was my pleasure. You are a gentle young woman. I have been grieving my uncle’s death and you kept my mind set on the present, not the past. It is I who owe you my thanks.”

Rachel did not know how to react to the praise or the look of frowning interest Sebastian was bestowing on her. She felt like a moth in a jar and was finding it just as difficult to breathe.

“I like you,” she finally managed to get out and Phillippa smiled.

“The feeling is mutual.”

Thankfully, Sebastian said something about Rachel getting cleaned up before lunch and made it possible for her to make her escape.

Sebastian watched Rachel hurry from the room, her cheeks as red as ripe pomegranate seeds. “She does not know how to take a compliment.”

“I imagine with her mother, she did not receive many,” his mother replied as they made their way downstairs.

“No, I do not suppose she did.”

“Andrea Demakis brought a great deal of pain to our family.”

“Yes,” he growled, wishing his body wasn’t still reacting to holding Rachel in his arms.

His mother gave him one of those looks he’d never learned to decipher as they entered the dining room. “To be such a woman’s daughter would have been even more painful.”

“She did nothing to stem her mother’s downward spiral this last year.”

“Perhaps she felt she had no influence.”

“Or she found her own comfort more important to her than that of an old man.”

He had no trouble interpreting his mother’s expression now. Disappointment radiated from her dark eyes and he gritted his teeth against justifying his accusation against Rachel. He had a feeling nothing he said would improve the situation.

He turned to greet his brother, but his mother was not finished with the conversation.

She walked around him to stand between him and his brother. “And does your personal comfort require you to drag her down to her mother’s level in your mind so that you will not give in to the attraction you have for her?”

“I am not—”

His mother raised her hand. “Lie to yourself, my son, but do not attempt to lie to the woman who gave you birth. Rachel is not anything like Andrea, but if you believed that, your heart would be at risk and that frightens you.”

That was going too far. “I could never love the daughter of Andrea Demakis.”

“Uh-oh.” His brother’s expression was pained and his mother made a moue of distress.

Needing no further impetus, Sebastian turned toward the doorway.

Rachel stood, framed in its entry, wounded green eyes fixed on him.

SHE’D made an amazing transition in so short a time. Her straight brown hair was in a loose pile on top of her head and she’d changed into a dress that not only matched her eyes, but fit her more closely than her other clothing. The sage green silk highlighted the curves he’d been desperate to touch only minutes before and she’d glossed her bow-shaped lips. She looked beautiful and infinitely kissable.

Her expression said that would not be on offer again in this lifetime.

“I did not mean…” He drifted into silence for the first time in memory, not knowing what to say to undo the damage his hasty words had done.

She turned her head, breaking eye contact, her body language dismissing him as effectively as if she had told him to go to hell.

“Would it be possible for you and Aristide to delay your departure an hour?” she asked his mother. “I could pack and go with you. I’ve finished sorting Andrea’s things.”

His mother shocked him by shaking her head with evident regret. “I am sorry, Rachel, but Aristide has an appointment he must keep. We will leave directly after lunch.”

Aristide looked surprised as well, but he nodded. “That is right. I am sorry, Rachel.”

“I could pack while the rest of you eat,” Rachel offered.

Both the offer and her initial request infuriated Sebastian and he did not know why. “Surely that is not necessary. I will arrange for your transport to the mainland tomorrow morning.”

“I would prefer to leave today.” She didn’t bother to look at him as she said it.

“You have no reason to fear staying alone in the villa with me.”

She turned then and her gaze flayed him. “You’ve made that clear enough.”

“Come, let us eat lunch. Rachel, you do not wish to pack in a rush. That invariably leads to leaving something behind.”

Rachel sighed, looking unhappy, but accepting. “You are right. I won’t be returning to the island, so I will have to make sure I take everything with me this time.”