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Leandro groaned, his pain very real. ‘You are a witch, you know that?’ She was also temptation incarnate. ‘You need sleep, come on.’ He scooped her up and carried her over to the bed; she was asleep before he had tucked the quilt around her.

* * *

Elsie woke up, confused; it took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness. The curtains had been pulled and the only light was coming from the tablet that Leandro held. He put it down and rose from the chair in the corner.

‘What time is it?’ she asked, struggling to sit up as he approached the bed.

He pressed her back down into the bed.

‘Go back to sleep,’ he said, keeping his hand in the centre of her chest.

‘What—?’

‘It’s four a.m.’

‘Have you been to bed at all?’

‘I had some notes to look over.’

She gave a sceptical snort. ‘Come to bed.’

‘You’re—’

‘I promise I won’t jump you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I really don’t have the energy but, seriously, could you just hold me…please?’

Emotion welled up inside him as he stared down at her for a long moment before he nodded.

He was a shadow in the dark as he stripped off his clothes and slipped into the bed beside her, cool against her warm skin.

‘Turn over,’ he said, before fitting himself to the curve of her back. His heavy arm across her made Elsie feel safe.

‘We fit so well.’

‘Perfect fit,’ he agreed huskily. ‘Now, go back to sleep.’

* * *

When Elsie woke again, sunlight from the gap in the curtains illuminated the face of the man sleeping beside her. It was a luxury to be able to study his face without guarding her expression.

She hadn’t realised that it was possible to love someone the way she loved Leandro. Her bones ached with love as she traced the shadows and angles of his face, softened slightly in sleep but still strong.

The need to use the bathroom finally drove her from the bed after she had carefully slipped from his retaining arm, anxious not to disturb him.

Returning, she tiptoed across the room, drawn by the mingled scent of the sea, rosemary and pine carried on the fresh morning breeze wafting through the open balcony door. She twitched the heavy velvet curtain and gasped.

The sky looked as though it was on fire, the horizon lit up with one of the most incredible sunrises she had ever seen. The colours shifted and swirled like a living breathing thing, the streaks of colour ranging from dark purple to pale rose.

She slipped back into the room and, unable to locate her robe or, for that matter, any of her discarded clothes from the previous day, she snatched up a shirt of Leandro’s, lifting it to her nose to breathe in the warm scent it carried of his body before she fought her way into it. Not bothering with the buttons, she tied it in a careless knot at the waist.

Her eyes going to the sleeping outline of Leandro, she paused. He had rolled onto his belly and the sheet was thrown back to reveal the muscles of his broad back.

Her fingertips tingled and her tummy muscles quivered in anticipation of touching his warm satiny skin. She almost slid in beside him but then remembered how exhausted he must be after sitting up half the night and most of the night before. The fine line between her feathery brows deepened as she recalled the lines that had bracketed his mouth and the shadows under his eyes.

With a sigh, she retreated from the tempting warmth of the bed. She slipped back into the bathroom, splashed water on her face, cleaned her teeth and pulled on a pair of joggers and a sweatshirt. She tiptoed through the bedroom while dragging a brush through her sleep-tousled hair and, casting a last wistful glance at the sleeping figure, she slid down the stairs to the door that led directly to the gardens, anxious to enjoy the sunrise while it lasted.

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE FEROCITY OF the sky had mellowed but it was still beautiful as she wandered along the winding pathway, passing through the arch to the bench that was situated to catch the best of the view.