‘God damn you, Natalie,’ he growled, his eyes cold and hot at the same time. ‘God damn you to hell.’

But it was Mike who took her to hell, right there, in the back of that limousine. He didn’t even undress himself. Or her. But she still came, with the same savage swiftness that he did.

Afterwards, he slumped back against the leather seat, total torment in his eyes.

‘Why don’t you ever say no?’ he raged as he fixed his clothes. ‘Why don’t you ever stop me? You should have stopped me this time, Natalie. I didn’t even use a condom!’

She just stared at him, her mind racing to dates, her heart jolting once she realised the possible consequences of his uncontrollable passion. No, not possible, probable. She was right in the middle of her cycle.

Surprisingly, no panic followed this discovery. Instead, a strange calm stole over her. A sense of karma.

‘It’s all right, Mike,’ she told him as she opened her handbag and set about repairing any damage to her appearance. ‘It won’t be a problem.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘Absolutely. I ovulated a while back,’ she said. A minute ago, hopefully. ‘You don’t have to worry. Truly.’

And that was the truth. She would not burden him with a child he didn’t want. If she was lucky enough to become pregnant, she would have his baby all by herself and love it to pieces for the rest of her life, just as she loved him.

‘Oh, do stop scowling at me, Mike,’ she added, her new resolves having brought a boldness with them. ‘I’m not trying to trap you into anything. Okay, so I admit I’d like our relationship to continue for a while longer. You really are very good at sex. But I can see you’re determined to end things when we leave the yacht. I won’t argue with you. But there’s no reason why we can’t enjoy our time left, is there?’

He just shook his head at her, his expression approaching bewildered.

‘I’ll take that as a no,’ she went blithely. ‘Now, could you pour me a glass of that very expensive champagne? No point in wasting it.’

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE Helsinger yacht was what was called an ocean-going super yacht. It was sixty-five metres long, with an aluminium hull, twin engines, computerised navigation systems and a top speed of seventeen knots. It accommodated twelve guests and fourteen crew. There were six deluxe guest cabins, a formal lounge and dining room as well as a large saloon and a home cinema with tiered seats and surround sound. The teak decks incorporated informal dining and entertaining areas along with a swimming pool, a spa, a games area, a heliport—complete with helicopter—and a twelve-metre launch, which doubled as a game-fishing boat.

Their host supplied all this mind-boggling information within minutes of Mike and Natalie boarding the Rosalie.