‘Oh!’ She stopped dead, enchanted by the moonlight flickering on the nearly still water. ‘It’s magical. How did you know it was here?’

Andreas maintained his grip on her wrist. ‘I saw it from the terrace when we were drinking champagne earlier.’

After the heat and noise of the ballroom it felt wonderfully peaceful and she stood for a moment, enjoying the silence, breathlessly aware of his powerful presence next to her. Even without turning her head, she sensed that he was looking at her and she felt her heart thud against her chest in a frenzy of anticipation. His fingers hadn’t moved from her wrist but she could feel his touch with every part of her body.

‘Libby?’

All he did was say her name but his soft tone brushed over her nerve endings and made her shiver with a sexual excitement that was as intense as it was unfamiliar.

Barely breathing, she turned to face him and collided with the raw passion in his dark eyes. Suddenly there were butterflies in her stomach and her head felt woolly. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that she was supposed to be resisting him but for the life of her she couldn’t quite remember why.

Why would any woman in her right mind want to resist Andreas?

He was still looking down at her, dark eyes slightly narrowed in a scrutiny so shockingly sexual that she felt dizzy.

By the time he finally lowered his head to hers she was quivering with expectation, longing for his touch, and the moment his mouth found hers she moaned and lifted her hands to his chest, curling her fingers into the front of his shirt, feeling the warmth of his chest through the thin fabric.

He kissed her slowly, teasing her mouth with gentle expertise until she pressed against him, desperate for him to deepen the kiss. Every seductive stroke of his tongue drove her demented with longing and she wrapped her arms round his neck and pulled him closer.

Still kissing her, Andreas shrugged off his jacket, letting it fall onto the grass, and then his arms came round her, hauling her close.

She felt his warm hands slide down her bare back, pressing her against him, making her aware of the intensity of his desire.

And suddenly she wanted more.

He wasn’t moving fast enough.

Her arms dropped from his neck to his waist and she wrenched at his shirt, tearing buttons in her need to get closer to him.

She felt his hands slide the straps of her dress down her arms, baring her breasts to the cool night air. He dragged his mouth from hers and trailed kisses down her bare neck and she threw her head back, her eyes closed, all thought suspended as she felt him move lower. Then the coolness was replaced by warmth as he took her in his mouth, teasing her nipple until she cried out, overwhelmed by the exquisite agony of his touch.