Lucas placed his hand over hers, anchoring it to the strong warmth of his wrist. His expression was difficult to read, given he was wearing his aviator glasses. ‘We can take a boat if you can’t face flying in the helicopter. But I have engaged a pilot with a lot of experience, and I’ll be by your side the whole time.’
Ruby knew he wanted to get to his island as soon as he could, and she was touched that he was prepared to put her concerns ahead of his own. She glanced down at their joined hands and suppressed a tiny shiver. Not of fear but of excitement. His skin was deeply tanned, and the rough, masculine hair sprinkled on his arm and over the back of his hand was a heady reminder of the powerful male hormones charging through his body. The hormones that were signalling to her female ones and sending them a little haywire.
She took a shaky breath and slipped her hand out of his hold. ‘It’s okay. I’ll be brave. I might get seasick otherwise—and that could be infinitely worse.’
His sudden smile transformed his features, making him appear younger and more approachable. And even more dangerously irresistible.
Lucas held Ruby’s small hand in his once they’d taken their seats in the four-person helicopter. He could feel the tremor of her fingers and gave them a reassuring squeeze.
Touching her had become rather a habit—a habit he found increasingly hard to resist. Holding her in his arms had made his blood tingle as it had never tingled before. Her body was slim and utterly feminine, each soft curve stirring his body into rampant lust. Perhaps it was his current sex drought, or perhaps it was because he couldn’t see but could only feel. All he knew was that he had to be careful around her. She was not his type and he wasn’t hers. A fling between them would be completely inadvisable...even if it was sorely tempting.
Lucas was still brooding with anger over how she had been treated in her early childhood. The cruelty was unpardonable, and all these years later Ruby was clearly still carrying the scars. It was ironic that she’d found coming to live on his family estate so stabilising, for he had never experienced it as anything but a battleground for overblown egos. But, putting his parents’ issues aside, Ruby had benefited from living there with her grandmother.
He could understand why she would be upset about him selling Rothwell Park. And she would potentially be even more upset when she found out who was buying it. She had already mentioned the hotel billionaire Jack Livingstone in regard to her friend Harper. Lucas should have told her then and there that Jack was the buyer, but he and Jack had signed an agreement to keep the details confidential until the sale was finalised.
The pilot started the engine and Ruby flinched as the rotor blades began to spin. Lucas lifted her hand and laid it on his thigh, speaking to her through the headset microphone. ‘Breathe, Ruby...nice and deep and slow. Exhale on the count of three...let go of all your tension with each breath out.’
She dug her nails into his thigh, as if anchoring herself to him. He couldn’t hear above the noise of the engine or through the headset whether her breathing had slowed once the helicopter rose in the air, but gradually her grip on his thigh relaxed.
‘Are we up very high? I’m not brave enough to open my eyes yet.’
‘And here I was, relying on you to tell me what you see.’ He kept his tone light.
Ruby’s hand slipped off his thigh and he had to stop himself from reaching for it to bring it back. He sensed her shifting in her seat to look out of the window at her side.
‘The water is so blue.’
‘What shade of blue?’
‘A gorgeous turquoise that makes you want to dive in and swim for hours...’
Her voice took on a dreamy note and he pictured her swimming like a mermaid in the ocean.
‘What else do you see?’
‘A few white clouds.’
‘What type of clouds?’
‘Hey, I was never that good at geography. Clouds are just clouds to me.’
Lucas gave a wry smile. ‘Are they high or low?’
‘High and kind of thready—like stretched out cotton wool.’
‘They would be cirrus clouds.’
‘Oh, right.’ She leaned closer to her window. ‘Oh, my goodness. I think I can see dolphins. A whole pod of them. Wow!’
‘Describe them to me.’
‘There’s about ten or so, and they’re all swimming in one direction—perhaps feeding on a school of fish. The water on their backs as they breach to take in air shines like millions of diamonds. They’re so sleek and nimble, so fluid in the water...’
The breathless wonder in her voice entranced him so much that he could picture what she described in his mind.
‘Oh, wow, one has just leapt out of the water and splashed back down. The sun caught his silver back and dorsal fin. I’ve never seen anything so incredibly beautiful...’
Lucas wished he could see the awe on her face, but he realised that listening to her had its own reward. ‘What else can you see?’