渐渐地，她所有的幻想都变成了现实。克里斯蒂安这样待她，期待她能有所回应。他时而温柔时而苛刻，时而俏皮时而慷慨，给予她以前想都不敢想的感官享受。
After a night of knife-edged passion, and sensations that made her thrash and moan and stifle her screams again and again, she found him resting on one elbow, looking down at her as she drowsed and finally slid awake to a golden morning.
经过一个激情四射之夜，那种感觉令她心乱神迷，使她一次次呻吟和尖叫，她发现他一只手肘支撑着休息，低头看着她，仿佛她正在打盹儿似的，终于醒来了，迎来了金色的早晨。
He kissed the scar near her hairline, and drew back far enough to focus on her face.His long forefinger stroked tenderly over her eyebrow.
他亲吻了她发际线附近的疤痕，又往回退了退以便能够好好看着她的脸。他长长的食指温柔地抚摸着她的眉毛。
“Whatever the future throws at us,Blondie,any of it will be worth last night.”
“无论未来我们将何去何从，美人儿，为了昨晚什么都值了。”
Fiona nodded, drowning in the intensity of his gaze.
菲奥娜点点头，沉浸在他的目光里。
“But we're in another world here,” she eventually protested.“This is not the real world, where people live by strict conventions and society's rules.It won't be so nice out there.”She bit her lip.“No-one will think this is okay.You know that—you and me together, and Jan so recently dead.No-one at all, Christian.”
“但我们这会儿是在另一个世界啊，”她最后抗议到，“这不是真实的世界，在人们按照严格惯例和社会规则生活的世界里，就没有那么顺心了，只要走出这个世界，”她咬了咬唇，“没有人会认可的。”你知道——你和我在一起了，而简才去世不久。根本没人会认可，克里斯蒂安。”
He shrugged.“Then we'll make the most of what we've been given until we have to leave.”Rising from the tumbled bed, he strolled to the wide open terrace door.“Must have had our minds on other things last night,” he said as he pulled it closed, drew the curtains across, and turned to her.
他耸耸肩，“那么我们就在我们离开之前充分利用一切我们所得到的东西吧。”一下子从床上翻起来，漫步走到宽敞的露台，倚在门上，“昨晚我们一定在想别的吧。”他说着顺手关上了门，把窗帘拉过来，转身走向她。
In the dim light, his big lean frame looked breathtaking.He glanced at his watch, abandoned on the chest beside the bed.“Nicky will probably give us another half hour or so.”His eyes shone with sexy intent.
昏暗的光线下，他消瘦的脸庞令人惊艳，他看了看手表，毫无拘束地躺在床上。“妮基可能半小时后才会找我们呢，我们还有会自由时间。”他的眼里闪烁着性感的欲望。
“Let's hope she does.”Fiona's body responded with deep warm wanting as she drank in the obvious readiness of his.“We could wear ourselves out in the next five days.Scorch the skin off each other.Five days is all we have before I go, but it might be all we need.”
“希望如此吧。”菲奥娜也有身体回应，表现出强烈而温暖的渴欲，显然受到了他跃跃欲试的感染。“接下来的五天我们可能会累坏自己，令彼此的皮肤磨损。我离开前只有五天的时间了，但这就足够了，或许我们只需要这些时间就够了。”
“And if we need more than that?”
“要是我们需要的比那多呢？”
Fiona waved the enquiry aside with pretended nonchalance.“I'm leaving on Tuesday, Christian.It's in my contract.”
菲奥娜置之不理，假装漠不关心。“我星期二就走了，克里斯蒂安，这是定了的。”
Privately she marveled at the casual tone she'd dredged up from heaven-knows-where.How could she tear herself away from him now? This fascination went right back to the wedding day and that first electric melding of their bodies on the dance floor.Not that she was willing to let him know that.He'd felt so right, so instantly desirable, even though he'd been totally off limits.
她私下却又惊讶于自己这不知哪来的冷漠随意的语气。现在她怎么舍得离开他呢？这种迷恋可以追溯到婚礼当天，他们在舞池里首次接触时便一发不可收拾了。但她并不愿意让他知道这一点。他之前的感觉是对的，如此急切地想要，即使他已完全不受限制。
If she admitted she'd wanted him for years it was huge treachery toward her sister, her parents, and her niece.But if she deserted him, she'd deprive herself of the long-ached-for joy that had swept her up with no regard for appropriate timing.
如果她承认她这些年来一直想要他，对她的姐姐，父母和她的侄女巨大的背叛。但如果她离开了他，她就剥夺了自己长久以来渴慕的欢愉，不曾考虑这最适当的时机。
It was way more than sex now.She knew it was dark forbidden love.
现在，这些比性重要得多。她知道他们之间的爱情是幽暗的、禁忌的。
*
Christian stood looking down at her.Tuesday,he thought,gut clenching.
克里斯蒂安站起来看着她。星期四，他想，心里特别难受。
They could both be dead by Tuesday.Dead from exhaustion or regret or recriminations.Or so desperate at the prospect of parting it would be as cruel as death, anyway.
他们可以在星期二死去，从疲惫或遗憾或指责中解脱出来。无论如何，如果分手的前景令人如此绝望，那跟死亡一样残酷。
He picked up another little foil packet and held it out toward her.
他拿起另一个小包裹，拿出来递给她。
“We'll worry about Tuesday when it rolls around, Blondie.”
“周二一点点来临，我们都担心得要命，美人儿。”
He breathed a silent prayer of thanks when Fiona chose to accept the challenge of his out-thrust hand and ignored the shadows he knew must lurk in his eyes.
他默默地祷告，菲奥娜选择接受他冒险伸出的双手，不去看他眼中隐含的阴霾。
*
Later that morning he watched as she balanced Nicky on her hip and peered into the sunlit car he'd driven out of the garage so they could more easily stow everything inside.
那天早上，他望着这一切：她抱着妮基，看着他从车库开出来、阳光照耀下的汽车，他们可以把所有东西都放到车里。
“Is that the lot?”she asked.“Suntan lotion, rugs, drinks, nappies, swimsuits…”
“很多吗？”她问道，“防晒乳液，地毯，饮料，尿布，泳装……”
“Got mine on.”
“带上我的。”
“Toys? Do we have enough?”
“玩具？我们已经带得够多了吧？”
“We're a traveling circus,” he complained in mock despair.
“我们是一个流动马戏团，”他满含绝望地抱怨道。
“Sun umbrella? Hats?”she suggested.
“太阳伞？帽子？”她建议道。
“This should do us until lunchtime.I told Antoine we'd call in for some of that risotto you liked so much last night.A tubful to bring back and share on the terrace.”
“我们到了应该就该吃午饭了。我告诉安托万，让他准备一些最晚你爱吃的烩饭。准备一桶带走，到阳台上去吃。”
“You'll spoil me for ship's food.”
“船上的食物会把我宠坏的。”
“That's the general idea.I want you here, not half a world away.”
“大概就是这个意思。我想要你留在这里，而不是世界的另一边。”
He cupped her face up and dropped a lingering kiss on her lips while she was unable to escape.
他捧起她的脸，留下了一个深深的吻，她无法逃脱。
“MommaJan?”a small voice piped.
“妈妈，简？”微弱的声音回响到。
They broke apart.
他们分开了。
“You shouldn't kiss me in front of her,” Fiona remonstrated.She looked down at her niece.“No darling— MommaJan's not here.”
“你不该在她面前吻我，”菲奥娜责备到。她低头看着侄女，“不亲爱的——简妈妈不在这儿。”
“It's Fiona, poppet,” Christian said.“You'll get used to me kissing her,won't you? Here's one for you, too.”He lifted Nicky's small hand and blew a tickly raspberry into her palm so she giggled and shrieked.
“这是菲奥娜，宝贝儿，”克里斯蒂安说，“你会习惯我亲吻她，不是吗？她也是你的。”他举起了妮基的小手，把令人痒痒的山莓吹进她的手掌，她被逗得咯咯笑和尖叫。
“Yona,” Nicky agreed, snuggling closer to Fiona whose face reflected all too clearly her feelings of guilt.
“哟哪，”妮基同意道，偎依在菲奥娜身旁，她的脸上明明白白写满了内疚。
He sighed as he looked at them.It tore at his heart to see his daughter suffering like this.She'd lost her mother only a few weeks ago and was still far from settled.Lost Kathy, who'd seemed such a good choice but lasted hardly any time at all.Now she was cuddling up to Fiona—and Fiona would be gone in another few days.
他看着她们叹了口气。看着女儿的遭遇真是令他心碎。她几周前失去了母亲，到现在还没有缓过来呢。离去的凯西似乎是一个很好的选择，但毕竟没办法长久。现在她正蜷缩在菲奥娜怀里——而菲奥娜却将在几天后离去。
Once again, she'd be deserted by the mother-substitute in her life.He had to do better by his tiny daughter—better than a woman who was leaving, better than a woman who might carry the same deadly disease as Jan.The thought of going through the terrible cycle of discovery, fear, hope, and eventual loss was too much to put Nicky through…too much to put himself through again.
她再次被可以代替母亲的人抛弃了。他要对自己的小女儿更好——比这个即将离开的女人好，比这个可能和简携带同样致命疾病的女人更好。这样的想法是一个充满着发现，恐惧，希望和最终失去的循环圈，太多了，对妮基来说这太难以承受了…自己也很难再次经历并全身而退。
So it would be five days of joy for them all, followed by a wrenching separation and the slow acceptance of a future without each other.
所以对他们来说，这将是仅有的五天的快乐，接着便是揪心的分离，对彼此来说都需要很长的时间来接受这个事实。
His frustrated sigh joined a gust of salty breeze from the nearby ocean.He opened the rear door and held it against the wind so Fiona could secure Nic in her safety seat.
他沮丧地叹息着，吸入一阵附近海洋吹拂的略带咸味气息的微风。他打开了后车门，站在在风中撑着，以便菲奥娜可以把尼妮可安置到安全座椅上。
My beautiful girls.
我美丽的女孩们。
Nicky wore blue shorts and a white T-shirt with a line of blue and silver fish printed on the front; Fiona, white shorts and a strappy blue sun-top that showed off her clear golden tan.Two blondes in blue and white.
妮基穿着蓝色短裤和白色T恤，上面印有一条蓝银相间的鱼；菲奥娜则穿着白色短裤和蓝色吊带，显出她干净的金棕色肌肤。两位美人儿都着蓝白色呢。
Fiona turned to him and raised an eyebrow.“Helping, are you?”she asked.
菲奥娜转过来抬眼望着他，“你是在帮忙吗？”她问。
Yep, I could be more useful than leaning on the door, enjoying the view, while you struggle with my wriggly daughter.
是啊，比靠在门边有用些吧，看看风景，当你和我蠕动的小女儿争闹的时候。
“Want me to clip her in?”he asked.
“要我抱她吗？”他问。
“She's pretty lively this morning.”
“今天早上她挺闹腾的。”
“We'll see if we can tire her out then,” he said, stroking Fiona's rump while she leaned into the car.
“待会她就累了，”他说着，当菲奥娜进车的时候撞了一下她的臀部。
“Not in front of the children,” she grinned, backing out so he could take over.
“别在孩子面前这样，”她笑了，退出来以便让他接手。
The children.Nicky and a couple more from Fiona.A real family.
孩子们，妮基和菲奥娜的孩子们，一个真正的家庭。
He tried to banish the too-vivid scenario as he secured Nicky in the seat and made sure she had the cuddly pink puppy Fiona had given her for Christmas.
当他安置安全椅上的妮基时他试图不去设想那些太生动的场景，他给她放了菲奥娜圣诞节送的可爱的粉色小狗玩具。
“You want kids?”he asked, keeping his eyes on Nic as he closed the car door.
“你想要孩子吗？”他在关车门的时候盯着妮可问到。
“She's good practice.”
“照顾她是个不错的练习。”
Which didn't exactly answer his question.
没有正面回答他的问题，王顾左右而言他。
Maybe she doesn't? She has a job she loves, with travel perks and luxurious surroundings and plenty of glitzy company.Why would she want to trade that for a moody widower and a fractious child?
也许她不想？她有一份自己喜欢的工作，有旅行津贴和奢侈的环境，还有很多耀眼的同事。为什么她要拿和一切来换一个喜怒无常的鳏夫和一个易怒的小孩子呢？
Fiona had seated herself in the car by the time he'd walked around to the driver's side.He tallied up the points against her.
菲奥娜坐在车里，他则走到驾驶室那边。他在盘点着反驳她的要点。
Leaving on Tuesday.
星期二离开。
To a job she wouldn't want to give up.
为了一份她不想放弃的工作。
Didn't seem to crave children.
似乎并不那么渴望小孩。
Maybe the same risk as Jan for breast cancer.
也许这和简患乳腺癌的风险是一样的。
He grimaced as pulled the car door open, sat, and fired up the engine.
他拉开车门，坐定，发动引擎。
“We're off to the river, Nicola Jane,” he said with false cheerfulness as he reversed onto the private driveway that led to Pounamu Lodge.“Do you remember the river from last time?”
“我们出发去河边啦，妮可拉·简，”他假装兴高采烈地说着，在通往普纳姆旅店的专用支路上调转车头，“你还记得上次的河吗？”
He drove past the Lodge, over a rattling cattle-stop, and turned onto the unsealed farm road running through part of Pounamu Estate.They bumped gently along past the paddocks.
他开车经过旅店，经过行车栅栏，然后拐进了一段开放牧场的农场路，这片农场是普纳姆的地产。他们颠簸着穿过小农场。
“Sheep!”Nicky squealed from her elevated perch on the child safety seat.The grazing sheep lifted their heads to stare at the passing car but soon resumed eating.
“羊！”妮基在儿童安全座椅上尖叫起来。放牧绵羊抬头来盯着飞驰而过的车，很快就又低头吃草了。
“Sheep, Dadda,” she squealed again, blue eyes wide with delight.
“羊，爸爸，”她又尖叫起来，蓝眼睛瞪得老大，眼里闪烁着兴奋的光芒。
“Baa-a-a-a…”Fiona contributed.
“咩咩…”菲奥娜说话了。
“Maaaaa,” Nic copied.
“咩哞…”妮可模仿到。
“Baa-a-a-a,” Fiona replied.“Come on, Chris, join in.”
“咩咩…,”菲奥娜回答说，“来吧，克里斯，一起来啊。”
“Baa-a-a-a…”he muttered with a deep lascivious tone.“The mating call of the rutting ram.That what you had in mind?”
“咩咩…”他叫得流露出一股淫荡调儿。“发情的公羊求交配的叫声，这就是你脑子中想的事吗？”
Fiona doubled over with laughter for a few seconds and then her bright eyes found his.
菲奥娜笑了两声，接着明亮的眼睛便与他对视上了。
“The rutting ram? Are you?”
“发情的公羊，你吗？”
“After last night, hell yeah. Baa-a-a-a,” he bellowed again with greater volume.“Ready any time ‘ewe' are, Blondie.”
“昨晚之后，便是地狱啊。咩咩…,“他的音量提高许多，“随时准备着当母羊吧，美人儿。”
Suddenly they were both snorting with laughter, enjoying the silly moment, and his mood lightened.
突然间他们都笑起来，享受着这傻傻的时刻，心情放松些了。
Why was he looking for what he couldn't have? Right now she was here with him, in his life, in his bed at last.That would have to be enough.“Unless you'd rather have a whole lotta rampant stallion?”he asked, adding a fierce suggestive neigh.
为什么他总是寻找自己无法拥有的东西呢？现在她终于和他在一起了，在他的生命里，最后在他的床上。这样就够了。“除非你宁愿拥有一大堆猖獗的种马？“他问，还真的模仿马儿来了一声饱含暗示的嘶鸣。
“Horsie!”Nic yelled, which only increased their hilarity.
“野马！”妮可叫道，使大家伙更兴奋了。
“Okay in the back there, Nic?”he asked when he'd stopped laughing enough to speak again.
“乐够了吗后面那位，妮可？”等他笑够了能讲话时他问到。
He checked the rear view mirror.His little girl had caught their relaxed mood and was smiling happily, clutching her pink dog, staring back at him like a naughty angel.“Going to show Auntie Fee how well you swim?”
他检查了后视镜。他的小女孩也被他们愉悦的氛围所感染，开心地笑着，抓着她的粉色小狗，盯着他看，像极一个顽皮的天使。“给姨妈菲看看你游泳游得多棒好不好？”
“She doesn't, does she?”
“她不会，会吗？”
“Goes in the water all the way up to her ankles if you're lucky.”
“如果你足够幸运的话，可以看到她在水中可真是游刃有余。”
Fiona grinned and nodded.“A real mermaid, then.”
菲奥娜咧嘴笑着点了点头。“那才是真正的美人鱼啊。”
*
The river twinkled through the trees.Christian slowed to a crawl and steered the car in under the shady green canopy of a weeping willow.Long feathery streamers of leaves brushed past the windows.Nicky crowed with delight.
河流穿过树林。克里斯蒂安慢慢开下来，把汽车开向垂柳阴凉的绿荫下，长长的柳枝飘过车窗。妮基开心地叫着闹着。
Fiona glanced over her shoulder at her niece and felt her heart twist, knowing it should be Jan sitting beside Christian on this lovely day.
菲奥娜瞥了一眼侄女的肩膀，心里很是纠结，明白在这个美好的日子里，本应是简坐在克里斯蒂安身旁。
Fate had robbed her sister of so much.Jan would never see her precious daughter grow into a beautiful girl and an accomplished woman.
命运使然，简永远不会看到她宝贝女儿的成长，出落成亭亭玉立的少女，成为卓有成就的女人。
Never again feel the warmth of her husband's love.
再也感受不到丈夫温暖的爱。
Never return to the amazing cliff-top house she'd transformed into such a welcoming and distinctive home.
再也不会回到悬崖边很棒的房子，是她曾把那儿变成了温馨而独特的家。
Fiona had thought her tears for Jan were almost under control all these weeks later, but suddenly the telltale prickling behind her eyes and painful constriction in her throat hit her yet again.She blinked rapidly as hot moisture welled up and threatened to spill down her cheeks.How could her mood change from cheerful to utterly desolate in just seconds?
菲奥娜为简感到惋惜，突然间几星期来压抑的泪水再不受控制，喉咙哽咽，难受得很。在泪水快要止不住流下来时她赶紧眨了眨眼。怎么可以扫兴，破坏了当下这么的美好呢？
She unclipped her seatbelt the instant Christian braked, then pushed her door open and stepped out, hoping for enough privacy to regain her serenity.
克里斯蒂安紧急刹车时她松开了安全带，打开车门下车去，希望暂缓情绪，恢复平静。
“It's wonderful,” she called, praying her voice was steady.She took a few steps toward the river.All around her, the willow fronds swished and rustled in the breeze.The sun filtered through in brilliant shafts.
“太好了，”她叫道，祈祷她的声音听上去是正常的。她朝河边走了几步。周围柳叶在微风中沙沙作响。明媚的阳光洒下来。
She wiped a quick forefinger under each eye, summoned up a smile, and turned back.
她食指迅速地抹抹了眼下，振作起来笑了笑，转过身去。
“We could make a waterfall, Nic,” she suggested as Christian released Nicky from her seat harness and set her on the rough grass.“Shall we do that while Daddy goes fishing?”
“我们可以做一个瀑布，妮可。”她建议克里斯蒂安把妮基从车里抱下来，放到粗糙的草地上。“爸爸去钓鱼的时候我们做瀑布行嘛？”
“Hold up, Nic—sunhat!”he called as his daughter toddled away from him.
“戴起来，妮可，太阳帽！”当女儿屁颠屁颠地走开时他叫道。
Bending low to avoid the long streamers of leaves, they each took one of her soft little hands and ambled down onto the riverbed.The floods of winter were long gone; now big areas of shingle and stones baked in the midsummer heat.Nicky stumbled along between them, determined to manage the uneven ground on her own until Christian scooped her up and distracted her.
为了避免飘拂着的长长的柳枝，他们不得不弯腰走着，他们一人拉着一只妮可柔软的小手，沿河边走下去。冬天的洪水已经褪去；现在露出大片的鹅卵石和石头，在仲夏的眼光下烤得灼热。妮可绊倒了，想要自个儿教训这片不平的土地，直到克里斯蒂安抱起她才令她分心。
“Look Nic—see the pretty bird?”he asked, pointing to a vivid blue-green kingfisher.They walked on a little further.
“快看妮可——看到那只漂亮的鸟儿了吗？”他指着一只蓝绿色翠鸟说道，那鸟的颜色真是鲜艳亮丽。他们又走远了些。
Water trickled through the shingle in several small ribbons.On the far side, deep in the shadow of overhanging trees, it flowed faster and darker.
水流经过几条有鹅卵石的小溪，远处则覆上了树木的阴影，水流得更快了，水也更深了。
“Is that where you'll fish?”Fiona asked.
“你是在那儿钓鱼是吗？”菲奥娜问。
“For all the good it'll do.I imagine having you and Nic splashing about will spook anything that might be lurking.”
“顺利的话就是在那儿。我想象着你和妮可在一边戏水，溅起的水花可能会惊到水下的生物。”
“No fish for dinner then?”
“那晚餐就没有鱼吃了是吗？”
“You'll be full of risotto from lunch.”
“会有午餐剩下的意大利烩饭。”
“So I will.Brought your fishing coat?”
“那么，我给你拿来渔衣吧？”
“Need your hair washed, do you?”
“你需要洗头发，是吗？”
She caught his wide smile and nodded.“Need lots of things attended to.”
他看到他大笑起来，她点了点头。“有很多事情需要处理呢。”
“Ready and willing,” he murmured, sliding his free hand around her waist and pulling her closer as they crunched along in the brilliant sunshine.She laid her face against his shoulder and smiled up at him.
“准备和意愿，”他喃喃道，自然地把手搭在她的腰上，把她拉近，沐浴着灿烂的阳光。她把脸放到他肩上，扬头对他微笑。
“Did you think last night would ever happen?”she asked, knowing she had nothing to lose now by asking.
“你有没有想过会发生昨晚的事啊？”她问，知道自己现在问什么都不会有所损失。
“Hoped.Didn't dare to hope.Never seriously expected.”He dropped a kiss on her nose.“Hoped some more.Felt I was about due for a miracle after the pain of losing Jan.”
“想过，但又不敢想。从来没有认真地期待过。”他在她鼻子上吻了一下，“还想了更多。感觉自己在失去简之后又发现了一个奇迹。”
Her heart lurched at his honesty.
她倾心于他的坦诚。
“Did you know it would be me?”
“那你知道会是我吗？”
“It was always you, Blondie.Too soon, too fast, but always you.Even when it seems impossible, a man's got to go after what he wants.”
“永远是你，美人儿。很快，太快了，但总会是你。即使是在看上去并不可能的时候，男人也会去追求他想要的。”
She closed her eyes at that, trusting him to keep her from falling.
她闭上眼睛，相信他不会让她跌倒。
After a few more steps she opened them again as she felt him pause at the first of the shallow waterways.
走了几步，她睁开双眼，因为她感觉到他在第一处浅水域停了下来。
“Just about here would be good for us, wouldn't it Nic? Shall Daddy put you down?”
“这儿挺好的，就在这里吧，是吧，妮可？爸爸放你下来了好吗？”
Christian complied and Nic bent over, picked up a stone, and threw it into the tricking stream with a gleeful squeal.
克里斯蒂安把她放下来，妮可弯下腰捡起一块石子，石子扔进小溪中溅起的水花令她兴奋地喊叫。
“Go and get your fishing gear. We'll be safe and out of your way here,”Fiona said, pushing off her shoes and squatting down beside her niece.“Want your shoes off too, Nic?”
“去拿你的渔具吧，我们在这儿挺安全的，也不碍你事儿。”菲奥娜说着脱下鞋子，又蹲在侄女身旁，“你也想要脱掉鞋子吗，妮可？”
Nicky pushed out her bottom lip and looked doubtful.
妮基嘟起了小嘴，有点迟疑不定。
“Okay, you stay there for a bit but I'm going paddling.”
“好吧，那你留在那儿一会儿，但我要去踩水啰。”
When Christian returned with his fishing gear, Fiona stood ankle-deep in water, piling up smooth river stones to make a miniature dam. Nicky's contribution was to select occasional debris and pitch it into the water where it made very satisfactory splashes. Fiona's white shorts looked decidedly damp around their hems.
克里斯蒂安拿着他的渔具返回来，菲奥娜站在水中，水没过了脚踝，堆积的光溜溜的河石可以做成一个小小的水坝。妮可则偶尔帮些忙，把石子放进水中，弄得水花四溅。看上去菲奥娜白色短裤的下摆已经打湿了。
He dropped a couple of towels onto the ground and tossed the car keys on top of them.
他放了几条毛巾在地上，把钥匙扔在上面。
“In case you need them before I'm back.Looks like you'll end up wetter than me.”
“在我回来万一你需要用呢。看上去你最后可能弄得比我还湿。”
“A definite possibility,” she agreed as Nic squealed and hurled a pinecone, and the spray flew up yet again.
“的确可能是这样，”她表示赞同，妮可尖叫着用力扔出了一个松果，再一次水花四溅。
After an hour of standing on the far riverbank with barely a nibble, he packed his gear away and strode back toward the car.The sun now rode high in the sky, and Fiona had spread two picnic blankets in the shade of the willow.On one, Nic drowsed, curled up and clutching her pink puppy.On the other, Fiona sprawled in her blue sun-top and a lacy coffee-colored thong.Her wet shorts flapped from a nearby bush.
他远远站在河边个多小时了，也没见个影儿来咬食鱼饵，他收起钓具离开，大步朝车子走去。太阳当空照，菲奥娜在柳树的林荫下铺了两张野餐毯子。其中一张毯子上，妮可正蜷成一团打盹儿呢，手里抱着她那只粉色小狗。另一张毯子上，菲奥娜伸展四肢躺着，穿着蓝色的吊带衫和带花边的咖色丁字裤。她打湿的短裤则晾在了旁边的灌木丛上。
Christian's gaze travelled from her peachy toenails all the way up her long legs to her tiny panties.The injury to her knee had left a livid crescent-shaped scar that made his eyes skid to a halt.
克里斯蒂安的目光一直从她白里透红的脚趾甲，越过纤长的大腿，看到她的小内裤。受伤的膝盖留下了一个瘀青的新月形疤痕，看得他眼睛都直了。
He hated seeing it.It was his fault—he should have taken better care of her—somehow protected her from the accident that had so nearly killed her.Why had he let her go anywhere near that weakened beam in the garage?
他讨厌看到它，这是他的错——他应该照顾好她的——以某种方式保护她免受那场几乎致命的事故。为什么他要让她去车库附近摇摇欲坠的横梁呢？
She opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, as languid as a cat snoozing in the sun.Something hit him hard in the chest.
她睁开眼，眨了眨眼，很像猫咪在太阳下无精打采打盹儿的样子。他心里仿佛被猛击了一下。
Mine.Mine to love.Mine to protect.
我的，我的爱，我要保护的人。
His tiny daughter and the woman he'd always wanted, both looking so vulnerable and in need of his care.“Catching up on sleep?”he asked, voice husky with unspoken suggestions.
他的小女儿和他一直渴求的女人，看起来都很脆弱，需要他的照顾。“睡着了吗？”他问道，沙哑的声音中带着某些隐秘的暗示。
“Someone kept me awake most of last night.”
“昨晚某人让我更清醒了。”
His mouth curled with the memory.“Yeah, and he's going to do the same tonight.”
他嘟起嘴回想着。“是的，他今晚还要做同样的事情。”
“Is that a promise?”she asked, lifting her arms above her head in a long fluid stretch that started at her fingertips and rippled down the whole length of her body.
“你的承诺呢？”她问道，向上伸直双手舒展开来，这样从指尖算起，感觉她更高了。
He watched her relax again.Just the sight of her moving so sensuously sent blood rushing south.“You really think I could keep away from you after a night like that?”
他注视着她再次放松。她这动作如此撩人，瞬间体内热血沸腾。“你真的以为经过那样一晚我还能对你敬而远之吗？”
“Not in our private world,” she said, lifting one hand in a vague all-encompassing gesture.“It's perfect for just a few days, but that's all it can be.”
“不在我们的私人世界，”她说着，举起一个手做了一个意味深长的手势。“这几天是极完美的，但也就只有这几天。”
His heart constricted, and he tried to shove the sensation to one side and cover the moment with a flippant comment.“Not quite perfect—the fish weren't biting.Let me get rid of my gear.”
他心一下紧了，尝试着不去理会这种感觉，想着用轻率无礼的调侃掩饰过去。“不是很完美——鱼没上钩。还是放弃算了。”
With half an eye on Nicky, he set his rod and bag beside the car and peeled off his white T-shirt and old wet trainers.Then he lowered himself over Fiona and brushed his lips past the scar on her knee.
看了一眼妮基，他把鱼竿和袋子放在汽车旁边，脱下白色T恤和打湿的运动鞋。然后弯腰靠到菲奥娜身上，吻过她膝上的疤痕。
Her breath hitched, and her hand touched his hair.Soon, her nails scraped gently against his scalp as her fingers curled in reaction to his kisses.
她屏息着，抚摸着他的头发。她的指甲轻轻地刮到了他的头皮，手指蜷缩着回应着他的吻。
“I hate to see where you got hurt because of me,” he murmured as he progressed up her thigh.
“我不喜欢看到你因为我受伤，”他低声说道，手摸过她的大腿。
“Scars fade.”
“疤痕好些了。”
“Some of them.”
“好了些吧。”
“Not scars of the heart though?”
“可是心里的疤痕呢？”
“Not so easily.”He slipped a finger under the edge of her thong and grinned as she bucked up against his hand and protested in a furious whisper.
“没那么容易好”。他手指滑过皮带下边缘，咧嘴一笑，她狠狠地压在他手上，愤怒地耳语抗议道。
“Stop it! Someone will see.”
“停，别人会看到的。”
“Not a chance.There's no-one for miles.”
“不会的。这里方圆几里都没有别人。”
“Nicky's right here.”
“妮基就在这儿呢。”
“And sound asleep.”
“听上去睡着了。”
“What if she sees?”
“那假如她看见了怎么办？”
“Stay quiet and she won't.”
“安静点，她就不会看到啦。”
Fiona was such a turn-on in that tiny scrap of coffee-colored lace.His good intentions to wait until nightfall deserted him in an instant, but the condoms were all in the cottage because he seriously hadn't expected this.
小的咖啡花边使菲奥娜更诱人了。他想要等到夜幕降临的时候，可避孕套都在小屋里，因为他根本没料到会发生这些。
“You on the pill?”he demanded.
“你吃药了吗？”他问道。
“Yes, but—” she protested, wriggling against him.“People might be looking…”
“嗯，但是——”她抗议道，反对他这样做，“可能有人正在看着呢…”
“No other people, Blondie.Just us in this big private green cave.”
“没有其他人，美人儿。这是个绿色的洞穴是我们私人的空间。”
She fought him every fraction of the way, but with a smile on her lips and stifled giggles.Finally he collapsed down onto her, pinning her in place against the rug.The bruised grass beneath them smelled herby and cool.The breeze rushed quietly through the willow fronds.Distant birds called to each other out in the sunshine.And all he could think was ‘mine'.
她一直和他打斗着，但只是微笑着，抑制自己笑出声来。最终他倒下了，把她按在毯子上。身旁倒下的青草闻起来也有一股清冷的味道。微风吹过柳枝，飞鸟在阳光下呼唤着同伴。现在他脑子里只有一个想法“我的”。
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