Latin Lovers: Seductive Frenchman

He shrugged. ‘It’s small, and wouldn’t mean much to anyone else. It’s a very personal space for the islanders.’

He regarded her profile. ‘If you want you could come back there with me tomorrow and I’ll show it to you.’

‘Would you really?’

She couldn’t control the surge of excitement that took hold at the thought of seeing him again the next day.

He nodded. They didn’t speak for a few moments, and then he started to pack away some food but refilled her glass. He avoided her eye.

‘I’m going for a quick swim, but you should let your food settle for a while.’

She had to smile inwardly at his arrogant assumption that he was somehow immune to cramp after eating. Which, she had to admit as she watched his powerful back and legs walk away from her, he probably was. Immune to banal mortal complaints.

She lay back on her sarong, feeling deliciously relaxed and replete. The sky was hazy, the sun blissfully not beating down with full force. The lapping of the waves lulled her into a light sleep.

A while later she woke with a start … She looked to her side, to see Xavier stretched out beside her. The basket was gone and there was nothing between them. His eyes were closed, lashes long and dark against high cheekbones. He really was beautiful.

‘Do I pass inspection again?’ he asked, opening one eye, fixing her.

She sat up quickly to hide her mortification. ‘I think I’ll go for a swim now …’

‘I’ll join you.’ And with lithe grace he stood up beside her and held out a hand. She looked at it warily for a moment before taking it.

The initial cool of the waves lapping against her feet woke her up better than a pail of water over her head.

She extricated her hand from his, and once in far enough dived headlong into the first big wave, swimming underwater for as long as her breath held out.

She popped up to the surface some way off and shook her head. The sun glinting off the water was dazzling. She looked around and could see Xavier’s sleek head, arms gracefully scissoring through the water as he swam powerfully towards her. She trod water, breathing far more heavily than was normal after what she had just done.

He came within a couple of feet of her. They just looked at each other. Simultaneously his arms reached for her, and she felt herself gravitate towards him as if being pulled by a magnetic force until she was in his arms. It felt completely right … inevitable.

He brought her arms around his neck and instinctively she wrapped her legs around his waist to steady herself. She was out of her depth … in more ways than one.

Seduced by the place, by him, and her resolve to embrace the moment, she gave in to a powerful desire. Slowly she dipped her head towards his, eyes closing as she felt the hard, sensual contours of his lips. His arms were like a steel band around her waist.

With naive boldness she explored his lips, feeling their shape and texture. One of his hands moved up to the back of her head and he angled it, his tongue sliding between her lips to taste and explore. Hesitantly she allowed him access.

A molten urgent feeling was building between her legs, the centre of her desire. She could feel the friction against his chest, and just below her bottom she could feel a hard ridge. Realizing what it was made her gasp.

He tore his lips from hers and looked down. Her nipples were two hard points thrusting against the wet material of her bikini.

He brought smoky green eyes up to hers and shifted her subtly, so that now he carried her in his arms and out of the water.

Jane knew that if he had put her down her legs would have given way, and was thankful he didn’t as he walked up the beach and laid her down on the sarong, stretching out his long length beside her. He looked down her body, a hand resting possessively on her stomach, its gentle feminine swell.

‘So beautiful …’

‘So are you,’ she said shyly.

The sun was blocked as his head dipped again to take her mouth, slowly, languorously. As if they had all the time in the world to touch, explore. She arched herself towards him slightly, a hand reaching out blindly to rest against his chest, revelling in the feel of the surprisingly silky hair, finding a hard nipple, circling it experimentally before flicking it accidentally with a nail.

He tore his mouth away with a moan. ‘Let’s see how you like that.’

Before she could question what he was doing, he had lowered his mouth to one jutting peak, sucking through the wet material of her top. An exquisite burst of pleasure made her cry out. He was relentless, and she gasped when he finally pulled the material aside to reveal the dark peak, raw and aroused. The feel of his tongue on her bare skin made her almost pass out with pleasure, and then he moved to the other side.

Jane barely recognised this wanton version of herself. Her hands tangled in his hair, holding his head in case he might pull away. She was caught up … caught up in uncharted territory … powerless to do anything but feel … respond.

She could feel him drifting a hand down over her belly, to rest near the top of her briefs. Toying with her, moving in slow sensuous circles, before his fingers moved down … under the elastic, over the mound of soft hair … down further, until …

She held her breath, her body tensing as his fingers dipped into her most secret place, exploring, rubbing back and forth over the most sensitive part, which she could feel getting slicker, harder. It was too much. No one had ever touched her there.

Her legs came together, trapping his hand, but he gently manoeuvred them apart again.

A very strident child-like squeal made them both tense.

In a haze of pleasure that was fast receding Jane became aware of Xavier reacting quicker than her, adjusting her bikini back over her body, which felt acutely sensitised.

‘We have company … pity,’ he drawled, making sure she was decent again, and then he looked down into her shocked eyes.

Sure enough another boat was pulling into the small cove, and a gang of children were starting to jump down from a yacht into the water, splashing and swimming towards the beach. Thankfully they were far enough out not to have seen anything … she hoped.

She wanted the sand to rise up around her and suck her down. A mortified flush burned her skin as she thought of what would have happened if they hadn’t arrived. He must think her so … easy. Bring her to a deserted stretch of beach, ply her with a little champagne and food, and she was a possessed woman in his arms, with little or no encouragement. The worst cliché of a tourist looking for a quick holiday fling.

She thrust herself away from him and sat up, gathering her sarong around her waist and tying it in a knot.

‘This has been … lovely … but we probably should be getting back. I’m sure you have lots of important things to be doing.’

She couldn’t even look at him. She stood up awkwardly and a soft gasp escaped her lips as she felt him whirl her around to face him. She couldn’t escape his eyes, which probed far deeper than the surface. They were oblivious to the people arriving onto the beach only feet away from them.

‘Lovely …?’ He shook his head incredulously. ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but if we hadn’t been interrupted, right about now I think you would be fast approaching a climax.’

She blanched at the starkness of his words.

‘Lovely is a little bit of an understatement, don’t you think, for what two people seem to be able to ignite in each other within seconds or with just a look?’

‘I … I … well, maybe …’

His eyes were hypnotic. ‘The most important thing on my mind at the moment is exploring this attraction between us.’

‘It is?’

‘Yes.’

‘Look … Xavier … we hardly know each other, and I’m not normally—’

‘So responsive? Well, neither am I.’ His voice sounded harsh.

She had been about to say easy, and amended her words. ‘That is … I mean … I want you to know that it wasn’t my intention to come here just for some kind of holiday … thing.’

He moved her closer to him, looping deceptively loose arms around her waist, ignoring the chatter around them. She came in contact with the still semi-hard evidence of his arousal. Immediately an answering liquid heat pooled in her groin.

‘And, contrary to what you may think, I’m not in the habit of pursuing random tourists … I’m not sure what this is either, but don’t you think it might be fun to explore?’

Fun. Explore. The words resounded in her head.

He stepped back, putting her away from him gently. ‘I’ll take you back now, but I have a proposition …’ He trailed a long finger down one cheek. ‘I promised to bring you to the island tomorrow to show you the memorial.’

He lifted a brow as if to ask if she still wanted to do that.

She felt herself nodding slowly, trying to focus just on his words, not on the finger caressing her heated skin.

‘I’d like you to come and stay there as my guest for the rest of the week … We could get to know one another … explore this … attraction.’ His finger left her cheek. ‘It’s up to you.’

He looked at her for a long moment, before shading his eyes again with the dark glasses and starting back towards the boat. He hadn’t meant to ask her to stay, the words had surprised him, but now, having asked, it felt right. One thing was for sure. An afternoon picnic wasn’t enough.

A few seconds later Jane followed blindly, her mind churning furiously. She would never see him again after this week. She would have it to hug to herself for ever. What did she have to lose? Could she really be contemplating this? Could she indulge the fantasy?

They were silent on the boat back, and during the car journey up to the villa. He was detached and polite. At her front door they looked at one another for the first time since they had left the beach. He tipped up her face with a finger under her chin.

‘So, Jane Vaughan … I’ll be here to pick you up at ten a.m. It can be a simple day trip to see the grotto, or you can come and stay for the next few days … Like I said, the choice is yours.’

And then he was in his car, the purring sound of the engine growing fainter before she drew in another breath, still looking at the spot where he had stood. She knew without a doubt that he would let her go at the end of the next day if she so desired. He was far too proud to push her. It was, as he’d said, up to her.

She mechanically went into the house, and before she knew what she was doing she realised that she was packing her things, tidying up in readiness to leave for a few days. Her body was ahead of her brain. She sat on the couch in the living room, an excited, nervous, shivery feeling in her belly.

Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. The words popped into her head. Well, this was what she had wished for, wasn’t it? The start of something new. Letting go of the old reliable, sensible, mature Jane. It was time for her to have some fun for a change. And when someone like Xavier Salgado-Lézille wanted you … then surely it went against the flow of the universe to say no? She was being offered a taste of something that she knew many women would not hesitate for a second to experience.

The only thing was … she had a sneaking suspicion that more than her body was in danger of falling under his spell. Was it a risk she was prepared to take? A resounding voice in her head said yes. Throw caution to the wind. She caught sight of her reflection in a mirror. I mean really, she asked herself, how involved could she get in one week? She turned away before she could see the mocking glint in her eye.

Chapter Four

BY NINE forty-five the next morning Jane was having second, third and fourth thoughts. In the cold light of day things were more stark. She would get burned. And not from the sun. She knew it. She heard an engine outside. He was early. As if he could hear the doubts that were in her private thoughts. Which was ridiculous.

She took a deep breath and waited for the doorbell to sound. She was wearing simple shorts, flip-flops and a plain T-shirt. If he wanted her then he could have her as she was, unadorned.

She lifted the small weekend bag that she had brought to carry home gifts, and suddenly it felt as if it held rocks instead of clothes and toiletries for the next few days.

The doorbell rang. Her heart stopped. She could see his tall dark shape against the glass. The Prince of Darkness. The name made her shiver.

When she opened the door his sharp eyes took in her slender figure in the plain clothes, and the bag clutched in one hand with her knuckles showing white. Instinctively he schooled his features, not allowing the surge of triumph he felt to show on his face. For once in his life he actually hadn’t been sure which way a woman was going to react, and had been prepared for her to reject his offer. But the bag told him that she was saying yes. He needed to tread carefully. She was as skittish as a colt. He bent to take the bag from her grip, and left her to lock up.

Jane had sent a text to Lisa that morning, wishing her all the best for her dad’s operation and saying she was taking a small trip. Just in case Lisa rang and got no answer from the house. She wasn’t going to go into any details about Xavier yet. If her friend thought for a second there was a man in the picture she’d be like a dog with a bone.

And, as Jane could barely quantify to herself what was happening, she could hardly begin to explain herself to someone else.

By the time they reached the island, and Xavier had guided her to a waiting Jeep, she had pushed any last dissenting voices out of her head. He was being a complete gentleman. Charming, funny, insightful. She hadn’t felt this kind of connection with anyone before—almost as though they’d known each other for years.

A couple of times when they’d locked eyes the heat had flared, swift and intense, reminding her of what was not so far from the surface.

He paused in the Jeep, turning towards her in his seat. ‘We’ll have to go to my home first … an unavoidable conference call I need to take. My penance for taking some time off … I’m sorry.’

‘That’s OK … I don’t mind.’

‘So, what I was going to suggest was this … as it’s nearly lunch, why don’t we eat, you can get settled, and we see the memorial tomorrow?’

This was it. Even though he was assuming that she wanted to stay, he was giving her the opportunity to back out now. But she didn’t want to. She had to take the chance, knowing that in her acceptance, should she choose it, he would read her total acquiescence. She took a deep breath, feeling as though she were stepping over an invisible line drawn in the sand.

‘All right. That sounds good.’

He looked at her for a long moment before leaning over and placing a feather-light kiss on her lips. ‘It will be, Jane … are you sure?’

She looked at him steadily. ‘Yes, I’m sure.’

With a spurt of dry earth, he turned the Jeep towards the castle in the distance. After they came to a stop in the courtyard outside, Jane couldn’t hide her reaction. It didn’t look like a castle, in the sense of turrets and moats. It had two higher wings on either side, huge, imposing archways, and intricate carvings on every stone. She had never seen anything like it before.

‘It’s amazing … Sorry—I’m sure you get that all the time. But really it is beautiful.’

Xavier had stepped out of the Jeep and looked up, hands on hips. ‘Yes, I guess it is … the Moorish influence probably makes it a little less austere.’

‘I thought that was what it was, when I saw it from the distance the other day, but I wasn’t sure.’

He lifted out her bag and took her hand, leading her into a huge open-plan flagstoned hall covered in complicated mosaics. Numerous green plants stood against the walls, and the open spaces were light-filled and indescribably foreign and exotic. Tall pillars led to an inner roofless courtyard.

Jane looked around in awe, taking it all in. She could almost imagine an ancestor of Xavier’s reclining darkly on a divan, voluminous folds of silk covering his body, being attended to by lustrous haired beauties. She blushed at her imagination. Xavier reached out a finger and trailed it down her cheek, leaving a line of fire in its wake.

‘You blush so easily … a rare phenomenon these days.’

‘An embarrassing one, you mean … it tends to come at the most awkward moments, when the last thing I want is for someone to guess I might be unnerved.’

‘And are you … unnerved … here, now, with me?’

‘Well … a little.’

‘Your honesty is refreshing. How have you managed not to lose it yet?’

‘That’s a very cynical thing to say.’

‘I’ve come to learn it’s a very cynical world we live in … but you might prove me wrong.’

Her eyes widened, a vulnerable light in their depths. That and any other thought flew from her mind as his large body closed the distance between them and he claimed her mouth with a kiss full of pent-up passion, his hands moving over her back. She found herself responding, instinctively matching his passion with her own.

Before she knew what was what, she felt herself being lifted into strong arms, and hers automatically went around his neck as he walked back into the hall and up some stairs which were obscured behind material moving gently in the breeze.

She took in an upper level, corridors, more open spaces, before Xavier shouldered his way through an imposing oak door and into a vast room, with a huge king-size bed in the centre. She barely had time to take in the rest of the room before he put her on her feet. Sudden panic gripped her. This was happening too quickly. She backed away, breath coming hard and fast.

‘Wait … do you think we could just … take things slowly for now?’

He stood back from her and ran a hand through his hair. When he saw the look on her face he said quickly, ‘I never planned on dragging you up here like some teenager … I just lost control … which seems to happen more and more frequently since I saw you.’

He gave her a rueful smile. He held out a hand and she took it.

‘Come on. Let’s have some lunch, and I promise not to manhandle you again.’

‘That’s OK. It’s not that I don’t want to be manhandled by you. I’m sure that’d be perfectly nice—’

‘Jane.’

‘Yes?’

‘Stop talking. It’s fine, you don’t have to say anything.’

‘OK.’

He paused at a door almost opposite his bedroom, opening it to reveal another equally stunning room.

‘This is your room. I’ll bring your bag up after we’ve eaten and you can get settled.’ He turned towards her. ‘I’m sorry again, Jane. Believe me, I didn’t just assume that because you’re staying falling into my bed is a foregone conclusion, but I won’t lie to you … I want you. I’m perfectly happy for us to take it slowly, get to know each other … I’ll wait until you’re ready’

Her heart flipped over. Danger. She looked up into his eyes, feeling a drowning sensation, ‘Thank you …’

He needed the space as much as she did. The truth was that he had never before felt such an overwhelming urge to take a woman to his bed … His plan, as he had told her, had been that they would have lunch, get to know one another a little better, have dinner in the evening and then … who knew? But within mere minutes of coming in the front door he had been overtaken by his hormones.

People called him the Prince of Darkness. Because in business he was ruthless and brilliant—even cold, some would say, but always fair. He had that necessary detachment. It was the same with women. He was the one in control. Always. Without exception. Until now.

Jane sat back a while later, in her chair at the lunch table Xavier had set up in the inner courtyard. He had made a light meal of gazpacho soup with a summer salad and crusty bread, all washed down with a crisp white wine.

‘That was delicious … I don’t think I’ve eaten as well in months.’

‘Like I said yesterday, it’s a pleasure to see a woman enjoy her food, and I like cooking.’

‘You’d better be careful or you might be rolling me out of here in a few days.’

She smiled easily, but the words reminded her that this was only for a few days. A mere interlude. Xavier would never remember someone like her when this was over. He would be moving on to the next exquisite beauty. Someone much more his equal, in every way.

‘You have such an expressive face …’

She groaned with a lightness she suddenly didn’t feel. ‘That along with the blushing … it must be an intoxicating mix for someone used to a more sophist—’

He shook his head, cutting her off. ‘Don’t even say it … you have more innate grace in you than half the people I deal with every day.’

‘Th … thank you.’ Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. She wasn’t used to compliments. Wanting to change to subject, she asked, ‘Do you have any staff? Surely you can’t look after this place by yourself.’

‘Yes, I do but they’re on a few days’ break.’

She couldn’t help a silly flutter of fear.

Xavier read the look on her face effortlessly. ‘They go on holiday this time every year. It’s pure coincidence that it happens to be this week.’

‘Oh … of course.’

The fact that he seemed to be able to read her better than anyone she knew made the flutter come back. That was nearly more disturbing than the thought of being alone with him in this huge castle.

‘Come on, I’ll show you around.’

He stood and held out a hand again, and she found herself taking it without thinking.

Every corner they turned made her exclaim anew. It was full of nooks and crannies, and secret courtyards overflowing with plants and eclectic furniture. She could imagine it being a children’s paradise … and immediately stopped her wayward mind. What on earth had made her think of that?

He brought her to a swimming pool at the back. It was surrounded by trees and flowering bushes, in idyllic seclusion from the rest of the house.

‘Why don’t you go for a swim and relax for a bit? I’ve got that call to take.’

‘OK … why not? If I can ever find my way back here.’

‘There are cabins just behind the trees.’ He indicated to the other side of the pool. ‘Help yourself to a bathing suit and towels; there are robes as well.’

She should have guessed.

She chose a modest one-piece in dark blue, and went back to the pool to choose a lounger. After a quick dip and drying off she succumbed to the peace, which was broken only by the sound of birds and crickets.

A couple of hours later there was still no sign of him, and Jane felt she wanted to wash and get rid of the stickiness of the day. She gathered up her things and tied a robe securely around herself, wandering back through the house until she eventually found the stairs. She whirled around at the sound of a door opening. Xavier stood framed in the doorway. She could see a vast room behind him, with all manner of hi-tech office equipment.

‘I’m sorry, but I’m still caught up with this call … Make yourself at home. I shouldn’t be much longer.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about me,’ Jane declared airily.

Up in the bedroom, she found her bag and padded barefoot to the en suite bathroom. She looked at the huge bath. The bath of her dreams. Filling it almost to the top, and adding copious amounts of the oils and scents that she’d found in a cupboard, she sank blissfully into the bubbles. Along with food, baths were her only other fatal weakness. This one was so huge she could have almost done a length.

But before she could turn into a prune—or, more disturbingly, have Xavier come looking for her—she stepped out. She smoothed on some body lotion and wrapped a towel around herself. Despite it being her own room, she went out cautiously. She couldn’t hear any sounds … he must be busy still.

She caught sight of her reflection in a mirror and stopped for a second. She nearly didn’t recognise herself. Skin glowing a light golden, her hair drifting around her face in waves, softening the harsh bob it had been when she’d first got it cut. Her eyes shone and sparkled, and her cheeks were flushed rosy from the bath.

In the mirror behind her a figure materialised in the doorway. Her eyes lifted, and she froze and watched as Xavier crossed the room to stand behind her.

Their eyes met in the mirror. There was only the sound of their breathing in the room. His hands were on her shoulders, dark against her skin. She watched, barely able to breathe, as they moved down her arms. She brought her eyes back up to his. Her whole body seemed to be pulsating in time with her heart, goosebumps making her skin prickle in anticipation. Right at that moment she wanted nothing more than for him to read her mind, undo her towel, let it drop to the floor, baring her to his gaze. She wanted him to take her breasts in his dark hands, weigh them, feel their heaviness, she wanted him to take off his clothes so she could lean back against the naked length of him …

But he didn’t. His hands came up to her shoulders and rested there heavily.

‘I’m sorry it took so long … When you’re dressed come back downstairs and I’ll cook us some dinner.’

She nodded at his reflection in the mirror, wordlessly watched as he stepped back and away. Thank God he couldn’t read her mind, she thought shakily as he disappeared. Talk about waking a hitherto dormant sexual desire. Where had those images come from?

She went to close the door and whisked off the towel abruptly, studiously avoiding her own reflection again. In the space of a few hours she had morphed from shrinking virgin to mentally stripping him … but he was taking her at her word, holding back, letting her get comfortable. Well, she’d asked for it. She just hoped that he would take the initiative again, before she had to drum up the courage to let him know that she was ready!

A while later Jane sipped from a glass of deep red wine in the open-plan kitchen as she watched Xavier prepare a simple pasta dish. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a loose shirt, and she was equally casual, in a loose pair of linen trousers and a crossover short-sleeved top. She enjoyed watching him move dexterously around the kitchen.

‘Where did you learn to cook?’

He glanced up briefly. ‘In my teens I rebelled against the role my father wanted me to take up in the family business—namely the island—and ran away to the flight school on the mainland … I worked as a cook in a restaurant to help pay my way.’

‘That’s why you took part in the display?’

‘Yes … I allow the pilots to do it here every year. Since my father died, we’ve incorporated it into a summer fête. It’s a day out for everyone, and it’s good for morale—and it allows me to indulge my love for flying.’

Jane had to suppress a slight shudder when she remembered his death-defying stunts.

‘You were better then any of the others … you had some edge that they don’t.’

He looked at her, but instead of finding a look of false flattery on her face saw she was busily picking at a salad. She had merely stated a fact.

‘Thank you … I do miss it, but it was never going to be my destiny. Once my father died, I had to come back and take over the reins here. It used to be just the vineyard, but I developed abroad into the hotel chain and various other investments … mainly property.’

‘Did you see your father before he died?’ she asked softly.

‘No.’ It was curt, and Jane knew she’d hit a nerve. She deflected his attention.

‘Well, this all looks more than fabulous—if that’s possible. You’ll have to let me cook for you, maybe tomorrow …’

He placed a swift kiss on her lips. ‘For now, I’m quite happy to cook and enjoy watching you eat.’

For a moment he seemed as shocked as she was at the impulsive kiss that had come so naturally, but he recovered himself quickly.

Jane coloured as he had known she would. How was it that he felt as though he could read her like a book?

They sat out on a veranda at the back of the house. Soft jazz was coming from a speaker that was artfully hidden. Low lights from the house and candles illuminated the scene outside. Steps led down to a beautifully manicured lawn, teeming with exotic flowers. A clear sky glittered with stars and a full moon hung low in the horizon. It was magical.

The conversation flowed as Jane told him about her mother, the marriage, her job … her life. Instead of a glazed look of boredom passing over his face, as she had feared, he seemed genuinely interested.

He cradled his glass of wine. ‘It’s a strange connection to have …’

When she lifted a quizzical brow he elaborated.

‘You growing up without a father, me without a mother.’

Jane nodded and shrugged lightly. ‘I know … I wish I’d known him. But you can’t really miss what you never had. I think for years Mum immortalised him as the perfect husband, but the truth was that he left us with nothing, and that … that was hard.’

‘The truth usually is …’

She was surprised by the bleak look that crossed his face but then it was gone.

He leant forward to top up her glass of wine. ‘Enough of this maudlin talk …’

He deftly changed the subject and she found herself forgetting about his enigmatic look as he effortlessly charmed her. After they had exhausted several topics, she couldn’t remember when she had enjoyed talking to anyone as much. When she could forget for a moment the intense attraction that was always humming between them …

Later, when he stood and held out a hand to lead her inside, she took it easily. She followed him upstairs to her bedroom door. In the moonlit hallway she could just make out his eyes, feeling them rove over her face. Surely he would …?

She wanted him to take her, mould her to him, kiss her senseless. Her hands itched to pull his head down to hers. But she was too shy to show him. He bent his head and pressed a friendly kiss to her forehead … she felt a crushing disappointment.