Be cool, be calm, be sophisticated.
She opened the door, the smile on her face fading and her mouth going dry when she took in the man in front of her. Pure devastation. He was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded across his broad chest, showing his muscles off to perfection. He wore a casually faded black T-shirt and jeans, scuffed deck shoes on his bare feet. She could feel her face colour as she brought her eyes back up. She had just examined him…and blatantly!
She couldn’t see his eyes, as they were hidden behind dark shades, but she saw all too well the way his mouth quirked.
‘I hope I pass inspection?’
What could she do? She had been caught out beautifully. She had to smile, revealing small, even white teeth and a dimple in her cheek.
‘You’ll do.’
She bent down to pick up her bag, where she’d stuffed her bikini and a sarong among other bits and pieces, not sure what he had planned, and pulled the door behind her, careful to lock it securely. He took the bag from her and led the way to his car. She was glad to see that although it was a convertible it wasn’t one of those tiny low-slung things that she privately thought looked ridiculous.
As he negotiated his way down the small winding streets with casual expertise she started to relax and look around. She was very aware of his tanned hands on the wheel, moving to the gear-stick near her leg, and of the long fingers with short square nails. She swallowed and quickly put on the shades that had been resting on her head in case he caught her staring again.
‘How long are you here for?’ he asked idly.
‘Just another week; I’ve already been here for one. This is such a treat.’
‘What is?’
Nerves made her babble. ‘To be taken out…driven around. I have a hire car, but this place is like a labyrinth…The first day it took me an hour to find my way back up the hill from the town.’
‘I know…it is getting crazier, with more and more tourists…We’re hoping that they’ll make the centre of the town entirely for pedestrians only; it’s small enough, so it could work.’
His comment reminded her who she was dealing with. He wasn’t just a local, he was the local. She felt intimidated all of a sudden.
He cast a curious glance her way. ‘Cat got your tongue?’
She shrugged lightly, honesty prevailing. ‘I know this might sound silly, but I keep forgetting that you are…who you are. You own that entire island…that hotel chain. I guess it’s just a little overwhelming. I bump into you in the street two days ago and now here I am in your car.’ She gave a nervous laugh.
Xavier looked over at her sharply, but she had her face averted. Well, this was a new approach—and one that he hadn’t encountered before. Was she for real? More or less hinting that she’d be more comfortable with him if he were just a pilot? He’d never had to reassure a woman before by playing his status down…normally they wanted him to play it up! Well, if this was a game that she was playing then he would play along. She was intriguingly different from any other woman he’d ever known. Whether it was artifice or not he didn’t much care. He wasn’t planning on getting to know her too well…just well enough.
His glance took in the long shapely legs beside him. He could imagine how they might feel wrapped around his naked back. He grew hard there and then, much to his chagrin. He wasn’t used to being at the mercy of hormones he had long ago learnt to control. A woman hadn’t had the power to ignite his desire so forcibly since…ever, he realised. He focused on the road, hands gripping the wheel. Only one way to exorcise this hunger raging in his blood.
He forced himself to say lightly, ‘Ah, so you admit now that you were the one who bumped into me?’
Jane cast him a quick glance, relieved to see him flash her a teasing smile.
Lord, but he was gorgeous. She couldn’t answer, nervously touching her tongue to dry lips.
‘I thought we’d take a little trip on my boat. I know a cove near here that’s usually deserted. We can swim and have a picnic.’
She was going to forget everything and enjoy this moment for what it was. She was being given a second chance…her fantasy was coming true…and she was smart enough not to sabotage it again. She hoped.
‘That sounds lovely.’
After he had parked the car and lifted out a hamper, he led her into a private marina, where yacht after yacht was lined up, bobbing on the water. His was a small sleek speed boat, with a tiny cabin down below.
‘This is how you get to and from the island?’
‘Yes…or I use the helicopter. This takes fifteen minutes.’
Of course…the helicopter!
It was hard to keep her intimidation at bay when he threw out such admissions of extreme wealth. She forgot everything, though, as he helped her into the boat, big hands curling around her waist to steady her, just under her breasts. Suddenly breathless, she moved away quickly to the other end and looked anywhere but at him. She could see the tourists in the distance, lining up for their day trips. That had been her yesterday, and if she hadn’t tagged onto that particular queue…
He showed her where to sit back and relax as he started up the engine and they pulled out into the open water. The breeze felt wonderfully cool on Jane’s skin, and she closed her eyes, lifting her face to the sun.
When she opened them again she found Xavier staring at her from behind the wheel, shades on his head. He didn’t look away. The gleam in his eyes was explicit, and Jane’s pulse started to speed up and throb through her veins. That kiss last night came back in vivid Technicolor, the feel of his chest against hers…She was the one to break contact first, putting on her sunglasses again. His mouth quirked in a mocking smile, the same one he had smiled in the street, aware of his effect. She tried not to let it unsettle her.
Leaving the harbour and marina behind, Xavier hugged the coast for a while. Jane was enthralled by the view of all the huge estates visible from their vantage point. They couldn’t really talk over the sound of the engine, but she was happy to drink in the sight of him when she was sure she couldn’t be caught. She’d never been reduced to this level of carnal feeling before. Didn’t know how to handle it.
She could see a small cove come into view, and Xavier negotiated the boat towards it. It looked empty. She was bizarrely both disappointed and excited not to have company, but if she was honest with herself she knew which feeling won out.
When he had anchored a short way from the shore he indicated the cabin below. ‘Why don’t you change into your swimsuit here? That way you can leave your things on board.’
‘Sure.’ Jane feigned a nonchalance that she was far from feeling.
Down below in the small cabin, she changed with awkward haste, half terrified that he’d come down the ladder. Her bikini had felt perfectly adequate up until today, but now she pulled at it ineffectually and tried to stretch it out. Had it shrunk? Somehow it felt as if it had become the skimpiest two-piece on earth since she had last worn it, and she was very conscious of her skin, still pale despite a slight tan. She chastised herself. He was no doubt used
