Opening the screen door, she looked out at the view as she ate the rest of her breakfast.She devoured the fresh fruit, potatoes and buttery pastries with equal relish.After finishing a part of her breakfast, she felt light. This was the perfect meal after being starved for a while.Freedom coursed in waves against her skin, as the cool and refreshing soft sea breeze blew through the window.Setting down her coffee cup beside her empty plate, she wandered outside on the balcony and looked out at the blue Aegean.The air was warm and smelled of salt, flowers and freshly exotic scents from faraway lands.From her position she could get a full view of the ocean.She had never stayed on an island before and had never gotten to see an ocean at a close range but Xavier had made it possible.The water was blue, without any doubt, it had gotten its color from the blue of the sky.The water was as clear and clean as glistening glass, it was a beautiful sight to behold at that moment. The gent
From the instant Sylvia had come out on the balcony, Xavier had felt her presence like the first burst of sunlight at dawn.He had been there long before she showed up but she was too busy relishing nature to see him.She was one woman that drew attention wherever she went even without trying.He had pretended not to see her at first as he continued to pace about as he spoke into his cell phone.To get her attention, he began to speak loudly and it worked like magic.Pacing about and speaking was his habit whenever he was making deals over the phone that were worth hundreds of millions of dollars.But as he discussed business with his vice president of the Regulus Group in New York, Xavier had secretly watched Sylvia with hooded eyes.Her expression was in a shadow, but he could see her body.Her long, wavy blond hair hung damp down her shoulders, over a thin top that clung to her full breasts and tiny waist.A knee-length skirt revealed her impossibly long legs which were slender and
While Arnold ranted about his plans for Xavier if he discovered he had touched Sylvia, Xavier had busied himself with planning with his fingers while he listened.Tired from yelling too much, Arnold began to talk in a low cracking voice.Xavier gave a low, deliberate laugh at his cracking voice at the other end. It was funny how he sounded.“What happened to your vocal cord? You're sounding like a woman” Xavier chuckled“Shut your mouth and listen to me you son of a bitch” Arnold spat in anger before he resumed his rantings whole Xavier continued to make fun of him.If asked, Xavier wouldn't hesitate to disclose that he was having the fun of his life.Having had enough of Arnold's voice, he stopped laughing then cleared his throat.“Complete your divorce as soon as possible if you want to have your bride back. Also, return Laila to me as fast as you can before I forget my duties as host and entertain myself with your would-be bride. Before I enjoy Sylvia’s body in my bed, over and over
Xavier loved this other woman?This was too much for her to bear.Sylvia bit the bottom of her lips as she looked upwards towards his direction.She wanted to speak but the lump which had risen in her throat earlier had refused to return thereby shutting her words completely.Running her hand through her hair, she began to imagine how Laila looked.She felt the sudden urge to get to know this woman personally but she did know why.His stark words caused a tremble through Sylvia’s heart, a whisper of pain that she couldn’t understand.She swallowed hard before mustering pleasure to speak “And you think once she’s in your care, you can save her. You think you can wake her. Don’t you think it’s already too late?” she asked“Her husband who was supposed to be by her side has doomed her to die,” he said in a low voice. “I won’t allow that to happen. I will see to it that Laila lives and I will make sure that it happens. I will do anything to make sure that she wakes up from that coma.”Sylv
Sylvia had read about Stavrakis resorts. They were swanky hotels for rich people, the kind of glamorous places she read about in celebrity gossip magazines. Utterly out of reach of a regular person like her.She glanced around the cottage. Cozy as it was, on a private beach with devoted housekeeper, she still wouldn’t be surprised if it cost ten thousand dollars a night.And they would be sharing this intimate space alone. She looked back at Xavier, and the cottage suddenly seemed a little smaller.“There’s no television,” he said. “But I don’t think you’ll miss it.”She licked her lips. “Why not? What will we be doing?”“A selection of new books and magazines has been provided for you. The housekeeper will prepare delicious meals and clean and do anything else you need. You’ll have nothing to do but sit on the beach and work on your tan. If you get bored, you can take a tour around the house. That's all I can offer. I hope you love to read.”She stared at him. Then she scowled. “Mean
She’d felt his arm along the back of the white leather sofa behind her, so close to her body, and she’d trembled. Every time he looked at her, the intensity and heat of his dark gaze turned her inside out.Sylvia didn’t want to think about it now. Or why she’d not only noticed his favorite flower in a lush garden, but she’d also picked a Sylvia for him and placed it in water.Looking up from her book, she noticed the dark-haired, plump young housekeeper struggling to carry a table across the beach to a spot overlooking the surf. Relieved to leave the lanai and lounge chair and all her disconcerting thoughts behind her, Sylvia got to her feet and hurried down to the beach. “Wait! Can I help?”The housekeeper, who looked only a few years older than Sylvia, shook her head, even though she looked as if she were fighting back tears.“Really?” Sylvia bit her lip. “Please, Mrs. Vadi, won’t you let me help?”“No,” the woman said, then burst into tears. Within minutes, Sylvia had learned the w
Sylvia dumped some spaghetti on each plate, then looked down at her cold, rather unappetizing concoction. She had hoped the food will come out looking better but she could tell she had been wrong.She’d had to improvise for ingredients. She’d used rice noodles for pasta, and since she hadn’t found a handy can of marinara sauce or even tomato paste, she’d improvised by smashing fresh tomatoes into a rudimentary sauce. She’d added a mishmash of chopped mystery meat she’d found in the fridge with whatever spices she could find in the kitchen, and hoped for the best.All right, so she wasn’t always the best cook—except where candy was concerned—but even she couldn’t ruin something as simple as spaghetti, she hoped.She took a bite, and discovered she was wrong.It was awful. And cold, in the bargain. She nearly choked it out, then covered up her gag reflex with a cough before she managed to swallow it down. “Wow,” she managed to say.Xavier took a bite and blanched. Standing up, he threw
Her breathing quickened as his gaze fell to her mouth. He was going to kiss her. She could feel it. He stroked her cheek, tilting her head up toward his, and she could barely hear the roar of the ocean over the rapid beat of her heart.“I’ve never met a woman like you before,” he said softly, his black eyes searching hers as he stroked her bare forearm lightly with his fingertips. “You…amaze me.”This honeymoon cottage, so remote in the middle of a wide, distant ocean, seemed like their own distant world. His handsome, rugged face, the powerful curve of his body as he leaned toward her, the light feeling of his touch against her skin, made her brain stop working. She trembled, licking her lips. Would she fall into his arms when he kissed her? Would she fall into his bed? He glanced down at her half-empty plate. “Are you finished?”She stared up at him, unable to even say yes.He smiled, then took her hand in his own. “Come.”He led her from the kitchen to the large sitting room and s