Seduced by Passion

Seduced by Passion - Chapter 4

Burn

Xio turned at the sound of the deep, baritone voice. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the impossibly tall, sexy man standing in her doorway on Viking-like legs. Tight muscles rippled under his white V-neck shirt, and dark waves of hair brushed mile-wide shoulders. With an unyielding jawline, a classic Grecian nose, and firm, sensual lips, he was the sweetest piece of eye-candy she'd ever laid eyes on.

The tightening in her body put her on high alert as she stood motionless, captivated by his arresting good looks. Her breath caught in her throat, and her skin tingled, not from fear or alarm, but from something she hadn't felt for a long, long time.

Perhaps never.

"Um—I—I'm—um..." Her brain went numb as he stepped into her office and closed the door.

She felt the power that coiled within him as he walked toward her. When he came to a stop in front of her, she stared helplessly into a pair of green eyes that were even darker than emeralds.

Xio felt an involuntary contraction between her legs. She'd never felt so alive and excited, yet so weak and vulnerable by the mere sight of a man.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" he asked, taking a swift sweep of the office before his eyes came to rest on the crumpled wad of paper in her hand.

Xio trembled from his closeness and the faint smell of his sandalwood aftershave. Taking a quick, shallow breath, she shook the fog from her brain and dropped the contract on the desk behind her. "No... Well, yes... No... I'm sorry... I... I thought you were someone else." She sounded like a bumbling idiot, but there was nothing to do about it.

A smile cracked his lips. "Obviously. I hope I didn't disappoint you. I'm Rapheus Giannopoulos. I booked The Davenport for a week."

So, he was the guest who'd called from San Francisco yesterday to reserve the villa and a rental jeep, and ask that the twenty-four-hour staff that came with the villa only be in the house when he was not there. Privacy was his primary request, and he'd already included generous tips to compensate any inconveniences his request might cause.

Hot and decisive, he seemed to suck up all the air in the room. The AC was at full blast, but Xio suddenly felt a different kind of heat from what she'd been experiencing a few minutes ago. Her body felt flushed and heavy, like someone had taken control of her.

"I'm Xiomara Davenport. Welcome to Jewel Beach Resort." She offered him a wide smile. And why not put on the charm? Twenty thousand dollars a night for six nights was a lot of money. Whether or not Jewel Beach survives, she would need that money for expenses and payroll.

She glanced down at his hands—his left curled around a copy of The Davenport brochure. They were strong and broad, the kind of hands that would make a girl feel safe and wanted when placed on her body in just the right spot. Something warned Xio that touching him would be an open invitation for more... More of what? She had no idea.

Palpitating heart and clammy hands aside, her job was to be friendly with her guests, even the petty ones who always found something to complain about, just to have a few hundred dollars knocked off their bills. Her job was to be professional, too, she conceded, reluctantly offering her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Giannopoulos."

The moment they touched, shock waves rolled through her body.

He sucked in his breath sharply, but when she tried to pull away, he tightened his grip. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her wrist, ever so lightly, sending shivers up her arm, across her chest, and into her heart.

"The pleasure is all mine, Xiomara Davenport."

She liked the sound of her name on his tongue. His voice was thick and hypnotic and trickled through her like warm molasses soothing the aches inside her. Xio felt herself drifting, falling into him. After the bad luck she'd had with men, she was no longer the kind of girl who was prone to swooning, but the hint of a smile playing at the corners of his tempting mouth, told her that Rapheus was the kind of man who was used to women swooning over him.