Page 20 of The Tycoon's Affair: Tempted By Desire
Sidonie repeated the Greek phrase. They both took a sip of their drinks and Alexio dished out the starter.
‘Don’t you know by now that nothing you could have said would have put me off?’Alexio’s softly delivered words still echoed in Sidonie’s head. The steel behind them...
He had just taken their dessert plates into the kitchen and Sidonie was standing on the small terrace which hugged the side of the building, leaning on the railing, with the Thames moving beneath her feet somewhere in the dark.
In all honesty she couldn’t have recalled, if asked, what they’d just eaten except to know that it had been exquisite. She’d been too mesmerised by her charismatic dinner companion and how easily the conversation had flowed. Like on the plane, once they’d started they hadn’t stopped. Every now and then a tiny jolt of electric shock had run through her at the realisation of where she was and with whom... She’d met him only hours before... She should be back in Dublin, reorganising her life...
She still wanted to cringe when she thought of the way Alexio had looked her up and down when she’d arrived downstairs in her jeans and T-shirt, acutely conscious of how tatty she must look. The fact that he was equally dressed down had been little comfort, because she’d almost melted on the spot at seeing him in the faded hip-hugging jeans and white shirt. He epitomised cool, laid-back elegance.
To give him credit, he hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable. Just hot and bothered...
She heard a noise in the kitchen and turned round to see Alexio putting plates in a dishwasher. She shook her head wryly. Who would have believed it?
She walked back in to help. He stood up tall.
‘Coffee? An after-dinner liqueur?’
Sidonie put the last plate in the dishwasher and closed the door. She’d made a decision during dinner—a momentous one. It had been helped by the direct way he’d informed her earlier that he wasn’t‘into relationships’.Well, neither was she. Not when she faced such a huge upheaval in her life, and not when she had responsibilities. And certainly not when the man was Alexio Christakos and so far out of her league it wasn’t funny.
During dinner Sidonie had recalled the name of a favourite perfume of her mother’s:Ce Soir ou Jamais. Tonight or never. This evening felt all too ephemeral. She wanted to seize the moment, live it fully. She wanted this man with a hunger she knew was rare. Once in a lifetime.
She turned and put her hands behind her against the counter and looked up.Was she really going to do this?Her sex spasmed in response.Yes. She wanted one night with this man, just one night of decadent escapism, and then she would walk away knowing what it was like to be truly made love to.
Having no idea how to go about letting a man like Alexio know what she wanted, without declaring baldly that she wanted to have sex with him, Sidonie seized on an idea. ‘I’d like a liqueur, please...and did I mention that I’m a mean pool-player?’
Alexio went still and shook his head. ‘No, you did not. I believe we touched on many subjects over dinner, including favourite films and music, and you tried to trick me into telling you the secrets of my success, but there was no mention of your pool abilities.’
Sidonie bit back a grin. And a sigh. This man should come with a warning label:Approach with caution! You are liable to get burnt if you stand too close.It was too late for her. She would burn for ever in the tormenting hell of regret if she didn’t allow herself to indulge in this fantasy.
‘Well, I happened to be something of a local champion in college. And I would like to challenge you to a game, Mr Christakos.’
Alexio leant back against the opposite counter and crossed his arms. ‘Interesting, Miss Fitzgerald. Tell me...are there terms for this challenge?’
Sidonie crossed her arms too and tried to look mock serious—not as far out of her depth as she felt. ‘Of course. My terms are simple: whoever wins gets to decide what we do for the rest of the night.’
Sidonie’s heart was beating so hard now she felt light-headed. Alexio looked serious, but his eyes had darkened.
‘I take it that if you win your choice will be...?’
Sidonie affected an air of piety. ‘To go to bed with a good book, of course.’
His eyes flashed. ‘And if I win...and I ask you nicely to come to bed with me...?’
Sidonie shrugged minutely. ‘Then I guess I’ll have to suffer the consequences.’ She straightened up and dropped her arms. ‘But you won’t win, so maybe I should just leave now...’
She made to walk off and like lightning Alexio grabbed her hand and hauled her into him. Sidonie gasped. His body was hard all over, pressed against hers. Her legs promptly turned to jelly.
‘Not so fast.’ His voice was low, seductive. ‘I believe you challenged me to a game, and in light of the fact that I’m doomed to failure I’d like to raise the stakes a little... For every shot lost, we also lose a piece of clothing.’
Sidonie’s blood rushed to her every erogenous zone at the thought of seeing Alexio bared. ‘There’s no such game,’ she said breathlessly as Alexio pulled her in the direction of the bar and games room.
‘There is now, sweetheart.’
Alexio let Sidonie go when they got into the darkened room. After he had poured them both drinks—a liqueur for her and a whisky for him—he took out two cues and handed her one. Sidonie made a big show of chalking it up while Alexio put out the balls.
When they were laid out he flourished an arm. ‘Please, ladies first.’
Sidonie moved around the table, deliciously aware of Alexio’s eyes on her, and yet still a little terrified. She wasn’t sure what demon had made her come up with this idea—as if she thought she could make it look as if her decisionwasn’tfuelled with the desperate need she really felt. As if she played these kinds of games with men all the time.
