Dru blinked in the brightness and took in her surroundings. There was another pier down from her bungalow with a selection of small watercraft drawn up to it and on the shore nearby. She could see water in all directions, a darker blue on the far side of the island and that stunning turquoise beneath her bungalow in what must be the famous Bora Bora Lagoon.
She walked back into the villa and was struck anew by the beauty she'd only partially registered last night. The dark wood, the high ceilings to draw up the day's heat, all of it exposed to the tropical paradise and thus a part of it, too. The jungle pressed in on all sides, with the sea just beyond. It felt as wild as it did welcoming, and made something in her seem to ease as she stood there.
When she finished eating a simple meal of toast and tea out on one of the many terraces overlooking the water, she felt restless. Cayo typically did not expect her to rush to work after a long-haul flight unless he had explicitly stated otherwise, so she didn't feel she had to seek him out at once. She assured herself any employee would feel the same-that it had nothing to do with all the churning emotion he'd stirred in her the night before. Nothing at all. Instead, she wandered down to the wooden path and followed it. It ran down to the pier, then on, making its lazy way down to the farthest point of the island and then looping back around.
Palm trees rustled over her head and bright flowers bloomed jubilantly on either side of the tidy boardwalk. She could hear birds up above and the waves against the shore. It made perfect sense to her that Dominic would have wanted this to be his final resting place. The sun was warm on her face, the breeze a caress against her skin. She felt serene. At peace.
All you needed was a good night's sleep, she told herself firmly.
As the villa came into view again, perched up over its own gleaming white beach, she saw there was a whole section of it she'd yet to explore. It was not until she left the path and climbed up for a closer look that she realized that what looked like a separate wing was, in fact, Cayo's master suite.
The wide-open walls meant she could step inside too easily and so, giving in to an urge she didn't recognize, she stepped into the first of the rooms, and then sucked in a sharp breath. It was an airy space appointed with deft masculine touches, bold colors and clean lines, but the centerpiece was the massive bed that dominated the room. Cayo slept here last night, a little voice whispered. Or perhaps more recently, as it was still unmade, the snowy white coverlet tossed to one side, the pillows dented.
And suddenly, Dru went hot all over. Then cold. Almost as if she was feverish.
She reached over and traced the indentation in the nearest pillow with a fingertip. She imagined him naked and dark against the crisp sheets, that perfect, impossible body on display, her own body softening and melting at the pictures in her head-
It was clearly time to find the man-her boss, she reminded herself sharply-and concentrate on what remained of her time in this job, not on her incurable madness where he was concerned. Not on the way she burned.
She glanced at the art and small collections of statues and carvings as she made her way down the hall, peering into each room as she passed. There was a library fitted with a wall of books, a seating area within and a covered lanai outside with a plush loveseat and two armchairs-perfect for a read in the shade. There was a private lounge with a flat-screen television on one wall and a fire pit with a dramatic chimney on the other, and what looked like a built-in bar in the corner. And then an office suite, kitted out with computers and other equipment, sleek modern furniture-and Cayo.
Dru stopped in the doorway, watching him as he frowned down at his laptop with his mobile clamped to his ear, as usual. His hair looked unruly, as if he'd spent hours raking it back with his fingers, and he'd neglected to shave. It made him look even more dark and sexy than usual. Unpredictable, somehow. Edgy.
"You misunderstand me," he was saying in cold, deadly French into his mobile. "It is no matter to me whether we ever open a plant in Singapore. But I suspect it is of great importance to you. Perhaps you'd like to rethink your tactics?"
He looked absurdly beautiful, as if someone had carved him into being from the finest stone and set him among lesser statues. He fairly gleamed in the golden sunlight streaming in behind him. He looked terrible and great the way the old gods might have, dangerous and mighty, and if he'd announced that he could command the weather at his whim, she would have believed it. The storm within her howled into being anew, the fever and the yearning, and he was to blame.
He raised his head then and met her gaze. Her stomach dropped and she stopped kidding herself about serenity and a good night's sleep. It was as if he was inside her, provoking her, making her ache and burn.
He looked at her as if she were naked and beneath him. And Dru couldn't help but wish she was, no matter how much she hated herself for her own eternal weakness.
Cayo sat back in his chair, his eyes on her as he finished the call with an abruptness that she knew must have made the man on the other end wince. He tossed his mobile on to the desktop in front of him and then regarded her, his golden eyes narrow and much too shrewd. His olive skin seemed darker against the loose white shirt he wore, making it impossible not to notice his lean, muscled arms and that perfect chest. Her breasts swelled against her vest. Her palms felt damp. And there was that same familiar ache, blooming into life so low in her belly.
Sleep or no sleep, she was doomed.
"Henri is still giving you trouble?" she asked, determined to ignore what was happening to her, what she felt. Desperate to concentrate on business instead.
"He remains unclear on the chain of command," Cayo replied, though the way he looked at her made her think he was not thinking of Henri or the Singapore project at all. "I think he has already convinced himself that I am not, in fact, the majority shareholder now."
"You expected that," Dru reminded him. She reached out a hand and touched the door frame next to her, running her finger over the dark wooden beam. The slightly rough texture made her feel even warmer, somehow, as if she was touching him instead. "You felt his personal connection with the employees and his decades of company loyalty far outweighed any tussles over authority you might have to have."
"So I did." He leaned against the arm of his chair and propped up his jaw in his hand, eyeing her in a way that made her keenly aware that he was one of the most powerful men in the world and she was...the only person she knew who had tried to defy him. "How do you find Bora Bora? Is it living up to your expectations?"
Dru couldn't seem to hold his gaze for more than a second at a time, and had no idea why. She felt...fluttery. It was as if he really had branded her last night with that odd, small touch in the dark, and she didn't know how to regain her equilibrium. Not when he was in front of her like this. Her lips seemed to tingle all over again, as if remembering. Yearning.
"I don't understand you," she said.
"That is hardly a breaking news item," he said dryly. "What is it you feel you need to understand? I am a simple man, when all is said and done. I like what I like." His hard mouth curved, his dark eyes gleamed gold. "I want what I want."