Any return of her equilibrium had been short-lived. As soon as she’d got back Alexio Christakos had looked at her—that molten green gaze travelling up from her breasts to her face—and it had been so intense...almost predatory. Her whole body had reacted to it, igniting like a flame. Even the air seemed to be crackling between them now, as if something had been turned up a notch.
He’s a playboy, he’s a playboy, she repeated like a mantra in her head. He’s programmed to go after anything with a pulse. But Sidonie grimaced at that. Alexio Christakos, according to her fellow enamoured students, was discerning—only choosing the most stunning models and actresses. The beauties of this era. And Sidonie, with her fair colouring, freckles and wayward hair, did not fall into that category. Not by a long shot. This crazy desire...whatever it was she was feeling...she had to be imagining it.
A wave of mortification rushed up through her body, sending her hot and cold. Was she projecting her own pathetic subconscious fantasies onto this man who had the misfortune to be paired with her for the flight?
She heard him clear his throat beside her and was almost scared to look. She could sense his gaze on her—or could she? With a sick desire to know how badly she’d been deluding herself Sidonie turned her head and met that green gaze head-on. Slamming into it, almost. The breath left her mouth in a little sigh. Her belly swooped and her skin tingled all over. Her nipples drew so tight she could feel them like stinging points, chafing against her lace bra.
‘Don’t...’ he growled softly, intimately. ‘Don’t call me Mr Christakos again. It makes me feel like an old man. It’s Alexio.’
Sidonie could feel the plane dip in altitude. Somehow she found her voice. ‘We’re landing soon. I won’t see you ever again, so it doesn’t really matter what I call you.’
‘Don’t be so sure about that.’
Sidonie blinked. Her heart spasmed in her chest. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I’m taking you out to dinner tonight.’
* * *
Sidonie had two contradictory reactions. Head and heart/body. Her heart/body leapt and sizzled. Her head said Danger! Danger! He was definitely arrogant, and she was loath to let him see that even a small part of her was tempted. A man like this? He would chew her up over dinner and a one-night stand and then cast her out with little or no second thought.
She was a fleeting interest.
Maybe the lack of air and the confines of economy class had gone to his head. Maybe he was bored, jaded, and something about her intrigued him because she was so different from his usual women.
Sidonie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. She saw Alexio’s jaw clench, as if he was priming himself for a fight, and something deep within her quivered and then went soft and molten. She fought it. They were both oblivious to the stewardess, who had come to check their seatbelts for landing.
‘That sounded remarkably like an order and not an invitation. I’m catching a connecting flight to Dublin—or didn’t you hear that part earlier?’
Sidonie wasn’t sure exactly why she felt so threatened by his advance, but she did. Even though she knew she was probably right in her suspicions about why a man like Alexio was flirting with her, a very large part of her wanted to leap into his arms and say yes.
She would bet that not many women turned him down—if any. But she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she gave in to him for what she had no doubt would amount to one night. She told herself it was because she valued herself too highly, but she knew, treacherously, that she was afraid of how strongly this man affected her. One night would never be enough. She felt it deep in the pit of her belly. And that freaked her out. She was a naturally responsible and cautious person, not given to spontaneous acts like this.