‘Geographical adjustments,’ he answered, holding the door open for her.
Curious eyes met his as she slid past him into the suite. ‘You’re going to relocate to DC?’
Xandro gave a stiff smile as he nudged the door shut with his foot. ‘No, Sage. You’re going to relocate to Vegas.’
Green eyes widened. ‘What? No, that’s impossible.’
‘You packed a bag and got on a plane to Greece with very little notice. The process is even easier to repeat the second time around.’
Her lips pursed. ‘I know how air travel works. I meant I can’t uproot my whole life for the sake of this charade. I thought that we would just—’
‘Go for coffee a couple of times, maybe a stroll in the park while holding hands? You really think that will convince your brother?’
A small frown gathered between her brows. ‘Well, I’m not as well-versed in the act of subterfuge as you seem to be so, by all means, enlighten me.’
He realised he was moving towards her when she began to back away. ‘For starters, you need to not shrink away when I come near you.’
She stopped immediately, her chin rising in challenge as she attempted to stare him down. ‘I don’t like my personal space invaded.’
‘Brace yourself then, glikia mou, because I intend to do more than just invade your personal space.’ Deliberately, he took another step closer. She exhaled in a little rush but, to her credit, she stood her ground.
Xandro wasn’t sure the need to get closer to her was a completely sound one, especially when her alluring scent wrapped itself around him again.
He breathed her in, noting with each second that passed he wanted more. He wanted to press his nose to that sweet curve where her shoulder met her neck. He wanted to trail his fingers over that pulse racing at her throat, feel for himself whether her skin was as silky and warm as it looked.
She took another heavier breath, drawing his gaze to the full curves of her breasts. The insistent yearning grew, the blaze gathering strength as it built.
Her hold tightened on her purse. ‘Could you...not look at me like that?’ she demanded in a low, fierce voice.
Xandro noted the wash of pink in her cheeks. His fingers tingled with the need to touch the colour. ‘Like what?’
A faint fluttering of her nostrils as she inhaled. ‘So...intensely.’
‘Like a lover would look at the woman he can’t wait to be alone with?’ h
e asked provocatively.
He’d meant to mock her out of her prudishness. Instead his words backfired by conjuring up images his overeager libido latched onto with alarming eagerness. ‘I’m a red-blooded male, glikia mou. When I hold your hand in public there will be no doubt that I’ve known what it feels like to have it on my body. When I stroke your skin like this—’ he gave in and trailed the back of his hand across her cheek and, thee mou, it was as smooth as he’d imagined ‘—it’ll be clear that I do it with the familiarity of having known every inch of it.’
‘Even if you don’t?’ Her breathlessness only fed the hunger inside him. So did the faint quivering of her skin beneath his touch.
He told himself he was merely demonstrating the importance of her role. It was why he slid his hand slowly up her arm, over the silken landscape of her bare shoulder, to rest his fingers against her pulse. ‘Now I know how your skin feels,’ he murmured, then, because he simply couldn’t resist, he trailed his forefinger up her throat to caress her jawline. ‘And I know how fast your pulse races when I touch you.’
She made the faintest sound as a tremble rippled through her body. But she didn’t step away, and he didn’t withdraw. They remained like that, caught in a moment Xandro didn’t want to admit was perplexing the hell out of him. Her lips parted on another unsteady breath. And, with a magnetic pull he couldn’t resist, his eyes dropped to her plump lips. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and arousal punched him hard in the gut.
And then, because his hunger in that moment overruled everything else in his life, he speared his fingers into her hair and slanted his mouth over hers.
Her lips remained closed against his for challenging seconds, but Xandro didn’t care. He was busy sampling the velvety smoothness of her bottom lip, following the sensual curve with his tongue over and over before nipping it with his teeth.
Her tiny jerk was a clarion call to his groin, the puff of breath that washed over his cheek an invitation to repeat the little act. He nipped again, firmer, and earned a gasp that parted her lips perfectly for the insistent slide of his tongue. Angling her head, he breached the sweet barrier of her lips, felt her tongue dart out against his. There was an innocence in the act that, cultivated or not, intensified his hunger. He chased after more of it, flicked his tongue against hers and felt another shiver move through her.
Thee mou, she tasted unbelievable. He’d meant this to be a lesson, but it was fast turning into something else. Something like a mini feast that promised a banquet, the likes of which he’d never known.
He’d made his point. He needed to stop. But...not yet. Just a little more. He pressed his mouth harder over hers, gliding his tongue across her bottom lip again. A tiny groan escaped her.
And then she froze. A second later she was pushing at him, attempting to place distance between them. His fingers convulsed in her hair for a charged second. Then he stepped back.
‘Point made, I think.’ He sounded as if he’d swallowed a shovelful of gravel. And the pressure behind his fly wasn’t lessened when she raised her hand and pressed her fingers against the mouth he’d just tasted. Again there was an innocence in the gesture that threatened to flay him. Especially when he got the impression she wasn’t even aware of what she was doing.