She shook her head, even though her senses leaped wildly at the thought of kissing Xandro again. ‘Unless you’re trying to win a prize for overkill, I think we should leave well enough alone.’
‘On the contrary, I don’t think a thirty-second kiss was nearly long enough.’
Thirty seconds? It’d felt as if she’d been trapped in that sexually charged vortex for an eternity.
‘Let’s try for a full minute this time.’
Before she could respond, he’d captured her mouth in a hot, dominating kiss that left very little brain power to aid her. Just like before, everything else ceased to exist save for the sheer intoxication of what he was doing to her. He explored her mouth with effortless decadence. As if sampling the finest wine, drawing his tongue across her mouth with a lazy swipe before seeking entry. Entry she granted because she just couldn’t help herself. The secret place between her thighs plumped and tingled, a hunger taking root deep inside that had her clinging to him by the time he lifted his head.
‘I hate to stop, but our nightcap is here,’ he murmured against her mouth.
Sage quickly dropped her hands from where they’d clutched his neck. Xandro sent her a wicked look but didn’t comment as he turned away. It was only when he dropped one hand that she noticed the waiter setting a tray down on the bar table nearby and pouring the coffee. He then proceeded to lace an amber-coloured liqueur into the beverage.
Sage struggled to get herself back under control as Xandro nodded a dismissal at the waiter and picked up a cup.
‘What is that?’ she asked, simply in an attempt to dilute the sexually tense atmosphere.
God, what on earth had she been thinking?
‘Greek coffee with a lace of Metaxa. Try it.’ As he had at dinner, he held the cup to her lips.
Still on automaton mode because her senses were scattered to the wind, she met his dark, fierce gaze then took a sip of the drink.
Like everything she’d tasted this evening, it was a singularly thrilling experience. Which she needed to put an end to if she wanted to survive this minefield Xandro had dropped her into.
When he went to offer her another sip, she shook her head. ‘It’s great, but coffee makes me hyperactive so I think I’ll pass.’
He didn’t push. He knocked back the potent drink in one go and replaced the cup down in its saucer. He was about to step up to her again when his phone buzzed from his jacket pocket.
His gaze remained on her face, his eyes scrutinising her for goodness knew what. For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to answer it.
Then, eyes still fixed on her face, he reached into his jacket, took out his phone and swiped one long finger across the screen. Only then did he look at the sleek gadget in his hand.
The flare of his nostrils was the first sign that whatever news he’d received was far from pleasing. The second was the flexing of his jaw as he continued to scroll through the message.
Tense seconds ticked by.
Her nerves screeched until she couldn’t take it any more. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked.
He continued to stare at the screen. ‘It looks like our little PDA exercise has made it online,’ he relayed in a tight, grim voice.
‘That was the aim, wasn’t it?’ she asked, then chilled at the deeper meaning. ‘Is it Ben?’
‘Yes,’ he replied.
Her stomach dropped but she forced herself to speak. ‘Tell me.’
‘He dropped twenty thousand dollars at a Macau casino this evening,’ he explained in a voice rusty with anger.
Her chest tightened. ‘So he’s not reacting as you said he would.’
One finger powered off the phone and he slid it back in his pocket. ‘Wrong. The hotel and casino he went to is one I’m in the process of acquiring. It’s not a secret that the final stages of negotiations have been delicate lately. The financial media has been running the story for almost two weeks now. Your brother was heard making derogatory comments about me. He was loud and brash enough to get the attention of the management. And he made the point of asking for me by name even though he knows I’m not there. So I’d say he’s letting me know he’s unhappy about our involvement.’
Sage was not sure which emotion reigned supreme—pain, anger or sadness. ‘Is he still there?’
He shook his head. ‘He wrong-footed my men. They thought he’d be heading to Hong Kong so they concentrated their efforts there,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘They reached Macau three hours ago but haven’t found him.’
‘Are you...going to lose your deal?’ She didn’t want to contemplate yet another problem.